Hi Lovelies,
Welcome back! And if you are new here, welcome 💕💕💕
Welcome back! And if you are new here, welcome 💕💕💕
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| 2017 Overview |
So, as the year is nearing the end, I, like all of us, tend to reflect on the year on the whole and weigh in the good and the bad things that have happened.
Let's look at my 2017 blogging year in the retrospective, shall we?
First of all, thank YOU so much for reading, supporting, commenting and liking my posts, without you my lovely readers I would be nothing! I care about every single one of you and the connection we build is priceless to me 💖 So huge thank you from the bottom of my heart! I just love serving the world by sharing ways to green and eco your life by being super honest about what works and what doesn't. I share my point from sensitive skin point of view.
Most Proud Moments
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| So so happy to join LLABP blogger family! |
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| Love Lula Blogger Recommendations |
That would have to be me being accepted as LLABP or Love Lula Accredited Blogger Program blogger, I am really proud to join lovely Love Lula blogger family, and me guest blogging for ISUN Skincare UK, as well as Dutch Health Store. I was also featured in Luk Beautifood website twice this year. Not too shabby, right? Gratitude mode: ON!!
Very happy to say my followers are nearing 14k combined (and counting) this year, never in a million years I thought I'd reach more than a couple of dozens of people!
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| My posts on ISUN Skincare UK blog |
Most viewed posts
That would be the following :
Hynt Beauty Duo Perfecting concealer review
(older review here), the funny thing is, my 1st review for this called Natural Dupe for CoverFX Drops received three times more views versus the one called straight up "Hynt Beauty Concealer Review". It goes to show that people want natural alternatives to the conventional make up stuff, and maybe I should focus more on these types of posts?
Love Lula Black Friday Picks
I did a Black Friday green beauty sales round up happening in the EU and UK this year, as well as my picks from Love Lula, and they both were very popular posts, so that makes me think that BF is here to stay for good, and I shall do the same next year, minus so much spending on my part - I still blush when I think how much money I've spent this year! Whoops! Also, #sorrynotsorry 😎
Dermatitis Be Gone
You can see the post here, and as I said, I will make the follow up post as it gathers interest a lot and I get countless messages about it on social media. I am more or less 2 years dermatitis free, I am not out of the woods yet as I did have three breakouts where I accidentally glutened myself, but my day to day life is symptoms and itch free. Also antibiotics and steroids free. Stay tuned for this :)
Nars Orgasm Dupes post
This was the item I clung onto the most when I made a switch eight years ago as it was the hardest to replace, there were nothing even remotely similar to it in the green beauty world. Thankfully the green beauty scene really exploded since, and I am proud to present not one, not two, but over TWENTY natural dupes for it! Clearly, I worked really hard on this :) And if my blog post is still in the most popular ones one year on, it means I am onto something here, I guess many people like it too but want more natural options?
Love Lula Beauty Boxes posts:
As part of Love Lula Accredited Blogger Program, I started getting Love Lula Beauty boxes, and I have to say I really started looking forward to them - it feels like getting a present each month! As I live in Ireland, I am often one of the last people to get them - it takes 7 to 10 days to get here, but what's funny, I always seem to get it on the same day with my blogger order, even though the boxes are shipped a week apart. Post moves in mysterious ways, isn't it? See my posts on December, November, October, September, August, June and May boxes.
Jo Browne Natural Perfumes Review
I have started Irish Series blog posts this year and this post is by far the most favourite with public. I was one of the first people to publish review on them as soon as they came out, and let me just say they are starting collecting awards for it. I can totally see why, many months on they are still one of my favourite natural perfumes - they last and they don't lose their scent after a couple of weeks.
Note to myself: I really should work more on Irish Series in 2018!
Ere Perez Natural Cosmetics Review
Let me just say that their concealer quickly found it's way into my top favourites (full coverage, people!) and they have a dupe for Nars Orgasm in a form of Bondi blush! Do I need to say more? I really want to try the rest of the range, and if I will, I will keep you posted. I love doing reviews like this.
ISUN Skincare UK posts
This is one of the best discoveries from last year and continuous love affair in 2017. Truly natural and luxurious line and I am yet to come across the product I don't like from them, so I am so glad you guys like it too. I was very happy to partner up with them for a giveaway twice, so I say - watch this space! If you want to read my reviews I'd done so far, they can be found here, here, here, here and here.
Natural Beauties Series
I really enjoy doing these Natural Beauty Series posts, where I interview the movers and shakers in the green beauty world. I have to say that I am very happy with this addition, as it gives you the chance to discover more green beauties if you don't follow them already, and it gives me the opportunity to be nosy :) Needless to say I am continuing these series in the new year too, and for now, you can check out my interviews with the lovely Jana from Small Bits of Loveliness, Modesta from Grozio Gurmane, Andrea from Organic Beauty Lover, Linda from Lindalu19 as well as last year's posts: Sasha from Balanced Beauty Bristol, Vita from Vita Lives Free, Michele from BVGAN and Andie from Andie the Green Queen.
Overall experience
My personal life has been tainted with sadness, two of my closest women getting cancer, and loss (again, twice), our house nearly burning down - I had to find a lot of strength within just to carry on. But this blog isn't about my personal life, so let's move on - my blog is going from strength to strength this year, and I am so glad and thankful to each and everyone of you who read my posts, liked and commented on any of my social media outlet and to the green beauty community who welcomed me with open arms! So glad to be a part of something bigger than me! In Ireland I am a still a lone soldier in a field when it comes to the all stuff natural. I mean there are a few shops that sell natural products, I don't know any other green beauty bloggers, and there are no expos that would be open to the public! So yeah, I don't have it easy here. I mean we don't even have Wholefoods or even Sephora. Thanks goodness for online shopping! Custom charges are whole lotta of other story, but let's not get into it here. I also wanted to thank Love Lula who welcomed me into their blogger family - I plan to be in the long haul with you!, ISUN Skincare UK and Dutch Health Store for having me, as well as all the brands who worked with me this year, and if your review is not out yet, fear not, it will be out very soon in 2018. I have to say I discovered some amazing products this year, and I am hoping for more amazingness next year!
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| Green Life In Dublin best nine, thanks for over 30k of likes you guys! |
Goals and resolutions for next year
My previous sentence pretty much sums it up! More amazingness to come please! This was fun, let's keep it up, I mean I hope you found my blog posts helpful and informative. Your messages asking for help in making the switch to the green beauty or help with dermatitis/eczema and/or thank you messages for what I do is the best feeling ever! In my mind it confirms I am on the right track! I had a long and hard thought what drives me to continue blogging, as it is loads of hard work for (nearly always) free, and it is not the money, not the thought of getting awesome PR samples or latest launches in the green beauty world - it is me wanting to be helpful to you guys to switch to the green side - I literally do a happy dance when I get messages telling me I helped people in some form or another. That is what drives me! Blogging is my passion and I really enjoy doing it, and it's been the first year I made small tangible gains from it, after eight years of doing it for free. I clearly run on passion! I think I need to educate myself on this blogging business - I mean it was only last year I heard about SEO and I realized I never asked you guys to like and share my posts! /Insert hand on the eyes and shaking head emoji here/ So my goals for next year are to attend the bloggers conference, meet some fellow bloggers in person - if you are a natural beauty/lifestyle blogger visiting Dublin, drop me a line! Also I want to look into monetisation in non annoying ways. I see many bloggers who make their entire blog and IG feed shoppable, and while I can't blame them for wanting to cash in on their hard work (because it IS hard work, everything from testing the products to writing/photographing takes a lot time and effort, not to mention when blogger platform has a mind on it's own and you end up re-doing all your work all over) but at the same time I do not want to become a giant add myself, cash is not my goal, I want it to be a rather by-product of blogging and it is clearly not what I am in for! You know that honesty is what I am all about, and I've been told this is exactly what sets me apart from other bloggers time and time again. I take it as a massive compliment and I intend to keep it that way. So if you will see an affiliate link, it will be to only brands or online shops I believe in. I won't be attaching my name to anything that comes my way, much in the same way that I reject 90% of products offered for review. I also want to continue to host giveaways, I love when I get to share the products I love with you guys! I also plan to expand my content a bit, and introduce more varied topics, you can expect easy, healthy and quick to do recipes, maybe some fashion in a form of outfits of the day and a bit of shopping here and there, book reviews and who knows, maybe 2018 will be the year I will start my YouTube channel? It is something I want to do, but because of my own insecurities I always take one step forward and two backwards about it.
*After having a long and hard thinking session about this, I decided to aim high and reveal my wildest dreams too, after all, life has a funny tendency to give you exactly what you want! So I wanted to add my Big Dreams to this - I would like to be featured in a magazine, or have my own rubric in a magazine talking all things green beauty and answering readers questions. And eventually being asked to judge in Green Beauty Awards in some shape or form, because I know I would do a great job at it! And then maybe a blogging award would appear on the horizon :)
There, I said it :) Now let's see what Universe will bring my way in 2018. Make it good :)
So there you have it, my thoughts on the blogging business and the goals for the next year. What are your goals, please share with me?
With this I want to let you know I will be taking the rest of the year off, makes sense for the Holiday period, no? Try not miss me too much, and if you will, re-read any old post of mine, I wrote 100 (give or take) posts this year, and that makes it more than 300 posts in total, so you won't be short of topics! 2017 Best Products or my All My Green Beauty Reviews To Date is a good way to start 😉
Lots of Love and Gratitude for you, my readers!
Lots of Love
Renata.
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