So today I wanted to continue my Makeup Q&A series by talking about the pros and cons of buying makeup and other beauty products from independent companies. I thought this would be a timely post since, as you may already be aware if you are a part of the indie community, there was a large scandal recently involving an indie nail polish company. While scandals like this can be frightening to consumers, and certainly teach caution, its important to remember that it is an isolated incident, and try not to let it color your perception of all indie companies.
So let's start with the plus side of buying indie: the pros!
1. You're supporting a small business. Most indie companies are run by just a few people, so instead of putting money into the pockets of mega-corporations, you're putting it in the pockets of your friends and neighbors.
2. Indie products are generally cruelty free. I've actually yet to see an indie company that isn't. Not only would they lack the resources for animal testing altogether, they are also generally run by people who either are compassionate themselves or know that their fan base are, so having products that are animal tested would definitely alienate many of their customers.
3. The indie community. While no community is perfect, I personally have found the indie community to be one that is welcoming to all kinds of people, no matter your makeup skill level or makeup collection size. The indie community is a great place to observe some really talented makeup artists and get inspiration for your own looks! You can find indie makeup communities on facebook, reddit, and individual dedicated forums like All the Sparkles.
4. Owner involvement. Many indie companies run facebook groups where you can directly interact with them. This means you can offer feedback, suggestions, ask for help, even get to have input on upcoming collections and things you'd like to see! Can you imagine the president of L'oreal doing that? Chaos.
5. Creativity and Versatility. A lot of indie companies can step up and do things and take chances that larger companies just can't. I have never seen a mainstream company come up with duochromes as amazing as Fyrinnae or My Pretty Zombie, or the nerdy themes that Geek Chic, Notoriously Morbid, Glamour Doll Eyes and many others come up with. (Excepting the Covergirl Star Wars collection, but even that doesn't have a whole lot to it.)
Seems like there's no reason to NOT buy indie, right? Well, unfortunately, nothing is perfect and there are a few downsides.
1. The dreaded TAT. TAT stands for turn around time, and is the measure of how long it's going to take before the company gets around to making your order. Again, small business, few people, sometimes it can literally be a month or more before you get your shinies, and waiting... waiting hurts.
2. Hygiene and safety. Again, this is something that only happens once in an extremely rare while, but it is something to be aware of. Sometimes people can have a bad reaction to a particular ingredient in a product, the product itself could be flawed or improperly packaged, or the people doing the packaging might not follow the correct hygienic procedures. Before ordering from an indie company I suggest doing a little bit of research on them to see what you can find. To me, the important thing is not whether a company has made a mistake before (everyone does, big company or small), but that the mistakes are do not keep happening, and that the company itself handles the issues publicly and properly.
3. Jealously. Everybody gonna be jelly when they see your awesome makeup. This is a real struggle and not at all something I made up inside my head.
Buying indie is obviously a very personal choice, but I hope I've managed to provide you with a least a basis for making an informed choice.
 |
| Noel says "I love indies!" (Actually he mostly says "whee!" and "poop!" but I attribute that to my poor parenting skills.) |
What do you think? Do you buy indie? What's your favorite brand?
No comments:
Post a Comment