This month we meet the fashion and beauty writer behind Styling You – Nikki Parkinson!

How do you describe Styling You to people you meet who haven’t read it before?

Styling You is your online passport to looking and feeling your very best every single day. There is so much fashion and beauty information out there in the fashion and beauty arena that I don’t blame readers if they don’t know where to even start.  That’s where Styling You is hopefully here to help. Yes, it’s a tough job (!) but I’m willing to go out on a limb for my readers and edit down a bit of the style information overload out there.  If it’s new on the beauty counter and I think they should give it a go, I’ll trial it (or a guest blogger will) and let them know whether it’s worth spending their hard-earned cash on.  And if it’s a new fashion trend landing in a chain store or boutique near you soon, I’ll let them know whether to steer very clear or embrace it immediately.  I’ll give you my two cents worth on how to style it up for certain events and occasions and, if you’ll have me, I’ll happily speak about my favourite subjects to your organisation or company.

When did you first start blogging and what made you first hit the keyboard?

I first started blogging in July 2008 after a 20-year-career as a journalist.  For 10 of those years I was the Sunshine Coast Daily’s fashion and beauty editor – and weekend magazine editor and when I made the leap into self employment, I knew that writing was still going to be a big part of that.  The first web designer I worked with thankfully steered me towards a blog.  At the time, I’d heard the term used but had no comprehension of the scale of blogging around the world and its ability to reach out to readers like no other online medium can.

What is the thing you most enjoy about blogging?

I love that I get to choose what I write about – when I want – and in the style I like.  I also love that even though I work for myself I get to connect with others in the blogging arena (and not just in fashion and beauty) in Australia and overseas.  I’ve already made some incredible friends.  Seriously if we all lived in the same city or suburb, there would be a whole lot of trouble going down (or our families would disown us!).

Nikki meets supermodel Jennifer Hawkins

What is the coolest thing your blog has helped you to do?

My blog has given me a greater audience from that which I experienced as a regional print journalist and that was made even clearer last month when I was invited to Beauty Directory’s Star Awards in Sydney.  I didn’t know it when I received the invite but at the awards’ breakfast my blog and my name flashed up on the screen alongside some of the big players in online beauty blogs.  Styling You was a finalist in two categories – Blog of the Year (for a single post) and Blogger of the Year (for overall blog).  To give you an idea of my surprise, the other two finalists in the Blogger of the Year were Beauty Heaven (the winner) and Primped.  Both of these are major website businesses with full-time staff and here I am, little old me, blogging late at night around my day job as a stylist and mum to three kids.  Disclaimer: my five-year-old helps me do post office runs, but he doesn’t really count as an assistant!

The next coolest thing is coming up in March 2011.  I’m heading to the Aussie Bloggers Conference and I have been asked to speak on the panel for the Social Media session.  Geez, they probably won’t be able to shut me up.  Social media is my second favourite topic after fashion and beauty.

What piece of advice would you give to someone just starting out their very first blog?

Think about what it is that you love, what is it that you do or say that people are always commenting on.  That should be your topic or theme.  I’m really glad I invested in a domain name and custom theme from the beginning.  This year I re-designed the blog after understanding better what I wanted from a blog (and what I like in other blogs).  I continue to have ideas about this and no doubt will get itchy feet to change again in 2011.  Once you’re up and running, embrace social media and reach out to like-minded people.  They will become your best advocate and help drive new people to your site.  And then blog, blog, blog.  I now aim for five posts a week but in the beginning I was probably doing just one.  It’s ok to start small but work up to more as you create a community that’s searching for more from you.

Tell us about your pets, friends, hobbies, star sign, shoe size… whatever!

I’m a Gemini, my shoe size is 9 and my girlfriends are both online and offline.  What they all have in common is that they are top chicks and fun to hang out with (even if it’s just on Twitter for “virtual” Friday night wine time!).  My kids (two teenagers and a five year old) and my husband also rock my world.  And yes, my daughter thinks it’s pretty cool that I get to play with lip glosses and shop for a living.

Nikki meets supermodel Elle McPherson

Do you have a particular favourite post you think is Styling You at its best?

Oh, that’s a toughie.  It’s like picking your favourite child.  I have three children so here are three blog posts:

1. Straight locks rock. Global Keratin hair treatment: part 1: This is the blog post that got me to the finalist’s position for Blog of the Year.  I like to dissect a new treatment so that all my readers’ questions are answered.  This is still one of the most viewed posts on my site.
2. The Model and Me: Not Your Daughter’s Jeans: This is a semi regular post where I show what a size 14 (me) looks like in a clothes that are shown in fashion campaign images on a size 8. The aim is to make readers look beyond the model images and have fun playing and trying on designs they wouldn’t normally do.
3. Just a regular Wednesday afternoon with Mrs Woog: I love this post because it highlights the connections you can make through blogging.

Recommend a blog to us! If you like Styling You, maybe you’d like….

I’m part beauty, part fashion and part mummy blog, so because I cross over different blogging fields, I’ve got four for you:

1. For a beauty blog that does very entertaining reviews by a young blogger who’s going places (if only I knew at that age what Holly Curtis already knows).  She’s also Onya Mag’s new beauty editor:  www.hollyjcurtis.wordpress.com
2. For a fashion blog that is new but already I love her style (she knows her stuff, she can write and works for one my fave designers).  www.chasingcait.wordpress.com
3. For two mummy blogs that so appeal to my sense of humour (if only I could be half as hilarious as Mrs Woog and Bern Morely): www.woogsworld.com; www.bernmorley.blogspot.com

What do you love about Nuffnang?

What’s not to love?  You put our blogs in front of some of Australia’s biggest companies which recognise the growing power of the blogger and which are prepared to spend money reaching out to our readers.  For a blogging business my size it would be impossible for me to achieve those connections on my own.  Only regret?  Not signing up sooner!

For expert fashion and beauty advice, with an emphasis on Styling You, drop by and get the latest from Nikki!