Editorial Guidelines
Last Updated on March 2024.
1. Editorial Guidelines – 2. Review Process – 3. Review Disclosure – 3. Content Quality Updates – 4. How To Contact Us
Beautymone’s Editorial Guidelines
Every piece of content produced by Beautymone is guided by a set of fundamental principles:
No Clickbait: In a world filled with beauty-related content, our approach is to offer you quality over quantity. We firmly believe that an attention-grabbing headline is only effective if the content it leads to leaves you satisfied. We don’t aim to cover every single aspect of the beauty world or lure you in with misleading titles. Our commitment is to provide information that genuinely adds value to your beauty journey, inspiring you, resonating with your experiences, and helping you improve your beauty routine, whatever that may entail.
Emphasizing Reliable Information: Every story we publish is supported by quotes or information from authoritative sources. We recognize that some global wellness trends may lack scientific validation, but that doesn’t rule them out as potential topics for coverage. We are dedicated to discerning between evidence-based knowledge and unverified claims, ensuring transparency regarding what has scientific support and what does not. Our goal is to equip you with all the necessary information so you can make informed decisions about treatments or product investments.
Prioritizing Our Readers: Our articles are created with the primary goal of boosting your knowledge in your personal beauty journey. We draw inspiration from your feedback and closely monitor the latest beauty developments, product trends, ingredient innovations, and more. We are here to serve you and ensure that your beauty journey is fulfilling and informed.
Fact-Checking: We adhere to rigorous fact-checking processes in our content creation. Statements of fact are carefully researched and substantiated. Our articles frequently incorporate peer-reviewed studies and the most current clinical research. When we present information that does not originate from a direct quote by a qualified expert, we go the extra mile to fact-check and provide references to trusted, peer-reviewed studies within the content. This way, you can be confident that our information is well-researched and reliable.
Writers
Mind you, Beautymone is still solely a one-man show. Or one-woman’s show in my case. 🙂 Beautymone started as a hobby and turned into a business that I, Simone de Vlaming, still run by myself. I write, review, and edit all posts – I do the emails, the marketing, the socials, everything. I barely accept any guest posts (ONLY if you’re an experienced, qualified beauty writer), and I only had a few posts written by others (which I then thoroughly checked).
Sometimes, I will use AI (artificial intelligence) writing tools to help me create an informative, thoroughly structured post. However, I will never post them like that. I still do the research, fact-checking, heavily rewriting, etc. So you don’t have to worry about incorrect or robot-made content because it’s always (completely) edited by me. Reviews are always fully written by me.
Review Process
All products reviewed are tested by me and on me for at least 3-4 weeks so I can share what I liked and disliked. The review process often goes like this: I receive the products, I take photos of the products (flatlay/aesthetic photos and swatches), then I start using the products for a few weeks, and I take photos of me wearing/using a product. Then I start writing the review (Usually, I write down a few notes during the testing phase), edit the photos in terms of lighting or removing dust flakes, etc., research the product and/or ingredients, and finalize everything (fact-checking, grammar, etc.).
To streamline the testing process, I use a testing methodology to score a variety of categories on a scale of 1 to 10. Makeup is scored based on the following criteria:
- Ingredients: I research if the ingredients are considered clean, what the key ingredients promise, anything important we should know, etc.
- Application: This means trying the product(s) many times to see how it applies, what I notice during application, etc.
- Coverage: This means that I look at the pigmentation of the product, if it’s enough or too much, if I like it or not, etc.
- Finish: This means that I focus on how the finish looks, if it looks like the brand promised, if I think it looks good or not, etc.
- Longevity: This means testing out how long the products stay on my face/eyes/cheeks/lips.
Skincare products are scored based on these criteria:
- Ingredients: I research if the ingredients are considered clean, what the key ingredients promise, anything important we should know, etc.
- Application: This means trying the product(s) many times to see how it applies, how it feels, what I notice during the application, etc.
- Formula: This means that I look at the formula and texture of a product and whether it is very liquid or not, smooth and non-drying, etc.
- Claims: This means that I compare the brand’s claims to my own experience and see if their claims are true.
- Interactions: I research (and try) whether the product goes well with other ingredients or other products in your skincare routine.
Sometimes, the criteria may vary depending on what products I’m reviewing.
Review Disclosure
Affiliate links are used in most of the posts on Beautymone. On top of that, sometimes brands send me products to test, or I partner with a brand on a post. Below, you will find more in-depth descriptions of the common disclosures I make on the blog:
Affiliate Link: Beautymone is a participant in several affiliate advertising programs. This means that if you click and make a purchase through certain links on this site, I may earn a commission from that purchase. The commission comes out of the retailer’s pocket, and it can range from as little as 1% to as much as 15%, depending on the retailer, campaign, product type, etc.
This does not affect you or the final price of the product if you choose to purchase through one of my affiliate links. It’s entirely up to you whether you do so or not. There is NO pressure for you to click on any of these links or make any purchases.
PR Sample: Brands, their representatives (such as their public relations firms and marketing affiliates), and retailers will send a product for consideration (this is also called PR). Consideration means that the product is submitted to me so I can check it out; most of them are without obligation to post.
If I decide to post about the product(s), it’s on my own terms. My thoughts and opinions are 100% my own—I’ll only recommend and/or praise a product if it’s actually worth it, and I’m not afraid to tell the truth (even if it’s not so nice). I want you to consider Beautymone your number-one resource when it comes to discovering your next holy-grail product(s).
Sponsored Post: Sponsored posts are specific posts for which I have been compensated. This means I get financial compensation for giving exposure to the brand’s product(s). Even though a post is compensated, again, my thoughts and opinions are always my own and 100% honest. This is always mentioned to the brand before settling on a collaboration.
Content Quality Updates
Accuracy is at the core of every story we write at Beautymone—but information can change. We regularly re-review and update our content to ensure that it reflects the most up-to-date industry research, but if you beat us to an update, please send corrections to us (contact@beautymone.com). At the top of every article, you can see the initial publishing date and the last updated date.
How To Contact Us
All feedback, comments, requests for support, and other communications relating to the Website should be directed to contact@beautymone.com. This is also the email address to direct your requests to use and reproduce content published on Beautymone.
Simone de Vlaming, CEO of Beautymone
Email: contact@beautymone.com
KvK: 78112044
Thank you for visiting Beautymone.