How a 22‑year‑old makeup artist quietly reshaped the future of beauty blogging in Canada
When Face by Stace launched in 2009, beauty blogging was barely out of its infancy. In Canada, blogs were still treated as personal journals — casual, chatty spaces where writers posted “Here’s what I bought” product hauls, shared opinions without context, and rarely included pricing, brand positioning or availability. Even in the U.S., beauty blogs were only one to two years old. The medium was new, un-tested and not taken seriously by traditional media or business professionals.
At 22, months away from turning 23, Stacey was already working in television as a certified professional makeup artist. She was applying makeup on CEOs of global corporations, marketing leaders, financial experts, politicians, and high‑profile guests on a business show hosted by the President & CEO of the Mississauga Board of Trade. Every day, she was surrounded by people who understood branding, communication and market influence —having taken her already existing strong business acumen, business-oriented mind, combining it with absorbing the knowledge she would obtain.
So when she decided to start a beauty blog, she didn’t approach it like the others. She approached it like a business tool.
A Different Kind of Beauty Blog
From day one, Face by Stace broke the mold. Instead of personal diary‑style posts, Stacey built an editorial platform:
- Product recommendations from a certified makeup artist, not casual opinions
- Brand names clearly stated, not hidden behind vague references
- Pricing included, because consumers deserved transparency
- Availability listed, especially Canadian availability — crucial in 2009, when Sephora had not yet arrived and Shoppers’ Beauty Boutique was still emerging with department stores, such as The Bay, Easton’s Centre, Holt Renfrew “Holt’s” that were available. Another option was to purchase beauty products on the internet.
- Professional application tips, drawn from real TV‑set experience
- Client‑informed insights, without ever naming clients
- Business‑oriented structure, mirroring the clarity of magazine beauty pages
She wasn’t writing “Look what I bought.” She was writing editorial beauty content — the kind newspapers and magazines publish.
The Business Debate: 2009–2012
Working in television meant her blog was seen by business leaders, executives, and marketing professionals. And they had opinions — strong ones.
Some said:
“Blogging is a business tool. These posts are ads. The writer is a copywriter.”
Others insisted:
“Blogs will never become a business platform.”
But something interesting happened.
The skeptics looked at Face by Stace — and changed their minds.
They saw:
- structure
- clarity
- professionalism
- brand awareness
- market positioning
- editorial discipline
They saw a blog that didn’t behave like a blog. They saw a blog that behaved like media.
And suddenly, the conversation shifted.
Some of those same business people began saying:
“If blogs ever become a business tool, this is what they’ll look like.”
They weren’t wrong.
By 2020, if not ealier, blogs were being studied in marketing programs, journalism courses, and communications departments. SEO, copywriting, digital advertising and content strategy became academic subjects. Newspapers and magazines began hosting blogs on their websites.
Exactly what Stacey had been told “would never happen.”
Global Cosmetic Companies Took Notice
Between 2009 and 2012, something happened that almost no beauty blogger at the time could claim:
They weren’t simply reading the content. They weren’t simply liking it. They weren’t simply acknowledging it.
They were distributing it. They were amplifying it. They were leveraging it as promotional material.
This happened because Stacey’s content was structured like professional editorial copy:
- Clear brand naming
- Accurate pricing
- Canadian availability (rare at the time)
- Professional recommendations from a certified makeup artist
- Application techniques from a certified professional makeup artist with experience working in television initially, later, editorial, as well.
- Magazine‑style formatting with personality
Most beauty blogs in 2009 were personal diaries. Face by Stace was a professional media platform.
Cosmetic companies recognized that immediately.
By sharing her posts, they were effectively saying:
“This is the kind of beauty content that represents our brand well.”
This was especially significant because Stacey was not an influencer then — and she is not an influencer today. There were only paid partnerships towards the blog only in Canada between 2009-2012, with only a couple of brand new affiliate marketing programs available through the brand by 2012. Therefore, the sharing happened organically because the content itself met professional standards.
Stacey’s editorial‑style reviews, professional recommendations, and clear emphasis on pricing and Canadian availability aligned perfectly with how brands wanted their products represented. Because Face by Stace was structured like a magazine beauty page — not a personal diary — cosmetic companies could lift the content directly and use it as promotional material.
This was unheard of in 2009.
Most beauty blogs were informal journals. Face by Stace was a professional media platform.
Cosmetic companies recognized that immediately.
By sharing her posts, they were effectively saying:
“This is the kind of beauty content that represents our brand well.”
It became one of the earliest examples of a beauty blogger’s work being used as brand‑aligned promotional content — long before influencer marketing became mainstream.
This wasn’t typical. This wasn’t common. This wasn’t happening for other bloggers.
It was happening for Face by Stace.
And it stands as one of the strongest indicators that Stacey wasn’t simply participating in beauty blogging — she was defining its future standards.
The Turning Point
This chapter ends right before Face by Stace enters the newspaper era — the moment when an editor said:
“No one is taking on blogs… beauty blogs nonetheless. I’m willing to take a risk.”
That’s where Peter Nygard enters the story. That’s where the blog stops being “independent” and becomes part of a larger media ecosystem. That’s where the next chapter begins.
I’m Stacey Hobbs, thanks for reading Face by Stace! Until next time.
do you feel fabulous today?
