The End Of An Era

Posts like this are one of the reasons I started my own blog--I wanted to be able to express my opinions on certain issues even when I knew my position would be unpopular. I don't mean to offend anyone, and I'd love to hear opinions in the comments!

Out in beauty cyber-land, there is (what is now a very popular) a beauty-oriented message board that I joined over 10 years ago, long before it received any press or had even a fraction of the members and posters it has now. The site consisted of just one message board (whereas now it boasts 22) and grew to accommodate a product review section, swap area, and diary to track spending, among other things. Initially it was just a bunch of passionate, mature, cosmetic-obsessed women devoted to finding the newest, the latest and greatest, the next most amazing product--the holy grail. I was fresh out of high school when the site debuted and remember how much I absolutely loved reading the board, learning about all of the fabulous products, the best e-commerce sites to launch, fresh techniques and must-have products. The idea of getting to go back to my dorm and read "the board" gave me comfort and got me through many a midterm, final, and breakup. It became part of my downtime in college and then in law school and was a place to go to find answers to beauty questions or share recent purchases that my "real life" friends would never understand and didn't care about. The board just felt like home in a way, or a family. It was a group of "regulars" many of whom began to learn about each others lives in the course of discussing beauty. There was a friendship, a camaraderie that developed and I learned about so many products and brands I never would have discovered on my own.

Unfortunately, in my opinion, in the last few months the board has devolved, in my opinion, into a strange, juvenile world full of teenagers posting messages like "OMG u guyzzzz, if n e 1 ever sees me without makeup i m going 2 dieeeee!!!" (if I got any of the lingo wrong I apologize--I don't speak tween), asking about the perfect drugstore glitter to land a boy, where to purchase NYX, how to scam Sephora or learn if they're been swaplifted. The product review area once blossomed with descriptions of new brands and hard to find items and now it seems as if only the MAC and ELF sections grow. I sat down today and realized that not only had I not written a product review in months, but I hadn't even read the makeup board in weeks (I do like the fitness, food and fashion boards) and you know what, I hadn't missed reading it. Sure, I miss what it used to be, but I can do without what it's become.

I find it really sad, like a part of my past is no longer relevant. I read it and posted almost every day for over 10 years. Many if not most of the "old time" original members no longer post and some have even taken down their once-lauded reviews. That comforting, familiar feeling is gone and the board is like a completely different place. To be honest, I don't think the issue is so much that I've matured, but rather the posters, topics and focus have changed, and decidedly not for the better in my opinion. I've found some amazing blogs and some other beauty boards (like emakemeup.com) that I thoroughly enjoy reading, though this one will always remain special and in a weird way I know I'll miss it.