Confessions of a Makeup Tester: My Process Exposed

I’m kicking off a new series on my blog dedicated to sharing the tips I wish I’d had when I first started blogging. When I launched my site over a decade ago, there was barely any guidance out there. I remember being eager, excited and ready to dive in headfirst… but also completely clueless about where to start. If I can remove even a fraction of that overwhelm for someone else, then this series will have done its job.

After years of testing products, writing reviews and figuring out what works (and what definitely doesn’t), I’ve learned a few reliable strategies that help me stay organised, consistent and SEO-friendly. Today’s post is all about how I approach reviewing makeup—what I think about, what I look for, and how I make sure my posts are genuinely helpful rather than surface-level summaries. These are the methods that have stood the test of time for me, and I hope they help you streamline your own process, too.

Try the product thoroughly.

I cannot even begin to tell you the number of times that I have started reading a review and I can tell that they have not tried the product thoroughly. With the likes of YouTube, I feel like much-written content can be a carbon copy of somebody else’s opinion. When I get a new product, I initially take photos of it looking pristine, the reviewing process will then start. Depending on the product, I made myself a checklist of things to look out for. For example, if it is a foundation, what is the coverage, how does it apply, etc. These simple things keep me writing to plan and will give my readers a format that they can easily recognise and grow to be comfortable with. This has been a tried-and-true way of working for many years for my own space.

Identify the USP of the product.

Something that I always do when reviewing makeup is spend time looking into the claims about the product.  A prime example of this was with the KVD Beauty Good Apple Foundation. People went crazy for it on TikTok, and it had its week of fame. After going crazy for it, people went online and slated the item because it went oily on their skin. However, if you went on the KVD website, it clearly stated that it was a balm foundation intended for dry skin.  Just taking the time to go on the website and research the product, ensured that I could write an accurate review, rather than one based on opinion, and not referencing to the brand’s intended use.

Think of what others will want to know.

When reviewing makeup, you need to make sure that what you are writing about is relevant to your audience. A perfect example of this is when I am reviewing foundations. I personally like my foundations to be full coverage to hide everything on my skin. I understand that is a personal preference and not everybody will be of the same opinion. For this reason, I like to make sure that I am speaking about things, not just from my own point of view, but from a stance that I am independently looking into a product to see if it does what it claims to do. So, if I am reviewing a sheer finish foundation, I put aside my thoughts about my freckles, etc. and I look at the finish, the appearance, and the feeling on the skin.

Do not write and try to be critical.

This was something that I learned early on in my blogging career and that was to not be overly negative about a product. There is a fine line between giving an honest review and sounding like a negative Nelly. I can remember many years ago when I received the Beauty Blender Bounce Foundation to review. I received the item just after the world saw the lack of diverse shades. To say that I was angry with the brand would be putting it mildly. I wrote a scathing review and even though my comments felt justified, it was just unnecessary. I uploaded and then deleted the post after reading it back and sensing my tone. To this day, I have chosen to never upload that review and forgo using the product.

I hope that if you are thinking of when reviewing makeup this blog post can offer a helping hand. I honestly had no idea where to start when I entered the blogging world and I want to help people. If you have any questions about anything that I have mentioned, please do let me know in the comments below. I would highly recommend anybody out there to give blogging a go for yourself and jump in with both feet.