Dear Readers,
You’re all savvy dolls so I’m sure you’re already aware of the recent ruling by the FTC regarding the “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”. If you’re not, I suggest checking out this GREAT article by Carleen over at Beauty and Fashion Tech! As a result of this ruling, many of the blogs you’ve come to love that feature reviews and first-hand accounts of experiences with various beauty products and services are going to be implementing some changes in order to comply with the regulations, and so will Beauty Junkies Unite.
It’s commonplace in the industry for independent blog editors and the beauty editors at your favorite glossies to accept press samples of products from the brands or their public relations representatives to use as a tool to evaluate their performance– these experiences are then shared with you on our blogs or in traditional print media. Not all beauty blogs participate in these opportunities, but Beauty Junkies Unite does. This is something I’ve often struggled with because I don’t want anyone to think that my honest opinions could be so easily swayed by the lure of a free beauty product. Yes, I LOVE me some beauty products– I’ve spent thousands of hours being certified for several positions within the beauty industry just so that I could be around them all day! But rest assured, I’ve never accepted press samples as payment or as a contract for a positive review for the product or service and I never will. I’ve accepted them first as tools to evaluate their performance, and second, I consider them for a product review or feature in an effort to keep the content on this blog current, and the material timely. It would get pretty boring around here if I constantly told you about the same 10 of my Holy Grail beauty products over and over again and never added any new products, wouldn’t it? Even though I purchase many of the products I review myself, I can’t afford to buy them all even if I wanted to! I already get enough eye-rolling from my husband every time I try to sneak in the house with a Sephora bag… you have no idea. To be completely honest– many of the products I am sent for consideration never make it on the site because I just didn’t love em’ enough.
Going forward, you’ll notice I’m mentioning the products I do receive for free as samples are stated as such– moreso than usual. As a matter of fact, EVERY TIME you read a review I publish from this moment on, it will clearly be disclosed if the product was received for free either in the review itself, or in a disclosure at the bottom of the actual post. I promise it’s not to sound like I’m such a special diva who gets a bunch of free stuff, but it’s to be in full-compliance with the new regulations regarding this. It’s très tacky when people brag… I promise that’s not what I’m doing! If I have not disclosed a relationship regarding that product at that time, it’s because I didn’t receive the product for free at the time of publishing. This will go in to effect for product or service reviews published on or after October 8, 2009. You may want to check out the new Disclosures & Content Use page for all of the official mumbo jumbo. Thanks for reading all the boring stuff… we can now go back to having fun! Viva la lipstick!
xo
Amber
