I'm Helen, I'm 25 and I live in a Lipstick Jungle where my make up stash is one my most prized possession and I regularly have to fend off my beautiful three year old niece from messing with my high end cosmetics (the girl has expensive taste already). I live with a very smelly and naughty cat called Minnie and a boy called Dave. He says he's my boyfriend but he just showed up one night and never went away again. He has no idea about beauty products and once caused chaos in a LUSH store trying to get me the face mask I wanted (picture a mushroom cloud of dust and a fair bit of choking - the poor sales assistants ushered him out very quickly after this). He's a good egg though - and puts up with a lot of stuff no man should have to when walking through a Selfrifges store (think squeals of delight and utter fascination for longer periods of time than necessary over blusher). I have an unhealthy obsession with blush, lipstick and perfume, which - considering no women in my family are overly bothered by anything beauty related - it makes me a bit of a freak by their standards. When I gave my sister a hair mask to try she asked me what it was and I could have died of horror. She thought my face was hilarious.
Beauty blogging came about as a way to deflect some boredom back in June 2012 and give me something to focus on when I felt like I wanted to flex my writing skills. I was reading into Glossybox and found blogs that way. I started my own and the rest is written on this slice of the web. At first I was a little shy about letting my personality come through to start with but here I am, many moons later, rambling, raving and ranting about anything and everything beauty, fashion and lifestyle.
Blogging has created some amazing opportunities for me and opened doors into real beauty journalism. I've made some amazing friends in this community that I know will last a lifetime and I can't see what else comes my way.
The name 'Beautifully Superfluous' comes from not needing all of these beauty items and products in my life (therefore they're superfluous in the grand scheme of things) but wanting/needing/loving them anyway. I appreciate it's a little bit of a gob-full but I'm known by it now and I wouldn't change it even if I wanted to (which I've thought a lot about admittedly).
I'm not a model (hell NO - that conk is way to big), a make-up artist (I'll leave that to the professionals) or a fashionista (the closest I get to designer is drooling over pages of Vogue and Elle). I'm not cool, chic or sophisticated. I am happy though, comfortable with myself and willing to laugh a lot.
I hope you enjoy the journey with me.
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Contact by email: beautifullysuperfluous@live.co.uk - all emails will be responded to with 24 hours of their being sent.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Which part of the world are you from?
I'm from a small town in Staffordshire, England, but I was actually born in Bradford and then I was bought up in Cheshire. I've moved about but I'm back with my family now in the home town I've come and gone from several times.
What's the best thing about blogging?
Genuinely, it's the community. Blogging has opened so many doors for me to meet new people and travel to different cities. I love the fact that the majority of bloggers are willing to help each other, recommend products, have a laugh and make each other smile.
How many brothers and sisters do you have?
I have 1 brother, 1 sister, 2 half brothers and an ex-step brother that I still think of as a brother (if that makes sense?). We don't see each other all of the time (to be honest I can't actually remember when we all in the same room at once) but we're all fiercely protective of each other and always will be.
How long have you been with your boyfriend?
I've been with Dave for 3.5 years. We've had ups and downs but we make it work. I love him so much. He's truly my best friend.
Who designed your blog?
I wanted it to be different from everyone else's blogs which is why it isn't my favourite colour: pink. My blog was designed by the amazing Serena from Pretty Wild Things. You'll find her button in the sidebar if you want to see her portfolio.
What's your favourite brand?
This is so tough but I think if I had to pick one it'd be Estee Lauder. I've used a lot of their products and they're really great quality, have a fantastic colour range in every aspect of their products and their skincare is incredible.
Do you impulse purchase or do you do your research?
I combine both. I will impluse purchase from the High Street because I love wandering into Boots or Superdrug and just picking up a lipstick to treat myself. If it's something like a foundation though, or I'm looking to spend on higher-end brands, I research until I feel like I know everything there is to know about that product.
What is the one thing you wish you could own that you don't?
Michael Kors 'Sexy Amber' perfume.
How did your first meet-up go?
I enjoyed planning the July London Meet Up for sure but I was really upset to have to turn people away from coming when I had to cap numbers to 30 places. I hate leaving people out. I'm definitely going to try and do one every year but it depends on timing really. It was such a fun weekend and I really loved how everyone was so friendly. I won't be so nervous next though - at the July London Meet Up my hands were shaking so much!
What would your dream job be?
The dream would be to combine pro-blogging with some freelance journalism. I dropped out of college though so I don't have any full A-Levels or a degree so that is probably all it will stay - a dream.
Are you a 'big' blogger or a 'small' blogger?
I'm neither - I'm a blogger and that is that. I really don't understand that divide. Everyone has to start somewhere and we're all trying to accomplish the same thing regardless of the follower counts or page hits. For me, it comes down to content and just because a blogger has 20,000+ followers doesn't mean that they're any better at writing, editing and presenting their opinions than the blogger that wrote their first post last night. As long as my readership enjoys the content I put out, that I vary it and make sure that it's relevant then I'm happy.
Are you honest when you're sent samples?
I have a clear disclaimer policy that I add to the bottom of every blog post/review that contains PR samples. I also have a sponsored post disclaimer too. I think being 100% honest is the best way to be but there's being professional and there's being blunt; it's a thin line. Just because I don't like a product doesn't mean that someone else won't so whilst I'm writing my reviews I always keep that in mind and try to highlight the great points as well as the bits that didn't work for me personally. I'm exceptionally lucky to have worked with some fantastic brands and I've been even luckier to have loved the majority of the samples I've been sent. They've worked for me and I've really enjoyed using them. It's just coincidence that that's happened. One day I'll receive something I don't like or doesn't work for me and I'll be honest about that too.
Favourite songs?
I'm one of those people that believes music reflects the things happening in my life. I don't have just one favourite song so I can't truly answer that. I listen to a lot of different bands, singers and genres of music.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Which part of the world are you from?
I'm from a small town in Staffordshire, England, but I was actually born in Bradford and then I was bought up in Cheshire. I've moved about but I'm back with my family now in the home town I've come and gone from several times.
What's the best thing about blogging?
Genuinely, it's the community. Blogging has opened so many doors for me to meet new people and travel to different cities. I love the fact that the majority of bloggers are willing to help each other, recommend products, have a laugh and make each other smile.
How many brothers and sisters do you have?
I have 1 brother, 1 sister, 2 half brothers and an ex-step brother that I still think of as a brother (if that makes sense?). We don't see each other all of the time (to be honest I can't actually remember when we all in the same room at once) but we're all fiercely protective of each other and always will be.
How long have you been with your boyfriend?
I've been with Dave for 3.5 years. We've had ups and downs but we make it work. I love him so much. He's truly my best friend.
Who designed your blog?
I wanted it to be different from everyone else's blogs which is why it isn't my favourite colour: pink. My blog was designed by the amazing Serena from Pretty Wild Things. You'll find her button in the sidebar if you want to see her portfolio.
What's your favourite brand?
This is so tough but I think if I had to pick one it'd be Estee Lauder. I've used a lot of their products and they're really great quality, have a fantastic colour range in every aspect of their products and their skincare is incredible.
Do you impulse purchase or do you do your research?
I combine both. I will impluse purchase from the High Street because I love wandering into Boots or Superdrug and just picking up a lipstick to treat myself. If it's something like a foundation though, or I'm looking to spend on higher-end brands, I research until I feel like I know everything there is to know about that product.
What is the one thing you wish you could own that you don't?
Michael Kors 'Sexy Amber' perfume.
How did your first meet-up go?
I enjoyed planning the July London Meet Up for sure but I was really upset to have to turn people away from coming when I had to cap numbers to 30 places. I hate leaving people out. I'm definitely going to try and do one every year but it depends on timing really. It was such a fun weekend and I really loved how everyone was so friendly. I won't be so nervous next though - at the July London Meet Up my hands were shaking so much!
What would your dream job be?
The dream would be to combine pro-blogging with some freelance journalism. I dropped out of college though so I don't have any full A-Levels or a degree so that is probably all it will stay - a dream.
Are you a 'big' blogger or a 'small' blogger?
I'm neither - I'm a blogger and that is that. I really don't understand that divide. Everyone has to start somewhere and we're all trying to accomplish the same thing regardless of the follower counts or page hits. For me, it comes down to content and just because a blogger has 20,000+ followers doesn't mean that they're any better at writing, editing and presenting their opinions than the blogger that wrote their first post last night. As long as my readership enjoys the content I put out, that I vary it and make sure that it's relevant then I'm happy.
Are you honest when you're sent samples?
I have a clear disclaimer policy that I add to the bottom of every blog post/review that contains PR samples. I also have a sponsored post disclaimer too. I think being 100% honest is the best way to be but there's being professional and there's being blunt; it's a thin line. Just because I don't like a product doesn't mean that someone else won't so whilst I'm writing my reviews I always keep that in mind and try to highlight the great points as well as the bits that didn't work for me personally. I'm exceptionally lucky to have worked with some fantastic brands and I've been even luckier to have loved the majority of the samples I've been sent. They've worked for me and I've really enjoyed using them. It's just coincidence that that's happened. One day I'll receive something I don't like or doesn't work for me and I'll be honest about that too.
Favourite songs?
I'm one of those people that believes music reflects the things happening in my life. I don't have just one favourite song so I can't truly answer that. I listen to a lot of different bands, singers and genres of music.
If you have any questions for me leave them below and I'll do my best to reply to you!
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