*Waving From The Bottom Branch*

There’s been Twitter-chatter a-plenty amongst bloggers recently about who-gets-sent-what-by-whom, which is a direct parallel to what goes on between beauty writers, too. It’s oh so easy to feel your nose is out of joint if you spot another journalist wearing a not-yet-released colour or holding the latest swanky bag that went out as a ‘gift’ – you’ll know soon enough where you rank in a brand’s esteem when a paper press release arrives at your door without even a sample of the product, never mind the gift!

But in beauty-land, its not ‘you’ that gets the gifts or the deluxe samples, the lunches, the dinners and the trips abroad, it’s the publication you work for; you are only ever as good as your mag. At a launch recently, I was surrounded by women half my age all working for print press, and with them was an expensively fragranced aura of entitlement. But as many have learned previously, when you move on, so does your status.

At this same launch, I was talking to a fellow beauty editor (we are roughly the same age) about how we have been plugging brands literally for a decade and yet rarely, if ever, get invited on press trips. Now, I’m at a point in life where a press trip is massively inconvenient (kids, dogs and general life busy-ness) but on a couple of occasions I’ve been to small group launches where I am literally the only person not invited on a forthcoming trip and while the chosen ones are all abuzz with the excitement, I’m in the mortifying position of not being able to join in. Partially, those examples are down to poor planning by the PRs concerned, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s to develop a thick (and hopefully wrinkle-free) skin in such matters, and also take it on the chin that I am never going to be elevated from minor thanks to major, f*** off, we-love-you-our-client-loves-you bag!

Some brands are exceptionally kind – I’ve never worked at a magazine; being freelance I put all my efforts into writing for papers, on-line and my blog with the occasional commission to write for glossies – and are generous, but on the whole it isn’t the jobbing freelancers who can one minute be writing for a circulation of 1m+ and the next for a niche publication with a fraction of that readership that get the material thanks. In part, this is because there are a lot of beauty freelancers around and budgetary constraints mean it is impossible for brands to gift as maybe they would like to do. And, the recession has certainly culled a great deal of ‘gifting’.

But it’s my view to that to be at the top of the tree and take a tumble is worse than to forever stay on the lower branches out of trouble. I’ve always got hope, but never expectation, and that, my friends is the key to gifting serenity.


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22 responses to “*Waving From The Bottom Branch*”

  1. Charlie

    Great post. As a person I’m a jealous soul. Its not something I’m proud of at all. I get jealous about all sorts of things. And yes, I get jealous when I see a blogger has got something I’d really like. But rarely do I ever have a sense of entitlement. I don’t ever think that I deserve something over another person. I think I know my place!

  2. VexintheCity

    Interesting post. “Entitlement” seems to be an increasing trait in some bloggers lately. I think some people forget that any perks they receive as a direct result of their blog, is just that, a perk – not a God given right.

    The whining on Twitter is cringeworthy to read at the best of times. If you want to try a product that badly…you know where the shops are!

  3. Its kind of crucial that bloggers are still shoppers – its what keeps it real..and bloggers different from journalists.

  4. VexintheCity

    Exactly! I think some people have forgotten their place in the food chain.

  5. Ally

    ‘But it’s my view to that to be at the top of the tree and take a tumble is worse than to forever stay on the lower branches out of trouble. I’ve always got hope, but never expectation.’ I love that! You could apply it to life, very philosophical. I always find great interest in your blog posts about the way the beauty/pr world works.

  6. Sparklz and Shine

    Thanks for a really helpful post! I really considered whether I had anything worthwhile to add to the mix before I started my blog. Being as how I tend to play with makeup like I would oilpaint I figured I could have my own little niche in the wide wide world of beauty blogging. But by setting out to be not particularly mainstream I will always be on the lower branches. It helps to be reminded of this, and what I set out to achieve ie an advancement of my own creativity.

    Personally, I’ve been more envious of the opportunity to meet makeup artists and play with the makeup than of anyone getting free stuff. And even then only with a couple of brands. Mostly I enjoy hearing what people are up to. xx

  7. Sparklz and Shine

    Several comments have arrived whilst I was pondering on…but your comment about bloggers needing to be shoppers is very true…As a reader I’ve quite switched off from some blogs where every other thing was sent to them. I have to ask myself are you really interested in this product do you have any relationship with it at all?

  8. Katie Chutzpah

    Great piece. Often think the same of the fashion world. The golden rule for a good PR is to spot people, know their writing style and stick with them. They may well end up in a major publication and will remember small kindnesses. I can’t tell you how many times this ‘worked’ for me in my past PR career. I think you have nailed the situation.

  9. Anonymous

    Many blogs are now a total turn off. Bloggers telling whopping fibs just to get free products from anyone who will provide. I was turned off magazines for their positive reviews/promotions in return for advertising revenue. I am turned off many many blogs as they are basically being used as a vehicle to scrounge free products/gifts. The bloggers then shows off about it Victoria Beckham style! Check out my woooondeful box of products from those darlings at……..lame!

  10. Anonymous

    Agree with the comments here. Bored of seeing all the Illamasqua boxes now… let’s see some of the products in use please. Blurred, dark swatches on your hairy arms mean nothing to me.

    It’s all just one big back slapping popularity contest to see who can get the most free stuff and the most followers. I barely see any real passion for makeup anymore. It’s just like some cliquey little club for people to show off their free stuff.

  11. Charlie

    Oh here comes my own personal paranoia. *checks blog*

  12. Grace London

    Blimey it’s difficult to comment on this, and I’ve started and then deleted a few times.

    Recently, particularly, I’ve been really bloody lucky with some stuff I’ve been sent to try without charge. I’m careful to only say yes to offers of things that I’d buy anyway (and I have recently not taken up an offer for something that I wouldn’t spend that much on personally as a consumer, so I don’t feel right accepting it for testing on my blog.)

    I do feel there are some bloggers who are obviously in it for the swag – you can tell the ‘Right, I’ve started a blog, now where are my 100 followers and free stuff’ beauty bloggers a mile off. I don’t think a blog ever works if that’s your agenda, because people reading aren’t daft.

    The comments on Illamasqua above are quite interesting to me – so do you (anon) think that Illamasqua are getting so many positive comments because they send stuff out to bloggers? I have bought and liked some Illamasqua products in the past, but I have to admit, I was sent some stuff from the recent collection and I’m a bit leery of featuring because it has been over so many other blogs I read.

  13. Yin

    I can’t help but agree with this article. Blogging for most beauty bloggers out there is to them a way of getting free stuff, not for the joy of writing. I think thats really sad. I can’t deny that I haven’t received samples but I’m again on the bottom branch and in no way wanting to get to the top anytime soon. When I did start writing a beauty blog a year ago, it was full of wonderful bloggers, a close knit network. It’s changed alot.

    For me, I just do it because i enjoy writing. My fingers get itchy.

  14. I started to blog due to a lack of reliable information from other sources about makeup and skincare. There are times I have felt genuinely lucky to recieve certain things to review, but I’ve never felt entitled to recieve things – in fact I think blogging as a whole benefits if the whole blogosphere isn’t flooded with a certain mascara – it gets boring to read reviews of the same thing over and over.
    Its also true to say that you can definitely pick out the people who are in it for free stuff – that sense of entitlement comes across very clearly…

  15. @anonymous
    “Blurred, dark swatches on your hairy arms mean nothing to me”
    >> that has tickled me the wrong way. beauty bloggers are all trying to bring something the pot and we’re definitely not professional protographers. beauty blogs (and user reviews all over the web about pretty much anything, whether it’s a shade of polish, a hotel or anything) have changed my way of buying things and I am super grateful when someone has taken the time and effort to write a review even when the photo is not the best. And yay to hairy arms, that’s what an arm looks like in reality: hairy.

    liloo or @tsunimee on twitter x

  16. Lipglossiping

    Twitter is an arena for the competitive. The arse licking, lovey-ness and indignation on there has turned me off some of my fellow bloggers more than I thought possible. I feel saddened and irritated in equal amounts.

    I think that a little bit of humility would go a long way… I guess the FTC regs makes that hard (do they even apply in the UK?) but damn… people really don’t need to announce every interesting email or sample they get sent with a twitter fanfare.

    That doesn’t breed jealousy… it’s breeds “Bitch, please”.

    To Anon…

    A couple of times I’ve reached saturation point… where every other post is a sample (it doesn’t affect my opinions, never has) but it does make my content stale if everyone else is reviewing the same samples.

    It is HARD to strike a balance… I wanna feature the new releases that other people are featuring whether I end up liking them or not, of course I do… but I also wanna swatch (on my hairy arms) the shit I bought in Superdrug yesterday.

    Thanks for a great post BBB, it’s got me thinking!

  17. Anonymous

    I am basically looking for honesty and thats what is lacking in so many blogs now because the bloggers fear telling it like it is will mean loosing out on the free swag. I really hate that some good bloggers actually started begging for items on their blog… I would be so happy to be gifted one of these blah blah.

    I like Illamsqua but think they have gone very OTT in their courting of bloggers. I have followed make up blogs since they first started and miss the simple act of someone buying a product and sharing what they honestly think about it without worrying about offending the company etc.

    Don’t get me wrong there are still some great blogs around but the shine has faded for me.

  18. Gail

    This is why I’m not on twitter, it sounds awful!

    I wish the PR companies would actually read blogs and choose on writing style alone, as some comment above hinted, but alas it is a “numbers game” (groan). And it seems the biggest blogs are often poorly written and as a rule rely on a pretty girl posing and revealing all about her life, which seems a high price to pay.

    I don’t think there are many well written beauty blogs at all frankly. Just because I am reading about a shallow subject, doesn’t mean grammer is irrelevant!

    Love your blog tho, obv. x

  19. My thoughts.

    1) People often seem to forget that when they are having a little moan on Twitter (to their friends or otherwise) that others can read what you’re saying. That makes it extremely unpalatable and I can only imagine what the brands and PRs are thinking when they see a lot of the mouthing off and swearing that goes on.

    2) I think that some companies are becoming more and more aware that sending samples to the bloggers with the most followers isn’t always the best way of obtaining decent and honest coverage. OK so you’ll reach a larger audience and it’s all about sales at the end of the day, but who wants their product pimped by people who gripe or bemoan their lot. I really don’t like the “look what I’ve been sent” style posts, just break it down and review it in the normal way!

    3) If I dont get contacted by someone, then I presume my blog isn’t right for what they want. It’s not nice to feel left out, agreed, but if there’s something you really want to try, then stick your hand in your pocket, or contact the PR company yourself.

    4) Good things come to those who wait. If your blog is good and the quality of your writing, photography and content stack up, then people will want to work with you. And who wants to be reviewing the same item on the same day as everyone else? Be different.

    5) I would take a lie detector test to the fact that when I started my blog, I never even thought I’d be sent a thing. You should see my spare room – it’s not easy to store the 500+ or so bottles of nail varnish I have shelled out for over the last couple of years. I buy the stuff, and write about it because I have a genuine love for it. I think that would quickly pall if my blog was merely a production line of saccharine reviews of things that I’d been sent for free.

    Ramble ramble. I’ll just make myself comfy on this here bottom branch!

  20. Rhamnousia

    I totally agree with what most of the people here have said.

    Re. getting samples. It’s nice but I think some people are getting carried away with themselves, I’ve seen how some people conduct themselves on twitter, it’s glaringly obvious that they’re just courting PR’s in order to get freebies.

    If you beg for freebies I think it’s very unlikely that you will give a negative review. In my opinion, you can’t get upset when people call your integrity into question when you do things like that.

  21. Anonymous

    Such judgementalism here, it has a shame to read it.

    It is worth pointing out that the article BBB has written is not about bloggers.

    There is a simple cure to this situation: if you are irritated by what you read on a blog, or on a Twitter feed, then simply do not read it again.

  22. Great post, BBB – and I can totally identify as I’ve been at pretty much every level in the beauty game. I was a beauty ed at a smallish magazine, then beauty ed @ ELLE, now I’m freelance for magazines and I also blog. So I’ve experienced it all: been wined and dined and flown around to interview celebrities… but then I’ve also inexplicably dropped off certain press lists once I became a freelancer.

    There’s a great part in Jean Godfrey-June’s book (a must-read for any aspiring beauty person) about how she realized, after receiving dozens of bouquets from beauty companies on her first day at US ELLE, that if she died nobody would really care – the flowers would be for her replacement. And it’s so true. I’ve been doing this for a long time now so there are many PRs I’m quite friendly with, but I don’t kid myself – access depends on the publications you write for. You’ve got to always be humble.

    Also agree it’s better to sort of fly under the radar – the top-tier beauty jobs can be so stressful. I was always exhausted from flying nearly every week, and the pressure to have a designer wardrobe on a janitor’s salary is ridiculous. After a while you get jaded and take your A-list treatment for granted. I’d rather work in my PJs and still get a thrill when some new beauty delivery shows up at my door. (Latest one: Giorgio Armani blush!)

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