Nothing to Disclose
Welcome to the Beauty Spotlight Team's new series!!! The Beauty Spotlight Team bloggers are taking turns answering some personal questions about ourselves. This is such a fun opportunity for me to let you readers get to know me a bit better. :) This is fun! I hope you enjoy reading my responses. xoxo
1) Last book you read? While I used to be a voracious reader, these days it takes me forever to get through a book. Being in my 7th month of pregnancy, I tend to fall asleep every time I sit down to read, lol! I can't remember the last book that I completed? I think it was actually Safe Haven.
2) Last concert you went to? Radiohead!!! It was *aweseome*! I am such a fan. Those guys actually sound better live. I wouldn't doubt if Thom Yorke has perfect pitch.
3) Do you have a special talent? I honestly can't think of anything!
4) What makes you feel beautiful? I tend to feel beautiful when I am feeling confident. I seem to get more confident the older I get. So, I am looking forward to feeling more beautiful throughout the years ahead!
5) Do you have a guilty pleasure? My guilty pleasures are my vampire/fantasy fiction tv shows and books! While I am (cough) almost 40, I seem to generally love the whole young adult fantasy fiction genre. Vampire Diaries, The Origionals, and Pretty Little Liars are my current favorite "guilty pleasure" shows. My all-time favorite tv show? Buffy the Vampire Slayer!
6) What time do you wake up in the morning? 5:45. I know, I am a crazy morning person. I have to get up that early to get my "me" time in as well as my blogging time in. I am a stay-at-home Mommy of a Toddler. I devote all my daytime hours to Mommy hood and only blog, do yoga, shower, have me-time, etc... when I am not otherwise needed by my daughter. So, that means I need to get up really early to squeeze that time in. I feel like I can be a better parent when I give myself some time, too.
7) When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? Like many kids, I went through phases with what I wanted to be. Here were my top picks: a ballerina or a doctor. I love to dance and love science. So, either could have been a good fit. However, I ended up quitting ballet in high school. Also, I decided that a nurse might be a better option for me than a doctor (less school and fewer hours). Then I started college as a nursing major and realized that I literally can't stand the sight of blood. It makes me woozy and light headed. I remember almost passing out while trying to put a band-aid on my bleeding foot and my roommate telling me "you really need to change your major"! She was so right! So, what did I end up being? A Speech-Language Pathologist!!! It was a great fit actually. I love the science of it and really enjoy doing therapy with children. I worked for 12 years as a Speech Therapist before giving up my career to be a stay-at-home Mommy. I will end up going back to it one day. I am keeping up my license in the meantime.
8) Are you a cat person or a dog person? A dog person. I grew up with cats. I love them, too. However, I am so allergic! Plus, dogs are just more personable. We have a 12 year old Springer Spaniel, Casey, and I love her to pieces. She was my first "baby"!
9) What was your first real job? See question #7. :) I literally got hired for my first job before I even graduated from Grad School. So, I went straight from school to my first, and only real job! I worked as a Speech-Language Pathologist for a local county's Early Childhood Program. I served children from the ages of 2-5 with Speech and Language impairments. My caseload ranged from children with mild speech impairments to even children with severe-profound global impairments. While I love doing therapy with all sorts of speech issues, I do have some favorite types of therapy. My favorite populations to work with? Children with Autism and children with Apraxia of Speech.
10) If you were given a shopping spree at one store, what store would you like it to be? Nordstrom: Just because you can get everything there...great makeup, clothes, shoes, bags...
11) What is your most favorite discontinued item? Probably Shiseido's Optimal Cover Concealer. I think it was the best under eye concealer that I ever used. It completely covered my super dark under eye circles. I really have not been able to find anything to compare.
12) Finish this sentence: Don't start a beauty blog if….you don't really honestly and truly love products. People in my life often wonder how I find the time and energy to blog with my busy life. It is a challenge. However, since I really do love trying and exploring products, it is fun for me!!! Writing is the easy part. The product testing? Pure fun!!! I love that I can step into my bathroom or shower and feel like I am having a spa experience with all of the amazing products that I have at my fingertips. I have always been a writer and can write very efficiently and quickly. For me, the time consuming part is the photography and the tech stuff (which I have a TON of help with thanks to my dear friend Christine). Anyways, my whole point is that if you don't truly love it, blogging will feel like another "job". It will lose its "fun" if it feels like work.
13) What type of product is the most fun for you to test and review? Bath and Shower Products! I love stepping into my bath for a "spa" experience with new and fun goodies. I really love diving into skincare product testing, too. I love studying up about a new skincare brand or product and learning all about the ingredients and what the product does for your skin. I also really enjoy exploring the seasonal makeup collections! Okay, you got me...I kinda love it all! ;)
14) When you shop for makeup, skincare and perfume, do you do it with the blog in mind first and foremost-- or with your own use in mind? Totally with my own use in mind. I am a bit of an enthusiast! The only exception is if I am shopping for an ongoing blog series. For example, I have a semi-monthly series about building a core MAC makeup collection. So, I shop monthly for that with my blog post in mind.
15) How has your relationship to beauty products changed since you began blogging? My relationship with products has certainly evolved. Every time I use something, I am critiquing it in my head. Do I like the scent? How does it make my hair/skin feel. Does it rinse clean? Does a makeup item look good with my coloring? How would I describe the texture, etc. I have little notepads all over my bathroom and vanity area to jot down random thoughts about products. I also use the notes app on my phone all the time for notes on products. Sometimes I will literally be in the middle of my evening skincare routine and I have to grab my laptop to write down some thoughts about the products that I am using.
16) What is your greatest joy about blogging? Getting to know my fellow bloggers! Seriously!!! When I first started blogging...it was simply because I loved products and had tried about a million. I wanted to share about the products that I really felt were fabulous! Before blogging, I spent a lot of time reading beauty blogs and reading beauty message boards. I learned so much from these fellow product lovers. So, I felt that blogging was my way to contribute. What I didn't expect or even know about was the fact that the beauty community was a wonderful place to carve out blog-based friendships! I am now connected with some really wonderful bloggers through the various groups that I am a part of: The Beauty Spotlight Team, The Beauty Blog Coalition, The Makeup Wars/ Top Ten Tuesdays group, and my local Metro Atlanta Beauty Bloggers group. These ladies are not only a resource for all-things blog related, but also they are incredibly supportive and encouraging in general! My goal is to some day meet up with some of these great girls in person!!! I have met my local girls. However, most of us are spread throughout the country (and even internationally). So, my hope is to be able to connect some day with these ladies in person.
17) How much time do you spend blogging per week? It really varies. When I have more time, I blog more and "get ahead". So, that when I get busy, I can sometimes go for a few days without blogging. Ideally, I like to blog about 2 weeks ahead to build in a nice cushion. However, with being pregnant, I am having a bit of a harder time keeping up with all my fatigue. I mean, I literally fall asleep when I sit down on the couch these days, lol! I would say, in general, I do about 1 1/2-2 hours of blog work in the weekday mornings before everyone is up. That is not only blogging but also answering PR emails (this takes a ton of time with all the emails that I get). Throughout the day, I catch up here and there with other blog-related tasks like trying out products, participating in my blog FB groups/message boards, and answering emails. I do a little bit of photo editing in the afternoons when my toddler naps (in between folding laundry and eating lunch, etc). I will fully admit that my goal is to "cut back". I am having another baby in 2 months (OMG!!!). I know that my time is going to be even more limited then. So, you guys are going to see a bit of a slow down in posting. Also, I will take a good month or so off completely when I first get home with my new baby. :) My hope is to pre-schedule some content for that time. However, I am finding it hard to get ahead lately with my fatigue (and the holidays).
18) If you could start your blog all over again, what would you differently? This is easy. I would *totally* come up with a better/more clever name!
19) What is the best piece of advice that you would give an aspiring beauty blogger? Write about the products that you love! It is that simple. :) It works for me.
20) Do you consider your blog a hobby, or is it part of a larger career objective? It is totally a hobby for me. If I ever go back to work, it will be as a Speech-Language Pathologist. :) Unless somehow I am magically able to create my own brand of skincare, bath, and makeup! Now that would be a dream come true! :)
Okay folks, that is it! I hope you enjoyed getting to know me a bit better with these questions. Stay tuned as I will be posting links to my fellow Beauty Spotlight Team members questions and responses every few weeks. :) I can't wait to read their responses to these questions, too!
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