Beauty, Inspiration and Empowerment: in conversation with student blogger Kate Fahy

Deputy Life Editor Aoife McColgan interviews SF Law student Kate Fahy to discover how she blogs, why she blogs and the importance of discussing more than just beauty

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Kate Fahy, having always been an active presence on social media, made the decision to begin her own blog, Love, Katein August of last year. She describes her blog as one that “documents all things beauty, fashion and lifestyle but with an emphasis on empowerment and a passion to inform”. Recognising that the blogging market has become saturated within the past few years, her desire is to create something more than just another “typical blog”; you’ll see a post on this season’s must-have dresses on Monday, one on consent come Friday and another on mental health in between.

Beauty: “I’m a self-confessed makeup and fashion addict.”

You need only look at Kate’s Instagram page- which is an integral platform in her outreach- to see that she is a lover of all things beauty and fashion. Between makeup hauls, OOTDs (outfit-of-the-days) and pictures of items which catch her eye in Primark and Topshop, beauty is an integral part to Love, Kate.

It’s clear that Kate is seen as a sort of ‘big sister’ to a lot of her followers, with many of her posts flooded with curious comments- “where’d you buy that skirt?”, “what’s your skincare routine?”. Being able to provide others with help and guidance is one of her proudest achievements.

“When I opened up about how I coped with acne and how hard it was to deal with mentally, I was inundated with messages from girls who shared my experience; girls who were currently suffering from acne and felt like they weren’t alone. To some this may seem trivial, but knowing that I’ve helped one person makes it worthwhile!”

Inspiration: “My family and friends are definitely my biggest inspiration.”

With her sister Sarah-Jane working on the blog alongside Kate, it is clear that Love, Kate is very much a family orientated concept. Following a magical engagement at the end of 2014 and a beautiful wedding two years later, Sarah-Jane often makes appearances on Love, Kate, sharing her expertise, tips and experiences on the wedding-planning process. “Although I follow other blogs, I get most of my content from people I know,” says Kate. “My mum has taught me everything I know regarding fashion, while I got my passion for current affairs from my Dad.”

In discussing how she decides what her next blog post will cover, Kate explains that the inspiration comes from her friends- both fellow students at TCD and those back home in Strabane. “My friends always tell me what they want the next blog post to be written about. This is so helpful because I want to write posts that are useful for people- not just posts telling them to go out and buy a certain product”.

Kate doesn’t feel that a blog has any drawbacks, as long as you plan ahead and ensure that your own education always takes precedence. She does, however, recognise that finding the balance between college work and running a blog can be difficult, and sometimes trying to continually think of content to post can be tiring.

When discussing her inspirations from the blogging world, she refers to Suzanne Jackson, founder of blog So Sue Me, Marissa Carter, creator of the Cocoa Brown tanning brand, and Rosie Connolly, fellow blogger and makeup artist. There is one stand-out thing that all these bloggers have in common with Kate- the desire to give people the freedom to be the best version of themselves possible.

Empowerment: “I want people to feel motivated and empowered.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I love the perfectly curated Instagram feeds- but I feel like sometimes we neglect the important issues,” explains Kate. Sharing content that is informative and thought-provoking is an important element to her blog. “Addressing the more serious issues affecting us in society is key. I believe in sharing content that will inform my readers and in some instances make them more aware”. Kate feels it is important that she touches on topics that are relevant to both her audience and wider society, such as mental health issues, sexism, homelessness and bullying.

Kate admits she has always imagined herself following in her father’s footsteps, aspiring for a career in the field of law. Has this changed now that her blog has proved to be such a success? “I’m not really sure what I’ll end up doing in the future. I have always wanted to pursue a career in law and that hasn’t changed. Maybe in five years there will be a new form of blogging so you just never know. As long as I’m doing something that I’m passionate about, that’s the dream.”

Boasting almost five thousand likes on her Facebook page, Kate’s online presence has grown substantially in a short space of time. With a website to come in the next few weeks and several top secret announcements to follow, we can only be certain that we’ll be seeing a lot more of Love, Kate on more than just our Facebook feed!