BSB Editorial: Brand vs. Blogger- a new trend?

This isn't an easy topic for me, because I'm pretty sure I'm going to lose some friends, but I received a few messages lately that make me feel that I need to comment recent happenings in the blogosphere.

Let me preface it all by saying that I have been a proud member of the beauty blogging community for three years, and I have nothing but respect for the bloggers in this genre. 

I want to catch you up quickly, so you know what the hoopla is about, then maybe we can chat about it a bit?

Recently a few reports of companies issuing Cease & Desist Orders to bloggers have come up.

*A Cease and Desist Order (C&D) is a request that a certain behavior be stopped or legal action will be taken. It's like a warning and paper trail all wrapped up in one.

In the post Cease & Desist with the Cease & Desists, British Beauty Blogger refers to multiple instances of C&Ds being issued to British bloggers, implying that the companies are small American brands. Then there are the C&Ds issued to several blogs by mega-brand OPI, threatening action if bloggers didn't pull down "sneak peek" promo pics of upcoming collections. 

Most recently, though, the nail polish community and quite a few bloggers are up in arms over a C&D issued by indy polish brand Ginger + Liz. The order was sent to a blog I had never heard of, called Daily Polish, which has been in action since Sept. 2009. (That's not a slur- she's probably never heard of me, either!) ;)

A big brand beating up on a little blogger? Keep reading for more...