Online Beauty 101: understanding the virtual community - part 2

First of all, happy December! December is one of my favourite months for several reasons, most notably the infectious holiday spirit, giving gifts, the family times, the pretty snowfalls, and welcoming a new year. Also, today was officially the last day of classes at McGill so TIME TO CELEBRATE (oh wait, finals, oops....I mean, time to buckle down and study hard).  And in that spirit, it is the perfect time to get back in the classroom for Megan’s Guide to the weird world of talking about beauty products on the Internet and other related inquiries. If you happened to miss Lesson #1: Vocabulary, then you should definitely click here to catch up and get your read on. The end of November marks the new hordes of routine monthly favorites/empties videos and blog posts, and the beginning of December also marks the start of Vlogmas for many. Confused as to what monthly "favorites," "empties," or "Vlogmas" may signify? Then grab your notebooks and highlighters, class is about to commence.

Lesson #2: Traditional types of videos/blog posts

There are no specific rules or restrictions for the topics of beauty-related videos and blogs, but there are a several generic types of videos/posts that are most shared and loved by the beauty community. Knowing what these traditional types are can be very useful when trying to sort through the multitude of beauty information in this great world wide web.

• (Monthly) Favorites: Showcasing beauty products that have been most-loved that past month, or simply recently. Some people solely discuss beauty products and fashion items, while someone include other types of favorites, such as food, music, movies, books, people, etc. (note: some ambitious vloggers make a “beauty favorites” and separate “non-beauty favorites” for lifestyle choices)
• Haul: Sharing recent shopping purchases, sometimes as they are actually being taken out of shopping bags and sometimes including some initial reviews.
  
• (Monthly) Empties: Essentially, this is when someone shares their recycling/garbage of the products they have finished that past month (or recently), provides a more in-depth review, and shares whether or not they would repurchase each product.
  
• TAG Videos: These videos/posts vary widely in topics, often containing random questions, weird challenges that may involve makeup and/or significant others and/or family members. The way that TAG videos and posts work is that once someone invents the theme, they pass it on by “tagging” other members of the beauty community to make the video/write the post, and then those people tag more people, etc. This explains why you might see millions of videos entitled: “Sweater Weather TAGs,” “My boyfriend does my makeup TAG,” “Five Minute Makeup Challenge,” “Perfect Palette TAG,” etc.
  
• Skincare Routine: This one is pretty self-explanatory. Sometimes divided into morning vs. nighttime skincare routines, but essentially an overview of the various skincare products that one uses. Keep in mind, it is far more risky to experiment with skincare based on others' recommendations when compared to makeup. Skincare products can react very differently depending on skin types, climates and age, and what works well for someone may not work as well for you. That being said, it never hurts to know what other people are actually using and the results they've seen!
  
• Review: Probably the most common type of blog post consisting of someone's opinion regarding their experience with a beauty product. Reviews can (and ideally) include swatches, comparisons, pictures (if in blog post format), detailed information and whether or not the reviewer recommends the product and for whom.
  
• Tutorial: This is another very common type of beauty video, and sort of responsible for the YouTube beauty community revolution. Tutorials provide a detailed guide of how someone applies a specific makeup look, in order for you to recreate a similar look or simply learn from their application techniques. Some tutorials are specific to eye makeup or face base makeup, while some can show a complete transformation from no makeup to a complete full-face. Tutorials are great for beauty newcomers and experts alike, as you can always learn something new from others or get inspired by their creativity and combinations.
• How-To: Whilst similar to tutorials, how-tos tend to be far more detailed to a specific makeup technique, and as such are excellent sources of knowledge. Some examples include how-to: contour, shape/groom eyebrows, apply self-tanner, get that perfect cat-eye eyeliner, make your lips appear fuller, cover up hyper-pigmentation and acne scars....the possibilities are endless!
  
• Unboxing: A couple of years ago, monthly subscription services took over the online beauty community. While some beauty "gurus" have partnerships with these services and receive their subscriptions free from PR in order to showcase the boxes to their viewers, these videos are still a good resource if you are curious as to what a typical monthly box from one of these subscriptions would look like, and if it would be worth your while.
  
• First impressions: Feature initial reviews of a beauty product, usually during/after one's first application of it. Although these are not the most comprehensive of review-type posts, they can still be useful, especially if you are considering a brand new product, since many first-impressions are for products that have yet to be released (some of the online beauty community content providers get products prior to their release, once again for PR purposes, as a means of sharing them with their audiences).
• Room Tour / Aparmtent Tour: A lifestyle video that is still very heavily requested/loved in the beauty world, since those who appreciate learning aesthetics in makeup often enjoy seeing others' interior decor.

• Makeup Collection: Exactly what it sounds like, just all of someone's makeup products. In my opinion, these are pretty uselessly-long videos, but they can offer some advice on how to organize your own makeup collection, so I guess that can be helpful.
• What’s in my bag? Ever wondered what someone keeps in their purse (or what handbag they're currently using)? Here's your chance.
• What's in my makeup bag? Showcasing someone's essential makeup products that they carry around with them, and probably use on a daily basis. It can be very easy to get caught up with the unending choice of makeup products available and shared online, and these videos/blog posts are a nice way to see what people are actually using over and over.
• What’s in my shower? Ever wondered what someone keeps in their shower?...Really? I guess it can be useful from a hygienic perspective if you needed a new razor/body wash and wanted suggestions...but otherwise these videos are really weird (no offence).
  
• OOTD/FOTD/NOTD: If you don't know what these terms mean, then it means you skipped Lesson #1 (how naughty). These are usually quick pictures/videos to showcase someone's outfit, makeup, or nail polish that they wore on a specific day. 
• Get Ready With Me: These videos, often set to music, chronicle someone's complete "getting-ready" routine (skin care, makeup, hair, clothes) either for the day, for going out at night, or for a specific event like Halloween, Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day, etc.
• Products worth the hype / Products not worth the hype: These may have once been TAG videos or chain blog posts that went around at the blogosphere, but I consider them pretty standard at this point. Before the online beauty community became a thing, hype was mostly generated from magazines' (InStyle, Allure) yearly beauty awards. Some of these "old school" hyped-up products include: NARS Orgasm Blusher, Bobbi Brown Longwear Gel Eyeliner, MAC Eyeshadows, Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation, Lancome Bi-Facil Makeup Remover (my mother's personal favourite), Yves St Laurent Touche Eclat Highlighter, and Maybelline GreatLash Mascara. With the advent of the online beauty world, there are new products getting super hyped-up with each and every season. It is only natural that many of these products are trendy and over-hyped, causing those that jumped on the bandwagon to later regret their purchase. However, some of these hyped-up products are true gems that are hyped-up for good reason. Keep in mind, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and that just because a product was not worth the hype, it does not mean that it is awful, just disappointing due to high expectations. 
• Vlogmas: Although Vlogmas is a lot less traditional than the majority of these blog/video posts, I decided to include it given the amount of beauty vloggers that are participating in Vlogmas this year. For those who are unaware (or live under a rock), a "vlog" essentially means a blog post in video format. In the beauty community, a "vlog" most commonly refers to a casual, follow-me-around-in-my-daily-life type video. Some people are ambitious/crazy enough to post vlog videos every day, some do so weekly, and some do so more sporadically. "Vlogmas" has become a trend in recent years and involves committing to posting a vlog every single day until December 25th (Christmas Day, though some continue all the way until NYE). So if you really want to glimpse a full month of a beauty "guru" life, or simply have a lot of time to spare, then have no fear, because Vlogmas is already here! (Note: Although I am sarcastic, I do not mean to insult those participating in Vlogmas or those who actually watch all of the videos. I even watch a couple of Vlogmas videos each year, especially when there is a small drought in my subscription box. Therefore, I'm being slightly self-deprecating, so its okay).

Phew, talk about a lot of online beauty traditions! Kudos if you managed to make it through the entire lesson without any breaks, and hopefully you learnt something new along the way. Now I probably should get back to (or rather, start) studying for finals, but don't forget to stay tuned for the final instalment of Megan’s Guide to the weird world of talking about beauty products on the Internet and other related inquiries, which will surely answer any lingering questions and confusions regarding the crazy virtual beauty world. Here's to a great month of December!