Two weeks ago, I reached 200 WordPress followers on Makeup By Makena and as a way to celebrate, I thought I would do a beauty Q and A. But this is not just any Q and A… As a way to express my sincere appreciation to everyone who has helped me reach this milestone, I thought I would support and empower my fellow bloggers by talking about the things I love about each of the blogs and bloggers who asked me a question! I thought this would be a really nice and innovative way to say thank you and share the love! So please do check out the blogs mentioned below because they are so wonderful and always remember to build one another up!
- Srdjana from She Loves Chaos has an amazing blog with lots of unique ideas. I love her posts with quotes, monthly goals, and ways to switch off, along with all of her other great inspiration and lifestyle posts. Her makeup and lashes are always so pretty and fresh and I love to catch up on what products she has been using and loving! She asked, “What did you find most difficult about blogging when you first started out and how did you overcome it?”. When I first started blogging, I had no idea how to take photos of my makeup products. My original photos were taken in horrible lighting without any creativity at all. Over the past year, I have found inspiration from some of favorite blogs and Pinterest accounts, which has helped my develop my own photography style and creative ideas. Now, I am taking a photography class in school and I absolutely love taking flatlays!
- Jo Foster always has really lovely and helpful reviews on her blog, Ennaoj. My favorite thing about her site is that she talks about a lot of affordable makeup products and always wears very wearable looks, which is always wonderful to read! Her question was, “What made you want to start blogging? How did you grow your blog?”. Ever since I was little, I have always loved makeup and I used to pretend to do makeovers on my mom all the time. I have also always had a passion for English and writing, so one day, after years of being obsessed with other beauty YouTubers and bloggers, I decided to start my own blog. I think the most important thing to keep in my mind when trying to expand your blog is to only publish posts you are proud of because as long as you are enjoying the whole process while helping others, that is really all that matters!
- In addition to the adorable name, Beauty-Blush is a wonderful blog! I love how she does her Dear Diary series to make her blog more personal and I love reading her old Pamper Sundays posts because relaxing and taking time for yourself is so important! I love that she is never afraid to use brighter eyeshadow shades, and looking through her colorful looks is a great way to get outside of my own neutral box. Sam asked, “What do you prefer, a dewy, glowy look, or a matte look? And why?”. I definitely prefer a dewy and glowy look when it comes to my makeup because I have dry skin so it just works out better, and also because I personally think it looks healthier and more natural. Luminosity looks really pretty and adds more dimension to my makeup, so I just love it!
- Sofia Collins from Born to Be Bright is one of my favorite beauty blogs ever and her mission statement about being yourself and shining no matter what is so inspirational! She works so hard on all of her posts and always has such original ideas with helpful information and beautiful photos. Doing collaborations with her is so much fun and her sweet and genuine comments honestly make my day! She asked, “What are your top three, can’t-live-without makeup products? And what’s your favorite thing about blogging?”. If I could only use three products for the rest of my life, I would choose my L’Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black Mascara, my L’Oreal True Match Lumi Foundation, and my C.O Bigelow Rose Salve because no matter what, I always want long and defined lashes, healthy and luminous skin, and moisturized and shiny lips! My two favorite things about blogging are being able to do what I love and what makes me happy, and interacting with other bloggers who share the same interest as me because I can always learn from them.
- Styled By Lauren is a beauty, fashion, and lifestyle blog with plenty of posts for everyone to love! My favorite thing about it is her amazing photos! She always uses props and lighting so well! My favorite types of posts are her wish lists, her monthly goals, and her monthly beauty favorites, but I absolutely loved her Tips on Blog Photography! Lauren asked, “If you had to buy from one makeup brand for the rest of your life what one would you choose?”. I think I would choose L’Oreal because they have a great variety of makeup products with consistently amazing quality and drugstore prices. I love their foundations, mascaras, Infallible eyeshadows, and lip products! I just wish they would make more bronzers!
- Kristyn from The Life of Kristyn: Her reviews are honestly so helpful because she always shows all the swatches and different ways to use a product. She knows so much about skincare and I am always learning new things on her blog! I loved the “Boyfriend Explains What Makeup Is” tag! It was so hilarious and fun to read! I have done a collaboration with her in the past and it was an amazing experience because she really is so kind and an amazing blogger! She would like to find out, “What is your favorite kind of post (ex. favorites, makeup of the day, hauls) and why? What is your favorite makeup brand?”. This is really hard to choose, but I think I enjoy reading and writing blog posts that talk about favorite makeup products for a certain category such as a specific season, event, or type of look because they are fun, informative, and always unique! My favorite high-end makeup brand is definitely Too Faced! I love everything about their products and they are one of the highest quality brands out there! I love their Better Than Sex Mascara, their Natural Eyes Eyeshadow Palette, their Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer, and their Love Flush Blushes! I love their packaging, shade ranges, formulas, and everything else about them!
- A Brash Attitude is really unique and fun because she uses a lot of affordable beauty brands, writes excellent reviews of her Ipsy Glam Bags, and is never afraid to think outside of the box and talk about makeup that deserves more hype. She does a really nice job of promoting her blog and deserves all the best. Jodi’s question was, “What are your top three skincare Holy Grail items?”. Of course I cannot live without my acne treatments, but I love the Laneige Water Sleeping Mask, several of the St. Ives scrubs, and the Cetaphil cleansers. I am still on the hunt for my perfect daytime moisturizer that can also be mixed with foundations, so please leave recommendations below!
- Kristin from Frugal Miss Kris is an excellent blogger and my personal favorite post from her site is her review and makeup look for the Tarte Double Duty Beauty “Classic Courage” Palette. Her review was so detailed, her swatches and photos were great quality, and her makeup look was so stunning! I love that she is constantly talking about her favorite drugstore products and she also has some really good tips about makeup in general. She asked me, “What is your ideal career? And who is your biggest female celeb role model?”. I have always wanted to either be a kindergarten teacher or a high school English teacher, but lately I have considered that writing or editing for a magazine might be my ideal career. Whichever path I end up pursuing, I know that I will be happy and work hard to inspire others while living out my passion! My absolute favorite female celebrity role model is Dolly Parton. Not enough people realize how hard working, talented, intelligent, generous, positive, and genuine she truly is! She loves everyone no matter what and works as hard as she possibly can to make the world a better place! I could write about her for ages, but she is one of my greatest inspirations in life! I also love Audrey Hepburn and Jacqueline Kennedy!
- Marina Lee Beauty is such an incredible place to go when you want to read all about beauty! She is so talented and her beautiful makeup looks and informative reviews prove it. She is always inspiring me to step out of my comfort zone and I think her Hidden Gem at the Drugstore series is so cool. I loved the makeup look she created with the Carli Bybel Palette and her photos are always so aesthetically appealing! Her question was, “Who or what inspired you to join the beauty community and start your blog?”. Aside from my passion for makeup and writing, people I have followed for years like Zoella, Jaclyn Hill, and Kathleen Lights all inspired me to start my own beauty blog because I loved the way they teach and educate others while doing what they love!
- I loved reading all the posts on Styled By McKenz because her taste in makeup looks is similar to mine. She explains each step so well, has lots of photos, and I just love all her unique post ideas. I love her 2 Simple Summer Makeup Looks post, her Drugstore Vs. High-End Makeup Comparison, and all of her school-related posts! Plus, she even has a YouTube and her contour is seriously always perfect! McKenzie asked, “What is your favorite thing about blogging? Where do you see yourself five years from now?”. One of my other favorite things about blogging is that it allows me to develop my writing skills, photography skills, and creativity, and I am able to look back and see where I was at a certain moment in time, which I think is really cool. I have grown so much since I started my blog and Makeup By Makena is my happy space, so I hope it can be yours, as well! Five years from now, when I am 22, I will have graduated from college, have a degree in English and possibly journalism or education, and will pursuing my dream career. I plan to continue growing my blog for as long as I can, so I am excited to see what milestone I will be celebrating then!
Once again, thank you so much to everyone who has ever followed, liked, viewed, commented, and supported my blog and I! It honestly means so much to me, and you truly make me happy every single day! And a huge thank you to everyone who took the time to ask a question! I really appreciate it and felt honored to talk about all of your wonderful blogs!
XOXO ,
Makena
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Awesome post ! thanks for the great advice and mention xx
Of course! Your blog is amazing! xoxo
Great post! Thanks for the shout out! ❤️
Thank you for the support! I wish you and your blog all the best! xoxo
Thanks for the mention, that’s so sweet I totally agree with your answer! Great post X
You are so welcome; I am glad you enjoyed! I loved talking about your blog! xoxo
I love this post, thank you for all the nice things you said. You’re so sweet and kind to me, it’s so reassuring to have someone so nice always commenting and liking my post. You’re my best blogging friend and I can’t imagine blogging without you <3 Also, another congratulations on 200, that's amazing!
Oh my gosh, you are going to make me cry! You are my best blogging friend too and I feel the same way! Always let me know if you need anything and I honestly love your blog so much! Thanks so much for everything! xoxo
Same here, let me know if you need anything!
Thanks for the support. I can’t wait to check out all of the other lovely bloggers you mentioned!!!!
You are so welcome! I love your blog and I hope you learned something from this post! Thank you! xoxo
I am so sorry that I am just getting around to commenting on this now, but thank you for the shout out! I have said this many times, but you have an amazing blog and I only can see it getting bigger and bigger! I am glad we met through the blogging world xo
You are so welcome; I love your blog too and always look forward to reading your well-written and creative makeup posts! Thanks you so much! That means the world to me and I could not be more grateful! xoxo