A Word About Our Product Reviews
Whenever people preface a statement with “in the interest of transparency,” I assume I’m about to be lied to.
Maybe it’s the Scorpio in me, or the fact that I’ve heard it more times than I can count (especially in the workplace, but only at previous jobs, thank goodness!), but it reminds me of when people say things like “with all due respect.” If someone says “with all due respect” to you, you’re probably about to be served. That said…
In the interest of actual, true, real, oh-my-god-just-believe-me-I’m-too-tired-to-lie transparency, we’d like to talk about how product reviews come about on this site. Because there’s about to be more of them.
I’m convinced that people who don’t work in the beauty business sort of want to know how editorial reviews actually happen. Can you trust them? Are they BS? I’m compelled to address it because I’m about to go crazy with product reviews. I have tried so many new things lately, and I’m bananas about a lot of them. This doesn’t happen a lot! But we want you to be able to trust where it’s coming from, because that’s what No More Dirty Looks is all about. For serious. So here, let us answer some questions we imagine you might have about our review process.
1. Do you just get everything your hearts desire for free?
Heck no. I mean, we get a lot of free stuff, for sure. More on that in a moment. But if we did get whatever we wanted for free, we wouldn’t be forking over mucho cash for Tammy Fender every time we run out of that Intensive Repair Balm, for instance, or loading up on three Infinite Love perfumes at a time on the Lotus Wei site. We also wouldn’t be re-upping on the Kahina cleanser from our own OpenSky boutique, or whining because 100% Pure has been out of stock out on our favorite face sunscreen for months—which we know, because we ran out and wanted to buy more. So yeah. We want you to know that we buy stuff too. Most of it, in fact.
2. But the first products are free, right? Just so you can try it and review it?
Oftentimes, we get sample sizes of things for free to start. Some people send us full sizes, which is awesome—but rare. Sometimes, too, people have asked us to test products that are still in development to offer feedback, in which case those are technically free, too. Once we’ve reviewed something, sometimes people like to spoil us rotten, usually because of two things. First, because we’ve written nice things about their products, every word of which we meant, and they want to say thanks. And second, some of these people have become friends, and sometimes friends like to spoil each other. But this is extremely rare, in any case.
3. Do you endorse things because of paid advertising?
Ha. Well, look around. We’ve obviously found the way around this: We don’t have ads on our site, we do this whole thing for free (aside from the Friday Deals, which we get a flat rate to host). Those deals are the only semi-commercial thing we do on the site and the reason for it was mostly benevolent: Clean beauty can be costly. Plus, you seem to love them. Plus, they keep this site running. Also, as we have said, we only do deals with companies we endorsed beforehand and handpicked because they’re so clean and high-performance.
4. Why don’t you ever rag on products you hate?
We have a policy when it comes to product reviews, and that policy is “if you don’t have anything nice to say, find something you do have something to nice to say about, and talk about that instead.” Basically, if we don’t like something or don’t love something, we just leave it out. Which does not mean that if we don’t review something we hate it. We’re only two people! And we, like you, like what we like!
5. Do you only review things when PR people send you emails about it?
Ha. What a crappy question! You guys would never ask that, we know, but the answer is “of course not.” Honestly, most of the products we try and review here are things we found ourselves, or that we told each other about, or that our retailer pals like Spirit Beauty and NuboNau told us about, or that we read about online. Once in awhile a press release comes our way and we have that head-slapping moment and we just cant wait to get your paws on the new line. It’s honestly amazing when this happens, mainly because it’s so rare. And as much as we try to stay on top of what’s new, that alone would be a full-time job in this exploding clean cosmetics category.
OK so we’re sure we missed some stuff. If you have questions, please ask them. Your trust is really important to us. We’ll try to get to all of them in the comments. And if you just have, well, comments: As ever, the floor is yours.
It’s great to know that your reviews are unbiased :). I don’t know about others, but I personally would appreciate it if you could give us insight into the negatives of a product that you reviewed. I find it refreshing to hear a balanced point of view (unless the product is 100% gold worthy perfection). Also with the reviews, especially the skincare based ones, could you tell us how long roughly before you really saw any results? As always, thank you for creating this awesome blog xx
For reviews, I would absolutely love if you showed pictures of products, color swatches, and maybe even pictures wearing the products. I mean, the vintage photos and all are cute but if it’s a review I’d rather see pictures of the product! Please?
Ugh yes! It’s like “don’t take this the wrong way, but…” Thanks for your actual transparency! I do agree with Cara, hearing whatever negatives or cons there may be is nice, unless, as she said, it is actual gold worthy perfection; also, how long you used it before you saw results is a really valuable piece of information, too. I can’t wait for these reviews! Your review of RMS Beauty’s Living Luminizer, which I read about a year ago, sparked my entire switch over to pure, natural, and thoughtfully sourced products- so, know that both of you being so willing to be guinea pigs of sorts is appreciated!
Thanks for this post Siobhan! Since I started my posts here with product reviews, I thought about readers wondering the things you address above. I tried a ton of stuff that I purchased myself in my process of becoming truly clean, and everything I’ve reviewed so far is in that category. I wouldn’t bother writing a post about something I didn’t like, but I do try to mention any downside of a product I do like (and I certainly comment honestly on other posts). I’ll only ever review vegan, gluten-free products, because I wouldn’t or couldn’t use anything else. But of course there are great products out there that don’t fit my particulars. If I ever do get free stuff, that wouldn’t change my opinion or what I have to say publicly.
Nice post. Just in case someone was left wondering..
One point I’d like to bring (again) that might be helpful to all… would be that when a review comes up for let’s say a new concealer , to give us some pointers on how it would compare to a previously raved one. You wouldn’t be ill speaking of the previous one but would make fair comparisions (texture, color range,price range,packaging,etc)
Thank you for the transparency! On a sort of unrelated note, do you guys have any news on when your favorite sunscreen will be back in stock with 100% Pure? There are so many things of theirs that I want to try, but it seems like everything I want is out of stock (including the sunscreen, obviously)!
I love the “maybe it’s the Scorpio in me” part. Scorpios can be very skeptical and love to play detective (huge astrology freak, right here). Anyway, I’d like to thank you ladies for your unbiased reviews. Your blog is my absolute favorite and I really appreciate the time you put into it. It keeps me entertained and informed! Keep doing what you’re doing!
I’m a little confused as to why you don’t review things you don’t like. If there is a genuine issue you had with a product why not tell us? I remember you reviewed a sunscreen a while ago which I then bought and found the consistency to be awful on my skin. You guys had said is absorbed easily, Iwhereas I felt like I had been through a carwash and polish with it on, needed industrial strength exfoliation to get the damn thing off, and I burned where water droplets pooled on my water-proofed skin. I left a comment to that effect in the post. Obviously everyone’s mileage may vary for any given product but still, I think a fair review is better than no review.
This is great news! I can’t wait to see more reviews! I definitely agree with Elizabeth that showing pictures/swatches of the products would be super helpful. Even if it’s a product you weren’t crazy about, it’s nice to see swatches to get an idea (especially with makeup) as it’s sometimes hard to find pictures/swatches of clean products online. For example, I can find 2 million pictures of someone wearing a MAC blush but only a handful of pictures of alima pure’s blushes. Also LOL @ “maybe it’s the Scorpio in me”…. I’m a Scorpio so I can totally relate.
As for pictures, my preference is a shot of the product with a verbal description of color. Colors look different on different skin tones, monitors, etc. I think pics can be helpful but I’m not sure it’s worth the time and energy for someone not making a living from their blog to do all it would take to do really good swatches. I think that more companies ought to provide good quality swatches on their websites (and have samples at minimal cost). It’s probably not reasonable for one reviewer to do all the colors of a given product anyway.
I would love to know the negatives about products because that’s just as important as the positives! Plus photo’s of the products would be nice!
xoxo Sarah
theantiquepearl.blogspot.com
I would actually prefer you write honest reviews of products you don’t like. I come here a lot of times to see what you say about a product I’m going to buy. If you tested something and it was a waste of money and you don’t tell me, I may end up buying it. At least if you give us the pro’s and con’s we can make our own decision. I’d appreciate it anyways, don’t know about everyone else.
Wow..this one is my current topic as well on my latest post!What a coincidence!:D As for me,even if I don’t like the products that company sent me,i’ll still say that.The different is only:I don’t give product ratings for sponsored review.But the review will still be honest.On top of that,I like company that seek for our feedback,not just our praises.
I heart you guys like crazy but I don’t really come to you for reviews… personally I can’t/don’t want to spend 150$+ on my skincare regimen, or 30$+ for a lip gloss, etc, even if the coconut oil was hand-picked in the Himalayan hills by virgins or whatever. I find there’s a two-tiered thing happening in the natural cosmetics world, which is how it is in the mainstream world (drugstore vs. department store), but it’s trickier because guidance and suggestions are harder to come by when going natural. In my experience, you can find really good quality products at affordable prices, you just need to search a little harder because they don’t spend a lot on marketing or website design, etc. I’ve tried some of the hyped-up more expensive brands and been pretty disappointed actually, not to mention it costs like 30$ just to sample their products! Anyway. Rant done. Carry on. You guys rock and changed my life with your book.
I would love to read your \bad\ reviews too. I understand that it’s maybe not a good idea for a whole post, but once in a while like \mispurchase of the month\ would be great?! To say a product smells bad, makes your skin dry or whatever could be helpful too
I really think you should let your readers know about the shortcomings of the products you review. Most, if not all, other reviews are separated as “Pros, Cons, Conclusion” so as to give their readers a balanced “picture” of the product’s worth. Not to mention that the companies need to know where improvement is needed. When one of the products you review costs nearly as much money as it costs to feed my family of four adults for 5 days, I think that this is even more important.
@Michele, can you share some names/websites of more affordable beauty products? Virtually none of the ones on NMDL are remotely affordable for me…
The cost issue is a tough one. Everyone will have their own idea of what is affordable. I consider a $13 lipstick super cheap, but not everyone will agree. I also consider an $80 bottle of argan cheap when it lasts for 6 months. But spending all in one chunk is not realistic for everyone. When cost is an issue, I’d go cheaper or DIY on the simpler things like washes and moisturizers, but spend more on cosmetics that I don’t feel like I have the skill to make myself. Part of what I find useful about reviews is learning which ingredients/combinations people seem to like, then I can use those ingredients in a DIY if I don’t want to spend the money on a brand.
I appreciate this post. I am a Skeptical Scorpio, and while I wasn’t doubting you two girls, advertising is always something I pay attention to and often get annoyed by. I like the way deals, reviews etc are done on this site and I think you are doing a stellar job.
I agree with X, all products have their pros and cons no matter how great they are so I think it would be helpful to include in reviews. This is not bashing a company – it’s informing us of options. For example, a cream highlighter with a cocoa butter base and such might be great for the winter but maybe not so much on hot, humid summer days. So, I would appreciate the “pros, cons, conclusion” as part of reviews. I can understand that you don’t want to waste time reviewing products that you don’t like.
On another note, I completely believe that moving toward clean green products means simplifying. I don’t mind paying for a great product but I’m not going to be running out and grabbing every new thing. An overflowing bathroom cabinet gives me anxiety.
There are many subscription services that send out natural Beaty and lifestyle products in sample sizes. I have really loved finding new products in Eco Emi boxes and have considered Blissmobox Box and Yuzen (who had Lotus Wei mists this month.). Other peoples reviews are great, but I love to try stuff myself. I get Citrus Lane for my baby, too, as it can be even harder to find stuff for little ones. I don’t have an overflowing bathroom cabinet but still get to try small sizes of new things.