Rodial Update

Yesterday I phoned around the biggest stockists of Rodial to ask if they were going to be stocking Size Zero. 

BlissSpa – No response.
SpaceNK – Will not stock Size Zero.
Harrods – No decision yet made.
Harvey Nichols – Will stock Size Zero.
John Lewis – Will not stock Size Zero. 
Debenhams – No response.
Selfridges – Will stock Size Zero.
HouseofFraser – Will not be stocking Size Zero.

It’s really encouraging to see that the buyers of John Lewis and Space had the great sense not to associate their brand with any Size Zero connotations. Kudos.

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Jane Cunningham

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25 responses to “Rodial Update”

  1. Jane Creasey

    Hi BBB. Ive read you blog for a long time and after many blogs on Rodial I have nearly commented many times. I’m no major fan of Rodial. I do however religiously use their cleanser and moisturiser (along side By terry and Nars Skin). I think it’s very clear and obvious to all women that Rodial use tongue in cheek and attention grabbing terms to market their brand. Love them or hate them they are obviously a success story and have a clear fan base and selection of followers. What I find so difficult about reading your size zero post (I’ve reread your other ones too) is how angry, aggressive and biased your opinions on the brand has become. I simply won’t believe that you believe that women really will rush to the stores to buy the cream and then suffer bitter disappointment when we aren’t a size zero. We know. Its obviously a nice (don’t know as haven’t tried it) cream that has slimming ingredients. That’s okay. We will buy, try and if we don’t like, won’t buy again. This idea that we are all being swindled, let up the garden path, robbed….just fails. I don’t think I would have not reacted so strongly to your post if you had taken a rounded view and featured other brands who use similar or worse (efforts at justifying Fat Girl Slim fell short – it’s a vastly more offensive term if we applied your way of thinking). Problem is – its all Rodial, Rodial, Rodial. To a seasoned reader – its smells fishy; personal, attacking, angry, even petulant. Now you can say (as you did to the previous comment) don’t like it don’t read it, but the same can be said of you – if you don’t like them don’t buy or review it. Silence can be as equally obvious as these rampaging reviews. I’m just offering a little, gentle nudge to say that for a beauty blog, it’s all getting a bit Ugly. Asking stockists to ban the product felt like a step over the line. Is that really your role as a blogger?

    Reply
  2. Anonymous

    you gonna hire all their staff when you put them out of business?

    Reply
  3. britishbeautyblogger

    Hi Jane, thanks for your comments. As a blogger, my blog only has a self-imposed remit, and that is to give my opinion. As an actual brand, I have no feelings towards Rodial either way, but I do truly think that using size zero and all its negative connotations, especially as women are continually under pressure to be better at everything – including slimming! – is wrong. Rodial are great at head-line grabbing, but there is nothing in any of my posts that isn’t true or a strongly held belief. Whether you choose to believe it is your call. There is nothing creditable or commendable in using size zero as a headline, unless it is how to reduce young women’s desire to be a body weight that is neither healthy or desirable. You are more than entitled to your view, and I thank you for taking time to comment, but I will flag up “sounds fishy, petulant and personal” that you have laid at my door as the very thing you object to in my post. I haven’t bought it or reviewed it. The thing I object to is the name. And I don’t know… is it my role? Whose role is it to flag up something abhorent such as the MAC Rodarte episode? Because that was blogger led and I feel we are better for it. Asking who is stocking it is reasonable.. I cannot think for a second that JL for example wants an association with anything Size Zero. And actually, Space rang me to tell me they weren’t stocking it – just fyi. Things aren’t always as they seem…and I can only ask that you read between the lines. More than that, I can’t do. But if it makes you feel uncomfortable, I am sure there will be someone, somewhere loving Rodial for you to read up on.

    Reply
  4. PeachBellini

    Rodial deserve all the criticism levelled at them. They know what they’re doing, and it’s not funny or cheeky but cold, calculated marketing.

    PS a company doesn’t fail because of one negative review (or several, from many many many bloggers and other writers). That’s not how business works.

    Reply
  5. britishbeautyblogger

    Jane, just additionally, I didn’t ask any of the buying department not to stock it.. I only asked whether they would be or not, just in case you have misunderstood that. And also that Rodial had five upheld complaints by the ASA in 2011. Maybe you should look.

    Reply
  6. Jade

    “As an actual brand, I have no feelings towards Rodial either way”

    Lie to your readers but don’t lie to yourself. You CLEARLY have a ton of ill feelings towards Rodial. I have read your blog for a while now and have never been bothered to comment before now, but seriously – these posts are getting boring and frankly quite weird in their obsessive tone.

    Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but seriously, why have you got such a vendetta against the brand? It’s actually quite disturbing to read your rants and “updates” on your one woman war against Rodial. I think its clear to all of your regular readers that you don’t like the brand and don’t agree with their marketing – fine, but really why do you feel the need to call around their stockists? If anything, I’m intrigued to know the real reason behind your vendetta. There are plenty of other brands out there and way bigger issues.

    Perhaps spend more time concentrating on the positive and ignore the things that you have a problem with, because really – and I mean this in the nicest way – you’re boring.

    I know people will come back at me, and that’s fine – its just my opinion and constructive criticism. I’ll take my own advice and stop reading your blog.

    Good Luck

    Reply
  7. britishbeautyblogger

    Okay well sorry to see you go, but just as you cite this as ‘your opinion’ what you have read is mine, which is the point of a blog.

    Reply
  8. Vic

    Great to see stockists having common sense. Gives me a real boost in confidence that stockists actually have a conscience about what they sell and the impact it has. We all know make up is a mask but a slimming cream called size zero is disgusting imo. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should! x

    Reply
  9. Anonymous

    Wow, some people are becoming quite aggressive!
    I personally am not anti-Rodial; I am a former Space NK employee and I liked a couple of the products, the a-list cleanser was lovely! However I do object to their latest offerings, namely the skinny beach sticks and crash diet sticks. Having also suffered from an eating disorder for 6 years, my issue is that the names encourage what I view as being wrong in the beauty industry and trying to achieve something (often the impossible) by unhealthy means. I also object to some comments, a blog is a space in which you can express your personal opinions of brands, or products. You’re not asking others to agree with you.

    Reply
  10. Anonymous

    BBB, we get it. You don’t like the name, you have repeated your points a few ones throughout various comments and blog postings.

    What I don’t get is who you actually thinks will become a zero after a large pot of cream? Noone. It’s a name. Just as you suggest people don’t read the blog who don’t want to, easily offended people don’t have the buy the product.

    Now I was going to buy the Clinique Chubby Eye which you rave about, alas I’m worried my eyes will look fat and puffy so had better not!

    Reply
  11. Bare Faced Chic

    Before I start, let me say I am not a Rodial fan. I don’t like their products, for the price point I think you can a LOT better. But my problem with Rodial is that, like Jane, the marketing is, for me, completely abhorrent.
    I think naming products “skinny sticks” is asking for women to continue holding skinny up as an ideal and I am vehemently against the use of any type of meal replacement shake or smoothie like their crash diet sticks as I don’t think they work in the long term and are more likely to harm than good.
    As for the naming of a cream “size zero”, I think it is another case in a very long list of marketing ploys designed to get as many column inches as possible and thus maximise publicity for the minimum effort. It’s lazy and cheap (and I’m not talking about the amount of money expended).
    If the naming of their products was the only marketing failing, I might vaguely be able to forgive them but their general PR and marketing is also so misleading. This is the company who regularly sends out press releases saying they have waiting lists in the thousands… What utter bollocks. Trust me, it’s rubbish. It’s a case of find a retailer who has had a lot of queries and multiply that by the number of retailers. Fiddle until you have a figure you like.
    I thoroughly applaud both Space NK and John Lewis for putting their brains, and their consideration of women, above their bottom line although I do wish that they would stop stocking ALL of Rodial’s body range as they all have similarly bitchy names as well as their Skin Bleach range, which I could comment on but I really would go officially postal so it’s best left undiscussed. For now.
    As for those of you who have attacked Jane and her blog on a more personal level, whilst yes, you are entitled to your opinion, you need to remember that this is JANE’s blog and as such, this is her opinion and she can express it in any way she wishes. If she wanted to write that she hated Rodial and had personally called every stockist in the world to convince them not to stock this travesty then that’s fine. She wouldn’t, she’s far too professional but she can say what she damn well wants. She’s not telling people not to buy their products, she is expressing her opinion on the marketing tactics that Rodial employ and asking whether companies plan to stock the cream given its negative attitude towards women. She hasn’t asked stockists not to stock the product, merely asking whether they are planning on it.
    Calling a blog boring because of a few posts (probably less than two days’ worth given the frequency that Jane posts, which I love by the way) is like saying I don’t like anything about my hair because I have three grey hairs! It’s such a miniscule thing. If you don’t like it then skip that post and read on. Jane writes about so much, I think there were another three posts today so to write off such an informative blog because of posts on one subject seems like a case of sour grapes.
    Jane, I love what you’re doing, keep up the good work!! 😉

    Reply
  12. Anonymous

    I emailed rodial yesterday to ask the reasoning behind the name size zero when there’s been so much negative press around eating disorders and unrealistic expectations. No response yet. And I love what you do too BBB so please keep up the good work!

    Reply
  13. Andrea

    Jane, I am a long time reader of your blog and respect you and you opinions. However, I can’t help but think that people are taking this all a bit too literally. There are far worse things in the word that are encouraging girls to diet/not eat and I really don’t think that high end products are going to make any difference to that. The people that are going to see and buy this product are grown women with enough sense to realise that it’s just a silly marketing name and the cream will not make them a size zero, nor do they probably want to be a size zero! There is nothing wrong with products that are encouraging weight loss (of course this product won’t actually help with it!) and these prducts are not telling you to not eat whilst using them.

    Reply
  14. BeautyDetective

    I think a product like this just adds to the constant drip drip effect we women get from all corners telling us that we should be thin. I don’t particuarly like the name of a lot of Rodial’s products so I have never purchased any of them.

    Reply
  15. Anonymous

    I have been reading this debate with interest and feel a bit uncomfortable about it. While I am not a fan of Rodial (only used it once and my skin did not react well to it) I feel that this blog has almost taken a bullying turn with the brand. Their marketing and branding is not to my taste , I prefer more natural brands and I agree totally that Size Zero is a very ill conceived name for a body cream. What makes me uncomfortable your end, is taking it upon yourself to phone around stockists and ask if they are stocking Size Zero plus all the twitter hating. Is it really any of your business? It’s almost as if you are getting attention using controversy for your blog in the same way Rodial are using aggressive marketing for their brand. It’s rather an abuse of free speech in my book. Either way a bit ugly in the pretty and generally good natured world of beauty PR. A big turn off on an otherwise good and well informed blog.

    Reply
  16. Lucy

    Seeing as you are so objective to a product name such as ‘Size Zero’, can you round your criticism fairly and please give your views on Bliss new launch ‘FAT GIRL SIX PACK’? Would have thought that is sending the message that woman should be ripped otherwise they are fat? Shame that you limit your ‘opinions’ to only certain brands…..

    Reply
  17. Krystle Taylor

    hi Jane, could you let me know if you will be reviewing Bliss Fat GirlSlim 6 pack cream? It seems quite similar to Size Zero. Would be interested to know your thoughts and read your review.
    thanks!

    Reply
  18. britishbeautyblogger

    Lucy and Krystal.. I’ve already said that I think that particular product could do with a re-name. Keep up…

    Reply
  19. Anonymous

    Hey, oh I thought you said fat girl slim needed a rename, must have missed the bit about fat slim 6 pack- maybe Bliss haven’t got the press release to you yet.

    Reply
  20. Kate

    I think its a little odd that there are suddenly so many comments in completely the same vein criticising the author of this blog. It all looks a bit too organised. I read this post after reading Beauty Mouth’s take on the same issue. Yes, no one is foolish enough to think a cream will make you size zero, the point is that it is a publicity seeking name that upholds the wrong ideals. As women are we supposed to spend our lives aiming purely at being “size zero” or “skinny” – i hope not.

    Reply
  21. Anonymous

    I’m surprised that so many readers take exception to Jane ringing the stockists to find out who is supporting the product. She is a journalist, investigating stories is her trade and this is what makes this story different.

    Sometimes people need to question things that they don’t feel are right…it doesn’t mean the company will go bust as a result!

    Reply
  22. Anonymous

    The point is not whether or not women will be duped into believe they will become size zero, it’s the fact that they say this is a shape we should all want to achieve.

    Reply
  23. Stella

    I think a person has to be utterly stupid to believe they’d become a size zero by just using a body cream.
    And I find it rather crazy to call stockists in a feverish attempt to stop them from selling a certain product. Your problem with Rodial has a scary personal note – after all, there are tons of other brands who market similar products. They just name things differently, like “your body will be more toned, smoother”, etc. That’s IMO almost worse than openly say what the real intention is: to make women at least look skinnier.

    And even then, I don’t know why it’s such a big problem at all. Of course there are people with eating disorders. There always will be, no matter what the current beauty ideal is. There are other disorders as well, so do we have to modify all of our behavior because there are always a few crazy types who have personal issues? I don’t think so.

    IMO this attention to eating disorders is exactly why more and more young girls and boys are affected. They love being the center of attention, and since most of them don’t have any special talents, developing an eating disorder is a sure way to get loads of attention. It’s the same with those stupid casting shows, young people participate because they think they’re oh so special and each and everyone should immediately put them on a pedestal. In fact the only problem that all these youngsters have is an overdeveloped ego.

    Reply
  24. britishbeautyblogger

    Hi Stella, just in case you have misunderstood, I asked whether they were stocking it or not.. didn’t influence or add my opinion at all. I’m a journalist and what I do is check facts. I wonder if you would feel so uncomfortable if this was in a newspaper.. in fact, I think you would expect facts in that format. Just because this is a blog doesn’t mean I don’t apply journalistic qualities to it sometimes. I think it is fair and reasonable to see how the market responded to the product.. more are taking than not and that is its own story.

    And I feel so sorry you have such a jaded view of young people. That’s so sad.

    Reply
  25. Tamara

    Wow. I really hope I’m just misunderstanding what you mean by “most of them don’t have any special talents” or “they love being the center of attention” but talk about making generalisations…Anyway, as a freelance beauty journalist who knows a lot more than most about what goes on at Rodial and Nip and Fab, but who knows a lot less than BBB does, I just think that the majority of people who are so fiercely defensive about the brands just don’t get it. How many other people have said on BBB’s recent Rodial-related posts (and by the way, there really aren’t that many, despite the fact that some people to think she’s obsessed with them) that NOBODY IS SAYING PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BUY THIS PRODUCT THINKING IT WILL MAKE THEM A SIZE ZERO. IT’S JUST REINFORCING AN UNHEALTHY IDEAL. And I can’t comment on size zero because I haven’t tried it but most people know Rodial and Nip and Fab are known for making dubious claims that don’t stack up – I’ve written various pieces involving interviews with cosmetic scientists who point out that the majority of claims made about the products simply aren’t scientifically viable. Good luck to you if you’re slathering on Rodial’s Arm Sculpt thinking it’s the ultimate bingo wing-buster or Tummy Tuck thinking it’s going to give you a Jessica Ennis-style flat stomach but it’s simply not something that’s possible to achieve with a topical product….But anyway, that’s beside the point. Most people realise this isn’t going to happen. Like I say, it’s just the reinforcement of crappy ideals and the ways in which Maria H publicises her products which I found most frustrating.

    Reply

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