Beauty Brains Blog Content/Reviews vs. Info

Judy

Ok...I'm willing to wade into this controversial area. As one who has reviewed products for this blog I enjoy doing it and enjoy reading other forum member's reviews.
Even when a review is written by one of the Beauty Brains themselves they are still personal opinions combined with scientific evaluation of whether a product CAN do what it claims to do.
In other words NO review is ever completely objective because the reviewers viewpoint always comes into play...that is why in the world of journalism we have OP/ED pages. And all good BLOGS are going to have a point of veiw...that's why we read them.
That said I think that because of the demand put upon bloggers for new content they often invite other writers to contribute to their blogs to keep them lively. With beauty/fashion blogs this often takes the form of reviews. The problem that can occur is that if the reviews begin to dominate the original POV of the blog begins to be lost. I have seen this happen with other blogs and then the blog becomes less appealing to me...or less different from other similar blogs.
So...I would have to say that I ALWAYS enjoy reading the BBs content on the front page with comments from readers and I am content with using the Forum to exchange info on productst. And just to be clear the BBs have far less review content than many blogs so they are not out of line here.
Please weigh in here...both BBs and Forum members.

darkeyes

I thought the forum member's reviews were great when they first appeared on the blog.
But now, they seem to be all too frequent and I tend to just quickly skim through them because I'm usually not too interested in the products being reviewed.
I'd much rather read the BeautyBrains answers to readers' questions and the interesting posts the BeautyBrains come up with on cosmetic science. This is why I loved BeautyBrains in the first place.
My skin is very oily and acne prone and so I'm usually not too interested in the products being reviewed because I know that I probably could not use it on my skin. Everyone has different skin and different reactions to what they put on their skin and so I hardly ever take people's opinions on skin care products at face value.
This is why I like learning about different ingredients and understanding the mechanism behind acne and aging so that I can decide for myself what works best on my skin and use products that attack all the causes of acne, etc. The BeautyBrains has been helping me greatly with this task.
I like the idea of keeping reviews limited to the forum but there is probably a reason why these reviews are on the blog ( to attract advertisers and get free products).

PurpleRules

One of my favorite blogs, www.glossedover.com/glossed_over/ , just went dark basically because of burnout. I assume It's a lot of work maintaining a blog and, for most bloggers, it's a labor or love. Readers expect new and exciting content daily and they expect it for free. If the blogger doesn't post, their "fans" post stupid, insulting remarks in the comments. Just look at the comments on beautyaddict.blogspot.com/ when she hasn't posted for a few days. Then there's the poison pen of the NY Times and the like. You open yourself up to criticism from complete strangers. I'm suprised that bloggers last as long as they do. I'd throw in the towel the first time someone posted a negative comment.
As a reader, I'd rather have fewer, better infomational posts if it means that the blog will be around longer and the quality of the material will remain high. Yes, I prefer the scence-y posts to the reviews but I enjoy the reviews also. It's nice to know what people like me think of new products. I'd hate to have to depend on a the SA for the product line or some editor for a magazine to get the scoop on a product. I think there's room for both.

pas71

I find the BB site to be a great mix. I really like being able to read reviews and also being able to read the science behind many products. I was actually quite happy when the site started adding reviews because I think they are a good balance. Instead of having to wade through possibly hundreds of reviews on sites like makeupalley (which I also like, but for different reasons), I like being able to read one quick review by someone that I have sort of gotten to know through this blog. Also, it's not like other blogs where the reviewer may have a stake in how the product is reviewed. Here, it is not the owners of the blog doing all the reviews as with other blogs.
That said, I read TONS of reviews, but I know to take everything with a grain of salt. Just because something worked wonders for one person doesn't mean it will work well for me. And, I think you are absolutely correct, Judy, in saying that it is just an opinion no matter who it is written by.
I also don't think that the reviews are too frequent as long as they don't take away space from the other posts (which I was under the impression that they don't). If it's something that I'm not interested in, I just skip over it.

Right Brain

Wow, I didn't realize this was such an important issue to our community.
I really appreciate the comments you gals have left so far. We are very sensitive about how much of our content is from reviewers and how much is our own. But let me tell you, after 2 full years of posting EVERY SINGLE DAY (sometimes more than once a day) it's a blessing to have a guest post from a Forum member. And I don't know what we would have done without Mid Brain's news posts. (Thanks Middy!)
So let's see what the rest of the community has to say. I think the idea of only putting reviews in the Forum is an interesting notion, but I'm not sure if companies would still send out freebies if they weren't getting front page press. It's certainly something we can look into.
Also, just let me say THANK YOU to everyone who is active in the Forum. Even though I don't always take time to respond to your comments, I always find them thought provoking and, at times, touching. Speaking for all the lobes of the Beauty Brains, I can say we really appreciate it!

cate

Having reviewed a few products for the BB I must say that I have enjoyed it. It has been a way for me to keep active in my writing when I am having writer's block on other projects. I have been working on a novel for almost a year now and have been a super slacker the past few months so writing the reviews keeps my mind active.
THAT being said, I understand that the majority of the members are more into the science-y aspect of the daily blog. I know I have learned much more science in the few months that I have been reading than I ever did in HS or College. To me, if something doesn't seem to interest me, I skip it...now oddly enough a few days later I'll go back and read it thinking...wow that's interesting
I like the reviews mainly because they are coming from our community members experiences.
Anyway, thats my 2 cents

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories