Destinee Hughes is a junior communication studies major minoring in dance. She is also a member of NSU’s cheerleading squad. Hughes found her passion for the beauty industry at a young age and has since created blogs to share beauty tips, a hobby that she hopes to once day turn into a career.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been engulfed in all things that make up the quintessential female. Getting my hair done, painting my nails, applying mascara and exfoliating are just some of the things that can turn all my frowns upside down. Growing up admiring my two older sisters and my mom’s beauty rituals (sorry Dad) made it easy for me to imitate their daily grooming skills.
While most young girls were busy playing with Barbies, I was either in my mom’s makeup drawers attempting to apply foundation, or sneaking into my sisters’ rooms to steal nail polishes or creating a “potion” to make my skin feel like satin. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I had found my interest: beauty. When I wasn’t sneaking around the house dabbling in beauty products, I was reading any beauty magazine I could find. I always got the best advice from the beauty sections on how to apply makeup properly. Before I was in middle school, I had proudly mastered the technique of applying just enough mascara to make my lashes look like “falsies” or false eyelashes.
Throughout high school, I spent most of my time and money figuring out which products and ingredients worked best for me. Covering up pimples, blotting a shiny forehead and applying winged eyeliner on the bus was my thing. Whenever there was an important event at my school, such as homecoming or prom, my friends would always get ready at my house so that I could do their hair and makeup. Everyone knew that I was the go-to girl when it came to beauty, even my teachers.
It wasn’t until my senior year that I started to realize that my favorite pastime could possibly be a long-term career. I’ll never forget the day I walked in late to my history class, and my teacher asked me to come speak with her outside. I figured I was just going to get reprimanded for my tardiness, like always, but instead, she asked me how I did my eye makeup. I spent about five minutes outside of her classroom; pulling different products out my bookbag and explaining step-by-step how I created the look. That day lingered with me two years after I graduated. I always thought to myself, if she’s curious about my makeup, I wonder who else is.
What made me a bit hesitant about choosing a job in the beauty industry was the lack of career choices. The only professions I thought were available were commercial careers, such as beauticians and makeup artists. Although I liked playing with hair and applying makeup, I didn’t enjoy it enough to do it for the rest of my life. I enjoyed trying new products and recommending them to my friends, mixing different brands of shampoos and conditioners to help repair damaged hair, and combining household ingredients to create the perfect homemade exfoliant. I knew there had to be a different way I could offer people advice on beauty how-tos without becoming a make-up artist. And, if there wasn’t, I was determined to create one.
I ran across an article in Glamour highlighting “2011 Best Beauty Blogs.” I must have read that article a dozen times. I was so inspired by all of the young girls who were proudly showcasing their skills. I knew that with a little hard work and dedication, I could create a blog myself.
So I did. I created my first blog in November 2011. Called The Naked Cover Up, it featured various products and my reviews of them. I spent weeks trying to teach myself the Web programming language known as HTML to create a webpage from scratch. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. If it weren’t for YouTube and other online forums, I wouldn’t have gotten very far. Within a month, my beauty blog was finally up and running. I had lots of reviews for people to read. I created a Twitter account to attract more traffic and I even used Google’s service so that my blog was promoted on search results. I was on a roll.
Unfortunately, life had other plans for me. About a month after I launched The Naked Cover Up, my sister died in a car accident. I’ve never felt so empty in my life; I felt robbed, as if someone had taken my lively inspiration and colorful passion and left me stony and gray.
Life had officially knocked me down, but sometimes life knocks you down so hard you have no other choice but to get back up stronger than you were before, and that’s exactly what I did. I made a complete 180 turn after the accident. I relocated to a different state, transferred to NSU, changed my major and created a brand new beauty blog.
I launched DoceDouze around December 2012, focusing on beauty, love and lifestyle. I created the name using the date that my sister passed away, 12/12, translated in Spanish and French. This blog is a lot different from my first blog because it covers an array of topics. In the beauty section, I write product reviews, product and do-it-yourself treatments. In the love section, I offer advice for girls who are single or in relationships, and in the lifestyle section, I offer tips on how to eat healthy, maintain your weight and become an overall happier person. Within the first few months of the launch, I had more 2,000 views and since then, I’ve received great suggestions on topics and products that my subscribers would like me to cover.
For a while, I was afraid of following my passion, afraid that it wouldn’t lead anywhere and afraid that I would fail. There were many obstacles on my road to becoming a beauty blogger. Some I never thought I would overcome. But sometimes, all you need is a swipe of lipstick, a spritz of perfume and the perfect blowout to show the world what you’re really made of.
