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Friday, January 22, 2016

Beauty Blogging: What if I'm not that into make-up anymore?

Whoa, hold your horses, people. I'm not actually saying I AM not that into make-up anymore (Wait...  Am I?) - I'm just analyzing, or rather, overanalyzing the blogging fatigue I've been experiencing lately. I really enjoy how people do this random brain dump when they're filming their Get Ready With Me videos, so I sort of decided to do a blog version - although let's not kid ourselves, I am not getting ready at the same time I'm writing this - although some things here have occurred to me as I was struggling with my eyeshadow this morning. Ekhm.

As you may already know, this year I'm continuing my efforts to both reduce the size of my existing make-up collection and to purchase less make-up and hopefully no skincare products (explained here in more detail). I've been thinking a lot about this goal this month and here's what it boils down to: at the moment, it really isn't all that hard for me. I didn't think it would ever be possible for me to say this, but I may be *a little bit* bored with make-up.

I like the beautiful products I have in my stash and I enjoy the process of putting them on, but I just don't feel a lot of enthusiasm - and I'm not overly impressed with the end result. Sure, I look nice and put together, but the vibe is somewhat off. Similarly, I'm not at all tempted or excited over new make-up collections or product releases. Sure, everything looks pretty, shiny and sparkly, but it just seems like the same thing over and over. Matte lip trend? Here, have some more matte lipsticks from another five brands. Spring 2016 make-up? No problem, pastel eyeshadows and blushy pinks coming right up. I'm about 99% sure that if I were to purchase anything at this moment, I'd be able to find a near dupe already in my possession.

I believe this is both the reason and the result for/ of a more paired down collection. In order to squash our lemmings, we unsubscribe from brands' newsletters, stop following the latest releases, or talk ourselves out of the new stuff by comparing it to what we already own. As a result of striving for that smaller stash and appreciating what we have, we start not having as many lemmings in the first place. But have those efforts inadverently killed my love for make-up?

I guess this question boils down to whether 'love for make-up' is synonymous with 'love for make-up products'. Make-up isn't some abstract art - I guess you could have just a theoretical appreciation for it by admiring looks in photos - but for us practitioners (lol), it can't really be separated from its tools. You do need adequate products to practice your make-up art and it's awfully nice to geek out over the best ones available on the market, but I'm sure we'd all agree that it's definitely not all that there is to it. There's the skill, the variety of techniques and approaches, the experimentation, the different styles. Looking back, it was my fascination with this more intangible aspect that caused me to get into make-up in the first place, NOT the products - of which I owned very few and had very limited means of purchasing more.

My current feelings are the exact reversal of that first love; I spend lots of time, money and mental resources acquiring and analyzing products but I don't focus nearly enough on the creative aspect. Some would be quick to blame writing a beauty blog as a past-time, what with its constant focus on  new products, relationships with brands and prompt reviews of PR samples. This is why I think so many wonderful bloggers have been going on breaks or quitting their blogs - most of us who have been posting for years now experience a general malaise, like maybe beauty blogging just plain isn't fun anymore.

I still think it is whatever we make it out to be. If beauty blogging means product reviews, page hits and monetization to you, then to me that sounds more like (at least part-time) work, and work sometimes isn't fun, despite how passionate you may be for the subject. But I guess that if you're more like me, then it can be fun, it can be creative and it can be independent of whatever else is going on in the blogosphere or on the beauty market. We just need to take it back.

(A little bit of a disclaimer - this is not meant as an attack on any person or blog. I'm not trying to insinuate anything or pass judgement; it's just quite obvious to me that as with any area of human activity, people have different goals and motivations, and that's great. And obviously things are rarely black or white, and they rarely remain constant. I think it'd be accurate to say that Rocaille Writes is in that grey area, and that it keeps evolving. It would make me proud to say that.)

What all this rambling means for me and my blog is that I would like to go back to the beginning and post more about my make-up experiments and looks. If I'm not a 100% content with my current make-up situation, than it is in my power to change it around and see what I would like better instead. Doing Project Pans and/or similar challenges is actually the first step - using the same products day in and day out really gives you the necessary push to try out different things you may have not thought of previously. So expect to see some more Face Of The Day posts from me, or maybe some recreations of inspiring looks, or even tutorials. Let's see what I can come up with!

Have you been stuck in a bit of a make-up rut lately? Are there any new products you can't wait to get your hands on, or have you been unimpressed like me? What do you look for in a beauty blog? I would love to hear your thoughts!

19 comments:

  1. I was JUST saying this to myself as I was thinking about goals and targets for my blog. I, too, am just plain bored with pretty much all makeup trends and for some reason everything just looks the SAME to me now, which prevents me from being excited about anything. I always had the thought that people complain about the over-saturation in beauty blogs, but I feel like the number of seemingly abandoned beauty blogs seem greater. Perhaps this is a reason why. I don't find anything innovative or unique in makeup right now and it's making it hard for me to produce quality content. It's probably better in skin care, but obviously that takes much longer to review. I'm so glad I am not the only one thinking this.

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    1. Hi, Indya! Haha, it makes me happy too that I'm not the only one having these grim thoughts about beauty blogging... But I think Lila below has the truth of it, we just need to switch our attention a bit and try to find new inspiration.

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  2. I think most blogging / vlogging woman experienced a phase where they were a little bit bored with make up. My phase lasted about 2-3 months. I was trying too hard emptying my stash while other blogs blogged about the same new products I could never try, because my stash was way to big and so on... I became bored of my own stash and of all those beauty bloggers who bought their 50st red lipstick in one year. Most new collections seem so repetative, annoying and uninspired. Finally, I came back to using and enjoying cosmetics by watching good and professional visagists youtube chanels (not that "buy this buy that" gals), using other products I nearly forgot and beeing aware that Make Up is actually a luxury product.

    We share the same opinion concerning trends and loving make up. It is not about buying all this stuff it is about enjoying it and practising this "art" as a hobby. My stash is sooo big that I can cover up 80% of the trends without buying new stuff.

    I decided to write my reviews onto a another website and to test only make up I already own or bought due to some reason and not because of trends. I am not ashamed of photographing used products for review. A beauty blog does not need a bunch of reviews of the newest products and trends. There are plenty of these.

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    1. You know what, Lila, Emma Bovary Beauty Blog (check her out if you haven't already!) recently commented how she preferred seeing used make-up in blog photos instead of the pristine new pans, and I can definitely see why - but when I have something new, I just love to capture its perfection before smearing it all over my face, teehee.

      And you're so right, watching make-up artists and other YouTubers focused on looks and techniques instead of those constantly featuring hauls and new products is so much more inspiring! I need to get back to doing that, thanks for the reminder!

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    2. Thank you! I will check this out!
      Currently, I am enjoying the youtube channels of Jordan Liberty, Lisa Elridge and some random videos of Jacelyn Hill (though I do not like her overdone skin routine, but her eye make ups are gorgeous). I avoid these haul and "follow me around" videos.

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    3. Monika, thank you so much for remembering my opinion on this - I stand by the idea of used products being beautiful, and I definitely understand how seeing haul after haul can grow old quite fast when you consume beauty blogs and YT channels like many of us do. I like to think a mix is the ideal for me as a blog reader, but I read widely and get what I need from varied sources so I don't mind too much.
      And Lila, I love the reminder that makeup is luxury product, thank you!
      :)

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  3. I, for one, come here for the writing - I really enjoy reading whatever it is you have to say about whatever topic is on your mind. The project pans/make a dents, the face of the days, I'd love to see it all. I think we could all use more reminders in our lives about how to enjoy what we have and not constantly lust for more, so your blog is great in that respect.
    -Sarah

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    1. Thank you for chiming in, Sarah, I really appreciate you saying so! I'll be racking my brains to vary the content a bit, I think that should help the most with the blogging fatigue! <3

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  4. I hear you. I am definitely overdosed on most lipsticks and eye palettes. Chances are if it's a color I can wear, I already own it. Take the new Tom Ford eye palettes. I don't wear super warm on the eyes, so that is a few of the palettes off the list right there. The ones in my colors are all subtle changes from three that were recently discontinued. And I have all three of the discontinued ones and except for one, rarely if ever wear those. Why would I buy more? Maybe I am just boring but one of the two palettes I get most use out of is a beige Lancome 5-color one. On me, it's a neutral which none of the warm ones are. I am wearing that one down and was considering a backup. I have a lot of higher end brands and looked down my nose at Lancome. But hey, it is doing the job. The other product I have too many of is brow products. Getting the right shade and texture has been a long search. I've found one at last that is perfect, but of course discontinued. Nail polishes? It's embarrassing. Way too many to easily get more now matter how gorgeous or unique. Foundation? A few natural ones I like. Right now, I am nearing the nub end of a few moisturizer and SPF products. Can't wait. Maybe will throw a party. When I think of how people like me collect when others have a real problem getting by, I do feel ashamed, not that anyone else should, those are just my values (hopefully.) But it is giving me pause. Appreciate your airing this.

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    1. I can definitely sympathize with having a difficulty finding a nice neutral palette that doesn't pull too warm - for me, about 90% pull a bit too warm for my liking in most of the shades that are inside, and I've promised myself not to buy palettes where I wouldn't use near half of the shades. Just recently I realized that even such a perennial as NYX Taupe looks more like a warm bronzer on me than a contour shade... Anyway.

      I'm in the same boat with nail polish too; even despite decluttering, I still have an embarassing amount, and so last year I only purchased one new shade. If it's a shade I fancy, I most likely already have it - and on top of the ones I like and wear, I also have lots I don't really like anymore but I'm too worried about wasting things to just throw them away.

      I know exactly what you're talking about - the area I live in has quite a few homeless shelters and just today I found myself being annoyed with a creepy drunk guy occupying a whole table at the library when I had nowhere to sit, but then I thought how he was probably just trying to keep warm and it made me feel ashamed. There's so much we take for granted.

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  5. So very well put, Monika. What I've observed so far is that those who "maintain" interest in beauty blogging (output) as product reviewing must find a sustainable source (input) and that source has been either own's bank, monetization or accepting PR samples. Many beauty blogs which starts up like this would eventually either 1. got burned out and stop blogging (because of various reason such as waxing/waning interests, overwhelmed by products to review, boredom of the KIND of products to review, etc.), or 2. keep on going at the expense of those incomes (like so many blogs that started out as "independent" then started to chug nothing more but sponsored posts, product reviews from PR, and no more "independently-bought" things).

    Sadly, the #2 perennials are what many consider "beauty blogs." There are hardly anymore beauty bloggers that I follow faithfully (a few exceptions, of course, like yours) but I now consider beauty blogs as advertisement and/or review of some sort.

    What I love reading about beauty blog/any blog besides content is the thought process, the real-life experiences (not just those which are Intagram-worthy), the musings and anywhere in between. If I want a review of a certain product, I just google it up. Knowing what you are up to, your process of decluttering, your thoughts on this and that are not google-able :-)

    We are in the thick of the whole blogging evolution here. Have you followed Periscope by Jane of British Beauty Blogger? If nothing else, her insight scoop are quite enlightening in terms of how beauty vlogs/blogs are actually driven by PR and Company marketings.

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  6. It's funny because after about 2 years of feeling a similar malaise (though my blog was never so big) I finally felt the urge to start blogging again - but this time about products and looks that I liked, not necessarily what was the newest and shiniest thing in my stash. I find I prefer the blogs that are more a 'slice-of-life' insight and I enjoy seeing products both pristine AND well-loved - in fact a lot of inspiration came from seeing successful 10-pan projects!

    I hope beauty blogs become more personal again - if I wanted just a sterile picture of a product and a generic review I'd have magazines for that - and I feel like the personal side is what allowed beauty blogging to flourish in the first place.

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  7. Always enjoy your thoughts on blogging, Monika :) Personally, I've been down that road of boredom and the whole rah rah affair with new stuff. But in the end, I realised that what I enjoyed was the writing process, while not necessarily about makeup. So, i have expanded my horizons somewhat, while still keeping to a core of beauty, except acknowledging that beauty comes in many forms. I think we all evolve and those who do focus on reviews have that as their mainstay. It's what they built their brand on. We all have our places. We just have to find our sweet spot and remember why we did this in the first place

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  8. Hi Monika, it's always interesting to read your thought process on blogging and makeup in general :-) I lost interest in blogging some time last year, but I figured out recently it was because I was so preoccupied with the baby boy that I literally lost interest in everything else. Makeup and writing included. I'm glad I actually bit the bullet and renewed my hosting plan at the end of last year, instead of terminating it and just keep the domain to see what the future holds. I now have a renewed sense of writing, but not all about makeup and skincare. I believe there are many expectations of what a beauty blog should be, but like you said, it is a personal space, and to me, it means it's up to the particular blogger how he or she wants to run it. If I can't relate to the blogger, then I just won't read it. I still think we bloggers have kinder readers. I can't believe how many trolls there are on YouTube. They watch, scrutinize and start spouting disgusting words. Guys, nobody forced you to watch / read. If you don't like it, just shut up and go away!

    Let me just share with you that I started my blog 5 years ago because I wanted an online beauty journal for my 2 girls, so naturally, my blog has always been about reviews and makeup looks. I do share some of my personal stories, about my life, family, fitness goals, but that's not the main dish of the blog, so to say. I do want to expand my horizons, and bring ChloeAsh to maybe a lifestyle blog so I can talk about anything I feel like. It is a beauty blog - about the beauty of life, still dedicated to my growing girls, soon to be teenagers! The eldest one will be 10 next year!

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  9. My views on and interest in beauty has definitely changed in the years I've been blogging. I like different things and I have a different approach to beauty now. I think it's normal for a beauty blog (and beauty blogger for that matter!) to evolve. In the end our blogs our our little place on the web and we should feel free to do whatever the heck we want on it :-) That's the beauty of beauty blogging: everyone can just do their own thing and be unique.

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  10. Hobbies, interests, and even so-called passions have their ups and downs and it is unrealistic to think that we will embrace something in the same way and with the same intensity "forever". We are complex creatures living in a complex world and hopefully we are continuously evolving. A personal blog, no mater what its subject matter, should reflect those changes otherwise it becomes a chore.

    Makeup can easily be a life-long love (it is for me), but that doesn't mean it isn't going to have its peaks and valleys. I'm 71 and have been wearing makeup since my early teens. I've seen trends come and go and come and go yet again! LOL There are times when I love spending time perfecting looks and experimenting and there are times when I'm not feeling particularly imaginative or innovative. There are times when I embrace a full makeup look and there are times when I bask in the natural light of minimalism. There are times when I want everything and there are times when absolutely nothing appeals to me. I could go on, but I think you get the idea. Such fluctuations in life are normal and a personal blog should reflect who you are today; not who you were yesterday.

    Personal bloggers should not be afraid to let their focus shift. Sometimes they realize a past-time has run its course and it is time to move on. Sometimes a new discovery leads them down a different path. Sometimes life happens and their priorities change. Sometimes they just burn out and need a break. But, whatever influences are at work, personal blogs, like the men and women who write them, are works in progress and it is OK for the blogs to reflect those changes.

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  11. I have been through this too and have only just started blogging again.

    I think a break is necessary if it means re-awakening what you were originally so passionate about :)

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  12. FUN! It's one of the things I stated in my new year's post too. If it's not fun it's not worth my time so I'm blogging very much on my terms this year - I'm one of those weary people who took a month off just because I was fatigued by it all. At the moment I have a renewed vigour because I'm writing about what I want and when I want and the creative post ideas are coming back! Here's to an enjoyable 2016. xo

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  13. I had stuggle in general with blogging as I lost all sense in it..and actually in some other hobby related things. I felt bad and I couldn't explain. About makeup.. I didn't try looots of brands and all shades but I came to point where I know which shades I wear, which suit me and which I'd wear once in eternity. And when I go to store it becomes hard to find something new. I look for nude shade I already have alike and in good quality, I look for bright and the once which suit me and those which appeal to me I have already something very alike. Yes I still have some products which I'd like to have and which I dont have in my stash like Guerlain terracotta joli teint. And I'm excited to get it some time. But when it comes to lipsticks for example.. I get excited to see new brand, I swatch it and I realise it doesn't click.

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