Monday Melange

mé·lange noun \mā-ˈläⁿzh, -ˈlänj\
Definition of MÉLANGE
: a mixture often of incongruous elements

--Farewell to Oprah? Not so much. Although the final season of her talk show kicks off today, she's starting her own network.

How do you feel about Oprah? Well, I certainly don't care for the hodge-podge of New Age teachings and anti-Biblical religion that she actively promotes.

However, as a media person myself, I can't help but admire a lot of things about her. I usually only watch her show if it's on while I'm getting a pedicure or waiting in some office that has a TV on. But I have to admit, her shows are always engaging, and she's a terrific interviewer.

I'll never forget how she was the first person to interview Michael Jackson in depth and get to the bottom of some of his weirdness. She did a fantastic job with that.

I actually got to go to a live taping of Oprah's show, ages ago, before it really got huge. It was a nice experience (unfortunately it was before she started the practice of giving away freebies to her audience!). During commercials, she would chat with the audience in a very friendly and down-to-earth way, and afterwards we got to meet her and shake her hand (while she stood between two enormous and imposing bodyguards.)

In any case, we haven't seen the last of the empire that is Oprah.

Stuff around the blogosphere...

Getting excited about blogging again means I'm getting excited about other blogs again. Here's what's going on with a few today:

==Semicolon is talking about Book Blogger Appreciation Week.

--At The Diabetic Snob, the joys of lightly frozen Evian water.

--If you enjoy vintage clothes, World War 2 memorabilia, and generally the beauty and grace of a previous era, you'll love Diary of a Vintage Girl. The author is a vintage clothing model and collector, and visiting her blog is really like stepping back in time.

--And this isn't actually a blog, but a YouTube video. Two of my favorite beauty gurus--British sisters and professional make-up artists Samantha and Nicola Chapman, AKA Pixiwoo--literally had me laughing out loud as they went to great lengths to test out the claims of various waterproof mascaras. Check it out here. Funny and cute!

She Broadcasts Beauty: My Interview with Emily Eddington

I'm a firm believer in the connection between looking good and feeling good on the inside. We all naturally seek acceptance and love from others-- and ourselves. If makeup can be a small tool to bring that out- I think that's great.--Emily Eddington

Emily Eddington is a TV newscaster, but her YouTube beauty tutorials may be what brings her fame

When I recently decided to try using velcro rollers in my hair, I did a Google search for video tutorials on the subject. (By the way, in case you didn't know? You can find a video on how to do just about ANYTHING on YouTube.)

One of the videos I happened upon was a YouTube tutorial on using velcro rollers by "emilynoel83."

I was intrigued by this lovely young woman with her straightforward, down-to-earth approach, so I checked out some of her other YouTube videos--most of them explaining make-up techniques, reviewing beauty products, and showing how to use inexpensive make-up to get a great look.

In no time, I was hooked--and I became one of over 50-thousand people who suscribe to Emily Eddington's YouTube channel, Beauty Broadcast.

A TV newscaster with a penchant for beauty



26-year-old Emily Eddington is a morning news anchor for WSIL-TV in southern Illinois. That fact resonates in her articulate, factual but friendly and approachable manner in her tutorials.

It doesn't hurt that she's downright gorgeous, and that her lovely face is the perfect canvas for the many make-up looks she demonstrates.

So far, Emily has parlayed her tutorials into a popular blog and Facebook page, and I'm thinking the sky's the limit for Beauty Broadcast.

How did a relatively small-town newscaster end up with a YouTube channel that boasts 50-thousand subscribers? I was curious, so I asked Emily to take part in an e-mail interview, and she graciously answered my questions.

Here's Part One of our interview:



CINDY: How far back in your life does your interest in make-up, hair, and beauty go?

EMILY: I remember always being somewhat intrigued by my mom's makeup collection, and whatever makeup she was carrying around in her purse. My mom & sister are beautiful ladies- and always seemed to have their hair & makeup looking good (my mom is a former cosmetologist)- so I knew I would one day get involved with makeup as well. I believe that day came in 7th grade when I joined the cheerleading squad and put on some very minor makeup for a game (powder, lip gloss, blush). Magazines like "Teen" and "Seventeen" became my main sources for beauty education, and in high school I reached that phase where I was somewhat of a "collector" of drugstore makeup.

CINDY: Why do you think it's a good thing for a woman to use the tools available to her to try to look her best?

EMILY: I'm a firm believer in the connection between looking good and feeling good on the inside. Makeup is an extremely affordable way to enhance your natural beauty, and put an extra spring in your step. I always hear from viewers who say they tried a particular product I suggested and they got "so many compliments". We all naturally seek acceptance and love from others-- and ourselves. If makeup can be a small tool to bring that out- I think that's great. For those who get especially interested in makeup- it truly does become an art form for expressing your creativity. You don't have to be a professional to have fun with that!

CINDY: Tell me about the evolution of "Beauty Broadcast"...how did your interest in make-up, etc, end up being regular videos on YouTube?

EMILY: Shortly after I began working at the TV station where I currently anchor, I noticed this incredible beauty community on YouTube. I was practically frustrated with myself when I tapped into this vast makeup resource- because it could have been SO useful to me- had I discovered it in college. I remember sitting on the couch one night, randomly looking up some info on a product I wanted to try- and a link to a video came up... about a dozen videos later, I realized- I can do this! I love to talk, and I love makeup... maybe I can contribute to the YouTube world of beauty as well! I consistently started posting videos for a short time, and then work really got busy for me and I took a short hiatus from YouTube. At that point, I didn't think all that many people were watching... so, why bother, right? Well, people were messaging me, saying, "Where did you go? I miss your videos!" At that point I realized- this needs to continue. Well over 300 videos later... I'm still here! :)

CINDY: Do you ever have trouble coming up with ideas for your videos?

EMILY: Thankfully, no. Through emails, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook- subscribers are constantly telling me what they want. With these requests coming from literally *thousands* of different directions- I always have some sort of idea floating around! Plus, new products are always hitting the market, so there's always something for me to review. Makeup offers endless creativity in terms of the looks you can create, so I don't think there's any limit to the types of tutorials I can create.



CINDY: How important to you is the feedback you get from your Beauty Broadcast facebook page?

EMILY: I especially value what people have to say on the Facebook page, because I know these people who are willing to seek me out in numerous forms of social media really care about Beauty Broadcast. A number of times- people on the Facebook page have referred to the group as their "Beauty Broadcast Family". I love that! I get a lot of enjoyment out of seeing people answer each other's questions on the Facebook page. It's like we're all a big bunch of friends on there.

Next time: In Part 2 of our interview, Emily Eddington talks about why it's important to her to show how you can look great on a budget--and what could be in store for Beauty Broadcast in the future