Happy Birthday....

Image from Poshinkids.com

I'll never forget the last day of my creative writing class my senior year in high school, we all took turns writing what each person in class will end up doing in life. Because I was obsessed with fashion and makeup, mostly everyone in my class predicted that I'd become some Lancome executive, except one of my girlfriends, she wrote that I'd be a politician's mistress.


Pretty bad-ass, right? Too bad neither came true. 


I was introduced to makeup blogs back in 2007 by my little sister. She knew my obsession over makeup. She turned me to Karen's blog and also Christine's. I really loved these ladies because like me, they were in the Bay Area and they understood my obsession with makeup. I was a full fledged FAN GIRL. I  read their blogs when I should have been working. They got me through my pregnancy and helped me get my sexy back after I gave birth. But truth be told, I was never that girl to just let herself go. I'm that girl at the gym that does her eye brows and wears a light smidge of lip gloss (nude, of course). If anything, I was on top of Seasonal launches for the very first time and I started to really take my makeup seriously. 


Don't get me wrong, I wasn't a novice. I started young, my mother bought me my first Maybelline palette. She started buying me Lancome at 15 and at 16 I got my first Dior red lipstick, Dior Dior Red. It was the perfect maroon, brick red! But along the way, I just wore what I liked and I didn't pay attention to what was new. Blue eye liner? Never - only black or brown if I wanted subtle. I wore lots of neutral shadows, purple or charcoal if I was feeling daring. Blush? Why bother? Lipstick was only red, nude or brown. I was pretty boring with my makeup. It wasn't till I started reading the blogs, did I really pay attention. 


After reading my daily blogs, I came across others along the way and discovered that these bloggers were really kind and lovely. They responded to my comments, questions, personal emails and I even received a few samples along the way. Sabrina, I will never forget the nice packages you've sent to me over the years! Elvira, I remember when MAC's Style Black collection made you remember your early goth days and Joey, well you are just a dear and one of the sweetest bloggers I have ever come across! You are wiser beyond your young years! I always thought of starting my very own blog because it also partially fulfills my fantasy of being a beauty editor. I reached out to some of these ladies and asked how they started. It wasn't till I was really pushed into it by a good friend, Christina to start typing away. She's also a  fellow blogger! 


So 365 days later, I spawned 230 blog posts. 


My first post was very modest, I didn't even include any photos. It was just a quick introduction of myself and my blogging intentions.

A brief refresher, here's the story behind the title of my blog.

Blogging is a tough thing to do, getting people to read about my meager reviews and looking at my sub par photos. I have gone to bed many a night frustrated, tired or just indecisive if I should keep going.

Because honestly, how many different ways can you describe a black eye liner or nude lip gloss?

Lucky for me (and you), I also like to indulge in cocktails so writing about a tasty beverage I have come across is fun for me to share with you. I also love sharing a great pair of shoes, usually on sale, as well.

Here's a few things I have learned:

• I do not need to buy a new piece of makeup every week just to have something to write about - if I really did this, my husband would have serious words with me and I just couldn't deal with myself being that financially irresponsible.
• When I don't depend on new makeup to review, it forces me to really dig deep and be creative. 
• I like having deadlines - honestly, if I didn't force myself to blog at least 3x a week I wouldn't blog at all!
• It really doesn't matter if the number of your followers is smaller than you'd like it to be. I will be honest, yes, it bothered me at first. It made me so frustrated that I only have x amount of followers - I'd beat myself up: are my photos that bad? Do I sound stupid? Do I sound annoying? Is this all just a big popularity contest like in high school all over again? After I let that go and just started writing. I relaxed and really appreciate the followers I have now and fellow blogger friends I have made along the way.
• Treat people the way you want to be treated. I don't bad mouth anyone. I even feel a bit guilty when I do post about products that fail me - MAC Fail come to mind. I am actually planning a I HEART MAC week - a look at the products from the company that has never failed me and I stand behind 100%. I do play well with others but I also expect others to give me the same kindness and respect. 
• I have learned to be patient with myself and others. I actually picked this up from a past (bad) relationship, it was only through the blog that I really tested this. I also developed thicker skin. 
• The friends I have made through this blog are truly awesome and I feel blessed that they give me truly honest and supportive feedback. I also received surprising feedback from fashion bloggers - this is what I like to call cross-functional blogging! These folks help keep me going. 
• Lighting and a good camera matters - this is something that I am still working on!

It's still a learning process and I am allowing myself to move at my own pace. 

You know how I bought myself some LMdB treats for my birthday? Well here's an anniversary gift to myself:

It's a blend of ginger, cinnamon, clove, prune, peach, orange blossom, violet, cedar, sandalwood, vanilla and benzoin. But on my skin, I smell mostly plum and wood - this is my bottle of happiness! I am trying to learn how to write more about scents this year.

It's hard to do when you have a stuffy nose most of the year but I'm willing to learn! I hope I last another year to write about that process...