03.31.18

It can be daunting when you first start. It’s not an overnight growth and with today’s algorithm it’s a lot harder to get noticed by brands. But there are brands that will work with smaller accounts or micro influencers. And I’m truly grateful to them for giving us opportunities. A great example would be Style Korean Global and Cupid Drop. Both companies host a “Try Me, Review Me” program that you can submit an application to. When chosen to be a part of it, they will send products for you to try and review. Products are full sized and sometimes it’s the entire line of a brand that they are collaborating with for the month.

Another company that I love collaborating with is Join Palm. Every month they have what they call their Palm Picks of Indie Beauty as well as up and coming brands in the industry. Their picks are a mix of skincare and lifestyle brands. You submit an application to join their community and once approved you get to pick a brand that you want to try and pay an access fee. They have also reached out to me when a brand wanted to send their product for free in exchange of my honest review.

Octoly was introduced to me by Anna of @maskaddict (one of my favorite skinstagram acount). I’ve submitted an application to join their community and I was lucky enough to be invited even when my follower count is at 3,000. I was informed that they have opened up a few spots for accounts smaller than 5k with engaging content (my first 5 octoly orders are waiting for me at home in Palm Springs as of this writing). There are also brands like Pixi Beauty and Amika that you can apply to become their ambassador.

So how do you get invited in communities like Join Palm or Octoly? I believe that if you have an engaging content, that companies will most likely be willing to work with you. Learn what will make you stand out in an over saturated platform. Have your own signature style and as my good friend Anita of @skintotheglow had said on one of her Saturday posts, it also helps when your photography is creative and visually appealing. It has to be to able to catch your audience attention while they’re scrolling through their feed.

I hope that I was able to help as you navigate this community of ours. Everyday is like a learning curve. And I hope that you see this community as I see it, empowering, a network of support from women and men that shares the same passion as you. *if you would like to join Octoly, I have a link for referral in the Link Tab of this website.

I prefer being called a visual story teller than influencer. I don’t think that I would ever be in a position that I can influence people. I also don’t like the word followers - I prefer friends or community. Instagram has become an outlet for myself and for most of us for our creativity and our love of capturing a moment in our day and sharing it with the world. It connects us with people, with communities who shares the same passion that we have. In my case, Instagram connected me to the skincare community, particularly the AB/Asian Beauty Community.

This platform has given me a lot. My own lane, my space to show my creativity. I met amazing women with stories that are inspiring. I met people that became friends. This platform gave me opportunities that I’m very thankful for. For me this platform has more positive than negative impact in my life.

I didn’t know how to start my account back then. My account was just a collection of memories of our travels and I didn’t know how I can transition it to skincare until I came across one post from @missteasa or Sharon. A lovely skinstagrammer from Vienna, Austria and a fellow Filipina. She post reviews of sheet masks as well as Asian Beauty brands. It was a whole new world to me. And through her, I found more similar accounts like Karen’s of @teahoneybeauty and Mina’s @kimono_kat. Their accounts piqued my interest in Korean Beauty.

A walk in a size 7 shoe of a micro influencer or someone

who’d rather be referred to as a visual story teller

Through them I was introduced to Korean and other Asian Brands. From their reviews it was easier for me to pick out my first skincare routine. And that became my start. I researched about ingredients that I can’t pronounce and how it will benefit my problematic skin. I’ve started playing around with my camera, I started doing flatlays, I started posting short reviews of KBeauty products that I was able to find on amazon and became active within the community.

Summer of 2017, we moved to Denver and coincidentally Jan of @mindyourbeauty (a Denver local) and @peepingpomeranian Amy were hosting their annual #abnewyearstashchallenge. It got me to engage more in the community, met some awesome ladies that became friends and even got to meet Jan in person!

This community has made me feel included in an industry that I don’t feel like I’m catered too and excluded. It has given me confidence to start my own account of my skin journey. And confidence in myself as well as my work.