Today I get to interview Morgan from Hyacinth Girl, a refreshingly no-nonsense beauty blog I've enjoyed reading for a while now. I actually had the pleasure of meeting Morgan last month! I hope you enjoy this interview and don't forget to check out her blog.
Tell me a bit about you!
I’m Morgan and I write about beauty for Hyacinth Girl when I’m not at my day job, which involves children and books and much-anticipated coffee-and-scone breaks at 10 o’clock every morning. I find it really hard to just talk about myself like this but for a vague impression of what type of person I am, my interests include drinking coffee, hanging out with cats, being a feminist, talking a lot of shit and eating carbohydrates.
How did you first get into makeup? Do you have any special memories? Was there someone who got you into it?
I did the whole ‘Girlfriend magazine says I should buy this Caboodles lip gloss’ thing when I was a teenager but beyond that I wasn’t properly into makeup until I was 21 or 22. I do remember wearing navy blue mascara when I was 13, only to get rained on while walking to school and arriving with it streaming down my face. Or the time I got a foundation foil sample with a magazine and stretched it out to last me weeks, until a girl at school told me my face didn’t match my neck and I threw it out, mortified. And so on…
What made you decide to start blogging?
My friend Harriet and I had pitched a beauty column to our uni magazine when we were still studying, but they didn’t want it so we shelved the idea. Once I realised how much money I was spending on makeup I thought maybe writing about it could help me buy less (the opposite has happened) and I revisited the idea with Harriet. She blogged with me on Hyacinth Girl for a while, until life got too busy, and now here I am!
How do you juggle blogging with work/family/other commitments?
Working full-time does make blogging consistently a challenge. I make sure to get all my photos done on my days off, and I usually have four or five half-written blog posts floating around in my mind at all times. I kinda just squeeze it in, although it’s something I enjoy doing so I don’t see it as work anyway.
Is there anything about blogging/Instagram etc you find difficult or dislike? What has been your biggest challenge?As Hyacinth Girl grows and becomes more popular, and I work with more PRs, it becomes more challenging to balance my personal voice (no nonsense, lots of swearing) with what brands want to see and hear. I have no plans of compromising the HG vibe and I don’t think I have, but there is more pressure there than there used to be.
Do you have any blogging/vlogging/Instagram role models? What do you admire about them?I don’t really have role models - I think it’s too easy to inadvertently imitate people you admire if you follow them too closely.
What has been your favourite vlogging/blogging/Instagraming moment to date?Probably travelling to Makeup Obsessives meet-ups and meeting Hyacinth Girl readers who aren’t just reading it because they’re friends of mine! Launching the new look Hyacinth Girl last month was pretty exciting, too.
What is your most prized nail polish/makeup item?
How did you first get into makeup? Do you have any special memories? Was there someone who got you into it?
I did the whole ‘Girlfriend magazine says I should buy this Caboodles lip gloss’ thing when I was a teenager but beyond that I wasn’t properly into makeup until I was 21 or 22. I do remember wearing navy blue mascara when I was 13, only to get rained on while walking to school and arriving with it streaming down my face. Or the time I got a foundation foil sample with a magazine and stretched it out to last me weeks, until a girl at school told me my face didn’t match my neck and I threw it out, mortified. And so on…
What made you decide to start blogging?
My friend Harriet and I had pitched a beauty column to our uni magazine when we were still studying, but they didn’t want it so we shelved the idea. Once I realised how much money I was spending on makeup I thought maybe writing about it could help me buy less (the opposite has happened) and I revisited the idea with Harriet. She blogged with me on Hyacinth Girl for a while, until life got too busy, and now here I am!
How do you juggle blogging with work/family/other commitments?
Working full-time does make blogging consistently a challenge. I make sure to get all my photos done on my days off, and I usually have four or five half-written blog posts floating around in my mind at all times. I kinda just squeeze it in, although it’s something I enjoy doing so I don’t see it as work anyway.
Is there anything about blogging/Instagram etc you find difficult or dislike? What has been your biggest challenge?As Hyacinth Girl grows and becomes more popular, and I work with more PRs, it becomes more challenging to balance my personal voice (no nonsense, lots of swearing) with what brands want to see and hear. I have no plans of compromising the HG vibe and I don’t think I have, but there is more pressure there than there used to be.
Do you have any blogging/vlogging/Instagram role models? What do you admire about them?I don’t really have role models - I think it’s too easy to inadvertently imitate people you admire if you follow them too closely.
What has been your favourite vlogging/blogging/Instagraming moment to date?Probably travelling to Makeup Obsessives meet-ups and meeting Hyacinth Girl readers who aren’t just reading it because they’re friends of mine! Launching the new look Hyacinth Girl last month was pretty exciting, too.
What is your most prized nail polish/makeup item?
As much as I covet new makeup pretty much daily, I try not to attach myself to certain items themselves - possibly because every time I do, I end up misplacing them! I might choose my MAC eyeshadow palette because of the care and thought I put into choosing exactly what shadows it contains.
What's the weirdest beauty item you own?I just went and had a look at my makeup desk and to be honest, I think the weirdest thing has to be that I own more than one product that is essentially just a bottle of water. MAC Mineralize Charged Water Spray and Avene Thermal Water … just water. Both of them.
What is the strangest polish/makeup name in your collection?
I don’t usually pay a lot of attention to product names (am I weird?), although I have to admit I find Snoxin a pretty amusing name for a skincare serum. It sounds like toxin. And snot.
Is there anything you regret NOT buying?I regret not buying ALL THE THINGS when I lived in Canada, where there are Sephora stores. I regret not buying the Heroine lip pencil when it was released in MAC’s Fashion Sets collection in 2013. And the Estee Lauder Mad Men collection!
Tell me about your best beauty bargain.13. This isn’t a bargain per se, but I definitely think the best way to get your money’s worth on high end beauty purchases in New Zealand is to book a makeup application at the counter. At most counters, application costs around $90, but that cost is redeemable on product - so you get your makeup done, AND whatever you wanted to buy!
Is there a makeup/polish purchase you really regret?I think I regret buying two Sleek eyeshadow palettes with absurdly bright shadows in them. TWO. I have only used them when I am being silly, so they were kinda a waste of money.
What is your biggest lemming? (Item you reeeeeeaaaaally want)Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream! It’s the newest in the Daisy fragrance collection and the bottle is beautiful and it’s not out yet but I really think I need it.
Do you have a go to make up look/mani?At the moment my go-to makeup is a fairly natural face with full coverage foundation, defined brows, softly defined crease and bucket loads of mascara. My go-to nail colour is Essie Lady Like - the first nail polish I’ve wanted to reapply immediately after changing my nail colour!
X
Lani
What's the weirdest beauty item you own?I just went and had a look at my makeup desk and to be honest, I think the weirdest thing has to be that I own more than one product that is essentially just a bottle of water. MAC Mineralize Charged Water Spray and Avene Thermal Water … just water. Both of them.
What is the strangest polish/makeup name in your collection?
I don’t usually pay a lot of attention to product names (am I weird?), although I have to admit I find Snoxin a pretty amusing name for a skincare serum. It sounds like toxin. And snot.
Is there anything you regret NOT buying?I regret not buying ALL THE THINGS when I lived in Canada, where there are Sephora stores. I regret not buying the Heroine lip pencil when it was released in MAC’s Fashion Sets collection in 2013. And the Estee Lauder Mad Men collection!
Tell me about your best beauty bargain.13. This isn’t a bargain per se, but I definitely think the best way to get your money’s worth on high end beauty purchases in New Zealand is to book a makeup application at the counter. At most counters, application costs around $90, but that cost is redeemable on product - so you get your makeup done, AND whatever you wanted to buy!
Is there a makeup/polish purchase you really regret?I think I regret buying two Sleek eyeshadow palettes with absurdly bright shadows in them. TWO. I have only used them when I am being silly, so they were kinda a waste of money.
What is your biggest lemming? (Item you reeeeeeaaaaally want)Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream! It’s the newest in the Daisy fragrance collection and the bottle is beautiful and it’s not out yet but I really think I need it.
Do you have a go to make up look/mani?At the moment my go-to makeup is a fairly natural face with full coverage foundation, defined brows, softly defined crease and bucket loads of mascara. My go-to nail colour is Essie Lady Like - the first nail polish I’ve wanted to reapply immediately after changing my nail colour!
X
Lani
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