Beauty product examining Guide: method and Terminology

Posted on March 20, 2022 by ftzys

I thought instead of going full steam ahead to review all of my backlogged appeal products, I’d take a step back and talk about how I review appeal products. It’s something people don’t really dissect or supply a guide when you start a appeal blog.

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Everyone has their own method and here’s how I technique examining appeal products.

My review process:

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1) acquire new appeal item
2) let it sit in my stash for minimum of 6 months*
3) Take photos
4) test out product
5) Take notes (mental or actual notes – normally I start a draft blog post and add notes as I go)
6) research information on product – sources can be from: official product page, product packaging, online reviews

* This step is optional XD

At this moment I’d like to expand on #4: test out product. It seems so simple, right? just slap it on my face! I am not about to employ the scientific method on appeal products, but I do like to have some rigor around the trial period on the product:

For skincare and foundation, I typically like to use the product for a minimum of 2 weeks, preferably for a month. My skin changes throughout the monthly cycle so I want to see how the product will do through various skin conditions.

For colour products like eye shadows, blushes, lipsticks, nail polishes – I like to try out for at least a week or two, to get a solid feel for how they perform. I might test out different primers under eye shadows, or wear blushes over different foundations to see how they interact with different products.

Some products though, like mascaras, I can tell how they will do after a couple of uses. Although, often mascaras do do differently after it has been allowed to dry out a bit, so I do tend to wait for a couple of weeks after opening the tube before I give the final verdict.

Given the above timelines to thoroughly test out products, this is the reason why you won’t see me supply a review too swiftly after I get a new product. Also, my skin is sensitive so I do not like to introduce a lot more than one new skincare / base makeup product at a time so I can pinpoint any potential issues clearly.

Writing the review:

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The a lot of crucial thing I keep in mind is: what would my readers want to know about this product? and the easiest way to make sure I capture all of their questions is to answer the classic: five Ws: What, Who, When, Where, Why… and often How. Let’s see how these apply:

What:
• What is the official name of the product?
• What shade (along with the shade # if applicable) is being shown? encourage how lots of shades are in the range.
• What are the ingredients?
• What is the packaging like?

Who:
• who makes this?
• who is this product targeted to? Skin type, age group, etc.

When:
• When was this product released? Is this a new product launch? Is it part of a limited edition collection?
• When did it come into my life? ie how long have I been using this?
• When do I use this? In the case of skincare – is it a daytime or nighttime product?

Where:
• Where did I get this? Where can others outside of my country get this? supply the store name or online url.
• Where was this made? You all know it’s a minor obsession of mine.

Why:
• Why did I get this product? Does it fix a problem I’m experiencing?

How:
• how do I use this product? What tools and techniques are best suited for this item?
• how much did this cost?
• how was this product is made? This can be fascinating, especially in the case of special formulations or indie brands.

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Notes & Tips:

• If I attempt to answer all of the above questions, I do run the risk of information overload. I make decisions on what to focus on depending on the type of product. For instance, I’d likely not post the ingredient list of an eye shadow, but I would for skincare or foundations.

• A good technique to examining is to look at the product claims one by one, and then agree or disagree on whether the product delivered on its claims. This can help readers decide if the product is worthwhile based on a lot more objective measures.

• A review is a mixture of objective (facts) and subjective (opinion) parts – as a guide, I goal to have a 1:1 ratio of fact and opinion in my reviews. readers want to know in-depth information, but they’re also interested to know what my experiences were using the product, and if I liked it or not. and ultimately, if I would recommend to get the product.

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• Of course, a picture is worth a thousand words, so when words fail you, post photos of the product. I like to show the outer box (I have a pile of packaging in my stash, it’s quite sad actually ), the compact / bottle, actual shot of the product inside, swatches, etc. Comparisons against other products can also verify helpful to show the differences in colour / finish / consistency.

• I like to consider all my senses: we rely heavily on our sense of sight, but there are other senses that contribute to the overall experience. What does the product smell like? Does it have a taste (especially for lip products!) How does the product feel using my fingertips? Does the product sound like anything… (don’t laugh, I had a Stila palette that talked! XD )

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• A quick note about integrity. I like to supply the same beneficial information to others as what I’ve found online which have helped me make informed purchasing decisions. before I started blogging, I generally examined appeal products on MakeupAlley. There was no inherent benefit from examining products on a appeal forum – there were no complimentary products or web site page clicks – it was just for peer to peer sincere reviews. I like to extend the same mindset on my blog: would I recommend this product to my friend?

Ratings:

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You know, I’ve never officially broken down what my “Stash Worthiness” ratings really mean. Here’s what the ratings out of 10 mean:

10:
Holy Grail!!! look no further. throw out what you have and go get this now!

8 – 9:
Outstanding! I fully endorse this product as long as your skin type, concerns, and expectations are similar to mine.

6 – 7:
It’s a respectable product. good but not great. kind of like one of those slackers in school with potential.

4 – 5:
This product didn’t work for me but maybe it could work for other people who have different skin type, worries or expectations than mine.

2 – 3:
I really try to find the good in some products. If the packaging is nice, or the product delivered on at least one of its lots of claims, I try to say something nice.

1:
The product did the opposite of what it claimed to do. Or it delivered on none of its claims at all.

0:
This product caused me physical and / or mental harm. Alert the authorities so this product can be pulled off the shelves (for the record, I’ve never rated anything a zero on the blog… yet.)

I don’t always give a numeric rating to every item I review, especially things that were gifts.

Unofficial appeal review Terminology:

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Here’s what I indicate when I use these words to describe appeal products in reviews:

Blendable: applicable to both powder and liquid products. The product diffuses easily using a tool (brush, sponge, fingers) over the skin surface

Buttery: this gets used colloquially – I use it to indicate a powder product feels like a cream product. It has a cushy feel and applies smoothly and evenly onto the skin.

Chalky: a dry and / or stiff powder product, and typically with low pigmentation.

Crease resistant: mostly with eye shadows – the ability of the product to not clear up into the folds of eyelids due to oiliness.

Fallout / falldown: when powder eye shadows does not adhere well to the eyelids during application and migrates down to lower lid or cheeks – this can cause a mess during application especially with deeper shades. [Thanks to Thoughtful Pigeon for suggesting this one!]

Finely milled: powder product with particles that are very small – can be a pressed or loose powder – this makes the product a lot more blendable and look a lot more skin-like / natural.

Flaky: product comes off skin in little bits through the day – mostly applicable to mascara and gel / pen liners

Long wearing / long lasting: product lasts for a lot more than a regular working hours. This is subjective as I consider anything a lot more than 8 hours to be considered long wearing.

MLBB: stands for “My Lips but Better” which is not a universal shade, but rather a colour that enhance one’s own natural lip colour. Some people have a lot more pigmented lips while others have paler lip colour – an enhancement could indicate the same color but slightly darker, or lighter, or brighter. The indicating of MLBB is quite individual.

Oxidation: a change in the colour (usually deepening or turning orange) of a liquid / cream product (typically foundation and concealer) as it dries down, normally when mixed with skin surface oils and oxygen.

Patchy: product does not apply evenly onto skin, leaves bare exposed skin randomly.

Pigmentation: how much colour coverage a product supplies on the skin

Pills: product balls up on skin like eraser shavings – generally used to describe face moisturizers, primers or foundations

Powdery: a pressed powder product that kicks up dust when a brush is dipped into the pan; this is not necessarily an indication of product performance. Alternatively, it can also indicate a product looks obvious, doesn’t blend into the skin, and sits on top of the skin.

Tacky: a liquid, gel or cream product that leaves the surface sticky ie. if you press your lips together, they will have a tendency to stick together

Do you know how tough it is to write definitions to words without using the word in the definition! XD Let me know if there are common review terms that you’d like me to add to the list.

I hope you found this helpful! What’s your process for examining appeal products?

PS.have you entered “Some of Stashy’s Favourite things Giveaway” yet? It ends tomorrow!

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