Blogging BTS #2

When it comes to blogging, there are no rules!

You often hear bloggers say, “I turn down 99% of collaborations/gifts/etc that I’m offered” and it’s like, “cool, tell us who… tell us why!”

I understand not everyone wants to talk about it, but it’s almost taboo!!

So, I know I certainly would’ve liked a a blog post or two to read about the BTS so that I didn’t feel so clueless or alone in some situations.

Last week I shared the BTS of my gifted products from Subi.

This week I want to share with you about Maarks Lip.

You definitely know this brand. They are sooooooo “Instagrammable”!!

They are a Melbourne based company who create five shades of lip products designed to suit everyone and they offer monogramming on their products. Cute!!!

I really wanted to get my hands on a lippie, so I messaged Maarks on IG and asked if they had any discount codes. The intention was to get a discount code and share it with you, my lovely followers!

The Maarks team got back to me super fast and said they didn’t have a discount code but that they would offer me a free lipstick if I placed an order.

I was excited!

So I bought the shades “Blush” and “Bare”, and asked for “Rouge” to be gifted to me.

Th products arrived in the gorgeous, chic Maarks packaging and in perfect condition, except one.

The shade “Blush” wasn’t quite right, the actual bullet seemed to have been dislodged and so I couldn’t twist it up or down to be used.

I message Maarks about this, and sent them a video demonstrating the issue.

No questions asked, they promised to send me out a replacement.

And sure enough, a few days later it arrived!

Their customer service was incredible. And I was so grateful to them for both the gift and how they dealt with my complaint.

I felt bad having to tell them about the issue, but I was a paying customer and ultimately deserved a product that wasn’t faulty.

The Maarks team were absolutely incredible. I truly am so grateful to have experienced such a fantastic shopping experience with them.

I tell you this, not to boast, but to share my experience.

I refuse to put a disclaimer on these posts because it’s my experience, and I am writing honestly to share with you, and demystify the secrecy of blogging.

Please do share any questions in the comments below!

I am hoping to create a series out of this post- which blogger would you like to know about their blogging BTS?

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Blogging BTS #1

ROLLY Mag

Hey hey friends!

There is no rule book when it comes to blogging and Instagram, but one thing that is kind of “unspoken” is that you keep brand deals hush-hush until it’s time to post about them.

And, you don’t hear much at all about what is the “behind the scenes” of a blog of IG.

It’s always “I’m working on a secret project! I can’t tell you about it yet!”

And that’s cool, sometimes projects DO have to be kept secret for a certain time.

But also, some projects aren’t secret.

You don’t know any thing about them and then BAM! Your favourite Instagrammer has a sponsored post up and you’re like “cool, but how did this come about?”

At least, that’s what I think!

Soooooo I wanted to share some of the BTS from my own blogging journey.

Keep in mind, I’ve only being doing this for seven months… and I’m still learning- a lot!

I mentioned this in a Week Latte post, that “a brand” contacted me and asked if I’d like to trial a product of their in exchange for a review and social media coverage.

That brand, was Subi.

I had seen Subi on my Instagram feed, but hadn’t really looked twice because pimple patches are something I had never tried before.

I let you guys know in that post that I was deliberating accepting their offer.

Some advice from my blogging besties K and Cortney, had me eventually reply to Subi saying “yes please!” (And then I told you here!)

Why?

I get pimples. These products are designed for people like me. Why shouldn’t I try them?

I’m yet to receive the product, but when I do, you now know my reasoning as to why.

Of course, when I communicated with the brand I made it clear that my review would be genuine and honest- of which they happily agreed too.

I told K about this, and she said she’d be interested in trying them.

So… I emailed Subi and let them know I had a friend who would love to try their stuff.

Literally a few minutes later, K got an emails from Subi offering her to try the products.

I was so excited for her!

See how if I had of gone through the process myself and kept it a “secret” I never would’ve been able to connect K and Subi.

And I am allllll about us micro influencers (yeah- I said it!!) supporting each other.

To further include you guys (my followers) on this particular brand journey, I posted this to my Instagram stories.

I was thinking about this and I could’ve kept that thought to myself (lol weird working but you get me!)

But! I wanted to share it because it gives you some insight and let’s you know you can expect me to talk about Subi in the near future. That way, my hashtag gifted post won’t be completely out of blue.

I would, personally, appreciate that as a consumer/audience/follower myself.

I’m excited and nervous to see how you, lovely followers, react to this style of post.

Do you like it? Are you curious to know more? Tell me in the comments below!

And, I’m kinda thinking we make this into a series- I sure have plenty more stories to tell!

I’d also love to get other bloggers to share their stories. What do you think?

Lots of love xx

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Words in Deep Blue- A Review

ROLLY Mag, Wordy Wednesday

A few years ago, I went to the Williamstown Literary Festival- which solidified my absolute LOVE for reading and writing. There I met a few Aussie authors (such as Andy Griffiths and Markus Zusak *fangirl*) including Cath Crowley. ‘Graffiti Moon’ was the first book of hers that I’d read. I loved it.

But, admittedly, I forgot about reading her others. Until I saw ‘Words in Deep Blue’ on my local library shelves. It’s been patiently waiting in the TBR pile since late January…

I am so happy I finally picked dit up. I started reading it late Saturday night, but had to stop because I was, ahem, crying so much. I picked it up again on Sunday morning and finished it.

I do want to add, as a disclaimer, I was full to the brim with uni-related stress and frustration, and so my tears mayyyyy have been due to some suppressed emotions that were entirely seperate to the book itself hahah. Nonetheless, it was a great emotional outlet.

I sobbed my way through the last 50 pages- and this I know was because of the book.

The expression of grief and it’s complexity was so raw, that you couldn’t help but imagine it for yourself.

And the process of loss and grief… how we try to make sense of it- was beautiful. The characters were so emotive and thoughtful.

Henry and Rachel felt just like myself. A combination of them created me. But I think every reader would feel like this. Maybe you gravitate to one more so than the other.

I thought that one sub plot was predictable. But that didn’t make it hurt any less. And I didn’t mind.

Perhaps my favourite nuance of the novel was Henry’s broad vocabulary, but he replied heavily upon the word “shit”.

It made me laugh a lot.

It felt real.

I think I related particularly to the characters because of them being in a post- Year 12 stage of life, and being set in Melbourne. It felt like they could’ve been my peers, friends even.

I, as a teenager myself, can be particularly critical of ‘old people’s’ attempts at recreating adolescents. Take, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before… would Peter Kavinsky reallllly have been waiting in the hot tub for Lara Jean? Teenages everywhere: heck no.

But, Crowley’s depiction of young adulthood was SPOT ON. She even made a dusty book store cupboard feel romantic. (Book stores are romantic, full stop, in my opinion).

And so for that, added an atmosphere to the novel that felt especially true- to me.

Similarly, sometimes, I am frustrated by happy endings in books. It’s all too cliche.

But I am so grateful that Rachel and Henry got their happy ending. Happy is not particularly exact- but they got they’re neatly tied with a bow, perfect in the present ending. Which they deserve.

PS. When I write a book review, I don’t want to critique the author. I just want to share my thoughts and feelings.

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February “No Buy”

ROLLY Mag

Last week, when I went on my crazy organisation shopping spree- I came home to sort out my beauty supplies and was overwhelmed by how much I had.

It was ridiculous. And it made me feel, honestly, sick. Firstly, at the amount of money I had spent on it all. And secondly, at the sheer volume of STUFF. And stuff I wasn’t using (enter- the GUILT).

So it was with this, that I declared to my dad and best friend that I would challenge myself to a “no buy” in February. They both laughed.

“Great idea, but do you really think you could do it?”

I had/have all my doubts- trust me. But it was this reaction that made me want to achieve it even more!

So here we are.

This “no buy” also sort of came about because after the said shopping trip- I couldn’t stop thinking about the things I didn’t buy, and needed to go back for. So much so, I had trouble sleeping. And I hated that shopping made me obsessive in this way. The only thing you should obsess about is boy bands, and even then- in moderation. So it was with this feeling, that I knew something had to change.

I always thought that people who did “no buys” were miraculous humans. How did they stay on track and no get distracted by the SALES!!

This month, I have my brother’s birthday, Valentine’s Day, back to work, back to uni… all events that would usually call upon a shopping trip. Especially when buying presents- one for them, three for me. With work and uni I anticipate some days it will be easier to buy lunch than take my own- but I can’t (and I won’t!) be doing that for the “no buy”. Already, I can see that it will be hard.

And is it bad that I’m hoping to accomplish it, only then to go shopping to treat myself come the 1st of March?! 😬

I am doing this- above all else- to address my shopping ADDICTION. Because that’s what it is. But secondary to this, I wanted to become a conscious shopper this year. Shopping once or twice a week as opposed to my previous three or four times does not exactly make me the Mother Theresa of Shopping. I need to commit to this. I’ve chosen the shortest month of the year to do so very intentionally.

I’ll keep you updated, of course!

Will you join me in the “no buy”? Let me know in the comments!

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Where It All Began

ROLLY Mag

I precisely remember the moment I bought my first Cosmopolitan magazine.

I was in the car, and on the radio Cosmo was being advertised- this particular story was about moving and living in another country. It was a cover story, and I was young and dreaming of New York so I begged my parents to buy it for me, a scantily clad Miranda Kerr on the cover. That day forward, Cosmo was a monthly addition to my life.

But before Cosmo, was Dolly.

I had to feed a neighbours cat whilst they were away on holiday for a few weeks, and as payment, she bought me a Dolly magazine. I read it cover to cover, pulling out posters and pages that inspired me, and built a condensed version of the magazine in a plastic folder.

Around this time, I also read Zoe Foster Blake’s “Air Kisses”. I was maybe 11 or 12 years old, and after reading the book- I pushed aside my ambitions to be an Olympic swimmer (I hadn’t been doing lessons for at least 2 years at this point 😅) and declared I wanted to be a beauty editor at a magazine. I told my then-best friend and she said to me, “you could be better than that. Be the big editor.”

She planted the seed in my head… And so, our class magazine was born. It went under two names- from memory- “Seriously Sassy” and “Secret Sisters”. I was the editor, agony aunt, beauty editor and more- getting classmates to do other columns. I remember chasing people to submit their articles, cover shoots in the playground, and publishing in black and white because we couldn’t make 20 copies of a 20 paged zine in colour, of course. Our class teacher was so supportive, and allowed time on Friday afternoons for us to spend creating the magazine.

I remember once, after we had done a dedicated page to One Direction, my teacher called me into her office and gave me posters from a weekend paper of 1D. I was so excited!

This whole “magazine epiphany” all occurred in a short period of time. So whilst I was busily creating my Grade 5/6 magazine, I was reading Dolly.

My favourite section was beauty, by Sara McLean. Then one fateful day, she announced she was leaving Dolly. My heart broke. I couldn’t imagine what would happen to my beloved beauty section once she was gone. So I sent her a hurried email telling her how much I love her work and how I’d miss her. I *wish* I could find that email. She emailed me back quickly, assuring me that Gyan Yankovich was filling her role and to trust her, we were in good hands. So I waited to read Gyan’s first piece- where she wrote her name phonetically so we would know how to pronounce it- and I remember thinking “yep, I like her.”

Fast forward to high school, where I began reading Cosmo and Cleo. I recognised a lot of names and faces from my Dolly days and I began to understand the ruthless nature of magazines- or the behind the scenes of them.

I had taken to reading Cleo more regularly than Cosmo because I had received a subscription for Christmas. But I was also discovering the world of the internet. I loved (and love) The Design Files and The Grace Tales… they were like digital magazines and Lucy Feagins and Georgie Abay filled the Sara McLean hole in my heart. If you’re wondering, The Grace Tales is a parenting site- but I loved seeing business women, fashion and recipes merge on there.

One day when scrolling, I saw that Bronwyn Mccahon had a feature on TGT. And she’d had her third baby! It shocked me that I had missed this major news, so ran out to buy Cosmo immediately.

Then my months consisted of a rotation of Cleo, Dolly and Cosmo. To be transparent- I never read Girlfriend- except for when they had poster books attached- because, 1D gal at heart. 😉

When Cleo and Dolly shut down, I cried. I don’t have the last issue of Dolly nor Cleo, because I could never find them in store. It would seem other girls wanted to hold on to those teenage memories too. By the time Cosmo announced its closure, I had no more tears. I’d endured this disappointment before. But that doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt. I picked up the last issue and read it mournfully. But I will always treasure that issue because it introduced me to my favourite Burt’s Bees tinted lip balm (in the shade Red Dahlia) 😉 What helped with the sadness, was the outpouring of love on social media. The current and ex team members with their heart felt posts, reminiscing and thanking the magazine for all it gave them. The womanhood behind magazines is what lives on, now that the doors have closed.

Nowadays, I can find my favourites from my magazine days on Mamamia, Buzzfeed and more. It always makes me feel proud when I see their name in the byline and see their career progression. These women were, are, and always will be my ultimate inspirations. I feel sad for girls that don’t have a magazine to turn to. But I trust that they have these amazing women – and their wealth of knowledgeable- accessible on the internet. That’s why I have this blog. To contribute to that space that girls turn to now.

And by the way, my dream is still to be a beauty editor at a magazine.

Below, in no particular order, are the women who I remember to have written my favourite magazines. I will always be thankful to have read your words.

Leigh Campbell

Sara McLean

Gyan Yankovich

Bronwyn Mccahon

Leda Ross

Charlotta Buckland

Alissa Thomas

Julia Naughton

Jessica Bailey

Dani Pinkus

Rebecca Hooton

Harriet McCready

Zoe Foster Blake

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Get Your Sh!t Together- A Review

ROLLY Mag

Image via ASOS as I couldn’t get a nice pic of my version without the library sticker gahhh!!

Happy #WordyWednesday everyone! On Monday night, I sped-read Sarah Knight’s second book “Get Your Sh!t Together”… it had been in my holiday TBR pile, but I had neglected reading over the festive season- so the night before it was due back at the library- I read it!! Albeit, I did skim-read the final chapter which detailed fear of failure and self perception- something I would have liked to read with more focus. So, in a slight spoiler into what I thought of the book, I will be purchasing my own copy so I can

1. re read it! And

2. Write notes in the margin… I’m not one to do this often (In year 12 it was a begrudging necessity but I’d never in my own book!) but I feel like it would be useful for marking the points that apply most to me and my life. To narrow down the advice, somewhat.

With that said… here’s my review!

Like many readers, I went straight to Good Reads when I first heard about this book. The reviews are so mixed!! Most of the criticism centres on Knight’s “try hard” humour and useless advice. I disagree. Although I would warn that if you’re easily offended, this is not the book for you. Not only does Knight insult you (or the Chipmunk version of you #IfYouKnowYouKnow) she also calls you out and forces you to asses yourself. I can imagine a lot of people won’t be comfortable with this- but I think that is why the book works so well. How can you help yourself- or anyone- if you don’t know, first, what needs helping? Knight wrote this book after her own life overhaul- she’s been there, done that. Personally, I respect life experience as more-than-good-enough validity to write a self help book. And, again, in regards to the humour in the book- I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily my type of funny, yet, I did enjoy the sarcasm and the IBS joke was particularly good. (As were both the vegan and Jonas brothers references 😂)

My Year 12 life (2018) was riddled with procrastination that stemmed from the fear of failure (as Sam from The Perfectionism Project taught me). Whilst this realisation from Sam helped me identify and understand my procrastination, for the first time ever (in a way that I foresee will work for me), Knight presented a method for combatting procrastination. It was, frankly, a good slap in the face to my serial-procrastination ways. This may have been too harsh to read for others who were not ready to accept and change their behaviour (hence some of the savage GR reviews).

However, GR also had a lot of love for Knight. Namely, her practical advice. She detailed goal setting in a way that was useful but also different to the drudgery that old men- “study gurus”, who had been out of the school system for approximately 628 years- presented to me and my cohort time after time during “the most stressful year of our life”. I tell you what, I would have like to have read GYST last year- it would have made organising my life a whole lot simpler and more effective. I also would have like to have had a copy on hand to slap those old men with. (Whilst screaming “GYST!!!” Obviously.) Goal setting- according to Knight- is SO simple. But we tend to over-complicate it. That’s why I loved the message of this book. It took the unnecessary sh!t out of life, and replaced it with succinct and adaptable strategies- not rules!

Some of my favourite advice:

⁃ Switch your focus from The Thing That’s Causing Your Anxiety To A Thing That Makes You Happy

⁃ When in doubt: don’t think, DO

And my absolute favourite!

⁃ GYST BINGO!

I am going to create this for myself, by choosing three things I’d like to accomplish everyday. If I achieve two of them, I am winning at life! If I achieve less than two, not winning! If I achieve all three of things in one day, I kinda expect Knight to write me a personal congratulatory email.

I think it’s such a good idea for optimising your productivity- aka GETTING SH!T DONE! If this was a competition against others, it would have very little effect on me. I’m hardly competitive (except at Uno). However a challenge for myself is something that does motivate me! (Ps. My end of year goal in 2018 was to “win at English”… spoiler: I did not. And it hurt. But that was then and this is now 😅)

I would like to add, also, that I did not “love” this book as a whole. But I really liked it. I’m sorry for my lack of distinguishable adjectives. Some parts were not applicable to me at this stage of life. But the three most valuable pieces of advice that I mentioned above made this book so great (for me!). I look forward to re reading it- as I think that is when I will truly grasp the concepts. Furthermore, (sorry, year 12 English is still in my blood), when I do re-read this, I won’t read it it one big chunk like I did in my jam-session upon my first read. I think in short chapters would most benefit me, so I can reflect after each one and plan to integrate that chapter specifically into my life.

Overall: I do recommend this book. But be open minded and take your time with it to get maximum results.

Ps. I wrote this whilst listening to P!ATD “Pray For the Wicked” and I think “(F!ck a) Silver Lining” makes the perfect background noise to reading any of Knight’s work 😂👌

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Turtles All the Way Down – A Review

ROLLY Mag

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

Welcome to #WordyWednesday! Initially, I thought this would be a “brain dump” kinda blog post theme but today a book review seemed fitting so if I ever post them… they’ll be on a Wednesday 😅 Enjoy!

I took this book away with me when I went on holidays over Christmas. It stayed on my bag the whole time…

Until we got in the car on the way home. Not the books fault haha, but my own personal mental barrier to enjoy reading again.

I thought I would start it that car ride, and after the end of the 3 hour journey, and a few hours at home, I had completed it.

I couldn’t put it down! Not because I had to find out happened, but because it was written so poetically. It was real, honest, confronting and everything in between. One of my favourite things about this text is the “a-ha” moment when the title is referenced in the book is just so well integrated and poignant.

It was a love story but not cliche.

It was about friendship but no glossed over- real friendship. No questions asked, friendship.

It was about mental health but in a way I’ve never seen. Having been lucky enough to never have had a mental heath illness (note there is a different between MH issues and illnesses) I have struggled to understand some people’s irrational fears.

Just walk away, just stop thinking about, just forget about it, just stop worrying…

Except what Turtles showed me is that someone suffering from a MHI, cannot *just* stop.

And this came to me during the hospital scene involving the hand sanitiser. If you’ve read it, you know.

The alternating inner monologue of Aza’s rational and irrational self was long, and repetitive and spiralled. Yet, by the end of that scene. I could physically taste the hand sanitiser in my own mouth. It was confronting.

But I needed that harsh reality to fully understand what Aza meant about the spiral getting tighter.

I honestly can’t believe this book isn’t more popular. I’ve hardly heard anyone speak of it- except for my bestie (I) who recommended it to me! I hope I’m just living under a rock and that it is, in fact, getting the attention it deserves!

Bonus: I’m not going to lie, I was proud of myself for understanding the references to Keats and Descartes. Thanks education 😜

I’m currently borrowing my copy from the library, although I did see in QBD, I’d prefer the hardcover. Hopefully I can get my hands on it soon- once I track it down 😅

PS. Another blogging revelation… writing a book review is hard without giving away details! I’m writing this, my approach developed to be “if you know, you know.”

Happy reading everyone!

@rolly.mag

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