I've never been one to jump in and post my comment about the latest blogging controversy but I couldn't help but get sucked in on this occasion with the articles posted all over blogs and main stream media in particular about blogger Zoella. I actually don't want to talk about her book but about a word that gets thrown around a lot when referring to her and other beauty and fashion bloggers, vacuous.
I've been told that adding beauty blogger on my CV makes me come across as vacuous. I will put this into context, beauty blogging features near the bottom of my CV, my two degrees, diploma and work experience come first, followed by other achievements. I added beauty blogging in an attempt to show I am not one-dimensional (my CV is very science heavy) and to show that I know a little bit about the internet, social media, HTML, photography and have lots of other skills that I learnt because I am a blogger. I think the fact that someone has managed to read all that and then still decided I am vacuous says more about them than it does me, and so I still keep it on my CV. But I'm still sensitive about it.
I like beauty, and yes I know skincare and my quest for perfection may not sit comfortably with some people that want to believe that this interest stems from a deep lying insecurity induced by the beauty industry. Non-beauty lovers never want to believe, or admit, that beauty makes me feel good about myself, I do it for me and no one else, that I enjoy that 10 minutes in the morning putting a face on and equally enjoy the time it takes me to remove it at night. I don't expect I am the only one that prefers getting ready for a night out more than the night itself. Beauty is my escape and perusing my stash or strolling round Boots can lift my mood on sadder days. My blog is an extension of that escape where I have been able to find other people that think about it the way I do.
I thought that with the release of Sali Hughes book -- where she starts off by dismissing the criticism that makeup and beauty are for shallow airheads and that women who enjoy beauty aren't capable of caring about their appearance and anything else -- that I wouldn't have to hear that word association again. But here we are again and I'm not sure that there will ever be a time when I will not have to feel like I should be ashamed to say I am a beauty blogger.
I like beauty, and yes I know skincare and my quest for perfection may not sit comfortably with some people that want to believe that this interest stems from a deep lying insecurity induced by the beauty industry. Non-beauty lovers never want to believe, or admit, that beauty makes me feel good about myself, I do it for me and no one else, that I enjoy that 10 minutes in the morning putting a face on and equally enjoy the time it takes me to remove it at night. I don't expect I am the only one that prefers getting ready for a night out more than the night itself. Beauty is my escape and perusing my stash or strolling round Boots can lift my mood on sadder days. My blog is an extension of that escape where I have been able to find other people that think about it the way I do.
I thought that with the release of Sali Hughes book -- where she starts off by dismissing the criticism that makeup and beauty are for shallow airheads and that women who enjoy beauty aren't capable of caring about their appearance and anything else -- that I wouldn't have to hear that word association again. But here we are again and I'm not sure that there will ever be a time when I will not have to feel like I should be ashamed to say I am a beauty blogger.
