Hello everyone!
My interview series is finally up! Today will be the first one that I do and I plan to do one on the 1st of every month, unless under other circumstances that date changes – you might notice that this is going up on the 3rd, well on the 1st I had a review posted up so I didn’t want to do 2 lots of posts for one day. On the 2nd I had a uni presentation + I had my enrolment to do for next year so you can understand how busy I would’ve been. So here we are on the 3rd!
Today I’ll be interviewing Mary, also known as @neonchipmunk. I posted a question + poll on my story a while back asking people whether they wanted to be interviewed for a new blog series I’m doing and Mary was the first to respond. If you have any enquiries or would like to be interviewed, please check out my ‘Interviews’ tab here, I won’t be accepting DM/email requests to be interviewed – simply read the information on my tab and enquire as such.
So tell me a bit about yourself.
My name is Mary, I’m 26. I’m a chef turned housewife with a beauty blog and a serious love for hockey.
When did you start your IG account/blog?
I started my blog way back in July of 2011.
Blogging was a completely different world back then! I had been interested in the beauty community and starting a blog for about a year before I actually decided to create the blog. The last push I needed to actually start my blog was the guy I was dating at the time. He told me it was a stupid idea and I’d never get anywhere with it – so I broke up with him, made a Blogspot account, and seven years later I still enjoy writing it.
What do you love about Instagram?
I love a lot of things about Instagram!
Instagram gives me a platform to share my content, a community to chat with, and endless inspiration – plus it’s a treasure trove of cute animal photos.
What don’t you love about Instagram?
I also dislike a lot of things about Instagram.
Aside from the algorithm nonsense (I’d love to see chronological order make a return), I feel like Instagram can set a ridiculously high standard for content – to the point that a lot of people’s photos look the same. I don’t feel like every blogger or Instagrammer’s photos need to be ultra high quality, perfectly lit, on a marble background with fresh peonies casually resting nearby. Mine aren’t, and I don’t want them to be – it doesn’t reflect my aesthetic or my lifestyle.
Are you more of a skincare addict or a makeup addict?
I’m definitely a skincare addict!
A few years ago I would’ve said makeup, but over the last three years or so skincare has slowly become my main focus – I enjoy my skincare routine more than applying makeup, and I also enjoy writing about it more, even though it’s more of a challenge to thoroughly review skincare.
What’s one of your favourite skincare products?
I don’t think I can narrow it down to just a singular favorite product, so instead I’ll give you a category – clay cleansers. I love clay cleansers so much, they balance my skin and have such pleasing textures. I don’t think I’ve tried a bad one yet.
Can you share your best skincare tip with us?
I have two skincare tips that I feel are equally important.
First off, wear sunscreen – its the best preventative care you can do for your skin, both for it’s health and appearance as you age.
The other tip is don’t pick your spots – it’ll only make them worse. Honestly I’m a complete hypocrite about picking, but I’m really trying to get better!
What’s a makeup must have?
Mascara.
I have short, straight, red eyelashes that make me look permanently exhausted. I love a dark heavy lash, but even a quick coat of mascara makes me look so much more alive.
Is there any makeup purchase that you regret?
I regret tons of makeup purchases – I only like about half of what I actually try.
My most recent regret is probably Mecca Max’s City Slicker Tinted Lip Oil – it’s so messy! The color I chose is beautiful but the formula slips and slides around, is goopy and difficult to apply, and it tastes like petrochemicals. It’s bad.
If you could only pick one of these, which would you choose – brows or eyeliner?
Eyeliner.
I’m blessed with full brows and I don’t really NEED brow products. I suppose I don’t NEED eyeliner either, but I love a good cat eye.
So where can we find you?
I’m @neonchipmunk on IG, Twitter and Pinterest.
You can also check out Mary’s blog here.
Thank you for tuning into my first interview, there’ll be many more in the future so stay tuned!
A new review will be up next week, as per my normal posting schedule!
With love,
Irene
VQP. usu BEAUTY