DIARY directory recently caught up with Rose Gallagher from beauty blog Mixed Gems. Rose has previously interned at Vogue and has held roles at Illamasqua and feelunique.com. She is currently a Personal Beauty Shopper at Selfridges and shares all her beauty must haves, tips and purchases on her blog. Rose has additionally been featured on the Selfridges website, as well as Brides Magazine, Refinery29, Get The Gloss, Grazia Daily and At The Kitchen Table by Sophie Dahl. Rose covers a number of beauty topics on her blog, including make-up, skincare, hair and fragrance.
 

UK beauty blogger & Beauty Personal Shopper at Selfridges...

Featured on Vogue, Get the Gloss, Refinery29 & Grazia Daily

"You just can’t beat pulling a book or magazine out of your bag."
 

Listed in DIARY directory in the digital influencers subsection, along with 1000+ categorised influencers for PRs to work with, Rose divulges how her prior experience has aided her blog; shares her blogging highlight and the social platforms bloggers should be on; in addition to revealing her top tips for blogging while working full time. Rose also touches on the future of publishing due to the rise of blogs and her thoughts on the future. 

You have worked in all aspects of the industry - from social to editorial and sales - how has your experience aided your blog?

I feel like every experience has helped me to find my own way of writing my blog. My social background made me want to share everything on social platforms, my editorial experience has kept my love for reading alive, and now working in a beauty hall is the cherry on the cake. I feel so lucky to be able to speak to women every day about beauty products; I’m very inspired by conversations that I have every day and questions from my clients often inspire the features that I write.
 
Your key area is beauty, have you thought about expanding more into lifestyle or other areas?

I’m very happy when I’m immersed in beauty and I think it is so varied – there’s make-up, skincare, fragrance to navigate – it keeps me on my toes. What I do want to do is write a book, and this is something that I would perhaps do in more of a fictional capacity.

What has been your blogging highlight?

Over the years I have had the chance to meet some of my favourite figures in beauty and I am really grateful to say I have spent time with people like Bobbi Brown and Charlotte Tilbury when I use their make-up every day. For me, the very best moment was just last month, when I was in Terry Barber’s MAC make-up team for the Marquez Almeida SS17 fashion show as an undercover artist. It was the most exciting experience to be part of such a talented make-up team, made all the more brilliant by the fact that everyone was really welcoming.

You juggle working full time with blogging, what are your top tips, how do you manage your time?

It’s definitely a challenge to find time for everything but my top tip is to set deadlines. For example, I’ll set a time on my day off that I’m going to write until, and after that I’ll relax and watch a film, non-negotiable.

"If I’m learning about a new brand I always go straight to their Instagram page to get a feel for them. I’d say to mention social handles in the introductory e-mail....."

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt since starting your blog?

My blog has taught me that if you put your mind to something, work hard and persevere, you’ll achieve what you want to. I pinch myself every day about how something I started from my bedroom as a hobby at University is now something that I consider a big part of my everyday life.

What advice / top tips would you give PRs looking to promote their clients through your blog?

If I’m learning about a new brand I always go straight to their Instagram page to get a feel for them. I’d say to mention social handles in the introductory e-mail. I’m on the train a lot so I don’t always have time to scour a full website, but a scroll through Instagram will give me lots of insight in a short amount of time.

Blogging/YouTube can - to an extent - be seen as a numbers game, however we believe that numbers don't always measure up to engagement. What does success mean to you and how do you measure it?

To be honest I’ve always been much smaller in numbers than lots of other people in my field so I’ve never really taken too much notice of them. I measure myself in the brands that want to work with me. Over the last couple of years, I’ve had e-mails from brands that I have loved and used for years and I always feel so excited when they find my blog. I am straight on the phone to my sister and mom to tell them if I hear from someone new. Also, I’ve really found over the last year or so that I get so many e-mails from readers and people wanting to share their experiences with me. That, to me, is so rewarding and I consider that so much more of a personal success than the number of people that follow me.

What are your thoughts on the future of publishing due to the rise of blogs and digital/social platforms?

I think now is a really exciting time and it’s been great to watch digital beauty grow and grow. However, I think there’s always going to be room for both. Just when I thought I’d learned everything I needed to know from watching Pixiwoo on YouTube or reading salihughesbeauty.com, they both launched books this week and I’ve loved nothing more than curling up on the couch with both of them. You just can’t beat pulling a book or magazine out of your bag.

You’re active on a number of social media platforms, do you think bloggers should be on them all?

Personally I think it’s best to just stick to what works and not put too much pressure on yourself. At the moment I’ve got around 20k followers on Instagram, but after an eternity of trying to make a Facebook page work, it just wasn’t something that people interacted with. After a while I thought I’d rather delete it and put my time into the one that worked.

What other bloggers / influencers do you follow and why?

Peaches and Cream: my best friends’ make-up salon and the most whimsical make-up page in the world.

Nicola Moulton: the beauty director at Vogue, the kindest lady that gave me my very first internship.

Newby Hands: the queen of beauty, if Newby recommends something I go and try it straight away.

Alex Steinherr: I just think Alex is completely owning digital at the moment. She is the perfect example of how to share knowledge in an informative, friendly and personable way.

House of Glamdolls: David Horne’s make-up school, a flurry of inspiration every day.

Terry Barber: a beauty guru that thinks outside the box and makes even ordinary things magical and inspiring.

Pixiwoo and @NixiePixi: the only YouTube channel I watch religiously. Every single time I watch I learn something new.

Burkatron: the loveliest girl and the most amazing lifestyle content.
 

Contact

Mixed Gems in 'digital influencers'