Beauty Bible Testing

                                                                               

Well...Im trialling again for The Beauty Bible.

Beauty Hounds will know all about BB Testing but for the uninitiated,The Beauty Bible is exactly as it sounds...an essential  'go-to-guide' of current beauty products which have been reviewed by hundreds of ordinary women.They give their honest opinion and rate them.The idea being that you know if something works,or if its any good, before you go out & spend those hard earned pennies on something which turns out be a huge waste of time & money.

That's the theory anyway.I think its a good one-and clearly it works well for millions of women as there's a whole series of BB books & they regularly top the bestseller lists. I have to say that I have read/bought them previously but I also have to admit that I'm a bit of a Beauty Hothead and I'll often feel the need to try something out for myself;the only exception being if there's a baying crowd of reviewers screaming that the product's a pile of the proverbial...

I first heard of the Beauty Bible in the women's section of a national newspaper;the dreaded curse of the Beauty Junkie struck & I had to find out more,so I bought a copy [yep-my obsession's not restricted to the actual products themselves].From there,I was desperate to find out how to get on the trials..turns out it's really quite simple.Subscribe to the BB emails & every now & then they'll request volunteers-but be prepared.I signed up,got on 'the list' & then waited two years to be invited to apply for a trial.From there,you complete a questionnaire & sometimes it's a case of sign up/you're joined up and other times you're on a waiting list and do a trial as your name comes round.Since the initial invitation,though,I have actually done three trials:The Beauty Bible;The Green Beauty Bible and The Anti-Aging Beauty Bible [for the,ahem,'over 30s'-shhhh!!].I have to say that you also need to pay a fee [about £30 which covers postage/admin/packing etc].That may put some off [not me;I'm from hardier beauty stock!]but I do think it's worth it if you can afford it,as the parcels contain 10 products and they always total over £100 in value;though often its way more.For example,in the last trial,I received a Shiffa healing balm and it alone would've cost something like £45.You also have some pretty hefty forms to fill in & email back.And they're on a deadline.But who doesn't  love giving their opinion on make-up/creams/lotions & potions!?Not to forget  the buzz you get from reading some of your comments & sound bites in print, if they actually make it into the book.I'll never forget picking up a copy of The Green Beauty Bible in Waterstones;flicking idly to the products I'd trialled-just to see what others had thought-and seeing my own words boing off the page right at me.Sadly,I wanted to grab random strangers and poke a finger at the words and say..'See that?I wrote that!'

And that brings me to the main reason why I LOVE trialling...

Where else can you try out the most gorgeous/new/unusual and,sometimes,ultra high-end [full-size] products for £30? Fair enough,they may not always be to your taste but it's the thrill of opening those pretty packages and guessing what might lie inside;that flutter of excitement as you wonder what you've got;what it'll feel like/smell like;what it'll do-will it actually erase those dark circles?Or smooth out those lines?

That's the feeling that keeps us coming back for more-it's what makes us a true beauty junkie!