Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Sound and Vision

(vintage everything except for the shades by Urban Outfitters, socks by F21, shoes by Fornarina (I used to work for them!))


A million apologies for my huge blogging hiatus. I've been frustrated with the whole blogging thing and I'll tell you why. As some of you may remember from a previous post (back in the beginning of August), I wrote about my first giveaway from Anastasia of Beverly Hills. They had partnered up with The Confluence Group, a marketing firm who contacted me about wanting to use my blog to reach out about Anastasia's beauty products and told me to make a post first, and supplied me with the images and video, and me, being super green, was like, okay sure, free brow kit, yay!! Post made. They got back to me and said cool, we like it. I wait for my gift...I wait.. and wait. I send them a 'What's up?" email. I wait some more. And then, I was like wait a minute, did I just get scammed? Now, with anger and shame in my veins I write them another email inquiring about the delay and describing my disappointment in such seemingly reputable companies and their unprofessional marketing strategies.

Well, luckily, that email didn't fall on deaf ears and yeah, I received a brow kit shortly after. Not 2, as promised, and as I had detailed in my post for a giveaway opportunity. That really miffed me. I felt then, like now I was a scam, because there was no giveaway as mentioned. I just didn't know how to deal so I delayed further on posting. Now, finally, after having gathered my thoughts and feeling ok enough to even open the product, I tried it out for this shoot above. The little brow stencils they give you to shape your brows seemed like a good idea at first, but then when placed up to my brows, were about a mile too long and way too wide. None of the given stencils even remotely fit my brows. Pretty useless if you ask me. Everything else is nice. I think they should get rid of the stencils and replace them with a pair of mini tweezers like the brow kit by Urban Decay has.

As I write this, my frustration with this whole fashion blogging-marketing-brand-product placement-promotion business, I realize... hey, more power to the bloggers. I encourage all bloggers to take control of what they want or don't want, what they like and don't like and don't be afraid to say it out loud. This is your blog, you have no editor, no one in charge of what you publish and what you say. Magazines rely on advertisers, blogging is totally free from that restraint, which is why blogging is so monumental, so free, so unique.

I hope that me shedding light on my poor experience is understood not to bash Confluence Group or Anastasia of Beverly Hills. They have apologized for the delay and told me about their shipment problems and I completely forgive them. It doesn't change the fact that for a couple of weeks I was depressed about blogging, getting your hopes up, and then not hearing or seeing from them again? Well, it felt like getting stood up. I wanted to shed light on this because it happened and maybe some of you can relate. I have a blog to reach out. And I love my readers! So, lesson learned? Do not post before you see said product to avoid disappointment and you know, "mail trouble."

All the best, xo Nicki

12 comments:

  1. Love the yellow skirt with those heels! That situation does sound very frustrating though, but I guess we have all learnt the lesson from your experience, thanks for sharing that with your readers!! x

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  2. SUCKY! I never thought of that...thanks for warning us :)

    I'm not a part of this community, but sometimes I lurk and read about stuff like the scenario you experienced on here:
    http://heartifb.com

    Blogging isn't so simple anymore! Kind of exciting but also too much sometimes.

    Hope you're well! Glad to see you back on here. :)

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  3. waaaooooow. What a disappointing thing to have happen! I am glad that you kept with blogging though, I really do love your style. What you said about the uniqueness of blogging, having no editor, it is so true, and that is what I love about it! You can do whatever you want on your blog!
    I really love your belt & bag! you look so lovely!

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  4. That sounds so disappointing and frustrating! But it's good that you've resolved it and had an epiphany about blogging.

    Loving the outfit!

    xx maggie
    saltandleather.blogspot.com

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  5. I can see how that encounter gave you the heebie jeebies for a while. Glad you're back with a vengeance rocking yellow pumps with socks.

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  6. I'm so glad you posted this Nicki! Also, you look amazing, as always.

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  7. This post rules. Thank you for actually saying something about this matter. Power.

    -jana
    Wolfandwillow.com

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  8. Thank you so much for sharing! I have a lot of experience as a blogger, and with giveaways. Now, I have rules about how I'll do them. Truth be told, bloggers should not always trust the 3rd party marketing or PR company to actually give the product away. Sometimes they don't do it. My advice: make sure you get a sample of what you're giving away and the actual giveaway item. That way, you can send it to the winner. Clearly define with the PR company or host exactly what each of you expect. Also, don't post about the giveaway until you have the items in hand. Bloggers should understand that when they host giveaways, it should benefit all parties involved, not just the sponsor.

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  9. i love how revealing and vulnerable this post is - the by-product totally empowers you. awesome outfit and refreshing read. F yeah! love it

    xxx theSIREN
    http://thesirenofmod.com (I moved)
    @theSIRENofMOD

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  10. You should have given away the kit you received, not used it yourself.

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  11. Hey Anon!

    Yeah, I thought about that but I thought it would be weird to give away something that I had not even had personal experience with. I didn't think I would be able to say, "Hey, this product is awesome and I want to give it away to you guys!" like it was some big deal when I wasn't sure I could stand behind it, you know? But yeah, overall, the way it all went down was pretty lame altogether, so...womp womp. You live and learn! Thanks for the comment anyhow.

    Nicki

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  12. Power to YOU!

    Everything was perfectly stated.

    sending you happy spells

    amyflyingakite.com

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