December 2, 2010

Musings of the Day: Do you like Beauty Brand Blogs?

I read alot of various beauty sites, forums, and blogs and I was curious what do you think of Beauty Brand Blogs? You know your favorite beauty brand that creates a blog and posts to it, that type of thing. Sephora has one, Benefit, The Body Shop, Lancome, etc…..

Brands have really embraced social media in a major way lately. Urban Decay is guilty of being thee most amazingly outgoing brand ever on Twitter in my opinion. They are dedicated to their fans and communicate with them on Twitter like no one’s biz. Facebook is another popular media option for brands as well.

But what happens when brands venture into the world of beauty blogging?

Do you like Beauty Brand Blogs?

Not so much?

Why or why not?

Jump!

Apologies in advance…….

I don’t feel like blogs created by brands are any good. They aren’t utilizing the media the way they could. They can use a blog to feature new products, feature old favs, swatches, real pictures of products, etc…I mean if they can hire a public relations rep to tweet and Facebook daily why can’t they get a good one to do some great posts on their blog?

Instead of using their blogs as a launch pad to get fans really revved up I see them using it as a space for advertisement, what celeb is wearing what lipstick color, etc…

Who cares?

Granted finding out what some celeb or another wore to a premiere warrants some interest I imagine but wouldn’t you rather hear about some new upcoming product from the brand?!

Maybe I’m just a die hard beauty junkie but I think brands go about the blogging thing ALL wrong and really need to step aside if they aren’t going to do it up right.

What do you think?

Love beauty brand blogs?

Read them often?

No way?

Share it!

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • Yuliya

    Most of the blogs just use it to copy what magazine/other media source mentioned them. I feel the same way about brand twitters that all they do is retweet good things people say about them lol

    I agree with you! If they do have blogs, they should help the consumers like announcing new products/have swatches of current stuff

    • the Muse

      mmm very much so yuliya! It’s great they had a mention but does the average user really care that they were on lucky? vogue? etc…:-D totally agreed!

  • NeutraKris

    I really like Sephora’s blog. It seems well written and they have interesting articles in addition to product hype. I see where you’re coming from though and respect your opinion.

    • the Muse

      Sephora’s blog is ok. Sometimes it can veer off the beaten path though Kris!

  • Tiffany C.

    i don’t like Beauty Brand Blogs (BBB, LOL). i much rather read blogs that talk about all kinds of different brands, like your’s, temptalia’s, all lacquered up’s, etc. i like to hear the good AND the bad about products not just the good that the BBB’s have.

    • the Muse

      same here tiffany. I like variety! and BBB (hehe good abrev) really don’t bring that!

  • vonnie

    i’m not into the beauty brand blogs or any company’s blog for the most part. they just tell what celebs have rocked their things or advertise….can’t really expect an unbiased opinion! lol…they aren’t going to say that something they created doesn’t work or isn’t that great. I prefer looking at normal girls blogs and reviews 🙂

    • the Muse

      me too vonnie!!!!!!!!!! ;-D I love everyday beauty junkies that aren’t afraid to share their unbiased opinion 😀

  • Cj

    I agree with you 110% I think the blogs are a good idea but the brands just don’t use them like they should.

  • MariaC

    I’m yet to read one. I love a few beauty blogs that are not by brands. I discovered your blog a few days ago, and now I am a regular. Your blog comes highly recommended to my beauty obsessed friends. You do a great job. I also get my info about beauty deals from your site, your swatches, and critique are very useful to me.

    • the Muse

      aw maria thanks! geez what a wonderful comment and compliment *hugs* I appreciate it more than you know!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;-D

  • Jenn

    I’m not a huge fan either, if you write one semi critical thing on the wall (even just to ask a question), the die hards attack you like crazy! I’d rather stick to a non-partial blog 🙂

  • Mary the Muse Militant

    I’ve never checked out any of the Brand blogs and I can’t see myself trying them out – well never say never !
    I prefer your kind of blog as you are objective.
    Yours is 100 times better than any Brand blog.
    🙂

  • Gia

    I only like the Sephora one! I appreciate that they go into detail about how they created the catalog looks and the exact products used are listed. I don’t like one branded blogs because it seems the same thing over and over. Hey here’s an Urban Decay lipgloss. Wait now it’s an article about Urban Decay eyeshadow. It’s just the same brand over and over and that makes it seem repetitive. I hope that makes sense!

  • breyerchic04

    I totally would love to read about new products on makeup company’s sites but I figure you’ll write your feelings which are more likely to align with mine than with the make. So I come here instead. And enter contests on makeup makers blogs.

    • the Muse

      breyer I feel the same. I’m likely to get more deets on a website than I am from the company 😛

  • Teleria

    I do like the brand blogs when they come out with a new product and have tutorials and ideas on how to mix/match the products… i.e. you launch a bunch of eye shadows, then post tutorials, hints and tips on different looks using/mixing them… but yeah, I don’t follow any because they’re mostly just advertisements. I get my fill of advertising on the side of blogs anyway, why would I want to read it in the content?

  • Becky

    I think BeneFit’s is ok, I like reading what their favorite products are (employees) and how they use them or how they mix some together and for what effect.

    I enjoy Stila’s the most I think, I like that between there and facebook, they really seem to listen to what the consumer is interested in.

    I wish UD had a blog, their office looks like it would be a blast, I’d love to see tutorials of fun ways to use their products. Same with Too Faced.

    I haven’t gotten into twitter yet but maybe I need to.. sounds like I’m missing out!

  • auroragyps

    Not a huge fan of Beauty Brand Blogs. They always seem to have tons of bells & whistles, but not a lot of basic info that’s easy to find. Even if you have the fancy technology, you shouldn’t always use it. This is really a pet peeve of mine.

    I miss the early days of brand websites, like Maybelline & Cover Girl, where you could just look for an eye shadow or whatever and see the list of all they had. They still kind of do that, but trying to find info & pics about their limited edition & seasonal stuff is like pulling teeth. Just show me all the products please. I know you want me to go into a store and be all, “Oh wow, must buy all the pretty” impulse buying, but sometimes I’m looking for something specific and if I like your products, I’ll check out your site first before shopping.

    Don’t get me started on never updating their sites and being way behind the fan blogs on the new stuff coming out.

  • Aline

    Hey, I totally agree with you. When brands started blogging it’s like an extension of their advertising and how can you possibly think it’s unbiased. I actually love beauty blogs like yours, since I’m a hard core product junkie too, but I prefer a non-brand blogs.

    • the Muse

      me too aline! I feel the same way! I wouldn’t mind the advertisement so much if they told me abour new products etc…but they never do 🙁 it’s all really crappy posts..!?

      Aw thanks!

  • Aline

    I guess I should add. I’ve been reading your blog on/off for about a year now. Your reviews are excellent and TOTALLY helpful.

  • LorraineER

    Obviously no one expects unbiased opinions from Brand beauty blogs but it would be cool if they’d get a little more creative. I like some of the features on Sephora, like when they show people at their events made up with products and I wish there was more of that- more regular people made up with their products and instructions how to get the look. I think sephora could do features like showcasing their most popular red lipstick colors, or black liners or something like that. I think brands themselves should show us swatches and new products and have giveaways, do makeovers, tutorials, etc. Ask for feedback- do polls and interact with people. It’s this amazing platform/opportunity to find out what people want and they don’t bother. Get creative, get interactive and give us pretty pictures that make us want the makeup!

  • Wendy

    Some of them are interesting but not really groundbreaking stuff, the illamasqua blog is pretty good and so is the sephora but others are pretty much duds.
    I prefer to read your blog and search the web for swatching action besides that I think most of them really use twitter as there primary web socializing outlet.
    Happy weekend muse!

  • Annabella Freeman

    It’s difficult to read a BBB and not find it one sided. I prefer to read blogs of beauty stores that way you get to hear about different products. The only BBB I really follow is Carrot World Yes to Carrots as they talk about other things too.

  • Dee

    The only beauty brand blogs I read are the indie company ones – like Etsy sellers, Haus Of Gloi, etc. They’re useful for keeping up with new collections, discontinuations, and the like.

  • BethM

    I actually like Urban Decay’s Facebook page, because they give heads up about new products and exclusives, and provide swatches in their photos. I don’t use Twitter, because I think it is annoying. Honestly, if Urban Decay turned into “x celebrity is wearing our product!!!!” I would un-fan them. I don’t care about celebrities. Just because some celebrity uses a particular product does not mean it would be a good product for me. I already ignore the posts about what magazines their featured in; if I got that magazine, I would have noticed, and I’m not going to go buy a magazine to see an advertisement! I un-fanned the other makeup FB pages I used to follow because they didn’t post anything useful. (I like Fresh, but after the millionth post about the Eat Pray Love perfume, I couldn’t take it anymore. I do like Sephora’s FB page, because they have announcements of sale/coupons.

    I read Musings of a Muse and Temptalia for sensible reviews, suggestions, and to get ideas. Plus I love that you both feature products from many different brands. I’ve tried some amazing things that I never would have picked up, thanks to some of your awesome reviews.

    • the Muse

      Beth agreed on UD ;-D they are very active in their community and try to make it fun for everyone ;-D plus helpful info as well! aw geez thanks Beth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that’s so great to hear ;-D Twitter can be irritating but somethings you can get some great coupons and such plus follow your fav beauty blogs to see their recent posts and such ;-D

  • Katie

    NARS is guilty as sin when it comes to advertising which celeb wore what product in which magazine on Facebook. Urban Decay and other brands do it too, but not nearly as often as NARS. Personally, I do not like big brands with blogs. I take what they say with a grain of salt. Hypothetically, if you’re blogging on behalf of a brand, you’re not very likely to put down a product from the line, even if you don’t like it. Why? Because it’s your job (meaning, you get paid) for writing — writing good things about the brand’s offerings. That makes your opinion biased, yes? That’s why I LOVE reading beauty blogs that are written by your average woman with a die hard passion for all things beauty and a hardcore desire to talk about it.

  • Ruth

    I really like illamasqua’s blog. But it is one long advert, I can see what you mean! x

  • KimmyDarling

    I’m a notoriously big fan of Zoya, and one of the reasons I love their brand so much is their approach to social marketing. They are a growing company, and the clearest messages they convey to their followers/fans/subscribers/random readers, in my opinion, is how much they appreciate us/them and how much they love what they do. To me, they really market well to women in that they provide two things that end up being highly important to female consumers– 1) access to information and 2) a connection to the brand. Their blog shares a lot of their editorial coverage, including links to other blogs and video reviews (which I really like– so many beauty companies act like they’d rather we bloggers didn’t exist at all), as well as news pieces on the company itself. They post teasers for new products coming out, and also come up with unique contests with great prizes. And promo codes galore! They LOVE running promotions, and are great at doing it. All of this generates excitement in their customers. (I know this because the many friends I’ve turned onto the brand TALK about what raving fans they are, and it is not ever just about polish colors.)

    They tweet/Facebook as *people*, rather than strictly acting as The Company Rep Who Only Communicates In Sales Copy Verbiage. For example, it snowed in Cleveland yesterday, where they’re located. Some companies *might* have tweeted a picture of a snowman somebody made, or even a photo they snagged from the web, just to punctuate that Winter had hit at their HQ. Zoya, however, tweeted/Facebooked a photo of a sculpture they’d made… of a giant bottle of nail polish. To me, that says so much– they’re whimsical and spontaneous, they love to have fun, and they love sharing their fun with their customers.

    As a customer, I appreciate that they make their social marketing content fun, with such a tone of great (and genuine) enthusiasm that it makes it almost impossible to resist connecting with the brand. I would be hard-pressed to come up with many other brands that are like that for me.

    Anyway, that’s my two (tardy) cents’ worth. Great question, Muse. You might have inspired me to (gasp) blog something, myself! LOL

    • KimmyDarling

      And, um… hi. In the little box, it didn’t seem so LONG. Dang.

      But I’m just making up for lost time away from here. That makes sense, right? ; )

      • the Muse

        lol kimmy ;-D it’s been a while girl! making up for lost time works for me ;-D xoxox!

    • the Muse

      aw what a great reply kimberly. I don’t actually follow zoya b/c I’m not a nail girl but this post made me want to! ;-D thanks for sharing it hun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ha! do it!

  • Justin

    i really don’t like them at all. I too feel like they’re just a big ad campaign. There isn’t honestly or inspiration. I pretty much reward YOU! (Of course) temptalia, a model recommends, Caroline hirons, and good ole dusty. I also appreciate when bloggers are honest about products even when they are promotional gratis.