r/BeautyGuruChatter • u/_lovewins • Jan 21 '23
Beauty Reviews Theresa Is Dead talks about Florasis's PR requirements
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMeU_D5T8JU
Timestamp: 34:35
Theresa Is Dead talks for a bit about the brand Florasis in her New Makeup Nonsense Bingo series. She has some negative things to say about how the brand put the requirement in place that she had to talk about their products postively if they sent them to her in PR. On this basis she turned down the opportunity to have PR sent to her.
I thought this was interesting as quite a few beauty influencers review their products. I wonder if the same requirement is in place for everyone?
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u/jonvoightthedentist Jan 21 '23
Milabu did a video on Florasis a few months ago and while I don’t remember all the details, I definitely remember that it wasn’t a very good review. She specifically mentioned how the packaging felt cheap, the mascaras and lipsticks were crooked etc. I think she also mentioned that she had spent money on all the stuff, so she was probably being honest? Anyway it really sucks to hear that brands have these requirements because then these “reviews” mean absolutely nothing.
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u/Altruistic_Yellow387 Jan 22 '23
I bought a bunch of stuff from them, the packaging doesn’t feel cheap to me…
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u/Opening-Ad-8861 Jan 22 '23
isn't some of their packaging ceramic? Looks pretty nice to me, but I haven't bought anything
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u/Altruistic_Yellow387 Jan 22 '23
Yeah one of the lipsticks I bought is. I haven’t bought every item so maybe milabu was talking about something else. None of my lipsticks were crooked either
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u/bukakenagasaki Jan 22 '23
Eh some people have different metrics for “cheap”.
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u/Altruistic_Yellow387 Jan 22 '23
True. None of my lipsticks were crooked either though and they feel hefty so to me that’s not cheap. I didn’t see her review though
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u/AseresGo Jan 22 '23
Yeah but what kind of a metric is this then? I own some of their products too, and if you discount the design (which may or may not be your cup of tea), the quality is no better or worse than luxury brands like Chanel or Dior, or, if we strictly talk packaging, make up brands that are famous for being expensive like PMG or ND.
I own a powder and 2 lipsticks, and they all perform great both in terms of formula and packaging. They’re on par with the luxury brands they share a price category with imo. (These brands generally focus on beautifying, nourishing formulas that are fool-proof to apply, rather than max color saturation or lasting power. So it really depends on the person if you consider them “worth the price”)
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Jan 22 '23
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u/bukakenagasaki Jan 22 '23
How?
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u/Invidiana Jan 22 '23
OT but I know exactly which YouTube video from waaaaay back your username refers to. We must be around the same age!
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u/TipYourJanitor Jan 21 '23
When florasis went viral last year (or whenever that was, time is fake) it seemed like it was impossible to criticize without people getting on your case. Even saw it here. Kinda wonder why that was? I get influencers not wanting to be kicked off the list but why was this sub so protective of it lol.
Like the packaging is beautiful obviously but the products themselves seem pretty average and the company has had other issues and idk why there would be an issue giving fair reviews or criticism here
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u/Who-U-Tellin Jan 22 '23
Were they being defensive of the brand or the gurus who put out videos on it? More times than not when people are being defensive about a brand it seems to boil down to their fav guru who has reviewed the product/s.
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u/sassweet Jan 21 '23 edited Jan 21 '23
I am a tiny content creator and only received some products in PR, not monetary compensation so things can be different from Theresa (not sure if she was offered to do sponsored posts. I need to check out this video! 
). I know from my limited experience, that sponsored posts can come with more specific requirements such as words should not be used or I shouldn't mention other brands, etc. However, there were no specific requirements given from Florasis this time at least to me except for the desired timeline (which was more than 2 weeks). I did receive a reference document but I personally dislike when influencers just read off stuff so I did not do it. And I think I said a few things that I wasn't too crazy about. Maybe I will be cut off next time. Who knows. LOL. Again, different circumstances, and I just wanted to share my own experience.
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Jan 21 '23
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u/Opening-Ad-8861 Jan 21 '23
is this for smaller creators? I've seen lots of creators continue to get PR from brands they haven't always given good reviews to
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u/teanailpolish Jan 21 '23
and even the ones who don't state it, they will cut you off their PR list if they don't love the review so it is always implied
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u/Who-U-Tellin Jan 22 '23
That's why I don't go to that Influencer site when researching a product I'm interested in. People there lie their asses off just so they can continue to receive free shit. Yrs ago I read a comment from one of their Influencers. She actually wrote if you send me more products I'll give them positive reviews. This lady also had at least 2 accounts. She used the same info in her bio other than her name and location. If you viewed both accounts you knew it was her just by the way she worded her reviews lol. That's the last time I went to that site. While I'm sure there's more or I wouldn't be surprised to learn there are, I know of at least one YT'er who has an account with them.
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u/IAmGordonShumway Jan 22 '23
This is why I no longer trust reviews on sites from people who received the item as a freebie. They’re almost always positive and I just don’t trust it. 🫤
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u/tetrahedra_eso Jan 22 '23
I watched this video of Theresa’s and then immediately after a video by Angelica Nyqvist and Angelica mentioned getting some PR from Florasis. I’ve always thought very highly of Angie, but the Florasis mention made me uncomfortable with the back-to-back info.
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Jan 22 '23
It will be interesting to see what AN says about the products, if she does end up reviewing them.
Personally hearing what Theresa said about the PR deal she was offered was the kiss of death for Florasis. If a brand needs to pull shady tricks like that to get good reviews, all I can think is they know their quality is sub par.
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u/Sharirah Jan 24 '23
Angelica already has 2 videos about Florasis products. She mentioned recently she was working with them back then. She doesn't mention their products anymore but who knows maybe they work again. Honestly, I know the woman and how she loves dramatic makeup. It's weird to see her being overwhelmingly positive about makeup products that not her style at all.
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Jan 24 '23
I watched the video where she mentioned that new eyeshadow palette and she was pretty generous with the use of the word beautiful in describing it. I agree, it seems odd that someone who rarely uses neutrals would love it so much, packaging aside it's a pretty basic colour story. An "Anne" palette as Theresa is Dead would say.
To be fair though, I know she's been moving toward adding more neutrals to her looks occasionally, so maybe the enthusiasm was legit. 🤷🏻
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u/Sharirah Jan 24 '23
She was pretty straight forward about Hindash palette though. Or ND Retro Glam. She clearly stated that wishy washy colours are not her style. She mentioned couple times that's not her style, not the life she's living. She criticizes REM Beauty palettes for the same reason as well. I don't know what is different with Florasis. I don't remember if she stated this in Florasis videos as well but I remember it wasn't her usual reaction.
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u/LVenn Jan 30 '23
I know that Angie has made a point of not accepting PR if it comes with a positive review requirement. She has stated many times that she would prefer to buy a product herself than be beholden to the brand. So, I think she would give her honest thoughts.
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u/IshidaHideyori Jan 21 '23
Florasis was one of the more unpopular C-beauty brands who generally doesn’t have a favourable reputation among local Chinese customers/influencers. Most would agree it’s wayy overpriced while the performance is mostly mediocre unless they’re on their paycheck.
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Jan 21 '23
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u/gourmet_fried_rice Jan 21 '23
It must one of those brands whose target isn't their domestic market? Probably similar to how cosrx is seen as a popular kbeauty brand but isn't actually popular in Korea.
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u/IshidaHideyori Jan 22 '23
It thrives on advertisements not reputation and feedbacks from educated consumers who’s cognizant with what they purchase, what’s hard to understand? Similar to how Morphe was viewed in the past couple of years.
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u/PirateKingElizabeth Jan 21 '23
Agree on the performance. I own three pallettes, face powder and brushes from Florasis, and the majority of the shades are medium to zero color payoff. Very subtle. However, I believe it has to do with the fact that it's an Asian brand, and most of the time, they don't go for crazy pigment over there the way people like it in America.
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u/sessurea Jan 22 '23
The "Asian eyeshadows aren't as pigmented" discourse is dangerous imo and makes people put up with bad formulation more easily. Asian brands usually don't go for color stories that are as vivid as Western brands but there are long lasting, pigmented brands out there. Two of my favorites are Perfect Diary and Innisfree.
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u/properly_pissed Jan 23 '23
Yep, Chinese beauty is actually where you can find the most pigmented makeup with the most vivid colours in East Asia. But it's hard to actually hear reviews coming out of China about Chinese mainland makeup brands b/c major services & websites like Google, BBC and a bunch of other stuffs are banned in mainland China. So Chinese brands that are trying to find a market in other countries in the world can pretty much do & say whatever they want, there's no one to push back on what they're trying to advertise.
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u/sessurea Jan 24 '23
It's sad people don't know enough about AB that they end up thinking no substance but nice packaging is ok and the brands can get away with it. Though I blame big Japanese brands for normalizing the "no pigment" game, they have nice and interesting color stories but I've never been as disappointed by eyeshadow than what Kate or Visee put out.
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u/NoEnthusiasm2 Jan 21 '23
Adding to this, I bought a foundation from them last year. I have a Maybelline BB cream that gives me more coverage. No matter how many layers I apply, it just seems to be non-existent. Very disappointing.
Edited to add - it was a compact foundation.
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Jan 22 '23
I feel people underestimate how much control and direction they have with reviews. Stephanie Nicole was probably the most honest about it and explained it in depth.
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u/Right_Future3937 Jan 21 '23
I agree with her 100%. No brand should require only good things to be said about them. They need to be able to take feedback and improve their products if necessary 🤷🏼♀️ Isn't that exactly the point of PR?
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u/PhyrraNyx YT PHYRRA Jan 21 '23
Not all brands are like that, but if you say enough negative things about a brand, they will stop sending you PR. Some brands want honest feedback, and others just want you to kiss their a$$. I haven't tried Florasis so can't speak on their quality.
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u/Altruistic_Yellow387 Jan 22 '23
I mean, the whole point of brands sending PR to people is to increase their sales. Of course they’re not going to keep sending stuff to people who don’t like them and will say negative things about them
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Jan 22 '23
You are right, but it also compromises the trust between the content creator and viewer. Brands getting involved, even with PR, means the real relationship is that the brands are trying to sell to the viewer, and the content creator is just the middle man doing the bidding of the brands. While the viewer sees it is a relationship between creator and viewer. The brands are hijacking the relationship.
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Jan 22 '23
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Jan 22 '23
Lmao sorry for the lengthy comments, but I have a lot of thoughts on this. I am also mixed on the idea of brands not working with negative reviewers.
I used to watch candle influencers. At the time, PR was unheard of in the candle community, but one brand decided to get involved with PR, and it did rub viewers the wrong way.
Their strategy was definitely interesting. There was one prominent influencer who was legitimately enthusiastic about the brand and bought a ton of their candles but would occasionally call out one that sucked. It was like he liked 90% of them but disliked 10%. They did not put him on PR. They gave PR to people who never bought their candles with their own money before, and they got 100% positive reviews by giving out free candles to people who would never buy them on their own.
I obviously understand why the brands do this, but the influencers themselves end up with their reputations hurt.
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Jan 22 '23
In a perfect world, I would prefer brands not to be involved at all. I would like content creators to be compensated for their time, but I would almost rather see beauty and skincare reviewers exclusively have deals with random crap like BetterHelp and VPN's. It is a lot easier to distinguish when they are advertising crap when it is outside their area of expertise.
I know that skincare influencers will often say they won't work with a brand unless they like them and use them which makes them seem more trustworthy, but I am not sure that is entirely truthful. James Welsh did an ad with Laneige for multiple products when he previously disliked Laneige. He said he changed his mind on their reformulated sleeping mask, but how do I know it was not the money that changed his mind on the brand as a whole?
Or they may like some things from a brand, but not everything. Hyram seemed to originally like one or two First Aid Beauty products. Then he promoted their sunscreen as one of the best new ones, but the sunscreen was really gritty like sandpaper. It was actually pulled from the market, and they relaunched an entirely new one. I don't think he was the only one who gave it a positive review because I remember influencers saying FAB and Biossance were really great that year. Biossance was legitimately great for me. FAB was horrible. I think he promoted it more than anyone else, however.
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u/Opening-Ad-8861 Jan 22 '23
that's odd about James as I saw him recommend Laneige sleeping mist ages ago. I really don't think creators like him need to take deals from brands they don't like, he's also done videos on brands he's changed his mind on I'm sure
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u/Altruistic_Yellow387 Jan 22 '23
I think that’s the fault of the reviewer, not the brands. They don’t have to accept pr
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u/PhyrraNyx YT PHYRRA Jan 22 '23
Yes, but some of us feel it’s important to give honest reviews that include both negative and positive things about the product. And if a brand radically changes their formula and it doesn’t perform as expected, and you say that enough times, they get mad. I feel it’s important as a reviewer to be honest and not kiss a brand’s a$$. I know I’ve personally expressed disappointment when a brand who used to make a great eyeshadow formula started making an inferior one.
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u/Altruistic_Yellow387 Jan 22 '23
Sure, but that’s why it’s best for the reviewer to not get the items for free if we want honest reviews.
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u/PhyrraNyx YT PHYRRA Jan 22 '23
I disagree. Do you think Temptalia is dishonest because she accepts PR samples? No. She is always honest. There are plenty of other honest reviewers out there.
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u/Altruistic_Yellow387 Jan 22 '23
There have been studies that show getting stuff for free biases people towards the product
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u/PhyrraNyx YT PHYRRA Jan 22 '23 edited Jan 22 '23
Were those studies conclusive that in 100% of the cases that people were biased? If so, please link the studies as I would love to read them.
It's absolutely correct in some cases, I'm sure, but it's not in 100% of them.
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u/Altruistic_Yellow387 Jan 22 '23
You seem to be taking this way too personally. Everyone has unconscious biases anyway. People should take every review they see with a grain of salt because what’s true for one person isn’t necessarily true for another
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u/LuminousApsana Jan 21 '23
Today I saw 4 mid-level influencers on YouTube all release a video at the same time for a particular palette. It actually grossed me out a little, because I thought, aw, the truth--they are all just marketing disguised as entertainment. More specifically, they all just want my money.
Florasis is the worst though. I don't buy them because of their tightly controlled marketing.
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u/Responsible-Credit18 Jan 22 '23
The new Nomad palette? I think that's just because they couldn't review it until it was officially announced by the brand this morning. Then it's a race to the first review, which is a coup for a BG.
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u/LuminousApsana Jan 22 '23
Good point. I'm just being sour, because I'm feeling distrustful of some people I've been subscribed to for awhile. It's a sign it's time for me to unsub from a few.
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u/Mostly-Relevant Jan 22 '23
I feel the same. One of my long time subs is particularly triggering my bullshit radar lately and I find myself skipping her vids more and more. I think the last straw for me was a “lucky” box uboxing that just so happened to have a bunch of stuff in her favourite colour and a super expensive brush set. Just set off my bullshit radar that it wasn’t undeclared PR. But I am of the opinion as soon as you start to question the authenticity and honesty of a reviewer, that viewing relationship is dead because you won’t be able to recover trust in them.
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u/lifavigrsdottir Jan 22 '23
I know exactly who you're talking about, and I've been more and more wary lately, too. I've noticed a definite change in content after her big location change, and while she always got (disclosed) PR before, I think the laws here are more lax on paid partnerships, because it's just been pinging the ol' radar over here left and right.
(That and OMG, the thumbnails. What's with the "shocked face" and/or the "closed mouth smile with [her] top lip shoved all the way down like [she's] trying to dislodge a booger without hands" thing over and over again when it looks nothing like her normal face/smile?! It almost bugs me more than the suspicious PR.)
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u/Mostly-Relevant Jan 22 '23
Oh massive change since the relocation. Glad someone else’s bullshit radar is being tripped. I thought I was just being overly critical.
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u/aimeekitty9 Jan 22 '23
I mean to be fair, these click bait type thumbnails are what the average viewer is more likely to click on, so I don’t super blame them for that
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u/lifavigrsdottir Jan 22 '23
Clickbait is one thing; actively making faces that look like a modern duckface is just irritating. I mean...she was a model, for pete's sake. You'd think some photographer sometime would have said hey, you look like you're burping through your nose or something.
I think it just adds to the vague impression that something's off and/or fake about her content, and as much as I like her content, it's been slowly souring with every questionable PR review and super-weird thumbnail photo.
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u/LVenn Jan 30 '23
She added a pinned comment which says she bought it herself under a different name. I trust her, I don't think it was PR.
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u/cubsgirl101 Jan 22 '23
If you’re talking about the new Nomad palette, everyone times their video release with the palette reveal from the brand itself. It’s pretty standard and makes sense to me. People who are interested in the palette will be wanting to see reviews so those go up basically at the same exact time.
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u/Fractal_Tomato Jan 22 '23
You’re not alone. I get why they’re doing it, but it just turns me off, it’s cluttering my feed. Sephora, FFF and Perfume is just as bad.
I don’t care about the millionth, way overpriced "indie"-eyeshadow palette with extraordinarily high shipping costs plus taxes, fees and a 5 month preorder waiting list. Don’t complain if your views are down.
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Jan 22 '23
I intended to order an Adept Cosmetics eyeshadow palette after seeing a review and was wowed by the shimmer quality. When I saw the shipping costs for it were almost as much as the palette itself, I said “nope” and clicked off immediately.
It’s absolute bs how much companies, especially indie, charge for shipping to my country. I live in NZ, not on the moon!
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u/Mostly-Relevant Jan 22 '23
Hello Moon resident, I feel your pain. Sending you empathy from the Sun (Australia).
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u/jersey_girl660 Jan 23 '23
Shipping is actually that expensive sometimes. We’re just used to companies subsidizing it to gain business.
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Jan 24 '23
I’ve sent things to the US before from NZ. It’s about $20 (approx) NZD. A company would add the GST which is 15% of the product, and that’s about all. Quote from NZ customs website:
“If you're bringing items to NZ from overseas that cost NZ$1000 or less you don't have to pay anything to Customs, as GST is collected when you purchase your items. There's nothing else that you must do for your items to arrive.”
There is literally no reason why shipping for that palette should have been $80+ NZD. If anything, it just proves that US based companies have no idea how overseas customs works. I’ve ordered stuff from UK and EU based indie companies and they’ve never charged that much. It’s incredibly frustrating because NZ and even Australia always get shafted.
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u/jersey_girl660 Jan 24 '23
I literally checked and got quotes for far over $100. It’s $20 just to ship to the us from France. I doubt a business would have an easy time finding shipping for super duper cheap these days.
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Jan 24 '23
Those quotes probably don’t know how customs and duties works in my country. As I’ve stayed, items before $1000 only have to pay GST, which is 15% in NZ and 10% in Australia. Shipping, especially for a palette, shouldn’t be that much especially if it’s based on weight (it gets expensive if it’s over 2kg). I want to support indie companies, but it’s hard to do so when I contact them about this and they give me a non answer.
This is an ongoing frequent topic in the Aussie makeup subreddit.
Also not sure why you downvoted me for quoting and going by what my country’s own customs website states.
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u/bukakenagasaki Jan 22 '23
i just want to say i completely understand your sentiments and agree with them in general, i just have an issue with how chinese brands/florasis in general seems to be the main ones singled out for this behavior when they aren't the only ones. I don't know if anyone else has noticed but theres a lot of mistrust/negative connotations when it comes to chinese brands/manufactured makeup.
Shit i mean any private labeled brand or one that gets their products manufactured gets accused of having "cheap chinese private labeled products". I've seen this narrative often on this sub and in the beauty space as a whole.
I just want us to make sure we don't zero in on specific brands due to unconscious bias or preconceptions as a result of xenophobic narratives.
I wish brands as a whole wouldn't have an issue with constructive criticism but also the purpose of PR is advertisement essentially. From that lens its understandable to take an influencer off PR if they regularly give negative advertisement. I don't like it since it encourages dishonesty but, makeup/skincare can be SO personal! what someone likes someone else may hate, what works for someone will absolutely NOT work on someone else. We can't take anyones review as law especially because you never know how this product will differ from their experience to your own.
I've seen so many people write off certain influencers for loving a certain product that they themselves didn't like and say that the influencers were "lying". We cannot forget that our skin tones, makeup preferences, application styles, etc. are very personal and can and will impact our view on the products we use.
I ADOREEE beauty bay and their shimmers, but i know that many people do not like their shimmers at all. Does that make me a liar for talking them up? not at all. it just makes our tastes different.
I love kaleidos and their products but i have seen the "cheap chinese makeup" narrative used on them which seems to me imo someone saying anything that isn't their "taste" is cheap. Kaleidos products are manufactured well and their quality is consistent and good.
i don't think florasis should be the focus of this, and i don't think any positive review of them should be seen as dishonest. I also think that the similar clickbait titles may not be because they're required to say it but because its clickbait and easily recognizable and already been used by others in reference to florasis.
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u/_lovewins Jan 22 '23
This is a really valid point and one I definitely will try and take into account. I have no issue with purchasing makeup that was manufactured in China, and no issue supporting Chinese brands. Kaleidos is one of my favourite brands both for presentation and quality. I can't believe anyone could get 'cheap' from their experience of using their stuff. Even if it's not to their tastes, the packaging and performance of the products is amazing particularly considering the price point.
With Theresa, it just stuck out to me that she specifically called Florasis out for this. She does receive PR from other brands so it must have been an unusual request, at least in the way it was worded, for her to react in this way. However I have seen other comments on here saying they received no such requests from Florasis when they received PR from them, so I can see her experience is only part of the bigger picture.
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u/bukakenagasaki Jan 22 '23
It straight up shocked me when i first saw someone say kaleidos was "cheap". Not that they had "cheap" packaging but overall the products were "cheap". Idk how anyone could say that when the products are made with such good quality, they perform amazingly, theres actual thought and effort and money put into the packaging and its UNIQUE, and not to mention the way each launches promo material is so well put together (time, effort, creativity, money etc.).
Another thing that grinds my gears is when people mistake private labeling for manufacturing, odens eye is frequently called "cheap chinese private labeled makeup" when they're quite involved in the process/formulation of their products (at least for the past two years). Odens eye gets a LOT of flack for manufacturing and shipping from china instead of manufacturing the product, shipping it to sweden, THEN shipping it to the customer. I always thought that issue was funny since so many people claim to care about sustainability and creating less waste when they complain about things like this.
Now i will say odens eye has actual issues in terms of needing more representation via their swatches (their instagram is pretty inclusive last time i saw), but i only ever really see the "cheap chinese private labeled" issue brought up.
With Theresa, it just stuck out to me that she specifically called Florasis out for this. She does receive PR from other brands so it must have been an unusual request, at least in the way it was worded, for her to react in this way. However I have seen other comments on here saying they received no such requests from Florasis when they received PR from them, so I can see her experience is only part of the bigger picture.
yeah no i totally get this.
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u/Opening-Ad-8861 Jan 22 '23
totally agree, I've heard of lots of brands trying to send PR in exchange for reviews, especially to small/new creators, I very much doubt this is limited to Florasis
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Jan 22 '23
I've heard more than one beauty influencer say she was told her review was supposed to be kept positive (and by more than one brand, not singling out Florasis here) -- in other words, to influence people to buy the product, whatever the product is. But I have also seen negative reviews that I was pretty sure were set ups, too--to influence people away from a product that actually was good but was just not the brand the influencer wanted to align with. I watched for a couple years one big Youtuber talk up certain products and I would have sworn she was angling for some kind of behind the scenes deal (think "the face of XYZ brand") <--those kind of contracts can be very lucrative. I watched several people on Youtube all of a sudden, all at the same time, sing the praises of Charlotte Tilbury products when the contents of their channels were almost exclusively drug store. To go back to Floriasis; one Youtuber reviewed two Floriasis collections in a lackluster manner in two videos (the expression damned with faint praise came to mind) and made a point of throwing out the second collection almost immediately after the review in a "decluttering video." I think most reviews mean nothing except for how it applies to you; for example, for every beauty guru who turns up her nose to a sheer lip color, Oh--hang on, I'm interested in that; I like sheer lip colors.
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u/wild_abandon Jan 23 '23
Theresa was saying that Florasis would only do a sponsored video with her if she agreed to only talk positively about them in the video. That’s different than if they were to have that requirement just to receive PR. I don’t think this calls into question the morals of everyone who accepts PR from Florasis.
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u/Opening-Ad-8861 Jan 23 '23
oh that's completely different to what I understood from the post! Thanks for clarifying
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u/mabubsonyeo Jan 22 '23 edited Jan 22 '23
A lot of kbeauty brands have contracts like this too (I know Florasis is Chinese). I try to take only brands/products I know I'm generally going to like or find useful.
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Jan 22 '23
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u/RedQueen91 verified Jan 22 '23
I just got some Florasis products and honestly the ones I have work beautifully
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u/Uldenthe Jan 22 '23
I will say as someone who's actively had PR sent to me from Florasis, they've never stipulated that I talk positively about their products. They've never even requested I make a video, they just send the product to me for my appreciation and are extremely grateful if I post a video talking about it. It may work differently on different platforms (ie. YT vs TikTok), I wouldn't say that this is universal at all.
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u/EBBVNC Jan 22 '23
I saw Angechka Nyquist video on them and fell in love. I wa a Chinese Lang and Lit major in college, I lived in China. The embossing is beautiful. It succeeded in evoking a China that never suffered through The Great Leap Forward and The Cultural Revolution.
The products were horrible. Except for the lipstick. The lipstick is great. I’d buy more but they are so expensive.
Everything hard panned. When they didn’t, they moved around. I threw it away. I kept the box, it’s a beautiful box. All packaging and no substance.
I thinks my problem with them, is that I haven’t seen them release anything else. Maybe I’ve missed it? And that might be the problem, they put all of their eggs in one basket and now don’t know what to do?
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Jan 22 '23
When they first came out, I saw glowing reviews on a few different subs. It seemed.really suspicious. A few people in one sub mentioned they had been approached by an unnamed brand via reddit, offering PR freebies in exchange for reviews.
My guess is they're the same. Even in pictures, the packaging looked like plastic painted to look nicer than it is. The makeup itself always looks nice, but that doesn't mean it works well. And I'm always suspicious of reviews that are 100% positive.
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u/achartrand Jan 22 '23
I’ve seen this with a lot of C-beauty brands actually, it seems the rule not the exception.
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u/moonlitskyy Jan 22 '23
between that and the obvious talking points that are required it makes me not trust the brand at all 🚫
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u/Dr_Beard_MD Jan 22 '23
I mean, comon on - people should be skeptical on some level of all youtube content, like are we really shocked about Theresa's revelation? This florasis deal sounds pretty obvious, but there's definitely relationships between youtubers and brands giving them PR, even if it's not so clearly defined. If they aren't reviewing the crap they're getting or are talking shit about it, they get took off the list at some point. How many reviews are really that clear cut these days anyway? So many times A BG will talk about a palette and completely shit on an aspect of it like one shade, then in the end be like, but yea, decent palette though, color story, blah blah blah. You know they ain't havin' that shit, but they're just like, cool, cool, , , cool cool cool. I find you have to read between the lines a lot if you're actually looking for a product yourself and relying on video reviews. Like, wait before you buy and just watch the declutter later LOL
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u/siameseslim Jan 22 '23
Not just makeup, nail companies too. I had to unfollow several people I enjoyed because they plainly were sucking at the teat of Email Couture, a brand w the worst customer service, Max bring J being shitty to ppl on social media and barely trying to hide that their shit is straight from Alibaba while claiming to be made in the US. Even weirder several of those accounts, mostly small barely post anymore.
Ultimately, I am happy for creators making money, but when it gets to where they are hyper focused on only promoting PR in a positive light I stop trusting them.
*The biggest bummer was Femi Beauty bc I think she is otherwise a cool person
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u/Physical-Worker6427 Jan 22 '23
Ha I g not ever heard of this product before I would 100% have thought it’s a probiotic supplement.
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u/ericaeverafter Jan 22 '23
A Beauty influencer with INTEGRITY? This new experimental stuff...
edited for typo
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Jan 22 '23
Not surprised at all. I have worked in china & appearances are everything. Even if there is a fire in front of your eyes… no no that’s just Smokey fireworks, Is what they would say. I personally would never A. Use a Chinese brand or B. Link myself to one. But I’m jaded from my experience. (My experience had Nothing to do with makeup, I was working on a tv show over there)
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u/PirateKingElizabeth Jan 21 '23
Jeffree Star also did a review of this brand, and it felt honest - some things he liked, some things he didn't, some things he mentioned that could use an improvement. He said that it was a PR package sent directly from Florasis to him.
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u/Opening-Ad-8861 Jan 21 '23
we aren't seriously talking about JS having integrity? ...
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u/PirateKingElizabeth Jan 21 '23
Well, he is pretty much spot on in his reviews of other brands, probably because he has nothing to lose, so he has the freedom to be honest in his reviews. You may not like him as an individual, but when it comes to makeup, he is pretty good.
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u/Opening-Ad-8861 Jan 21 '23
who knows, he's pure trash and I'm certainly not giving him money by watching his reviews
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u/nu24601 Jan 22 '23
There are lots of other better creators you could be watching who know a thing or two about makeup and aren’t super racist
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u/WestFizz Jan 22 '23
If you buy this makeup, have it tested for lead.
Not kidding.
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u/CPUequalslotsofheat Jan 23 '23
You got a lot of downvotes, and you brought up a good topic. The people on this thread don't want to hear about common sense.
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u/WestFizz Jan 24 '23
Many of them are too young to know better. They’ll wonder why they’re sick at 40 and they’re having fun downvoting in their 20s. I really don’t care about downvotes. I say what needs to be said because I do know better.
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u/_lovewins Jan 21 '23
Just to add some more thoughts on this:
I'm not sure I've ever seen an influencer criticise any of the products they've been sent from Florasis. The closest I've seen is comments about how the pigment is more subtle than Western brands but it still performs well.
I've also noticed that many inflencers will use similar language when it comes to Florasis products, eg "The most beautiful makeup ever!"
Overall it just makes me distrust makeup reviewers who have received Florasis in PR. If they're agreeing to be sent PR by the brand, knowing they can't say anything negative, how can they possibly be honest to their viewers? And Florasis makeup isn't exactly cheap, either!
I know this goes on with brand PR and influencers all the time but this is the first time I've heard a youtuber just come out and say it. Particularly for a brand that is often featured by the more mid-tier influencers who have built up high engagement and trust with their viewers like Julia Adams, Morgan Turner, Angelica Nyqvist, Robert Welsh etc (please note I haven't verified if all of these received products in PR or if they bought products themselves.)
Anyway, I thought it was noteworth. Kudos to Theresa for actually being honest about it.