I started reading beauty blogs rather than magazines because I loved their honesty. With magazines, I was always a little suspicious that the review wasn't true, that it was more an advertorial than an honest article. Blogs seemed more honest - I never distrusted the review. Plus they went into so much more depth than magazines ever did. I think that the day I discovered beauty blogs was probably also the day my magazine addiction came to an end.
BUT, there is one issue that I do have with blogs and that is editing, or grammar to be more precise. Now, don't get me wrong, it is not all blogs that I have this issue with. In fact, the majority of blogs I do read are very well written. But, I still come across a few that don't know the difference between your & you're; where, we're & were; and their, there & they're and this is a massive pet hate of mine. The odd typo doesn't bother me. We all make them. I know I do as I usually only proof read once but repeatedly writing there instead of their or where instead of were drives me mental. I just want to bust out a red pen and edit the post.
The carton below, which is floating around Facebook at the moment, was my inspiration for writing this post as it really highlights how, by making the slightest grammatical error, the entire meaning of the sentence changes.
I suspect that, if you are a similar grammar fanatic, you are sitting here, nodding your head, thinking 'man, that drives me crazy, too!'. If you are not a grammar fanatic then you might be thinking 'hey, what are you whinging about - it is only a couple of letters out of order'. This is why it annoys me so much - I read a sentence but it doesn't quite make sense, so I have to go back and read it again to get an understanding. As soon as I start doing that, I am no longer reading the content of the post but am instead trying to decipher what is being written. As soon as I have stumbled over a few sentences I give up and stop reading.
Remember, when it comes to blogs, we are being immediately judged on what we have written (as well as the quality of images used). The judgement I make when reading an article with numerous grammatical errors is that if you haven't gone to the effort of proof reading your post then why should I go to the effort of reading it. If you want to come across as professional, make an effort to ensure that your grammar is correct.
Here are some grammar tips:
Your and you're
- Your - opposite of my: I really love your eye shadow
- You're - short for you are: You're going to love the new OPI range coming out.
A really good tip to work out if you are using the correct your/you're is to replace it with 'my' in the sentence. If the sentence still makes sense with 'my' in it then you should be using 'your'. If it doesn't make sense then you should be using 'you're'.
There, their and they're
- There - refers to a location: the lipstick is on the table over there
- Their - refers to possession: Estee Lauder is my favourite brand. I love their lipsticks
- They're - is short for they are: Have you heard about the new lip butters? They're going to be the hottest beauty trend of the season.
Where, were, we're
- Where - means place: Where do you store your makeup?
- Were - past tense: I thought you were going to wear you new perfume.
- We're - short for we are: We're going to Myers this afternoon to check out the sales.
Know, no and now
This one gets abused a bit although I suspect that it is more out of laziness rather than not knowing the rule
- Know - refers to thought: I know purple eye shadow makes my green eyes pop.
- No - opposite of yes: No, you cannot borrow my mascara.
- Now - present time: I stink. I need to put deodorant on now.
I hope that these tips have been useful and that I haven't come across as arrogant.
What are your thoughts on grammar? Do grammatical errors drive you crazy or are you oblivious to them?