Interview with Janice from Specktra

Here at Fifty-Cent Head, we love MAC and we love Specktra,net. In fact, I daresay I love Specktra more than I love MAC, because it's just such a great group of guys and gals who are gathered together to share an obsession/addiction/problem and have fun with it! We love that the newest scoop on MAC and many other lines can be found on Specktra, and we love the FOTDs and off-topic conversations.

For those who aren't familiar with Specktra, it's a fairly MAC-centric community, bulletin-board-style, that is constantly hopping and always in-the-know! It's not only MAC, though. I've had great discussions on many subjects - some of them not even makeup related!

I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Janice, founder and administrator of Specktra,net and the genius behind its spin-off successes: Specktra Beauty News and the very new Glam Soup.

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       We love Specktra and read it daily! Can you tell us how you got started with it?

Specktra was started when the beautiful Sarah, who maintained the original MAC color story archive, made a personal decision to close her site. I was an active member of MUA, had MAC fever, and utilized Sarah's site all the time as a MAC reference. When Sarah announced the closure I had an overwhelming feeling that I could not let the information disappear. I had befriended another MUA MAC addict and one night over IM I told her that I thought we should see if we could save the information and continue the legacy Sarah had created. When approached Sarah agreed to send us the MAC information she had archived until that point and the rest is history!

What inspired you to create a MAC-centric bulletin board?
I see forums as a very natural way to connect with like-minded people. For this reason they can be an excellent resource for information.

Were you ever a MAC employee? Is Specktra affiliated with MAC in any way?
I have never been employed by MAC, nor is the site affiliated with MAC Cosmetics.

What's your day job? Tell us more about you outside of Specktra!
I'm a Marketing Manager for a vertical network of family and women oriented forums. I am responsible for the marketing of the entire portfolio, but day to day I spend most my time administrating a handful of their forums. I apply much of what I learned over the past 4 years at Specktra to make them successful and happy communities.

What's your favorite part of running Specktra?
The members! I am blessed with 32,000+ of the most intelligent, beautiful, savvy and generous women (and men) I have ever had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with. I'm a host at heart, I enjoy making sure people are comfortable, having a good time and are taking something away from the party they can apply in their "real life".

Do you still get super-excited to get early peeks into MAC collections, or are we the only ones who get all geeked out?
Are you kidding?! My heart skips and I get this crazy flushed feeling each time I receive new information to share.

Is there an over-looked "secret gem" of Specktra that you want us to know about?
Video Tutorials! We have some of the hottest video vixens emerge from Specktra, or come to Specktra to share their Makeup Tutorials. There's an entire forum FULL of videos right in one place.

The blog! It's still growing, but we're working hard to make sure it's an easy way for those who prefer not to navigate the forum get their MAC Scoop!

We're also launching an internet radio show called "Glam Soup" where we'll discuss all things MAC and Beauty related. Our first show is Sunday April 20^th @ 10PM CST. Two Specktra Staff members who also write for the Blog will be joining me as hosts. I'm excited to get it out there, if anything people should tune in to hear us bungle our way through the first couple of shows. 

[Editor's Note: clearly this interview was conducted prior to the 20th - apologies for not giving you a head's-up for Glam Soup in advance. I completely flubbed that one!]

What's your favorite beauty tip?
Remember the brows Ladies and Gents! Brows can really make or break a look, groom them and fill if needed as a part of your regular beauty routine.

What product (or collection or product line or whatever) really stands out as a disappointment?
Call me crazy, but I thought Sweetie Cakes was disappointing collection. It was gimmicky and sparkly, pass!

Specktra Beauty News is a great source of information and delight for us. Do you enjoy it? Do you have other folks who help you keep it lively?
I do enjoy it, though I must admit being a blogger is seriously difficult! This year I added two additional Beauty Editors who assist with writing content and keeping the blog fresh. It was really a struggle for me to keep up with it when I was going at it alone. Balancing all the areas of the site became a little overwhelming, so rather than neglect anything I decided it was time to open up a couple of spots for editors. The great thing is, both of the ladies are amazing staff members on the Specktra Forum! Jamie is Shimmer, and Jen is MAC_Whore who by the way has an AMAZING collection of MAC Porn.

Are there other blogs or sites you visit regularly?
I do visit several blogs regularly, they are mostly celebrity gossip and paparazzi blogs though! It's my secret boredom outlet. I am in love with GalaDarling.com. She is so amazing, smart, beautiful and talented.

[Editor's Note: Now I'm addicted to and in love with GalaDarling, too. She's amazing and I just love the purple brows!]

What are the best things about being a Beauty Blogger?
Connecting with other Beauty Bloggers! They are such an exciting group of women, the men are jewels when you come across them too.

And the things that bum you out?
Competitiveness for no reason, (the internet is big enough for all of us!) why be cut-throat competitive and burn social bridges when we can support one another and rejoice in our successes as women?

What collection are you most excited about right now?
Right now I would have to say that I have reached my peak with Heatherette. It is such a FABULOUS collection, the packaging was so gloriously tacky. Dress Camp is seriously hot too, everyone will want to get their hands on that one!

What are your current must-have MAC products?
The new moisture lush moisturizers! They were a lifesaver earlier this year when my skin was so dry from winter. I also am digging Strobe Liquid because I wear a crème foundation and it adds a subtle luminescence.

Is there anything else you want us to know about you or Specktra?
I'd love for your readers to stop by and visit with us. Specktra is a diverse, intelligent, and extremely supportive community full of Beauty Addicts!

Comments

[Janice]

Thanks for the opportunity for the interview Jen! Love your blog, I look forward to watching you develop it further. :)

[Jamie]

What a great interview! Specktra is so amazing for all of us MAC enthusiasts!

[Joy]

Great interview Jen! I think Janice is amazing and the site offers such great info! I'm with Janice when she talked about being bummed out by the competitiveness. I think women should support each other especially if we all have something in common: the love of beauty!