How to Start a Beauty Blog: Some Pointers!

So, you're a beauty practitioner who has picked up some awesome tips and information along the way. You want to share your knowledge with all of the other beauty fanatics out there and you just don't know where to begin.

Throughout the past couple of years, I've been asked often how I got so many followers and what are some tips I can give to create a successful blog. So, I thought it was about time for a post! Keep reading for some tips and pointers to aid you in your beauty blogging endeavors!

1. YOUR NAME. More importantly, the name you'd like to be known as. Keep it simple. You want it to be something that is fairly easy to remember. If your username is "XoBeautyGirl674Xo", it's not going to be something that someone will remember and it's not going to be something easy to find on Google. Don't lose sleep over choosing a name, but make sure it's something you think you'd still like, even a few years down the line.

2. YOUR LAYOUT & BACKGROUND. Again, try keeping your layout fairly simple. Try not to pick designs that are too distracting or difficult to read. At one point, my blog had a black background with white and pink text, and it was a little difficult for some to read the letters. It's always fun to reflect your personality through layout decor, but let your personality shine through your writing more than anything.

Two of my favorite sites for blog backgrounds are http://shabbyblogs.com/ and http://www.thecutestblogontheblock.com/. (not affiliated)

3. MUSIC IS A NO-NO. Katy Perry E.T. may be your favorite song, and you listen to it at every chance you get, so you decide to add it to your blog. Well, it's not everyone's favorite song and probably 8 out of 10 times, a person will prefer no music. Several times, your readers may check your blog at work or in a setting where music can't, or shouldn't be played. If you insist on adding soundtracks to your page, don't set it to Auto-play - Leave it up to the viewer.

4. PHOTOS. We all love to see photos! If you are going to post photos, please do the following-

• Take your photos in a well lit area. The most accurate lighting is natural sunlight, but not everyone is able to take photos during the day. If you are taking photos at night and you will be using a flash, try out this awesome tip from Chloe of The Hollywood Heels. Place a tissue over the flash, to avoid over exposing your subject. (Click here to view the detailed post)
• Use the flower (Macro) setting for taking photos of products. This will keep your subject from photographing blurry.
• Crop and/or Re-size your photos (if necessary). If you don't have a program on your computer to do this, there are several free online photo editing sites you can use. A popular one is http://www.picnik.com/. You can find others by searching "Free Photo Editor". 

 FOR MORE TIPS, CLICK READ MORE!

NOTD: Sprinkled Donut/Confetti Nails w/ Wet n Wild Party of Five Glitters Nail Polish!

Wet n Wild Party of Five Glitters is an awesome clear based nail polish with 5 different colored glitters. There are small red and green glitters, medium green, light blue and purple glitters and large silver glitters. Although I didn't try this polish on it's own, the possibilities are endless with what you can layer with it.

I didn't really have an initial idea, I sort of came up with it as I was painting my nails. I first started out with painting my nails with one coat of Essie Mod Squad, then painting 1/3 the way down my nail (unevenly to look like frosting) with Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Bubblegum Pink, then 2 coats, about 1/2 way down my nail with Wet n Wild Party of Five Glitters. Lastly, I finished off with one coat of Seche Vite Top Coat. 

I think it's a really fun look for a the summer, a birthday or holiday!

READ MORE FOR ADDITIONAL PHOTOS + OTHER LOOKS.. 

GIVEAWAY: Wet n Wild Goodies! (Open internationally)

Hey Everyone!

Hope you're all enjoying the weather, I can't really say I'm enjoying the weather much in Chicago. If it's not cold out, the weather is hot, humid, and muggy with mosquitoes waiting for me to run out to my car so I can blast my A/C. I'm longing for that beautiful, crisp summer heat with clear skies and zero humidity. *Ahem* Vegas, I miss you very, very much. I don't know about you, but living in the mid-west, I get a little jipped of any tropical scenery, so when I'm on vacation and spot a palm tree, I start getting butterflies.

Landing in Vegas, Summer 2010.

Anyhow, when I noticed a lot of my readers weren't from the US and couldn't get their hands on Wet n Wild products, I thought it was a good opportunity to do a giveaway!

THE PRIZE:

• Four (4) Color Icon Palettes; Walking On Eggshells, Don't Steal My Thunder, I'm Getting Sunburned and Silent Treatment.
• Two Color Icon Eye Shadows; Nutty and Brule.
• One Mega Matte Lipstick; Think Pink.
• One Lipstick; Nouveau Pink.
• One Glassy Gloss; This Too Shall Glass
• One Color Icon Lipliner; Willow.
• Fast Dry Nail Polish; Teal of Fortune.

RULES TO ENTER:

• You must be a follower of my blog. In case some of you don't have Blogger or a Google account, you can also enter by following me on Twitter here or by liking my new Facebook page here.
• Leave a comment about anything you wish! Do you have any plans for this summer? What's your favorite thing to order at Starbucks? What's your latest beauty purchase? If your mind isn't running to well today, you can just write "enter me".

TERMS AND CONDITIONS: 

• You can have a maximum of two (2) entries. So, by leaving a comment and following me on Twitter or Facebook, would count as two entries. If you follow me on Twitter, Facebook AND leave a comment, it will still count as two entries, not three. 
• This giveaway is open internationally, therefore anyone can enter. 
• Entrants must be at the legal age according to their local laws. If you are under the legal age, you must have permission from a parent or guardian to enter (18 years old in the USA w/ the exception of Alabama and Nebraska, 19; Mississippi, 21)
• The deadline will be in one week from today; Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 11:59 PM CST. 
• There will be one winner, announced within 48 hours of the deadline.

Good Luck! ☺

Wet n Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Trios Review!

Left to Right: Silent Treatment #335, I'm Getting Sunburned #334, Walking on Eggshells #380B.

Wet n Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Trios

Wet n Wild is a drugstore cosmetic brand that I've always been really familiar with. The first makeup items I ever owned, at the age of 12, were Wet n Wild. Throughout my adolescence, Wet n Wild was a brand I'd always go because it was convenient (sold at most drugstores) and the prices were always very inexpensive.

Throughout high school, I started to explore other brands and started to neglecting my Wet n Wild makeup. Many of the lipsticks were too frosty and the eye shadows were too sheer. In the past couple of years, Wet n Wild has really improved their quality and selection of products.

Aside from Wet n Wild's awesome Mega Last Matte Lipsticks, their palettes have been causing quite a "stir" in the online makeup communities. Call me a "Makeup Snob", but I was never really interested in purchasing any of the palettes myself, despite the rave after rave reviews I read. I think a big part of it is the flimsy packaging. I am a bit of a sucker for nicely packaged items, but the main reason Wet n Wild is able to keep their prices so low is because of their basic, mediocre packaging. I always assume that if I purchase a bronzer or eyeshadow, it will end up shattering in my purse and getting all over everything. Well, I put all of that to the side when I saw a 40% sale at my local drugstore and decided to splurge (yes, splurge a whole $5 bill) on a few palettes.

There are 12 different Color Icon Trios to choose from, and I ended up choosing the palettes that I figured are suitable for every day and go well together.

Left to Right: Silent Treatment #335, I'm Getting Sunburned #334, Walking on Eggshells #380B.

Silent Treatment #335 contains a light peach, a dark, neutral brown with golden shimmer and a mauve taupe. The most pigmented shade in this trio is the crease, and the least pigmented shade is the brow bone. All shades go extremely well together and I think it's an overall great palette to put together a quick look.

I'm Getting Sunburned #334 contains a frosted, cool pink, a deep-dark warm brown with copper shimmer (a good dupe for NARS Mekong) and a frosted gold. All three shades are very richly pigmented and is probably the most pigmented of all three palettes. The brown in particular applied very dark - almost black, so you only need the lightest touch of your brush.

Walking on Eggshells #380B contains a frosty off white, warm caramel brown and a champagne pink. Again, all three shades are richly pigmented. This palette is a great palette for subtle every day looks, especially for the daytime and a work environment.

As far as the shadows themselves, they are very soft and smooth. They applied and blended together very easily. When using a sponge applicator or brush, quite a bit of dust was created from the shadows, so the compacts can possibly get a bit messy after continued use. Also, because they are so soft, I'd be scared to death of ever dropping any of the palettes on hard flooring. (Although I read that the Silent Treatment trio passed Temptalia's drop test. Results will vary, I'm sure.)

I'm overall really satisfied with all three palettes and can't wait to share some looks with them! Definitely give one a try if you've been undecided.