Daily Kongfidence’s Christine Kong has three kids, but don’t call her a mommy blogger. She doesn’t even let her kids take part in social media. While parenting isn’t Kong’s influencer raison d’être, she’s dedicated to being a good role model for her children – and her many, many thousands of followers – by conveying positivity in her takes on fashion and beauty. “I want to teach by example to create your own definition of beauty and to have courage to confidently express yourself,” says Kong in her online bio. Beauty Independent caught up with her to chat about the appeal of indie beauty, managing a healthy relationship with social media, disclosing sponsorships and the possibility of extending Daily Kongfidence into products.
Where did you grow up?
I was born and raised in Southern California. I’ve lived here all my life because you can’t beat the weather. My parents came from Korea in their late 20s, and they’re the typical immigrant story of building a small business and planting roots here.
How has Southern California impacted your idea of beauty?
I have a very minimal, laidback vibe in regard to beauty, but our weather is also sun-intense, which is damaging for your skin, so being proactive about the protection aspect and the moisture aspect [is important]. It’s also very dry. I wish I had been more aware of this as I was growing up, but you live and learn.
How did Daily Kongfidence start?
I started about two-and-a-half years ago. It began with my love of fashion. I just really wanted to show others that, as a mom, it doesn’t mean we have to run around in sweats or adopt bad fashion sense. As I continued to grow, I realized that the blogging world was another beast altogether. I started expanding and forming relationships as opportunities came my way.
Did you think you’d become an influencer?
No. The funny thing is, I just figured this all out by myself. I didn’t have friends who blogged or did anything like this. I was just taking my husband out and making him do the photos, and we were really mailing out a lot of content. I was learning as I went. When I started to meet other influencers, I got insight on how to work smarter, and batch process.
I never imagined I would be working with iconic brands and getting paid to do what I love. At times, it is overwhelming, but the relationships are amazing. It’s exciting when you start out. As you grow quickly, it becomes a lot of work. I think you get to a point where you say, “I’m OK if it doesn’t match my feed, I want to do what I want to do.” I’m really just over doing anything for the likes and the algorithm. I’m going to post what makes me happy. In the end, you realize that’s what works…connecting with people as an actual person.
How did you branch out from fashion to beauty?
I’ve always cared about it. I just didn’t post about because of my hyper focus on fashion. I thought, “If was going to be a fashion blogger, that’s all I could share.” Literally new beauty brands are coming out every day, so why not post about what I’m finding? I am skincare-obsessed. It’s a part of who I am, and I’m so much happier posting about what I’m really interested in. I’m really attracted to sharing the new brands coming out that focus on skin health.
Why do you think the indie beauty movement has momentum?
My first experience with the Indie Beauty Expo was the partnership with Neiman Marcus at Fashion Island. I loved it. It was so incredibly exciting to meet founders, ask them in-depth questions and hear about their passion. There are so many products out there, it’s almost impossible to differentiate one from another, but the people truly make the difference. To hear it from the source, it resonates and connects you to the product.
Everyone is so aware of what they are putting on and in their bodies these days, and the general consensus is heading a more mindful way and having that knowledge draws a lot of attention. Among all of the brands in the world, luxury or drugstore, finding something new that not everyone knows is such an appealing aspect. It helps drive the momentum. Shopping small, supporting women, it culminates with all the movements going on right now collectively.
How do you choose which brands to feature or collaborate with?
When brands reach out to me, I read each email and visit each website. I go with the brands I would legitimately use, regardless if it’s paid. It’s about building relationships and working with brands you believe in and want to be a part of. Most of my beauty is not paid because I really want to try their things, and it’s a mutual excitement and the reason why I love blogging. I get to work with these fantastic companies.
What should brands know about working with influencers?
I would hope by now brands realize that it’s not about the numbers. Someone with 200,000 may not be influencing all of those people. So, [they should] not just [be] looking at a number, but looking at content and engagement, and who that person actually is. Do people listen to them?
Also, mass campaigns aren’t connecting with followers. They know it’s a campaign. I think an authentic voice carries more worth than bombarding people’s feeds. We also like to have that open dialogue with a brand, and not [have a campaign be] one and done. I want a brand to care about my skin type and what works for me, what works with my current routine. That speaks volumes to me and translates to my audience. Being able to ask questions and work personally with bloggers, you can do that as an indie brand, so why wouldn’t you?
What’s your stance on disclosing brand sponsorships?
You have to keep it transparent with your audience. Influencers are everywhere, so readers know you get paid likely in some way. There are certain people out there, though, that post paid ads all week. After a while, I don’t think it’s attractive. Here and there, it’s fine, but I think it weakens the message. People start to think you’re saying yes to get a paycheck, and that shouldn’t be the case. People need to know you believe in what you’re sharing.
How do you balance the demands of social media with being a mom of three?
It’s a learning curve. In the beginning, you put so much pressure on yourself to be in the thick of social media, commenting and liking, feeling like you are going to miss out on something. There just has to be a balance. I started this because I wanted to show confidence, especially to my kids, so being able to do this, own it and enjoy it, it’s a great message. I want to be an example and, at the same time, if it consumes me, it’s not a good example. I quickly learned to draw the line and do work while they are in school or in bed. So, when they are home, I’m available to them. Weekends I take off and try not to bother with it because that’s family time. Setting rules and boundaries, and sticking to them, that’s key. Social media can go away any day. Real life is what truly counts.
Why don’t you feature your kids on your blog or social media accounts?
My husband and I, we made a rule not to post the kids, and keep that part of our life private. They may occasionally pop up in my Instagram Stories, but they aren’t on my feed. I started this idea to show that moms are cool and relevant, but I just can’t post that aspect of my life out of respect to them. They do want to be involved. They ask why I don’t post them, but you just don’t know who is out there. The day my daughter came home asking me, “Mom, who is this Kylie Jenner?,” I thought, oh my gosh, “I can’t let them have access.” I don’t want them on there for that very reason.
How does being a mother affect your beauty routine?
What beauty routine? My kids will joke, “Why are you putting those things on your eyes?” Well, I haven’t slept. In short, I want products that work. As a mom, I don’t have time to load up on a bevy of products. Time is of the essence. I want a minimal amount of items that are super effective. My focus these days is preventative care, on the eyes and SPF. Again, I wish I had the sun protection focus sooner. I wear moisturizer with SPF and, then, usually take a powder with sunscreen to go while with the kids out and about. More than makeup, if you have good skin, it doesn’t matter what you put on top, so [I focus on] obtaining that good palette.
What’s next for Daily Kongfidence?
I’m really just seeing how things change and grow. It’s funny, I always wore heels in every post in the beginning and, now, you never see heels in my posts. My personal style has evolved just the two-plus years, and I’m a lot more comfortable. I’m noticing that basics are really important to me. Just keeping true to myself and sharing that is always my goal moving forward.
Beauty and skincare will be a much bigger part as I dive more into what works at this point in my life. Who knows, I may start something of my own. A lot of bloggers are tapping into their audience and maximizing their influence by creating products, hosting events, something reoccurring. Overall, women are supporting women and being able to start a business is much easier than it used to be. It’s an exciting time, and we have the freedom to really help the needs of our followers and even the world.
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