You know, I have full admiration for people who find their passion and then go on and act on it. Full, unrestrained admiration.
I see this happening recently in the beauty blogging scene because there are a few big time bloggers or vloggers who have gone on to make big things of themselves. One of the most famous of course, is Michelle Phan who was picked up by Lancome last year I believe, and who had a skincare line (I think, but I’m not sure if it’s still around) and now a makeup line. I personally have heard of her, but have never really followed her nor her blog. I don’t read many big blogs nor watch Youtube videos as you might have guessed. Haha! 😛
Anyway, I got to thinking recently about bloggers/vloggers coming out with their own cosmetics and brands and many of you were very helpful to give me a list of brands/products that are owned by them; and I got curious if you would buy, or have bought their products?
I have realised that the ones who come up with beauty products are primarily vloggers or those who have a written blog and a video blog. I suppose that is necessary to get your personality across because not everyone identifies with the written word. Also, video gets things across better.
Based on all your recs, here are the blogger/vlogger owned brands suggested to me:-
- Makeup Geek by Makeup Geek
- Real Techniques brushes by Samantha Chapman of Pixiwoo
- Bubbi Brushes by Bubzbeauty
- Miyu Beauty by Beautynerds
- Em Cosmetics by Michelle Phan
- Wayne Goss makeup brushes by Wayne Goss (Gossmakeupartist)
- Retinol cream from Futurederm
I’m sure there are others, but as you can see, I don’t know of any. I had to rely on you clever lot! LOL! Of the lot, the only one I’ve bought so far are the Real Techniques brushes. I got them mainly because of the raves and because they aren’t terribly pricey. So far so good.
I have also signed up to be notified of when the Wayne Goss brushes become available, because I saw in his video that his are natural hair brushes (I love natural hair brushes far more than synthetic brushes!) and I like watching his videos because he makes me laugh and he’s British 😛
But that’s it. I guess I don’t mind picking up things like brushes especially from makeup artists who make videos or blog, because I know they know what they’re talking about, and disappointing their fans/followers isn’t an option. I’m not so sure about makeup mainly because I am quite picky and I have quite set likes and dislikes. Perhaps if an established makeup artist who also blogs or makes videos, released a line of makeup, I might sit up and take a little more interest.
The newest line to appear is the Em Cosmetics makeup by Michelle Phan, launched just last week. I have to say it reminds me too much of cheap makeup palettes or my kindy paint palettes, and the high asking prices ($75) are quite off putting. Still, it’s backed by L’Oreal so I suppose there will be some quality control. It will be interesting where this goes, but I do think it will appeal mostly to the younger crowd, who form her fan base. Good job on her for making this happen – kinda pity about the design.
I’m not sure if I’m that keen to spend on skincare either although I have to admit I’m quite intrigued by the Retinol cream from Futurederm who seems to know what she’s talking about and who is medically trained. I was going to pick it up, but am holding off for now in an attempt to declutter.
What say you? Would you buy a cosmetic product owned or developed by a blogger or vlogger?
I suppose you could say that I would be more likely to be influenced to buy a product from a blogger or vlogger who is an expert in their field, as opposed to one who isn’t. I’d also be more likely to go for a product that appeals to my aesthetics and wallet. I will say hands down that I wouldn’t buy a product developed by me, simply because I’m not an expert in this field, merely a very critical consumer 😉 But no fear of that happening. I’m not launching anything any time soon 😀
Paris B
I’m not swayed by the fact that beauty bloggers or youtube stars had came out with their products. I judge the product by its quality not the name. For example, I will not buy Michelle Phan’s product. Her previous skincare brand, IQQU had terrible reviews online, her acne serum was not FDA approved and customer service is terrible. My sister living in the states bought her acne serum for her acne, thinking that since Michelle phan had such good skin, she can have good skin too. Not only did it break her out badly, but she had a very hard time getting through customer service to help her with the issue. After all that, I learned to not trust any beauty gurus trying to sell their brands. What matters are their products.
yeouch! That’s such a horrible experience for your sister, Natasha! I did remember reading issues about the products not being FDA approved but I didn’t realise they actually caused negative reactions. I hope your sister’s skin has healed.
I have tried Real Technique brushes and liked them a lot..also got few Makeup Geek eyeshadows and must say they are at par in quality with MAC/Inglot etc brands..totally worth it..i really like Marlena’s product line..the quality seems really good..plus both RT and MUG are affordable with fantastic quality!
Michelle Pham’s line seems way too expensive..I would rather buy Nars or Chanel in that price range…my personal opinion but when a beauty blogger or vlogger comes out with their own line I feel the range should be decently priced and affordable since a lot of us can’t really afford to buy high end make and this way it will reach maximum people world wide plus if i had to invest 50$ I would go for a well established brand products like Nars/Chanel/Lancome etc rather than trying a new product :)..again my personal opinion 🙂
That’s good to know about the Makeup Geek shadows, Parita. I haven’t tried them myself and it’s great to know that so many people find their quality very good for the small pricetag. I personally no longer use bright colours and shadows from MAC and Inglot don’t attract me anymore so I just know I won’t be attracted to more similar ones. As for the Em range, you’re right. I will prefer going for an established brand at those prices too. It could be wonderful but I think at my age, I don’t really want to be pulling out a palette that looks like my nephew should be playing with in art class LOL!
LOl your last statement definitely cracked me up…so true! for the price tag I definitely prefer elegant packaging and not like painting palettes! 😀
Btw just want to let you I always look forward to your posts every morning..they are so refreshing to read and i love your style of writing! thank you!
You made my day and my weekend Parita. Thank you so much !
I just treat them as I would any other brand. If the product catches my eyes and has good reviews, then I’ll try it.
Probably the best way to go about it!
The RT brushes are good 🙂 I’m also interested to see what Wayne Goss has to offer. On the other hand, when it comes to makeup, I’m more hesitant. I already know what I want and like, and my expectations are quite high …. but if it’s something by Lisa Eldridge, I think I’d be one of the first customers!
I guess I don’t watch enough of Lisa Eldridge to form an opinion but I’ll take your word for it 🙂 I’m less likely to be swayed by makeup or skincare because as you have said, I know what I want/like. But brushes… I could always do with more 😉
I generally am not convinced by the cosmetic lines founded by YouTube beauty gurus. I approach them the same way as I approach other cosmetic lines.
Would that make you less likely to give their range credit? I know I would be unless they are fully qualified in their field 🙂
I have the Real Techniques makeup brushes, and signed up to Wayne’s brush release because he’s an amazing makeup artist. But to my mind, neither Samatha, nor Wayne can be classified as ‘vloggers/bloggers’. Sure, they do participate in the social media circles, but they are primarily makeup artists! Not unlike Lisa Eldridge for No.7, they really know beauty, so I feel completely confident in purchasing their products.
As for EM..I’ve been following Michelle for a few years now, and I had a bit of excitement about the makeup line, knowing that she’s an art/design graduate, plus she had quite many interesting ideas/makeup looks back in the day. But it’s safe to say I’m disappointed..I agree with you on the packaging, it’s very much a ‘young’ design, that reminds me of those Barbie palettes that my little sister used to get for Christmas. I was certainly expecting something more chic, that would somehow reflect Michelle’s colorful personality…alas, I’m left saving my money for Goss release 😀
Good point, Cathy. The true “gurus” (the word is so abused these days!) are firstly established professionals in their field and secondly vloggers. So, that makes what they sell more credible than your average blogger/vlogger who may be vocal and critical about things, but may not be qualified to back a product range. I think the Em range disappointed a lot of people. Most aren’t openly critical of it, but honestly, I’m just very surprised why that design was chosen and at that price point!
From the sparse reviews I’ve read/watched so far on EM it seems that most people agree that its way overpriced. I’d assume it’s because of the packaging…alas, I completely agree with you that it seems like a waste of money. I think it was ItsJudyTime who did a first impression on EM, and I always really enjoy her videos, being a ‘guru’ she agreed herself that it’s really difficult to be critical of something by another ‘guru’. Yet she did quite an honest review on what she had, and I’m definitely NOT tempted to buy any EM products..it just looked very average, and very ‘cheap’ in the sense of packaging.
I’m more interested in MakeupGeek products, because price/quality ratio seems much more favorable there.
It’s a turning into a bit of a rant x) I guess I am just disappointed as I was expecting something Lancome-esque perhaps? Or at least something more chic and grown-up looking, I mean she’s no teenager, and her looks are mostly targeted to 20-something women…oh well *goes back to re-reading MWS* x)
I think many people did expect more of Michelle. She did work with Lancome after all, you’d expect some of the classiness to rub off 😉 Then again, maybe she also knew that her younger audience may like it anyway. There’s no accounting for taste after all 😉
I had been very skeptical, especially towards the Real Techniques. But for RT, the hype was too much and too convincing that I quickly switched sides. They have not fail me.
I have signed up for Wayne Goss too. I totally trust him. And I want to try Em, but it does not ship to Singapore. I refuse to buy Bubi because there are too many negative reviews despite of good ones.
I love Makeup Geek eyeshadows too! Cant beat the Burberry and Estee Lauder, but for the price, they sure are good.
Will you try them?
Tried Sigma palettes developed by TiffanyDMakeup? This is more like something she lent her name too, though I believe she has some say. But they are good! Love the colours. Very pigmented.
I also bought Lauren Luke brushes, from panacea81. And they are not too bad. Still using the angled liner brush. Real Techniques is better though.
Despite the real quality of many vlogger-owned new brands, I am still very careful. Not skeptical, but careful.
I do look deeply and widely at reviews before plunging. Mostly, I value Asian reviewers more, though they can be hard to find in the blogosphere and tubosphere.
haha sounds like you’ve tried quite a few product and are familiar with the many different blogger/vlogger developed ones out there! I probably won’t try the Makeup Geek shadows although every single one who has commented says they are really good, primarily because they are singles and also remind me too much of MAC. I have a thing AGAINST MAC so I know I will be quite prejudiced. I don’t even use Inglot anymore simply because of the MAC association. Good quality I don’t deny but I think I ended up picking the wrong colours. That really does piss me off 😛 p/s I like the word “tubosphere” 🙂
I absolutely adore MakeupGeek eyeshadows, I keep going back for more! She puts out high quality shadows, that Mac pales in comparison. I watch her on YouTube, don’t necessarily like her makeup (too much!), but the stuff she put out are affordable and fantastic, I can’t rave enough!
I like the Pixiwoo sisters, they’re makeup is much more up my alley, so I bought the Real Technique brushes. I prefer the face brushes, not so much the eye brushes, but they are overall, pretty good.
And then there’s Wayne Goss. Whoever watches him know that he is a brush-nut, so I am not surprised he came out with his own line of brushes. I love his tips and techniques but am not impressed with his eyeshadow blending techniques. But I still love him anyway! The fact that (according to him) he did all the research and quality control himself , intrigues me. Looking forward to seeing his product in person.
I’m not curious about Michelle Phan’s products, probably because I don’t watch her. Or Bubzbeauty. I do watch a lot of beauty YouTube vids, but only handful will make me run out and buy their product!
Haha with all the raves for the Makeup Geek eyeshadows, I should be placing an order right about now! 😀 I’m really happy to know that it performs and that it is better than MAC (simply because I don’t like anything by MAC but that’s just me and my prejudices ;)) I didn’t even know about Makeup Geek until some readers put her name up! Haha what have I been missing?! 😛 I think I don’t watch enough Youtube to form enough of an opinion of who I might trust to put out new products. Sigh…
I totally agree with you on Michelle Phan’s palette design! It does looks pretty cheap but I really love watching her vids, so I would probably buy a few of her products. I am also subscribed to Makeup Geek on YouTube and I just love the way she plays around with eye shadow colours and her colour range are quite pretty, so I wouldn’t mind getting them 🙂
I don’t think you’d go wrong with the Makeup Geek shadows. Everyone here seems to love them! 😀 Not so sure about Michelle Phan’s but I’m sure she’ll appreciate the support 🙂
It really doesn’t affect me, it won’t make me eager to try it out or blacklist the brand. It’s really about how the products perform. Nope, it’s really more about how people rave them. I gave into the hype and got serval Real Technique brushes and the quality is really good and I use them whenever I use brushes, especially the buffing brush, expert face brush and blush brush. I’m interested in trying out Wayne Goss’s brushes because I do like him a lot. Having said that, if the reviews online are not mostly positive, I wouldn’t bother to try.
I have my reservations about reading reviews of bloggers products because I’m doing my research now on one and I only turn up reviews from friends and sponsored ones, all of which are raving of course. It does make it hard to make a decision especially when the product isn’t cheap! I must admit that I’m more likely to take an interest if it’s a blogger/vlogger I like, as oppose to one I don’t but I think that’s true for all of us too 🙂
God no.. No offense to any of these bloggers/vloggers but I wouldn’t really buy any of their products. Perhaps just the futurederm and real techniques because you KNOW these are the real professionals/trained people in their field. All the rest is just slapping their name on a generic product.
“I was there for x steps of the creative process” doesn’t cut it for me. It’s all bullcrap and marketing talking trying to cash in on viewer success. Some of these people don’t even know what they’re talking about or are telling the truth about their credentials.
I’ll need to see some makeup portfolio’s, real studio work or a degree in dermatology before I’ll consider buying products from you. Simply because it’s a bit safer to have an experienced person create something than someone branding a low cost import thing and labeling it theirs.
Haha that’s passionate, Phil! I totally get you though, which is why I’d only be more likely to give the necessary support to someone who is an expert in their field. If I were to lend my name to a line, it would be such a joke because I have absolutely no training at all and it’s so incredibly easy to just buy a generic OEM product and slap my name on it. Could come up with a new brand tomorrow LOL!
I find the Em Cosmetic palette pricing off putting despite it being backed by Loreal and has many good reviews on it’s website. So, no for me. In fact, I’m skeptical in any makeup or skincare line developed by bloggers.
I am however, interested in the makeup brushes by Wayne Goss! So for brushes, yes. And yes, i’ve signed up for the notification as well. 🙂
That’s the thing I’d be wary of, Lisa. No website will publish a bad review on the site itself! I’d personally give it a year to see if it’s all hype (which I personally think it is but that’s just me of course) I think as far as products are concerned, skincare and makeup mean I treat it with suspicion, never mind if it’s by a blogger/vlogger/no one but I”m more likely to want to try a tool like a brush 😀
Yea, I was quite disappointed with em’s offerings. It all looks terribly cheap. I’m not an eyeshadow person (and when I do, I prefer to go for matte shades. The new matte palette by The Balm is amazing! My mum loves it so much and the shadows are super buttery and creamy.) so I don’t feel like I’m missing out too much.
I tried Futurederm’s encapsulated vitamin C serum but it made me itch. And her customer service was a bit sloppy. I am using a retinol (not retinoid) product from my derm now and it’s much more gentle than a retinoid cream (Differin) that I’ve tried. Retinoids make my sensitive skin burn and breakout, so proceed with caution! 🙁
Ooh friends who have the TheBalm matte palette have raved about it too. I haven’t checked it out but I do have one of their previous Shady Lady palettes and remember being quite impressed by them. I wonder where I’ve put it! Hmm… Oh you tried the Futurederm serum! Her Vitamin C one is the new one right? I was keen to try the Retinol one but I have read reports of flaky skin. Makes me very cautious. I am using Alpha H Liquid Gold now. I like it.
My derm said flaking with a retinol/retinoid product is normal because it encourages cell turnover in a controlled manner (so that the dead skin cells don’t exfoliate and then fall into the pore to clog it up again, so counterproductive) as well as reducing oil secretion. I am on a retinol product now and the flakies were initially worrying but after about a month, it has reduced considerably.
Alpha H has glycolic acid which should reduce your flaking. My doctor didn’t prescribe me any glycolic acid products and since my skin has been quite well-behaved since I followed her regimen I ain’t gonna cheat on her products and give myself an irritation. :/
Yep, I’m prepared to face the flaking, but am not sure how well prepared LOL Will see how it goes once I get things organized at my end and am ready to try something new, because I think something like this is quite a drastic change. Yep, the main thing about Liquid Gold is the glycolic acid and I think it does work well although it’s taken me many tries to figure out what is it that it’s doing for me. Now that I’ve worked it out, I’ve just picked up a full size 🙂 Naturally, if you already have a prescribed regimen, best to stick with it!
Hello Paris~! I would treat these brands like other brands. If they are good, why not? I do not mind trying them out. Skincare however, probably no LOL I am quite picky on skincare. Hehe.
I think most of us are picky about skincare Rin 🙂 I will definitely be very wary. I’m already wary about new and unknown brands, what more a blogger brand haha! 😀
I haven’t tried any of these brands by bloggers/vloggers yet. I was in KL a couple of weeks ago and I went to Shins to get myself the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush. When I saw the price though, I freaked out. I’m still in school and unemployed, so that’s way too expensive for one piece of brush!!! I hope to try ’em out soon though, especially Em! Just waiting for the reviews on Em first and then maybe I’ll try ’em out if there are a lot of positive reviews!
Ooh Hani, Shins is far far too expensive to buy RT brushes from! The Expert Face Brush is US$8.99 (about RM30) online and Shins is selling for RM78! I suggest you get them at iHerb.com instead where the prices are much more friendly to the wallet. If you buy there, you can use my code MPW213 to get $5 off or $10 if you spend over $40 😉
I am interested in the wayne goss brushes but I dont think I can afford them 🙁
They aren’t very expensive, if the indicative prices are anything to go by 😉
wow! i didn’t know that this has become a trend. i have heard quite a lot about real techniques brushes but other than that everything was new. i do like to explore skin care but i am not sure i would go for not quite established brands, may be a logn time following does help with that!!!
Yep, almost everyone wants to create and sell something now eh? LOL I’m very wary about lesser known brands too. May not even go there, not even if I’m a long time follower 😛
I did notice there are many different bloggers coming up with their own brand of makeup line. I do agree with you the packaging of em cosmetic do still have room for improvement. I do want to try on the em cosmetics lipstick but I haven’t make any move yet. Real techniques brushes had been having a lot of good raves too. I personally will not try out the skincare brands by beauty blogger as I preferred to stay to those products that works well on my skin.
I think Real Techniques brushes deserve the raves. I also think makeup artists know what they’re doing when they release a brush line, unlike a blogger who just picks up an OEM range. But then, maybe I’m just nitpicking 😉
hei there…
apparently my purchases were influenced by a beauty blog —-> My Women Stuff…
LOL…LOL
I was influenced mostly in the skincare bcoz you described your skin and how you felt just the way i felt…
So here are the things i have purchased in order ok…
1) clarins whitening velvet emulsion
2) neutrogena cleansing lotion( u reviewed this way back then)
3) Estee Lauder ANR (huge hole to my wallet – worth it though)
4) RT expert brush ( iherb.com)- i did not purchased this because it was developed by a beauty blogger but because of your review and the method of applying foundation that you did…it works and still does…
i also did some reviews on youtube before purchasing any products skincare in specific.
LOL!! Thanks Wan, so long as you found them helpful to your skin and makeup, that’s most important! 😀
I would buy MakeUp Geek because I read it’s very good reviews. I would also buy Real Techniques not only because Samantha Chapman is a famous blogger but she’s a good makeup artist. I can think that Samantha Chapman is at par or a few steps lower than Lisa Eldridge which is a known make-up artist in the industry. Unlike Michelle Phan, I’m not so sure about her anymore after the IQQU incident (though I wasn’t affected by it). I think it’s a bit difficult for us who knew the incident to trust her anymore. I don’t think she’s even a professional make-up artist because. For me there’s a difference between a beauty guru vlogger from a professional make-up artist, like Laura Marcier, Bobbi Brown, and Helene Quille – MakeUp Atelier Paris (to name a few). These people have the experience, reputation, and quality that I don’t think Michelle Phan has as of the moment. For me, to sell her products as expensive as those high-end brands is a bit downgrading to the craft of the professional make-up artist. I feel upset for those professional make-up artists.
Good points there Jacques 🙂 I do wonder what the professional makeup artists think of the Em line to be honest. As you have said, I doubt many of them are amused at the attention, the prices and the products!