{"id":81750,"date":"2015-10-16T11:42:45","date_gmt":"2015-10-16T11:42:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/?p=81750"},"modified":"2015-10-16T11:42:45","modified_gmt":"2015-10-16T11:42:45","slug":"blogs-are-good-for-the-soul-fiona-klonarides-the-beauty-shortlist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/blog\/blogs-are-good-for-the-soul-fiona-klonarides-the-beauty-shortlist\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Blogs are good for the soul’ Fiona Klonarides, The Beauty Shortlist"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fiona Klonarides talks to Vuelio about what makes (and keeps)\u00a0The Beauty Shortlist<\/a><\/span>\u00a0among the country’s\u00a0top beauty blogs, the challenges of using social media, projects she has lined up ahead, working with PRs and more.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

What\u2019s new on the Beauty Shortlist blog?\u00a0<\/strong>50! As in \u201c50 is the new 50<\/strong>\u201d, one of our recent posts about beauty being ageless.\u00a0 I want to highlight the inspiring tidal wave that\u2019s washing through the media right now about how we\u2019re essentially beautiful at any age. I think we\u2019ve suffered from \u201cage racism\u201d for far too long. This age-embracing movement is one of the most important ones in the history of beauty \u2013 and civilisation \u2013 we\u2019ve got new beauty icons in Charlotte Rampling for NARS, Helen Mirren for L\u2019Oreal, Joan Didion for YSL. This is HUGE!\u00a0 I know many women in their fifties feel invisible. We need to change that. When we start seeing older actresses in big roles (TV is better, movies are worse), and older models everywhere, the age stigma will start to melt away. Instead of saying \u201cWow, she looks great\u2026for her age\u201d we\u2019ll start saying \u201cWow, she looks great!\u201d We are all ageing, you can\u2019t get away from it. Accept, embrace, enjoy.\u00a0 Having fun and retaining a sense of childlike wonder about the world are two of the best beauty tips I know. \u00a0But aside from the 50+ debate, it always amazes me that our readers span age-wise from about 20 to 60.<\/p>\n

Why should people read your blog?\u00a0<\/strong>Because they want to! And because we don\u2019t follow the flock, if you like. We feature a LOT of brands people have never heard of \u2013 before they get into Selfridges or Liberty\u2019s. We\u2019re pretty pivotal as a launch pad for brands, I\u2019ve seen some that we\u2019ve reviewed, say a year ago, get into a big Oxford Street retailer one year later, this has happened with some of our Beauty Shortlist Awards winners.<\/p>\n

People often tell us they\u2019ve discovered a product they absolutely adore and if it weren\u2019t for the blog they\u2019d never have found it because nobody else is writing about it. We\u2019re supporters of any ethical brand, big or small, it doesn\u2019t matter. I leave the big brand lip glosses to the other bloggers as they do a great job. Ours is to discover and share the newest of the new, the niche brands, the new cult heroes, the clean, green winners. We\u2019re the A&R, to use a music term, of the beauty industry \u2013 the brand scouts. We find a lot of the best new brands via our Awards \u2013 our 2016 Awards, our fifth, have just opened for entries http:\/\/www.thebeautyshortlist.com\/2016-awards\/<\/a> and they\u2019re open to any brand, including international, that is sold in a store or UK retail site. Purely and simply the best products win, whether they\u2019re by Weleda, Neal\u2019s Yard, Dr Murad, Liz Earle or an indie artisan Scottish brand like Beatitude Oils or JustBe Botanicals. This makes The Beauty Shortlist a bit of a treasure trove for beauty heroes.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re not sponsored and don\u2019t run ads so we have the most wonderful freedom to write up the best of the best \u2013 no strings attached. Having said that, I would happily work closely with a few of my desert island all time favourite brands as an ambassador \u2013 I\u2019d love to do that. If something is truly brilliant I\u2019d happily fly the flag for it! So I might look at doing that next year.<\/p>\n

How do you measure the success of your website? \u00a0<\/strong>It\u2019s successful when people write in to say they found a new beauty hero through us \u2013 and when brands write in and tell us we\u2019ve helped them get into retail or boosted sales significantly.\u00a0 That feedback makes my day. I never obsess about stats, it\u2019s much more about consistently featuring excellent products, remaining independent and completely honest (we\u2019ve been approached by digital agencies, etc. but that doesn\u2019t feel right \u2013 at least for now). We have a lot of friends in the industry but no specific allegiances to brands or retailers.\u00a0 You could say The Beauty Shortlist is the Switzerland of the beauty world \u2013 neutral.<\/p>\n

What advice would you give to someone who wants to start a blog? \u00a0<\/strong>Remember that, as in life, honesty is the best policy. Write freely, about what you really do love, and be prepared for your blog to gobble up a lot of the hours in your week! It can be enormously time-consuming but very rewarding. I think blogs are good for the soul. You\u2019ve got nobody cracking a whip over you telling how, when and what to write. A blog is beautifully freeing and it can be your consolation when you\u2019re down, too. If you want to start a blog, go for it.\u00a0 Yes there are millions of others about but you are you so do what you love (well) and your followers will come.<\/p>\n

How do you work with marketers and PRs? \u00a0<\/strong>I don\u2019t really work with marketers or digital agencies \u2013 at all.\u00a0 I just pick and choose what comes in from the PRs or scout around for new launches I like the look of then call in samples. \u00a0We have a fantastic relationship with PRs generally, I have huge respect for PR agencies, they\u2019re under a lot of pressure, clients expect miracles and I really enjoying working with them. Good PR is a strategic art form, and it\u2019s a full-on job which flows over into evening hours.<\/p>\n

How do you use social media to promote\/share content? What are the challenges?\u00a0<\/strong>I\u2019m a natural sharer so this bit I love!<\/p>\n

OK \u2013 challenges: it\u2019s SO time-consuming. Shockingly so! We\u2019re new to Instagram @BeautyShortlist as the thought of having to run yet another social media channel felt a bit \u201cuhhh!\u201d to me. The Beauty Shortlist\u2019s Instagram is actually my personal Instagram so it\u2019s music, travel, surfing, yoga, Morocco, Greece, photography, dogs, design, textiles, fashion, interiors\u2026you name it! Not just beauty. I share everything from close ups of Sahara camels with long eyelashes \u2013 which will be part of our MAROC WEEK, our homage to the beauty and artisanal talent of Morocco (October 2015) \u2013 to the highlights of London Fashion Week.<\/p>\n

People say @BeautyShortlist\u2019s Instangram is really colourful, vibrant and eclectic, if I see something exquisite, whatever it is, I\u2019ll share it. We\u2019ve got surfers, global musicians, professional nomads, mums, dads, architects, students, bloggers, brands, yoga teachers, big entrepreneurs following – an eclectic bunch of followers.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not a Facebook fan, I think there are privacy issues. Twitter has just been amazing for us, for connections and communicating, it\u2019s like one big, global, cocktail party. Not sure about Google+\u2026and I hate to say it but I\u2019ve lost interest in Pinterest, Instagram feels more immediate, more visual and is better for connecting. I\u2019m an Instagram addict now.<\/p>\n

What can PRs do in working better with you?\u00a0<\/strong>Please don\u2019t send in a press release as a jpg! You can\u2019t cut and paste the parts of it you want for a post, and when you\u2019re typing at 100mph and on deadlines, this is a pain. Also do please send images with the first email, so I don\u2019t have to request them.\u00a0 One thing PRs could do more of perhaps is ask what we\u2019re working on for the next three months to see if there\u2019s something that will fit well.<\/p>\n

Can I just say here that I\u2019m sure I\u2019m not the only blogger to feel like this, but we can\u2019t leave our work and cross London for a coffee and a chat about a new product.\u00a0 As long as I\u2019ve got the product in my hand, to test it, plus the info and images, I\u2019m all set. I wish I could meet the PRs but I don\u2019t have the time to get on trains and tubes for a one hour meeting, it eats too much into my day. I\u2019m featuring the product for free and I lose half my working day? It\u2019s not a win-win situation. What I do instead, which works brilliantly, is organise a full day in London with PR and brand meetings, back to back \u2013 say 30 to 45 mins each – at one of my favourite venues like Liberty\u2019s caf\u00e9. A bit like an all day breakfast, lunch and tea session, then dinner with one of my friends, like Liz founder of natural beauty etailer A Beautiful World or Edwina at Amazing PR. Because the meetings are short, it keeps things condensed. I really love meeting the people behind the brands and the PRs behind their emails, it makes it all more interesting and human.<\/p>\n

What has been your blogging highlight?\u00a0<\/strong>I think I\u2019m having one now! 2015 has been an incredible year for the blog. The success of our Awards \u2013 2016 will be our 5th<\/sup>. I\u2019ve been blogging for 7 years and writing about beauty for 10 (editorial\/copywriting).\u00a0\u00a0 I just heard I\u2019m in the top five for the Fashion Beauty Monitor Journalism Awards Beauty\/Grooming Blogger of the Year award (21 October) along with writers from Men\u2019s Health, Get The Gloss, Cosmopolitan and Net-A-Porter, which is a thrill.\u00a0 And when The Beauty Shortlist first made the Top 10 in Vuelio\u2019s (previously Cision) social media ranked UK beauty blogs \u2013 that really was memorable.<\/p>\n

What are your plans for your blog in 2016?\u00a0<\/strong>Gosh \u2013 what are we NOT planning?!<\/p>\n