What. The. Eff.
I saw this tweet from a fellow beauty blogger the other day:
“I don’t want ppl to think I’m superficial”. “You run a MAKEUP blog”. I hate when my friends are right XD
To say I was disturbed is putting it mildly. I was furious! Angry at people who think that just because you run a makeup blog (beauty blogs to be more precise – makeup, hair, body, fashion, etc), you’re superficial. What a load of crock!
Does blogging about beauty deem you superficial? Shallow? The beauty industry is booming despite the GFC, bringing in millions of dollars, boosting the economy. We just enjoy using and writing about the things that happen to support the beauty industry. It’s a passion. And if it happens to also make us look good, so be it. Why is that superficial?
What about men and women who blog about the latest gadgets, how they love this and that, reviewing, reporting on them? Folks who spent thousands of dollars on topnotch electronic equipment just because they enjoy them. And then they happen to write about it for the world to read. Are they superficial too?
What’s that again? Double standards? PFFTT.
It bugs me, it really does. Someone’s passion subjected to ridicule just because the rest do not understand what it’s all about. It drives me up the wall.
What do you think? Is blogging about beauty, makeup, etc superficial? What would you say if your friends called you superficial for running a beauty blog?
Personally, I’d tell them to piss off. That’s just me.
<3 <3
I've learnt to just smile and nod and leave it hence my "friends are right" comment, people aren't always going to understand us. People are going to throw stereotypes around, it's unfortunately part of blogging, and particularly blogging in beauty.
I think it falls into a similar line where girls with multiple partners are viewed under a negative light, yet boys who do the same as see positively! I couldn't disagree with this train of thought more, but that's society. I work in IT and am a avid gamer in Melbourne, being in such a male dominated world / industry, I've been stereotyped to death 🙁
Instead I focus my energy on people whom are open minded and understanding, positivity breeds positivity <3
Oh I know this issue too well either! None of my friends share my beauty/makeup passion, thus most of them don’t understand it’s just ones hobby.
So yeah, I’m faced with people who assume I’m superficial just because I run a beauty blog and am passionate about it.
It’s sad that people still have such a mindset! I can think of truckloads of people who ARE superficial with their blogging. You know, people who posts a gazillion severely photoshopped pictures of themselves and posting about nothing substantial. Or those who go to a club in every post and throw fits at the fact that other people do not carry designer handbags (yes, I’ve read!). As far as I know, those people don’t blog about beauty. Beauty bloggers blog to inform and share knowledge. We don’t become the center of attention. It’s how you act and not how you look that makes you superficial. Yeah, I take the effort to groom myself… non-superficial people ought to not bathe or get hair cuts then. Let their faces be oily, crinkly and filled with pimples because that’s how they wanna present themselves to the world. Skin care is superficial.
oh, and yes the gadget bloggers. I like the very informative ones that do unbiased reviews but those who are merely bragging about their enlarged e-penis is just disgusting.
I believe it’s never about the topic, it’s how you write about it that determines the quality. Anyway dear, no one who’s met you would ever think you’re superficial.
Just to share, the fact that I run a beauty blog surprises people so much they go read it. And then realise that hey, sensible people can write about beauty intelligently and sensibly. Keep changing perceptions babe, we’ll get ’em all eventually. =)
I second whatever Kahani said. You know me, and you know what I do. Like Kahani I get the “You are a WHAT?” but the reaction comes with respect. It also tells people that just because we blog about beauty doesn’t mean we are bimbos, giddy-goats or superficial. We have something to say, and we aren’t about sticking cleansers down our cleavage to get the attention 😉 Dammit I gotta stop talking about the cleanser down the cleavage 😛 I can’t speak for everyone who blogs about beauty but the girls I know and the blogs I read rock! And no, not a single one is superficial at all 🙂
Ya I agree that a lot of people can be complete hypocrites. My bro thinks beauty blogging is superficial and he certainly thinks I am too. I think he is an ass! And I tell him to piss off.
Yes, I tell them to bug off 🙂
My mother disapproves of me wearing cosmetics, much less blog about it.
But I still go through with it anyways, it’s a way to train myself on two subjects: beauty and writing, which I have great interest and passion in. Thanks for the post, and ParisB and Kahani for the great comments!
Very well written. I know some people have problem with beauty bloggers or guru like us simply because we like to buy things that are “supposedly” not necessary. See there are more people who enjoy sports so when fans go and empty their pocket to buy a set of equipment previously used by their “idols” or simply just a signed photograph that is worth hundreds of dollars, they are considered “normal”. Same exact case for gadget addicts or like car parts collectors. People don’t label them as superficial because they are common.
I personally don’t understand the fun in collecting those things just how the way they don’t understand the fun in what we do. We like to try different products, see what they can do and share them with our readers what we think about them. I also learn so much from others. I know some people just buy makeup just for the sake of having/collecting them. That can be considered superficial but it’s totally different case when you want to express your passion in beauty and let the whole world know about it.
Gosh people really should stop labeling beauty bloggers / gurus as superficial as it’s not the case.. but well we gotta accept the fact that not everyone knows what we are doing so they judge based on their knowledge and let them be. Just gotta do what we love and remind ourselves why we do it in the first place^^
You are an amazing beauty blogger Tine. Don’t let people ruin one of the few good things in your life 😀
Superficial to some or not, I still think blogging about anything you’re interested in is very helpful as you help other people save up money or purchase what is good for them!!!
Just have to learn to ignore comments like that. You are great at what you do and an inspiration and a great help to females =)
I’d just ignore them. However, I have yet to tell any of my real life friends that I have a beauty blog- most of them are the type who don’t even bother with makeup.
But I don’t think this is any more superficial that having a blog dedicated to one’s artwork, or collecting shoes or kittens (love the kitten ones actually) or gadgets or whatever. If a person wants to read something super serious, let them go read the newspaper.
I think it all depends on your coverage and your writing style. I don’t get that comment thrown in my face because the people I deal with loves beauty, or are in the beauty business so how can they ever say beauty blogs are superficial. Haha… As for people I know personally, they know what I do professionally so it’s even harder to pass that sort of judgement on me. They just know that this is a BIG hobby of mine and I love writing about it with passion.
I don’t see how it’s any more superficial than someone writing a blog about films or books or dieting or photos of old buildings.
So true, heck there’s more to a person than what they blog about, aren’t we all multidimensional human beings?! There’s more to my life than banging on about makeup as I imagine is the case with all beauty bloggers!!! 😀
I don’t see the point in judging anyone, really – it just fosters negativity.
Not to mention that most of the mean arguments, if not all, can very easily be turned against the person making them.