Suzanne Jackson keeps more than a million readers totally absorbed with her beauty blog, SoSueMe – but her seemingly fabulous lifestyle garners plenty of attention too.
Not that it's all fun and games; when we exclusively spoke to Suzanne last month, she was eager to clear a few things up.
“People are often surprised by the hours a blogger works,” she admitted.
“They just see the Instagram pictures and the Facebook posts and they think you have the easiest life imaginable, but it’s not like that.”
Still, now that she has two best-selling books, not to mention a gel nail polish collection (a €100 hamper of which you can win with SHEmazing!) to her name, we reckon Suzanne's earned the right to a time-out every now-and-again.
In fact, we love the 30-year-old Dubliner's work-hard-play-hard mantra.
After all, if five years (her first SoSueMe.ie post published in July 2010) of risk-taking, packed schedules, unforgiving deadlines, and long hours doesn't merit a couple of days on a sun-lounger, there's probably little hope for the rest of us.
That, and by jetting off abroad, we then get to gawk at her holiday snaps. Everyone's a winner!
Interestingly, the former beauty therapist has now added a travel section to her blog… And, yes the posts are seriously envy-inducing.
So, with summer holidays fast approaching, let’s get some destination and fashion inspiration from three of Suzanne’s most recent, fabulous trips away.
Marbella, Spain
While she hasn’t blogged about it just yet, from Suzanne’s recent Facebook and Instagram pics, it looks as if she’s currently sunning herself in her favourite holiday destination of Marbella.
Best for… Pools, pools, pools! If you love getting glammed up in a one-piece and sipping cocktails, Marbella is definitely the place for you. In particular, Suzanne seems to spend a lot of vacation time at the Ocean Club. And, if you are looking for some nightlife on your trip, the ever-popular Puerto Banus is just a taxi ride away.
What she wore…
St. Vincent, Caribbean
Last month, Suzanne went to the stunning island of St. Vincent in the Caribbean with her long-term boyfriend, Dylan. After previously seeing the beautiful shots of Michelle Keegan and Mark Wright’s own holiday there, Suzanne knew it would be the perfect location for a romantic couple’s holiday.
Best for… total relaxation! The white sand and crystal-clear sea in Suzanne’s photos had us sufficiently jealous. The pair went on sunset cruises, chilled by the pool and relaxed on the beach. St. Vincent also seems like a great place to enjoy amazing all-inclusive food and cocktails. Sounds like a trip to paradise, actually.
What she wore…
Texas, USA
In April, Suzanne headed to Dallas to attend a blogger conference with RewardStyle. Although it was technically work, it also looked like an incredible trip and it seems that Suzanne was able to enjoy a little down-time.
Best for… their hotels, by the sounds of things. You can check out her stunning hotel room on her vlog of the trip. Suzanne furthermore attended stunning rooftop parties and the restaurants sounded totally fab.
With her monthly readership figures sitting comfortably around the seven-digit mark, Suzanne Jackson’s status as Ireland’s top blogger is certainly secure. But, as she exclusively reveals to SHEmazing!, the 30-year-old “wasn’t an A-student in school, not by a long shot,” but she adds that she never did anything half-heartedly either.
Indeed, she attributes her sky-high profile to one thing: passion: “Blogging is one of those things that you have to love and enjoy,” she says. “Otherwise you just won’t commit to it and give it the attention it deserves.”
And aside from heaps of passion, the young businesswoman has had to really master the art of multi-tasking: after all, there’s a steady stream of blog posts to be penned, and hosting gigs to front, not to mention emails to be answered, and meetings to attend.
She smiles as she recalls recently frantically typing up her column for The Sun in the passenger seat of her car while her boyfriend, Dylan, drove her to a job. “Readers don’t see that side of the business,” she laughs.
“Some think being a fashion and beauty blogger is all about shopping for clothes and trying out new makeup. If only! My day involves a lot of long hours in front of a computer.”
Incredibly, this July marks the five-year anniversary since Suzanne uploaded her first post on SoSueMe.ie.
“It feels like a lifetime ago,” she says. “I had been thinking about starting a blog for a while at that point. I had been following a few international ones, but there didn’t seem to be any Irish ones so I thought, ‘well why don’t I set one up?’”
These days, the SoSueMe brand is a power-force to be reckoned with: she has just launched her own line of gel polishes, SOSU By Suzanne Jackson – a product which has already all-but sold out.
“I’m overwhelmed, because I never thought the gel polish collection would take off as fast as it did,” she smiles in response. “I wanted to create something that every girl needed, but yet was fun and affordable.
“I always think a nail polish finishes off a look so it seemed like the ideal product to start with.”
Still, Suzanne’s unique selling point has always been her ability to connect with her readers – a talent she retains to this day. Astonishingly, a simple post about a recent trip to Penneys, where she bought a couple of candles and some plain t-shirts, was shared on Facebook alone almost 44,000 times.
A photo posted by Suzanne Jackson (SoSueMe) (@sosueme_ie) on
Another post about bikinis yielded almost 38,000 shares on Facebook. The numbers are staggering, but while they are now a common sight on her stats page, Suzanne takes nothing for granted.
“The one thing that always stood to me was that I kept a positive outlook on things,” she says candidly. “Bad days don’t last forever.
“That and I always knew I would find my way in life.”
Next week, SHEmazing! will be giving away an amazing hamper packed full of SoSuMe gel polishes. Worth an incredible €100, make sure to check back in for details of how you can enter and win this great prize.
Each week we speak to an inspiring go-getter as part of our Rising Stars series.
Here, Suzanne Jackson from SoSueMe.iehas joined us for an intimate chat about her incredible career, her best-selling gel-polish collection, and why she just doesn’t believe in quitting...
After steadily building up her profile over the last five years, 30-year-old Suzanne has cemented her status as Ireland’s top blogger. Success hasn’t come easily though; indeed, she regularly works seven days a week.
“People are often surprised by the hours a blogger works,” she admits. “They just see the Instagram pictures and the Facebook posts and they think you have the easiest life imaginable, but it’s not like that.”
At the beginning of each new year, Suzanne writes down her goals – which range in ambition from the small to the absolutely colossal – for the next twelve months. “Who says a massive dream can’t come true?” she adds with a smile.
“When I started my blog, I had a couple of readers, and I dreamed of the day when I would have maybe a few hundred. At the time, I never thought it would happen, but yet here we are today with more than one million readers!
Suzanne at New York Fashion Week last October
“I’m a grafter, and I firmly believe you can make anything happen if you are willing to put the hours into the work.
“I don’t believe in quitting and I don’t believe in not trying.”
So while SoSueMe.ie may have begun as a hobby, it is now very much a business; and a hugely successful one at that.
“I was working in 98fm as reception manager and I had access to the steady stream of celebrities that were coming through the doors each day. I was constantly fielding calls from PR people and agents too, so I put together a list of contacts that could help me in terms of securing celebrity interviews and prizes for competitions.
“I am also a qualified beauty therapist so I knew I was well-placed to run a beauty section with honest reviews and recommendations.
“Once the whole thing was up and running, it just took off. And after three years, I decided to take the big jump and blog full-time. I went from having a secure income each month to not knowing if I would ever get another pay-cheque again! Fortunately, SoSueMe kept going from strength-to-strength, and I was able to turn it into a brand.”
Right now, a considerable amount of Suzanne’s time is taken up with her new gel polish collection, SOSU By Suzanne Jackson.
“I kept the collection a secret for quite a while,” she admits. “I’m a worrier by nature, so I was lying awake all night wondering if I was doing the right thing, if people would like the range, and stressing that the fans might be disappointed.”
However, her fears turned out to be groundless.
Within a week of the product hitting shelves, stock had completely sold out. Penneys is now looking to sell the range in its branches nationwide and possibly in Primark in the UK. There’s talk of limited edition box sets for Christmas too.
With Rosanna Davison at the Dublin city centre launch of her gel polish
“I'm overwhelmed, because I never thought the gel polish collection would take off as fast as it did,” she says.
Suzanne’s social media figures are staggering: not only do a million readers follow her blog, but she also boasts 35,000 Twitter fans, 127,000 Instagram devotees, and 188,000 Facebook likes. Her own YouTube channels has furthermore collectively garnered millions of clicks.
“I know what it’s like to be unemployed and on the dole, and I know how disheartening it can be,” she says candidly. “But bad days don’t last forever. I always knew I would find my way in life, though I never would have thought that five years on, I would be sitting here with two best-selling books, and my own gel polish collection to my name.
“There’s definitely someone in the sky looking out for me. I’m blessed!”
Not content with being one of Ireland's leading fashion and beauty bloggers, So Sue Me's Suzanne Jackson has taken on the role of cosmetics queen and launched her own gel nail polish range.
The 25-colour SOSU collection includes high pigment matt and shimmer gel polishes, plus top and base coat polishes to ensure a long-lasting colour. Unlike other gel polishes, the SOSU products can all be removed using a standard nail polish remover, so they're the perfect way to get that salon look at home.
Suzanne has been very hands-on with the development of the range and says, "I have done everything from start to finish. I haven't just thrown my name on this. I don't want it to be a product where I just sign my name away and get money in the end, that's not what this is about."
S! TV's Lisa Kavanagh headed along to the official launch of the range at 10 Ormond Quay last night, and caught up with Suzanne to find out what we can expect from the SOSU collection.
