Category: Brand News | Makeup to Go!

Makeup-ing, Blogging, and how Tania is getting her groove back…

Howdy

I hadn’t planned to write anything, I just logged into my blog as I do periodically to check on the back end technical stuff and make sure everything is OK. But in doing so I realized: Whoa! I haven’t made a post in a while!

I forget this because – in my mind and in the “behind the scenes” – I’m actually working on the blog all the time.

I am! Truly! I’ve said it before and it’s worth saying again;

My appreciation for the full time bloggers has grown immesurably in the last year ‘cos as I’ve been gaining new insights and skills and working on how I want this blog to go I’ve come to realize that those folks work hard. H-A-R-D. So hat’s off to them. But here’s a quicky update on what’s been going on and what’s upcoming here in Makeup to Go! world.

1 ) I had a severe loss of mojo there for a minute.

Subscribers to “Speaking of Makeup” (my fab newletter to which you should subscribe) got a note back in February that with everything going on in the world, talking about makeup had become challenging. I still kinda feel that way at times. You can read that newsletter installment – Makeup in the Hour of Chaos – here.

2 ) I had a severe car accident in March.

While working out of town on a job. Not fun. I am, however, very fortunate that I walked away with minor injuries, considering. I’m just happy I walked away, frankly. I’ll decline to go into it and/or post pictures but suffice to say it was no minor fender bender. This was the kind of accident where walking away was NOT a given. (I finished the job I was up there for, too…).

3 ) I’ve had a severe UPSWING in freelance work!

This is a good thing, and this is also probably the main thing holding my back from making Makeup to Go great again. After The Great Illness of 2015 it took a minute to get back into the swing of things. But by the Fall of 2016 – I’d say – things were back a’swinging full force.

And as for Makeup to Go the business and the Blog…

4 ) I’ve been doing a lot of behind the scenes learning.

I took the end of 2016 to enroll in some courses specific to blogging/social media and I’m actually planning to attend my first blogging conference this summer. I believe in Makeup to Go and I want her to grow and flourish but in order to do that I needed to learn some things. I had to humble myself and realize that while I may have a lot of experience as a pro makeup artist I had pretty much ZERO experience as a pro blogger so I need to step my game up because…

5 ) I really want to teach, but not really at a makeup school.

I’ve learned a lot teaching in schools, not the least of which is I’ve learned that I prefer working for myself. I’d really like to resume Makeup to Go’s original purpose of being a vehicle for my education and consulting arm of my business so be on the lookout for those elements coming back into play. However…

6 ) First and Foremost I have reached a point where I cannot do everything alone

Nor do I want to. Not only do I need to get help with the logistics of Makeup to Go, on the blog front I also want to invite new voices and make MTG more collaborative. This does not mean that I will start taking random submissions for content (please do not send anything, I’ll return it without even reading it the way Studios do). I still very much want Makeup to Go to remain a curated experience based on the knowledge of pro, working, Media makeup artists. Fortunately for me, I know a lot of those types of folks :). I’ve had guest bloggers on Makeup to Go before, as well as regular Maquillaje Para Go contributions from my makeup homie Delia, so look for that to expand, particularly in the product reviews. I cannot try every product out there, another artist may love something that I hate, and I think it will just be a further enhancement of Makeup to Go’s goal of being “Dedicated to the Art and Craft of Makeup” to have more pro voices in the mix.

So that’s what’s up with me, now tell me what’s up with you? Aside from Publishing more consistently, what would you like to see from Makeup to Go? What types of content would you like us to cover? Please tell me in comments :).

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Have you signed up for the Makeup to Go Blog newsletter yet? Join the fun for exclusive content, giveaways, and other assorted fabulosity! Makeup to Go Blog Newsletter – “Speaking of Makeup”

“The time has come,” the Walrus said,
“To talk of many things…” – Lewis Carroll

Hello Makeup to Go fam! I just want to share some quick blog updates with you. Makeup to Go is growing! That growth is entirely due to you so THANK YOU! 😀 If folks didn’t read the Blog I’d be sitting here typing alone in my office talking to myself. Sad picture isn’t it? LOL! Well truth be told that’s pretty much how all Blogs start out, but then with some hard work and a wee bit of luck you find an audience and you start to grow. After a while with any Blog, you have to grow it or phase it out, and I am choosing to let it grow! 🙂

Why am I writing this? Because growth costs money. My main concern is that I have had issues with my site going down due to increased traffic. This means I have grown to the point where I need a different kind of hosting for this site, and VPS hosting is much more expensive than the standard shared hosting I currently have. Also I am developing different, and hopefully more engaging, kinds of content and that will cost money as well. I have never bombarded my readers with tons of intrusive ads, nor have I ever done a Sponsored Review and I do not plan to change my stance on either of those options. However, Makeup to Go! has to start looking at some kind of monetization in order to stay running smoothly.

To start; I am now employing Affiliate Links in my content. I was already a member of Amazon’s Affiliate program and there have been a few scattered Amazon links throughout the site (mostly when I made a beauty book recommendation). Whenever I’ve posted one of those links, I’ve said “this is an affiliate link”.

I am now a member of Skimlinks which makes all of my product links affiliate links. This means that whenever someone clicks one of my links to make a purchase, Makeup to Go! gets a small percentage of that sale. It is a win-win for both of us; you get great product info, and Makeup to Go! gets some operations funding. Yay! 🙂

Since this is going to be more widespread throughout the site I added a new Category, “Affiliate Links”, which will appear on each of my posts that have them, starting with yesterday’s post “Summer Proof Makeup”. Just to be clear: the way Skimlinks works all of my previous posts with product links will be Skimlinks as well. However as of yesterday, I started employing this new Category to make my disclosure more clear. You can always read my updated policies on my Disclosures page (click to read).

You’re a product junkie and you know it. I know it too! So please consider clicking those links so Makeup to Go! can get a wee kick-down. And thanks as always for reading Makeup to Go!

1 ) I’m back!
And to quote the Grateful Dead, “What A Long, Strange trip it’s been…” My previous post detailed why I’ve been absent from the blogosphere for a while. At the time that photo was taken (late-April) I was pretty darn sick and I didn’t even realize it. Also at the time I wrote that post, I thought my 6 weeks was going to be a breeze, and I was going to be active doing all this work stuff. Wrong and Wrong. I knew one of the first posts I was going to write upon my return was about being sick as a freelancer but I’m glad I waited until after I was really healed to do it. That’s going to be the first of my new #BizTalk posts, coming up this Friday.

2 ) Newsletter
I had a newsletter once before and it was wack and I was unhappy with it so I stopped. Then I planned to do another one, but it never published because setting it up took too much work. I finally found a happy medium of an attractive layout that is fast and easy to use so I am happy to announce the return of the Makeup to Go newsletter, entitled “Speaking of Makeup”. This is a different mailing from the RSS feed which mails out every time I make a post. Via “Speaking of Makeup” you’ll get exclusive content, exclusive giveaways, and more on about a monthly basis (I hate mailing lists that send me foolishness every 5 minutes, so I promise not to do that to y’all).

3) A Lil Redesign
I am – as they say in sports – “A Student of the Game”. I am always studying what’s happening in Blog-landia so that I can give my readers an enjoyable experience when y’all come visit the site. First of all I’ve changed the tagline of my site; It’s no longer “Makeup Concierge”, and as you can see it is now “…dedicated to the Art and Craft of Makeup”. I feel that’s a much more accurate description of what the site has become and where I want it to go in the future. I’ll always talk about product, so if that’s your favorite part of the blog don’t worry. I’ll always be a bit of a product junkie because I need product to do my work! That said my focus is decidedly from the POV of having been a working artist for over a decade and what excites, inspires, and motivates me is the ART of makeup and the CRAFT of being a working artist. You’ll see new content based on that premise, and hopefully you’ll enjoy it enough to come along for the ride.

Then as far as site navigation; “BizTalk”, “MakeupMonday” (product reviews), and “So You Wanna Be A Pro Artist(tm)” are by far my most popular offerings on the site and now you can just go directly to those archives from the main menu. No more searching required! 🙂 In the coming weeks I’ll be doing even more tweaking, particularly in the MakeupMonday menu, so you can go straight to the product reviews by type, etc.

(click to see larger)

Let me know what you think and if you have any other site-design related suggestions! 🙂

4) Products
I was sick, but not so sick that I wasn’t paying attention to makeup and product! I have two new loves and the return of an old flame.

– Make Up For Ever – Artist Plexi Gloss
Do I need another lipgloss? Of course not! But as a lipgloss junkie there was NO way I was leaving this stone unturned. One of my makeup artist friends brought it to my attention, so I’ll blame her. The texture is d i v i n e: Not gloopy, but not watery. The colors are gorgeous, some opaque and some sheer, but all are rich in color payoff. AND as an extra bonus on the Pro Tip, two of them are exact color matches for two of my favorite NYX lipglosses. So when I’m working on a client where I need something a bit higher end, these fit the bill perfectly.

– Besame Cosmetics – 1940’s Cream Mascara
Besame Cosmetics is going to be coming up a few different times over the next several weeks because I love everything that this line is about. What I am digging about this is the glossy finish and the fact that you can really build it up without clumping because it dries a bit more slowly than modern mascaras. And on the Pro Tip – the squeeze tube packaging solves the issue of hygiene once and for all. NOW – I will say that some of the reviews mention this product breaking down in really humid weather so that might be an issue. But in the usually arid hot of Southern California where I am, it’s been great so far.

– Koh Gen Do – Maifanshi Moisture Foundation 300 series colors
Like a lot of makeup artists I LOVE Koh Gen Do’s Maifanshi Moisture Foundations. And like a lot of makeup artists I was HIGHLY disappointed when the 300 series – the color range for deeper skintones – was seemingly discontinued. The move made no sense whatsoever, particularly because they kept posting pictures of African American celebrities whose artists used the Moisture Foundation on them. ??? Finally I confronted KGD about it on Instagram and I was told that the colors are currently being reformulated and will be reintroduced. So no word as now as to when that will happen but you know I’m watching because I will cry if I run out of my 301 before I’m able to get a replacement tube.

5 ) Happy Anniversary, Makeup to Go!

Today is our 6th Anniversary! Thank YOU for your readership and support and for being a part of the Makeup to Go! fam!

6 ) Did You Sign Up for the Newsletter Yet?

Speaking of Makeup – httpss://tinyletter.com/Makeup_to_Go_Blog

me on my way to what I thought would be a simple doctors appointment.

Hello hello!

I hope everyone who celebrates had a fab Cinco de Mayo. I desperately wanted enchiladas but could not have any so I hope y’all ate plenty for moi. Why couldn’t I partake? Read on…

An important part of blogging is not falling off the face of the earth, yet that is exactly what has happened. But I promise I have a good reason!

If you follow me on Instagram I posted a couple of pictures of me in San Francisco teaching a private lesson. All went well except for the fact that I started having severe knee pain. Without going into the whole sordid tale: I thought I had a strained ligament, it turned out that I had something even more complicated and next thing I knew I was having to have surgery.

That’s where we are now. I had knee surgery about a week ago and I have a six-week long at home therapy to complete. That means I have about five more weeks to go. What am I going to do with myself in this time? Well I can’t walk, therefore unfortunately I can’t work on-set doing makeup right now so there’s that LOL. Now that I’ve re-acclimated to being home and I’m feeling better I am planning on doing some long wished for upgrades changes and modifications to the blog. And like I mentioned before I have an upcoming article on what to do – as a freelancer – when you find yourself in a position where you suddenly cannot work. Oh and maybe I’ll even update my Pinterest for the first time since forever. HA! 😀

I can’t promise I’ll be quite as active over the next few weeks as I normally would be. But do keep your eye on both the Makeup to Go Twitter feed @makeuptogo , and the Makeup to Go Facebook page facebook.com/MakeuptoGo for updates here and there and to catch some Past Makeup to Blog Goodness.

Thanks as always for reading and supporting Makeup to Go/Makeup to Go Blog!

Twitter @makeuptogo
Instagram @makeuptogoblog
Facebook facebook.com/MakeuptoGo

(P.S. YES I do private makeup lessons and I love them! I should be back available mid to late June!)

#BlogTalk – Disclosure Time: Affiliate Links

#MakeupMonday – Makeup Short Notes July 2015

#Happenings – What’s Going On With Makeup To Go 5/6/15