Why I Love Beauty Blogging!

Now before I start, I have to admit this may be a bit of a 'gushing' post, but I've been blogging for just over six months now, and there has been so much I have learnt and enjoyed since I began.  Here are five reasons why I love beauty blogging and the beauty blogging community.

1) It gives me an opportunity to obsess about new products and discuss them in minute detail with others.   Many of my friends are rather ambivalent about makeup and beauty products, using the same tried and tested products day in, day out.  For me, variety is the spice of life!

2) It gives me a creative outlet.  I've always enjoyed writing and I find it stress-relieving at the end of a busy day to compose a blog post, especially when it is something that I feel passionately or strongly about.

3) I've discovered some amazing niche brands.  Brands I would never have known about have now achieved holy grail status and have become daily staples, all thanks to reading other blogs.

4) I'm much more aware of the chemicals I am putting on my skin.  I've been making a concerted effort to use organic and SLS free products and whilst I can't say that all my products are natural, I have found that with certain products, especially skincare, there have been significant improvements to my skin.

5) I've made some great friends through my blog.   People, I may never otherwise have communicated with are those whom I interact with daily, whether it be through other blogs or on Twitter.

What do you love about beauty blogging or the beauty blogging community in general?

What Other Types of Blogs Do You Read?

I used to read shed loads of magazines on a variety of different topics, but since discovering blogs I only really buy mags when I'm going on holiday or on  a long flight.  Blogs have allowed me to read much more up-to-date information on topics on which I am interested, and for me, this doesn't just stop at beauty.  Here are a few of the other topics that I am interested in.

Travel

A family of Elephants at the Elephant Nature Park in Thailand - we were standing right next to them!

I love travelling and often spend time dreaming up my perfect holiday when I don't even have enough cash to pay for a meal out at the end of the month!  I live vicariously through other people's blogs and I adore discovering new blogs with pictures that can transport you in an instant to a place, helping you to imagine both sights and smells from the comfort of your sofa.

Two  of my most read travel blogs are:

C'est Christine, a female solo traveller who writes candidly about her travels and has fabulous pictures.

Never Ending Footsteps,  I love Lauren's friendly writing style and I have especially been enjoying her recent Thailand posts and reliving my trip there last year.

Fashion

Like many beauty bloggers, I also love clothes and although I wouldn't feel confident enough to style a look and post it myself, I admire those who can, and produce unique, stylish outfits on a daily basis.

A couple of my favourite fashion blogs are::

Kingdom of Style, whose style is very different from my own but she has a knack for discovering amazing little-known brands and I love some of the jewellery she posts about.

A Little Bird Told Me, fab vintage eclectic style, I wish I could put together an outfit like Jen.  I love that everything she puts together is affordable or from charity shops too.

Local Food  / Lifestyle 

Forth Rail Bridge, just outside of Edinburgh

I am not the cook in our household, preferring to bake cakes rather than slave over a hot stove after a long day at work!  I do however love reading local blogs highlighting cafes and restaurants near where I live and its a great way of discovering new and exciting new eateries.  

I also enjoy reading local blogs that highlight events and activities in my area and one that I would recommend browsing for any visitor to Edinburgh is Edinburgh Spotlight.  Filled with ideas on what to do in and around the city for all the family, I've discovered so much about my city thanks to this blog!  Its well worth a look through the archives, and they also post comprehensive reviews of what seems like hundreds of Edinburgh Festival shows during August.

What other types of blog do you like to read?

Do you have any recommendations?

Beauty Blogger Fails!

I've been thinking recently about things I just can't get to grips with as a beauty blogger,  so here I present  five reasons why I am a bad beauty blogger!

1) I cannot apply false eyelashes to save my life! I love the look of them once they are on but I just cannot manage it myself. At a recent friend's wedding I had to have my mum do them for me and it was particularly scary when she was  veering towards my eyes with her Tweezermans, knowing she didn't have her glasses on! I really need to put some time aside and practice my application.

2)  I don't do fake tan. I've naturally got a skintone that borders on olive anyway so I've never really seen the need for it.   And I feel like my beauty regime takes long enough without having to fake tan my legs every time I want to get them out!

3) I never wear a top coat on my nails. Mostly because I change my nail colour every couple of days, so it doesn't have the chance to chip or wear. But also because I am extremely lazy.

4) I've never been threaded! This is something I will need to rectify soon as almost everyone I know has now jumped on the threading bandwagon. I'm not sure what I don't fancy about it- is it the fact that you sit in the middle of the shop getting it done for all and sundry to watch, or is it that I'm a bit icked out by the fact the thread goes through their teeth when they do it? I'm just not sure! Either way, I will be taking the plunge soon!

5)  I just can't get to grips with cloth cleansers. I've tried Liz Earle and a couple of others and found that it seemed a bit of a palaver really. I much prefer gentle foaming cleansers or oil cleansers but it seems I am pretty much alone in the beauty blogging world :-(

Are there any things you don't do or thing you just can't get along with that everyone else seems to rave about?

I'd love to know I'm not the only one!