Beauty blogs are a relatively young segment of the Internet. Basically, these are online diaries, makeup lessons on YouTube, master classes. Beauty bloggers try cosmetics and honestly tell readers their impressions.
Renowned British beauty blogger Jane Cunningham openly formulates her challenge: “My goal is to determine whether a given product is trash or not.”* Sometimes the critical opinion of the author of a beauty blog outweighs a solid advertising campaign. Reputation, however, has to be confirmed, since there are always suspicions of commercial bias. Although the real object of advertising is the blogger himself as an author and character, his judgments and opinions, his taste. When discussing online, participants tend to link to their own blog as a caption at the end of a comment. Independent beauty bloggers can touch on sensitive issues: it’s no secret that many procedures in beauty salons actually belong to the «gray zone» between beauty and health. The damage from bad practices can be palpable, so it’s instructive to read the devastating reports of supposedly «miraculous» weight loss massages, and the Beauty Insider blog even features «Angry Customer Corner» and «Don’t Get It»**. One of the most popular beauty blogs in the English-speaking world is run by Michelle Phan, who has earned a reputation as a beauty guru***. Her recent record is a billion (!) views of her videos. She, perhaps, combines all the advantages of a beauty blogger. Her productivity and efficiency are amazing, unexpected topics — for example, how to achieve the “blush after frost” effect. Michelle studied art history and, using the example of portraiture, analyzed the distribution of light and shadow on the face, which allowed her to draw a non-trivial conclusion: “Make-up is an art; the only difference is that the pattern is created on a moving surface that changes throughout the day.” And Michel also believes that “makeup is an additional opportunity for self-expression, a powerful tool that allows us to correct the perception of ourselves.”
Clearly, internet culture creates the optimal space for an independent female voice. The femininity options on beauty blogs can be radically different from the standards of glam culture: the online world has room for both funky beauty and emo makeup. Virtual beauty is free and diverse — as it should be.
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