Our blogger spotlight series continues with Sarah Conley of Rascal Honey. Sarah is a plus size and beauty blogger from Fayetteville, Arkansas. We stumbled across her on social media because of her ON POINT beauty reviews. Check out our interview with this fabulous redhead below:
PBK: Hi Sarah, thanks for joining us! How did you become a blogger/who or what inspired you to blog?
SC: Woohoo, this question makes me feel like an internet grandmother! I started blogging in October of 2006 when I returned to Arkansas from an internship in NYC.
Most of the things I was interested in (like Olivia Palermo, Socialite Rank, Rei Kawakubo, and 15 different types of lip balm) weren't shared by my friends, so I created a place where I could connect with people who were also interested in those things. As I have grown as a person and the industry has grown, my content changed and grown, but I'm still the same pop culture-obsessed fashion nerd.
PBK: Totally agree. It's frustrating to fall in love with a piece, only to realize it doesn't come in your size! What kinds of things do you blog about? Why are you passionate about those topics?
SC: I focus primarily on plus size fashion and beauty, which sometimes can transition into more political topics and lifestyle features. It's my goal to offer my readers content that is worth the click that provides them with real value. There's so much content available these days, but I feel like so little of it is actually worthy of our attention.
Plus size bloggers are a tremendous resource to the community, so talking about fashion and style will always be part of what I do, but my first love was beauty because it was accessible and lipstick always fits.
PBK: We love seeing your MOTD pics! What are some of your favorite products?
SC: Thank you! I'd like to think that I do makeup for real women who have no intention of doing a cut crease for the office but still love playing with makeup and experimenting with color. Right now with the fall vibes flowing, I'm very into taupe eyeshadows and brown-based red vampy lips. I know her products are so pricey and hyped, but Pat McGrath's quality consistently delivers.
PBK: Listen, I'm a ride or die for Pat McGrath. How would you describe your style?
SC: I'm a Gemini, which I feel like accurately describes me in many areas of my life, but especially in my style. There's a hyper-feminine side where I L-O-V-E floral prints, midi skirts, and polka dots, but I also love being aggressive & edge with sheer fabrics, bondage collars, and leather. If I had to distill that down to one word, let's just go with: moody.
PBK: What’s coming up that are you excited about?
SC: I'm putting a lot of energy into two focuses right now: getting established in the northwest Arkansas creative scene and helping with the marketing of my friend's cheese shop, Sweet Freedom Cheese, in Bentonville, AR. I took the incredible community of creators that I was fortunate to be a part of in NYC for granted and it's been very difficult to replicate that here, so I'm seeking out other like-minded doers, makers, and dreamers. I can't stress enough how important having a strong community, both digitally and locally, is for solo creators like myself.
PBK: I feel you 100%. Community is SO important. Anything else we should know?
SC: My site, Rascal Honey, is a true passion project and as much as the influencer industry has moved away from blogs, I still believe that it's important to build your own destination instead of building an audience on a rented platform that creators have no control over. Digital trends come and go, but I would encourage anyone reading this who doesn't have their own website and email marketing list to make that their priority if they want to have longevity online.
PBK: Preach the true word! If you're reading this and interested in blogging, be sure to read on this post. Thank you for sharing your story, Sarah!
SC: Thank you for having me!
You can link up with Sarah on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook! Be sure to check out fashion forward plus size clothing over on plus BKLYN!