Kristen: 0:36

Hey everybody, welcome back. I am so excited for today's episode. I know I say that about a lot of them, but I am really excited about this one because I have my friend Ariel with me today. Hi, Ariel. Hi, it's good to be here. Ariel and I met years and years ago back when we were beauty blogging, and that's what we're going to be talking about today is a little bit about what beauty blogging was like back in the day, how we got into it, what we learned and kind of some of those lessons we took away from it or what's stuck with us now. It's I think the direction it's going to go, so we'll see. So Ariel, before we start, can you give us a quick little introduction of who you are?

Arielle: 1:19

Sure, so I'm Ariel, and back in the day, my blog was Beauty by Ariel, and I had a actual blog, as well as a YouTube channel, and then Facebook and Instagram, Twitter, all of the things back then but now I don't have anything to do with the beauty space anymore, Work as a mental health counselor.

Kristen: 1:44

I love it. So yeah, so I never did the YouTube thing. I had my blog, which was Glitter, Gloss, and Glaze. And yes, I remember. And then I

Arielle: 1:55

actually have, I actually had you saved in my phone for a very long time. It's Kristen Glitter, Gloss,

Kristen: 2:00

and Glaze. That's true. So funny. I love that. But yeah, you're right. We like at the time it was you'd put yourself everywhere. There was the blog. It was Twitter. It was Instagram was new back then. So there wasn't a whole lot of that. And then all the different groups and everything to it was a lot. So we'll break it all down. So when did you start? Do you remember when you actually started your blog?

Arielle: 2:24

Oh man, I'm thinking it had to have been around fall 2011. Okay. Because I was in graduate school and that time frame lines up, so I'm pretty sure it was them.

Kristen: 2:39

Yeah, I think mine was around 2011 too. I can't remember the exact date. But I think we were very similar around the same time, coming up about all of it. Now, let's set the stage for the listeners. What do you remember most about that time period? What was it like back then in that, 2010 2011 time frame? What do you remember most?

Arielle: 3:03

I remember that it was mostly blogging, just written blogs. It didn't really matter if you were doing beauty, fashion, hair, makeup, whatever. Most things were blogs. It wasn't like today with short form content. Oh yeah. Most people were writing things and we would go to each other's blogs and follow and comment on each other's posts. Posts and you would subscribe and everyone was using blogger and then some of us would start dabbling in learning how to write code and use wordpress But there was so much blogger going on back then. But that was the big thing I remember. And like Pinterest, that was like the birth of Pinterest. I don't know exactly what your Pinterest started, but I feel like it was born out of all of these blogs. But it had to have been sometime around that time, like the early 2010s.

Kristen: 4:01

I forgot about that because yeah, you incorporated a lot of your Pinterest I think because I remember you would do like different outfit ones too. Like you would have these cute little pictures and these are these outfits I put together and this is where you can buy them. And yeah, your stuff was so good.

Arielle: 4:16

Yeah, I'm not really sure why I figured out how some or how I figured out how this was evolving. Because like today now we have Bike, what is that one website where all the influencers link their entire post and

Kristen: 4:34

stuff? It has something to do with basically, yeah, you can like shop directly from the post too. I can't remember the name.

Arielle: 4:41

Yeah. So it's evolved to that, but some of that stuff was like barely budding because there wasn't really a lot of affiliate marketing at that point in time. It was It was hardly any affiliate. I think really the only way I was making money was through brand deals and through Google ads on my website and YouTube. Those were, yeah, AdSense. I remember I would get AdSense checks where now, There's tons of affiliate marketing, but okay. It looks like that. Pinterest, the conception was 2008 to 2009, and it really launched in like 2010, see early 2010. So yeah, that.

Kristen: 5:26

Yeah, and that's what back then it was so much more organic and it was really like what I love so before I started blogging I what there were some youtubers out there. I don't remember what her full name was, but she was Haley something I followed this girl Haley and she was like in Texas and miss budget beauty who I still follow She's changed her name now and she's gone a different direction, but I loved Miss Budget Beauty, so I would watch some of the YouTube videos and it was like hauls and tutorials, but it was so basic. It would be like a girl in her bedroom, like on her floor with a little camera in front of her. Here's how I do this smoky eye. And it was so fun. You felt like you were friends with these girls and you're like, yeah, I could do that. And I didn't do the YouTube route, but I love blog because at the time I was like, I need a new hobby. I love writing and I love makeup. Maybe I can do a makeup blog and that's what I thought it was going to be. And I'm like, ah, and the whole thing was like, I love glitter and sparkly things. And the gloss was supposed to be with like lip gloss and glaze was supposed to be like nail polish. Cause it's like a glaze. Like I So much thought into what I was going to be and then like building the brand. But there was, I

Arielle: 6:33

appreciate that. Cause I,

Kristen: 6:34

I put no thought and everybody was by someone. So there were so many, I know it was so fun, but I feel like we were all. Kind of friends, even though we'd never really known each other. Did you ever do? I remember on Sunday nights on Twitter, they would use the hashtag. It was hashtag be bloggers and it would be beauty bloggers and maybe it wasn't Sunday night Sunday afternoon. There was something like I. I forgot about that. I forgot about that. Yes. It was so fun. Like we would use that hashtag throughout the time too but it was used like a chat function on Sundays. So you'd be keeping up with the threads and it was so much like I would be like at the time I wasn't married but I was living with my boyfriend then and I'd be like, no, it's Sunday afternoon, night, whatever. I was like, I have my beauty bloggers chat and I probably seem so dumb but I loved that stuff.

Arielle: 7:27

That is a memory I forgot I had. Yeah. 100%. But, yeah, I actually was more of the YouTube watching variety probably more than blogs. And so I, that's how I was inspired to get started because I would watch other people and I thought, oh, I can do this. I know I can teach people things like I, I know how to do this. And plus I just like experimenting and trying new things and sharing my opinion on stuff. And I actually watched a Milena well, 83 and she still exists today. And she is. And I still watch her and she is legitimately the only influencer I've watched over the years that has not changed at all. She is exactly the same person, presents things the same way she was not. She did not become beige. I love it. Like the influencers do. She's still like in her home in Southern Illinois. And has her three kids and her husband, and it has a very normal life. And I love that because it's so reminiscent of the start of all of this. That she was, her channel was what inspired me. And I've been watching her now for 15 years,

Kristen: 8:38

which

Arielle: 8:38

is crazy to

Kristen: 8:39

think about. Yeah, I do feel like I remember, she's got dark hair, right? And was she in the news? Was she in broadcast? Yeah. I did watch her.

Arielle: 8:50

She's still on. Go watch for some nostalgia and you'll be like, oh, this is so warm and fuzzy. She hasn't changed a bit except quitting the news,

Kristen: 9:02

I watched her religiously for a while. I can't believe I forgot about her. Oh, that's fantastic.

Arielle: 9:07

Yes, but I think the other thing, so when we were going into this, what I had thought about was just like the evolution of, Makeup and how beauty blogging really opened all of us up to makeup because, so I grew up in a pretty mid sized town in Illinois. We had malls, but our malls did not have that. And the only makeup you were getting was at the Walgreens or at the Wet n Wild and it was junk. And then the beauty counter and we didn't have a lot of money. So I was not going to the department store or beauty counter to buy things. And so I didn't even know what Mac was, or I would read in. Like Cosmo about Bobby Brown, but I wasn't getting Bobby Brown anywhere. And there was no Sephora. There was no Ulta. But then in the early 2010s, people start talking about, oh, this urban decay, naked pallet. Yes. And this, and all the sudden we got exposed to stuff. We could also start, it was the beginning of online ordering. Where you could actually get these things that you couldn't before. Yeah. And it was actually affordable to order things online. And then Ulta's and Sephora's did start popping up, but I think because people were posting about these things and had influence on the market, it really made the drugstore market actually start producing really good product. Because I would say up until the 2010s, drugstore makeup was junk, absolute garbage. It was garbage. Started dabbling in high end because I moved and then all of a sudden I had access to an Ulta and a Sephora and it really opened up everything for me. And then people were talking about this product and that product. It's oh my gosh, I have to try this because now I finally can actually get a foundation that matches my face and isn't orange.

Kristen: 11:11

And the texture is good. Like it's not too cakey or powdery or anything else.

Arielle: 11:16

all I was going to say is that is then it really made the drugstore actually start catching up and we could go to the drugstore and actually get good product.

Kristen: 11:23

Yes. And I do. I agree that I think the beauty blogging community had a lot to do with that because yeah, when I started to make same thing, I grew up in a small town outside Pittsburgh and it was the same thing. Like I was getting my stuff at the drugstore or like a Claire's or something like I get some fancy lip gloss or whatever, but yeah, it was like NYC, wet and wild, all the real like cheap brands. I had I think a Maybelline eyeshadow thing one time. And I did use one of my favorite products though, was a Bonnie Bell the people that make lip smackers, but she'd made some eyeshadow for a while. And I had a pink eyeshadow palette, which I loved. Which is funny, 20, 30, however many years later it was since I started doing makeup. I still like lean towards pinks on my eyes. I feel like it's a throwback but anyway, so yeah, So I had used drugstore mostly, and then, like you said, Urban Decay was like my gateway drug into high end makeup. I'd never heard of it, and then, and I was always buying cheap stuff, because I was just a cheap person. And I'm like makeup's makeup. It's not really a difference, right? Oh my gosh, is there a difference? Huge difference. I think Naked 2 was the first one I bought. Back then it was a huge difference. Now I would argue that you can mix and match. Oh yeah, for sure. Like nowadays I use mostly ColourPop. My eyeshadows are almost all ColourPop, which is still like a brand, but I think, a cheaper brand, more inexpensive, maybe I shouldn't say cheaper, mid range. Yes. And even like e. l. f. There's still, there's stuff that's so good. And I will still pick some high end stuff. stuff. But I'm not like, I feel like I went through this, like I only did cheap stuff, whatever. Then for a while I was only doing like name brand expensive stuff. And now I've come back down to the other side where it's not about brand name anymore. It's about do I like it? How well is it for me? Yes, exactly.

Arielle: 13:11

And I've also evolved to a place where I don't really do a full face. I like, I don't wear nearly the makeup that I used to. It used to be that I had the lashes. I had the full glam, we call it, I don't do that anymore. So I just need a different product these days. But circling back to the products you remember having, I remember as a teenager and even like younger than that. Like preteen years, I would go through magazines and I would see these ads. I'm like, oh, I want to try this so bad And I would save up change and I remember there was a palette I think it was called walking on eggshells was the I don't remember what brand it was walking on eggshells and that was like My go to palette. It might have been a cover girl, but it had a pink, a pearl, and like a brown color. Yes. And I think it's still made today, but oh my god, I love that thing. And I remember I specifically saw it in an ad and I ripped the ad out. That's so funny. You're like, this is gonna be mine

Kristen: 14:07

someday.

Arielle: 14:08

So I was like always destined to do something with beauty vlogging, clearly.

Kristen: 14:15

Even though we didn't have words for it at the time. We didn't know what it was. It was just, and blogging has come such a far way. There's still, Are there still beauty blogs? I don't even know actually. I don't

Arielle: 14:26

know.

Kristen: 14:27

I don't even read

Arielle: 14:28

blogs at all.

Kristen: 14:29

I

Arielle: 14:29

don't know. I don't really think people do anymore.

Kristen: 14:31

I don't care about people, whatever. Like food blogs and there's the jokes about the people, but if I want your recipe, I am just clicking jump to recipe. I don't care that your grandmother's uncle's dog loves this food. Like just get me to the point.

Arielle: 14:46

But that really shows how like now. Short form content. We're demanding that. Whereas back then, we loved reading all of that and getting to know the person on that deeper level where now we think we know people, but really they're giving us bite sized amount of information where back then we got a lot of information about people in their lives.

Kristen: 15:05

And it was so much more Raw to like, nobody was curating these perfect aesthetics, like we had, like you said, the coding. I was so excited when I got into I got some CSS stuff or whatever, like my actual coding. And I was building my own, widgets and buttons. And I felt like I was a programmer. And I'm like, Yes, I am a web developer. And I can do all of these things, which really a lot of it was still Because I would go and read what a code could do and then I'd use my HTML for which colors I wanted or changing the font or putting in an image and I thought I was like pretty hot shit back then.

Arielle: 15:41

Quite honestly, I'm really glad that I did learn that because now I have a professional business that is my full time income and because I knew how to do that. I built a really good website, knew how to do SEO and now I write, I rank very nicely on Google and it's awesome. All because of learning that at that time, I wouldn't have known how to do that. Otherwise, or even like what to research and how to make that happen. But I already had that foundation. Yeah. And so it was really easy for me.

Kristen: 16:08

So we talked about how we learned to be great website developers, but what kind of beauty techniques did you learn? Are there specific things that you're like, if I hadn't been beauty blogging, maybe I wouldn't have done this or certain things that you took away from it on the beauty side?

Arielle: 16:26

Honestly, everything. That's why the girls today are so lucky because it's easy to have on YouTube. Yeah, because you can literally look up how to do anything where we were guessing. And I feel like I really learned how to do everything properly from beauty blogs, because even like in magazines, it was difficult sometimes to read and follow what these professional makeup artists. We're saying to do because they would use makeup, artisty words, like cut crease and me from the Midwest, I don't know what a cut crease is. And so it was hard to follow those types of things. Plus we just didn't have the product availability. So then once people started posting tutorials, like I learned how to do a proper smoky eye. That 2010 smoky eye or how to. Properly do a winged liner, how to actually blend my foundation so that it matches my skin, like everything. Or remember when like highlight and contour, like when the Kim Kardashian thing like hit the waves and everybody was doing the Kim Kardashian. Highlight and contour and we learned how to play with light and shadow to sculpt our faces. That was revolutionary at the time, whereas now it's like, Oh, duh.

Kristen: 17:51

I know. Yeah. But back then I didn't even know what highlight was like highlight to me is a marker you would use in your book for school. Like you put highlighter on your face. What is that even? But then I became obsessed with it and I would use I remember I got I think it was Anastasia Beverly Hills. It was a collab they did with Nicole Guerrero. I'm probably pronouncing her name wrong. Another beauty YouTuber that I loved. And I loved her glow palette and it had like whites and pinks and bronzes, and they were all shimmers. And I would use All over my face. Like I wanted my face to just sparkle like Guy Diamond in the trolls movie. Like I want it to be a sparkling thing. Oh my gosh. I was obsessed, but yeah, that's how I learned to do all of that because magazines, you're right. It was hard to follow. And even if they did have a couple of pictures along with the words, it still wouldn't make sense. And like my mom wasn't into makeup, so I didn't have anybody growing up teaching me how to do it. I didn't either. I really grew up. Into my makeup on because of watching YouTube and reading blogs Agree.

Arielle: 18:53

Totally agree. And even, I would even say like my sense of fashion, too. And seeing what other people were doing. Yeah. And and I just feel like people, the way that they would teach things to was very accessible. They did, because it was normal people creating this content. They talked about it in normal people ways.

Kristen: 19:14

Yeah. And there were no rules about it either too. Like it wasn't like it had to be professionally done. Like it was just like, Hey, I got this palette. Let me show you the swatches. Let me show you some of the looks I'm doing with it. Because that's the thing you would get a palette of the naked ones have what, like 12 shadows or something in them. And you're what do I even do with these? Where do I put that? Yeah, exactly. And we all know, like in general, like You want lighter on your brow bone. You want to highlight that you want darker in the middle to give it some definition, but to see the looks girls would come up with, you're like, Oh my gosh, that's really nice.

Arielle: 19:45

It was great. And the other part that was really great back then too. Because now the internet is a very mean place. Back then you didn't have a bunch of people going around trolling. Most of the people who were commenting on your stuff were other creators. Yes! And we were very supportive of each other. You, I very rarely got some sort of trolling type comment. Even on YouTube. And YouTube is completely unhinged these days. But you would like never get that. Like one of my highest I think it had like 50k views and I did not have any nasty comments at all. And so that's pretty amazing for like how things have evolved now. And there also wasn't influencer fighting and all of this. in between influencer drama there is today like now there's whole channels devoted to influencer

Kristen: 20:37

drama. Yes I watched a really good on youtube. There was a girl. I think she did a two part episode on the jacklyn hill situation So that's a good one to watch if you're looking For some documentary type information and I never got like I think I don't remember exactly when Jaclyn Hill started getting big on YouTube I feel like I was already moving out or out Yeah But there was a lot but yeah, everybody was super supportive and we'd have do you remember? Okay, so there would be like different days people would host certain things where you'd visit a bunch of different blogs and comment on them Follow do all this stuff. Do you remember? Yeah, we I do.

Arielle: 21:18

I do. I remember the little icon thing we made too and it was my shoes.

Kristen: 21:25

It was Walkabout Wednesday because I was all about alliteration and I'm like, it's got to be something that like makes sense and we're I, I remember looking it up cause we were doing a Wednesdays and I was looking for like words, W's, I think I could be wrong, but I remember Walkabout was like something like some Aboriginal term in Australia or something like Walkabout is when you go and visit. I don't remember I should probably fact check myself before I say these things. But yeah, we hosted Walkabout Wednesdays.

Arielle: 21:49

Yes, we did. Yes, we did. And now people don't do that stuff either. It's like not a thing anymore.

Kristen: 21:55

I know. And it was so fun. And I don't know did I just have more free time on my hands then? Because I would go in, I would read like every post and I would comment on stuff I was all about it. It was so fun.

Arielle: 22:08

Yeah. No, it was fun. I think these days we're just like less interested in getting to know things at a deep level like we did then. Yeah. We want, give me the information quick and let's move on.

Kristen: 22:21

It's definitely a society and culture thing too that we're not willing to take the time to dig in deep. It's, like you said, it's give it to me now and let me move on. Which has its pros and cons. People could probably debate that one. So we've talked a little bit about the community. So how did blogging feed into your creation or development of friendships across the way?

Arielle: 22:48

There were several girls I would talk to regularly and we knew about each other's lives. But the only one that I've kept in touch with over the years is you. A lot of people, I don't know what's happened with them. I think our lives evolved and changed. We weren't doing blogging and Yeah, we didn't really talk anymore, but that's what's interesting with online relationships is you can go from talking all the time doing a ton about people's lives and then you don't even know where they are 10 years later.

Kristen: 23:18

Yeah, it's almost like they just fell off the planet. Because there's some girls who have kept there was a girl, Tracy, and her username was drink citra. So it was like Tracy backwards. Remember? I remember! She did nail stuff. Hers was like all nails. So she is still on Instagram. Every once in a while, I will see a post from her. Shut up! Yeah, I'll send her to you. When we hang up, I'll send it over to you. I think she's got a couple kids now. Yeah, so loved her. Her nail art was so beautiful. Yeah, I did too. So it was so good. So there was her, and then there were a couple other girls. There was a girl named Jana. She was from Canada, and her username was similar to mine. It was gloss something, I can't remember. I don't know what happened to her. She and I got pregnant around the same time. And then, like I said, I don't know what happened to her, but I'd be curious what she's up to, but But I do, I love how we've stuck together because it's been, so we're looking at. 15, almost 15, 14, 15 years of friendship on story we've never met in real life. But while our lives have gone different ways we're in a book club now, so that's fun. So it is cool how we've made, because I still remember, and I don't know if this is something you're okay with me sharing, but I'm going to, because I specifically remember when you got married, The first time you had documented your wedding makeup and everything and your wedding in Paris or wherever and you got married the same day Prince William did. Am I right? I did. Yes. That's so true. I don't know why this stuck with me. I was talking to my husband the other day. I'm like, I can't wait to talk to Ariel because I remember she got married. I told him the whole thing. He's like, why do you remember that? I'm like, I have no idea why I remember that. But I remember her makeup was really pretty and she posted all about it and her veil. Like I loved all of it. So that had a huge impact on my life.

Arielle: 25:07

Ah, I love it. That's the thing is when you do this, you feel like you're doing nothing and then someone will tell you, oh my gosh, this thing you posted really resonated with me or stuck with me or whatever. So yeah, yes I did my own hair and makeup. I made my own veil. Yeah, it was perfect. I did. And I enjoyed posting about those types of things. And I still do. I still think that's such a fun to share about the things that you're doing in your life and how you're doing it. So yeah. So yes, I do remember sharing. I do in my makeup and all of that.

Kristen: 25:44

I love that. So are there any parts of it that you miss?

Arielle: 25:52

That's a good question. Oh, okay. I do know. I used to get a lot of free products. Oh, yes. Since I had been in the allure beauty blogging awards. I was on all the PR lists and I would get so much, yes, and so I would get so much product I couldn't even keep up and we're talking like makeup forever to Revlon, like it was all over. It was great. I used to get the PR boxes for it Cosmetics, but it was so nice. It was great. I missed the product.

Kristen: 26:28

I didn't have to buy anything. I hadn't realized you were getting that much. Now, can we rewind for a minute though? And can you tell us how you got into that Allure thing? Because you made it pretty high in that too. Like you made it into the magazine, right? Or their website or something.

Arielle: 26:46

Yeah, so I was in the top 10. I was a finalist, and I really do not remember how I applied. I truly don't. It probably was some sort of website thing at the time, and this would have been Man, what year was that? 20, it feels like 2013. Okay. I was in my, I was in my first Job, it was either 2012 or 2013 because it was my first like big girl job And I remember they called me to do an interview And I did it on my lunch break. And yes, and then if you got picked as a finalist, they wanted you to send them headshots. And I had no good headshots. And so I went to A lady in town to do some headshots because I knew it was going to be on Allure's website and in their freaking magazine and stuff. So I was like, Oh my gosh I have to have a good photo and it can't just be me snapping it on like an iPhone. Yes. Yay. And so then they so then each week we had to compete against each other. Yeah. And we were given all of the prompts of week to week, what the challenge was going to be. And we were sent a camera that we were supposed to use to record it. And we were sent all Revlon products and we had to use the Revlon products and we were supposed to use that camera. And what's crazy is, so two people who were in that top 10 with me, one of them is Taffy. Really? It was Tati, and then the girl who, man, now she has an MLM makeup company, like she owns it and her blog used to be Mascara. Okay. But I, and now her MLM company is something like Scents Makeup or something like that. But those two were in it with me. And I think Cara was the one who won. Oh, wow. Yeah, that is how I have a connection to Tati. Ah, claim to fame. And she's still going today, but yeah, so we had challenges each week and then people voted and then you got booted off I think I got booted like week two or three

Kristen: 29:04

But still to make it really cool. I remember I don't remember all the details but I remember when you made it and i'm like Oh my gosh I know ariel because I think it was either towards the end of my blogging or I was slowly getting out because After I got like super pregnant. I tried to take my hand at mommy blogging for a while because mommy blogging was big. I wasn't good at that. I didn't fit into that scene. But so and then I tried a couple more times to get back to beauty blogging, but it just was never the same. And I didn't have the same amount of time. So I think it was towards the end, but I saw you. I was like, Oh my gosh, Ariel. I know her. That's so exciting.

Arielle: 29:35

Oh, yeah, it was really fun. Like I said, we all got put on those major PR things and that was also how I started brand deals and getting paid too so Yeah, back then brands were paying. They're there. We're not paying like the way they do today for giant influencers But people also didn't have these million follower situations either. It wasn't like that But they were paying back then and they did send a lot of products, which I know they still do But man, was that fun.

Kristen: 30:11

That was so fun. Yeah, that's, that is so cool. I didn't realize you made it to that PR level status. Cause I never got that. So I didn't get paid. I did get companies reach out for me. They were always like ones like I'd never heard of. There was this one. Yeah. Weird stuff. Yes. But I always said yes. And I'd be like, sure you can send it over. But I had like disclaimers about what I would review. I remember having the whole rules about like sponsorships, I wasn't doing sponsorships but I would take product for review but I would post my honest review and there was some stuff I actually got that I really did enjoy so I did, I loved getting the free product but mine was never fancy stuff, mine was I remember one was like sulfate free shampoo, which was fantastic. Like I'm all about that. And I remember it really was a very good product, but still, it was like, never heard of this brand. I can't even buy this here if I want it. Cause I think they were a small company out in California or something but still I used it and reviewed it. Thought it was lovely.

Arielle: 31:08

Yeah, and back then it was, this was all so new. I remember the FTC rules started somewhere in the middle of that where you started having to disclose for before that. Oh you didn't. That's right. No one knew what to charge and what to do. Whereas now people make whole videos of how to set your pricing and so people know what to do that are getting into influencing. We didn't have that. And so it was completely guesswork on. What to do.

Kristen: 31:37

Yeah, it was like the Wild West. It was like you just make your own rules, do your own thing, go out, have fun. But at the same time, in some aspects, it was simpler and other aspects, it was harder because like we said, there weren't any rules of how to do any of it. But it was just so fun. Like it was just such a good time.

Arielle: 31:59

I agree. I agree. It was Harder in the aspect of we had to teach ourselves everything and there was very little resources to help you learn how to do things. But it was easier in the sense that it wasn't about perfection and filtering and ring lights. And, Having a PR sheet where you have to hit certain bullet points. It wasn't like that.

Kristen: 32:24

I even look back in some of the pictures I was using, which again, were just like my iPhone pictures with an Instagram filter on it or whatever. Or when I figured out how to watermark stuff, which was me really just putting text across it with my username on it so people wouldn't steal my pictures. That seemed pretty high tech to me too, but there's some pictures that I'm back and I'm like, the lighting here was terrible. What was I doing? Or like nail art, we were really big into nail art. I had a whole nail challenge. Like every week there was a different, yeah, I think it was every week. There was like different things I was doing to my nails, whatever my nails were in such terrible shape for a while. They'd be like yellow when you take off the polish because they've had so many polish on them. So unhealthy, but. I see pictures of my nails. I'm like, it's crooked. Like I didn't clean up around there's like polish didn't care. I was like, Oh, look at my nails. And I didn't care about what people thought about it either. Because we were again, like you said earlier, we were all so supportive of each other. It's that's so cool. I love it. Like I got into nail stamping. Nail stamping was super fun. I love that I did water marbling. Like any nail trend that came out. I was like, Yeah, I can do that. Yeah. Like I was basically a web developer and a nail technician. Like I could do all these jobs.

Arielle: 33:36

Yep. Yep. I felt the same way. And that's exactly what made it fun was just that figuring it out and growing. And it wasn't all this perfect, perfectly curated content like there is today. And there was no influencers in the wild doing weird stuff.

Kristen: 33:55

I think there were a few people that would do vlogs a little bit, but it wasn't, I don't remember them being so like out in public. It'd be like, here's me at my house. Here's, I'm doing my nails now. And oh, look, I'm getting my mail. And oh, I'm going to read a book. I don't know. It was just everyday life. It wasn't such a production as it is now. Yes. Yes, exactly. And I think that's what I missed. Just that simplicity part of it. So if you could go back, is there anything you would change? Or do you do anything differently?

Arielle: 34:35

I don't think so. I feel like I got a lot out of it. I had fun. I made a little bit of money. I got a bunch of free products. I met people. I forgot too that I even got to go. It was like the makeup show, Chicago. And I got to cover that. And so I had really fun. I had really cool opportunities, and I had a good time, and like I said, people were nice. It was really pleasant, and by the time I stopped doing it, I just had a lot going on in my personal life a lot going on in my career, and I just didn't really have time for it, and I just wasn't as into it anymore either, like makeup wise. I wasn't into full glam, and now, As I've evolved, I just, I don't, I still love makeup. I still love trying different things, but I'm not nearly where I was with it. Like I will use the same palette for a long time. And now I have products I love in our stands and I'm just not going to do, I'm not going to deviate from them because it works for my skin.

Kristen: 35:40

Yep. No I agree with all of that. And I think. I go through phases of, I still love makeup and I have so much I have shelves and shelves of just all these palettes and they're so pretty. And I'm not even using them. There's a few palettes that I'll use that I keep in my bathroom drawer, like my go to ones. And I have all these other ones. So sometimes if I'm going out with friends or for a special occasion, I will do a full face just to be able to use all the stuff I have and experiment and play. And there are times where I do miss that. But at the same time, it's I've got down to a five minute face. Like I'm putting on some CC cream, a little bit of shadow, mascara, quick run through my brows, a little bronzer. And of course still my highlight. And I'm out the door. I don't make the time to sit and be like, all right. And now let's perfectly contour my face. All right. So it's just, I don't really, I don't,

Arielle: 36:32

I rarely go to events where I would be doing that whole face thing. I have this, the rock. Lorac palette that it was so beautiful and I was like, I'm definitely going to use this. I've probably used it like five times because it's all dark smoky shades But I love Lorac and it's there's such beautiful colors and I can't bring myself to toss it Even though i've probably had it for five years and used it Once a year.

Kristen: 36:54

I really just need to have a makeup museum and I need to put my set stuff on display because I mean I have so many Urban Decay special palettes. Like I've got like an Alice in Wonderland one when that movie came out or whatever the movie was. I've got so many like specific ones that they don't even make anymore that you can't get. I could have a really pretty museum display.

Arielle: 37:19

Totally. No, last fall, when they relaunched the original Naked, I cannot tell you how quick I ran to Ulta for that thing. I saw one video and was like, done, I'm getting that thing again, because that is one palette I was so mad at myself for getting rid of over the years. I was so excited when they launched it again. I got it like that weekend.

Kristen: 37:43

Wow. Yeah, I still have my original one. I, because I started with Naked 2, I hardly even used my Naked 1 one. I got it just to have it in my collection. And Naked 3 was my favorite. I've hit pan on multiple colors on that one.

Arielle: 37:59

Yeah, nope. Naked one was my favorite and I'm so glad I have it again. Yay!

Kristen: 38:05

Yes, I love it so much. I will not get rid of that. I do think there is one thing that you and I have both stuck with even though we've been out of it for so long. It is the nail stuff. We are, maybe I shouldn't say we, but I think it's we are still obsessed with having nice nails all the time.

Arielle: 38:20

Yes, I do having a nice nail.

Kristen: 38:23

I like

Arielle: 38:23

the way it feels better than a

Kristen: 38:26

And I just feel like I'm prettier. Like when I, if I'm in a meeting and I'm holding my pen, yes, look at me. That's right. My nails are done. And it just, it's something that I remember my Nana used to always say that she wouldn't leave the house without her face on. And even if that was just her lipstick, right? But for me, that's so funny. Is your Nana also from Texas?

Arielle: 38:49

No, she's from Alabama, though. Oh, close enough. So maybe it's a southern thing.

Kristen: 38:54

But I feel that way with my nails. Now, I will go out without my nails, but there's something about just, I feel more done and put together when my nails are done.

Arielle: 39:02

Agreed. I totally agree.

Kristen: 39:04

Yeah, but now I'm all about nail wraps and press on and not as much polish. And if I do use polish, it's gel because polish chips so bad and it takes so long to dry. And now since I've switched to gel, it's wait, I can just put this under my UV lamp and then I can get a shower and I can go to the bathroom and I can tie my shoes and I can do all of these things. Really? Yes, exactly.

Arielle: 39:25

Yeah, I'm the same way. I'll go through stints. where I don't do anything to my nails and give them a break. And then it's, it only takes about two weeks of me being like, Nope, I got to put something on my nails. And I keep thinking, Oh, I'm so tired of the process of putting on the wraps. I'm going to take a break. It doesn't take long before I throw something back on.

Kristen: 39:46

I know. And that's what, so I'm in the naked phase right now because I had been picking off my gel polish last week. And then my nails just looked rough when I took that off completely. And I'm like, they've got to breathe. I just need to let them breathe. And I can't tell you like all week I've been looking at them and I know they're healthier and they look healthy, but I'm like, they're so naked. I look so unfinished. I look so unkempt ah. I'm going to try to finish this week, but this weekend, we're doing something to my nails. I don't know what yet, but I can't go on another week without it.

Arielle: 40:16

I totally understand. Yeah, I can leave the house without makeup. That's not a huge deal, but I don't want to have janky hands.

Kristen: 40:24

It's just, it shows that you care about yourself, that you're taking care of yourself. I think it's like that.

Arielle: 40:30

The whole thing with beauty, that's how I feel about it overall, is I like to be someone who takes care of myself, and whether it be that I put on makeup that day or not I like to take care of me, and now I would say mid thirties, I'm definitely more into it. skin care at this point and like just taking care of my skin and anti aging and sunscreen and just making sure I take care of the skin and the body I have.

Kristen: 40:58

And I wish I had been doing that more earlier cause same as you. I'm a little bit. Past my mid thirties, but it's more about the skincare regimen than the makeup. Like I am more about a good moisturizer. I am more about cleansing properly. Let me do a mask once a week. Let me replenish the nutrients in my face. And I, if we'd been doing this back then, just think of how much better the makeup would have looked on our perfectly moisturized faces too.

Arielle: 41:28

Yeah, I

Kristen: 41:29

was not,

Arielle: 41:30

and I

Kristen: 41:30

definitely was not using sunscreen. And that's what I tell people. Don't just put it on your face, put it on your neck, put it on your hands because I look at my hands and I'm like, Oh, my old lady hands. I don't have sunspots yet, but I just feel like my hands just look older. I'm like, Oh, I should have been. I, yeah, when

Arielle: 41:47

I put my treadmill in on, I have started doing my neck in the back of my hands now too, because yeah, it's. Definitely really important. And like you said, the sunscreen too, it's so important, but I definitely focus more on that or like my hair health and my scalp health. I've been really into that lately is trying to make sure my hair is healthy. Cause as I've gotten older, my hair has gotten drier.

Kristen: 42:11

Yes. What are you using to keep your scalp healthy? Do you have recommendations?

Arielle: 42:16

I started following you, you may have seen her on Instagram or TikTok, it's like Abby young or something like that. She has really long, shiny blonde hair. And so I started following some of her recommendations and I realized that my scalp really benefits from more washing than less washing. Yeah, I do not do well with less washed scalp and my, I like was having a lot of shedding and as soon as I started washing my hair more, the shedding quit. Really? Huh. Yes, it did. I had to start washing with more frequency, but one of the things that she recommends that I really do think has made a big difference, and my hair is so much shinier too, I would, my hair was like dull, I was using sulfate free, high end products, and my, I was shedding And my hair was so dull and I switched back to like drugstore with sulfates And washing more and my hair is healthy again. It's crazy but one of the things that I do Pre wash is I use a coconut oil. Spray And I put like coat my hair with that before washing and whenever I forget to do that, my hair is a little bit more dull. So I really think there's something to that. Oh! And that was one of the things that she recommended was to, whenever you're gonna wash coat the hair with the coconut oil serums and such.

Kristen: 43:41

Alright, I'm gonna need a link for that because I think that would benefit me because I think my hair is getting that way too. It's not necessarily, it doesn't look dry but I think dull is the right word for it. Like it just doesn't have the vibrancy that it had before.

Arielle: 43:55

Nope, mine didn't either and I was using living proof and no, I, and now I use like Dove shampoo and conditioner and my hair is so much healthier. I can't even believe like night and day difference and it didn't take very long, like within two weeks I noticed a huge difference and that my shedding was like in half once I switched back to sulfates and like easy and washing with more frequency.

Kristen: 44:22

All right I will try that then I'll get that coconut oil stuff because that sounds fantastic.

Arielle: 44:26

I'll send you her channel.

Kristen: 44:28

You got

Arielle: 44:28

a lot of

Kristen: 44:28

stuff on

Arielle: 44:29

there. Yeah, and then I watched like some dermatologists too that that's another thing is now we have more doctors who are on the social medias and sharing actual information that's helpful because that's how I got my skincare routine down and also how I've gotten some of my scalp issues under control is just watching a dermatologist.

Kristen: 44:49

Yeah, because I feel like there's so much we didn't know back in the day, because even growing up, it was like, All right, here's your Noxzema, here's your St. Ives apricot scrub just here's your clear cell just use these products, you'll be fine. I don't even think we were taught. I don't think I was taught to moisturize. It was basically just wash your face and dry your face, and you're good to go.

Arielle: 45:09

I had to, I had combination skin, and I would get really dry. So I would have to always moisturize. Yeah.

Kristen: 45:18

But I didn't use it either. Yeah. I remember, I think it might've been in college. I started using ponds and I don't even know, cause that's such like an old lady thing to use. But but I use ponds for years as my moisturizer and it's still, there's a reason it's stuck around. Yes. With the blue cap on it. There's a reason that stuff has been around forever. Cause it is good.

Arielle: 45:39

Yes, it is. I totally agree. Yeah I actually still use it to remove makeup at times because it's really good at removing, especially like stubborn eye makeup. It's really good for that. It's so gentle too. Yeah, and yeah, now I'm using another like cheaper drugstore Banacream. Banacream is great if you have dry skin. Really? So I still am combination, but as I've gotten older, I'm meaning more dry. I've been noticing I'm starting to get more dry than combination.

Kristen: 46:10

Especially in the winter months. I feel like my cheeks, especially, my cheeks will dry out or down the part, like, where your cheek. meets your chin like right down there like my skin will get a little drier there too.

Arielle: 46:23

Yeah, I love the Vanna cream. I just switched that my, my skin was super dry this winter probably because we're having such a. cold snowy winter. But I switched to the Vanicream and I use their, I got like the really thick one that's not for body and I use that on my really dry spots and then use their like lightweight base lotion all over. But on those spots that have been really dry or like my under eyes really need moisture these days. I've just been using a touch of that really thick one and it has made a big difference.

Kristen: 46:54

I love that.

Arielle: 46:56

that's what it's about. It's about

Kristen: 46:58

finding what's good for you and not necessarily going the trendy way anymore. It's about what works. Yes, agreed. And I love that. Ariel, thanks for coming and talk to me about the good old days of beauty blogging. Before we end, do you have any final thoughts or any other memories you wanted to share?

Arielle: 47:18

Not that I can think of, but this was definitely really fun to reminisce

Kristen: 47:21

on. I know, right? I want to go back and read my blog and be like, because I'm sure there was so many crazy things on there.

Arielle: 47:28

Okay, it, going back to regret, I deleted all of my stuff and I don't have the, I, my YouTube videos are all hidden, so I could watch those, but my blog is completely gone. You deleted it? I

Kristen: 47:40

thought

Arielle: 47:40

maybe you just unpublished it or something. Why did you delete it? I have no idea. I don't know and I don't even remember when I did it or why.

Kristen: 47:50

Isn't there a way, they say when something's on the internet, it's there forever. Can't we get some hackers or something? Or find some cached version of it somewhere?

Arielle: 47:59

Maybe the way back machine. That's what we find it

Kristen: 48:02

there? Yeah, we might have to try that because I did. I googled yours and I couldn't find anything. And I'm like, that's so crazy. It's not here anymore because mine is there. But all the comments are gone because towards the end, I had some issue with the Comment plugin I was using and I don't know. I don't remember exactly what happened, but I was like, oh, I'll just uninstall it and reinstall it and I uninstalled it and all the comments were gone. I can never get them back. And I was so upset because I like, I built a lot of comments on so many of my posts. I'm like, now it looks like my posts have zero comments and I'm a terrible blogger. And this is so dumb. It's probably it was

Arielle: 48:40

probably

Kristen: 48:41

just, it was just screwed me over. So pissed. I'm still pissed. But no, my blog is still there. And it is. It's, there's other parts of it too that don't work. Like some of the buttons I don't think show up anymore. I don't know. There's it's like it's a broken blog now. But it's still there. The posts are still there. I do still have, cause you were, you did have some guest posts for me a couple times. So the guest posts you wrote for me are still there.

Arielle: 49:13

Oh my gosh, okay, I went on the way back machine and I clicked a random Hold on, you're gonna love this. I clicked a random day from 2012. And guess what it is? What? The Walkabout Wednesday blog hop.

Kristen: 49:27

Does it describe what it is? Can you read, to read to the listeners what Walkabout Wednesday was?

Arielle: 49:35

Yes. Here we go. What is a blog hop? A blog hop is a linking that multiple bloggers add their URL to then participants visit blogs and follow if they wish. The benefits of blog hops are they are a great way to network, discover new blogs, and build followers. Why Walkabout Wednesday? We love the definition since this is what our bloghouse is all about. From Dictionary. com, Chiefly British, a walking tour, an informal public stroll taken for the purpose of greeting and being seen. Yeah, I told you, I looked up a Walkabout Man, that's what I said! Oh, picture! Yay! It has your okay. I forgot about this too. We used to put other people's little icons on the side of our blog. Yes! And yours is on here! Yay!

Kristen: 50:32

Oh my

Arielle: 50:33

gosh.

Kristen: 50:35

Okay.

Arielle: 50:36

Ah! This is so great. Okay. It's like we just opened a time capsule. I'm so excited. I'm so glad that the Wayback Machine exists. And that's so funny

Kristen: 50:49

that you randomly picked one and it was a walkabout Wednesday. That's the most perfect thing ever.

Arielle: 50:56

It truly is. I'll take a picture of this. Yes. Screenshot it. Great. I remember making this really terrible header too, but hey, we were all learning. Yes. Oh, ear. I found ears too. Oh, this is so good. I'm so glad I looked. Yes! Yes, I'm so glad.

Kristen: 51:24

This has been super fun. See, I told you this was going to be so fun. Ariel, thank you for coming. You are welcome to come back anytime. We can talk about beauty, we can talk about blogging, we can talk about books, we can talk about literally anything. Thanks for coming. All right. We'll talk to you later. All right. Bye

Arielle: 51:42

bye.