The difference between this and a negative product review is that it's not objective. When you describe a product negatively, you say that it didn't perform as promised by advertisements, or didn't have good color pay off, or something else that can be easily observed and measured. Although, I'm sure (and you say so) you did enough research to form your personal opinion of this work, you didn't rely any of it to the reader (except saying, I took a look at some stuff). There is a way of talking about art objectively, but you didn't achieve this. You say that this is your personal blog and therefore you can say whatever you want (which is true), but I would be weary of such a stand, because (especially at a readership level that you have) you are a publication. I just don't think this is the correct forum to discuss this subject matter all together.

p.s. I'm not trying to start a fight or anything ('cause I can see how this can be taken as one), just a debate. I actually do follow your blog and feel like having a conversation, otherwise I wouldn't have commented and would just move on.

p.p.s. I've been thinking about this and wanted your opinion on it (want to ask here while I have your ear): Do you feel like you are becoming a blogger for other bloggers? A lot of your posts lately deal with subject matters that only bloggers would seem to really care about (and of course hosting #bbloggers every week. A n impressive achievement, in my book, but yet again, attracting other bloggers rather than readers outside of this field). I feel like regular readers, although potentially curious about blog politics, wouldn't really care about all this information as long as the blog is running smoothly and providing them with information they are interested in (i.e. makeup reviews). I don't have an answer for this, nor is one audience better than another, just curious of how you see it and if you're aware of this potential shift, since it's your blog.

hope to hear from you soon :)

I like the piece in a sense of literally creating a painting of a woman on her face, like oil paints on a canvas. And you should note that nowhere do the artists say that they criticize women for wearing makeup or have any feeling on it; it was more of an experiment, an "I wonder how much that is, I wonder if we can do this, etc." So there's no need to get so passionate about hating on this piece, it's only about what you think it's about. The topic, I do agree, is a bit rusty though (then again, so is anything dealing with, or alluding to, feminism in any way).
As for their other work, it's pointless to criticize something you clearly don't understand. Saying "it's no good because I don't like it (aka because I said so)" is not enough to sustain any argument. Just because something is disturbing or disgusting or any other negative emotion doesn't make it bad.
I did take a look at some other stuff by the art team and Selfriges (2010) and Sikkens Prize: 2010 are a quite brilliant piece of design, I will be looking into their other work further.
I find it interesting that you talked about "hate" on blogs (via comments) in a recent #bbloggers chat, yet isn't this post itself what you would call "hate?"
P.S. "Natural Beauty" is art. However, miniature food (though extremely well executed) is a craft.

Your review makes sense, but... I subscribe to a similar service in the US - Birchbox, and I really do love it so far, even when the products aren't exactly what I'm looking for (I just share them with friends). Having you imply that I am "daunted by the idea of leisurely looking around the high end counters... [a woman] that ... [doesn't] have a clear idea of what they love/don't love when it comes to beauty" because I enjoy the service, is a bit off putting.

bodyshop body scrub <3 have it in my shower right now, the best body scrub i've ever tried

wow, i hated that mask so much and i am the target consumer in terms of skin type for it (during winter anyway). first of all i had and allergic reaction to it, it burned, and i still can't figure out why by looking at the ingredients. but even without that, it smells really artificially sweet to me, way too much and washing it off your face is like pouring oatmeal down your sink, looks like throw up a bit. overall, it was just nauseating. the only Body Shop product i truly dislike and i've tried a wide variety of things from that brand

there is only one beauty blogger out there i don't trust with pr samples because she does a lot of those reviews and keeps saying that she "loved" this and that for every product, that just doesn't sound realistic. i also dislike when people devote an entire post to just one brand and have a lot of products from it and say that they like everything when they got it from the company.

but pr samples that are incorporated into "look tutorials" or just one product here and there really don't bother me. i am in the US and so are most beauty bloggers i follow, so it's a difference in cultural opinion i suppose. hauls are really popular here and PR stuff is more widely accepted it seems.
i do appreciate it when bloggers are picky about what to accept in PR and give honest reviews of product, but it doesn't matter to me where/how they got it. i either trust someone's opinion or i don't, it has nothing to do with how they acquire products. I think PR stuff helps diversify the blog, introduces new brands you might not have heard of before and allows bloggers to try more things, since beauty bogging can get quite expensive. and, as a consumer, not blogger, i do appreciate the mandatory disclosures.
i think it's admirable that you are sticking to your convictions, but your decision makes me shrug and wonder why (maybe if i was a beauty blogger it would be easier to understand, but i never dealt with PR companies). i guess if i was one of the "distrustful readers" i would understand, but i always trusted your opinion, even though i knew that you have PR samples and don't disclose them - you're just trustworthy. and when i think someone isn't being honest, i just don't follow them.

I think talking about the content, as someone above suggested, is a good idea. Keeping things varied, original etc. I also notice that while I look for variety in a blog, I do enjoy having some consistency (like, I know to expect a, b, and c from this particular blogger), so keeping balance between the two.

I love the sense of community these chats provide.

I feel like all those are kind of parts of the same package and could be discussed simultaneously. definitely issues i care about.
i thought about the product disclaimer question and i feel that the blogger in me doesn't think it's necessary, but the consumer and reader in me definitely needs the disclaimer.
hope i can join you tomorrow, so much work to do for finals.

I've done this a few years ago, when I realized that even medicated lip balm doesn't work very well for me anymore. It really is like an addiction; at first it seemed impossible, my lips got So dry, but after a while things improved and my body figured out how to regulate itself. Still need and use lip balm, maybe once every two-three days, unless it's January or something, but it's definitely less and I don't feel like I Need to have it, it's just nice to get that extra kick once in a while. I also noticed that using natural lip balms prevents you from getting addicted to the product, I really like Korres.
http://www.yourarthere.com/entry/beauty-shot

ooooo, that's 3 PM for me, how convenient :) such a great idea, will definitely check it out
www.yourarthere.com/entry/beauty-shot