Featured Blogger
Akisa of Beauty Swatch
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If you like a chance to be Nuffnang's Featured Blogger Of The Month, contact us at helpdesk and tell us:
1) Who you are (Photos of yourself would be a bonus).
2) Why you think we just HAVE to make you the Featured Blogger Of The Month. If you are selected, a member of our Nuffnang Team will contact you.
If you are not selected, don't be disappointed. There are after all 12 months in a year.
This month we meet the innovative blogger behind www.beautyswatch.com – Akisa!
What is your blog about & how did you go about choosing the URL?
I’m the brains (and lips) behind www.BeautySwatch, a colour library of lip shades to help women find their way through the lipstick jungle. I have a team of bloggers of different lip shapes & skin tones around the world who help me photograph lipsticks on their lips.
BeautySwatch is currently the only website out there that is a real life colour library of lipsticks and lipglosses to help people select a shade that suits them. It offers a place to preview a lip colour on a range of lip shapes & ethnicities before buying online or instore.
I chose the name “BeautySwatch” as I wanted the my URL to be simple, relevant & leaves me room to expand beyond lipstick if I ever decide to take the plunge (even though focusing on lipstick alone is already a handful!)
When did you first start blogging and what made you first hit the keyboard?
Ever since following beauty blogs since March 2009, I found myself being more daring in purchasing beauty products online that one would typically prefer to buy in-store. To decide on lip colours, I would google for other blogger’s “swatches” of the product to get an indication of whether it might suit me. Sometimes the search results would produce useful photos. Other times I would get utterly useless search results with unrelated shades or brands.
In June 2009, one night after fruitless hours of searching for a lip colour swatch, that was the moment I decided I was going to build the world’s largest online colour library of lip colours.
What is the thing you most enjoy about blogging?
Meeting interesting people I would otherwise not have had a chance to meet & being a part of a global online community that shares the same passion as you about blogging & beauty.
I’m also very thankful for my team who voluntarily trust me with their photos, knowing that their lips have helped make BeautySwatch what it is today.
What is the coolest thing your blog has helped you to do?
- Being featured on Springwise.com – a global database of the latest trends & ideas!
- Invited by TheBeautyClub.com.au as a celebrity member to review lip products!
- Being invited by friends to go lipstick shopping!
What piece of advice would you give to someone just starting out their very first blog?
- Decide on whether your blog is going to focus on a topic (eg. Beauty, lifestyle) or if it’s a personal blog. It helps you focus on what to write & build your blog’s brand.
Register with Google Analytics. It’s free, helps you monitor traffic & visitor demographics.
Blog readership is a two-way street. Make an effort to leave comments on your readers’ blogs. They appreciate it as much as you love receiving blog comments.
There’s no god-written rule that a blog must be about writing, or that one must update daily. Build your own style & persona for your blog.
Tell us about your pets, friends, hobbies, star sign, shoe size… whatever!
I’m a corporate rat by day & BeautySwatch editor by night~ I have no affiliations with the beauty industry but do have a love for beauty products & the way it makes you feel when you transform yourself.
What do you love about Nuffnang?
It’s fantastic to have an Australian based network dedicated to bloggers. The Nuffnang Xmas party was my first blog social event & I am craving for more. I hope Nuffnang will help bloggers seek more opportunities in sponsorships as we would blog about products or brands more if only it didn’t hurt our wallets so much.
