KIRSTEN SMITH: Blogger + Bettyquette Founder
Hi, I’m Kirsten. A former teacher, blogger and now founder of natural skincare company, Bettyquette.
I began writing this blog back in 2011, after giving up my teaching career to become a full time mum. In between school runs and laundry loads, I fell in love with writing.
I wrote about everything from easy recipes to real life fashion tips and over time the Kirsten and co blog became known for its authentic and relatable life and style inspiration and advice.
As the Kirsten and co community grew, I began working with a variety of brands and businesses such as Olympus, Target, Birdsnest, FRANKiE4 Footwear, Adrift Clothing. In 2014 Kirsten and co was named as a Top 30 Personal and Parenting Blog in the Kidspot Awards, while in 2018 it was a Top 5 finalist in the BUPA Blog Awards.
IIH
In June 201, after suffering from a number of symptoms including temporary vision loss and undergoing an MRI and Lumbar Puncture, I was diagnosed with a rare condition known as IIH – Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension. A condition that when left untreated results in permanent blindness.
While the diagnosis with life changing in every way imaginable, I was committed to beating it. It was a fight that demanded a daily cocktail of medication (at the peak of the battle, I was taking more than 20 tablets a day), a weight of loss of 28 kilos and a fierce determination to never give up.
Read how Kirsten lost 28 kilos here
Bettyquette Begins…
The daily medication I was required to take to beat my IIH left my skin severely dry and dehydrated. As a self-confessed beauty junkie, I tried every product I could think of to hydrate and nourish my skin.
Products my skin loved were no longer doing their thing and I found myself searching for a face oil that was packed with natural, effective goodness.
Unable to find what I was looking for, I asked my blending expert husband if he could create one for me. He did, I began using it and within a few weeks family, friends and members of my decade strong blogging and social media community, began asking what I was using to achieve my newly improved glowing skin.
I wondered if the simple, effective face oil Scott had created for me could help others with their skin needs too. Turns out it could.
Launching and disrupting…
The first two products released – a day face oil, Get Up And Glow®, and a night face oil, Sleep On It® – sold out within 24 hours. What was originally developed to help with my own skin care needs is now a natural, nourishing skin care brand helping thousands throughout Australia and New Zealand with their own skin care needs.
In November 2017, four months after launching bettyquette, I received the news from her Neurologist and ophthalmologist that I’d had been waiting nearly three years to hear.
I had won the fight. I was officially in IIH remission.
What’s next?
I no longer write here on the blog as Bettyquette is now my full time career. However, I’m still very much committed to the awesome community of women, many of whom have been reading this blog since the beginning.
You can find me on the Kirsten and co Facebook page or on Instagram most days.
I also run the Bettyquette social media accounts, which you can find here:
Bettyquette Instagram: @bettyquette
Bettyquette Facebook: /bettyquette
I live in Brisbane, Australia with my husband Scott, two teenage kids, Bailey and Sophie and our beautiful rescue golden retriever, Percy.
If you’d like to get in touch for an interview, podcast or media request, I’d love to hear from you: kirsten@bettyquette.com.au