The Makeup Girl

Beauty junkies take note! Before you make your next purchase check out the “The Makeup Girl” for reviews of latest and greatest products on the market. From niche brands to mainstream cosmetic giants, we can always count on Lianne to find the best beauty buys for us along with her honest opinion on what’s hot and what’s not. She chatted with us the about her favorite brands and gave us the scoop on products she can’t live without.

Lianne: www.themakeupgirlblog.com

Why did you start “The Makeup Girl”?
Originally, I started TheMakeupGirl initially to help drive traffic for my makeup artistry business. I noticed that there were only a handful of “popular” beauty sites written by black women that was part of my motivation, that and I am a total product junkie so I needed an outlet to talk about all the stuff I use/buy!

Why did you name your blog “The Makeup Girl”?
I am actually not sure exactly how it came about! I started my website first and I wanted to just be makeup girl but that was taken so then I tried themakeupgirl and the .com address was taken but I scored .net. When I started my blog, it just seemed natural to stay consistent.

When did “The Makeup Girl” launch?
April of 2006

Describe the style and attitude of “The Makeup Girl”?
My style and attitude are BE YOURSELF. Life is too short to worry about pretenses and what other people think about you. I have been on this earth for 40 years so trust me, I KNOW. I am a goofy person by nature and honestly I am really writing this blog FOR women that don’t want a lot of drama – they just want to know straight up how stuff works.

Tell us more about the woman behind the blog?
I am a mother to the amazing 11 year old Tyler Alexander who is my whole world. I am always out running around whether it’s for me or him so I can definitely identify with busy women. I am a gadget-girl/tech junkie, and I love a good gangster film.

“The Makeup Girl” does an amazing job on covering both major and boutique brands, while offering a witty humor. Did you always intend for “The Makeup Girl” to be this way?
HAHA! Yes…honestly I did. I can’t do it any other way that’s just me. I think it’s important when you are writing to inject your personality into what you do. I think that is reflected in TheMakeupGirl.

What are some of your favorite blogs/sites??

Beauty Addict

Ghetto Economics

Avin’s Day

FourFour

Batch Please

DListed

How do you decide what and who to cover on your blog?
I am always on the hunt for new things. I patrol the dimly lit aisles of drugstores as well as department stores or Sephora regularly. I do receive submissions from PR or cosmetic companies but ultimately, if I try it and don’t like it or I wouldn’t use it – I won’t write about it. Now what I will do, is try and give you an honest review by giving the plusses and minuses of the product in question. For instance, what to look out for during application or if I found anything tricky – things like that.

What some features or topics that you would like to start covering on “The Makeup Girl”?
I just started doing Face of the Day at the urging of my readers. I am thinking that I would really like to expand and maybe start doing some videos. Definitely start doing more contests maybe take on a feature writer…I don’t know! I would have to pay them in product though cause mama a’int got a budget!!

What’s in your clutch? (Products you can’t live without)

NARS the multiple in Cannes

Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Brownie

MAC lipglass in Bare Truth

NARS lipgloss in Orgasm

Lancome brow pencil in Brunette

Sue Devitt Eye Intensifier in Zaire

DiorShow waterproof mascara in jet black

If you had to name your favorite brand of cosmetics, who would it be?
I am so fickle…I have so many favorites I probably use at least one thing from everyone! But I would have to say my top three are MAC, Becca and NARS.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to start or recently started a blog?
Seriously BE YOURSELF. Get yourself a catchy name and write what you feel. Write about what you know, publish as often as you can, make sure your content is tasteful, classy and relevant to your chosen topic. Reaching out to other bloggers that inspire you has served me well so NETWORK! You never know who might know who. The next thing I learned the HARD way, and that is basically blogger etiquette. In a nutshell, you should feel free to comment on blogs that you like to read but don’t spam them with your address or ask them to add you to their blogroll. Just add them to yours, they will see traffic coming from you and hopefully they will add you too. You have to make sure your content stands out from the pack so make sure you have something that will set you apart from the others that will make them want to read yours.

What is the future of “The Makeup Girl”?
I hope to make it my full time job! I think that the landscape of traditional journalism is changing RAPIDLY. I hear from so many people that they read my blog INSTEAD of getting a subscription to a beauty magazine. That is huge to me because something like that can turn the beauty industry on its ear. I would like to continue to grow my brand and expand into other areas…possibly teens next…I think.

In five words describe “The Makeup Girl”?
Fun, fabulous, honest, humorous, helpful

Why should someone add “The Makeup Girl” to his or her daily blog reading list?
There are so many beauty blogs out there and I think that informative and intelligent content is paramount. You don’t want to read something that has been copied and pasted from a website; you want REAL information before you spend your hard earned money. I think I provide that.