Beauty blogging has changed for the past five years since I started to write my very first blog post. I was just reminiscing today about how different beauty blogging was way back then. There weren't any brands approaching us to write about their products, no freebies, and we spent crazy amount of time (online and offline) and money (of course!) before we actually wrote our very first blog post. :)

Now, if you're one of us.. then you'll have  a fun time reading this blog post. If you're an aspiring beauty blogger and curious how things were back in the day, read on!

1. Most of us were a forum member of Girl Talk and active on Let's Primp and Prettify forum.

This was the place where I met so many beauty junkies like me. From Brigitte to Sophie, Nikki, Phoebe, Aileen, Pat and so many more! A lot of the girls I met through the forum are still active and have their own blogs, too. It was a place that we can share our latest finds. Before we didn't care about traffic, SEO, SEM, unique views, etc. :)

2. You most likely started with searching for mineral makeup.

Since there weren't many mineral makeup back then. Bare Escentuals was only taking off at that time, looking for alternatives at your local mall was impossible. You had to search for it online. There will be online stores that you'll come across with but just before making a purchase, you might have researched first about it and looked through blogs for reviews.

3. You know brands like Fyrinnae, MAD Minerals, She Space, TKB Trading, Joppa, Taylormade and of course, Coastalscents!!

Oh my god.. Many can relate with me on  this! As soon as one or two bloggers starts to post their hauls on their latest makeup buys, the rest of us follows. Hoarding on samples that were as cheap as 45 cents! The result is that we have way too much mineral makeup samples from these brands in ziplocks that made you buy tons of pots to transfer them in! And Customs didn't charge that much when you claim your package unlike today.

Buying stuff through pour relatives abroad was also a popular practice back in the day.

4. White Eyeliner, blue and yellow eye shadows were difficult to find in the beauty section of any department store (unless you can afford the ones in Rustan's then.

Since there weren't many beauty bloggers here in the Philippines, I would look to Asian bloggers overseas for inspiration. Unfortunately, they have better access to cosmetics unlike we did. So creating a rainbow eotd was nearly impossible. They where either hard to come by or expensive. Our recourse was to buy

5. You most likely tried DIY'ing your on mineral makeup foundation.

With the many mineral makeup foundations we own, chances you have played around making your own. I tried but it was futile! hahaha!

6. You once tried making an inspired Sephora Brush Holder.

This one was really fun. :) And quite easy to do. Many bloggers and youtube gurus did this and I joined the bandwagon. :)

7. You know Michelle Phan as Rice Bunny and not only watch her videos but read her blog on Xanga.

To says she's different now is an understatement but I gotta admit that she was one of those that I followed religiously back in the day. :)

8. Your posts are about 30% Haul posts.

Posts that only contains what you bought that evening or that night. Yup! We be lazy back then. :)

9. You do EOTN's (Eye of the Night)

Way back, I would do my makeup at night since that's the only time I can play around with bold shades is right after school. :) After taking picture of it, I would remove it. At that time, bold makeup colors weren't really so popular. So wearing them outside your home might be too mich for your neighbors, friends and family. :)

10. You use to write short posts like this.

We didn't have twitter, instagram back then. Facebook was just getting popularity in the upper class. So short posts like this were normal. :)

11. You knew terms like EOTN, EOTD, LOTN, MLBB, MMU, Foiling, NOTD, Outer V, etc.

We got own own world and chances are, we would create our own language. Many of which are still being use today!

12. You use Monistat Anti-Chaffing Gel as primer!

Seriously, my auntie laughed at me when i asked her to get me these from Rite Aid! But Monistat was propular then especially when Smashbox released their HG Primer that was nearly Php2000 then.

13. Your makeup purchases could have afforded you a decent luxury bag. :)

In 2008, my makeup purchases from January to April could have bought me my dream LV bag! It's a good thing that I love makeup more than any expensive luxury hand bags. :)

14. You tried your hand on creating the Rainbow makeup look! :)

The things we regret!! :) I can't believe I use to post pictures like that but I did!! Hahahaha!


It's nice to look back and see how far you've changed and accomplished. Deep inside, I am still that gawky kid. One that can groom her brows properly, knows more about beauty and its industry and knows how to create the perfect wing tip. :)

I really think that many beauty bloggers now have it easy. Philippines when it comes to the beauty industry have bloomed the past 5 years. Brands that weren't available back thena re now easily accessible to many. There are pre-orders... More so, brands recognize the power of beauty bloggers (and blogging in particular) that they send them products for review and invite them to their events.

But I was glad to be a part of the "veteran" crowd. Despite feeling so old being one of the oldest beauty blogger in the country, it was definitely one of the best times in my life. I met girls that I call my bestfriends, got to try products and explore wild child-like wonder and was able to show you authentically who Shen, the beauty addict, truly is!

Do you remember other things that are worth the #beautybloggertbt hashtag? Share with me, I'd like to know what you did when you first started blogging. :)