We recently sat down with Annie from Blogdorf Goodman for a cup of tea and a game of twenty questions.
(Well really, she had her tea and we had ours; she was sitting and we were sitting. Does that count?) (Also, the questions? There’s really only nine.)
While we’ve never had the pleasure of meeting Annie in person, we hear from some of her friends that she looks like Nigella Lawson, has an incredible eye for detail (go figure!) and knows more about music than your average music fanatic.
Makeup Bag: Hi Annie! Your website, blogdorfgoodman.com, is such a wonderful mix of fragrance, beauty and fashion. Can you tell us what inspired you to start it?
Annie: I started it on February 14th 2005. I was encouraged and inspired by Robin at Now Smell This. I had fallen in love with her blog and thought it might be fun to start my own. I did not set out with any plan or idea. It was just a place where I could post fashion pictures and wax poetic on beauty products. I never dreamed that anyone besides my core group of friends would read it. I am still amazed by it all.
Makeup Bag: You just celebrated your site’s two-year anniversary. Did you have any idea when you started that it would be this successful after only two years?
Annie: I had no clue. I did not have my e-mail address or Site Meter on my blog in the beginning, so I had no idea who was visiting the site. I learned about the first New York Times mention through Makeup Alley. Someone posted the link and I discovered that my quote about Marc Jacob’s resort collection was featured in an article. I downloaded Site Meter that week and discovered that I had an audience of 400 people. The audience has grown through the year but one thing remains the same. I still think I am just writing for friends.
Makeup Bag: Blogdorf Goodman is so popular and yet does not have support from advertisers. Is this something you might turn to in the future to help pay for hosting/bandwidth fees?
Annie: I have been flirting with the idea of advertisers. I am dragging my feet on the decision. I have no idea what I am scared of. I guess it’s because I will finally have to admit that the blog is something serious and not a fun hobby. Many of my blogger friends are making some money so it would be silly not to do it.
Makeup Bag: One of the things we like best about Blogdorf Goodman is that we can count on new content every day. How much time do you devote to your writing/research for your website?
Annie:I spend 4 to 5 hours a day. During any fashion week this number can double.
Makeup Bag: Being that you’ve been featured in many print publications (Allure, WWD, NY Times, Wall Street Journal, etc…) we know that you live in Ohio and work for the court system, but we’d love to know more about you. Can you tell us a little about your family or what you like to do in your spare time?
Annie: My mother is the person responsible for my love of beauty products and anything to do with fashion. She gave me Chanel’s autobiography in the 4th grade for a history day project. Most of the kids were Florence Nightingale and John F. Kennedy. I was decked out in tons of pearls and a cigarette.
I wish I had some interesting hobbies to share. I like to shop with my friends. I have two specific shopping gangs. One gang hails from Cleveland, the other gang is from NYC. We spend the whole day shopping and discussing perfumes. Many lemmings have been born over the dinner tables. I fell in love with Frederic Malle’s Carnal Flower over a lunch table in Nordstrom’s Cafe in Cleveland.
I also love to attend antique auctions and collect vintage jewelry.
Makeup Bag: For those of us not familiar with Ohio, just where is Youngstown in comparison to Cleveland? What is your city like?
Annie: Youngstown is a city between Cleveland and Pittsburgh, PA. It is a former flourishing steel mill town that is struggling with an economy that has never recovered from the 70s and organized crime. It saw a lot of mob action by being the half-way point between NYC and Chicago back in the day, so the city gets a bad rep with the national media. You might have seen us on A&E’s City Confidential. It is a great city to hail from because it makes you tough and question authority. I would never wish to be born anywhere else. Ytown is what made me who I am. That being said…I would move in a New York minute.
Makeup Bag: We’re dying to know about your collection of coats. Please tell us about a few of your favorites.
Annie: I am smitten with my chocolate brown Mackage coat. My personal favorite is a vintage red cashmere with quarter length sleeves and Bakelite buttons. It is a traffic stopper.
Makeup Bag: We’re scared to ask you this, but just how big is your perfume collection?
Annie: If you are scared to ask…then I am terrified to count. My collection is small in comparison to some of my perfume buddies. That is what I like to tell myself when I am dusting the bottles.
Makeup Bag: What’s next for Blogdorf Goodman? Anything exciting coming up that you can tell us about?
Annie: Patti(aka Cavewoman) and I just started our Lent project this week. This year it will be 40 Days and 40 Nights of Beauty Brand Reviews. It started Ash Wednesday and lasts until Easter.
Makeup Bag: Please give us three fragrance suggestions from your collection for the following occasions:
• Everyday: Chinatown by Bond
It is sophisticated and a modern classic. It has a lovely gardenia note mixed in with cardamom, patchouli and vanilla. You can detect each note and the drydown is both interesting and lovely. It is a scent that is appropriate for all situations from work to dinner party.
• Sunday Brunch: **Bryant Park by Bond **
It is whisper of a rose scent. It is fresh and spring like. It would just be lovely to sniff over a breakfast. It would not interfere with the food or conversation.
Champaca by Ormonde Jayne is another suggestion. There is something comforting about that scent and its sillage sticks close to the skin. It would not interfere with anyone’s breakfast.
• Dancing on Saturday Night: Ormonde by Ormonde Jayne
I would choose this fragrance if I needed to seduce someone or get their attention. It is mysterious, seductive, and interesting. The drydown is one of the most amazing smells ever harnessed in a bottle. It is a mixture of cardamom, coriander,grass oil, black hemlock, violet with a ending notes of vetivert and amber. I think it is the black hemlock that gets them every time.
Makeup Bag: Thank you Annie. We’re looking forward to 40 Days and 40 Nights of Beauty Brand Reviews (and maybe some ads!) at Blogdorf Goodman this month.
