Do you get more or less enjoyment when more engaged with the online beauty community?
There’s a balancing act to it for sure for me. I want to know what the larger community is thinking or how they’re reacting to new releases or events within the community, so I like to keep up with major developments but sometimes avoid getting too mentally involved in the minutia. If I back away entirely from the community, I definitely find my excitement is more muted; for a long while now, a lot of my enjoyment is in delivering a service (reliable reviews, swatches, dupes, etc.) vs. actual products.
— Christine
I enjoy it but it tempts me to buy the products even though I don’t need more.
Although it entices me to buy products I might otherwise not even know about, I like engaging with the online beauty community, especially here at Temptalia. I don’t have anyone in my life who is into makeup as much as I am, so I love the comments section and the back-and-forth between fellow “Temptalians.”
Exactly Seraphine! No-one else I know loves makeup as much as I do, so this forum is a perfect way of expressing my enjoyment, sharing my thoughts and reading others’ views as much as this blog.
Just like Mary, I enjoy it but it does also tempt me into purchasing more products than I otherwise would. But it also increases my enjoyment to talk about the products I’ve purchased or that others have purchased – sharing the fun is part of the fun….
I only enjoy it here. I like the posters here and really appreciate the reviews and swatches. I find it very helpful to curb spending on stuff. I really appreciate the not product review posts about things no buy, curation, rediscoveries, and the weekend threads. I don’t look at YouTube or Instagram. I even search for reviews from here when tempted if I’m out physically shopping. I really rely on reviews for shopping and I’m cautious of reviews on retail sites, especially from those getting free influenster products or a young person giving a review for an anti aging product saying “it did nothing”.
The participation and communication amongst the community here enhances this site and I get great insight from the folks here. ☺️
Your comment about young people and anti-aging products made me laugh! I feel the same way about ads for shapewear shown on thin models.
Yes, I definitely do. There is just something about being part of a group (or two) where there is a shared mutual interest in beauty related topics. Everything from tutorials to new release info to in-depth accurate reviews. I love it all! But, especially the comraderie and sense of community that I’ve found here and a few other select places. At this stage, I’m looking at reducing my ridiculous degree of accumulation and spending, so I’m probably going to have to take a step back. Something I don’t really want to do, however there’s a need building for me to do so.
Ok, you can take a step back from buying, but please don’t take a step back from posting your great comments on Temptalia, Nancy!!!
Don’t stop posting here, Nancy! I’d miss seeing your posts!
Temptalia is the sum total of my beauty community. I love reading Christine’s take on everything, and everyone else’s opinions and experiences. It’s helped me choose better makeup, which I get more enjoyment out of. I enjoy feeling empowered in my buying decisions- and though I bought more at first ‘cuz of all the new products I was being introduced to, I waste less on poor choices, and now (good news bad news) have almost no need to buy anything else. I look at Lisa Eldridge’s videos now and then, but that’s more of a 1:1 experience.
I agree with you totally regarding Temptalia. I withdrew from another beauty forum because I felt that it made me buy more and the forum was a bit too catty/cliquish for me. I get the dose of makeup “talk” and reviews I need here and enjoy the positivity of this website/Christine as well as the users.
One thing about being engaged in the beauty community that has really lessened my enjoyment is seeing how many people just don’t know what they’re talking about. I have a lot of hobbies, and because I’m an artist I mix with a lot of different people. I can’t think of any other hobby/fandom where it’s normal to meet someone passionately involved in the topic, who devotes large amounts of time and money to it, and is wildly misinformed about the basics (I mean everything from who owns a brand, to what vocabulary words mean, to basic color theory). I can’t imagine why makeup should be that way, but it’s always disappointing.
Only here. It goes really nasty fast anywhere else. I like that I can dislike something here and people don’t really care, lol. I say I don’t like something ANYWHERE else and I have royally upset the “stans.” I feel like there is very little thought or ethics in the general beauty community on YouTube and Instagram. It’s mostly drama and pettiness. People talk about “don’t be negative” yet they are so eager to tear someone down they disagree with. I’m pretty tired of it and makes me reluctant to engage with others.
Oh, my, IKWYM. I was speaking with a couple of African American customers about the ‘big chop’ and the Walker, etc. hair classifications. They were amazed I knew anything about it. (Being a 71 y.o. OWB.) We talked about the complexities, but let me tell you, in the article/comments, the population that had committed to natural hair were positively SAVAGE to those who chose sleek, relaxed hair. I mean scary. It’s your hair, and you can define how you want to wear it. I get that it’s an identity issue, but the critics were excoriating the relaxed hair fans as if they were guilty of crimes against culture. Personal attacks for one’s choices, or even lack of knowledge would never happen here.
I constantly have people “correcting me” about my opinion or just nastiness. I can specifically say, “this doesn’t interest me or not the colors for me.” And some will just send me paragraphs, a snippy comment or I have had someone scour my person Instagram and tear down my appearance or make up or something else. I no longer have a personal Instagram where I show my face. I’m thankful I don’t have to deal with any of that here but… Still.
I agree with you tremendously. I love that Christine keeps it friendly here. 🙂
I am thankful too. Thank *you* for being kind too.
If by community one means the whole YouTube/Instagram area, I get less enjoyment overall (although there are some people that still spark the joy). It’s just a continuous ‘what’s new’, ‘first impression’ and haul; I get enjoyment from people speaking about something they tried a lot and really like.
But if by community I was to consider something like people commenting on temptalia, yes it sparks the enjoyment; even reactions to new launches are refreshing, since I can tell it’s genuine. I don’t have other beauty / make-up lovers in my offline life, so it’s nice to have an online space to engage with people.
I love being a part of this community ? it makes my makeup experience so much better. I also find that reading reviews and what everyone here thinks, and talking about makeup fires up my creativity and feeds my curiosity. I love sharing my experience with others and used to post reviews on Sephora until they merged my accounts last year and lost my reviews. That’s actually how I wound up here – looking for more reviews and engagement on makeup. I love that it’s somewhat real-time so we get to share in the ups and downs of releases.
It’s also inspirational to see Christine here 7 days a week. It’s a huge amount of work and you must really love it to work that much.
Thank you Christine!
I get a huge amount of enjoyment coming here for the reviews. Then I read the comments for everyone’s experiences and it really helps exponentially with my purchases or non-purchases. I honestly don’t know what I did before Temptalia!
Being part of an online beauty community has made the world of difference for me. Firstly, I was introduced to brands and products I had never heard of before, as they weren’t available here in Aus. at the time (and some of them still aren’t).
Secondly, I learnt about undertones for my foundation that has ensured that I buy the correct foundation that works for me – and that has made a difference because now my foundation looks ‘right’.
Thirdly, your rating system and dupe list Christine, has made purchasing easier as I know I am getting a good quality product, none of the ‘hit and miss’ aspects of the past.
And lastly, but most importantly, I have come to know and enjoy the regular readers of this blog and love reading their varied comments and responses not only to the beauty offerings reviewed, but also what is happening in their daily life.
I get a vicarious thrill watching others try out new products or write reviews of them. I live in a country where makeup is not widely available and it is cost-prohibitive to ship to. Plus, there are sooo many new beauty releases I could never try them all myself. I love seeing the beauty community online create new looks and get most of my inspiration from it.
I think its more about who you’re engaging with. If you love the hype and the pages that give you drama, then you’re probably going to get more drama and maybe less enjoyment. If you engage with people you truly enjoy and have good interactions then I think it can be a really great uplifting community.
Good question. I love communities like Temptalia because they’re truly all about the love of makeup. I’ve been a beauty and skincare nerd ever since my teenage years in the late 80’s, and it’s both amazing and mind-boggling to see the explosion of new technologies and products available today. I love keeping up with new trends and releases, at first I kind of went a little crazy with wanting all the things but now I’m way more distinctive with what I decide to add to my collection; I depend on impartial reviews offered by sites like Temptalia as a decisional aid and an opportunity to discover new brands and products worthy of my attention. Unfortunately much of the beauty community is like a circus with all the side drama and riffs among influencers and brands vying for our money, I try to check out from that as much as possible while continuing to support my favorite content creators.