First Look Fridays: Jeannine Morris of BeautySweetSpot

You know those gals who are so perfect, so perky, so gorgeous, you want to hate them ... but you can't, because they're the sweetest things alive? Such is the case with the adorably fabulous Jeannine Morris of BeautySweetSpot. And whether she's writing about celebrity trends or bringing you the latest in spa treatments, Jeannine does it all, well, beautifully! Read on to discover



Can you tell me a bit about yourself?
I'm a Jersey girl, but went to Wagner College in Staten Island, NY and have been living in the city since I graduated, which is four years now. I majored in English and minored in journalism. My goal was to write for a magazine like Kate Hudson in How to Lose A Guy In Ten Days (my favorite movie) and I landed a job at Cosmopolitan as their Beauty Assistant. Currently, I am still in the beauty industry doing PR and just this year launched BeautySweetSpot. Not only is it filled with my guilty pleasures, but it is one of my guilty pleasures.

How did you first become interested in beauty?
I've always been interested in beauty and fashion trends, but it wasn't until I began interning in the Cosmopolitan Beauty Department that I became passionate about beauty. Lucky for me, the beauty team at Cosmo allowed me to attend events, cover fashion week and attend internal meetings with the staff so I was able to learn a lot about the industry while I was an intern. I really looked up to Andrea Lavinthal, who was Cosmopolitan's Associate Beauty Editor at the time, and when I was hired, I worked closely with her. I really feel that having a supervisor you admire, learn from and aspire to be like early on can make a world of a difference on your career.

Why did you decide to start your blog?
I'm currently in working in beauty PR and the more I learn about social media and networking, the more I want to become surrounded by it. I've been admiring beauty bloggers for a few years now and writing has always been a passion of mine, so in the beginning of the year I made it my new years resolution to start my own beauty blog. Now, I'm able to interview experts, provide tips and tricks to my readers, and cover new product launches just like I did at Cosmo, but in my own free time, for fun. I absolutely love it.

I love the name of your blog! How did you come up with it?
BeautySweetSpot speaks to my personality. Beauty is my niche, and "SweetSpot" is sexy. I like to consider my attitude and the name of my site sexy but classy. There are many amazing beauty blogs, and I wanted mine to be different, so I decided to add the sexual twist and really catch the attention of my reader with my tagline, "enticing every girl's guilty pleasures." I also use a cherry at the bottom of all of my postings to tie in the subtle sexual charm.

What have been some of the highlights of having your blog?
I had a BeautySweetSpot launch party in June at the Townhouse Spa in NYC, which was a huge success. Friends, family and media came to support the launch as models wearing branded BeautySweetSpot t-shirts passed around chocolate-covered cherries.

I was also on NBC's The 10! Show in Philly as a beauty expert for a segment on eco-friendly fashion and beauty products. This was the first time I was on national TV as an expert, and when I watched myself and saw "Founder of BeautySweetSpot.com" as my credit info on the bottom of the screen, I had to pinch myself to make sure it was real.

It's really been a surreal experience so far. Most of all, I really enjoy networking, keeping up with the industry and immersing myself in social media. The most rewarding thing is getting positive feedback from a publicist or a reader on a post.

What are your top 5 beauty essentials?
Top 5? That's tough ... Okay here are some...

1) Striking black eyeliner

2) Jergens Natural Glow Daily Moisturizer

3) Sunscreen

4) John Frieda Luminous Color Glaze in Brilliant Brunette

5) Black mascara

What brands can you simply not live without?
Dove
M.A.C
DEX New York
DERMAdoctor
Neutrogena
Dior
Victoria's Secret Beauty
NARS

Are there any other beauty blogs you read regularly? What are some that you like and why?
Absolutely! I love reading beauty blogs and love that it's a community where all bloggers support each other. Some of my favorites are:

Daily Makeover
Rachel Hayes Gayle, the Director of Daily Makeover, established a "Bloggerati," in which a bunch of beauty bloggers are highlighted on the site along with the Daily Makeover blog. It's a great place to go to catch up on all of the blogging news of the day.

Andrea Lavinthal's blog at Cosmopolitan
She always has up to the minute news and info, interviews celebs and has really fun videos. Love it.

GlimmerGlossGlow.com
The site is fantastic, and there's a blog that's fun to read too.

Brown Girl Gumbo
My favorite thing about this blog are the photos of the week.

Beauty and the Feast
This is a fun blog because it rotates from covering the latest in beauty to the best in food!