I saw an article on Refinery29 today that started me thinking. Yeah I know WATCH OUT, she's thinking! We all know that rarely ends well.
Here's the article:
Refinery29 Does Liking a Luxury Brand Make You a Beauty Snob
It reminded me of so many other discussions and comments I've seen on various other sites. And sometimes some of the responses really get my panties in a bunch and it just reminds me of that old quote:
It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.-- Mark Twain (1835-1910)
As a redhead full of opinions, I've opened my mouth a fair amount of times removing that doubt. But the older I get, the more I learn...the more of the "big picture" I see. And the more I realize that there are a LOT of ignorant people in the world. I'm also pretty convinced that the louder someone squawks about some perceived "injustice" or another, the fewer brain cells they have to rub together. I'm not sure exactly what set me off this time, but when people judge others, and by this I don't just mean form their own silent opinions in their heads based on whatever knowledge they have to work with at the time, I mean judge harshly and vocally without having enough information, I get worked up.
The one that gets me the most is "that person" who feels the need to go on whatever site they can find and proclaim loudly what an awful person someone is for having a handbag that costs $$$$. They could've spent all that money on the homeless! Really? What have YOU done lately for "the homeless?" Someone who can afford a $$$$ handbag is usually the person who is wealthy and someone for whom (percentage of their income) is the equivalent of me spending $20 on a bag from Walmart. Now where are the people crying foul there? After all, I could have carried my stuff around in a free plastic bag from the grocer and spend that $20 "on the homeless!" It's the same amount of ridiculous. And not only that, people for whom $$$$ is the same as my $ are usually wealthy people who, either out of necessity or out of the kindness of their hearts spend a LOT of their time and $$$$ on various charities. When is the last time "that person" on the other side of the computer got off their duff and volunteered at a homeless shelter or gave up that fake Coach purse (yeah - you ain't foolin' nobody) in favor of a $20 Walmart bag so that they could donate $$ to "the homeless?"
Anyway, my response on the article I posted above was this:
I am an equal-opportunity beauty product user. If a $7 mascara looks as good as a luxury brand $45 mascara and doesn't make my lashes fall out, I will use it. There are certain Chanel and Dior nail polishes that have a formula far better than ANY drugstore brand polish and there are Chanel and Dior nail polishes that are blown out of the water by a $1.97 bottle of Pure Ice. Consumers need to be smart with their choices and not be in EITHER camp when it comes to the products they use. I have as many spendy brands as cheap ones because I've taken the time to pick and choose what works for me. I would never buy JUST for the label and I would never settle for a cheap product if the quality wasn't up to par. I have gone cruelty-free (with nail polish and I am working on the rest of my beauty products going CF) and Sally Hansen could put out a gorgeous bottle of polish with the perfect formula for $7 and I would still buy a $30 bottle of cruelty-free polish over that. So, as in life, things aren't totally black and white. Great topic!
OH and as an aside, people who judge others based on their own narrow perceptions really bother me. I've seen people put someone on BLAST for spending too much when for all they know, dropping $300 on a beauty cream to that person is about the same thing (percentage of their income) as another person spending $3.00 on a beauty cream. There are people in the world who make substantially more money than I can wrap my head around and I've come to discover that those are the same people to donate a greater portion of their time and money for charitable causes, yet they get vilified for the expensive bag on their arm or the Chanel beauty cream in it. Just remember, there is always someone better off than you and there's always someone worse off.
I'm not really what I call a "beauty blogger" because I just review nail polish and not foundations and lipsticks and such. But I can tell you as the "informed customer" I try to be, there are FANTASTIC beauty bloggers out there and to not use that wonderful knowledge when making your own decisions is a mistake. Find yourself some beauty bloggers you trust (hopefully I am a nail blogger you can trust <grin>) and check them out and see what they have to say about products you're considering.
So...what are YOUR opinions? C'mon, SPILL!
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