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Post in Besides Beauty
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Are the message boards dead?

Just a casual observation here but it seems like there aren't as many new posts as there used to be.  Is this just me or does it seem that way to other people, too?  Don't get me wrong, I know a lot of the new posts used to be the same topic over and over again, but it seems a little dead around here.  You can tell me if it's just me!  🙂

Re: Are the message boards dead?

@ather Thank you so much for your kind words.  I feel less and less appreciated as this whole thing goes on!

Re: Are the message boards dead?

Like others, I'm also working from home and masking up when I leave the house so I definitely have been using less makeup. I have no idea how I'm going to get through my new bottle of foundation! Though I am trying more skincare because wfh definitely allows you to do skincare throughout the day and experiment more with new products. 

 

I got curious after so many people responded about buying less makeup. I found a report by market research company The NPD Group. It's pretty interesting and reflects our responses:

 

Spoiler

 

"... makeup was the “hardest hit” out of the U.S. prestige beauty categories, showing a 23% decrease in 2021 compared to the first half of 2019..." Despite this, "Makeup sales increased 22%, compared to the first half of 2020, with tinted moisturizers serving as one of the very few areas of the makeup category that actually posted growth over 2019... So while the makeup category still has a steep hill to climb in terms of recovery, products that blur the line between skin care and makeup show promise for the category...

 

"Skin care, which saw $2.9 billion in sales in the first half of 2021, isn’t as dependent on brick-and-mortar stores as makeup and hair. Skin-care sales are up 21% compared to 2020 and up 6% compared to 2019...

 

"Fragrance, another primarily brick-and-mortar store-dependent category, saw sales increase by 82% in the first half of 2021, to $2.3 billion... this success was seen in the luxury side of fine fragrance. In early 2020, the overall fragrance category faced the same impact as makeup with huge declines in sales...

 

A Euromonitor 2021 report also noted that "post-pandemic beauty" would see recovery driven by the Asia-Pacific region, especially the Chinese market and that skin-care is poised to become the strongest driver for sales, especially those focused on science and research. I'm not familiar with NPD Group but Euromonitor is a huge player when it comes to market research. 

I'm also feeling pretty tapped. I have a lot of new responsibilities due to the pandemic and volunteering and community organizing has eaten up a lot of my free time. I do really appreciate having the space here to not worry about these more pressing matters. I also appreciate coming here where I feel like my gender isn't being used against me - the pandemic has really put a greater burden of care and all these new kinds of invisible/unpaid work onto women and especially women of colour.

Re: Are the message boards dead?

@pocketvenus  That's a very interesting article; thanks!

Re: Are the message boards dead?

@pocketvenus  Wow those numbers are crazy!

Re: Are the message boards dead?

I have noticed that the content isn’t always as interesting to me. I also don’t come to these boards as often. I think it’s a combo of burnout, stress, anxiety, uncertainty. I do think this can be a good escape from those things. I definitely had less time these past few years with continuing to work in person (part time in healthcare), virtual schooling one child and carrying for a toddler as well. It was stressful to say the least. It’s sometimes comforting to hear that others experiences are similar. It makes you not feel so alone. 

Re: Are the message boards dead?

@jen81  You are very busy! Sounds like you have a good handle on things.

Re: Are the message boards dead?

@jen81  I agree it’s a big stress release for me. It gives me something else to focus on since where I live we are still somewhat in lockdown. We can only cohort with one other family which means I don’t get to be super social as I normally am. 

Re: Are the message boards dead?

@itscarin I have a few theories/observations just based on my own experience with BIC/the beauty industry in general, as well as how much our day to days and lives and been changed these last couple of years. First; I think BIC started to see a “decline” simply due to over saturation of content within the beauty industry. Influencer culture and hype was not helpful, despite I think the intention to give people an outlet to interact with brands, products, each other, etc. when it made the switch from BT (RIP BT…). As more and more people started to want to potentially break in to the “content creator” area of the industry, it was just another way to attempt to build a following. Remember all those “I want to be an influencer will Sephora send me makeup?” posts? With that, the quality of products brands put out suffered because they needed to release something every 2 months to keep up with hype (I say “hype” not “demand” because I think people wanted clicks and content, not products necessarily). Eventually, people got tired, which I think has been mentioned already. Then, those major players who did have a lot of “influence” content wise started getting real nasty with each other and I think it turned a lot of people off. It went from “Okay I like how this person is presenting info I’ll continue to watch/subscribe/follow” to “This is silly and I don’t know or care who these people are.” I don’t need a story or drama when I’m trying to decide if I want to buy a new eye shadow palette. 

And the last thing, people haven’t been wearing as much makeup or spending as much money lately. Also, as more and more people started working online or remotely, they don’t want to spend their off time looking at a computer. If you would browse the threads during a break from work, or during the day, or whatever before, now you might be taking your breaks away from your desk, outside, moving. If you’re on Zoom meetings all day, the last think you wanna do is keep looking at a screen when you log off. Obviously not everyone’s work experience has been this, and mine hasn’t been since about February, but it could be a significant enough number of people to make an impact. Even those who have returned to a more “typical” work day, some may have just moved on from this as a interest/hobby. 

Re: Are the message boards dead?

@alexasteph I am just getting around to wearing jeans again. I put a pair on this weekend for the first time in probably almost 2 years. 


I know there’s still a pandemic but I’m starting to realize this is our new normal and I can’t wear leggings and baggy tee shirts for the rest of my life.  

even before the pandemic I was getting sick of all the hyper consumerism of influencers. God only knows I’m not perfect and buy too much.  But even I have my limits on too much stuff!

Re: Are the message boards dead?

@alexasteph  I think one thing that bothers me about the influencer community is that people promote things that might not really be great but you take their advice and buy it and end up possibly not loving it. Kinda drives me crazy. I am more likely to buy something based on a BIC recommendation over an influencer because I know the influencer is getting paid to promote certain items. 

Re: Are the message boards dead?

@itscarin I am definitely on BIC much less. My last dog was a greyhound and a couch potato. She was older and slept a lot. I was able to be on my phone more. After she passed, I got another dog a few months later. She is young and wants a lot more attention. I’m okay with that as I adore her and she is very sweet and affectionate. Pepper is my heart, as was my girl Joy. So more of my time goes to her. I have a few BIC friends I text with and get a bit of my beauty fix that way. I miss it but I also love moments like the one below. I try to get on every day or two, even if it’s just for a couple minutes.

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Re: Are the message boards dead?

@sprocketta  Someone looks super content!  So sweet!

Re: Are the message boards dead?

@sprocketta  Awww cutie!!! I miss you on here!!! But I get it with having a pup!!

Re: Are the message boards dead?

@ather I’m getting some guilt from her now…

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Re: Are the message boards dead?

@sprocketta I just want to hug her!!!  She's so sweet 🙂

Re: Are the message boards dead?

@CookieGirl1 She is the best snuggler. She’s also a total wacko for the record.

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Re: Are the message boards dead?

@sprocketta  Awwwww such a sweetie. 

Re: Are the message boards dead?

Such a cutie, @sprocketta! Pepper deserves every bit of that extra attention, LOL! 

Re: Are the message boards dead?

@quspork she is! I suspect I will have a tear or two when I put up the golden greyhound ornament this year that you gifted me. Honestly I don’t know how I’ll have a tree up with a wacko like Pepper though…

Re: Are the message boards dead?

@sprocketta @Omg she is so cute !

Re: Are the message boards dead?

@itscarin I have noticed that the types of posts I would respond to have decreased, and although I don’t really use any other social media so I’m not sure if the content has simply shifted to a new platform. That being said, I stepped away from most beauty products except for skincare and perfume because I simply don’t use a lot of things underneath my mask so I don’t seek out content about makeup and such. All that being said, my biggest reason for not being on here as much is that Sephora has fallen off my radar due to the continuously declining quality of the VIB Rouge program; I’ll check in to see if there are any good promos or events coming up but sadly I haven’t been enticed so I don’t stick around as I did before. Until the program steps up its game and becomes as good as it was in years past, I think the old guard will continue to step away in order to seek out better rewards, and the boards will reflect that shift in traffic and loyalty.

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