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This week, the entire Irish blogosphere was in uproar over some comments that were made by one of Ireland's leading beauty entrepreneurs, Marissa Carter.

During an interview on The Capital B, the fake tan mogul made some remarks that rubbed quite a few people up the wrong way.

In case you hadn't  heard, here is what she had to say: 

"Innovation is key to getting ahead. Never do the same thing twice because you won't get the same results. Brands copy us now all the time."

"They try to do what we did with Cocoa Brown when we initially started…working with bloggers to try and grow their brand. But that game is dead now, there's absolutely no authenticity left in that business."

"When I started Cocoa Brown bloggers still had credibility…they were telling the truth about the products that they tried. Now, the value of a blogger endorsement is nothing – there are no bad reviews anymore."

"There was an authenticity in the market when we started, you sucked up the bad reviews and delighted in the good reviews but at least it was real," she said. 

Of course, Marissa is completely entitled to her opinion, and as someone who has started her very own business, Cocoa Brown, from scratch, Marissa is probably at a better vantage point than many to give an overview of a particular area of the market. 

However, many bloggers and fake tan fans alike took issue with her statement, because Cocoa Brown is very well known as a brand that works very closely with bloggers.

In fact, the very day the comments came out, one very influential blogger was praising the brand on Instagram after receiving some brand new Cocoa Brown merchandise, which seemed pretty ironic to some Twitter users.

The comments really ruffled some feathers with the blogging community, who began to write posts about their own experiences with Cocoa Brown, and how they felt that they were all being unjustly tarred with the same brush. 

As someone who began blogging almost eight years ago (now I feel like a dinosaur), I began penning my internet thoughts at a time when the Irish blogging landscape was so small it was basically nonexistent. 

Most of the typical high-status bloggers we all admire today hadn't even started yet, and you could probably count the amount of full time bloggers in the Irish community on one hand.

It was more of a wilderness than a landscape, to be honest. 

At the time, I was just a 15-year-old projecting my thoughts about fashion, beauty and feminism out there and hoping my dial-up connection wouldn't crash before I had a chance to click save, but I was pretty well aware of who else was out there, and what kind of things they put their name to.

At the time, people were just posting their own reviews about products that they had bought themselves or complaining about the slagging they had gotten on Bebo that week, there were very few freebies, bloggers brunches or sponsorships, and press days were the territory of journalists and industry insiders only. 

Now, the landscape has totally changed, it's full of thousands of amazing women who are taking the time to tell the world how they feel about certain things, and a lucky few of us sometimes get paid to do so.

It's when you add in these semi-new concepts of freebies or trading treatments for review that things have the potential to get a little shady, between people not disclosing that a post is sponsored, to people who just get so much free sh*t they simply don't have time to review it, and so adding a picture on Snapchat and saying it's great is one way to keep the brand's PR happy and ensure you stay on their invite list.

This definitely isn't an authentic way to present brands to your followers, but where do we draw the line between what is and isn't authentic?

Is it authentic if the product has been bought with the bloggers own money and reviewed independently? Or is it authentic if a blogger gets sent something for free but tries it and gives her best go at giving an honest review?

Will there not always be an underlying vested interest with the latter method to stay on the brand's good side thanks to the perks that come with it? 

Or, can bloggers truly separate the longing to climb the ladder from wanting to keep brands on side?

Obviously, bloggers can't just go on creating this free content when there are bills and rent to be paid, so giving a glowing Instagram review to a bottle of tan for a few quid doesn't seem so bad. 

As established blogger and journalist Rosemary MacCabe pointed out in her blog post about the issue: " They are, after all, how we can afford to do what we do – and, if readers don’t read the posts because they think they’re not authentic, can you blame the bloggers who decide not to disclose?!"

Personally, I know bloggers are able to give honest (sometime too honest) reviews of products, I've done it myself, and so have many hundreds and thousands of others out there, so to say that the entire industry is one mass of dishonest yes-men does a disservice to the whole concept of blogging. 

As someone who has been involved with blogging for the best part of a decade, I can say that it is true that the community is less authentic, but less is the operative word here. Not all bloggers choose to court brands for the sake of maintaining favour. 

Marissa has since released a statement apologising for her comments.

"I’m deeply sorry for the words that I used to describe the blogging industry during my interview with The Capital B.It was wrong of me to tar an entire industry with the same brush after some previous bad experiences," she said, in a handwritten note posted to Twitter. 

"I have always genuinely appreciated the blogging community and made an effort to reciprocate that support to both up-and-coming and established bloggers."

"Those that know me will know that I have never been the type of person to intentionally speak ill of anyone, or cause anger the way that my words have.

"I have always and will continue to recognise hard working and talented beauty bloggers. I hope those who have been affected by my words can accept my sincere apology."

Marissa clearly regrets her statements, but there have been mixed responses from the blogging community, not all of whom are willing to forgive and forget. 

While the beauty mogul definitely projected a very negative view of bloggers, she obviously meant for her comments to refer only to those who actually are inauthentic, rather than branding the entire lot of us as such. 

Perhaps in an industry which is already so notorious for being a little bitchy, we can take this as an instance of major foot in mouth by a company who has in the past proven that it relies on bloggers to build themselves up. 

While I definitely think her comments were harmful, coming from such as established business woman, and misplaced, it's only through the work of truly authentic and hardworking bloggers that these impressions of the industry can be revoked. 

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Oh Instagram, the ultimate photo sharing app where putting your best photo forward is the aim of the game.

Bloggers and celebs have some of the most uniform, beautifully presented feeds going, much to the delight of their fans. 

Everyone wants an aesthetically amazing Instagram feed, and there is one app in particular that gets a lot of credit for helping the influencers of the world achieve their perfect photo sets. 

VSCOCAM is the reigning champion when it comes to gorgeous Instagram feeds, and bloggers the length and breath of the globe have been utilising its extensive range of filters since it landed in the app store. 

The app allows you to look at the photos you want to upload, giving you an idea of where you want them to be placed on your feed, and plays host to a hell of a lot more filters than the actual Instagram editing suite. 

Like Instagram, the level of saturation of each filter can be adjusted according to your personal preferences, and they're all pretty different to the ones available on the social media sharing app. 

F2 and G3 are particular favourites of fashion bloggers for making outfits and flat lays pop. 

The app also has all the basic editing options, like contrast, saturation, brightness, shadows and many more. 

Irish blogging veteran Anouska Proetta Brandon definitely knows how to take a great photo, and had previously credited VSCO cam to helping her achieve the perfect feed.

"Consistency is key with your Instagram," said Anouska, speaking at the Irish Blogger Conference in January. 

"Don't post random photos. Be consistent and think about aesthetics," she said, citing a well-planned photo layout as the best way to increase your follower count. 

While we love the freedom of adding photos whenever we please using Instagram's built in editing suite, VSCO has some pretty lit filters.

We may have to start using it if we want a blogger-worthy Insta feed. 

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You'd almost feel a great big whack of empathy for the celebrities of yesteryear: after all, they did NOT have all the advantages of nifty hair gadgets, advanced hair products, and – most significantly – hair extensions that famous faces today can rely on.

Case in point: L'Oreal ambassador and all-round totally gorgeous gal Cheryl Cole – who once sported cornrows (hello, 2002) in a bid to jazz up her tresses. 

Nuff said. 

However, and while extensions have certainly in more recent times been championed by a host of red-carpet connoisseurs, small and big screen stars, and catwalk queens, adding to your own strands is now increasingly commonplace for us normal folk too. 

In fact, one recent survey in the UK revealed that an astonishing one in three women – from all walks of life – currently wears extensions. 

 

A video posted by Gold Fever Italia (@goldfeveritalia) on

Yes, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, and Katie Price once gave them a seriously bad name, but there's no doubt that the hair extensions available right now are a practically flawless addition to what nature already bestowed on you. 

A whack of celebrities opt for Gold Fever – mainly because it's seemingly as close to your own real hair as extensions come. That and it's ethically-sourced and fans of the brand swear that it doesn't cause any damage to their own precious tresses. 

 

A photo posted by Georgia Penna (@georgiapenna) on

The current crop of fans include the likes of models Georgia Salpa and Rosanna Davison; actress Michelle Keegan; Cocoa Brown's Marissa Carter, Made In Chelsea's Lucy Watson and Nicola Hughes; Celebrity Big Brother's Danielle Lloyd; and singers Una Healy, Tallia Storm, and Louisa Johnson.

But with prices for a set – which should last six months – ranging from a couple of hundred euro up to €1,000 for more complex transformations, is it money well spent?

Well, if the before-and-after snaps of Average Josephines in salon chairs up and down the country are anything to go by, the answer is a resounding 'yes!'. 

Online reviews from bloggers and influencers are suitably gushing too. 

"I have the flattest, straightest, most lank hair you can imagine, so I just love the volume and fullness the Gold Fever Hair Extensions give me," writes The Style Fairy, aka Naomi Clarke. 

 

A photo posted by Rosanna Davison (@rosanna_davison) on

"Even though I have a serious amount of hair, styling is very easy. It takes me about 10 minutes to curl my hair and about 15 to dry it," highlights The Beautiful Truth – Sinead Kavanagh.

"The results as you can see are nothing short of beautiful," states Kellie B Beautiful, aka Kellie Billings, adding: "It has definitely given me a little confident boost."

Yup, clearly things have come a LONG way since Paris and Nicole first rocked super-long and lanky locks on The Simple Life – and there's no doubt that (unlike Cheryl's cornrows) hair extensions is one trend that's here to stay.

 

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Blogging has really taken off in the past number of years, and it's safe to say that most people either know a blogger personally or are a blogger themselves. 

But, in new guidelines released by The Advertising Standards Authority in Ireland, blogging is about to drastically change.

The ASAI revealed today that they are cracking down on bloggers all over the country, with no online personality being able to talk about a product or service without letting their fans know they are getting paid to do it. 

The same rules were introduced in the UK two years ago after numerous complaints were made about full disclosure.

ASAI's chief executive, Orla Twomey told the Sunday Business Post that since bloggers are in the media, they have to follow the rules like everyone else does.

"The ASAI code requires advertisers not to mislead consumers, not to offend them, make sure advertising is truthful and that consumers know when they’re receiving marketing material," she said.

"As digital and online develop, new people come into those industries that do not have a background in traditional media and the understanding that codes apply. It’s not that we are reinventing the rules, because the rules apply to all media".

So, now if a blogger – of any kind – has worked with a brand, they need to outline it clearly on the blog post or vlog. 

They will also be asked to include hashtags on social media posts, like #ad or #sponsored to let people know money has been exchanged. 

The new standards are going to be coming into effect as soon as March 2016.  

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Looking good can sometimes be a major challange, especially when you're in a rush and can't be bothered to put together a creative outfit. 

The lives of bloggers, seem to be constantly busy, so we want to know – how exactly do they look so good, all the time?!

Who What Wear spoke to six bloggers who dished their go-to style secrets. Now we can look just as good too!

Courtney Trop of Always Judging

Her go-to outfit: A fitted black t-shirt, black skinny jeans, basic black boots, and Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses.

“All black, always. As a blonde, it makes me want black because it makes my hair stand out. I usually throw some sort of trench or blazer over this sort of look in the fall. This is my go-to because it’s simple and easy, and something about all black always looks chic. It’s really about finding the perfect pair of jeans and tee to make the outfit.”

 

Christine Reehorst of Fash n Chips

Her go-to outfit: A big blazer or coat and a pair of classic, cropped black trousers.

“I like to go for this combination because I can wear whatever I like underneath as you won't be able to see much of it anyway, and the shoes don't seem to matter so much either. A big coat will instantly make any look more put together.”

 

Sarah Mikaela of Framboise Fashion

Her go-to outfit: A knit or blouse and boyfriend jeans.

“It’s super comfy and so versatile in terms of styling it further, like I did in this outfit with a silk shirt around my waist and pointed boots.”

 

Irina Lakicevic of A Portable Package

Her go-to outfit: A brilliantly cut white shirt, high-waisted fitted jeans, and pointy loafers.

“I am very concerned with always looking professional, but in the same manner not too polished. It has to feel personal rather than like a uniform.”

 

Andy Torres of Style Scrapbook

Her go-to outfit: Black jeans and a blazer.

“To be honest, I would wear black jeans and a blazer every day. I obviously have to spice it up but I think wearing black skinny jeans, a t-shirt/blouse, a pair of heels, and a blazer is such a classic statement look."

 

Zina Charkoplia of FashionVibe

Her go-to outfit: A cashmere sweater, an asymmetric skirt, pointed-toe heels, and my Fendi purse. 

“Feminine and fabulous! I feel like a real woman in this outfit. Not too sexy, not too conservative—just perfect!”

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Plus size label, Simply Be, have decided to showcase their new gorgeous festival collection on leading bloggers who wear sizes 12-22.

The hit bloggers modelled the latest festival collection wearing the label’s new kimonos, leather jackets and shorts styles.

Lois, who was modelling the new festival gear said she that the label starts at a size 12.

“Simply be have some great festival favourites this season, like the denim lace trim shorts and Aztec print tops! I love that their sizing starts at size 12, means I can enjoy more of their pieces this summer!”

A Simply Be spokesperson said they wanted their new collection to bring confidence to all women for the festival season ahead.

“Simply being yourself is at the heart of our brand, so it’s wonderful to work with these amazing women who not only have incredible style, but also the self-confidence that has inspired so many of their readers to realise they can wear what they want without size limitation, and that they need never compromise on their personal style.”

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Are you a fashion fan who’s dying to be clued up on the latest trends and news?

Here’s a list of some of the hottest Irish bloggers, celebrities, designers, models and all-round super cool people to follow on Twitter right now.

Danielle Romeril
Last February, this super talented Dublin-based fashion designer showcased her fabulous collection at London Fashion Week. She’s funny, talented and oh so worth following!

Angela Scanlon
This stylist and broadcaster oozes styles and Vogue even named her ‘one to watch’ last year. Her tweets are funny, upbeat and pretty addictive.

Conor Clinch
This teen fashion photographer has already worked with the likes of high street fashion giant Topman and has even featured on the pages of Vogue.com! He’s been dubbed ‘the one to watch in fashion documentation’. So young, so talented!

Peter O’Brien
Peter O’Brien is a gifted Irish designer with a whole lot of priceless advice on collectable items and investment pieces.

Laura Whitmore
The TV presenter rarely puts a fashion foot wrong! The Wicklow native is fast becoming a young fashion icon, endlessly snapped on the red carpet wearing outfits we want to rush out and buy.

Leanne Woodfull
This fashion designer and beauty blogger is full of hilarious and super helpful style tweets. She also runs the blog Thunder and Threads which gives lots of amazing tips on fashion and beauty.

Emma Manley
Designer Manley interned with Alexander McQueen before she launched her own line in 2010. She now features in Brown Thomas and her tweets are full of exclusive snaps of her collections as well as fabulous fashion updates, advice and news.

Lorna Weightman
This fashion expert blogs from Style Isle and is a fountain of insider Irish fashion news! She’s collected countless fashion blog awards and her Twitter fan base continues to grow!

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