Five Things Beauty Blogging Has Taught Me About Makeup

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In my nearly nine months of blogging, one thing that’s surprised me is the large amount of makeup and beauty posts that I’ve written. When I created Currently, Lately back in August, I imagined beauty would be a small portion of my blog, not a major component. While I’ve always enjoyed makeup, I’m by no means a professional artist. It’s something that I do for fun and have never taken very seriously.

However, after glancing back at a few of my old blog posts (something I would strongly advise against unless you’re looking for content to delete…I find my old posts mortifying), I realized that I’ve written about beauty quite a lot on this blog, which I believe is a result of blogging itself. The beauty community has taught me so much about makeup and I think that it’s inspired my interest in the subject.

That being said, I’ve picked up many tips and tricks about makeup in my time blogging. These are a few things that have really stood out to me as the most significant.

Always read and review:

Before I started blogging, I’ll admit I never took the time to read reviews on the products I was interested in buying. If something looked interesting to me, I would pick it up and try it out without thinking anything about it. While sometimes I would find good products this way, most of the time I ended up buying things that I strongly disliked. Most of the products on my list of items that I would never buy again were chosen that way.

Beauty blogging has taught me how useful it is to read product reviews. Hearing what other people think of a particular product can save you from wasting your money on something terrible, or introduce you to something great. Even though we all have different opinions, it’s good to get a general idea of what people think before you buy a product, especially if it’s on the expensive side.

Likewise, it’s equally as important to review the items you have strong feelings about. Whether you really love a product or really hate a product, it’s good to let your opinion be known. Beauty blogging has shown me that it’s smart to research products before you buy.

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High-End Doesn’t Always Mean High-Quality:

I feel like it’s a common misconception that high prices translate to high quality products, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. In some cases, drug store versions are better than high-end ones. For example, I like the NYX Butter Glosses better than any other high-end gloss that I’ve tried. The same goes for the Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder. It’s important not to assume that something being expensive automatically means that it’s good. Drug store brands have a lot of great products to offer, so they shouldn’t be thought of as inferior to high-end ones.

Good Deals Are Constantly Going On:

Makeup is certainly an expensive hobby, but deals are always going on. If you check out different brands and beauty stores online, chances are you’ll find a good sale or two. This makes it a lot easier to buy the products you like without spending more than you should.

Plus, even if you don’t know about a good deal that’s going on, there are always beauty bloggers who do. Many of the times I’ve heard about fantastic sales that brands are having, it’s been through Twitter or Instagram. The beauty community is good at spreading the word about deals.

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Yes, Brushes Matter:

Am I the only one who used to think of brushes as relatively unimportant? For a while, all I owned were these $1 brushes from E.L.F, which had terribly rough bristles that fell out almost every time I used them. It wasn’t until I tried out these Emax brushes  that I realized having a good set could really make a difference in makeup application.

While these brushes aren’t super expensive, they are significantly nicer than the ones I used to use. My makeup, particularly my bronzer, has looked much better since I started using them. The beauty community has introduced me to a lot of different brush sets and shown me the difference that a good one can make.

Photos Are Not Always Accurate:

If there’s one thing beauty blogging has taught me, it’s that pictures are not always accurate reflections of the products they showcase. The way that a color looks in an image online doesn’t necessarily appear the same in-person. This knowledge has made me very cautious when I purchase online, specifically lipsticks and nail polishes. It’s definitely helpful to think myself ‘maybe I should swatch this in-person’ before I make an online purchase.

What are some things you’ve learned about makeup?

 Sincerely,

Paige

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22 thoughts on “Five Things Beauty Blogging Has Taught Me About Makeup”

  1. This post reminded me I should probably buy some nice brushes haha! I’ve never been super serious about my brushes, but the ELF ones aren’t very high quality. What kind of brush would you recommend?! Amazing post as always & lovely pics!

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  2. Thanks for this post, Paige! Super helpful as I am just getting into makeup and (a little bit of) beauty blogging myself. I haven’t gotten very far yet and what you said about brushes stood out to me because I’m still using the cheap ones; thank you for the recommendation – I’ll check out those brushes! ^_^
    New follower here, looking forward to your future posts!

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    1. You’re welcome! I so happy you found it helpful 🙂 I was hesitant to try nicer brushes for a while, mainly because I didn’t see the point of paying a lot for something that you could get for inexpensive, but I definitely see how important it is now! I really love my brushes and they aren’t extremely expensive either. And thank you so much!

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    1. Thank you! And I agree so much. It’s nice to be able to hear what other people think about a product before spending the money on it, especially when it’s high-end. Reviews have definitely saved me from buying some really terrible products!

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  6. I loved this post and I agree with all your points! One thing I’ve learned from beauty blogging is that just because it works for one person, doesn’t mean it’ll work for another! There’s a lot of “cult” products that are Holy Grail that I think are low key trash and lots of products others don’t like that I love!

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    1. Thank you so much! And I agree with that as well! A lot of the products that are really hyped up end up being very disappointing. I know so many people who loved the Benefit Porefessional Primer, but I absolutely hated it!

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  7. I’ve definitely learned my lesson on the importance of reviewing! I remember first getting into makeup and buying this collection of lipsticks that I absolutely hated. I never read reviews on them until like 4 months later and most of them said “if you don’t like sheer coverage and/or you have dry lips, these are not the products for you” and I was like, “dang, I wish I had read!”

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  14. This is SPOT on! I have also learned the hard way, but sometimes that’s what it takes. As a blogger I get sent a ton of makeup each week to test out so for me its good because I rarely purchase anything. Unless its a LE product that I cant live without. Great tips though! I followed ya! xo

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