Disclaimer: While this is certainly not mine, or anybody’s business what anyone does with their blog, I can still have an opinion. So here it is.
Today I want to rant a little about a certain topic that’s been bugging me for a long time. I love it when bloggers share their lists of weekly, monthly, seasonal, or themed favorites. Those posts are my greatest enablers of all time because they allow me to fill up my wishlist with products my fellow bloggers used and loved… Or did they?
This question started popping up in my mind when I took a closer look at one of the products in your typical makeup-centric favorites roundup. The picture featured three lipsticks and the colors were so gorgeous I just had to expand the image. To my surprise all of them looked brand new. It doesn’t take an expert to tell that a lipstick has been used, even one swipe for a quick swatch permanently dulls the surface. Needless to say, that was a shocking discovery!
Now don’t get me wrong, it’s common to photograph beauty products for reviews when they’re still pristine, so they look nice and clean. But doing a roundup of favorites kind of presumes the blogger used said items at least once, so how can they look brand new? You don’t just make a pile of products assuming all of them will be your faves before you even try them, or at least I thought that was the general idea.
What’s interesting is that the roundup in question included products from just two beauty brands, so then it clicked with me that the blogger must have received two PR packages, didn’t know what to do with the products, then decided to throw them together in a “favorites” blog post and call it a day. This easy solution [from a blogger’s perspective] ended up in a costly loss of reader trust. I am pretty dense when it comes to these things, so if even *I* noticed, I can’t even imagine how many other people must have spotted the same blooper.
Since that day I started paying closer attention to fave roundups, and unfortunately this behavior is more common than you think. I don’t necessarily unfollow those blogs, but it certainly puts things in perspective. Like, what else could they be lying about? I don’t know about you, but I feel like it somehow compromises the integrity of their product reviews and endorsements.
So I have two pieces of unsolicited advice here:
- For bloggers: Don’t lie to your readers, they aren’t idiots. Just because they don’t immediately notice these things doesn’t mean they never will. And the longer they’ve been following your blog, the greater the disappointment.
- For readers: Don’t publicly call out the blogger if you catch them on a lie. Yes, what they did was wrong, but the drama is just not worth it. Besides, embarrassing someone in public is no different from bullying. Email the blogger if you feel so inclined, let them know you noticed, and next time they’ll think twice before doing it again.
Have you ever noticed products that are unquestionably new in blogger roundups? Does it bother you when the products look untouched or you don’t give it a second thought? Have you ever unfollowed a blogger after catching them on a lie? Let me know in the comments below!
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I notice this from a blogger I used to like and it made me not trust her reviews anymore. What gave it away for me was the grouping of the photos. Every month her favorites were always unused products photographed together.
I can’t with that kind of nonsense. I stop reading blogs with dishonest content. I don’t have time for that crap.
I have actually noticed this as well. I take it with a grain of salt when I notice. One blogger in particular (I can’t even remember who ) and all her stuff was unused from one or two brands and I’m like. Ok. Fine. I see what’s going on here…but it wasn’t a huge deal to me. One bad post out of many good ones isn’t enough to make me fuss.