Karina Nyholm-Hunter, founder and editor of The Beauty and Lifestyle Hunter and a bd Expert Panelist, is currently living her dream. The beauty blogger launched her blog two years ago when she was trying to get pregnant through IVF, after leaving a job as a brand and marketing manager for two large international companies, Mermet and Turnils. The daily hormone injections and failed IVF rounds proved stressful and Nyholm-Hunter was left with many free days at home. Hence, The Beauty & Lifestyle Hunter was born. It started as a simple distraction, and has now had over 650,000 views with traffic and followers increasing by the day.
Here, bd sits down with Nyholm-Hunter to discuss her blogging career, what her readers are buzzing about, her new baby boy, and what’s coming next for The Beauty and Lifestyle Hunter.
What are your readers buzzing about currently?
I find that my readers love knowing what is new in the beauty world, and which products are about to hit the shelves. I always find luxe-to-less articles showcasing similar products at different ends of the price range are popular. Great budget buys and comparisons between different products are often a favourite.
What is your biggest strength as a blogger?
My blog caters to a large variety of female readers. I always endeavour to be completely honest in my reviews, even though brands might not want to hear it. I feel this is important as I know how many of my readers rely on the advice and suggestions they read before spending their hard-earned cash on beauty products. Nothing thrills me more than when a reader tells me they have bought a product after reading about it on my blog - and hearing that they love it!
I put a lot of time and effort in getting to know the brand and the products that I post about. I don’t do a lot of posts where I mention 10 different products with merely a line or two, as to me that is quite pointless. I feel my readers want all the details including scent, consistency, which skin type the product is suitable for and so forth, this is what I attempt to provide. And I guess traffic to my posts confirms my theory!
What is currently trending in beauty content?
I think we all crave the sun warming up our cold bones and kissing our winter-pale cheeks, so this time of year is when focus on being sun-smart is the most vital. We need the sun to generate essential vitamin D, yet we need to take care not to expose our skin too much with both premature ageing and (even worse) skin cancer in sight. It is impossible to hibernate inside all summer or completely cover up when the temperatures soar - everyone needs to be continuously reminded of how to be sun-smart and still be able to lead an active life outdoors.
What’s next for your blog?
As many of my readers will know, I now have a beautiful 15 month old boy. It has been a long and tough road to get him, and while I miss working and utilising my master’s degree, my brain and the associated monthly wage, there is no way I could put him into childcare. With my family living in Europe, my only option is to be a stay-at-home mum for some years. Having worked in marketing, branding, PR and advertising, my head is bursting with ideas on how to grow and expand, and one day this WILL come into fruition – however, right now, my little boy is full of beans and is taking up so much of my time that it is difficult to find time for everything. Maybe it will start to happen later this year, maybe next year… and until then, I’ll keep things under wraps. Eventually, I hope to start bringing in a little more lifestyle and interior content, all without sacrificing the beauty content, which will always be my key priority and passion.
If you could only give one piece of beauty advice to your readers, what would it be?
The most obvious answer would be to always wear sunscreen (and I so wish I had decades ago), but with that one on top of everyone’s mind already, I will say to keep a good and simple skincare routine and be religious with it. When I was a teenager and had bad acne, I was no doubt trying to do too much to my skin in an attempt to clear it, only to make matters much worse. My skin is still far from perfect and I still get breakouts, but it is in a much better condition now that I am more aware of how to look after my skin and use products that match my skin type.