1. What are your morning and nightly skincare routines?
Brooke: Morning – cleanse using TimeWise 3-in-1 cleansing bar (by Mary Kay), followed by 1 Philosphy Clear Days Ahead treatment pad, and finish with TimeWise (Mary Kay) moisturizer. I should have included these two Mary Kay products in my “beauty products I buy again & again” post because I’ve been using them for over 10 years, and love them (and no…I don’t sell them, just love them)! The cleansing bar is also the best product I’ve found to clean my Beauty Blender which is great as well (I clean it every other day).
Evening – remove makeup with Simple makeup removing wipes, cleanse with Philosophy Clear Days Ahead cleanser, then Clear Days Ahead pad, and finally TimeWise moisturizer mixed with La Mer (since my skin has been much dryer lately, I’ve been mixing a tiny amount of La Mer with the Mary Kay). I’m still not sure if La Mer is worth the price tag or not, but it does help with dry skin, so I’m going to use what I have until it’s gone! I was using Shiseido eye creamat night, but think I may be allergic to something in it (still determining that, stay tuned!). I use this mask (for breakouts) once every other week, and this mask (for overall better skin) once/week – I love both! I really need to add a toner into my skincare routine, and I’d like to add some facial oils as well – I’ll keep you posted on what I try and if I like it or not! Meggan: Morning – my morning routine is pretty simple. I cleanse with the Clarisonic, then apply Shiseido eye cream, and use this moisturizer. I do a face mask and exforliate a couple times a week, this and this are my favorites. Evening – I remove my makeup with Clinique cleansing balm (it seriously melts the makeup off your face), moisturize with Clarins night youth recovery cream, and apply Shiseido eye cream.
2. Brooke, what should I pack for my upcoming NYC trip (New Year’s Eve + daytime/additional nighttime options, please!)?
It’s been abnormally warm lately, so you’re in luck if that weather continues! I would say layering will be key – bring a warm coat, sweaters, tees, and sneakers for sure during the day if you plan to do a lot of walking (I wear these (size down 1/2 size) whenever I’m in the city)! For NYE you can really go all out if you want – that’s what I love about NYC. You could be walking down the street with the craziest outfit ever, and most people won’t even take a second look ;). I found a few great options for NYE: this dress would be perfect for a glitzy night out (I might snag this one for myself), this would be great for a romantic dinner, and you could wear this faux fur jacket with these pants & these heels any and everywhere!
3. How did you meet & decide to start a blog together?
We’ve answered this before, but new followers have been asking a lot, so we’re answering again! We met in high school through mutual friends (but we lived in different towns), and were really just acquaintances before we started blogging together. We were both blogging separately when we decided to join forces & start a blog together. Blogging takes a lot of time, and both of us wanted to continue blogging without having to spend SO much time on it. Having two people work on the same blog cuts the time spent in half, so it was a great option for us!
4. How do you agree on content to post & who posts what/when?
We typically have a few posts we want to highlight each month – for example in December, we wanted to share holiday outfits, party dresses, holiday decorating, etc. We will bounce those ideas off of each other and just decide who will do what. We post at least 5 days/week, and we switch off days…so one of us will post Monday/Wednesday, and the other will post on Tuesday/Thursday, and we come together for #coffeetalk on Fridays! When we don’t have a specific post scheduled, we trust each other enough to come up with good content ;).
5. Do you have an editorial calendar for each month?
No – this is something we’ve been trying to do better at, but our posts are pretty organic/spontaneous/not planned out too far in advance. We keep going back and forth as to whether or not we should create a monthly editorial calendar. It would be simple, and would probably make us more organized, but we haven’t gotten there yet ;). We have certain guidelines we try to stick to (for example – one outfit/week from each of us, #coffeetalk on Fridays), but the rest is pretty much whatever we’re feeling at the time of blogging!
6. Have you considered a summer intern? If so, can I apply?
We had a contributor earlier this year, and it was SO great – we loved her! Right now, we feel like we have a pretty good handle on things…but we are always open to the idea! If you are interested, please shoot us an email with your resume & why you’d be interested/what you would want to do for us, and we will definitely take it into consideration!
7. Favorite nail salons in Chicago & NYC? Meggan: I go to Pinky Nail – there’s quite a few around the city. They always do a great job and I like their selection of gel colors.
Brooke: I used to go to Pinky Nail when I lived in Chicago too (loved it!). There are SO many in NYC, and most of them are good. Check out The Gel Bar (they specialize in gel nails – Midtown) or Primp & Polish (in Brooklyn), and if you don’t make it to either of those honestly most of the hole in the wall nail salons in NYC are pretty great!
8. Favorite hair spray? Brooke: My favorite is this one by Kenra, but I use good old TRESemme on the regular. Meggan: Like Brooke, I always go back to good ol’ TRESemme!