Psst! Ladies!
Today, I’m going to tell you a couple of secrets that beauty bloggers may have. This probably will not make me very popular amongst my fellow bloggers so erm… yeah, I’ll have to go incognito. Shh…. So here are 10 things that beauty bloggers may probably never tell you 😉
Join me as we bust some myths! Beauty blogging buddies – want to join in? 😉
1. We sometimes don’t practice what we preach.
Wash brushes often. Remove all your makeup before bed. Cleanse, tone, moisturize… everyone tells you this right? Well, sometimes we don’t practice everything we preach. For me, its the brush washing. I’m quite lax at doing a weekly wash. Oops! Yes, I’ve even been guilty of using a new brush without washing first! *gasp*
2. Some of us never leave the house wearing the FOTD or EOTD or LOTD of the day
You don’t seriously expect me to go out looking like this?!
Ah yep! We doll ourselves up for you, snap our photos looking all “Ooh! Look at how lovely this date look makeup is!” and then wash it all off and go to bed. This is of course understandable with fanciful makeup but it also happens with what seems like simple day to day looks.
3. Some of us DO go out wearing our FOTD, EOTD, LOTD… WhateverhaveyouTD
I actually do walk out of the house wearing most of my looks of the day that you see here on my blog. They are usually taken right before I run out the door so yes, they do see the light of day, never mind that it might sometimes be more suited for the evening 🙂
4. Negative or nasty comments do hurt even if we don’t show it
We’re human. If we put on a brave face its because sometimes, there’s no other way to go about it. Engaging in an online slagging off is juvenile at best and worsens the situation at worst. Personally, I don’t even want to go there so I let it be and let it slide, never mind that I’m riled up and seeing red. Easier said than done to turn a blind eye but giving it a few days helps. Pummelling a pillow helps too! 😛
5. We sometimes dread seeing yet another whitening/hydrating/anti-aging product land on our desk. How new can it get?
I doubt its just us but you probably feel the same way too. Just how different can the new product be? It gets harder and harder for brands to show us something new and for us to be wowed by something new. Agree?
6. It gets stressful
I know, people will say, “Oh but you’re only doing it for fun, what’s there to get stressed about?” Well, responsibility is one thing, as well as commitment. We owe you, the readers, a certain commitment and we owe people who sponsor us, a commitment. When we delay or fail in the delivery of that commitment, then it gets stressful.
7. Sometimes for head shots, we only dress up for the upper portion that is visible
There’s just an old tee and shorts under the outfit. Why dress up the bits no one sees?! 😉 Its also quicker this way – you don’t have to actually plan a whole outfit, just only what goes on your face, the top half of your body and your head. Hats, scarves, earrings all work even if its just to simulate cruising along the Riviera. A good tip for bloggers for doing head shots is to just wear a black top. It looks good in photos and sets off colour better than a white top, I find 😉 Of course, if you’d prefer to dress up, go right ahead! Its fun!
8. Nail polish posts are good for filler posts
Of all the review posts out there, nail polish ones are really, the easiest to do. There isn’t much to talk about unless of course, nail polish is your blog speciality or you like being verbose (something I’m guilty of). In most cases, its about how pretty it looks or does not look. Good application and photos help, but its not fatal. So yeah, when pressed for time, pop up a nail polish review. Oops! Secrets out! 😉
9. Blog stats are our obsession
A good blogger will know their blog stats. Nevermind that they may look like they don’t care or that they don’t know what its all about. Alright, maybe some don’t but in the main, a good blogger will know their stats and it can be an obsession. Knowing your stats or at least checking them give you an indication of your blog health (did the server die and your blog not get served for hours?), your reach (how many people are reading?) or just an indication of whether you are headed anywhere (are the numbers going up?). No need to get obsessive about it of course. Its nice to see the figures go up, but ultimately one has to know when to step away and stop looking because staring at the graphs and willing the numbers to grow won’t make it happen! Been there, done that!
10. We sometimes dread doing giveaways
Oh of course we love it, and we love that so many readers love it and its our way of saying thank you for your support. But yet we dread running one because any boost in traffic is only temporary; there are many “professional” entrants who just go around entering contests and giveaways; the freeloaders rear their heads; we get a wave of blog unsubscribes when the giveaway ends which is seriously demoralizing. Not to mention the demands when we delay sending out prizes due to time factors – the post office isn’t the easiest place to get to, most times; or when people don’t bother to say thank you or let you know your package arrived safely. I could go on, but it would be whining so yeah. I dread doing giveaways.
11. When we do posts like this, it maybe because we’ve run out ideas, material or we just like taking the mick
Erm… I guess its self-explanatory. I’ll let you guess which category mine falls into 😉
Has anything here surprised you in any way? Or perhaps not? If you blog about beauty, do you share these open secrets with me or do you have your own little secret? Just me then? Oh, alright 😉
Paris B
Simple Blogging Tips are some simple tips I’ve picked up about blogging along my journey. I am no guru and will never claim to be one. I hope you found these useful and you may find other Simple Blogging Tips here.
Haha your post cracked me up! I never do looks of the day simply because… I’m rubbish with make up and very often I’m guilty of walking barefaced out of the house! :p being a little OCD, I always wash my brushes before using them because…. It scares me to think who’s touched them and what’s been crawling all over them before they land in my hands.
Glad to make you smile 😉 I’ve learnt that we are always our own harshest critics so I don’t believe that you are rubbish with make up at all! 😉 I walk barefaced out of the house too, very often in fact especially on weekends when I really can’t be arsed to put on makeup. I doll up enough on a weekday, I need a break on the weekend!
Hello PB! (Sorry, am on finals, so I couldn’t drop in as often, but I was reading your posts!!)
I have to say that I do agree with everything up there, especially about NOT wearing out the FOTDs, heh heh heh. (The mother will NOT allow me out the door if she saw any of them)
IN FACT… I usually coordinate my FOTD taking times to the time exactly before I’m supposed to wash my face. I splash my face with water to remove whatever traces of the oily/grimy feeling and pat dry then jump straight into the FOTD heh heh ^.^ After all the picture taking’s been done, then its off to double cleansing and skincare! (Aiyo, if not need to wash my face one more time, and it won’t be to good for the skin, no? Waste of cleanser too…)
THat’s such a pity, that your mum will not allow and everything. T.T FOTDs are too pretty to just wash off.
Heh heh. Mom prefers the “natural” look, so, no choice. >.<"
Aww how about showing an FOTD that your mom did allow you to wear out? I think that’ll be a fun challenge 😉 Good luck with your finals (am so glad my study life is over LOL!)
LOL too true! I giggled at the ‘TD’ part…because my mind turned it into “transmitted disease”. BACK TO WORK FOR MEH!! I think I should do a nails post. Haven’t done one in ages *cough*.
LOL!! I didn’t think of the TD bit 😛 And yes, I rarely do nail posts but they are surprisingly insanely easy to pop up (and satisfies the post of the day quota hehe…)
haha i cracked up at the FOTD part! i saw a few posts where the blogger went ‘this is perfect for a daytime look!” with quite out of the world eye makeup on (e.g. country flags drawn on eyelids, etc etc), it was quite surreal.. great post by the way 🙂
Glad to make you laugh, Germs (I always smile when I see your handle because I’m always thinking “Germs? Seriously?!”) I know right? Some looks are so far out, I don’t know who’d wear them out but the thing is, there are people who do! I spotted someone in a mall a couple of weeks back with some seriously winged liner, up and down. I had to stare but maybe she was going for a fancy dress party 😛
what an exposé paris! *gasp* hehe.. well i do follow some of the beauty “rules” like washing my brushes before use.. and i actually do wear the LOTD out 100% of the time. i would take the photos before i rush out of the house and subsequently forgot to take a photo of the product used. so some of the pictures never got published cos i forgot what i had used! *slaps forehead*
you are so right on the nail posts, i usually schedule my nail posts to publish during the weekends cos i usually don’t have time to blog during weekends. i wish i could dedicate more time to blogging though and there’s so many things that i want to blog about but cant due to work committments. *sighs*
I know! I can almost see the torches and pitchforks at the door hounding me for exposing our little secrets LOL! I am like you. I snap the shot but by the time I look at the picture, I can’t remember what I used. Sigh… I tried recording it but didn’t work either 😛 I think most of us who enjoy blogging will love to be able to spend more time on it, but then we need to put food on the table too so we don’t get to blog as much and as often as we like. Still, I think you’re doing a pretty good job keeping the blog alive which is ultimately more important 😀
All so true!!! Oh no, so our secrets are out… My next post is a nail post…
HAHA! Gotcha! 😛
That was a fun post! I got some laughs from it. Stacie xo
Glad you enjoyed it Stacie – did you identify with any secret? 😉
You hit the nail on the head with this post Paris! I am also guilty as charged. I am totally obssessed with stats. When I realise I lost a follower it makes me sad. I’m too lazy to do fotds without using them to go out so most of my fotds are for going out. Unless they are smokey eyes and nude lips. Hard to take pictures at night. 🙂
I know how you feel! When I get the unsubscribe email its like a punch to the gut, like “What did I do?!” But I’ve learnt to let it go. Sometimes, it could just be that they have lost interest or they only signed up for the giveaway (the worst culprits!) or they go on to subscribe in a different method e.g. reader or FB so its not always lost 😀
Hi PB, thanks for this very frank post! I think you have been doing a great job with your blog and I read it on a regular basis, if not daily! 😉 Please keep up the great job, I fully understand that it’s never easy having a blog! That is why although I am such a beauty junkie, I do not think I will ever have the extra energy to start a blog…
Hi Esther, thank you for the support! It definitely means a lot to me that someone out there is reading. Helps me keep things in check too 😀 Having a blog is something that’s either a labour of love or just a labour. That said, sometimes you’re just in too deep to just let it go 😉 Thanks again!
I dont blog but I am guilty of using new brushes before washing them, especially brushes that I cant wait to try. But I do wash my dirty brushes at least once a week, sometimes I switch up 1 or 2 brushes mid week and then wash the dirty ones during the week itself, or for my Beautyblender I tend to use it after every use, which is almost daily. It has never crossed my mind that FOTDs may not actually be worn out.. I guess that explains why some of them can afford to look so overly made up lol. And I am guessing that FOTDs are a good way to test if a certain combination of products/colours work before going out there and scaring everyone away lol! Good post as always 🙂
Haha yeah when I’m really excited about a brush, I sometimes use it straight from the pack. But will wash it as soon as I can thereafter 🙂 I love seeing the many FOTDs out there. Some are so creative and some girls have seriously mad skills. There’s a lot to learn 😀 Thanks and I’m glad you enjoyed this little expose 😉
Brilliant post! I had honestly never thought about freeloaders for competitions! I’m keeping the nail polish post idea in mind for when I’m reading an enormously long book!
I really enjoyed this post. Off to wash my brushes now 😉
Ah try running one, Sam and watch the freeloaders appear! Its seriously mind boggling to see the professional freeloaders swarm all over. I sort of like seeing the unexpected beauty post pop up on your blog. Its most unexpected! 😉
By no means are you verbose – you express yourself in a no-nonsense yet diplomatic way in a breezily readable style, something other bloggers might do well to emulate.
Ginny, that meant so much to me, you wouldn’t believe it. Thank you!!
It’s nice to read posts like this. So frank! I don’t have the energy to do what you bloggers are doing to maintain your blogs, but I do appreciate your work. Most of the time I’m a ‘silent’ reader, but appreciative, yes!
Its nice to see that its not all lipsticks and roses behind the scenes right? 😉 I’ll try and think up more exposes as we go along. I’m sure there are more! 😀 Also, you can never really tell if you can stick to something till you try 😉 Thanks so much for the support in reading our blogs! 😀
Hahaha, it was nice reading bout this. xD
Most of these I have wondered about, but I didn’t think that nail polish posts were good filler posts. Now I see what you mean though.
Giveaways can be stressful. Delivering the package to the winners, hoping they received it safely.
I think many bloggers are going “Darn! Why did PB have to go and tell the world our nail polish posts are just filler posts?!” heehee… 😀 I personally find giveaways too stressful, especially sometimes when people get demanding. I have gotten private messages, emails, anon comments asking whether I’ve picked a winner when I’ve already announced it. They expect a traditional separate post announcement and I don’t do that so they start harrassing 🙁 Then there are those who never tell you if they got your package and if I email them, there’s no reply 🙁 Almost enough to put one off it.
haha, I never wash my brushes before use. But thank goodness, I never preach that. I do wear my FOTDs out, as going out (not work, but shopping/dates) is precisely the reason I makeup. I don’t wear makeup to work.
If I am not going out, I will be testing products that I think may fail, like mascara, one on each side, one eyeshadow on each side just to get a first impression. LOL, always end up left side different from right side, and I don’t even dare to go out to throw the trash!
Unfortunately, I don’t find nail posts as easy. =P haha, bottle, brush, formula, not forgetting must remove the old nail polish, must cut, buff, treat with my almond oil, rest 1-2 days, before I paint the new coat. Must wait overnight for it to dry fully too. I guess I am lazy. When I am busy, I simply don’t touch my nails (let it chip like nobody’s business) or just leave them bare for 3-4 weeks on end. hahaha. But my nail posts are always one of the shortest… … makes me feel like so much effort put in, but on the surface, it’s really just like that only.
Sometimes I even have to wait several weeks till I finish trying all the colors I have from one brand before I can do a sum-up post, just to be more impartial to the brand.
In my case, work is about the only place I wear full makeup to. Other times, its just very light makeup or no makeup 😀 The benefit to doing a nail polish post to me, is that you don’t have to dress up, or make sure that you have on other makeup. Its just fingers and nails. Am only starting to get the hang of doing my nails myself which explains why I don’t do nail posts often. Just not something I’m interested in very much 🙂
Aww why you go spill our secrets? Now everyone’s going to know that we have a gorgeous made up face and ratty boxer shorts with pik piak slippers at the bottom! 😛
Guilty of every single one, especially #4. Sure we can tell other people who get negative comments on their blogs to let it go, delete, move on, etc but deep down, it still hurts when it happens to us.
*goes into hiding from blogger backlash* hehe… I think commentators sometimes think we’re robots or something. That said, the internet is full of trolls who just want a reaction. I prefer not to give them that satisfaction, but it still hurts 😛
i beg to differ for #8 😛
but LOL for the rest esp #7
LOL!! I did have a caveat: I said, unless you are a nail blog (which your focus is on 😛 )
Hello Paris~! I’ve been busy these past few months so I couldn’t read your blog everyday (or every other day). When I get the chance, I’ll try to backtrack and make up for the posts I hvn’t read yet. I love all your posts. Today’s post too. Today I decided I just hv to read your blog after not hving the chance for quite some time and here I am ^^ I would like you to know that I totally enjoy reading your posts. You’ re my favourite beauty blogger. I like to learn new things about women stuff. I’ve tried some beauty stuff because of your good reviews. Thank you Paris~!
Hi Rin 🙂 Thank you for reading my blog! I don’t mind that its sporadic – its nice to know that people are reading or that anything I’ve blogged is helpful 😀 I’m glad you’ve liked some of the things you’ve tried – it means a lot to me to know that! Thank you 🙂
LOL at everything!
I hardly ever do #3, and for #7, I never really bother lah… I just photography myself as it is hahaha
Glad you enjoyed it 🙂 Dressing up is fun if there’s time but otherwise, its just the top bit that matters! 😉
Hahaha…this is an extremely good one Paris, and I think a lot of bloggers (beauty or not beauty) are just laughing along with each of the point you highlighted because I think there are times when we just know what you meant *winks*
And yeah, we are just human like everyone else too, and that meant we do run out of ideas or get upset when we receive negative comments…
Your article just made my day..hehe, and yes, we bloggers are never alone 😉
~Cheers!~
*giggle* so you got the little pinpricks I slipped in eh? 😉 I do think many of these, barring the beauty bits apply across the board to most bloggers who have been around a while. Some things just never change, whichever niche you blog in 😉 Glad you enjoyed it and definitely! Bloggers gotta band together right? 😉