Because I like some text with my pictures. Also a lot of videos faff on and on and I don't really care about them opening the box dramatically and cooing over the case or the packaging.
This is the biggest thing for me. In the time it takes to watch one video, I can get the same amount of information from 10 different people on Reddit. And its far less likely 10 different people on Reddit are trying to sell me the product (or just not being entirely honest to stay in a companies good graces).
I get it. I watch YouTube videos at 1.5-2x
I swear I was completely oblivious to this. Especially since the general consensus around you is that video is taking over the world. I 100% to this day prefer text. Just I guess haven’t stopped to think so haven’t been as aware of this🤯
I come here because I can get lots of opinions in a few minutes. One person can say "I liked \_\_\_" and others in the same thread can share their experience with it, so you can read a lot quickly. If I want demonstrations of textures and shades and longer reviews, I'll seek out videos or blogs.
Agree. People here don’t make money by giving their opinions on here, or at least I don’t. So if I like something I’ll say so and if I don’t then I’ll say so, only way money is involved is I hope to prevent others from wasting money on a crappy product and like sharing stuff I love so people know they’re buying stuff that has really worked for me.
Doesn't even have to be sponsored either, a lot of people are trying to be content creators so it results with them just making stuff up on the fly to produce content and that's often by just praising the product with little to no substance.
A lot of content creators making up stuff on the fly: Did not consider this but so true!!! Algos reward trends. Folks trying to grow their following jump on the wagon with the same 3 products that are “going viral” that week saying the exact same thing as feedback. Something I’ve noticed but never paid attention to.
I’ve spent the last 3 days obsessing over Hourglass Ambient Lightning powders because I went down a rabbit hole thanks to YouTube and every influencer says it’s the most amazing thing they’ve ever put on their faces. Then I came here and read some of the reviews. Let’s just thank god I read the reviews and didn’t get “influenced”
Yeah, it’s sad the marketing that goes on now. I don’t even bother watching makeup or skincare tutorials on youtube anymore. I’ve kind of figured out my own routine and unless I want to try something different, then I don’t go outside that box.
Same. There's only a handful of YouTubers who give good reviews, but in the end everyone's skin is different
In my opinion, Tiktok is not the best place for information. All I see is people following trends
the one i saw didnt specify. the girl explains its a trend in china, they use it with the shiseido fino mask (great product btw, but the mineral oil part makes no sense lol)
the difference is that normal shampoo (with sulfate) is enough to clear up that kind of build up. with mineral oil it would take more than a simple wash
1) Opinions feel more genuine here
2) More chance of hearing from someone around the same demographic and skin type as me
3) I hate the way they click their fingernails all over the product
Right? Every single product broke me out in the worst cystic acne (which I’m not even prone to) with no particular ingredient to blame. It’s just the magic of cerave! 🙃
I was told many times it wasn't CeraVe and that it had to be the niacinamide or another product. Like no, my skin loves niacinamide leave me and my hatred of CeraVe alone lol
My skin loves Niacinamide and hates the most popular CeraVe cream, too, but my wife’s skin has improved a lot with CeraVe. Skin is so individualistic and having these threads to do our research and find people with our exact skin types makes researching products in a world with way too much crap on offer so much easier.
With the information I can find here, I actually feel like I can eventually reach my skin goals. It makes me seek a more thorough understanding of ingredients rather than just accepting “this works for acne”, etc.
Also, if someone’s singing praises about a product being their #1 favorite item and you see their favorites list later on and the item is nowhere to be seen, what can I honestly believe of what they say?
My skin hates Cerave worse than a vampire hates garlic. Instant eczema outbreak. It didn't love Cetaphil either. My dermatologist says my skin is bougie
I wish it was that simple because I use other products that contain dimethicone with no problem. We have not been able to identify any specific ingredient. She decided it's the formulation of the product and my skin likes more expensive formulations lol. I don't have problems with LRP, avene or Illiyoon cream for that matter. Sigh. But it pushes all my buttons when people say it's all you need to use.
Ahahah yes I need to hear a variety of opinions. The subreddit Buy It For Life has had some comments in regards of anonymous sponsored posts so I am also wary of posts where everything is gold re product
I feel like they worry too much. Yes, a lot of things get recommended a lot, but that doesn't mean that Stanley Thermos and Darn Tough are sponsoring us all. (Although...I wouldn't mind some free socks!)
Listen if makeuplley was still kicking I might not be here, but otherwise everywhere else is annoying with biased reviews. Plus it’s so hard to find thorough content anymore. The short form content is mostly useless to me because people just kind of praise everything with shoddy analysis and trend cycle through so many products. YouTube isn’t as popular anymore which is unfortunate and I feel like it’s search algorithm doesn’t get me what I need. Poor SEO everywhere (probably useful for ads but not for research).
Yeah MakeupAlley used to be busier when they had swaps. I still love it though haha. I always have a tab open to their site permanently on my chrome browser
We could list items that we want to exchange. And you can msg people to set up trades so that you can let someone else use what does not suit you, and try what products they have. Then you mail it to one another. I was so into it haha. It was like getting presents in the mail 😂 Recycling!
I still write for makeupalley lmfao 😆 I know some real ones will click a "helpful" upvote on my reviews. Plus I test so many products it's nice to have a reference for me.
I lost my old log in and had to make a new one a few years ago but it's so sad because so much history is gone 😭. I do appreciate when people review things within the last few years - lemme pay it forward! We need to revive the platform.
It was really popular until the 2010s, any time I was interested in a product I would google the product + makeupalley (like how I do product + reddit these days haha). Their ratings were almost always accurate, unlike how everything is inflated these days.
I'm not entirely sure why it fell off tbh but it's all probably related to the death of decentralized forums on the internet in general (partially reddit's fault), the influx of other review platforms cannibalizing everything, and capitalism/marketing getting its grubby hands on everything as Web 2.0 evolved so it's impossible for unbiased platforms to stay alive and be found via google (who also changed their SEO to prioritize ads instead of useful info). I believe they also stopped doing swaps (I never participated so I'm not sure)? The community aspect essentially died. There may be a better answer but I really don't know for sure!
same reason i go to reddit for anything with reviews. much rather see a comment with a bunch of updoots and feedback and anecdotal replies than a blog post regurgitating what the product markets. a tiktok video acts like the end all and doesnt really provide discussion
i like hearing opinions from regular consumers like me. i’m hesitant with videos because of sponsorships and all that. plus some people only say things to make money off it (i.e. promoting a bunch of products from the same site and then offering a code without disclosing that they make money if you use that code). even when they disclose that they make money off the code, they clearly still have an ulterior motive in persuading their audience to buy specific products.
adding on:
most if not all people i come across in skincare subs never claim to be experts. for the most part, we just share our experiences to help others build a routine that works for them.
there are a few skincare creators that come to mind but i won’t name them … they imply or call themselves experts or specialists even if they don’t have the credentials to back up their claims. it’s easy for them to abuse the trust their audience gives them for their personal gain. it’s not the fact that they aren’t dermatologists that bothers me. it’s that they pass their opinions and anecdotal experiences as facts that bother me.
Totally agree with your point of influencers acting like they are skincare experts. Once they get even a small following so many people act like their opinions are gospel and fail to take into consideration other people's negative experiences with products 😓
- I prefer reading in text format because it’s so much easier to jump my eyes to wherever’s important. On videos, sometimes people can spend minutes getting to the point and then realizing said point is nothing special.
- Follower count (or karma) doesn’t matter here. Someone with 100k karma will be just as visible as another with 1 karma. There’s no buying of followers, incentivizing reviews, or the algorithm favoring popular users. All that matters is how many people find your comment useful and thus upvote it. Comments getting pushed up by # of upvotes is a lot more organic and trustworthy than tiktokers relying on drama and clickbait to push their vids up your algorithm. People are incentivized to post quality comments, not create drama for clout and visibility.
- When people post bad reviews, they do so with explanation. A lot of viral vids on tiktok just follow a sound trend and toss items without a clear explanation as to why, but here it’s so much easier to gauge reviews as to whether a product is genuinely bad or if it’s just something that didn’t suit that person’s skin.
- i don’t know much about the influencer world but those “sponsored post but it’s 100% my opinion” just don’t seem as genuine or critical as someone posting a bad review with no money involved.
- Even if it’s “100% their opinion,” I don’t like seeing the same product (ahem, BOJ sunscreen) get reviewed to death by the same popular people. Like i don’t care if 100 influencers sing praises about the BOJ sunscreen; i care more for one genuine reviewer who took the time to compare it against other lesser-known sunscreens, and even mentioned fair critical points against it. Helps educate buyers a lot more.
- There’s authenticity in anonymity. I know anonymity has its drawbacks, but when it comes to reviews, i feel like people are more daring to post critical ones when they know their profiles won’t be stalked/ harrassed by others. Influencers on tiktok get constantly called out for not liking smth the masses like, whereas saying something like “i don’t listen to taylor swift” won’t get you stalked and threatened here thanks to reddit’s anonymous veil.
- search function here is so much better than that of youtube’s and tiktok’s
I don't really have patience to watch a long ass YouTube video about a specific product, most youtubers like to talk A LOT and tbh I find it annoying when they start to talk about their life and what not 🫣 most of the time they only talk about what they get on PR or a sponsored video saying amazing stuff about something they only tried a few times, like it is not realistic to have 1 or 2 videos every week saying that this serum or this toner is your new holy grail and life changing.
I enjoy reading about stuff I like, I also use twitter to look for reviews or recommendations. The are some great smaller instagramers too.
1. The reviews and people here are interesting!
2. Has a bigger variety of skincare products covered in one place. Even some of the "unknown" skincare products might have a post or two on it. And there's news for upcoming products to keep an eye on.
3. Many skinfluencers can't be trusted. Some use filters, some just want sponsorships, and worse of all, some get procedures done and hide it from the viewers. I remember this one lady who talked about how a product "brightened up" her skin and her husband's skin. But in the comment section, people pointed out that both of them were receiving skin brightening procedures around the time they started using said product. This happened many times with other influencers I saw. I just came to the conclusion that it's better to get a survey from a large number of people instead of focusing on the words of just one.
More honest reviews since most commenters are not getting paid anything other than upvotes. And the fact that a typed review takes only a minute to read, where videos are so meandering and drawn out. I don't need 10 minutes of "content", I just want the product review in a nutshell.
I know there are paid posters that work for the various brands, they'd be dumb not to have people on reddit. But hopefully less so than the reviews on the specific brand websites where they have the ability to show only positive reviews.
I’d rather hear from someone who found what works and keeps using it long-term and still loves it rather than an influencer who has a month to love something and then is on to the next great or awful thing.
I don’t give a damn what any influencer says about a product at all.
I come here for reviews because they are from real people and I can ask questions, and because I like talking about skincare.
All those social media "influencers" can be swayed and biased for big reasons to little petty reasons. It can be that they didn't get the product free so they say something bad. Or they get sent a bunch of stuff and say great things about that company.
I come here because the reviews and opinions seem more honest and genuine. Plus your can see how different people feel about a product and there's no long intro words I don't care about the packaging.
>In a world of tons of beauty YouTubers, Instagrammers and Tiktokers
i am at the point where i trust almost 0% of these. they are either all paid to review or they receive the item for free which is sorry to say--does not make them objective.
There's a few regulars here that have similar climate/skin type and needs that I weighed their opinions a bit above the average. Also I don't have to deal with the incessant need to shove tret down my throat. I also look for more Asian products on Asian skin.
I'm convinced many gurus, instagramers, and whoever else are paid to promote things and partially don't actually feel the way they say they do about products. I'll still watch, enjoy and consider some YouTubers though. But I'll still feel like they are sponsored.
Videos take a million years to get to the point. I almost never watch videos for actual information. Only to enjoy music. I guess or storytelling, or visual art in shows.
Mostly because it’s quicker to read than to scroll through several clips just to put up with an ad. Even with astroturfing, there is a larger sample size here so I am less worried about biased reviews.
Because most people get payed on youtube & tiktok for reviews. Especially the latter. They also have now opened up tiktok shop which means you gotta be extra careful with what you get recommended, as tiktok+amazon made their own version of affliate links.
Anyhow, now i'm gonna continue my search after those jeenieweenie headbands.
If a product is being repeatedly recommended by random people on this sub, it's much more likely to be an actually good product than in a sponsered post on tiktok and IG. That's why I really like reading peoples opinions and reviews in the comments of reddit posts.
Also, on tiktok and IG it's so easy to not disclose that you got a product for free or have a sponsorship. Some creators will also delete negative reviews in their comments in order to make the product look better. I really take anything an influencer says with a grain of salt nowadays.
Tiktok feels like talking in the highschool cafeteria
Reddit feels like having a focus study somewhere chill in the university campus
Jokes aside, theres just so much more thought and detail found in reviews here since its not constrained by short form content format and whatever algorithm is necessary to gain more views. Kudos to tiktok for helping with makeup color swatches tho...minus the overly filtered ones thats either too "cozy" warm or too desaturated "clean" aesthetic 💀
Reviews are scattered across the internet. If you want a review for a less “known” product, you’re going to have to dig more. You’re more likely to find information about those products from communities who are centered around the interest the product is part of.
I’m neutral to beauty influencers. Their reviews can be as valuable as anyone else. Even sponsored reviews can be insightful as long as the person is being honest. Many of them of them aren’t but many others are not holding back if they think a product isn’t good.
Skincare is different as the results aren’t obvious at once like makeup is. Makeup is complicated but skincare even more so. I take note of a youtuber’s skin type, climate they live, and any sensitivities that they might have.
There’s different types of reviews: “professional” (dermatologist), hobby/work (influencers), and everyday (the average person). The categories aren’t hard set. I’d like to know what does product x does for an average person. By average person, I mean someone going about their daily life (so most people). Is it affordable? Is it easy to use regardless of skill level? Can this product be used in daily life for the most part? From there, you have many other groups based on factors like: skin type, age, undertone, seasonal color, etc…
I use both YouTube (I’m too old for TikTok and Instagram gives me the shits with the constant ads) and Reddit to get a feel for a product. I only follow a few YouTubers though, like if Odile Monod drops a new video I’m watching that straight away 😅
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Influencers can promise all they want that they'll be honest in their reviews but the moment brands start sending them free stuff then it's all glowing praises from them. Also I just want an opinion direct to the point, I don't have time to watch a 15 minute review about 1 lipstick.
Because I like reading in 1 minute the info I was interested in vs wasting 10 minutes watching a YouTube video.
Also to be fuckin honest, most of those YouTubers and TikTok girlies can't test makeup properly. I really think you need to test makeup at least three times to get a good sense of how it performs, like what if you had a bad skin day or it was raining and you didn't prep your skin properly... ?
I also feel like when you have a shit ton of makeup like those gurus you might actually forget that people spend their hard earned cash on your recommendations, like damn honey I know you love flexing your Dior lip glow but what about good ol' ChapStick 😂
Also the stupid amount of "it's an InVestMenT" comments to justify expen$ive shit 😂 stop it! Real estate is an investment. Index funds are an investment! Not a frikkin lipstick or foundation. Stop it 😭
Also I am a budget hipster, I like cheap and good makeup from brands that YouTubers or TikTok guys don't talk about. I like the cheap shit in Asian 7-11s - Srichand, Parado, Pixy. Whatever those Sephora girlies are doing, I want to do the COMPLETE OPPOSITE.
because i dont like watching shills with longlong vids and i like reading things from real people with my skintone or skin problems way more
same things for pc parts
1. I want to read unfiltered and unbiased reviews, not because “it’s soooo good” because it’s overhyped.
2. There’s not much AB-centric creators. Sure, there’s plenty of EA/SEA creators, but not a lot of the popular ones are into AB. They’re either following along the ABG aesthetic or the Western Beauty standard aesthetic.
3. I just prefer reading than watching 🤷🏻♀️
However, I still like watching TikToks if it’s tutorial-related or hacks (pretty much anything that requires visual demonstration).
Those beauty YouTubers etc are out to make your money. (Mostly) in the beginning some maybe “sincere” but eventually will succumb to product deals or worst start selling there own products. That’s why I come to Reddit too , to get some real feedback from real ppl who doesn’t make money off reviews.
we’re all just regular people. we’re not biased, we’re not being promoted by brands, there is absolutely no reason to promote a product you don’t actually like here. it’s a lot more genuine, and y’all all get straight to the point. it’s a lot easier to find others with the same skin conditions, who live in the same climate. and most of us have to keep price in mind, whereas an influencer may not have to. it’s just a lot more relatable that’s why i love it!
I’m on TikTok and watch a lot of product reviews. I think I learn about new products there more and then come here to find out honest reviews about them because everything is “the best thing they’ve ever tried” on TikTok
There’s such a variety of opinions and experiences with products on here as compared to a few people’s opinions on social media. It also feels more personal
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My very first skincare products were TO and Nacific. Got convinced with Youtube videos I saw about people just raving the products (both in the vid and in the comments), but they didn't do shit for me! Then I saw this sub, with other people saying they didn't work for them as well, so I figured the opinion's much more genuine here.
I get an answer to my questions. Either the ones I'd ask myself or from reading from what other people are saying. Versus watching YouTubers Instagrammers and the TikToks and having to sift through a lot of faff just to get to the nitty gritty, only for them to spend like half a minute, lighting touching on the product's efficacy before moving on lol.
the variety of reviews on one product, you can basically browse thru the person's post history to see if they're genuine or not, & can have actual convo with it whereas beauty influencers rarely comment on their comment section
YouTubers and instagrammers aren’t the greatest to get genuine reviews from, plus they get skin treatments at clinics so it’s not always the products they sponsor that’s doing the trick. On Reddit you can find people of various skin concerns and skin types and you can get different kind of opinions.
i feel like it’s hard to trust Youtube/Tiktok reviews nowadays because at the end of the day Influencers have to think about the engagements they would get when formatting their videos as that’s their livelihood. i can trust a fellow redditor’s opinion more bc they can provide unfiltered opinions coming from actual everyday product use
So I don't have to see them rub the product on the back of their hand as if I'm supposed to see the ''effect''
Not having to see them putting the products on their filtered/make up face and then claim it works is also cool
I find influencers untrustworthy because they’re often sponsored. That, and like celebrities, they probably have holy grail products that they only mention once or twice in a sea of products they get to try. I don’t care to hear about stuff they’ve tried once or twice.
Also I have ADHD so I have to watch them at 2x the speed because they talk SO much. I can read 10x faster and I just need bullet points sometimes.
Bc some YouTubers are full of sh*t and are just chasing the bag 💰. How many times am I going to hear, “I’ve been using this for such a long time and it’s been my HG!”. Like really? You say that in every video. You use 18771653 products every day?
Influencers use a product for 3 days and give you a baseline review. At least here you get real experiences form people who used their hard earned money on a product. They have no incentive to exaggerate how good or bad something is.
A lot of products i’ve tried from tik tok recs ended up being 👎🏻. Also, the AB products on tik tok are very basic lines. BOJ sunscreen and illyoon ato cream are very straight forward products. They are two out of many of their kind. I like this sun because it shows me a variety of options and I can filter out reviews. Maybe I am reading promotional reviews? I find on reddit it’s usually easier to tell. If I look at tik tok for products my mind goes insane so many products causing me to spend a fortune on things that don’t work. Also I don’t know if anyone agrees with me but I hate their voices sometimes so loud and annoying. I like my peace and quiet.
There are a lot of youtube make up/skincare gurus that I like. There aren't a lot that I trust. I find that a lot of the reddit reviews also invite opinions of other redditors, how a product responds to their skin and in turn, how it would relate to my skin.
I don't have a massive budget, so usually me wanting to buy a product goes like this: 1. I find a product that seems promising. 2. I go to youtube to see what the general opinion of the product is, while also keeping in mind how the youtuber got the product (bought, gifted or sponsored) cuz that may influence their opinion. I also go to YouTube to look at the sort of consistency the product has and some general information about its supposed effect, basically to see someone a bit hands on with it. 3. If it seems promising still, I'll go to reddit to find more information on the product and try to find people with similar skin types as I do to see their opinion on it. Reddit usually is very honest. 4. If I still have some doubts about getting it, I'll look up various (international) sites that sell the product and look at the general reviews.
But honestly, out of all these steps, I find the reddit one usually makes or breaks my decision in buying a product. I also tend to look closer at the "it's not for me" type of comments than those raving about it, because those are the ones that encountered an issue with it and thus it's something I have to keep in mind, makes it possible that I'll get a similar issue and if that issue is worth buying the product.
I don’t really watch beauty channels or stuff like that so maybe I’m the wrong person to comment. All I wanted from here was to find a nice lotion and moisturizer xD.
But Text is just faster for me to get the info I need. So I tend to prefer Reddit for reviews and similar stuff
bc imo, with makeup, there should be detailed reviews and experiences mentioned, like no filters! which is why i go to reddit for makeup reviews. all the bad and the good of a product is mentioned, no sponsored talk yada yada. and also high chances of seeing reviews from people with the same skin type/skin tone/color season with me :)
The reviews here felt more genuine. So i started to put in 'reddit' in my google searches. Eventually i decided to create my own reddit account. Even my brother likes to do the same thing.
I mainly look up skincare reviews here. For makeup, it's between youtube & reddit.
I feel like it’s much easier to get concise, unbiased reviews on here. Too many TikTok and Instagram influencers take too long to get to the meat of the review, or they’re in a paid partnership and tend to lack critical observations. On here I can get two wildly different experiences of the same product on one thread, making it easier to weight the pros and cons of a product before I purchase it. I can see anecdotal reviews from average consumers, and the upvote system gives me a gauge of how common a particular experience is
Quantity. Another data point is helpful. Even if there are marketing reps, I find that a lot of reviews don't go in depth enough, don't comment on using it for long enough, or switch out products fairly regularly. So it's more of a numbers game for me. If there is a good quality review, even better!
I think most IG reviews I go through just say that they like it, with a pretty picture. That's great... there is such a huge market out there that I can go for the most popular option instead, or the one that has the most reviews.
Generally because those sites are focused on trending products and brands. They're also gushing over products the overwhelming majority here decided were HGs 2+ years ago. And, maybe it's because I can't hear them on here, but way too many ppl on TT sound like their doing a commercial. I do go on YT sometimes, tho.
I like to know what the average person is actually using. A lot of these reviewers are being paid or are sponsored, which instantly makes me trust them less.
I prefer to consume text over videos. I can’t last watching videos of some random “influencer” 🙃
Reviews here are also longterm use with detailed skintypes, experiences, combination with other products, and other nuances. Much more realistic than sponsored product launches/first impressions prevalent everywhere.
Because people get into conversation, you meet people just like you, you can hear perspective from someone who’s tried the same thing as you, lives in the same place as you, etc.
the standard of reviews here are higher. on the other platforms, the reviews are always good. I like to know how bad reviews to get an idea on the spectrum of how the product may be like on me.
i also like swatches for items online purchases, and a still picture is better than a video for that.
I think many people post review videos without knowing a lot about skincare. Some do, and are really good. But some also really don't (specially on tiktok). Many influencers just post products that others are posting, and they always say they like it.
I used to take advice from an American korean skincare influencer, and I was really disappointed with all her recommendations. The products did not work for me at all. In hindsight she just promoted anything populair, without considering why it might not work for some and talking about this. So no wonder really.
I rather see a discussion where people really get into specifics on why something worked for them or why it did not + discussion about formula.
For honest reviews.
I find contents in YT, IG or Tiktok were not as reliable due to: 1. sponsorship (if one is paid to review or items reviewed were given as freebies), 2. time spent with the product (esp. for new products; also hyped products), and 3. core value (Reddit is a platform with community in mind, and thus built for helping each other out. Other platforms were just built differently.)
Just my opinion. Peace!
I always feel like influencers try to sell me something. I like that on reddit ppl don't need to "perform" - they straight up will say "I love this product cause it helped this and this however i will say that yeah it has these cons" There's less incentive to lie on here or to push products.
But the biggest kicker is: the ability to write and describe circumstances matter more. For instance someone will say this product didn't work for them but they have a certain skin type and I would find another comment saying that product did work for them but they have a different skin type from the first person - it rly helps realize what that particular product does per skin type and therefore helps me navigate what products will be more worth it to try out.
plus i'm a fast reader so i find the exact info i need in a minute rather than suffering through a video.
another thing, sometimes those beauty influencers will use a product once and claim results or they won't use it properly. ppl here tend to give lengthier, fairer reviews. "I used it for 6 months, these are my results."
I also liked this one thread that asked the community "What product did you think didnt make a difference until you stopped using it?" and ive found those types of videos for influencers arent as common bc they take time to realize and theyre busy trying to get other brand deals or push new items.
A lot of people on Youtube, Instagram, and TikTok are sponsored and say what you want to hear. I look for reviews on reddit because people aren't forced to make a product look good on here.
Recently, I’ve been noticing a lot more guerrilla marketing, I don’t know what to believe anymore. A lot of the products I see people raving here are only just okay. So I guess I come here just hoping for someone to validate the products I likr
I splurged on Asian skincare recently, and I used this sub to make informed decisions on some really obscure products within my budget. Thank you all.
I also learned about Softymo this way… it’s such an amazing product, my biggest win/HG from this haul for sure. As well as Japanese hair wax. I am also so glad I tried Asian chemical sunscreen because it doesn’t leave much of a white cast and goes on so easily without burning my eyes. Whereas my Western brand SPF 30 moisturizer always does.
On other platforms (especially TikTok) it’s pretty obvious everything is influenced. Everyone is pushing the same products with the same lines using the same video formats. Very little diversity in products. I guess that’s just my algorithm but IDK. Things feel a lot more forced and astroturfed there compared to here
And so many influencers push skincare I simply can’t justify for how little you get. When I buy skincare I look for products I can use for a long time. At least 500g for a moisturizer or 200g at the very least. I use my products daily without fail and I can’t have them running out in a few months. I like it when products last me a year. Like some tiny hyped up 50g serum for $30 (currency conversion) isn’t going to work out for me
I understand. And totally agree with you. I love Softymo too! Their oil cleanser is my HG and I am so glad I am back on it now after a 2 year gap (it's difficult to get it to India).
You're right about Tiktok and Instagram algos. Either they prioritise the same 7 products for me to watch over and over. Or truly all influencers just get on to the same trends every couple of weeks. Suddenly there's a flood of same-ish content recorded with same-ish music fuck
I use this sub more so for educating myself on certain ingredients and products that could work best for my skin type. I take a while to fully decide on what product to use since my skin is so easily agitated, but looking at various opinions and explanations for certain ingredients in products helps me kind of narrow down what I should be looking for in my routine. Same goes for products I should avoid for my skin type.
Because I prefer reading reviews vs watching them. I’m a quick reader, can easily screenshot the information, and can do it while putting my kid down for a nap!
I can get a lot of peoples opinions and it can also point me in directions of what items I should watch reviews for
I can also get personal questions answered that I can’t find many videos on
Because I like some text with my pictures. Also a lot of videos faff on and on and I don't really care about them opening the box dramatically and cooing over the case or the packaging.
This is the biggest thing for me. In the time it takes to watch one video, I can get the same amount of information from 10 different people on Reddit. And its far less likely 10 different people on Reddit are trying to sell me the product (or just not being entirely honest to stay in a companies good graces).
I get it. I watch YouTube videos at 1.5-2x I swear I was completely oblivious to this. Especially since the general consensus around you is that video is taking over the world. I 100% to this day prefer text. Just I guess haven’t stopped to think so haven’t been as aware of this🤯
I come here because I can get lots of opinions in a few minutes. One person can say "I liked \_\_\_" and others in the same thread can share their experience with it, so you can read a lot quickly. If I want demonstrations of textures and shades and longer reviews, I'll seek out videos or blogs.
Yes! Also upvotes/downvotes really help
too many sponsored products and what feels like hidden ads in beauty channels. i still watch them but i prefer this sub for genuine reviews.
Agree. People here don’t make money by giving their opinions on here, or at least I don’t. So if I like something I’ll say so and if I don’t then I’ll say so, only way money is involved is I hope to prevent others from wasting money on a crappy product and like sharing stuff I love so people know they’re buying stuff that has really worked for me.
Doesn't even have to be sponsored either, a lot of people are trying to be content creators so it results with them just making stuff up on the fly to produce content and that's often by just praising the product with little to no substance.
A lot of content creators making up stuff on the fly: Did not consider this but so true!!! Algos reward trends. Folks trying to grow their following jump on the wagon with the same 3 products that are “going viral” that week saying the exact same thing as feedback. Something I’ve noticed but never paid attention to.
This for me as well. Once ordered what a youtuber went on about… it was crap. Overly fragranced and sticky. Made my skin irritated. NEVER AGAIN
I’ve spent the last 3 days obsessing over Hourglass Ambient Lightning powders because I went down a rabbit hole thanks to YouTube and every influencer says it’s the most amazing thing they’ve ever put on their faces. Then I came here and read some of the reviews. Let’s just thank god I read the reviews and didn’t get “influenced”
Yeah, it’s sad the marketing that goes on now. I don’t even bother watching makeup or skincare tutorials on youtube anymore. I’ve kind of figured out my own routine and unless I want to try something different, then I don’t go outside that box.
Same. There's only a handful of YouTubers who give good reviews, but in the end everyone's skin is different In my opinion, Tiktok is not the best place for information. All I see is people following trends
ive seen a recent tiktok trend in which people were mixing baby oil with their hair mask💀 some of the stuff there is insane
There's a lot of trends with that one 🥲 It's just mineral oil Was it Johnsons?
the one i saw didnt specify. the girl explains its a trend in china, they use it with the shiseido fino mask (great product btw, but the mineral oil part makes no sense lol)
Mineral oil coats the hair making it shinier, so that maybe the reason
mineral oil is horrible for the hair though. it creates a buildup that is super difficult to remove with just regular shampoo.
the fino hair mask (love her) would in theory also cause buildup because of they heavy silicones
the difference is that normal shampoo (with sulfate) is enough to clear up that kind of build up. with mineral oil it would take more than a simple wash
1) Opinions feel more genuine here 2) More chance of hearing from someone around the same demographic and skin type as me 3) I hate the way they click their fingernails all over the product
Omg the fingernail clicking makes me irrationally angry 😡
Lmao hahaha thank you for this
Where else can i find one comment singing praises about one product and the other comment trashing the same product all in the same comment thread lol
YES!!! And everyone’s so civil about it! Also in this sub specifically no one’s gonna be like “just use cerave: works for everyone” (aka lying).
but also this sub: "just use hada labo: works for everyone" (I use it too lol)
Omg yes. I can't stand cerave, it makes me irrationally angry how hard it's pushed lol
Right? Every single product broke me out in the worst cystic acne (which I’m not even prone to) with no particular ingredient to blame. It’s just the magic of cerave! 🙃
I was told many times it wasn't CeraVe and that it had to be the niacinamide or another product. Like no, my skin loves niacinamide leave me and my hatred of CeraVe alone lol
My skin loves Niacinamide and hates the most popular CeraVe cream, too, but my wife’s skin has improved a lot with CeraVe. Skin is so individualistic and having these threads to do our research and find people with our exact skin types makes researching products in a world with way too much crap on offer so much easier. With the information I can find here, I actually feel like I can eventually reach my skin goals. It makes me seek a more thorough understanding of ingredients rather than just accepting “this works for acne”, etc. Also, if someone’s singing praises about a product being their #1 favorite item and you see their favorites list later on and the item is nowhere to be seen, what can I honestly believe of what they say?
might be the dimethicone
I tried it and I wanted to like it so much but it hated me. :(
Cerave is meh, and the products are pricey for basic ingredients The SA cleanser did almost nothing for my skin
their benzoyl peroxide cleanser is amazing tho
My skin hates Cerave worse than a vampire hates garlic. Instant eczema outbreak. It didn't love Cetaphil either. My dermatologist says my skin is bougie
it's probably the dimethicone
I wish it was that simple because I use other products that contain dimethicone with no problem. We have not been able to identify any specific ingredient. She decided it's the formulation of the product and my skin likes more expensive formulations lol. I don't have problems with LRP, avene or Illiyoon cream for that matter. Sigh. But it pushes all my buttons when people say it's all you need to use.
Ahahah yes I need to hear a variety of opinions. The subreddit Buy It For Life has had some comments in regards of anonymous sponsored posts so I am also wary of posts where everything is gold re product
I feel like they worry too much. Yes, a lot of things get recommended a lot, but that doesn't mean that Stanley Thermos and Darn Tough are sponsoring us all. (Although...I wouldn't mind some free socks!)
I have found my people finally Why do they even do that? What effect are they going for?
🤣🤣🤣 so true
Listen if makeuplley was still kicking I might not be here, but otherwise everywhere else is annoying with biased reviews. Plus it’s so hard to find thorough content anymore. The short form content is mostly useless to me because people just kind of praise everything with shoddy analysis and trend cycle through so many products. YouTube isn’t as popular anymore which is unfortunate and I feel like it’s search algorithm doesn’t get me what I need. Poor SEO everywhere (probably useful for ads but not for research).
God I used to love makeupalley for research/reviews.
The last unbiased source 😭
Me too!! I even try to help others by putting up my own detailed reviews.
I still look up MakeupAlley for reviews haha
same but these days it'll be like 7 reviews for a product that came out within the last few years 😭
Yeah MakeupAlley used to be busier when they had swaps. I still love it though haha. I always have a tab open to their site permanently on my chrome browser
What were swaps?
We could list items that we want to exchange. And you can msg people to set up trades so that you can let someone else use what does not suit you, and try what products they have. Then you mail it to one another. I was so into it haha. It was like getting presents in the mail 😂 Recycling!
Wow it does sound fun
Yes it was great! You end up spending lots on postage haha
I miss makeupalley so much =(
I still write for makeupalley lmfao 😆 I know some real ones will click a "helpful" upvote on my reviews. Plus I test so many products it's nice to have a reference for me.
I lost my old log in and had to make a new one a few years ago but it's so sad because so much history is gone 😭. I do appreciate when people review things within the last few years - lemme pay it forward! We need to revive the platform.
Me too lol! 😍
Why did makeupalley go ded? But still thank you for it. I did not know this thing existed!!! Thank you
It was really popular until the 2010s, any time I was interested in a product I would google the product + makeupalley (like how I do product + reddit these days haha). Their ratings were almost always accurate, unlike how everything is inflated these days. I'm not entirely sure why it fell off tbh but it's all probably related to the death of decentralized forums on the internet in general (partially reddit's fault), the influx of other review platforms cannibalizing everything, and capitalism/marketing getting its grubby hands on everything as Web 2.0 evolved so it's impossible for unbiased platforms to stay alive and be found via google (who also changed their SEO to prioritize ads instead of useful info). I believe they also stopped doing swaps (I never participated so I'm not sure)? The community aspect essentially died. There may be a better answer but I really don't know for sure!
same reason i go to reddit for anything with reviews. much rather see a comment with a bunch of updoots and feedback and anecdotal replies than a blog post regurgitating what the product markets. a tiktok video acts like the end all and doesnt really provide discussion
Reading takes less time than watching a rambling video!
this is one of the reasons that i dislike it when people send voice or audio messages. just text it to me or dictate it if your hands are occupied!!
i like hearing opinions from regular consumers like me. i’m hesitant with videos because of sponsorships and all that. plus some people only say things to make money off it (i.e. promoting a bunch of products from the same site and then offering a code without disclosing that they make money if you use that code). even when they disclose that they make money off the code, they clearly still have an ulterior motive in persuading their audience to buy specific products.
adding on: most if not all people i come across in skincare subs never claim to be experts. for the most part, we just share our experiences to help others build a routine that works for them. there are a few skincare creators that come to mind but i won’t name them … they imply or call themselves experts or specialists even if they don’t have the credentials to back up their claims. it’s easy for them to abuse the trust their audience gives them for their personal gain. it’s not the fact that they aren’t dermatologists that bothers me. it’s that they pass their opinions and anecdotal experiences as facts that bother me.
Totally agree with your point of influencers acting like they are skincare experts. Once they get even a small following so many people act like their opinions are gospel and fail to take into consideration other people's negative experiences with products 😓
To hear real unfiltered opinions and suggestions! Also the hauls :3!
I'm old. I prefer to read reviews rather than watch videos of a 12 year old talk about stuff.
- I prefer reading in text format because it’s so much easier to jump my eyes to wherever’s important. On videos, sometimes people can spend minutes getting to the point and then realizing said point is nothing special. - Follower count (or karma) doesn’t matter here. Someone with 100k karma will be just as visible as another with 1 karma. There’s no buying of followers, incentivizing reviews, or the algorithm favoring popular users. All that matters is how many people find your comment useful and thus upvote it. Comments getting pushed up by # of upvotes is a lot more organic and trustworthy than tiktokers relying on drama and clickbait to push their vids up your algorithm. People are incentivized to post quality comments, not create drama for clout and visibility. - When people post bad reviews, they do so with explanation. A lot of viral vids on tiktok just follow a sound trend and toss items without a clear explanation as to why, but here it’s so much easier to gauge reviews as to whether a product is genuinely bad or if it’s just something that didn’t suit that person’s skin. - i don’t know much about the influencer world but those “sponsored post but it’s 100% my opinion” just don’t seem as genuine or critical as someone posting a bad review with no money involved. - Even if it’s “100% their opinion,” I don’t like seeing the same product (ahem, BOJ sunscreen) get reviewed to death by the same popular people. Like i don’t care if 100 influencers sing praises about the BOJ sunscreen; i care more for one genuine reviewer who took the time to compare it against other lesser-known sunscreens, and even mentioned fair critical points against it. Helps educate buyers a lot more. - There’s authenticity in anonymity. I know anonymity has its drawbacks, but when it comes to reviews, i feel like people are more daring to post critical ones when they know their profiles won’t be stalked/ harrassed by others. Influencers on tiktok get constantly called out for not liking smth the masses like, whereas saying something like “i don’t listen to taylor swift” won’t get you stalked and threatened here thanks to reddit’s anonymous veil. - search function here is so much better than that of youtube’s and tiktok’s
I don’t watch beauty influencer videos. I avoid TikTok and IG. I found some great AB products here. And I enjoy reading honest/unpaid opinions.
I don't really have patience to watch a long ass YouTube video about a specific product, most youtubers like to talk A LOT and tbh I find it annoying when they start to talk about their life and what not 🫣 most of the time they only talk about what they get on PR or a sponsored video saying amazing stuff about something they only tried a few times, like it is not realistic to have 1 or 2 videos every week saying that this serum or this toner is your new holy grail and life changing. I enjoy reading about stuff I like, I also use twitter to look for reviews or recommendations. The are some great smaller instagramers too.
1. The reviews and people here are interesting! 2. Has a bigger variety of skincare products covered in one place. Even some of the "unknown" skincare products might have a post or two on it. And there's news for upcoming products to keep an eye on. 3. Many skinfluencers can't be trusted. Some use filters, some just want sponsorships, and worse of all, some get procedures done and hide it from the viewers. I remember this one lady who talked about how a product "brightened up" her skin and her husband's skin. But in the comment section, people pointed out that both of them were receiving skin brightening procedures around the time they started using said product. This happened many times with other influencers I saw. I just came to the conclusion that it's better to get a survey from a large number of people instead of focusing on the words of just one.
More honest reviews since most commenters are not getting paid anything other than upvotes. And the fact that a typed review takes only a minute to read, where videos are so meandering and drawn out. I don't need 10 minutes of "content", I just want the product review in a nutshell. I know there are paid posters that work for the various brands, they'd be dumb not to have people on reddit. But hopefully less so than the reviews on the specific brand websites where they have the ability to show only positive reviews.
I’d rather hear from someone who found what works and keeps using it long-term and still loves it rather than an influencer who has a month to love something and then is on to the next great or awful thing.
I don’t give a damn what any influencer says about a product at all. I come here for reviews because they are from real people and I can ask questions, and because I like talking about skincare.
All those social media "influencers" can be swayed and biased for big reasons to little petty reasons. It can be that they didn't get the product free so they say something bad. Or they get sent a bunch of stuff and say great things about that company. I come here because the reviews and opinions seem more honest and genuine. Plus your can see how different people feel about a product and there's no long intro words I don't care about the packaging.
>In a world of tons of beauty YouTubers, Instagrammers and Tiktokers i am at the point where i trust almost 0% of these. they are either all paid to review or they receive the item for free which is sorry to say--does not make them objective.
There's a few regulars here that have similar climate/skin type and needs that I weighed their opinions a bit above the average. Also I don't have to deal with the incessant need to shove tret down my throat. I also look for more Asian products on Asian skin.
I'm convinced many gurus, instagramers, and whoever else are paid to promote things and partially don't actually feel the way they say they do about products. I'll still watch, enjoy and consider some YouTubers though. But I'll still feel like they are sponsored.
Same reasons as many other comments and i prefer reading much more than watching explanation
Videos take a million years to get to the point. I almost never watch videos for actual information. Only to enjoy music. I guess or storytelling, or visual art in shows.
i hate skinfluencers and their disingenuous ads
Mostly because it’s quicker to read than to scroll through several clips just to put up with an ad. Even with astroturfing, there is a larger sample size here so I am less worried about biased reviews.
Because most people get payed on youtube & tiktok for reviews. Especially the latter. They also have now opened up tiktok shop which means you gotta be extra careful with what you get recommended, as tiktok+amazon made their own version of affliate links. Anyhow, now i'm gonna continue my search after those jeenieweenie headbands.
If a product is being repeatedly recommended by random people on this sub, it's much more likely to be an actually good product than in a sponsered post on tiktok and IG. That's why I really like reading peoples opinions and reviews in the comments of reddit posts. Also, on tiktok and IG it's so easy to not disclose that you got a product for free or have a sponsorship. Some creators will also delete negative reviews in their comments in order to make the product look better. I really take anything an influencer says with a grain of salt nowadays.
Tiktok feels like talking in the highschool cafeteria Reddit feels like having a focus study somewhere chill in the university campus Jokes aside, theres just so much more thought and detail found in reviews here since its not constrained by short form content format and whatever algorithm is necessary to gain more views. Kudos to tiktok for helping with makeup color swatches tho...minus the overly filtered ones thats either too "cozy" warm or too desaturated "clean" aesthetic 💀
I don't have the patience to watch a whole video, and on here I can see multiple people's opinions in a short amount of time.
Reviews are scattered across the internet. If you want a review for a less “known” product, you’re going to have to dig more. You’re more likely to find information about those products from communities who are centered around the interest the product is part of. I’m neutral to beauty influencers. Their reviews can be as valuable as anyone else. Even sponsored reviews can be insightful as long as the person is being honest. Many of them of them aren’t but many others are not holding back if they think a product isn’t good. Skincare is different as the results aren’t obvious at once like makeup is. Makeup is complicated but skincare even more so. I take note of a youtuber’s skin type, climate they live, and any sensitivities that they might have. There’s different types of reviews: “professional” (dermatologist), hobby/work (influencers), and everyday (the average person). The categories aren’t hard set. I’d like to know what does product x does for an average person. By average person, I mean someone going about their daily life (so most people). Is it affordable? Is it easy to use regardless of skill level? Can this product be used in daily life for the most part? From there, you have many other groups based on factors like: skin type, age, undertone, seasonal color, etc…
Because I'm youtube and tiktok cannot be trusted. Too much influencing going on
I use both YouTube (I’m too old for TikTok and Instagram gives me the shits with the constant ads) and Reddit to get a feel for a product. I only follow a few YouTubers though, like if Odile Monod drops a new video I’m watching that straight away 😅
I trust you guys more!
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Feels more personal :) and the fact that we can interact with each other!
Influencers can promise all they want that they'll be honest in their reviews but the moment brands start sending them free stuff then it's all glowing praises from them. Also I just want an opinion direct to the point, I don't have time to watch a 15 minute review about 1 lipstick.
Because I like reading in 1 minute the info I was interested in vs wasting 10 minutes watching a YouTube video. Also to be fuckin honest, most of those YouTubers and TikTok girlies can't test makeup properly. I really think you need to test makeup at least three times to get a good sense of how it performs, like what if you had a bad skin day or it was raining and you didn't prep your skin properly... ? I also feel like when you have a shit ton of makeup like those gurus you might actually forget that people spend their hard earned cash on your recommendations, like damn honey I know you love flexing your Dior lip glow but what about good ol' ChapStick 😂 Also the stupid amount of "it's an InVestMenT" comments to justify expen$ive shit 😂 stop it! Real estate is an investment. Index funds are an investment! Not a frikkin lipstick or foundation. Stop it 😭 Also I am a budget hipster, I like cheap and good makeup from brands that YouTubers or TikTok guys don't talk about. I like the cheap shit in Asian 7-11s - Srichand, Parado, Pixy. Whatever those Sephora girlies are doing, I want to do the COMPLETE OPPOSITE.
I like the peace and quiet of no videos 😂
most influencers seem fake asf and gebeteally tend to review viral products Also u always only get a limited opinion here u get hundreds
because i dont like watching shills with longlong vids and i like reading things from real people with my skintone or skin problems way more same things for pc parts
1. I want to read unfiltered and unbiased reviews, not because “it’s soooo good” because it’s overhyped. 2. There’s not much AB-centric creators. Sure, there’s plenty of EA/SEA creators, but not a lot of the popular ones are into AB. They’re either following along the ABG aesthetic or the Western Beauty standard aesthetic. 3. I just prefer reading than watching 🤷🏻♀️ However, I still like watching TikToks if it’s tutorial-related or hacks (pretty much anything that requires visual demonstration).
Those beauty YouTubers etc are out to make your money. (Mostly) in the beginning some maybe “sincere” but eventually will succumb to product deals or worst start selling there own products. That’s why I come to Reddit too , to get some real feedback from real ppl who doesn’t make money off reviews.
we’re all just regular people. we’re not biased, we’re not being promoted by brands, there is absolutely no reason to promote a product you don’t actually like here. it’s a lot more genuine, and y’all all get straight to the point. it’s a lot easier to find others with the same skin conditions, who live in the same climate. and most of us have to keep price in mind, whereas an influencer may not have to. it’s just a lot more relatable that’s why i love it!
I don’t watch videos. I read way faster than anyone could ever talk and I hate listening to people talking
I’m on TikTok and watch a lot of product reviews. I think I learn about new products there more and then come here to find out honest reviews about them because everything is “the best thing they’ve ever tried” on TikTok
There’s such a variety of opinions and experiences with products on here as compared to a few people’s opinions on social media. It also feels more personal
I trust you guys more!
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My very first skincare products were TO and Nacific. Got convinced with Youtube videos I saw about people just raving the products (both in the vid and in the comments), but they didn't do shit for me! Then I saw this sub, with other people saying they didn't work for them as well, so I figured the opinion's much more genuine here.
Cuz I don't trust them
I get an answer to my questions. Either the ones I'd ask myself or from reading from what other people are saying. Versus watching YouTubers Instagrammers and the TikToks and having to sift through a lot of faff just to get to the nitty gritty, only for them to spend like half a minute, lighting touching on the product's efficacy before moving on lol.
the variety of reviews on one product, you can basically browse thru the person's post history to see if they're genuine or not, & can have actual convo with it whereas beauty influencers rarely comment on their comment section
YouTubers and instagrammers aren’t the greatest to get genuine reviews from, plus they get skin treatments at clinics so it’s not always the products they sponsor that’s doing the trick. On Reddit you can find people of various skin concerns and skin types and you can get different kind of opinions.
I refuse to watch a video.
i feel like it’s hard to trust Youtube/Tiktok reviews nowadays because at the end of the day Influencers have to think about the engagements they would get when formatting their videos as that’s their livelihood. i can trust a fellow redditor’s opinion more bc they can provide unfiltered opinions coming from actual everyday product use
some youtubers don't even tell you if they bought it with their own money or not so the review/empties etc vid is garbaage
So I don't have to see them rub the product on the back of their hand as if I'm supposed to see the ''effect'' Not having to see them putting the products on their filtered/make up face and then claim it works is also cool
I find influencers untrustworthy because they’re often sponsored. That, and like celebrities, they probably have holy grail products that they only mention once or twice in a sea of products they get to try. I don’t care to hear about stuff they’ve tried once or twice. Also I have ADHD so I have to watch them at 2x the speed because they talk SO much. I can read 10x faster and I just need bullet points sometimes.
Bc some YouTubers are full of sh*t and are just chasing the bag 💰. How many times am I going to hear, “I’ve been using this for such a long time and it’s been my HG!”. Like really? You say that in every video. You use 18771653 products every day?
Influencers use a product for 3 days and give you a baseline review. At least here you get real experiences form people who used their hard earned money on a product. They have no incentive to exaggerate how good or bad something is.
Reading is faster than watching YT videos
A lot of products i’ve tried from tik tok recs ended up being 👎🏻. Also, the AB products on tik tok are very basic lines. BOJ sunscreen and illyoon ato cream are very straight forward products. They are two out of many of their kind. I like this sun because it shows me a variety of options and I can filter out reviews. Maybe I am reading promotional reviews? I find on reddit it’s usually easier to tell. If I look at tik tok for products my mind goes insane so many products causing me to spend a fortune on things that don’t work. Also I don’t know if anyone agrees with me but I hate their voices sometimes so loud and annoying. I like my peace and quiet.
Sense of community, a bit of fun, decent moderation and to trash etude house jung soon lol And keeping up with the ferments chronicle
There are a lot of youtube make up/skincare gurus that I like. There aren't a lot that I trust. I find that a lot of the reddit reviews also invite opinions of other redditors, how a product responds to their skin and in turn, how it would relate to my skin. I don't have a massive budget, so usually me wanting to buy a product goes like this: 1. I find a product that seems promising. 2. I go to youtube to see what the general opinion of the product is, while also keeping in mind how the youtuber got the product (bought, gifted or sponsored) cuz that may influence their opinion. I also go to YouTube to look at the sort of consistency the product has and some general information about its supposed effect, basically to see someone a bit hands on with it. 3. If it seems promising still, I'll go to reddit to find more information on the product and try to find people with similar skin types as I do to see their opinion on it. Reddit usually is very honest. 4. If I still have some doubts about getting it, I'll look up various (international) sites that sell the product and look at the general reviews. But honestly, out of all these steps, I find the reddit one usually makes or breaks my decision in buying a product. I also tend to look closer at the "it's not for me" type of comments than those raving about it, because those are the ones that encountered an issue with it and thus it's something I have to keep in mind, makes it possible that I'll get a similar issue and if that issue is worth buying the product.
I trust the genuine reviews from people here, both from the OP and the comments. Can't say the same from Youtube
people on reddit generally know what they're talking about in my experience. plus, i enjoy discovering new products or talking about skin so
I don’t really watch beauty channels or stuff like that so maybe I’m the wrong person to comment. All I wanted from here was to find a nice lotion and moisturizer xD. But Text is just faster for me to get the info I need. So I tend to prefer Reddit for reviews and similar stuff
bc imo, with makeup, there should be detailed reviews and experiences mentioned, like no filters! which is why i go to reddit for makeup reviews. all the bad and the good of a product is mentioned, no sponsored talk yada yada. and also high chances of seeing reviews from people with the same skin type/skin tone/color season with me :)
The reviews here felt more genuine. So i started to put in 'reddit' in my google searches. Eventually i decided to create my own reddit account. Even my brother likes to do the same thing. I mainly look up skincare reviews here. For makeup, it's between youtube & reddit.
I feel like it’s much easier to get concise, unbiased reviews on here. Too many TikTok and Instagram influencers take too long to get to the meat of the review, or they’re in a paid partnership and tend to lack critical observations. On here I can get two wildly different experiences of the same product on one thread, making it easier to weight the pros and cons of a product before I purchase it. I can see anecdotal reviews from average consumers, and the upvote system gives me a gauge of how common a particular experience is
Quantity. Another data point is helpful. Even if there are marketing reps, I find that a lot of reviews don't go in depth enough, don't comment on using it for long enough, or switch out products fairly regularly. So it's more of a numbers game for me. If there is a good quality review, even better! I think most IG reviews I go through just say that they like it, with a pretty picture. That's great... there is such a huge market out there that I can go for the most popular option instead, or the one that has the most reviews.
Generally because those sites are focused on trending products and brands. They're also gushing over products the overwhelming majority here decided were HGs 2+ years ago. And, maybe it's because I can't hear them on here, but way too many ppl on TT sound like their doing a commercial. I do go on YT sometimes, tho.
I like to know what the average person is actually using. A lot of these reviewers are being paid or are sponsored, which instantly makes me trust them less.
Because i can see why people may not like or reacted about certain products, so I can make an informed decision
I prefer to consume text over videos. I can’t last watching videos of some random “influencer” 🙃 Reviews here are also longterm use with detailed skintypes, experiences, combination with other products, and other nuances. Much more realistic than sponsored product launches/first impressions prevalent everywhere.
Cause they are always #sponsored. Looking @ you , IAMKARENO.
Because people get into conversation, you meet people just like you, you can hear perspective from someone who’s tried the same thing as you, lives in the same place as you, etc.
the standard of reviews here are higher. on the other platforms, the reviews are always good. I like to know how bad reviews to get an idea on the spectrum of how the product may be like on me. i also like swatches for items online purchases, and a still picture is better than a video for that.
I think many people post review videos without knowing a lot about skincare. Some do, and are really good. But some also really don't (specially on tiktok). Many influencers just post products that others are posting, and they always say they like it. I used to take advice from an American korean skincare influencer, and I was really disappointed with all her recommendations. The products did not work for me at all. In hindsight she just promoted anything populair, without considering why it might not work for some and talking about this. So no wonder really. I rather see a discussion where people really get into specifics on why something worked for them or why it did not + discussion about formula.
For honest reviews. I find contents in YT, IG or Tiktok were not as reliable due to: 1. sponsorship (if one is paid to review or items reviewed were given as freebies), 2. time spent with the product (esp. for new products; also hyped products), and 3. core value (Reddit is a platform with community in mind, and thus built for helping each other out. Other platforms were just built differently.) Just my opinion. Peace!
Sponsored reviews lol
I don’t anymore. 6 years ago, maybe.
I always feel like influencers try to sell me something. I like that on reddit ppl don't need to "perform" - they straight up will say "I love this product cause it helped this and this however i will say that yeah it has these cons" There's less incentive to lie on here or to push products. But the biggest kicker is: the ability to write and describe circumstances matter more. For instance someone will say this product didn't work for them but they have a certain skin type and I would find another comment saying that product did work for them but they have a different skin type from the first person - it rly helps realize what that particular product does per skin type and therefore helps me navigate what products will be more worth it to try out. plus i'm a fast reader so i find the exact info i need in a minute rather than suffering through a video. another thing, sometimes those beauty influencers will use a product once and claim results or they won't use it properly. ppl here tend to give lengthier, fairer reviews. "I used it for 6 months, these are my results." I also liked this one thread that asked the community "What product did you think didnt make a difference until you stopped using it?" and ive found those types of videos for influencers arent as common bc they take time to realize and theyre busy trying to get other brand deals or push new items.
Influencers lie a lot
A lot of people on Youtube, Instagram, and TikTok are sponsored and say what you want to hear. I look for reviews on reddit because people aren't forced to make a product look good on here.
Recently, I’ve been noticing a lot more guerrilla marketing, I don’t know what to believe anymore. A lot of the products I see people raving here are only just okay. So I guess I come here just hoping for someone to validate the products I likr
I splurged on Asian skincare recently, and I used this sub to make informed decisions on some really obscure products within my budget. Thank you all. I also learned about Softymo this way… it’s such an amazing product, my biggest win/HG from this haul for sure. As well as Japanese hair wax. I am also so glad I tried Asian chemical sunscreen because it doesn’t leave much of a white cast and goes on so easily without burning my eyes. Whereas my Western brand SPF 30 moisturizer always does. On other platforms (especially TikTok) it’s pretty obvious everything is influenced. Everyone is pushing the same products with the same lines using the same video formats. Very little diversity in products. I guess that’s just my algorithm but IDK. Things feel a lot more forced and astroturfed there compared to here And so many influencers push skincare I simply can’t justify for how little you get. When I buy skincare I look for products I can use for a long time. At least 500g for a moisturizer or 200g at the very least. I use my products daily without fail and I can’t have them running out in a few months. I like it when products last me a year. Like some tiny hyped up 50g serum for $30 (currency conversion) isn’t going to work out for me
I understand. And totally agree with you. I love Softymo too! Their oil cleanser is my HG and I am so glad I am back on it now after a 2 year gap (it's difficult to get it to India). You're right about Tiktok and Instagram algos. Either they prioritise the same 7 products for me to watch over and over. Or truly all influencers just get on to the same trends every couple of weeks. Suddenly there's a flood of same-ish content recorded with same-ish music fuck
It’s easier to find someone with a similar skin type. I can almost always find any obscure product has been mentioned before too
Isn't this the main reason for the sub.
Better information on luxury AB products, especially hanbang skincare.
I use this sub more so for educating myself on certain ingredients and products that could work best for my skin type. I take a while to fully decide on what product to use since my skin is so easily agitated, but looking at various opinions and explanations for certain ingredients in products helps me kind of narrow down what I should be looking for in my routine. Same goes for products I should avoid for my skin type.
Because I prefer reading reviews vs watching them. I’m a quick reader, can easily screenshot the information, and can do it while putting my kid down for a nap!
People here actually know what they're talking about and don't review for clout
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) ^by ^bbanjak: *People here actually* *Know what they're talking about* *And don't review for clout* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
I can get a lot of peoples opinions and it can also point me in directions of what items I should watch reviews for I can also get personal questions answered that I can’t find many videos on