AMELIA SAYS THINGS ABOUT BEAUTY & BLOGGING
What makes for an attractive beauty blog is useful information, good photography, and an authentic voice. Amelia has been one of our longstanding favorites for exactly these three reasons.
Her blog Amelia Says This is a collection of images featuring her favorite products under really good lighting and a perfect aesthetic. We spoke to her about some of these beauty favorites, her Instagam family, and the differences between English and American beauty trends.
BEAUTY ROUTINE
PHYTO PARIS: What's your everyday beauty routine for your hair and skin?
AS: Every morning, I wash my face with the Glossier Milky Jelly Cleanser, then liberally apply Glossier’s Invisible Shield Daily Sunscreen +. For the love of all that’s good in the world, if you do no other skincare, use sunscreen. Please. I then spray the PHYTOVolume Actif through my hair for a ton of volume as I’m usually too lazy to style it. If it’s feeling a little dry or frizzy I’ll spray some of the Huile Soyeuse in my palms and pull in through the ends to tame it and make it look extra shiny.
I always wash my hair at night, and probably do so around 3 times a week. I do switch my shampoo and conditioners out quite a lot, but right now I’m alternating between the Kristin Ess products and the new Phytodensia Shampoo. This stuff smells like candy, I can’t get enough. It also makes my hair feel super clean but not stripped at all. On damp hair, I make a little cocktail of the Verb Ghost Oil and Phytokératine Extreme and apply it through the ends of my hair. Then I take whatever’s left on my palms, add some of the Phytodensia Plumping Serum, and apply that to my roots.
My nighttime skincare routine used to be a ridiculously long process, but I’ve really simplified it lately. I’m sure it’ll still sound really long to most of you, but for me it’s tiny! I remove my makeup with an oil cleanser like the Bobbi Brown Soothing Cleansing Oil, and then wash my face with the Glossier Milky Jelly Cleanser. Then I use the ByTerry Hydrarose Toner, which is a dream. I genuinely think this stuff has turned my skin around. It’s become dramatically smoother and brighter since using it daily. I’m also loving the Kiehl’s Nightly Refining Micro Peel, this is another hero product. And then for moisturizer I usually use the Glossier Priming Moisturizer Rich or Korres Advanced Sleeping Facial!
HAIRCARE
PHYTO PARIS: What's your take on scalp health?
AS: I won’t lie, I’ve always been a bit lazy when it comes to haircare. However, in recent years my scalp has become incredibly dry, so I’ve had to really step it up. In addition to the above products, I try and leave a hair mask in at least once a week. I also treat my poor scalp with the Phytopolléine Scalp Treatment. This really helps soothe the skin when it’s feeling particularly itchy and uncomfortable. Winter time is generally when I have my best hair, it always seems to go much sleeker (bye humidity), however it also gets incredibly dry. But proper care prevents that issue all together! Hello?? Happy scalp, happy hair!
PHYTO PARIS: If you had to take one PHYTO product to a deserted island, which one will you take?
AS: Ahhh such a hard choice! I think I’d have to go with my classic Phytokératine Extrême Cream. It’s pretty much the perfect product because it’s ultra light-weight and doesn’t make your hair feel greasy but is also incredibly nourishing.
BLOGGING
PHYTO PARIS: How did you start blogging?
AS: I just randomly started blogging about 10 years ago, I stumbled across someone posting swatches of nail polishes and decided it looked like fun. I think I've had four or five blogs over the years! I started Amelia Says 6 years ago now, and never dreamed it’d turn into the community I have now. It has and always will be a hobby for me, something I love rather than a job, but it’s incredible to get to share all of my thoughts with so many people.
PHYTO PARIS: When did your passion for beauty begin?
AS: I honestly don’t think I had any interest in beauty until I moved to the states. Perhaps it was my age, but I never remember seeing crazy ad campaigns or commercials in the UK way back when. I do however remember discovering beauty YouTubers. I immediately became obsessed and would buy as many elf products as I could with my $5 monthly allowance, attempting to recreate looks people were posting. This was back in the days of Lollipop26 and Juicystar07, I was obsessed! I actually also started a YouTube channel back in 2010, but I have all of those videos on private because they’re horrifying (yikes).
PHYTO PARIS: How did you develop your Instagram curated feed?
AS: I’ve had my current Instagram theme for about a year. And by that I mean the typical white background and desaturated imagery. While I started that a year ago, it was nowhere near the place I’m at now. And if you scroll back a little farther the style of photos I posted couldn’t be more different! I think it’s all about experimenting until you find something you like and then really honing that. Even in just the past month I think my photographs have improved a lot, and my style has even changed a bit.
PHYTO PARIS: What's your advice for someone starting on Instagram?
AS: Because Instagram is now a super saturated platform, it can seem sort of hard to find a place to start. I’d personally suggest to try doing something a little different. I think there are now way too many people on the marble background trend, and even I’m trying to pull myself away from that. For example, my friend Jodie (@jodieglows) uses vinyl album covers as her backgrounds which is genius.
“In my opinion, the most important part of Instagram is the interaction.”
Just try and find something that stands out a bit! Consistency is also extremely important, if you only post once every few weeks, people will lose interest quickly. In my opinion, the most important part of Instagram is the interaction. Responding to comments and DMs frequently is crucial to me. I think this allows for the sense of community that a lot of people have on their pages, it’s like a little family.
WHAT WORKS ACROSS THE POND
PHYTO PARIS: What's the difference between British & American beauty?
AS: I think in terms of mainstream beauty there isn’t a ton of differences. The whole ‘Instagram makeup’ thing is definitely huge over there. Some girls wear makeup an inch thick, some wear none at all! However in terms of the traditional English beauty, I think there’s quite a big difference. The Burberry English Rose is what I’d call a classic English look. A natural looking skin, groomed but not blocky brows, natural eyes, and usually a dark red lip. My personal favorite kind of look. In general I find that people prefer to look a little less done-up, more lived-in, but this obviously differs from person to person