Inspirational Interviews - Sirvinya

Another week and yet another fantastically inspirational blogger is here to chat with us! This week it's the fabulous Becky aka Sirvinya. I first discovered Becky through her Youtube channel (in fact, I think she was the first makeup vlogger I found) whilst I was ill in February, and I remember spending hours just watching through her videos. I always think of Becky as being one of key UK gurus, so it's truly a privilege to be able to interview her!

Hi Becky!

Thank you so much for agreeing to let me interview you! It means a lot :) Firstly, can you tell me a little bit about yourself?

Hi! I'm honoured to be taking part in this, thank you :) I'm Becky, I'm 28 and a scientist. I'm also a complete sci-fi geek (I love me some Star Trek!) and devour books at a rediculous rate. I live in the middle of nowhere, it's pretty but there's so much travelling involved if I want to do anything. I do love getting to see live music as well, preferably something involving rock or female fronted metal.

Congratulations on both a very successful YouTube channel (a whopping 16,357 subscribers!) and a very successful blog - which came first, the blog or vlogging and what inspired you to start?

Thank you! The YouTubing came first as a result of being repeatedly poked by one of my friends. She'd seen one of Lauren Luke's videos on YouTube and made me have a go. I honestly thought it'd last 5 minutes, but here we are nearly 3 years later. The blog came as a result of repeated requests. I'd been toying with the idea for a while and decided to jump in with that. I thought it'd be a good way of offering a bit more. I can post plenty of pictures on my blog and go back and edit detail if I think of something else to add. Honestly, I'm thinking of going back and redoing all my early swatch pictures. Temptalia was an inspiration as far as my blog is concerned, she puts out a very high quality blog and I found it very impressive.

Do you enjoy blogging and vlogging equally, or is there one that you prefer?

They're two completely different experiences for me. Vlogging tends to take part in lumps, I record a batch on a sunday evening and edit the whole bunch at once. Blogging gets poked at all week. You should see the number of photos and draft posts I have floating around! It can be hard to keep up with both, but I think I've found some kind of balance.

You've been a long time supporter of Mineral Makeup - how did you discover it and what do you look for when trying out a new MM brand?

I had started chatting with someone over at Makeupalley who always used the most amazing colours in her looks. She knew I loved MAC pigments so she told me all about mineral make up. Being the type of person that I am, I spent an extensive amount of time digging into the mineral world on Google and decided that this was the way forward! Being rediculously pale has meant that most foundation ranges start too dark for me. Mineral foundation starts pretty much at pure white! So I've been able to find something that suits me.

Who are some of your favourite MM brands at the moment and why?

I know they say they're not a mineral brand (but everyone lumps them in there anyway), but Fyrinnae are just awesome. Also, Shiro Cosmetics have continuously impressed me with the sheer quality of their products. They're new but seem to be getting it right! I would have said Aromaleigh but they've shut down. Finally, I'd have to say Sassy Minerals. I'm a big fan of their foundation and I love the complexity of their eye colours.

What's the best bit of being part of the beauty blogging/vlogging community?

I have met so many awesome people that I never would have got chance to. I know it's a cliche, but it really has opened doors! I mean, I'm flying out to the US to meet up with another blogger! Also, I've had the awesome oppertunity to try out new products that I either would have never known about or not been able to afford.

And the worst?

Some people have no "brain to keyboard" filter. Some of the comments you get, you'd never say that to someone in the street. Fortunately, at 28 I've developed a thicker skin and more self confidence. I dread to think how some younger girls are feeling who get these comments and are taking them to heart. That's why the delete button was invented. We won't talk about certain forums that exist.

What are your favourite things to blog about?

I love posting swatches! Either mineral make up or otherwise. It can be tricky to get the colours accurate, but it's forcing me to learn how to handle my camera and software. I love writing the mascara posts as well but I really don't enjoy the photography on those! And hauls are always fun. I like getting the review requests from those.

If you were allowed a day of from being a clever chemistry person and allowed unlimited money and resources, how would you spend it?

Well, I am a bacteria person, not a chemistry person :) [Clearly I paid no attention in science - Emily] Never had the head for chemistry. I think my first stop would be Time's Square Sephora. Quickly followed by a trip out to Singapore. Ok, that might take a little longer than a day! I used to work with someone who used to live in Singapore, he always had stories to tell.

What can readers/watchers of Sirvinya look forward to in the coming months?

More mineral stuff! I've just got my hands on some of the ELF holiday stuff, which I have been getting a lot of requests for. Plenty more mascara reviews, MAC eye shadow reviews. Plus the usual ranting about college work. Oh, and a trip to America.

Ok time for some quick fire questions:

3 Favourite Items of Make up: Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy, MAC "Blacktrack" Fluidline, Milani "Luminous" Blush

3 Favourite Foods: Chocolate, sushi & pasta

3 Desert Island Items: sunscreen (I buuuuurn!), a fully loaded ebook reader & some kind of knife would be pretty useful!

3 People who've inspired you: Lauren Luke, my Mum & Temptalia

3 blogs you'd like to recommend: My favourite blogs change every 5 minutes, but right now I'm loving these:
-http://www.facegoop.com/ for the most entertainment
-http://phyrra.net/ who inspires me to spend all my money on minerals
-http://www.sparklecrackcentral.com/ because she's awesome, tells it like it is and I'm flying 5000 miles to meet up with her

3 words of advice: Just have fun

Becky, thank you so much for taking part in Inspirational Interviews! Ladies, I'm sure that you don't need me to tell you, but just in case, I recommend that you head on over and get reading/watching Sirvinya right this second!