Let me start by saying that if a beauty blogger receives PR, it doesn’t bother me. For those of us who live and breathe makeup, either for fun or as job, it gets costly. PR is mostly a good thing because beauty influencers demonstrate the product before consumers make the purchase, saving people money. On the other hand, I feel that there are gurus who abuse the privilege that many of us would love to have.

I do not receive any PR nor am I actively seeking any (for now). I do, however, have a list of brands I would love to work with because I enjoy their products and/or their goals for business. Since I began this blog, I have probably spent over $600 for makeup that I use almost daily. I don’t believe in buying or receiving makeup that you use once and then never touch again. With that said, I am quite conscious of costs and how it affects my household’s finances. To make my job a little easier it would be great to be on the PR lists of brands I use the most, but I feel there are steps to making it on the coveted lists.

I have seen many beauty influencers think that just because they post a photo of them wearing a certain product and tagging the brand that this suddenly means the brand wants to work with you… It does not work like that. Most brands would like to see a blogger with a decent following and good engagement on whatever content you create. You should also BUY from the brand that you want to work with. PR means public relations and without investing into a company and demonstrating your basic knowledge of the brand and its products, they aren’t interested.

One issue I do have with PR is that brands (for the most part) ignore die-hard fans or micro influencers that have put in the effort. Brands often seek the well-known gurus and it does hurt to be ignored. There have been a couple Youtubers like Jeffree Star and Tati Westbrook whom have said that they receive PR from brands that they had either never interacted with or knew anything about. Just as I don’t appreciate watching beauty bloggers grovel for PR, I don’t like brands harassing the gurus for exposure. Respect is a huge part of any relationship you have.

Sorry for a long and wordy post but I had to throw my opinion in the community as well. This is a hot issue in the beauty community and I feel that most PR is a good thing but both brands and influencers need to stop expecting that people want to work with them. You have to earn the right to receive free product (for influencers) or prove that your products are of good quality (for brands).

What are your thoughts about PR in the beauty community? Sound off below and be sure to follow/subscribe to The Trendy Wallet for a bunch of beauty stuff; launches, tips, swatches, reviews, etc. You can also find me on social media (links in sidebar!)

Photo credits:

NYX package (Google images)

Glam Vice Cosmetics PR search (Instagram)

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