Brainstorming for how to get the message boards more active!

[greeneyedgirl107]

I think many of us noticed the thread started by @itscarin titled Are the message boards dead? .  I'd like to have BICers brainstorm ways for us to make it more active again.  There are so many great people on here, and I think we could all use some more ways to engage with each other.  BIC is about beauty, but it's also about friendship.  Please consider this a place to post ideas about how we can inspire more conversations.

Here are some ideas that I humbly offer to get us started:

-post on an older thread and revive it (some ones I like are  CRYSTALS, GEMS AND JEWELRY )

-start a challenge (a la the 💕😌 Mask of the Week Challenge 😌💖 or 100 Days of Lipstick Challenge )

-start a new thread (remember the seasonal threads like  ?  Or, what about brand threads that we don't have yet?  I believe we're missing a Paula's Choice thread -- especially since it's now carried at Sephora.  Or, what about a thread devoted to all the celebrity beauty brands for us to chat on?)

-reach out to BICers that you haven't seen post in a while

-set a BIC goal for posting or reviews and see where it takes you.  (I know I'd like to post more pics of hauls, but never do.)

[greeneyedgirl107]

Bumping this up, because I feel like the boards have been a little slow 🐌 

I started some threads:

🎁 The Gifting Thread 2025 🎁 

Yearly Misses: 2024 

Monthly Misses: February 2025 

What do you think are the most iconic beauty products of all time?If you could create a beauty tool, what would it be?☘️ Countdown to Wearing 'o the Green 2025 💚

Non-beauty Hauls March 2025 

[greeneyedgirl107]

The boards have been a little slow at times - likely due to log-on issues.   I wanted to highlight some threads I started, and to inspire others to start threads. 

Here they are:

Non-Beauty Hauls August 2024 

What *didn't* you buy during the Sephora Friends & Family Sale 2024? What *didn't* you get during Ulta's 2024 Diamond & Platinum Appreciation Days?

 Beauty Sale Misses: 2024 

💖 Share your love for your local Sephora 💖 What "beauty holidays" would you like to celebrate? 

What beauty products were you using *before* they became popular? 

The Tubing Mascara Thread 

What samples do you really want to try IRL? 

What products do you wish were sold in fragrance form? 

The In-store Swatching and Testing Thread 

DREAMSCROLLING: What do you fantasize about? 

[greeneyedgirl107]

I'd like to start a thread for identifying off-brand beauty lines, knock-off lines, generic beauty brands and the like.  IDK what the correct term is, so I'm having difficulty doing a Google search.  I thought it would be useful for us to have a brand list, and also to chat about how similar or dissimilar the products are from the originals.  I'm most interested in generic brands for prestige items, but any insight would be helpful.

Here are the brands known to me:

Generic Value Products at Sally Beauty: B&b, PM, Kenra, Matrix, Nexxus, Biolage, It's a 10, Sebastian, Aveda

Harmon Face Values at BBB: Neutrogena, Cetaphil, Matrix, Biolage, Aveeno, Pureology, Paul Mitchell, Sebastian, got2B, Olay, CHI, It's a 10, etc.

up & up at Target; Neutrogena, Clean & Clear, Biore, Cetaphil, CeraVe, St. Ives, Aveeno, etc.

Equate at Wal-Mart: Burt's Bees, Matrix Biolage, Proactiv, Neutrogena, Biosilk, OGX, Olay, Tresemme, It's a 10, Big-Sexy Hair, etc.

[greeneyedgirl107]

Is there any interest in a "Christmas in July" thread a la BIC's 2021 Holiday Fun and Year End Countdown!!! ?  You know, just for fun.  In the past the Christmas in July: What would be on your beauty wishlist? thread hasn't gotten much traction, so I wasn't sure if it would be worth starting a countdown thread.  I personally don't celebrate the holiday!  LOL

[sister13]

Hi guys! I posted a new challenge thread, a different challenge each week. I hope you will all join me, I’ll work on tagging people on that thread! 💗💗💗

https://community.sephora.com/t5/Makeup-Is-Life/Makeup-Challenge-of-the-Week-2021-2022/td-p/5992775

[IttyxBittyxMe]

I think one issue and a big issue, at least for me, is when they changed around the community on the mobile app a few years back. I wasn't really getting emails anymore, I couldn't see all the threads in app like I could on the mobile web browser, couldn't attach pictures. It's a mess. The mobile site is ok but a little sensitive to the touch making it difficult to navigate at times.

Idea wise....I feel like people like challenges, I miss the boxes that use to go around where people could put gently used products they no longer wanted and swap them as the box made its way around the country, and maybe just more interesting conversation starter threads instead of seeing the 'I didn't get samples with my order' thread 3 times a day. 

[makeitup305]

@IttyxBittyxMe i agree with the difficulty of using the mobile site. I think Android recently did a revamp or maybe I just hadn't tried it on my phone in a while because all of a sudden I can tag people and products when I couldn't before, plus it's logging me in much easier.  I remember that travel box! I could've used that a while ago when I did a huge declutter.

[GG84]

Hi 👋 just popping in. Sometimes it can just be about lifestyle changes and nothing at all to do with the content. 
I love the BIC however find myself answering questions more in the Q & A. It happens, people come and go then come again. We’re getting back to a true sense of normalcy again and while I love the community, it’s just easier for me personally to do the Q & A. 

[greeneyedgirl107]

@GG84 I agree that the Q&A is fun 🙂  I do miss seeing your posts, b/c I tried (and loved!) two hair products that you rec'd.  One is the Redken Heavy Cream Treatment which I believed I mentioned to you in the past.  The other is newer to me, but I'm hooked.  It's ALTERNA Haircare CAVIAR Anti-Aging® Smoothing Anti-Frizz Blowout Butter 

I hate the idea of not having insight into your recs!  ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

[blackkitty2014]

@greeneyedgirl107 I will try to revive some old favorites 😘

[greeneyedgirl107]

@blackkitty2014 That would be great!  Thanks!

[txcatx]

I'm trying to think of old threads I loved and reviving them, too!

[sister13]

I got so annoyed when the app and mobile started having so many problems. I couldn’t post pics on iPad, then couldn’t sign in on the phone app. I ended up having to delete the app altogether because of all the issues with it. Even now, I can’t sign in properly through the sign in on iPhone or iPad. I have to go to Sephora.com, then go to Loves or shopping cart and click there a few times. Then, it logs me in. THEN, I can go to Community and stay logged in for a while. If I want to post more than a couple sentences, I type it on the iPad, then switch to phone and add pics. Anyway, all those issues have kind of put a damper just hopping on and participating as much as I used to! 

But, back to the spirit of what will help participation, I can say that I LOVE challenges! I keep thinking I need to do a palette challenge or brand challenge to get my creative juices flowing more these days! @greeneyedgirl107 

[makeitup305]

@sister13 @It would be fun to do a palette challenge- name your palette for the week and do as many looks as possible with it during that week. It might help people use the bigger palettes that always come out during this time or from previous holidays. Brand challenges could be a specific brand or brands that start with a specific letter for that week.

[pocketvenus]

@makeitup305 I like this! I don't post photos of my face online but am definitely happy to support from the sides and play along! How about a bonus round where you build a look around the colour you use the least in your fave palette? 🙂

[makeitup305]

@pocketvenus i need to try that for sure, that's a good idea!

[sprocketta]

@sister13 @greeneyedgirl107 Reviving this one. I had forgotten about it and can’t believe it was that long ago.

https://community.sephora.com/t5/Makeup-Is-Life/The-All-different-Or-One-Challenge/m-p/4122585#M1783...

[sister13]

That’s cute, I don’t remember posting on that one, so I may have been on a BIC hiatus! @sprocketta 

[sprocketta]

@sister13 I don’t think I participated either. I have to do an evaluation of what I’ve got. I’m not sure if I can manage it. I’ll look tomorrow

[greeneyedgirl107]

@sister13 I'm so sorry to hear that you've had so many issues logging in.  That happened to me a couple times, and I was beside myself.

I like your idea of a brand challenge.  Like each week using a different brand?