Why I Give Negative Reviews

I never envisioned I would ever become a blogger, it just kinda happened. It all started a few years back when I came across this little site called youtube, where a British girl named Tanya Burr did a makeup tutorial on Serena van der Woodsen (my ultimate girl crush). After watching that tutorial I then went on to watch all of Tanya's videos (she didn't have many up at the time), and from there became obsessed with youtube and blogs.

During one of Tanya's many tutorials she had said she was using a product that she had just received and as soon as she went to use it said something like "I'm not sure if I like this", and shortly after "maybe this is ok", I instantly took to the comments asking her to please do a review and let us know after using it if she did in fact like it. 

Months went by and I kept checking the comment section of that video to see if she had commented her thoughts, she never did, however plenty of other people had asked for a review as well, I mean it was like $40 for the product, and none of us wanted to waste our money. So I went out one day, bought the product, and that my friends was my very first video!

You may well be asking "Katie, why are you telling us all this?", I recently have come across a handful of my favorite bloggers, that have said they won't do negative reviews anymore. They say if they don't like a product they don't do a video or post about it, they simply move on. One of these bloggers had said it was because the company had worked hard on X product and just because she didn't like it, it shouldn't not be successful.

I thought for a long time about that, and I totally get what she's talking about, but I would counter argue that the time you, the readers, spend earning your money to pay for that product is just as important as the time spent creating the product. That is why I give negative reviews, to save you all money and time that could be otherwise spent with your family, rather than the returns line.

I'm not writing this post to "shame" other bloggers, or call them out in any way, I just feel that I started this whole blogging journey with reviews, and I have never given a review that I felt ashamed of, because I have always been 100% honest on my reasons for liking or not liking a product.

In short the beauty industry (makeup, skincare, haircare, etc) is a MULTI-BILLION dollar industry where they offer thousands of sunscreens, or face lotions, or lipsticks, and sorting out the good from the bad can be expensive, time consuming, and frankly tiring for the skin lol. 

I strongly believe that honest opinions on blogs, youtube, and other social media, has a place within this industry, and while some bloggers may find leaving negative reviews career restrictive, or just unworthy of their time, I will continue to do them when needed, because I know what it's like to choose between your face cleanser or toilet paper, and how frustrating it is when a blogger you have come to trust isn't being honest about products that waste, your hard earned money.