Why use BAR?

I’m Carina, the Addict-in-Chief. Years ago, in my mid-twenties, when I began using some of my very limited resources on beauty products, I knew I wanted to start a review site to help others spend their money (and time) wisely. But I quickly realized that my reviews would only be helpful to people with skin and hair similar to mine. What about people older or younger than me with different concerns? What about people with different hair types?

That’s why I decided to revamp the blog structure and create a review system that tags reviews to the specific characteristics of the review. For example, each skin care product review is tagged with the reviewer’s age range, skin tone, and skin type. This method enables people to filter the reviews so they can find reviews written by people similar to them.

Our Rating System

Click through the slideshow to see the ultra-high standards we hold our beauty products and procedures to!

This product was awful! It had serious negative effects and no positive ones.
This product was very bad. It had negative effects without any positive ones.
This product was bad. It either did very little of what was promised or had side effects bad enough to outweigh what it did do.
This product is not recommended. It either seriously underdelivered on its promises or had serious side effects.
This product was neutral. It either did absolutely nothing or it did very little with some side effects that weren't worth it.
This product was better than average (just barely), but we probably wouldn't recommend it because it underdelivered or had undesirable side effects.
This product was good, but didn't live up to the hype. It either underdelivered or had side effects that weren't worth it.
This product did what was promised without any major side effects, but could be improved.
This product did what was promised without side effects, but we have one or two tiny suggestions for improvement.
This product was as good as it gets! It did everything it promised and we love it just the way it is.
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Are you a fellow addict interested in becoming a reviewer?

We have three kinds of reviewers:

Editor

Our reviews are submitted by many different reviewers. Our Editors are in charge of assigning products to our Level 2 Reviewers and editing the reviews once they come in. Don’t worry, they don’t make any changes to the opinion of the reviewer, just to the grammar and formatting, ensuring all of our reviews are error and conform to the BAR style guide. These are paid positions and we are not currently hiring for this role, but when we do, we usually pull from our pool of Level 2 Reviewers.

Reviewer (Level 1)

Level 1 Reviewers submit reviews based on the products they’re already using. We do not make assignments to Level 1 Reviewers or send them free products to try. Our Level 1 Reviewers submit reviews when they can and not when they can’t. Level 1 Reviewers are entered into weekly drawings for beauty products, gift cards, and other goodies, receiving one entry for each review they submitted the previous week. We draw exclusively from our existing Level 1 Reviewer pool for Level 2 Reviewer openings.

Reviewer (Level 2)

Level 2 Reviewers receive free products (usually sent to us by the brand, but sometimes purchased by BAR) and services (almost always paid for by BAR, but very occasionally comped or discounted by a provider or manufacturer). These freebies are given in exchange for (honest!) reviews submitted according to our editorial calendar (e.g., they have deadlines). The number of products and services varies, as does their frequency. Moreover, we are careful to ensure that reviews, especially of more expensive products and services, are conducted in a (somewhat) scientific manner. This means that Level 2 Reviewers must sometimes discontinue certain products in their existing skincare regimen to try a new product (e.g., they’ll need to discontinue use of one retinol product to try another) or to go for a certain treatment (for example, retinol is not recommend for a few days before receiving Botox injections).  

If you are interested in becoming a Level 1 Reviewer, please fill out the following form. We ask questions about your age, skin type, etc. because we need to know how to code your reviews and because it helps us prioritize finding reviewers that will fill any gaps in our current reviewer pool. 

Please note that we do not directly place someone in a Level 2 Reviewer role, but there is a box to check indicating your interest in moving up to that role. Checking this box means our editors will keep a special eye out for any reviews you submit (and how often you submit them) to see if they think you’d be a good fit for Level 2 Reviewer.