One of the biggest common misconception that all beauty bloggers have is that their job is easy—snap pictures and selfies with a particular product, write fabulous things about it, and hit the publish button. It’s undeniable that this may seem true through at the first glance; however, there is a whole lot more to it.
To find out what are the misconceptions and the realities behind this gig, we got hold of 10 beauty bloggers based in Malaysia to openly share about the biggest misconceptions they’ve heard about their industry.
Ashley Ahn – Guns&Glitters
“People think that we’re a dermatologist or makeup artist at times, but not all beauty bloggers have the complete knowledge in the cosmetic science. Most of us are regular people trying out products to discover what works and what’s good. We’re more of a representative of them (regular people) instead of a more superior figure, in my opinion.”
Sabrina Tajudin – Sabrina Tajudin
“The biggest misconception of being a beauty blogger is that people always misunderstand us as beauty experts. Most of us give general thoughts based on our own experience but people tend to think we are a like a skin consultant.”
JQ Lee – JQ Talks
“They think that we don’t buy our own stuff, and they think that everything is free. Yes, we do get free products but we need to write about it, there’s work involved. It’s not exactly free per se—it’s free but with intention that we will review it. We put in loads of effort into our blog post or videos, and not always we get free products. We do still buy beauty stuff with our own money, because we like those products.”
Stephanie Lim – stephanielim.net
“We’re always looking good and that we don’t need any effort to maintain our looks. But we have imperfections too. We fix it by maintaining and living healthy, practicing beauty regimes and using the right products.”
Aerisk Ong – Florence & Lace
“People think that bloggers want to get free gifts and sponsorship so they become a beauty blogger. In actual fact, I like makeup and it’s my passion. I just want to share my thoughts on makeup and cosmetics on my blog.”
Chenelle Wen – Chenelle Wen
“They think being a beauty blogger means that we only speak good things for sponsored products and that we’re not being honest to readers. It’s literally untrue and doesn’t apply to all the beauty bloggers—at least not to me. I share good things to my readers and of course sponsored products doesn’t mean that it’s not good.”
Jessica Chaw – Jessica Chaw
“People tend to think that our job is easy peasy. The fact is beauty bloggers are just like any other hardworking citizen. We are constantly thinking about what content to produce for our followers. We are constantly spending time, experimenting with new makeup and new products. Also, the shooting process may take up a lot of time and effort.
Some people tend to think that we only do our makeup and pose in front of the camera and that’s the end of our job.
But the truth is, beauty bloggers are constantly making effort to improve themselves in order to produce original and meaningful content to their followers.”
Grace Myu – Grace Myu
“I think the biggest misconception about being a beauty blogger is… we are super knowledgeable on all aspects of beauty, even aesthetics. I have friends coming up to me and asking me recommendations for aesthetic procedures and clinics but truth is, I only can give an opinion on those that I have personally experienced. Another misconception is all beauty bloggers love going to facials/spas. Truth is, I ain’t one of them! HAHAHA.”
Shivani Balraj – Pen My Blog
“I think the biggest misconception of being a beauty blogger is when people think that they know what exactly beauty and fashion bloggers do and are all about.
Frankly, it is all about the passion in expressing and sharing the experiences that we have with one another, which is complimented by our hard work and dedication to producing our content. And while some people do think that it is essentially all about the makeup, skincare and events that we get; to me personally it comes down to three things; which is honesty, the writing and the interaction with our readers.”
Jess Ying – Jess Ying
“That beauty bloggers always get free stuff and do not shop at all. In actual fact, as a beauty blogger I still go out and buy products because there are certain products you really like and want to try. I do feel I’m more prudent with my choices of products because of the knowledge I have gained as a blogger.”
