The Blogger Interview Tag with Ambi!

1-Hi! How are you? Welcome to Touch Of Belle! Let's talk a little bit about your blog! Could you tell us a bit about yourself

hello , I am doing well and thanks for having me at Touch of Belle ! . I am super excited to be here.. at your blog .My name is Ambi . I have a serious passion about beauty, fashion and blogging. I just started my blog under the name ofwww.ambifashion.com .My blog is all about  beauty, fashion and lifestyle.

2- How old are you?

I am 26 years old.

3- How and Why did you start your blog?

I absolutely love reading blogs and especially fashion and beauty blogs i enjoyed reading blogs and giving comments on them so i decided to write my own blog .

4-What's your favourite thing about blogging?

My favourite thing about blogging is , you get to know so many wonderful people . I love when other people gives an idea , comment or tip.

5-How long have you been blogging for?

This is my first month in blogging .

6-If you could describe your style in one word, what would it be?

Chic.

7-Where or who do you look to for style inspiration?

I love fashion magazines .Mostly i get style inspiration from there.  And then there are so many wonderful bloggers out there who inspire me so much . But my all time favourite is Miranda Kerr. I think her style is so chic.

8-What are your must have products?

Chanel perfection Lumiere foundation, Clinique stay matte pressed powder, MAC lipstick in chatterbox , MAC lipgloss in pinkpoodle , chanel eye liner in black and smash box mascara .

9-What do you enjoy most about blogging?

I enjoyed that everyday i have to find a topic to post next day which is related to my favourite topic fashion and beauty. And when i start writing the post it feel likes that this is what i want to do . And waiting for other peoples to comment on my post . Most of all i  enjoyed blogging because its my hobby.

10-Finally, do you have any advice or helpful tips you could give to new bloggers just starting out?

I would say... just be your self .Write what you like to write . When you do something that  you enjoy doing it... people  will love it . Because it comes form your heart . and always always believe in yourself.

Blogging Tips staying organised!

Hello! Today I thought I would share my tips on how to be organised in Blogging! Unless your blog is your job then I'm sure you have lots of other commitments outside blogging such a school and work!

Buy a notebook and Diary!

I own fair to many notebooks I don’t even need half of them! But having a notebook and actually MAKING notes is really important In blogging! I like to write down what I need to do for that week, post ideas, Photographs I need to take just to name a few! I like to have a diary that’s just for blogging so I can plan my posts for that week and it just helps me keep track of everything I need to do!

Schedule posts

Like I said above we all have lives outside of blogging and if you have a busy week ahead why not when you have a bit of spare time write all your posts up in advance – if you use Blogger than you can schedule your posts to publish later on in the week, this is great if you are going on holiday as you can write all your posts up and they will post onto your blog when you have them scheduled!

Take all your photos at once

If you know you want to blog about particular products in the next week, why not take all of the pictures in the same go, you would be surprised how much time this saves! I normally find a day when I have nothing on and make the most of the rare British sunshine!

So there are my top tips on how to be organised in blogging! These are just some I find work for me, what do you find works for you? Leave a comment below!

Batiste Oriental Dry Shampoo

Firstly, what a beautiful can! Batiste always stand out with their lovely can designs but Oriental is really something! The colours and peacock are so pretty! This would look great on a dressing table, Batiste's cans are much more appealing than any rival dry shampoo.

Batiste Oriental has fruity top notes, including apple, wild berry and grape, along with floral middle notes of Jasmine and Iris.

The smell is a nice floral-oriental 'floral' mix and leaves hair smelling great, as well as feeling fresh and looking volumised.

 As always with batiste, the dry shampoo is a great quality?) with it lasting almost all day and keeping me feeling and looking fresh when I just haven't had enough time to wash my hair. Unlike other dry shampoos, it also doesn't leave you with those white marks on top of your head.

Overall, I am loving Batiste Oriental and would highly recommend it.

The new Batiste Oriental Dry Shampoo is available from Boots, Superdrug, pharmacies and supermarkets, it is available in 200ml cans and costs £2.99. Batiste is my must have, essential hair item and something I cannot be without!!

Giveaway Winners!

So a few weeks back you might have seen a post about a giveaway to win some nail goodies and premade blogger blog templates and now its time to announce the winners! 

Well done to Entry 43 Zoe Cole who has won a blogger blog template 

Entry 346 Alex Bluck who has won a blogger blog template

Entry 11 pheobe who has won the nail goodies

And Entry 68 Leah who has one the nail goodies! 

Well done to Zoe, Alex,Pheobe and Leah I hope you all enjoy your prizes! Keep a look out for a email! And for those of you who entered I will be having another giveaway soon so keep your eyes peeled!

The Blogger Interview Tag with Rachel!

Hi! How are you? Welcome to Touch Of Belle! Let's talk a little bit about your blog! Could you tell us a bit about yourself?

Hey there, my name is Rachel Farrell and vintage loving, tea drinking, book reading teen blogger from Ireland. I'm an aspiring journalist and stylist, so blogging is a great way to express my love for all things fashion and beauty! I'm also a self confessed shopaholic and nail art fanatic.

How old are you?

I'm 15 years old!

How and Why did you start your blog?

I started blogging a year ago, after reading numerous fashion and beauty blogs for years. I really wanted to practice my writing for future purposes and also share my love of fashion! As I progressed, so did my blog, and I'm pleased to say I was a finalist for Best Youth blog in the Blog Awards Ireland this year, which was a huge surprise! 

What's your favourite thing about blogging?

I love receiving the lovely comments people post on my blog. It really encourages me and has boosted my confidence alot. It makes me want to read more and make my readers happy! Writing is a passion of mine, so the fact that i can blog whenever I want on my little corner of the internet is great. 

What is your favourite post to write?

Thats a tough one.. either my outfit of the days or my nails!

How long have you been blogging for?

I created my blog in May 2012 however I didn't properly start blogging until around Christmas. So about 10 months.

If you could describe your style in one word, what would it be?

Classy 

Where or who do you look to for style inspiration?

I look to fellow bloggers for inspiration, without doubt! The internet has a big influence. I also love tumblr and pinterest for outfit ideas. Alexa Chung, Marina Diamandis and Audrey Hepburn are where I get my ideas from, however I create my style myself.

What are your must have products?

 Nail polish and lipstick. I would die without them.

What do you enjoy most about blogging?

 [basically the same as my favorite thing about blogging above]

Finally, do you have any advice or helpful tips you could give to new bloggers just starting out?

 I would recommend using twitter, and participating in twitter chats, its great for networking! Try not to post generic posts. Be individual, take clear photos, spellcheck and BE YOU!

Blogging Tips how to get followers

Since I started blogging, I have been asked countless times how to get more followers. How do you get more followers? 

So, I thought I would write a little post with some useful tips I've picked up along the way - most of which may sound like common sense to many of you and possibly these are things you've been doing for a long while already... But for those of you who are just starting out in the blogosphere, I hope you find this useful and please shout with any questions. If I know the answer, I will help you out!

1. Followers are real people. Real people with real brains and personalities. So don't forget that your content needs to be engaging and fresh so that your real-people-followers will read it and then want to share it. So before you start to worry about how you are going to promote your blog, make sure your content is top notch.. nobody's perfect and everyone makes mistakes and that’s fine!

2. Be social: Facebook. Set up a Facebook Page ( https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Touch-Of-Belle/208763425946658?fref=ts) for your blog and post your blog updates there. Don't forget to make it nice and easy for your readers to link to it and 'like' it directly from your blog too. Getting 'likes' is a great way to promote your blog as when someone likes your Facebook page it will usually show up in all of their Facebook friends' news feeds... and if it sparks their interest they'll nip over to your blog and maybe even become a loyal and regular reader!

3. Be social: Twitter. This is an incredible tool for reaching out and interacting with others. The trick with Twitter is being consistent, interacting, being personal and supporting other people you like – retweeting posts you agree with and enjoy. It will be appreciated Again, make a link to your Twitter accound so its easy to find on your blog! Also think about where in the world your followers are from, maybe think about tweeting 3 times per day (Morning, afternoon and night) so that people in different time zones see your tweets!

4. Comment on other blogs. And I don't mean "Would you like to follow each other, here is my Blog link"  comments, I mean thoughtful and considered real comments. It will be appreciated. I always visit the blog of a reader who's left me a lovely comment... the blogging world is a great community, so jump right in and get involved!

5. Invite your readers to share your posts. Share, share, share. It's all about sharing your content and reaching out to potential new lovely followers. Your job is to make this as easy peasy for them as possible and one way of doing this is by including a simple set of social media share buttons at the end of each of your posts

6. Write a guest post. First you need to think about the kind of people that would want to read your blog and then hunt high and low for other blogs who attract a similar kind of readers. Once you've found some, contact their owners and offer to write a guest post, or even better, feature on their blogs. Try to find blogs with a higher readership than yours and you should find you're able to tempt some of their readers over to your own blog with your excellent writing skills. 

7. Analyse. Let's talk about Google analytics. You will be able to see who is looking at your blog, what country they're from, how long they stayed on your blog, what they searched for in order to arrive at your blog and which posts are your most popular. Google Analytics will become your best friend and you will love it forever and ever. When it comes to tools which help you learn about your readership and grow your blog to be the best blog it can be.

8. Take great photographs. "A picture tells a thousand words..." It's TRUE. If your picture is a bit weak and 'meh,' you risk losing your reader before they've even read one word. Don't forget that it's your picture which will accompany your post's link wherever you place it, so try to make sure your photos are strong, dynamic and that you love every pic you post. Don't worry, you don't need a fancy camera -  there are plenty of very cheap and clever photo apps around to make even the simplest of mobile phone snaps look good!

I really hope this has been helpful and if you have any questions leave me a comment below or email me touchofbelle@gmail.com or send me a tweet @makebeautyblog

#2014BloggerChallenge Skincare

My morning routine is all about waking my skin and preparing it for makeup application. I think it's really important to care for your skin and prepare it well for makeup application as this will allow you to have the most flawless makeup base possible. Skincare really is the best place to start if you want flawless looking makeup. My skin is dry in places but can also get quite oily, I do have very sensitive skin so some products don’t work for me and cause me to break out so my routine is based a lot around that.

 I start of by using my Clean and Clear exfoliating daily wash. To give a light exfoliation to my skin. This is my all time favourite scrub. It smells so lovely and refreshing so it's great for waking your skin up! It's really gentle, doing the job well but without feeling overly abrasive or scratchy. I wet my face prior to using it and massage it in to my skin for 2-3 minutes. I then remove it using a flannel.

I then tone my skin with my Clean and Clear deep cleansing lotion  using a cotton wool pad. This just helps to tighten my pores and finish the cleansing process. It really gentle and great for sensitive skin. It also lasts such a long time! I've had it since the beginning of June and only just hit half way after using it morning and night!

Next I use my Beauty formulas on the spot treatment which I absolutely love! I never miss this step its one that I do whatever! The ingredients it has helps clear spots and keeps your skin healthy and clear, it also exfoliates  and removes dead skin cells. It has a gel like consistency and smells of peppermint which leaves my skin feeling cool and refreshed.

Lastly I moisturize, the one I use the most is the Body Shop white musk smooth satin body lotion which I really like. Although It is designed for your body it is the only moisturiser I have found to be really effective and keep my skin hydrated It isn't greasy or heavy and soaks in really quickly providing a great makeup base.

Do you have a similar morning routine? What products do you use?

The Blogger Interview Tag with Claire!

How old are you?

I am currently 18 (and a half- my birthday is in march)

How and Why did you start your blog?

I started it on a bit of a whim one night after following bloggers like Rebecca from d is for dangerous and Olivia from what Olivia did for a few months. I knew it was something I wanted to get involved in but wasn't sure I had enough material but when I decided to go for it I found I had loads to say. I didn't even know what blogger was… I thought the site was probably called blogspot (you can see why).

What's your favourite thing about blogging?

I like having an online diary that I can look back on and the fact that I have followers now is just a bonus. I have also talked to some really great people and hopefully will meet some local bloggers soon.

What is your favourite post to write?

I like doing outfit of the day posts. Thats why I started in the first place. I have also found it's a great place to share my passion for baking. That is a lot of fun showing people what I've made and the feedback I get is so lovely.

How long have you been blogging for?

I started in January 2013 so thats only been 9 months. I still feel like a new blogger because there is loads of people out there with way more experience. 

If you could describe your style in one word, what would it be?

Girly... I like dresses and floral patterns. I wear heels when ever I can- I am trying to be more varied in what I wear though. 

Where or who do you look to for style inspiration?

I'm a big magazine reader- I love company but I also pick up shops magazines and leaflets where I can. I would say they are as much of an inspiration as other bloggers are. Love seeing things and thinking 'ooh I would never of thought of wearing those together' I love finding new ways to wear the same thing.

What are your must have products?

I'm a big fan of tea tree for my skin- I use tea tree facial wipes (bought from home bargains and lidl) and the body shops tea tree skin clearing location on a daily basis. I also love anything by soap and glory and use their moisturisers all the time.

What do you enjoy most about blogging?

As cliched as it sounds I love the community. Post a question on twitter and you'll get an answer or someone to talk to. I've not encountered negativity yet and I've been lucky to always get positive feedback. Blogging has helped me to develop my style and ways to use my wardrobe more effectively.

Finally, do you have any advice or helpful tips you could give to new bloggers just starting out? 

Get involved in blogger chats on twitter as soon as you can and learn from other bloggers. Don't be scared to talk to someone because most bloggers are lovely. Learn from other peoples advice and remember that views and followers don't happen over night. For months my posts were only getting about 5 views (I thought that was huge) but now I really appreciate how far I've come. Lastly DON'T be the person that asks to be followed (you won't get very far)

Blogging Tips Content

Content is a really important part of blogging, it’s one of the reasons people visit blogs.

Picking a blog topic/idea

When picking your topic you need to think about what interests you, your hobbies and what you love. You should like what you’re blogging about, not what you think others will like – if your passionate about what your writing the content is a lot better and readers prefer to hear different posts and different perspectives. If you’re not interested in what you’re posting about, it will show and forcing yourself to post will leave you uninspired and the quality of posts wont be as good. There are so many things out there to write about you don’t just have to blog about what everyone else is! Its YOUR Blog! Sometimes its easier just to start blogging and what you like writing about that is OKAY and you don’t have to just stick to one topic!

content is everything

Remember that content is everything, it is the reason people read your blog. Create great content on a regular basis and you’ll see results. Include useful information, detailed descriptions and big clear images. In terms of how often you should update, find a schedule that works for you and try to stick to it. If you blog on Blogger you can write posts when you have time and schedule them to post to fit in with your schedule. If you’re stuck on what to write try creating some series that you can carry through or find some tags that are floating around!

Never compare

Be yourself, if you enjoy what you write then other people will enjoy it too. If they do enjoy it, then they are sure to follow. Try not to compare yourself to others, Rome wasn’t built in a day! You have to work at gaining followers and views it won't happen over night but if you are passionate about what you write the followers will sure come! If you love blogging, then that’s the most important thing. The online blogging community is huge you can make so many friends so just enjoy it!

Feel free to drop me an email touchofbelle@gmail.com or tweet me @makebeautyblog if you have any questions! 

Tips for clear skin

Nobody has perfect or flawless skin. I thought it would be a good idea to share some skincare tips with you all. Whether you have dry, oily, combination or sensitive skin hopefully some of these tips may work for you!

·                     Change your skincare routine to suit each season - As the seasons change from blistering hot heat, if you're lucky, to plummeting temperatures it's a great idea to mix up your skincare routine. From Summer to Winter your skin may become drier as of Winter to Summer your skin may become oilier. For example, you may want to go for a lighter or heavier moisturiser.

·                     Don't touch your face to often - This one probably sounds a bit silly! But not only does touching your face often increase oil. It may also transfer bacteria from your hands to your face. Leading to a raging, nasty spot! On topic of oil, if you've skipped a hair wash it's recommended you tie your hair up. That way the oil, dirt and grease is kept away from the face preventing nasty breakouts. Also if you use a phone for calling or putting it near your face can have the same affect so try and keep your phone clean!

·                     Always use moisturiser - Primarily, moisturiser prevents the skin from drying out. It's refreshing and nourishing. Moisturiser helps makeup appear more smooth and natural. It's extremely important, no matter what your skin type, to moisturise after cleansing or exfoliating the skin as it closes the pores. Therefore preventing spots and breakouts.

·                     Use a exfoliator - Exfoliating the skin not only removes dead skin cells, it also helps to achieve healthy and glowing skin.

·                     Wash makeup brushes regularly - For those of you who wear makeup, it's incredibly important to wash your makeup brushes regularly. It gets rid of old makeup, dirt and bacteria. Making you less at risk for breakouts or blackheads. Also if you use concealer in a tub with a brush  make sure you wash that too!

·                     Be consistent - Most important, don't forget to be consistent! Try your hardest not to miss a step in your skin care routine and don't give up on a product straight away. Sometimes certain products take a while to show results.

I hope this has helped! What tips do you think are important for good skincare? Let me know below! 

The Blogger Interview Tag with Anneleen!

Hi! How are you? Welcome to Touch Of Belle! Let's talk a little bit about your blog! Could you tell us a bit about yourself?

=> I'm Anneleen, a girl from Belgium and a student in journalism. I adore fashion, writing, I'm an obsessed tattoo-fan and music and dance are my life.

How old are you?
=> I'm 19 years old.

How and Why did you start your blog?

=> I started my blog because I love writing so much. I always wanted to start a blog but never got the courage to do so. But since a friend of mine recently started hers, I decided to follow her example and with a little help from her, 'la fille rêvant' was born! :)

What's your favourite thing about blogging?

=> My favourite thing about blogging is definitely that I can write about whatever I want, whenever I want, and how I want. As a student in journalism I always have to follow certain rules in my writing but on my blog I can write completely in my own style and about things that interest me the most.

What is your favourite post to write?

=> I love writing about things that inspire me. I can sometimes see a painting or a photograph or just someone in the streets that gives me sooooo much inspiration for outfits or just for a way of life. And I adore that, I make a whole concept about it in my head and put that on my blog, hopefully to inspire other people too.

How long have you been blogging for?

=> Not that long, I think a month and a half now, and I have 5 posts written so far.

If you could describe your style in one word, what would it be?

=> Rock-chick, my own form of the 'rockchick-style', I wrote a post about it as well :)

Where or who do you look to for style inspiration?

=> Just things that I stumble upon, like photos, paintings, drawings, even architecture, but also people in the street.

What are your must have products?

=> A good foundation, dry eyeliner and most of all a qualitative mascara. Oh and day cream! Can't live without it.

What do you enjoy most about blogging?

=> Putting the words in the right order, making sure that my text is written correctly and witty, and nice to read :)

Finally, do you have any advice or helpful tips you could give to new bloggers just starting out?

=> Since I'm a new blogger myself, I'm still looking for tips and opinions so if anyone could give me some feedback, that would be awesome!

Blogging Tips Getting Started

When I first started my blog I didn’t have the foggiest what I was doing – and I'm sure I'm not the only one! It was excited yet very apprehensive. I had a lot of questions – How do I get the layout to look good? How do I write my posts? Will people even read what I write? But its all about practise and finding out what works for you!

Naming your blog

This is one of the most important bits of advice going! Your blog name will always be there – unless you decide to change it so it has to be different and easy to remember. I mean "Beautyblogger9846732" isn’t going to very practical! When choosing a name think about something that is personal to you and also what your blog is about, my blog name is Touch of Belle which wouldn’t be suitable if I was going to write a gaming blog!

Platform

There are quite a few blogging platforms out there but I created mine through Blogger which I would really recommend as it's easy to use and is probably the best for new bloggers, before Touch of Belle was born I started my first ever blog through WordPress, although many people use this and find it ok I had a lot of problems with the actual platform and there is no way to contact them to help find the problem which Is what I like about Blogger as there is someone to contact for help. But it is your decision so make sure you look into both before you decide!

Design

I started designing my blog myself and it was one of the hardest things to do!  Im not exactly very good at html I know my fair share but nothing amazing! When I came across Emily and she offered to design my blog for me but I think it is important to show your personality in your design, a header is important to show your blog name but not to be too overcrowded at the same time, another thing I have found is to choose a type that is easy to read although nice calligraphy type writing may look nice sometimes its not easy to read if it’s a long paragraph so I would recommend using times new roman.

Content:

Honesty is the best policy – if you review a product people will trust your opinion if you don’t like a product say why not everyone is going to like the same things but it's always best to be honest and open with your readers. Another point is to give lots of detail when explaining a product don’t just say "I really like this foundation" try and be more descriptive and say why "I really like this foundation as it's easy to blend and gives you a full coverage." It comes across more interesting and your readers get a better understanding of the product!

Social media and interaction with your readers:

I think when you are comfortable with your blog and know its something you like it’s a great idea to become part of the blogging community on Facebook, Twitter and Bloglovin; these are great for sharing blog links and chatting to other bloggers I really like the twitter chats as it’s a great way to interact with other people who have similar interests.  Facebook is good for sharing links and there are a number of groups you can join that are blog related. Interaction is really important leave comments on other people's blogs but make sure not to spam their comments with your links and make sure you read the post you have commented on and only comment something that relates to the post. Always reply to people who email and tweet you they have taken their time to leave you a comment or an email and I think it's important to reply!

So there we have it my Blogging Tips and advice, I hope you found it useful on how to start a blog or even to build your blog! Don’t worry if you only have 1 or 2 followers the main part of blogging is to have fun, don’t give up just keep writing and the readers/ followers will come!

Feel free to drop me an email touchofbelle@gmail.com or tweet me @makebeautyblog if you have any questions!