It’s Wednesday, so let’s drag our bums over the hump!
It’s been a while since we’ve chatted so I thought I’d do an “Ask Me Anything” post today. If you’re new to Beautyholics Anonymous (why, hello and welcome!), the Ask Me Anything segment is when you can, well, ask me anything!
Do you have any questions you’d like to ask me, beauty or blogging-related? Perhaps you have a problem that needs solving. I may not be able to help you but the readers may. Even if you don’t have any questions, do feel free to drop in and say hi. Read any interesting books lately? I’m on the lookout for more books to read so if you have any recommendations, do let me know in the comments. Did you learn anything new lately? Let us know!
As for questions related to blogging, they’ll help me greatly in planning and writing my Bloggie Wednesday posts. I’m really glad you’re enjoying the series thus far. It’s the most difficult posts on the blog to write, yet they’re the most interesting ones to me. Perhaps I should just write about blogging and be done with beauty! (yeah right :P)
I’m ready with my cup of hot Milo. Over to you. Ask me anything!
No question, just sending some blog love! π
(Very interested to see others questions though)
Kaye recently posted..Cafe Au Lait, Iβm In Love With You!
Thanks for the blog love π x
Perfect chance for me π
I’ll be in Sydney soon. What makeup should I get there that is affordable?
Haha hello Jessie!
Makeup brands and products I recommend:
– Face of Australia makeup remover (my Holy Grail of makeup removers), Face Base primer and mineral foundation (liquid, not powder)
– Australis Voluptulash mascara
– Dr Lewinns skincare, particularly the Super Hydrator S8 serum and Reversaderm range. Not exactly cheap for a drugstore brand but highly effective.
– Trilogy skincare
– Grown skincare (particularly the hand and body cream)
There are a lot more but these are good to start with π Have a great time in Sydney! x
Thanks! Face of Australia looks interesting!
It’s one of my favourite Australian drugstore brands π
Hi Tine! Just drop by to say Hi to you! How are you? May I know what do you think about Dior skincare? I’m planning to look into it. :):)
Hi Michelle,
I’m good! How are you? π
Sorry, I haven’t used any skincare from Dior. Not yet anyway. Recommend you check out Paris B’s blog (mywomenstuff.com) on her top picks on Dior skincare. If I recall correctly, she really likes the Capture Totale serum π
I’ve been having technical problems with my blog on the server that hosts it, and unfortunately, I’m not a techie. The customer support told me I had too many “queries” for the type of site I have and they upgraded me to another type of site for an extra $20/month. Since I’m not making that much from advertising at this point, that hurts lol! I’m trying to find a Wordpress IT freelancer to help me with my self-hosted site, but haven’t landed on one yet. I know you’re half a world away so I’m not asking for a referral, but I’m curious: you have such a great site, do you have a full-time tech person?
Allison recently posted..essence I
Hi Allison,
Ahh these sort of queries are normally from spambots crawling your site. When a lot of these happens, it increases the load on your website, increasing CPU usage that also affects the server. What you can do is block these IP addresses (you can do it on your cPanel) from accessing your website. Normally most of these spambots are from China, just block them. Leave googlebot as it is. Customer support should be able to tell you the IP addresses that are crawling your website the most.
I had the same problem with my old webhost. They kept telling me that my CPU usage is high because I had all these spambots crawling my site. But even after blocking them, I still had the same problem. They kept asking me to upgrade to a dedicated server for a lot more money, which was highly unnecessary given my blog and traffic aren’t even big enough to warrant a dedicated server. Just felt as though they wanted to make more money out of me. After almost a year of frustration with them, I finally switched to a new webhost (Hostgator). Didn’t even need to change anything; my CPU usage was at the minimum.
Anyway to answer your question, nope, I don’t have a full-time tech person. That full-time tech person would be me π If you need extra help, email me at tine@beautyholicsanonymous.com. Will see what I can do π
Thank you so much, Tina, for your reply and so quick!! My host told me I had too many plugins (36) and by mistake, I had 3 WP themes that I originally considered for the blog but didn’t use. I deleted the 3 extra themes and the host deactivated all of my plug-ins. I reactivated 20 of them, and I’m afraid to reactivate any more. They didn’t say anything about bots, but that makes perfect sense. Unfortunately, I don’t know how to block them and I don’t know how to get into my cPanel (wish I’d studied computer science instead of psychology and art history, lol). They mentioned “dedicated server” to me too, and my blog is only 7 months old and still teeny! Recently, an IT acquaintance mentioned moving my blog to Hostgator. I think I will ask her rates to move my blog. I’m sure it’ll be worth it to not have to pay the extra for CPU usage. Thanks again, Tina. You have been so helpful to me since I started. I so appreciate it!!
Allison recently posted..Too Faced La Creme Color Drenched Lip Cream Lipstick
Unused plugins and themes can also put unnecessary load to the website and server, so your webhost is also right. All deactivated plugins should be removed. Wow you have 36 plugins! Try to keep them to a minimum if possible (preferably 10 or less). Same goes for themes.
As for your cPanel, try this? http://www.neversaydiebeauty.com/cpanel. If that’s not the right one, do check with your webhost. Nah, you definitely do not need a dedicated server. The ones with dedicated servers get about 100k-1M visitors a day! The webhost just wants to make money off you, which is what I don’t like. They should know better that you do not need a dedicated server.
Do check out Hostgator. I’ve not had any problems with them. Plus the 24/7 live chat customer service helps big time!
Hi Tine,
How are you? I hope all is well…I have blusher question for you. :)….I have been lemming for a Tom Ford blush for the longest time but the price point is a killer.Is it really worth all the hype…
Thank you…and hope you are having a great day…take care…aaj
Hi hi! I won’t deny it. Tom Ford sure does gorgeous blushes. Highly pigmented, beautiful finish on skin, very luxurious. Is it worth the hype? For me, it is. Still, I know it’s very pricey so if possible, try getting it overseas as it’s cheaper than getting it in Australia (sigh, what isn’t?). If not, for a treat, I’m sure you deserve something luxe for yourself π
I have a html coding question to start with labels.
I am using blogger platform, and ive tried… Dun understand the instructions either. Trying to convert labels into a drag down menu. Any one can explain it to me?
Hi CY,
Wow I haven’t used Blogger in ages! I Googled and this looks quite easy to do:
http://www.bloggersentral.com/2010/05/create-dropdown-menu-for-labels-widget.html
This is not bad too:
http://www.7ends.com/2013/03/create-dropdown-menu-for-labels-widget.html
Just find the original code, delete it and replace with the code given in the blog posts. Before making any changes, remember to back up first! Just copy and paste the original code on Notepad first. If anything goes wrong, just copy and paste back the original code.
Good luck!
Hi thanks…..
I tried the copy and pasting code. however what happened was the list of labels didnt come out. I am not sure how to fix it so i had to revert back to the default labels as provided by Blogger.. sigh.
CY (@cheayee) recently posted..Metamoff Gallery: One Eye Shadow Colour Application
Could be that there’s a conflict in your code somewhere. Methinks you’ll have to double-check your code (before changing the labels to the dropdown menu). Sorry, can’t help you much because I haven’t used Blogger in a long time π
Hi Tine,
I’m a new blogger and want to get a good camera so I can take better pictures. Just wondering what camera you use and wether you had any tips or recommendations on cameras and even taking photos.
Thanks so much, Kayte
Kayte recently posted..Lust Have It – April 2013
Hi Kayte,
I use two cameras for my blog – a Panasonic Lumix LX5 (point-and-shoot) and an old Canon 400D (DSLR). As I don’t have a macro lens for the DSLR, I prefer to use the Lumix for close-up shots of my makeup. For FOTDs, I use the DSLR.
Tips on taking photos – natural light, no flash. Flash just kills pictures. Take many snap shots of one item and choose the best. I’ve seen blogs with lots of blurry pictures and they’re not appealing. I take about 50 pictures just to select 2-3 π
Also, don’t be afraid to edit your images for brightness, contrast and clarity. You don’t need Photoshop; there are plenty of other resources out there. My favourite is PicMonkey.com.
Good luck!
cooll… i use a Lumix DMC FS12 (point and shoot) which i keep in my hand bag at all times for those ad hoc moments, and a Lumix GF5 (which is somewhat like a point and shoot just with adjustable lens) which i use only when the event is pre planned.
I am still working on understanding the features.. so many things to learn… dont know when I will ever get to it. LOL.
CY (@cheayee) recently posted..Metamoff Gallery: One Eye Shadow Colour Application
Haha I know, right? I’m still learning about my LX5, let alone the DSLR! π
I have no questions but just want to come on and say hi π
Angela @ The Unprofessional Beauty Blog recently posted..Avocado and Honey DIY Face Maskο½Nutritional Food For Beautiful Skin
Aww hi Angela! *waves*
Another Bloggie Wednesday topic: Blogger Outreach Programs!!! I’d love to hear how one program thinks they stand out from the other. Very rarely do they disclose what they’re really about in email, it’s not until you speak to them that you get a better sense of what they offer.
Yishan recently posted..Find your perfect lipstick with me! (Sponsored by Clinique & Mecca Maxima)
Hi Yishan,
Hahaha I know I can always count on you to give me BW topics to write about. Blogger Outreach Programs? Oooh what an interesting topic! Nowadays there are more and more of these programs circulating on the blogosphere. Too many to decide which is better for your blog. Thanks for the topic! *writes idea down*
Hello there! π Just wanted to know, what’s your typical day like?
Jessica W recently posted..Cupcake love
Hi Jess!
You have given me an idea of what to write – a day in life of this beauty blogger! I’ll do a post instead of writing it here. Thanks for the idea! π
Glad to be of service! π Can’t wait to read that post!
Jessica W recently posted..Cupcake love
That’s what I wanted to know as well! Looking forward to seeing that post! π
Stuff like how do you juggle with your day job, love life, leisure etc etc π
Hahahahah even juggling love life? Hee hee! π
Ya! I mean, you never reveal if you’re single or married? π Or dating? Available or not available π Sorry I’m just a very busybody blog reader with too much time on my hands π
En En recently posted..A Late Bloomer
Oh wait, my bad… you’re happily married but it’ll be nice to hear about your dates with your hubby and other stuff that you’re willing to share!
En En recently posted..A Late Bloomer
Hi Tine,
Just drop by to say hi π
just wondering whether you have tried any clarins skincare product ? Im new to clarins and just wanted to know if there are any that you can recommend?
thanks π
Hi Gaby,
I don’t use a lot of Clarins skincare products but there are a few I’ve tried, have repurchased and would recommend. The Daily Energizer range is my favourite. They’re decent, affordable and smells great. It’s actually meant for younger skin but I find that it works just as well on mine. Another product I’m currently trialing is the Double Serum. It’s a tad too rich for me during summer but now that it’s getting colder, I’m hoping that it will work better for me in winter. Watch this space sometime in winter when I review the Double Serum π