During my journey back into the world of makeup, I couldn’t help but notice a common theme among beauty bloggers and vloggers: countless suggestions and/or reviews of cosmetic products or haul videos.

Now, don’t get me wrong: I’ve done reviews and suggestions on the site too – it just comes with the territory. But while I sat on my ottoman reading and watching blog entries and videos, I couldn’t help but feel disconnected to the author or vlogger. At first, I shrugged it off, thinking it was due to the fact that I haven’t been involved with the cosmetic community for a good amount of time. But the disconnection remained and the more I read and/or saw, the more I realized that the disconnection wasn’t from a sense of unfamiliarity.

I couldn’t click with beauty blog entries about product reviews and vlogs by makeup artists because we were, essentially, strangers linked by a computer, a camera, and the Internet. The well-known bloggers and MUA vloggers didn’t know me on a personal level – they don’t know that I have acne-prone skin, that I have redness, that I have a warm shade but with neutral or possibly olive undertone (according to an Ulta worker), that I like glittery eyeshadow more than matte eyeshadow. That I liked rosy colors more than smoky eye.

Contrary to popular belief, the blog entries and videos churned out by well-known beauty bloggers and YouTube tutors are actually impersonal. They’re designed to mass-market certain brands or products that the author likes or has a preference for (and on occasion, they got sponsored by). And the products that they use are more suited for them, not for the general public. What may work for MannyMUA or Michelle Phan may not work for me. 

Speaking of which, you definitely won’t find me doing tutorials or fashion vids. YouTube and the Internet are oversaturated with makeup tutorials to get a certain look (personally, I’m more of the work-with-your-features type) and I personally hate doing swatches on my makeup sets just to show how it looks like on my skin tone – it ain’t universal.

Fashion is also not my strong point – I dress for myself, not for trends.

Product reviews are biased, no matter which way you cut it – what may work for me may not work for you, no matter how good I find the product to be or how much I love the color.

Stay blooming!