Doesmybumlook40 / Kat Farmer

[Alancarr]

I followed the previous thread with interest and found it informative and overall very fair. It has really opened my eyes to a) how naive I still can be and b) how the world of marketing relies on all of us remaining naive. The reason however for this thread is that this blogger / instagrammer doesmybumlook40 seems to have reached that key shark jumping moment ! Having been bombarded with marketing posts recently I decided to review her stats. Since the 22 Feb Ms Farmer has presented paid partnerships with Avon, Max factor, L’Oréal, Sony Pictures UK, Babyliss uk, Clarins UK, Max Factor , a Gin company, M&S and F&F clothing. That is within a mere 3 weeks. And I’m not even referencing gifts , nights out, dinners etc etc. I’m a hardened old broad who has worked in finance most of her life so whilst I’m disappointed, I now know I can’t look at this woman as a genial one-of-the-gals-why-don’t-you-try-this-at-home-folks type blogger/grammer and instead I need to see her as a mouthpiece for hire.
But will everyone ? And isn’t that the thing we need to ask the advertising body to regulate ASAP ???

Why does it matter?

I think I’ve read some of your posts previously and remember your challenges so this topic is probably more lighthearted than you prefer. Generally my issue is regarding false or misleading advertising. Not all followers of instamums have similar levels of disposable income and Im very keen to find a way to distance the normal money grabbing world of adverts from that world of Instagramming that people find soothing and helpful and honest and reliable

I first read Kat Farmer whoever she is as Fat Karmer.

Ha ha ha I’m not really tapping into the right audience tonight am I ? Xx

I stopped following her for this reason.

All the paid partnerships mean she's not relatable. And I lost faith with the raving about frankly horrid M&S clothes with who she has a PP.

The thing that has shocked me is the sheer volume. I know we have all debated the hidden advertising , the exposure of children on the internet, the safety risk to children ( for example again I know where her children go to school, golf, play rugby etc ) but the final straw was the onslaught of recent adverts. I imagine she wants to make hay while he sun shines - there is no way in hell the likes of dmbl40 / gleam etc will be around in a year !!!

I think the problem is you're expecting it all not to be total crap.

The whole thing is based on a premise of an aspirational, utterly shallow lifestyle no?

Well fair play to her really, she’s open and transparent about her adverts. Her hair is looking great with the L’Oreal colour, so a good advert. She’s awful at applying make-up so I skip by anything she posts make-up related. Same with skincare, I suspect she’s more of a quick cleanse/make up removal person than someone that really spends time on skincare. We all know she likes her gin. Good luck to her being invited to the film premier with her kids, no big deal.

I did raise my eyebrows at the Avon advert but in fairness to Kat, she’s worn pieces across all budgets over the years.

Of all the bloggers, she puts together interesting outfits and puts thought into writing her blogs. They’re not just a boring list of pictures and affiliate links, like say chloelovestoshop who was no writing flair.

I think Kat is one of the original and best fashion bloggers out there.

I would;d think going to breakfasts and dinners becomes tedious after the initial novelty wears off but is part of her job so needs must.

I’m more intrigued as to what makes a bum hole look 40. Should it be tight and polished? Or slightly battered?

I stopped following her some years ago. Her style is much of the same. Very few of these bloggers (fashion/skincare/makeup etc) will survive in the future. Very few of those are knowledgeable in their field and once you get paid you lose your USP which was relatability.

Mabanto wins comment of the day 1 hour into the day!!!

Fair play to her I say! She has been blogging for years and put a lot of effort in and got very little in return. She has definitely hit the bigtime, and why wouldn't she want to get paid for stuff she's been doing for years for free!

FWIW I know her personally, as after doing some blogging myself I don't begrudge her getting paid to do things. Times have moved on, some bloggers have a big influence and people must surely realise that the bigger bloggers are gifted things and paid to write things. It's not a hobby anymore, but a job for her like your jobs are for u, would you do your job for free?

The difference is your big standard advertiser doesn’t say “oh by heck me kids have done the funniest thing while I’ve been styling me hair with these hilarious babyliss curlers”........the line has been too blurred. People keep referencing magazine adverts in other posts but I’ve yet to see a magazine where on one page Cheryl Cole for example is talking about the pain and devastation of losing ones Mum and on the next trying to shift some products for Avon. On previous threads the instamums tried to defend their move to grubby land with “ but I love these products”......with the latest tsunami of paid ads from doesmybumlook40 that defence can now be put to bed methinks

Kat is one of the most transparent of the fashion bloggers out there now. She’s made a good career out of blogging and has been smart enough to understand that consumers now want to know the difference between gift/paid partnership/blogger bought items and incorporate that into her offering. So good on her, I dare say she will be one of the ones who goes the distance. I have a lot of respect for her.

If people are too dim to not realise they’re being sold stuff by these people, then I don’t know what to say. All bloggers/instagrammers are doing the same thing, trying to make money. I find it all a bit cringe but I also don’t get why people can’t see through them.

I don't disagree with you alancarr

At times it becomes very grabby and desperate to flog a product. I actually hadn't seen the Instagrammer you're talking about but follow plenty more.

The thing is, I think I'd probably grab these opportunities with both hands if it were me and I was in with a chance of making a quick and easy few bucks

ThisIsTheFirstStep i agree.

I don't follow any bloggers at all. The only one i know of personally is a friends adult daughter who stared blogging about her wonderful family life as a new mother last year with the express intention to get some freebies. She has managed to achieve this within about 3/4 months and was quickly up to her eyes in baby bags and blenders. She flogged them on Ebay. I did wonder who the hell would be watching anyway. She has split with her DP now and stopped blogging.

Maybe you would, heck maybe I would but there might be fleeting moments when you’d look in the mirror and say to yourself shit I really need to stop this, have a shower and get back in touch with my dormant inner integrity child

I'm not sure they all lack integrity.

The money some of them earn is ridiculous. I earn £30k a year working 5 days a week....if I could earn double this from the comfort of my ridiculously tidy Instagrammable home then I'd be very tempted. I think it would be interesting to
See what these bloggers turn down as well as flog. That might be a good indication of their eagerness to just flog whatever they can

I’ve always liked Doesmybum... she’s funny. I think the essence of her blog is still there and her personality shines through, she hasn’t changed. I just ignore the ads. I don’t like M&S clothing, why would I wear them because some woman says to ? I don’t really understand why anyone would buy a product just because it is endorsed by Kat or an A Lister, I’m probably an advertisers nightmare as I only buy something if I’m interested in the first place. It’s obvious that these people are paid to promote these goods, do people really believe that say JLO uses a product as cheap as L’Oreal ? Good on Kat for making some money out of it, the work looks fairly easy and she gets to spend more time on herself and family. It is easy enough to switch off these people.

If people are too dim to not realise they’re being sold stuff by these people, then I don’t know what to say. All bloggers/instagrammers are doing the same thing, trying to make money. I find it all a bit cringe but I also don’t get why people can’t see through them.

Exactly. I don't understand how adults can be so naive.

I sort of agree but at least Kat is transparent about the paid partnerships and endorsements. Tbh I skip right over the ones which are clearly advertising random shite (e.g. the avon one this week and some of the recent makeup posts) as they don't interest me. I have been raising eyebrows increasingly though about how little of what she wears is actually paid for rather than "gifted".

She's selling stuff. I wonder what the deal is, how many times do you have to wear each item, even if you don't like it? Sometimes I'm transfixed by the sheer volume of clothes and accessories and am imagining that she has an entire wing with wardrobes

Now fod is talking on his IG stories about how the dishwasher is on its last legs....wonder how long till they get 'gifted' one

Hadley Freeman's column is about Instagram "influencers" today. Pretty much sums up getting in here I think.

www.theguardian.com/fashion/2018/mar/21/instagram-influencers-can-flog-stuff-all-day-but-its-weird-when-they-use-their-kids-to-do-it