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.
I feel less guilty about not washing my makeup brushes regularly… ^^
btw your photo with the hat & trench coat channels Ingrid Bergman in ‘Casablanca’. 🙂
Ooh what a sexy image that churned up 😉 Thanks! No need to feel too guilty now 😉
LOL. nice one. 😉
I think most of it is applicable to any blogger. Haha. Like me. 😛
Thanks 😀 I do think that most bloggers should be able to identify with some of the bits in there. If they get it of course 😉
1.sometimes when I stay at home whole day,I dont wash my face at night.
2.I feel stressed when I see tons of products still waiting for me to review.
3.I wear pyjamas to take my head shot.
Oops,what did I just say??
Well so long as PJs are cute, I suppose that’s err… alright?
OMG sooo true!!! It came up to a point where I realised I was wearing the same top for too many posts (because I was doing my FOTD at home, and only JUST for the post!).
And you’re soo right about not washing them brushes (and sticking to my skincare routine the way I really should). :p
Great post, Paris!
Hi Yani,
LOL!!! hahahaha. Your comment really cracked me up. I must admit that’s an issue EVEN though I really do go out with my FOTDs, albeit sometimes only for buying lunch, and grocery shopping, not Orchard shopping all the time.
It’s too easy to just pull on the same T-shirt if I really were going out only to buy food, especially when my FOTDs can go on for consecutive days.
But I am really very, very careful, and I am not sure if any reader has caught me off guard yet. haha. This is because I have a habit of never wearing the same piece more than twice in a month at work. By the time I am back to the same clothes, it could be 2-3 months later. Clothes is kind of an investment I make monthly… …
Haha! Glad you identified with it Yani 😛 I know, we all say this and that which is really ideal, but there are times we slip up (as we do!) but I guess so long as we go back to the basics when it matters, its alright, right? 😉 BTW a black top can never be “the same” so stick to the black 😉
What a fun post! And it’s all so true! I’m guilty of doing all of them too..
Glad you enjoyed it Gio! I guess we are all more similar than we know 😉
Hahaha this is hilarious! You don’t want to know how my bottom half is dressed in certain FOTDs, and I dread getting shower gels! I mean I LOVE having some back-ups, but at the moment I have EIGHT sitting in my bathroom cabinet, and I am bound to get some more next week. As long as a shower gel smells nice, doesn’t strip my skin, and doesn’t leave it slippery either, there really isn’t too much to say about it! And yes nail polish posts are the best fillers. I don’t even have to make myself look halfway decent to do those teehee.
Erm… I don’t think I want to know either, Sunny LOL! 😉 Oh yes I get what you mean about shower gels. It smells nice, it washes clean. Its good stuff. LOL! 😀
Lol, this is a very good post – cat’s out of the bag, meow 🙂 I find #2 really funny, imagine the Lipstick Bandit on the loose hahaha. I think the essence behind high traffic and good rapport with readers is the commitment and dedication by the blogger – it shows through the details and effort put into posting a good photo, frequency of post, variety of blog topics, replies to comments left and much more. Giveaways are fun and instant magnet to high traffic, but only time will tell if these readers stick on to your blog when there are no freebies.
I have another secret about the Lipstick Bandit mask post. I had on a first “mask” and then my family asked to go for lunch so would I like to join them? So I had to wash it all off, go for lunch and come back and redo it. Imagine if I had just walked out to see them that way. LOL!! I liked reading your insight as to why you would read a blog consistently and I realised I feel the same way too! Good prose and good pictures always draw me in! Most traffic spikes from giveaways are really very temporary and since I implemented my recent method (which isn’t dependant on having to subscribe) I’ve found any increase in traffic to be quite marginal. But there is an unproportionate increase in comments from random people. Saddening sometimes 🙁
Hahaha, this made me laugh.
Glad you enjoyed it 😉 Identified with any?
First comment in the blog, I found you when I was looking up BB creams and I came to your blog months ago. I am starting a blog so these types of post are really good for me. Greetings from Mexico.
PS. I am a guy so I don’t for feel guilty reading My WOMEN stuff lol
Argg I had a mistake:
PS: I am a guy so I don’t know if I have to feel guilty about reading My WOMEN stuff lol
Hi Efrain, thank you for your comment and good luck with your blog 🙂 I hope you don’t feel guilty for reading My Women Stuff – its too late for me to change it to “People stuff” LOL! 😉
“We sometimes don’t practice what we preach”.
I didn’t found it surprising, but I think it’s funny LOL. Well, not just beauty tips, I meant all tips that we tend to give others, we didn’t really practice it right! Sometimes we’re too busy or lazy to practice it. ;-P
Yep! We can always tell people what they SHOULD do but its debatable if we will do it ourselves 🙂 I do try to practice 90% of what I preach, but there’s always that 10% 😉
haha…so right about them, Paris 😀 I find it very difficult to follow what I preach so I do mention that I am not a good preacher and its an advise form someone who knows the counter-effects of not doing what’s preached 😀 more effective, I guess. and, so true about the giveaways and obsession with statistics!!!
Haha I know what you mean! Its like “Ok so I didn’t do this and here’s what happens, so please do it!” 😀 Don’t you find giveaways really tiring sometimes? Sigh…
yes, giveaways are especially when you have to check the entries and deal with demanding winners!!!
sigh, and i thought you wouldn’t get hurt by negative comments because the ratio of negative to positive commenting on your blog is a wide divide. oh and i haven’t washed my makeup brushes in about….since the time i bought them. and even then i didn’t wash them before i used them. heh heh. but thank you for this post, i’m going to do it now and let them dry overnight! mwah! we less than 3 you Paris, i’m sure you rmbr how you made my working days a little brighter with your posts. =D
*Fingers crossed* I think I’m lucky not to attract too much negativity so that’s something to be thankful for. But when it does happen, it hurts alright 😛 And as for brushes, seriously? Never washed? Time to get a-washing, young lady! Dirty makeup brushes are one of the top causes of acne! Thanks so much for reading my blog – I less than 3 all of you too! 😀
Err … FOTD = Face of the day ? LOTD = List of the day ? EOTD ??? …. interesting post
Oops sorry! 😀 FOTD = Face of the Day LOTD = Lips of the Day (or some new style calls it Look of the day which puts it back with FOTD which confuses the heck out of me >.<) and EOTD = Eye of the day 😀
You cracked me up.
I just took pictures of my nails. xD
I’m going to guess time is short for a full blown blog post? 😉
These don’t surprise me, but don’t bother me. Although to be completely honest, as a reader, I have come across great blogs through other blogs -I already read- that feature giveaways, like Beauty Blog Coalition and Roundup posts etc. I never unsubscribe though that’s just rude, specially when the items are purchased.
I only like to keep track of a handful of stuff so I only keep reading blogs that catch my interest and stick to those that feature posts with tips and innovative ways to do things like “Oh look how I apply mascara with cake liner and a clean cheap toothbrush blah blah lol” (wish it would happen I’ve been thinking about it), posts about drugstore gems that deliver on par with “high end” and comparisons, and dupes. I also kind of don’t trust blogs that get everything sent by PR agencies, I feel the reviews are careful some of the times, even straight out biased
i think not only beauty blogger doing this but all bloggers. LOL
nobody knows
I’m sure we all do, to an extent, regardless of genre. Well except the fotd bit 🙂
My name is Michelle and I’m guilty of all of the above lol. I recently went to Nordstroms and bought about 10 of the same t shirts but different colors..l really didn’t care about bottoms.
OK. Guilty of 1, 2, 7, 9, 11. So, I think I’m doing ok. lol. My blog is only about 1 and a half years old, so I watch those stats like the stock market. Oh well. At least I’m taking pictures now. I didn’t for the first year. lol.
Great post!
Great post and all true. I think I will only ever do my second giveaway if I was sent a freebie
I want followers who are more genuine.