Bloggers and brands 2.

[Merriboo]

continuing the discussion from the previous thread about transparency and disclosure (or lack of) by bloggers

The gleam lot all seem very formulaic. Can’t stand insta stories and the faux “look at me I’m soooo quirky” or endless pics of cats or children. It’s just boring. I’m not sure who this appeals to. Blogs used to offer an interesting alternative to magazines and seemed honest. We’ve come full circle and it’s now one long daily advertorial. It’s a shame.

Well, they are formulaic. As far as I can tell a brand approaches Gleam and they end up with a nice package of 5 or so bloggers with the same demographic pushing their stuff. The non mum beauty bloggers have been pushing Glossier for about 6 months.

By that I mean those whose channels aren't based on mum-content, not necessarily bloggers with no children!

I don't give a shit if they pump vampire blood into their arse as long as they use #gift and #ad, tbh.

Agree Kats botox is excellent, very very natural. She has spoken about the specific areas on Stories before, and has probably done a blog post on it in the past if you search.

I do think there are ways of doing it your own way even under the Gleam umbrella, but you just have to know yourself really well. I notice Lily Pebbles is much more "fuck it" since 2017 and appears to be pushing back a lot recently. She really got sucked into the machine for a good while there but seems to have woken up a bit and wants to be more independent.

I still like AMR. She's one of 3 I follow. Her email this morning was a spiel about how and why she got away from beauty blogging this year. It reads like a response to the criticism in the last few posts here about people preferring how she used to be.

Todays af offering is brilliant, Denstionology holidays, I priced up one for us in the half term in late May/ early June.

In fairness there are 6 of us but the prices are hilarious. The flights are with Ryanair

That’s interesting re Lily Pebbles. Will have a look, not someone I have followed.
Lisa Eldridge’s latest tutorial is an every day look using your existing make up and not buying anything new. She mentions how overwhelming all the new make up launches are. I couldn’t agree more with her!

Bullshitcallerouter seems to be shutting down on instagram, wonder if they’ve been threatened with legal action.

nipersvest see the last IG post, I think some really awful real life events are taking priority for now.

There is an interesting article in today's Times about influencers and the money being made promoting goods. Doesn't take a view about transparency but it is good to see it being discussed - can only lead to more openness.

Megan I saw that too. Very sad.

Does anyone follow @honthehuns on insta? She has posted a @samanthamumba post just now.

It will make your eyes pop.

Lily Pebbles uses her Instagram/Twitter to beg for so much stuff. She's having her house done so keeps tagging kitchen firms, tiles, flooring. When her cleanser runs out she tags the brand and she gets another a day or two later. It's irritating how many bloggers are currently being sent fantastic Jo Malone parcels. It's really putting me off the brand.

Yes! This lily pebbles begging is shocking, it really is. Had to have a laugh because the dehumidifier she blagged it now steaming up her windows.

Just had a look @Ithasbeenalongtime and yes that Icons skincare thing does look photoshopped. I posted a different pic from LF insta where it looked like she'd slimmed her waist.

I do still like Wardrobe Icons even if I miss their more affordable ‘finds’ but I am finding the open mouth pose a bit laughable at this point.

I really do hope understand it! It's just a chance for them to prance about in frocks. How do they make money?? LF is always on holiday. I've discovered Deborah Brett through them too - she's deliciously bonkers!! And mega rich - she's just got a potters wheel for her birthday! Buts it's to be shipped to the house in Spain. Natch.

Agatha, I'm in at that last post on @honthehuns. That is definitely a new low, and deeply concerning considering how young a lot of these followers are. I'm no expert, but isn't advertising medication illegal in the EU? If it doesn't class as medication, it's probably even more concerning as there's absolutely no comparable regulation for proven efficacy. The very last thing you want to be recommending to women who are in a stage of life where they don't want to get pregnant in a country where abortion is not available to them (I'm assuming this is still Ireland we're discussing). Shocking!

Botemp exactly!!!

Yep @wipsglitter, I wasn’t sure on the beach shot as it could just have been clever angles but the hairline on the beauty pic looks strangely fuzzy 🤔. Poor show on a beauty post trying to flog face creams, if she has retouched it. (The slack jaw pose is starting to grate on me a bit too)

That Samantha Mumba post is shockingly irresponsible. Awful.

I had no clue who this Samantha Mumba person was so had a quick glance at her insta, she seems to have form for very poor advice:

samanthamumbaThis is a few of the delicious juices I’ve been drinking from @thejuiceworksireland for the past few days....highly recommend if you’re thinking of doing a cleanse or just replacing one or two meals a day (which is what I’ve done) they are SO yummy😋 This isn’t an ad just sharing a yummy healthy find✨

Yes, very sensible to replace one or two meals with a juice

You'd think the brand would at least rectify such reckless advice, nope, just a thanks for enjoying our products.

No one over the age of eight using the word ‘yummy’ is to be taken seriously.

Lily pebbles did a recent sponsored vlog about how to eat a bowl of special k! Hoenstly, I just find it all laughable.

Honestly! I can spell really.

I like Lily Pebbles but the Special K ad was ridiculous! She was also promoting some HP mini printer before Xmas. Both so far removed from the beauty content she generally posts.