I’m not an experienced blogger and I’m not a beauty blogger, but I am an experienced blog reader. I’ve been reading Dutch beauty blogs for years. In those years I’ve seen good things… and things that frustrate me. Do these things sound familiar?

• ‘’Win! Follow me on Bloglovin and like this post, like my Facebook page and like and share this post, subscribe to my YouTube channel, follow me on Twitter and tweet this post, follow me on Instagram, share this on Google+, threaten everybody you know to do the same and who knows you might win two Essence nail stickers worth €0,99!’’ Need I say more? Maybe it’s just a Dutch thing. Let’s hope it is.

• Girls actually set their alarm before 6:00 AM so that they can be the first to comment on twenty blogs. The worst part is that they don’t really read the blog post. They just scan it quickly. I’ve seen comments like ‘Nice video!’ while other comments state the video wasn’t online yet…

• The fact that some bloggers show every side of the package except the ingredient list. They don’t have to say anything about the ingredients, but I want to see them and I know a lot of other people are like me. The package being pretty and the moisturizer feeling soft is cool and all, but we want to know what’s inside. If you don’t have any knowledge, that’s fine. Simply show the list 🙂

• Quite often bloggers completely diss a product because it doesn’t work for their skin type or skin tone. First of all, it is extremely rude to the brand, especially when it’s a free product. Second, this proves the blogger doesn’t know anything about products and shouldn’t be writing about them. Criticism is fine, but there’s no need to go all crazy.

• Some bloggers attack people who post mean comments and that bothers me. It’s so ugly to comment on a mean comment with a mean comment. It doesn’t make them any better than the poster. Not to mention that they are supposed to come across professional. Or you know, just nice. That aggressive monster strategy doesn’t work.

• Pictures that are so bright they make you wonder if wearing shades will help you see the things in the picture. Seriously, there is such a thing as too bright. If you can’t see the colors as they are in reality, then it’s too bright.

• Bloggers that are mysterious about paid collaborations. How can we trust you?

• Bloggers that hardly ever write about beauty yet call their blog a beauty blog. I’m interested in your highlighter; not your Starbucks cup.

• Speaking about Starbucks (bucks!), everybody is addicted to Starbucks and sushi. They are also all obsessed with dark lipstick, they all pose the same in their thumbnails and they all have white rooms and white blogs. They are basically all the same and it makes me wonder if they are really so amenable or just unauthentic. Copying other girls is not a bad thing when other girls do something right. A lot of girls have stopped doing clown makeup and a lot of bloggers have improved their blogs by learning from their co-workers. But what’s the deal with cakey contouring, dark lipsticks and the so called ‘bitch brows’?

I realized that beauty bloggers have their own idea of beauty. From a (sort of) objective point of view beauty is about symmetry, youthfulness, softness, etcetera. Dark lipstick and the ‘bitch brow’ are harsh, so they don’t fit in that frame. If this is their personal taste then that’s fine, but that’s exactly the problem: I don’t think it’s really their own taste! It’s some famous girl’s taste and suddenly all girls think it’s the standard of beauty. I don’t like the influence beauty bloggers have on each other and on readers. It makes everybody the same, which is not necessarily better…

Tips for beauty bloggers

The things I mentioned are of course indirect tips for beauty bloggers, but I have more tips. They’re free!  Of course nobody is forced to write complete reviews, but hey it’s an advice. So here are some tips to improve the quality of a product review.

• Test a product for a while before you review the product. Just recently I bought an eyeliner because a blogger wrote such a positive review. I was positive about the eyeliner too, until it dried out after just a week. This has happened more often and it’s frustrating. These things should be mentioned in a review!

• Swatch the product on your arm (not on your fingers; they are too pink) in normal light. If the picture doesn’t show its true color then make sure to mention it. That way readers won’t be (unpleasantly) surprised when they open their order.

• Show the product on your face too. Full face! Not just the lips or whatever.

• Take a picture of the ingredient list. Many readers like that 🙂

• Say something about the durability. How long does it last on the face/lips/eyes?

• When you review a brush set make sure to write something (short) about every brush. It sounds logical but I’ve seen bloggers only mentioning what every brush is for; they don’t say anything about the quality of the brush. What do you think of the brush? And also important: how are the brushes after washing them?

• When you review a foundation or skin care product, mention your skin type. It really makes a difference.

Agree/disagree? Are there other phenomena in the blogosphere that frustrate you?