After seeing Angela at Hairspray and High Heels mention Beauty Blogger Headquarters, I wanted to know more. Since I began blogging, I had been hoping to make connections with other bloggers and this seems like a great way to build some friendships with fellow bloggers. Many other blogger networks required me to have been blogging for over a year, make at least four posts a week, etc, not very welcoming to newer blogger or very convenient for a woman whose schedule is as jam-packed as mine is. After visiting the site, it seems like a wonderful way to get inspired by other great beauty bloggers. I'm very excited about this!
How long have you been blogging?
My first post, "Fresh Paint," was published on March 1, 2012. So I've been a beauty blogger for almost 9 months.
What/who inspired you to start blogging?
I am a nail polish FREAK and most of the people around me are not. I enjoyed reading other nail blogs and would post comments and questions, but a lot of times my questions remained unanswered. I also thought it might be interesting to see a blog that showed how well different polishes stood up to wear and tear. I was between jobs for the first time in a decade when I began and I wanted a way to use some of that time. I fell in love with blogging and have tried to make time for it now that I'm back at work.
Did you tell your family and friends about your blog? If so, what was their reaction? Are they supportive or "in the dark" about your blogging?
I have mentioned it to some of my family, but like I said, my friends are not as into nail polish as I am. I do sometimes tell them a little about my manis when we get
together though. I have one friend who has tried and failed with nail stamping. I offered to help her out, show some of the basic tricks, but we haven't gotten together to work on that.
What goals or dreams did you have for your blog when you started? Have you accomplished them?
Of course I want to write a blog that people want to read. I want them to see their blog feed and say, "Oh yay, there's a new post on Mangling my Manicure!" I wanted to communicate with other polish enthusiasts, hear their suggestions and comments. I also hoped to photograph my manicures well and inspire other nail art lovers. I just built a light box, so I hope that will help with my pictures. I was incredibly flattered when someone created a stamped manicure that they claimed was inspired by one of my manicures.
If you could give your beginner-blogger-self one tip of advice, what would it be?
Don't write a blog about how long you can make a manicure last. Most people don't care about that and don't particularly care to see my super chippy polish and I start getting bored with that mani before its scheduled removal time, but feel obligated to keep it.
What is your favorite and least favorite thing about being a blogger?
I love it when I share a tip or an awesome product that my readers hadn't known before. My least favorite thing is that I write most of my posts on my kindle fire and the kindle isn't completely cooperative. OT, it also doesn't play well with disqus, so I cant comment on some of my favorite blogs. Grrr.
What does your blog name mean? How did you decide on it?
I wanted to share some of the other things that I enjoy in life too, like cooking, baking, knitting, spinning yarn, and gardening. These other joys in life sometimes do a number on my my nails, mangling my manicure.
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
Well, that answers all the questions. I hope to hook up with other bloggers and introduce other bloggers through guest posts and also maybe do some "twin manicures" with other bloggers. Doesn't that sound like fun?!
Take care, friends.
~Alexis
