Guest Blogspot - life as a Beauty Journalist!

I'm sure that many of us makeup/skincare junkies have often daydreamed about various roles in the beauty industry... The life of a beauty journalist, for example, is definately appealing!

A couple of days ago I guest blogged on the fab BritishBeautyBlogger.blogspot.com all about swap sites...

I'd now like to thank Jane from the blog for doing the same for me and writing this insight into her world as a beauty journo!


"Love my job? I really, truly do! A life long make up fan, it’s more than a pleasure to write about a subject I’m passionate about. But, it’s not quite the glamour filled existence you might imagine. Often, I sit surrounded by products, not really knowing where to start! On first impression, getting ‘free’ beauty products every day seems like a dream come true, but I’ve had to give over an entire room in my house to holding every cream, lotion, potion and lipstick in the world (that’s how it feels!). Behind the stuffed envelopes of course is the expectation of the people who sent them (PR’s usually) that I’ll be able to feature them in the press.

I write sporadically for Metro, occasionally for the Sunday Mirror and am beauty editor for an online magazine called Beautyandthedirt, as well as brand-sourcing (looking for new and unusual brands), writing features and running a blog for a well known beauty retail site. I also write fashion newsletters and web copy. I used to write regularly for The Independent, The Daily Mail and The Daily Express, but as I’ve started to do more on-line writing, some things have had to go. The competition in the current climate for freelance writers is so tough that I’m happy to be happy with what I have, if you understand!

So, really the products aren’t ‘gifts’ and come with a weight of responsibility. In general, I have a good relationship with PRs but I’ll receive between 50 and 80 emails a day asking me to feature their client’s products. That’s on top of phone calls, meet-ups and the dreaded post bag! So, it can be quite difficult to stay fascinated about the latest and greatest.

Going to launches is a must to learn about new products and have current information – often I’ll know about new beauty items hitting the shelves months before they actually do. Launches are a bit daunting; often I won’t know anybody – you’d be surprised at how many times nobody even speaks to me! Trays of canapés are standard, but if you tuck in, that will be the very moment that someone does actually speak – and I’ve got a mouth stuffed with mini-bagel! So despite the enormous amount of delicious food available, I’ll often leave absolutely starving! The other types of launches are presentations by the formulators, manufacturers and PRs and they are so dull it is almost unbearable; like going to a college lecture, I guess.

There are many, many upsides to being a beauty writer; I’ve made some great friends – other writers, PR’s and sometimes even the brand owners, too. I get to go to some amazing venues, and occasionally get out of the country on a press trip, and of course, have access to the every single beauty product I ever fancy trying. My skin veers from being flawless to flippin’ awful because I’m trying so many different things, and no matter how much I love a product, I always have to move on so I can genuinely give other things a go. I’ve stuck through thick and thin though with one particular balm cleanser (Saaf) and won’t be moved to swap to another come what may!

What I love about running my own blog is that I can say what I like; in magazines and newspapers, you always have to consider the advertisers who won’t like to see a negative comment or poor rating on their products – if they’re big spenders with an advertising budget, the papers won’t want to risk that relationship. So, even if I think a product is truly dire, I can very rarely say so. The way round that is, of course, to say nothing about it all. Editors are a law unto themselves, and can hack to pieces a feature I’ve spent days writing – even slashing the best comments (a rather drunk celebrity hairdresser once really let loose and character assassinated some real A listers – I thought it was a coup – the editor slashed the lot!).

In the same vein as the advertising, I also know that if I rubbish a brand or a product, the person who’ll get the backlash is the PR – and that could be someone I’ve worked with for years. Tricky, indeed. Ultimately, the upsides easily outweigh the downs and I still wake up thinking I’m lucky to do something I love."

www.BritishBeautyBlogger.blogspot.com

Hope you enjoyed reading this - I know I did! Thanks again Jane!

MizzWorthy xxx