Is this going to be yet another rant or post about losing my blogging mojo? Goodness knows, I go through these phases a lot.
But no, to be honest it isn’t. What it is about really, is that feeling of ennui and disenchantment with blogging and what it’s brought about for many of us who have been doing it for a while, or even not for a while, but who are a little more particular in our coverage.
It’s no surprise to me that in a short few months, I’ve come across a number of blog posts from different bloggers in different parts of the world touching on the same or similar subject matter as to how I felt. I’m actually seeing a lot of what I label “beauty fatigue” out there in many blogs in recent times, and I just as readily confess to experiencing that sort of ennui. A small sampling of the posts I’ve read are on British Beauty Blogger, London Beauty Queen, Beauty Reflections and Sway Beauty and even as far as back as 2014 on Rocaille Writes; and while different in subject matter, the underlying theme seems to be a sense of disenchantment with the business, and a fighting desire to not be just another face in the crowd.
Beauty blogging is a huge business. I use the word “business” loosely because for some, it’s their livelihood, and for others, it’s a means to share. Run a search for “beauty blog” on Google and as of today, Google throws up 578 MILLION hits. So, you want to make your mark? You have to stand out, in a crowd of at least 500 MILLION people. That’s about 16 times the population of Malaysia. Puts things in perspective eh? 🙂
But what that also means is that it’s hard to stand out and be different, and above all, honest. You see, many bloggers, myself included, have to depend to a degree, on the brands to feed us information on what’s new and what’s the latest, in order for us to trickle that news out to you, the reader. The problem, as I see it, arises when news or launches go out in a huge social media blitz, but without critique. In a manner of speaking, a lot of the essence of beauty blogging is lost because of this lack of critique and that is, for me, my biggest disenchantment of all.
I’m really curious about how you feel, whether as a blogger or reader, and whether it’s a phase we’re all going through or if there’s something much bigger going on.
From a brand or PR standpoint, I can understand the need to get lots of eyeballs on the new product, and to drum up hype. But it is this that causes this beauty fatigue in many of us.
How often have you come across a brand “leaking” images of a new eyeshadow palette, mascara, eyeliner on social media, and then engaging 50 bloggers and Youtubers to flood your social media and blog feeds within a particular period with this same new eyeshadow palette, mascara or eyeliner; then offering the said product “for a limited time only” before its official release 2 months down the road. Sound familiar? I’m looking at you Urban Decay and Benefit.
You see, I don’t deny that it’s an effective marketing strategy. People actually line up for blocks for hours, outside of places like Sephora in the rain…. to buy an eyeshadow palette. It’s no different from what Apple does with their iPhones; but that is also why I don’t own one 😀
But my problem is not with the whole blitz. Ok, it partially is. Hype turns me off a product, and if I do get my hands on the product, I find any way I can to criticize it. Because you see, you will rarely read critical evaluation of a new product within the first 3 months of its release. During this period of seeding, most bloggers are so enamoured with their free latest “sneak preview” hyped product that they don’t feel the need to criticize it. In fact, they don’t feel right to, or they might not even be allowed to (money often buys silence). A true test of a product’s efficacy comes about 6 months down the road after it’s out in the market and regular people buy it and go “WTF is this crap piece of mascara/eyeliner?!” and the true reviews trickle out.
The same thing happens on Instagram, where attention spans are so short, it’s restricted to a double-tap to like a photo. No, it’s not because you care about what is said in the caption, it’s about how pretty that photo looks. And I think that’s fine, except anything can be made to look pretty with flowers and creative design, and that’s why everything on Instagram should be taken with a large pinch of salt.
Having given things some thought, it is this lack of critique in a lot of blogs, that really bugs me.
Blogs are meant to be places were we can share honest opinions on products. That is the essence of all blogs in all niches. Over time, as will happen, they’ve evolved into online magazines. Nothing wrong with that, except that you can’t on the one hand claim be honest, or say that you write product reviews, and on the other hand not offer any critique.
Critique isn’t about product bashing nor negativity. It isn’t about saying something negative about a product, or sighing and moaning or being flippant in an attempt to look original and different from the rah-rah bloggers out there. It is just about being discerning, analytical and critical in your presentation. It is what being honest and truthful is all about.
If you want to review something, that’s what you should be doing – presenting the good and the bad and your thoughts on why you like or dislike it. A “review” isn’t about 10 beautifully edited photographs and 10 lines of text that essentially say “This is the best [insert new product] I have ever used! I can’t live without it!”.
Sure, sometimes, there will be that “I can’t live without it!” product. I have those too and there are products where I can’t find a single bad thing to say about them, because I’m blind to their faults. But it is a very rare product indeed that survives a discerning eye and a critical mind.
So this is what I feel is lacking today, and what I feel should be built up for a stronger blogging voice. In fact, I feel that beauty bloggers in particular, have a responsibility to their readers to channel the truth, because a lot of it affects our skin and by extension, our looks. With food bloggers, it’s just wasted calories, or tech bloggers, wasted money on gadgets. But beauty, it’s more than skin deep. Sometimes it can literally affect our skin.
I don’t know if this casual flippancy to rah-rah is just a reflection of people today (which makes me sound like that old aunty in the corner going “Kids today! tsk tsk tsk”) Do we have shorter attention spans? Do we not appreciate critical thought? Do people even know how to write a critical piece any more?
Or perhaps it’s to do with the fact that many brands and PR people can’t handle critiques of a product. They have 500 million blogs to go after. It’s easy to drop that handful of blogs that are offering to critique their product because the product may not stand up to scrutiny. It’s safer therefore to engage with 10 blogs who’d offer a rah-rah feature with prettily edited photographs (“Cheerleader blogs” I call them), than with 1 critical blog but one that has a wide reach and influence.
So, if you want to play with PR and brands, you have to play by their rules. Or so it seems. Be nice, don’t be critical, take pretty pictures, praise everything sky high so you get that next sneak peek, sponsorship, freebie, collaboration, event invitation etc. That is, in a way, how I feel things are going, hence the reluctance to be critical. Being critical doesn’t get you the event invitations, the freebies, the collaborations and it gets you put into cold storage. Because, you know, you dared to speak your mind. Horrors.
Yet, there’s nothing to stop any of us from going out and buying that latest new product and blogging about it and offering our critique. But, we can only do it on our own time and with our own resources and really, once I’m hit with beauty fatigue, I’m less likely to want to pay good money just “for the blog”. At one time, maybe I would have. Now, knowing what I know that goes on behind the scenes, I’m less likely to. My money is better served going to the things I actually love or want to discover and learn about, not just so I can debunk a hype.
So that’s how I feel in recent times. A little washed up, a little disenchanted and not a little disillusioned. It would be nice to wake up to a tsunami of critical thought, or at least something meaty to read. The number of blogs I read dwindle from day to day as I scrap the Cheerleader blogs. The sad thing is that many blogs I read started as well written, critical blogs. Then fame and freebies happened and now they’re pretty Cheerleader blogs that PR people love. And that’s great. Except their readers have left too. Like me, we come for the critique, we stay for the fun and we leave when it becomes another bland, vacuous PR led machine.
But perhaps if enough people feel the way I do, this critical thought might even happen. And it might even teach the brands and the PR that blogs and bloggers aren’t just mere marketing tools – we have thoughts and opinions and if properly channeled, and properly written, it doesn’t impact them in a negative way at all. It might even bring them more interest in their product, instead of their product being dismissed as “just another hyped up beauty crap product”.
Your thoughts are welcome, blogger or reader. I can’t be the only person out there bemoaning the lack of critique or experiencing beauty fatigue! 😀
Paris B
You know, Paris, I talked about similar issues you’ve raised here about a year ago, and I still haven’t found any good answers to what I should be doing, well except for writing what I want, keeping calm and carrying on 🙂 I guess I’ve never been faced with a difficult choice of wanting to please the PRs versus wanting to please myself and my readers, since I’ve always flown under the radar and receive very, very few products for review consideration, and none of them from big beauty brands. Is it a bit disheartening to be ignored by the most and read by select few? Sometimes it is, but you know what, just the other day I received an incredibly touching email from a reader that basically reminded me that what I’m doing is right and appreciated. My reader said she was looking beyond what you call ‘cheerleader blogs’ and what she called blogs using all caps, where everything is OMG and LOVE FOREVUH, that what she was looking in a blog was critical reviews and realistic swatches, face shots and other photos that show exactly how products work on real, unretouched skin. So maybe what all of us disenchanted bloggers miss is more of that community feel where we all want to share the fun and beautiful stuff without the constant pressure, hype and proofs of performance? Well, that would be a beautiful world indeed ;D
Hi Monika, thanks for reminding me of your post. I remembered reading something from a while back, but I couldn’t remember who it was from! The “problem” I feel, is with a lot of new blogs and bloggers wanting to get in on the PR game. I get emails asking me how to get in on that action and it bugs me, because I feel that shouldn’t be the reason why we blog. But evidently, that isn’t the case anymore. Thank you for sharing about the email that you received. It’s so heartening to receive emails like that and to know that there are people who appreciate what we do or try to do, without too much gloss. I think the community is there, but the pool of critical bloggers who are willing to stick to their guns in the face of blitz and PR-fueled glitz, is shrinking. I can safely say that locally, I’m hardpressed to come across many and in a fairly young and impressionable blogging community, I can safely say that it spells doom and further disenchantment for me. Gosh, I’m gloomy aren’t I? 😀
As a reader from the Philippines, I’ve actually been able to see quite a few blogs start as well written critiques that have turned into PR machines. I still browse their blogs to find out what’s out in the market, but I know better to put much stock into what they say, unless it makes it into a separate, much later post.
As a reader though, it pushes me to find meatier, more thoughtful blogs such as this one. Sadly, they’re usually international and in exchange for the well written ones, I find that I’m reading about products that are not available in the country, or way out of my price range. It is a nice surprise though when something enters the Philippine market and I’ve read it a blog before.
Hi Cara, thank you for sharing your thoughts. It does seem to be an ‘infection’ that’s plaguing all blogs the world over, which is such a pity. I too have the same problems finding blogs or bloggers who are like-minded. Friends who used to blog no longer do, and while I’m happy I got to know them and remain friends since, I would love to have similar minded bloggers I can read and share thoughts like these with. I always hold out hope that more critical thinking blogs appear, but I find that regionally, where gloss is more important than form, I don’t hold out a lot of hope 🙁 I’m a prophet of doom aren’t I? 😛 Thank you so much for reading though. I appreciate it!
OMG you are so bang on! Just today only I was discussing this issue with hubby on how even not-so-good products are being raved about being the best-to-die-for! Pure essence of blogging has been lost! Blogging is about sharing and being honest with your readers especially if you are recommending a product its bloggers moral responsibility to present an unbiased review! This is the exact same reason why I have stopped watching reviews on YT, mostly are just given to gain more subscribers or number of hits! I’d understand that its important for the PR people to reach out to fellow bloggers/vloggers and pass them free products inorder for the product to make connection with the buyers but I feel the brand should be matured enough to handle valid criticism without taking it out on that blogger/vblogger…not all products can be that good..cmon!
Hi there Parita. Isn’t that the truth about average products being hyped up! Marketeers are smart to leverage on the popularity of bloggers aren’t they? The thing is, I wish most bloggers realise that unlike them, other people have to BUY the “must have” items that are being recommended so there is a certain responsibility to be honest. This is true in all niches, but we see more gloss these days dont’ we? I don’t watch YouTube and I’m glad I don’t. I just can’t relate to a lot of what’s being said/done on YT because a lot of them look so professionally done, it’s hard to take them seriously anymore 😛 The sad thing is that most brands only want glossy young hyped up bloggers/vloggers and while I understand they’re trying to sell a product, it might help them to know that their product may not be what it’s really cut out to be for everyone.
I made life easy for me. I read blogs for the reviews both good and bad. When they turn to be cheerleading blogs, I just unsubscribe. A blog should describe the blogger views on the product, not for PR stunts
You’re right Peggy – I think what a lot of us want is to know what is the opinion of the blogger, and not what the PR team says, or how pretty the photos are. Ultimately, pretty photos or not, it’s how it performs that’s most important! And I always say that it’s a very rare product indeed that doesn’t have a negative point somewhere.
I’ve read your blog since 2011. Check it every day while drinking my coffee.
The thing I like you best is you don’t mince with words. Present it like it is and I know I can count on it.
Of course you’ve been an enabler on certain things. Like converting me into a blusher user and use of sunscreen. Hello HG sunscreen.* yep me loves you*
With all the other blogs that I sometimes search if I’m looking at a certain product is that they’re all just spewing nice words like omg my skin was terrible etc and before this I was using nonsense product.
Like ummm…you’re a beauty blogger. No way you’re using nonsense product. Even I who is not a beauty blogger but following beauty blogs is using something that I feel is good for my skin.
Hi Jue, thank you so much for letting me know that bring critical is appreciated 😀 Oh and I’m so pleased I’ve converted you to using sunscreen! Goodness knows, I can’t preach the use of sunscreen enough! I just had to laugh at your last paragraph. I so hear ya girl! I cannot understand how every new product they try makes their skin “so much better than before”. I thought the last product already changed their skin around! 😛 This is also why I find it harder and harder to evaluate the efficacy of new products because unless they make a drastic change to my skin, it’s hard to notice and it would be unfair for me to say so because as you said, why should I be using sucky products when I, as a beauty blogger, have a plethora of excellent products to choose from right?!
Hi! Long time blogger and reader here. 🙂
(My experience is with the local social media scene. I can’t really comment about the beauty blogging scene since I only read like 2-3 of such blogs).
I am very disillusioned with the entire scene. I get highly annoyed when I see this trend of 10 pretty pics + 10 lines that doesn’t have any original thoughts about a product or subject and still get like thousands and hundreds of likes. PR companies love them and will keep going back to those because 1) they are highly PR friendly and 2) they have the traffic. Even the old-timers are picking up this vapid content-generating tactic just to remain relevant.
Unfortunately, readers will keep going back to them because the current Twitter / Instagram short-attention spanned generation rather look at pretty pictures than read.
After years and year and years I keep coming back to you. Because your posts have heart & soul. You leave a bit of yourself into everything you say which I thoroughly appreciate. It takes a lot of effort to do that. I feel bloggers/social media personalities like you are a dying breed. So don’t you dare stop! 🙂
Hiya FA! You know, I’ve been reading about the planet and the evolution of humans and apparently right, extinction happens often. Something about nature’s way of culling. Maybe that’s what’s happening to critical blogs? We’re the white rhinos of the blogging world LOL!! But you know what? I so get you about the local blogging scene. Whatever is happening in the local scene is the same thing that’s happening in the beauty blogging scene, which tells you that it’s not a localised issue (although it might be a bit more prevalent locally) but a global one. It saddens me further when I see major and long time bloggers traipse down this path. I guess they have to, if they want to keep up with the sweet young things? I don’t know about traffic you know. They may have the follower numbers on visible places like FB and Instagram but on the blog? I think it’s very hard to tell unless we have a peek at their stats and I’d warrant it’s not as high as it was when they were actually putting out thoughts vs photos. I don’t know to be honest. But thank you for continuing to read this little space of mine 🙂
Here here and well said Paris! Yeah, I don’t know I’m just SO tired of hype. And tired of playing PR games. Like I said in my post, I’ll only work with brands that are ok with me actually reviewing their stuff and letting ME write. That means less brands and less free stuff coming my way which is A-OK with me. I don’t care about pleasing PR. Those who like how I write, like me, and actually always email me after a post telling me they enjoyed reading it.
I don’t read a lot of blogs anymore, and as soon as someone is a cheerleader blogger, I unsubscribe. And have done so to even a few people I call friends. Blogging is NOT about pleasing the brand, it’s about writing for you, and for anyone else who reads. Those are the bloggers I look for now. Everyone else and their hype machines can go suck it hahaha!
Thanks Tracy and yes, we need to keep doing out thing. I think brands that appreciate what we do are worth working with because they GET what blogging is all about. Heck, if they wanted a pretty glossy advertisement, they could pay me for it and I’ll do an ad won’t I? Why else would I want to otherwise?! 😛 I do find however, that I have fewer and fewer blogs to read now that cheerleader blogs are on the rise. Rise of the Cheerleader Blogs. Sounds like a horror movie to me 😛
very well said there. a pat on your shoulder.
Thank you!
Good piece of writing! I would like to add that it’s not only happening in beauty world but literary as well. Rave reviews for sub standard books eg Girl On The Train…and in music and entertainment. We are living in unoriginal times indeed. Here is another snippet of opinion from owner of a relationship Blog : A New Mode
“See… the reason that movies and music and TV shows, most of the time, suck serious balls… is because the creators of these things are f***ing scared to say what’s on their mind.
They’re scared of the angry mob. They’re scared they’ll lose business. They’re scared they’ll lose their job.
So what happens to entertainment?
Well you get entertainment that is afraid to speak to what’s on people’s minds and instead you get safe, ultra-processed, formulaic crap… you get watered-down communication, safe communication and dishonest communication…
… because it’s f***ing safe. There’s no balls to it.
I love that snippet Klee, thank you so much for sharing it! It is so true indeed. People work along a tried and true formula because, hey, it works. And then everything ends up being homogeneous and bland. When it comes to TV, I find that good TV gets axed fairly quickly, while formulaic TV goes on for donkey’s years. I find it sucky you know, when a mediocre book gets rave reviews. I always feel so cheated after I read it! 😛
You hit the nail on the head with this one! I do really think that most readers can spot BS a mile away now that anything and everything is up for discussion on social media. This is why I have stopped reading beauty blogs because it has become so bland and flavorless and not many seem to have an opinion that the product is bad or needs improvement. How can every product be THAT good? Anyways, as long as there are starry eyed bloggers who want every product to “test” and give their “honest” opinion and there are companies willing to dangle a few products in exchange for an “unbiased” view then there will always be less than honest reviews out there.
Thank you JackieA. I’d like to think that most readers can spot the BS but the thing is that people buy into the BS nonetheless which fuels more BS 😛 It’s funny isn’t it, that with the rise of blogs for everything, not just beauty, it’s the blandness of thought that puts us off? Blogs only evolved as a result of the blandness of magazines and now, we’re suffering the same result. I suppose we’d have to find a new outlet for critical thought then, won’t we? 😀
Thanks for the Food for thought, Paris. I’ve read all the articles you pointed out before, and I agree to a certain extent 🙂 Personally, I started blogging not knowing what it’s about, and I never attended any events even when I was invited. I also mostly say no to so called “free stuff” unless I could write whatever I want. That’s because I was never really interested in being in the lead of this blogging business, or to gain readers or what have you. That may be why I never felt the competitiveness, or if I was sidelined. I was always doing my own thing.
Some blogs are not just PR friendly, but probably an extension of the PR. I still read them probably for the latest info but nothing else. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way to blog, and if some get ahead because of that, so be it. Everything in life is similar anyway. Office politics, bosses’ puppets, they’re everywhere! So I wouldn’t label any of these blogs as anything (I’ve read some bloggers and readers giving these PR friendly blogs some pretty bad names) but just a difference in direction.
Just FYI, I’m going to take my blog OFF PR samples. I can’t keep up and I’m just not that interested anymore. I still have lots of backlog and I don’t like that sense of obligation. I’m only going to work with a select few, and they are the ones who are OK with my style. Does this make me better than those who are so called PR friendly? No, definitely not. It’s just a change in priorities 🙂 And sooner or later, I’ll stop taking in PR samples completely, and in one point or another, taking my blog offline as well. I can see the end is near….
I suppose we all do what we feel we should 🙂 It’s interesting that you’ll not be accepting PR samples but it’s a choice we all make. Personally I’m still open to it, but on a much more restricted basis because I have a lot of my own crap too and so often, my own crap interests me more haha! I’m sure the same is for you 🙂
You’re not alone, Paris. I feel that way too, as a reader, viewer and blogger. Not just with make-up, but food as well. What frustrates me so much is that a lot of bloggers/vloggers nowadays get products sent to their doorstep and raves about it without actually having a true opinion about it. I guess, as a reader or even a normal person, you can always feel like there’s something off about someone when they’re not being true to themselves, when you can see like there’s more to what meets the eye. I won’t give out names but bloggers and vloggers who are the current “thing” have been given so much hype and being given jobs but they don’t give themselves the capacity to make up their own mind. You don’t have to like something that is sent to you, you can’t like everything that has been sent to you. I don’t know, it bugs me so much when people are being too positive to be true hahah. Especially since I’m a blogger too so I know how a press kit looks like XD
Hi Hani, yes I’ve noticed this cheerleader tendencies in almost all blog niches which frustrates me especially when I’m trying to find out information on things or a new place to eat. Food especially frustrates me because it’s not hard to get a pretty picture of a really crappy meal 😛 But yes this whole rah-rah culture is exhausting and frustrating and it would be nice if people just stop and think for a moment, if they’d actually BUY it if it wasn’t sent to them for free, and then say what they really think.
Me to! I see it even more on Youtube. There’s a few beauty bloggers on there which I used to follow but don’t anymore, because all of their content is sponsored or so super flash and it isn’t relatable to me anymore. Every video is almost the same, you might not even tell that the products change. I get that for some it is a livelihood, but there’s still bloggers and Youtubers who do well without resorting to selling out completely (I love Karen from the Makeup and Beauty Blog for example). I especially hate the bloggers/Youtubers ‘created products’ – let’s be honest, it’s just their name put on a product and they may have chosen a shade. To me that’s not ‘making a product’. Don’t even get me started on the photoshopping madness on Instagram also. What can ya do huh?
Ah I don’t watch YouTube so I guess I’m “safe” hehe… But yes, I have noticed a slickness and gloss to a lot of blogs and YouTube channels that makes it a little “too professional” for my tastes. I don’t deny that it makes them more professional and perhaps more appealing to advertisers, but it does also distance them doesn’t it? I love Karen too. She isn’t terribly critical but at least she writes fun content, which I enjoy reading, and her photos are pretty. That’s better than 90% of the others who aren’t critical and write bland content! Oh and blogger products? Yes I hear ya. But I suppose, as long as there are people who are supporting what they do (or even aspiring and emulating it) there isn’t much else we can do except soldier on! 🙂
Hi Paris,
I think disillusioned is the perfect word to describe what’s happening to a lot of blogs that I really enjoy reading. People just seem to lack the same enthusiasm as when they first started out. I know this because I just started blogging 4 months ago and have quickly become frustrated with the state of things in the beauty community. I started my blog for myself because I love to write and if someone happened to see it, great. But it’s become more and more apparent that the voices of reason are being drowned out by the so called “cheerleader” blogs (great description) where I feel there’s no real substance.
Many beauty reviews I come across are lacking actual reviews which sounds strange but sometimes when I’m done reading I’m scratching my head thinking that I didn’t learn enough about the product to even decide if I want it try it out or not. And isn’t that why we look to reviews in the first place? To hear about other people’s experiences? I’m not saying I make a decision solely based on one person’s thoughts but it does come in handy sometimes.
I’m so glad that there are others out there who feel the same way I do and I’m just going to keep on doing what I’m doing with the hope that the tide will revert back to the way it used to be.
Thanks for the mention 🙂
Hi Tracy, you’re welcome and thank you too for sharing your insights. I think it’s interesting reading it from the viewpoint of a “young” blogger, because the temptation to just go with the flow is always there isn’t it? I often feel that unless it’s a no-fail product, or one that speaks for itself, 3 paragraphs of text isn’t really sufficient to explain what a product is supposed to do, what it actually does, and what might be wrong with it. Or maybe I’m just too verbose 😛 Just keep going – people do appreciate it, even if they may not always say so! 🙂
It has indeed reached the point where I could take leave off reading any beauty blog and yet not feel the pinch. I used to be quite an addict.
LOL! I totally hear ya! After a while, you come back to it and it’s like “Eh, it’s all just the same thing isn’t it?”
Much of the landscape become the same because a large number of bloggers or YouTubers would be promoting or raving over the same “new” items or limited edition items. I will stick to those who blog about what they want to talk about, not what others want them to.
Yes, that’s the problem with “seeding” – everyone and their aunty starts talking about the same thing at the same time. Good for the brand, bad for the blog (IMO) 🙂
Oh I totally feel you, Paris! Nowadays I don’t buy department store / expensive beauty products without researching on a few trusted blogs (you’re one of them!). I do hate it when I google a certain product for reviews and all I get is a list of raving blog entries which, upon closer look at each blog, contains nothing but raves. I mean, it can’t be that every product is “fantastic” right?? So I reserve my trust for a few select bloggers, though I still read many other blogs – just to find out if there’s any interesting collections upcoming, for fun. As a blogger it must be really tough for you, but I really hope you will persevere because we really need your honest opinion! Although everyone has different preferences, skin type etc but I believe all of us still look for certain common attributes in the products we use. I think that’s what the blogosphere now needs.. A strong voice that reviews products honestly for common properties that most users look out for. I’m sure I’m not alone on this! Let’s do it!
Hiya Skygazer, thank you for letting me know you trust my thoughts. It scares me of course because it’s a huge responsibility! 🙂 But I feel you because I face the same thing when I do research too. The more expensive the item is, the more research I do and the more I need to know if there’s anything I should be aware of other than the fact that “this is the best [insert product] ever!” I mean I could still be underwhelmed or disappointed but at least I’d be informed and it’d be my own choice right? Perhaps people just don’t like being critical anymore?
578 million hits? I’m not sure though that even just 0.1% of that number represents beauty blogs worth their salt.
I cannot but agree with you on every single count. Hype drives me away and given the way it seems to affect the masses, sometimes I feel pretty lonely in that sense. Glad to see that there are many others here who share the same view.
The way that the PR machines work are sometimes tacky, sometimes cheesy and often downright disgusting but the problem is that those tactics work. The shallowness of people to the point of being so easily taken in astounds me. But there you go. There wouldn’t be a supply without the requisite demand.
Also, since one can usually tell if a beauty blog is a rah-rah one by the first couple of sentences, I close them more quickly than I close a page that believes in the idiotic notion that a pop-up subscription reminder right smack in the middle of what I’m reading is going to convince me to subscribe.
Another pet peeve – perhaps a minor one, relatively speaking – is poor grammar and atrocious spelling. That is something I cannot bear and which renders me unable to take a blogger seriously.
It’s no coincidence that you should mention the only other two blogs I read regularly or when I’m in need of aid before making a beauty purchase – BBB and LBQ. I read the both of them on weekends (more due to the fact that the stuff they review are less relevant or available locally than for any other reason) and I read your blog every time I get a notification of a new post. That’s it. Only 3 beauty blogs that I read regularly. Res ipsa loquitur.
Haha 500m was what I got when I googled “beauty blog” and to be fair, it doesn’t represent the true number of blogs much less critical blogs, but I’m not surprised if there are at least 250m beauty blogs at least! Whether they’d be worth their salt is a subjective thing (although I might tend to agree with you) but really, all I’d want is for bloggers to just be critical. But I think the whole celebrity culture also plays a big role, because a lot of people are taken in by gloss and glam. Perhaps that’s infiltrated the blogging scene and besides, pretty faces sell things right? Not critical thought 😉 Thank you for reading my blog and alongside 2 other blogs I respect for their thinking. It puts me in exalted company 🙂
Reading the comments that are posted before mine intrigues me. It’s very interesting to get anothers perspective on a topic.
I agree that ‘beauty’-related media is so saturated that it is hard to put yourself forward, so to speak. Also in addition to the fact that a lot of bloggers out there want to please the PR people, just makes the blogging world more complicated, in a sense. The debate is always there though, whether to please PR and get ‘stuff’ or post honest reviews and get pushed to the sidelines by PR companies. I guess you could go for a middle ground, to blog only about the stuff you like…but I’d personally just blog whatever I want without worrying about all those barriers.
Another issue that bugs me is the people who don’t put disclaimers on their posts/vids to indicate whether the product they are reviewing or talking about is sent by companies. And amazingly a lot of people are guilty of this. Most often, these are also the people that I personally find to be ‘overly positive’ about everything they talk about which leads me to question whether it’s all BS.
In addition, about the beauty fatigue part, I guess I’d feel the same. It’s just so tiring these days. With the all ‘behind-the-scenes- and content being so alike, especially on Youtube, that now there are only a handful of people I watch/read. A lot of these YT ‘famous-beauty-gurus’ of whatever they call themselves nowadays just bore me. It’s always the same “what’s in my bag” or “what’s on my face” or “haul”, rinse and repeat. I used to really love watching these kind of videos and reading these kind of content but it got really tiring to keep up. I don’t know.. it’s just not that interesting anymore. Reading the comments posted, readers can sure know whether something is BS from a mile away ha.
It pays to be controversial eh Robert? LOL 😉 Thanks for chipping in your thoughts too. I think I call the BS when I read of people who claim every product to be the “best [product] ever” which calls into question the previous product they just raved about. It’s fine when it’s makeup but when it’s skincare, I query their credibility. I can personally say that if you take good care of your skin (as I’m sure you too can attest) it’s actually hard to have any new product make it look better than it already is. It can help you maintain but it is a rare product that actually makes a visible difference in a short span of time. And that is what bugs me more than a rave about a lipstick 😛
Oh you know why there are so many “haul” “face” “bag” posts? Because blogging advise blogs tell you that those work. An occasional post is fun but it’s too prevalent now, and they’re all so carefully curated. I think it’s just too slick and that bugs me more than the post itself 😛
I totally agree with you on this topic. I have always wondered how neutral can beauty bloggers be when they are reviewing PR samples especially if the products are from a well-known brand. Of course discerning readers would be able to tell from miles away when bloggers raved about a product too much. I will then checked to see if the product is actually a press sample. Once that fact has been confirmed, I would actually not think highly of the review because I know the blogger is just writing a glowing review because she feels obligated to write that way.
Anyway, thanks for this post, it is well-written as usual. I only trust your reviews on skincare and makeup to the extend that if any of my friends were to ask about certain products, I will say oh Paris B said its really good so you can go get it.
Just the other day my friend was talking about Johor Premium Outlet and I told her that Paris B said it is good to get bedsheets during their sales because its so worth it. So you see, your reputation for good reviews does not only extend to skincare and makeup. Hahahaha.
The truth Victoria, is that it’s very hard to be neutral and for me, it’s even harder to actually like a PR sample because I’m afraid it’s too good to be true, or perhaps I’m suckered in because it’s free. So I become even more critical about it LOL! It’s such an irony. But I think these things come with a conscience. For me anyway. Thank you for trusting what I think which, as I’ve told other readers, scares me silly. I don’t ever claim to be an expert or a guru the way some people are, and it does scare me when people take my recommendations seriously (although it pleases me of course, when it works for them!) Oh and I had to laugh at the JPO reference! Eh, it is a good resource for sheets ok! I’m now curious about the Mitsui Outlet which is closer albeit still not close enough! 😀
Totally agree with you Paris! Don’t care about these people and lets just do our own thing!
*flips hair*
We are divas in a community of sheep that is herded by the dogs of corporate companies who know nothing about criticism!
LOL! Thanks Evan, I like being a diva! 😀