Wednesday 21 September 2011

Inspired by Marie Claire - Beauty Journalism

I had the chance to attend another Marie Claire inspire and mentor event tonight this time about 'how to get into the beauty industry' including journalism, PR and makeup artistry. It was so inspiring and motivational that I am actually writing this post on the tube ride home.

I have lots of goodies from Estee Lauder which I am really excited to try and some great tips from makeup artist Alan Pan, which I will share in another post once I have had a chance to put them into practice!

It was great to learn that I am on the right path to a career in beauty writing/ journalism. Starting the blog being one of a few tips mentioned.

I'm pleased to say I plucked up the courage to ask questions to Lisa Oxenham, beauty and style director /editor of Marie Claire. She was really helpful and gave me some food for thought with my blog and promoting myself in order to ‘break into’ the career.

This in turn has made me want to ask for your input. I would love as much feedback as possible on my blogs and writing style in general (if i have one!). Let me know, do you enjoy reading my posts? and why? What can I do better? I know writing and beauty writing is a skill I need to keep working on, so constructive comments good and bad on this post as well as ones in the future would be really appreciated.

One of her recommendations was to find a niche and be known for that. Which makes complete sense. When I think about this, as much as I love makeup and haircare my main interest has always been skincare.

Part of me doesnt really want to change my blog so much to only focus on one area especially since I know that you have to try a regime for a while before you can really know if it works. Also the scientist in me knows that for something to be a fair test you have to minimise the variables, which would mean I would post a product review every few months! Not ideal for a blogger.

However, I know this gives me the chance to be creative with my blog by branching out and talking more about ingredients and skin generally.

Again I want your thoughts on this, after all I wont ever be successful if people don't actually read what I write! Hopefully you can tell how excited and motivated I am right now, I can't wait to hear from you.

With love, 
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6 comments

  1. you sound very inspired! I think you should combine your science background with your love for the cosmetics industry, maybe your reviews could be about whether you think its possible to achieve what is claimed in certain products... maybe delve deeper into certain ingredients... either way i know you will continue to do good... I wish i could have gone to this event!! I need some hardcore inspiration and tips from the pros! :)

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  2. I agree with the post above; I think the fact that you have a background in science can work considerably to your advantage in blogging as your perspective is a little more niche. Certainly in relation to skincare, if a new product launches making various scientific claims that us mere mortals can't fully understand (which, let's face it, happens a lot!) then I'd be keen to hear your thoughts on their claims. Lovely to meet you yesterday and I look forward to reading about where your inspiration takes you :) x

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  3. I was at the event last night also and found it very inspiring. Having a journalism background and going into beauty is a big jump for me, so it has been good doing my own blog.

    I liked that she advised on people keeping their own blogs and treating it like their own magazines. The more you work on it and promote yourself the more likely it is to get noticed. And like she said if you can create a buzz around a product you are half way there!

    Ps. How good was the goody bag?!

    Do you have twitter? Mine is @safira786
    Would be good to get some of your ideas as well on blogging and improving your blog. x

    http://missstylicious.blogspot.com/

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  4. Thank you for all your input ladies. I’m disappointed I didn’t get to talk with more people at the event.

    @CurvesColorSparkle I was listening with you in mind actually so next time we meet up will try and pass the inspiration and tips on. and I think you’re right in that I really should combine beauty and science in my blog a lot more.

    @BeautyGeekUK Thank you. I think the science beauty combo is the way to go, I have to admit sometimes the claims made by products/companies are quite shocking and said in such a way to confuse people, so there is lots to say about that!

    @Safira I really liked that advice too, I didn’t realise how much social media would play a part in that. Good luck with the cross over, your really fortunate to already be a journalist and have those skills. Going to add you on twitter now and loved your blog when I checked it out. Will be good to talk more :-)

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  5. I know what you mean, there were lots of people there but no one was really mingling with other people.

    The journalism side is handy, but as I only do hard news stories I don't really get a chance to do anything featurey, so my blog has been good for that. It is good that having a blog is recognised by a lot of people.

    Just seen you on Twitter! Thanks. I will DM you some details about an upcoming event you might be interested in.

    Ps. Lisa did say to try and venture into a niche that hasn't been explored like health and wellbeing. If you have a science background I think that would be a good chance for you to look at the science behind products and also how it affects people's health. x

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  6. Just wanted to stop by to let you know that I awarded you with the "Classic Beauty Blog Award"!!
    http://www.mymaneblog.com/2011/09/classic-beauty-blog-award.html

    I love your blog! :)

    xoxo, nykki
    http://www.mymaneblog.com

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Thank you so much for your comments, I love to get your opinions and I do my best to reply to all x

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