I have been thinking for a while now on how to write this post and today inspiration finally hit me. How to better explain my view on the whole topic of beauty: the industry, the marketing, the need, the trends, the psychology and sociology behind it.
Starting from the beginning. My mum, unlike most mums didn’t teach me anything about beauty when I was younger. I learned it all by myself and now looking back on it, I think it was a better way of getting into beauty. Probably due to this and due to a complicated relationship with acne from my early 20s (the products marketed in Romania as appropriate acne treatment are anything but and the ones that work are either expensive or not available), I started doing research on the way beauty products work, how they are made and what the different ingredients mean.
At the same time I learned how to use the products properly. One thing I will never accept from a beauty company is not explaining how their products work and are meant to be used. Assuming that people know how to use them. Well... you know what they say - when you assume, you are usually wrong.
Long story short, I watched youtube videos and read a lot of blogs. And except some very few knowledgeable and informed people, the internet is full of self-proclaimed "beauty gurus". People, who just because they have a closer relationship with their make-up products than with a significant other and because they spend an astronomical amount of money on an even stellar amount of products, think they are an authority in all things beauty. Hence the "beauty guru". But unfortunately, these people do only one thing. They sell the products. Alright two things - they are a cheap marketing tool for the bigger companies.
Leaving all my ranting aside, I believe that the internet should have more people who are smart and know what they talk about, like, but not limited to: Lisa Eldridge, Caroline Hirons, Sam and Nick, Agata.
I might not be a chemist, but I am smart (it took me 30 years to say this, so I don't care what people will believe of me), do have some experience with sensitive, mixt and acne prone skin, being a proud owner of such a skin type and I do my research. That's right people, the fundamental of all learning - research. Hence the name of my blog.
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| Some of my beauty products |
I know that now the "minimalism" way of life is fashionable these days. Trend which I consider superfluous, since I believe that "minimalism" is ruled by common sense and should not be a trend as such, but rather a way of life. At the same time I am part of the target clientele of the beauty industry - a woman with a good job, who can afford and is interested in
beauty products.
This being said, I try to follow a set of rules (that before I realized were ingrained in my way of thinking as a result of my Marketing and Project Management training):
- Reduce waste: Whenever I chose a beauty product, I always check the internet (by which I obviously mean the opinion of the people above mentioned) to make sure that the product will match my needs and I will obviously use it up. I hate throwing away unused products or sending them back to the internet store I purchased it from.
- Use up products: Once I purchase a product (I don't have to send it back), I will use it up fully. I try not to purchase a similar product, not to fall into the well of "hauls", "Holy Grails" and "must haves" and get 3 moisturizers and 5 cleansers. (Yes, I know, I am again picking on the "beauty gurus").
- Good quality: One of the things I hate most about the whole beauty industry is the poor quality disguised in glamour. That being said, I do not denigrate the cheaper brands that make great products. But I do feel that a lot of products are being over "hyped" or "Holy Grail-ed" artificially. However it is my hard earned money I pay for the products I use, so I am allowed to say my opinion and want to get good value for the price I pay.
Since I live in Romania it is very hard for me to get the products I want - most companies don't market their products here and most websites don't deliver cheaply to Bucharest, not to mention I can't get a sample to test it. Therefore I research a product before I purchase it (online, most of the times). - Appropriate formulation: It ties to all the rules mentioned above - if the formulation contains the active ingredients that are good for my skin, then they have a higher probability to be good for my skin. From my experience most of the time the brands that are either created by a Dermatologist Dr. or have one on staff produce the best products containing the appropriate active ingredients and few additional fillers.
Due to this I learned how to make some of the products myself.
This is what you will find on this blog related to beauty products.
What rules do you follow when you purchase your beauty products?
What do you feel about the beauty industry?
Cheers,
Alex.
Find me on Goodreads and Instagram.
Snapchat alex-andreea.
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