Happy Hump Day, folks!
Welcome to the first “Ask Me Anything” of 2013! If you’re new to Beautyholics Anonymous (hello hello!), this is when I open the floor to you, when you can ask me, well, anything! Let’s have a virtual cuppa and have a chat, shall we? I’m writing to you from the comforts of my parents’ home in Malaysia enjoying a glass of Kopi Peng (iced white coffee). 😀
Do you have any questions, beauty or related to blogging? Even if you don’t, feel free to drop in and say hi. Did you buy anything new? Have you read any interesting books lately? (I recently finished Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion. Completely changed the way I look at clothes now, especially the ones from Zara, Topshop, H&M and any other big stores that sell fast fashion) What’s the latest movie you watched? Perhaps you have a problem you can’t seem to solve? Do share it with us.
If you have any blogging-related questions, do let me know. It will help me a lot in writing my Bloggie Wednesday posts.
Right, over to you. Go ahead. Ask me anything! 🙂
I’m new to your blog, Tina, and Ask Me Anything is a very cool idea. I am in the process of trying to figure out how to add a forum to my site. Do you have any experience with that? Frankly, I think Ask Me Anything is a terrific way to go.
Allison @neversaydiebeauty.com recently posted..SEPHORA by OPI At-Home Gel Manicure System
Hi Allison,
I’m afraid I’ve not implemented any forums on the blog. It’s not something I have in the works, although it’s a fabulous idea. I came across a blog post by one of my favourite techie website, MakeUseOf on forum plugins for Wordpress. Perhaps that could be useful to you? http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-wordpress-forum-plugins/
Sorry I can’t help more on forums, as its implementation is not something I have much knowledge on.
Thank you, Tina, for the quick reply. There’s a tutorial on YouTube that I will take a look at. I also noticed a WP Forum Plugin that may very well be the one that you’re suggesting I check out. I’m going to see if I can figure it out! 🙂
Allison @neversaydiebeauty.com recently posted..SEPHORA by OPI At-Home Gel Manicure System
You are in Penang? 🙂 Coool!!!
Grace-melody Moo recently posted..To break the "silence"
Just got back the day before! It’s good to be back. The feasting has begun! 😀
Hi tine. I am still new to your blog so this is my first time on the Bloggie Wednesday series. Just wanted to ask, is it necessary to have two different moisturisers for both day and night? Looking at the many bloggers skincare routines, it does seem that they have two different moisturisers and even serums.
On a different note, my last book was stories from 12 different marriages from the amazing grace series which I thought was a brilliant and eye-opening book. Last movie I watched was Les Misrables and loved it. Had to drag my hubby along though as he is not a fan of musicals. LOL. Hoping to watch a few movies in February 🙂
Hi Victoria,
Thanks for your comment 🙂 Honestly, it’s not necessary. If your current moisturiser is doing a great job as it is, then it’s okay to stick to it day and night. I’m afraid I can’t tell from your comment where you’re from and if you live in a 4-season country. If you do, it might be worthwhile using a richer cream at night, especially when the weather gets really dry. When I was still living in Malaysia where it’s tropical all year long, I just stuck to one moisturiser day and night. As I grew older, I find that I needed richer creams for the evening because the gels weren’t enough to sustain me throughout the night. On the other hand, I can’t use the rich one during the day because my face gets oily. Argh, can’t win with just one 😛
Ooooh Les Mis! I want to watch that so badly. Don’t know if I can drag my husband along for that one. I need my Hugh Jackman fix 😀
thanks for the advice. i am writing from kuala lumpur, malaysia ;-). i guess as you grow older you would need to use night creams since i am already in my mid-thirties.
on babedevil’s question, if you are not suppose to apply BB creams on the eye area, could you apply tinted moisturiser or liquid foundation on that area?
Hahaha I’m close to that age too. Oh well, we’re in our prime, our thirties 😉
I don’t apply tinted moisturiser, liquid foundation or any sort of makeup save concealer under the eyes. It’s a sensitive area and if you don’t need any sort of concealing, you can even skip concealer altogether. Anyway, that’s how I go about it. I know of people who apply foundation/BB cream all the way to the lower lash line. It’s really not necessary at all.
Hi Tine,
Just wanted to ask, do you apply BB cream on your eye area? Because people say BB cream also acts like foundation, and foundation does go around the eye area; but then again people also say BB creams are moisturizers, and we are always told not to apply face moisturizers on our eyes. So I’m kinda confused right now.
Thanks! 🙂
Thanks for your comment 🙂 Nope, I don’t apply BB cream on the eye area. To be honest, BB creams are makeup. As much as BB cream companies like to advertise otherwise as skincare, it’s still just makeup and should be treated like so. BB creams go on the face stopping around the orbital b0ne. If you need concealing under the eyes, it’s best to use a concealer. If not, then skip it altogether.
Hope that helps! 🙂
More Bloggie Wednesday topics for you!
1. Editing your blog post. Seen too many reviews that don’t really say what the product does.
2. Self-entitlement = blogger faux pas. Recently chatted with a PR who is amazed by how many who believe they deserve samples simply by being a blogger.
3. Interview with someone whose blog helped open doors in unexpected ways.
4. What skills do you need as a blogger. (It looks easier than it is)
Yishan recently posted..SISLEY Phyo Lip Shine – Sheer Coral
Love your suggestions for topics, Yishan! Many BW posts I’ve done were inspired by you. Great topics, I’m writing all of them down! xx
hi again. i noticed that both paris and yourself love sheet masks. my question is do you apply toner before or after putting on the masks? i know you need to rub the remaining products of the mask into your skin but just unsure if you still apply toner.
Haha hi again! I’m not sure how Paris B does it, but for me, I don’t apply anything prior to the face masks. For me, it’s
1. Cleanse skin
2. Pop on mask
3. Enjoy a glass of wine in front of the telly.
4. When 25 minutes are up, remove mask, apply serum, eye cream and moisturiser. I don’t apply toner/lotion/essence when I’ve had a facial sheet mask on.
That’s it! As for rubbing the remaining products of the mask to the skin, what I like to do is massage onto the neck, tear the mask in half and apply it on my knees. The latter is a trick by Ponikuta.com. Don’t waste the good juice 😛
Hi Tine!!! Glad to hear that you are back to Malaysia. Currently I’m thinking to buy Clinelle Deep cleansing gel . 🙂 I have one enquiry. I’m planning to purchase( still thinking) Kiehl’s Clearly Spot Corrector and Midnight Recovery Concentrate. Just scared not suit my skin. Anyway, do you have any recommendations skincare products for reducing on spot on the face? Thank you! 😀 Enjoy the trip back to Mas!
Hi Michelle, it’s good to be back. I’m planning to get the Clinelle Deep Cleansing Gel too. I haven’t used it in years!
For the Kiehls Spot Corrector and MRC, do check with Kiehls if they have any samples of these before you plonk your money for the full-sized products. For spot reduction, are you talking about breakouts or blemishes and hyperpigmentation? For the latter, I’ve heard good things about the Kiehls product you mentioned. I’ve been using Cosmetic Skin Solutions Vitamin C+E serum and it’s good. It didn’t eliminate my blemishes but it did lighten it quite a lot.
Hi Tine, just another blog post idea (which you might have done already) is : What elements should you have in a sponsored post to make it interesting. A few I have seen lately have made me switch off after the first sentence. And what is the difference to the reader re/sponsored post vs review posts. Love Bloggie Wednesday.
Great topics for a Bloggie Wednesday post, Lisa. I shall write that down in my notebook right now. Thanks! 🙂
Hi Tine,
I have a question about media press kits & self-hosting. How many followers should one have before prepping a media kit? Also, I’m currently hosting my blog on WP but I own my domain. Should I wait till I switch to self hosting before I prep a media kit? My concern with self-hosting is the cost. It currently costs me $200/year to manage my blog & I know it will cost more once I obtain a PO box & then with self-hosting too. I’d like to start learning about how to make money with my blog since I now blog daily & it takes up a nice chunk of my time. Thanks in advance! : )
VNikol recently posted..Natural Hair Chronicles….The Root of it All
Hi lovely, thanks for your comment.
I don’t think there’s a minimal amount of followers before creating a media kit. When you begin to get press releases from brand and when you’ve decided to work with brands and receive product for review for your blog, that’s considered a good time to have a media kit. It’s just a document that contains your blog statistics and, if you do sponsored posts, a rate card.
Personally, I wouldn’t start requesting for product to review until I’m at least 6 months blogging down the road. I’d like to be able to establish a connection with my readers first and build a readership before going down that road. In other words, the media kit would only come in after 6 months. Then again, I only did my media kit after blogging for 4.5 years! So, erm, maybe I’m not such a good example after all. Hahaha!
Re. self hosting, you can do it anytime. You don’t need a media kit for that. Just wondering, do you intend to place ads on your blog (Google Adsense, independent advertisers, advertising network, etc)? For me, having these ads cover my self-hosting fees, which is really good. It might be something you’d like to consider. Also, do consider signing up for affiliate networks like Reward Style, Shopsense, etc. Every little bit helps to cover hosting and domain fees, and PO box fees if you intend to have one.
Hope that helps 🙂
Wow Tine! How nice of you to take the time to respond in such detail. I truly appreciate it. I’ve been blogging for a year, but I wasn’t really consistent my first year. I’ve greatly improved my posting schedule (it’s now daily) which has resulted in more followers, though I’ve not yet reached 100 yet, but seeing as how I had only 60 in December & increased to 90 this month, I can tell my efforts are working. I’d like to run ads on my blog, once I switch to self-hosting, but I know some readers frown upon it. If a blog has too much going on, it slows down the load time for me which is so annoying as a reader, so I don’t know yet, still feeling it out….thanks again for your advice.
VNikol recently posted..Gradual Gains Tip: List Your Accomplishments
That’s all right, anything to help if I can. Those are great effort and numbers, that increase. Keep it up! I find that setting goals for myself helps too. Sometime towards the end of last year, I wrote down the number of followers I had on the blog and social media and strived to reach a certain number by January 2013. That way, I have something to work towards, which platform would work better for engagement of readers and followers, etc. Very glad to say that the numbers have surpassed my goal figures. Do give that a go if you like. By setting yourself an actual number, it gives you motivation to work harder. At least, it worked very well for me 🙂
As for ads, I’d say try to incorporate them a little at a time. Just one ad the first few months (make sure it’s non-intrusive. People can call you out on intrusive ads at any time), and check with your readers if they’re okay with it. If there aren’t any negative feedback, add another one. This way, you don’t overwhelm your readers and your blog’s bandwidth.
Good luck! 🙂
Just wanna say hi ! Hope you’re having fun on your vacation! 🙂
Hi hi back to you Issa, and thank you! 😀
I really love the bloggie (I totally got auto corrected to boogie just now) Wednesdays suggestions, can’t wait to see any of those topics!
Kaye recently posted..My Holy Grail Hair Rescue – John Frieda Frizz Ease Before & After
Boogie Wednesdays! Love it. Sounds heaps better than Bloggie Wednesdays anyway 😀