From the 'On Honesty' essay. What has changed in the 5 years since then?
Commercial Partnerships
salihughesbeauty.com occasionally produces sponsored content. Our free-to-all-users forum costs a lot each year to host, our contributors need to be paid, our videos cost money and so on, and so commercial partnerships are essential in keeping us going. I cannot stress enough how absolutely fanatical we are in running a clean ship on this front – it’s a big reason we started the site in the first place. We turn things down constantly for all manner of reasons, even when that means a huge financial sacrifice. If a mascara smudges, we’re not prepared to say it doesn’t. If I don’t rate a brand’s skincare, I’ll never say I do. I can honestly and genuinely say I have never said I love a product if I don’t. That policy is not hard for us, we don’t feel in the least bit resentful or compromised. It’s easy when you take the longterm view that a dishonest commercial decision will ultimately cost you. We’d just be really, really stupid to do things any other way. Furthermore, if we have taken the very careful decision to partner with a brand commercially, we will always, always make that clear. The brands we’ve worked with (Lancôme and La Roche Posay, for example) have always been as passionate as we are about that transparency, and have also positively demanded it. Any brand asking for a less transparent transaction would immediately be shown the door. If my commercial involvement is of a much more prominent nature – for example, when I presented a nationwide corporate video for Philips, I would take the decision to avoid that product in an editorial context just because that wouldn’t sit right for me personally. Again, the brand involved here felt as strongly about this as I do. My reason for signing with Arlington Talent was in no small part owing to their being utterly respectful and supportive of my principles on all these matters.
