Confessions of a Beauty Blogger Tag

Wheeee! Another Tag post. These sure make their way around the blogosphere. I enjoy reading them as they add a different dimension to an otherwise singular focus blog topic (be it beauty, fashion, cooking etc) – and as we know, everyone is multi-faceted. Thanks Bree, and StyledwithJoy for tagging me on this one.

1. When did you start your blog?
January 10, 2015, so just over 2 months ago.

2. Why did you start a blog?
Several reasons: the urging of my friends since I seem to spew out a lot of beauty advice to them – they thought I should parlay that into something with a wider audience. My bf would also often comment, “Hey you could do that” whenever I’m reading a beauty blog or watching youtube videos.  Lastly, I embarked on a No Buy for 2015 (yes, I’m serious), so I saw blogging as both an outlet (to lament about my challenges) and as a distraction to fill the extra time. It HAS been valuable for me to dig into my stash to post about things I own, and made me realize just how much I love the makeup that I have.

3. When did you start becoming serious about starting a blog?
During Christmas break, when I really solidified my commitment to No Buy 2015, I realized I needed something to hold myself accountable.

4. How many hours a week do you spend planning/writing/uploading posts?
It varies – I sometimes get inspiration in the evenings after work (I work full time) and I do a little bit of writing. But I save the bulk of photographing and writing on the weekends, especially on Sundays. I would say I devote around 10 hours total to generate 3-4 posts per week.

5. What has been your biggest challenge about blogging?
Photography and colour accuracy. I have new-found admiration for all the beauty bloggers out there with dazzling photos and true-to-life consistent colours.

6. When is it easiest for you to write your posts?
Evenings and weekends.

7. What makes writing posts comfortable for you?
When it’s on a topic that is of interest to me, and hopefully to my readers – I feel like I’m contributing to the beauty community by sharing my voice (amongst thousands of voices!)

8. Where do you see your blog in one year?
In one year’s time my No Buy will be over… hopefully I’ll be shopping like a fiend and posting about all of my hauls. Haha, I’m joking (or am I?)

9. What is the most rewarding thing to you about blogging?
Community engagement! Honestly, it has been astounding. When I first started blogging, I was mainly sending the links to my real-life friends for them to read. They would make comments back to me via email or whatsapp, but they know me in real life, so it was normal to have that interaction. I never thought complete strangers online would find my blog, let alone comment, like, or follow it. In turn, I’ve enjoyed following other people’s blogs and expanding my “Blogs I follow” reading list.

10. What’s your worst makeup/hair habit?
I basically have like, ONE look. I swear I switch up my eye shadows and blushes daily but I think overall they all end up looking about the same on me. I don’t mind all that much except, how do I justify owning 600+ eye shadows then? So my worst makeup habit is that my look is… habitual. 🙂

11. What’s one quote you wish the world would live by?
Cliché but the Golden Rule:

Do unto others as you would like them do unto you.

12. How long do you spend getting ready everyday?
From shower to out the door, around an hour. I wash my hair daily so that takes a while to dry and style.  I also work in a corporate environment and I like to look “polished”so I wear base and eye makeup daily – and maybe a lip colour when I remember.

13. What’s your favorite post on your blog?
At present I have 37 posts on this blog and I would say my favourite entry so far is “My top 10 MAC eye shadows” – from narrowing down the eye shadows, to photographing them, to editing the images, to researching and writing about each shade – I thoroughly enjoyed the process.

14. Who is a beauty blogger that you think deserve more subscribers that they have?
Tough to pin down just one person, but I would encourage you all to click on the “Freshly Pressed” button on the WordPress Reader from time to time to discover new blogs. I also like to periodically do a search for new posts with tags related to topics that interests me: beauty, makeup, fashion – to name a few.

15. What’s one thing you’re excited about in the coming year?
My friend’s wedding out in the East Coast in September.

16. What has been your favorite blogging moment?
Most recently, when I got tagged for The Liebster Award by Bree!

17. How long does it take to prep for a post?
No set amount of time, in true nerd fashion, I keep an Excel spreadsheet with a full-year calendar which I use to plan out my topics in advance. This way I know what items to start gathering from my stash for photographs. I also have a Word document for brainstorming and I jot down bullet point ideas for topics which then gets copied over to the draft post. At present I have 20 entries in drafts and scheduled posts for the rest of March!

18. Are you wearing jeans/ skirt right now or are you wearing pajama bottoms?
I’ve got lounge / yoga-type pants on.

I tag: Hi I Am Cherry, With All My Affection, Half Empty | Half Full, Miss Sophia Blog, Christina Bee x3, Carlyl Almelor, darlydarly, Martha’s Makeup, Tiffany Leeblog