If you're reading this, you probably also read beauty blogs or write one. You also know that there is a wide array to choose from, from blogs that give reviews and photos of a broad range of cosmetics, to quite a few that specialise in reviews of certain product types such as skincare, nail polish, or lipstick. Some of these bloggers are devoted and passionate about the products, whether they're in the industry or just love makeup. For the most part, you can count on real reviews and photos, usually applied or swatched to give you a better idea of the product. In the United States, by law a blogger must state if they received a product as a gift or free for reviewing purposes, but this doesn't detract from companies sending products to well-known blog owners. Some people may see this as a negative aspect, but it allows more products to be tried and reviewed that the writer may not have previously known about or had in interest in. Most of the time, the bloggers purchase their own products, and many are professional makeup artists with rather impressive collections. None of this is news, and these bloggers have been utilised by stores, manufacturers, and trade shows. However, people are often surprised when informed of just how much impact the blogs and videos can have, even the reviewers themselves.
The majority of beauty blogs have one important factor in common: they are an invaluable resource for not only consumers, but cosmetic stores and manufacturers. This is somewhat obvious, otherwise companies would not be so anxious to send the goods, but sometimes just a single review on a well-known blog can completely alter the sales pattern on a single product.
As an example, two eye shadow shades from the company I work at that were recently used together by a blogger who also posts tutorials on Youtube. Both shades did well by themselves, one being a top seller. Upon seeing each colour, most people, myself included, would not think to think to pair them. However, her use of the colours was executed so well that they paired perfectly. The day after that look was posted, several people bought the two shades, most of these being new customers. Our top-seller has been reviewed by quite a few well-known bloggers over the past year, plus many smaller beauty blogs, which is exactly how it got to be such a fast moving product. Some budding Indie companies have been bounced into the public eye by popular blogs, often because the smaller companies have the ability to change according to customer wants and needs. That's not to say larger companies don't take the same approach, although they're not usually as able to do so on such an individual basis.
Of course slow sales are often a determining factor in product discontinuations, and sometimes a blogger will review a product that the manufacturer was considering halting production on. If the blogger reviews it favourably, and demand increases, the chance is greater that it won't be discontinued. This usually applies to smaller or Indie companies rather than large corporations.Sometimes in the wide world of cosmetics, a blogger reviews a product and finds a major flaw with it in some way. Often, numerous readers will comment that they, too had this problem or disliked that feature. Such a post and subsequent comments can sometimes be brought to the attention of the company, either directly or via search engine if they track customer response, as many do. There's a good chance that the manufacturer of such a product is unable or unwilling to change the design or formulation, but quite often they will. Sometimes a product tested well, but when used by many people, a large enough number complained of a skin reaction, faulty dispenser, etcetera.
In-depth skincare reviews are especially helpful, as so many people have sensitive, acne-prone, overly oily, or chronically dry skin. After years of trying countless products that just aggrivate the skin, it's fairly easy to find bloggers that have the same or similar issues and check out the products they recommend, while not bothering with the ones they couldn't wash off fast enough.
Beauty blogging is a fairly recent trend, but its impact on the cosmetic market goes far beyond pictures of shopping bags and lipgloss.
©2010 R. Connolly
