Decoding Beauty Experts + Influencers
How do you know who is telling the truth?
You’ve seen the recommended beauty product lists, the top 5 mascaras, the concealers that ‘do’ crease, and much more. You have beauty experts, influencers, content creators, etc. I honestly don’t know what to call anyone anymore. People decide they no longer like their title, so they switch it up, and we are expected to keep up with it all. I say ‘we’ because even though I’m a professional makeup artist and beauty expert (oh, and influencer on Instagram), I can’t keep up either.
From speaking to numerous people who follow my work over on YouTube, I’ve noticed a lot of people seem to be confused with what to believe and what not to believe. So I thought we could discuss this a little further, in the hope it helps you along the way.
Whether you’re a beauty expert or an ‘influencer’, you fall into either of these three categories:
The ‘no filter’ Truth Teller: shares their thoughts and opinions on everything, even when they don’t like products. Has no problem telling people about bad products. Will openly shame brands if they don’t like something about them.
The Diplomat: only shares the good. If they don’t like a product, they don’t endorse it or say it’s good when it’s not. They won’t work with brands they don’t believe in, but they will equally keep their negative feelings to themselves.
The Liar: They say everything is good. Even if they don’t like a product, they will endorse it because they are being paid for it. Has no morals and can not be trusted.
So which category do I fall into?
Let me introduce you to the Diplomat…kind of. 9 times out of 10, I love the products I try. If I don’t, I’ll mention (mostly on my educational beauty channel on YouTube) if I didn’t feel like the product really worked on my skin or if I wasn’t keen on the way it looked on my skin. I won’t rip the brand to shreds on my social media; I’ll only mention my bad experience if I’m doing a video focused on those types of products or if it’s happened while I’m filming, which usually means you’ve seen my response as and when it’s happened.
Mostly, I share the good, and that’s because that’s what I want people who follow my work to focus on. I want to be able to help people find the right products for themselves, not scare them away from them. It’s already difficult enough trying to find products that fit perfectly for us; why would I further put you into a frenzy of not knowing what to invest in when it comes to beauty?!
I think a lot of it comes down to seeing through the BS. Although we don’t personally know most of the people we may follow on social media, there’s a level of facade we should be able to see through, even just a little. If a beauty influencer reacts the same exact way with every product, there’s something very unnatural about it.
Ultimately, you’re not going to know for certain if someone is being truthful about their opinions of products; however, if you watch various different videos of theirs for long enough, you’ll see the difference in their reaction. The sad thing is that you shouldn’t have to do that.
Additionally, I think that today, consumers have become much more savvy when it comes to beauty buying. Trust your gut when it comes to products…and people.
I tend to buy at places that will accept returns if it’s not as described or simply doesn’t work for me. I also give away a lot of products that don’t work because just because I’m not pleased doesn’t mean someone else won’t be. I also subscribe to several beauty boxes so I can try lots of products. That’s been very successful. Thank you for all your advice.
Great article. It can be hard to distinguish, but I trust you 100% and, if it’s a product I want, I will always buy it - and even some I didn’t think I wanted! Ha ha. Thank you for all your advice, videos and tutorials - they are priceless and have saved me so much money . ❤️