15 Random Questions

For a few months now The Beauty Spotlight Team has been highlighting our members with bi-weekly posts answering questions. Today it's finally my turn! I have some blogging questions, some beauty questions and few questions that have nothing to do with anything else.


1.) 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?
I do a mix of both. I never buy products that I'm not interested in for myself and my personal use, but the blog and what I need personally definitely influence each other. After I had my daughter, I had a big concealer review series. Why? I was a new mommy, I wanted to look awake! New beauty trends emerge and I'll buy products to highlight it on the blog, but I purchase what I want to use myself.


2.) Last book you read?
I just finished the Iron Druid series by Kevin Hearne. They had a great mix of paranormal and mythology and I loved all of his pop culture references! Oberon is one of the best side kicks I think I've ever read in a book!

Right now I'm reading a new book by one of my best friends from high school, Sara Fiorenzo. She'll be self publishing it soon!


3.) Do you have a special talent?
No. My husband might say it is spending money. He's probably right.


4.) Do you have a guilty pleasure?
Buying cheap jewelry! I have a big collection of necklaces and bracelets. I love stores like Forever 21, H&M and Charming Charlie for items. Recently I've gotten some great deals from Facebook, my favorite stores on there are Accessory Concierge and Everyday Icing. And of course, J. Crew, Ann Taylor, Loft and other stores at the mall all have great finds as well.


5.) What time do you wake up in the morning?
I'm not a morning person. On a "normal" day I'm usually up around 7:30, on a work day a little after 6.


6.) When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I always wanted to be a pediatrician when I was a kid, just like my dad. When I was in high school I secretly wanted to be a magazine beauty editor. Now I'm kind of both!


7.) Are you a cat person or a dog person?
I grew up with both cats and dogs, but I'm more of a dog person.


8.) What was your first real job?
When I turned 13 my neighbors asked if I could come work in their candy store in the summers, which I did until I went away to college. It was named Candyland, and I spent many a night making fresh lemonade and cutting up fudge! The store moved and renamed itself, it is now Sweet Temptations in Grand Haven, Michigan. The Tiger Butter fudge is my favorite if you go to the store!


9.) If you were given a shopping spree at one store, what store would you like it to be?
Probably Nordstrom.


10.) Finish this sentence: Don't start a beauty blog if…
You only want to make money or get free stuff. I get a ton of emails asking me how to get free stuff. Really, a blog is a lot of work (20+ hours a week for me) and there are a lot of them out there! You need to make yourself unique, create a following, and then the PR reps will come to you, and I wasn't making much money doing this until the last 6 months or so (and really, I only make money at it because of the writing for Babble thing). You won't get rich, this is never going to replace my "real" job. Start a blog only if you feel passionate about something and really need a creative outlet.


11.) Do you consider your blog a hobby or is it part of a larger career objective?
It's a side job for me really, I don't have a long term career objective with it. Instead, it's something that I enjoy doing, I need something fun and creative to do.


12.) Is there a category of products you like (or dislike) blogging about in particular?
I have a really hard time writing about fragrances. I love perfume, and I can describe when I smell and what happens with the scent when I wear it, but there are the perfume snobs out there that freak out if you don't use some exact term that only they have heard of. So, I find the reviews intimidating (that's why I haven't written one in over a year).


13.) What's your favorite beauty splurge?
Getting my eye brows done! I have full eye brows, and I think they're a good fit for my face. Since we all lose our brows as we get older, it is definitely aging to have brows that are too skinny! But, I can't keep them in check on my own. So, I head to the salon near my house every 3 weeks or so to have them done professionally.


14.) What's your favorite beauty bargain?
I'm a sucker for makeup at the drugstore/grocery store! I have a really hard time leaving without a new lippie from L'Oreal or Maybelline's newest mascara. I'm also a huge fan of CoverGirl.


15.) Lipstick or lipgloss?
I'm more of a gloss or tinted balm girl.