The year’s about to come to an end and as always, it’s time to take a step back and look at the results. From blogging point of view, 2018 was great for me and hopefully, this trend will continue into 2018. Today, I want to share some lessons that I learned in the past year and really tell you what beauty blogging means to me.
Lesson #1 of beauty blogging: Invest time and effort into brands that are close to you
In the past, I received PR packages and then panicked until I tested them all and wrote the necessary blog posts. Now, I’m much more picky about what I’ll try out, both in make-up and skincare. I don’t work with brands I don’t believe in, but I try really hard to support those that are close to me. And no, despite a few offers, I still haven’t taken money for my posts. This year, the brand family that I’m happy to participate with has grown quite a lot. It was joined by Mirta, Natura Siberica, The Body Shop, Yankee Candle, Yanumi, Dr. Organic, La Roche-Posay, Paese and many others. These are brands that try to do well and even more often, brands that find sustainability important. Of course, a part of my heart (and my blog) is still reserved for brands that have been with me from the start – Nivea, Catrice, Essence and L.O.V, Avon, L’Occitane, Melvita, Medex and others.
Lesson #2 of beauty blogging: Stress less, laugh more
I didn’t get a brand collaboration I really wanted? I didn’t get invited to an event? The photo on the Instagram didn’t get almost any likes? SO WHAT! Brands that want to work with me know why they chose me. Events are nice, but not the only thing in the world (which is also why I missed quite a few this year) and the likes on photos can be attributed to a dozen factors. A year or so ago, I would stress endlessly about these things, but now I just wave them off and make a cool looking smiling selfie instead. The world instantly seems brighter.
Lesson #3 of beauty blogging: Invest in equipment
This year, I had to find space in my home for new lights, backdrops and tons of decorations for photos. But even more importantly, our family extended by one Canon named Lucy. As you can see, the blog is also now separated into English and Slovenian page, which took quite a bit of work (and will take lots more) and was also quite an investment. But it’s totally worthy it. I feel so lucky every time someone notices the changes on my blog and I’m also much happier with the photos now. Beauty blogging is not a source of income for me, but I still want my blog to be as pretty as possible while also keeping the quality of contents in check.
Lesson #4 of beauty blogging: Everything is easier with friends by your side
The universe was kind enough to send three amazing women into my life. Each day, they make me laugh and fill me with positive energy. We share the good, the bad and the ugly, blogging adventures and personal lives. Gabi, Metka, Maja – I love you. Hopefully, 2018 will be a great year for our friendship.
Lesson #5 of beauty blogging: Sometimes, you should look a gifted horse in the mouth
This year, I let two brands make a fool of me and cause me quite some damage – not financial, but mostly emotional. That’s one of the biggest lessons for the year – really look into the brands you’re considering collaborating with and how you want that relationship to look like. Honestly, I think that Slovenian distributors and brands are quite reasonable when it comes to their terms of collaborations. But if there’s anyone reading this thinking you can send me your PR text and I’ll post it here for a couple Euro, think again. You can put ads in newspapers – I’m not for sale.
Lesson #6 of beauty blogging: Take criticism and compliments with grace
Are you one of those people who blushes and looks away when receiving compliments on your look? Well, I don’t mind those compliments at all, but I blush like a silly teenager whenever I get praise about my blog. I just don’t know where to put my hands, what to say, I take days to respond to such messages and in general, behave like a teen. But in the summer, I decided to take ownership of both criticism and compliments and I’ve been working on this area, trying to improve myself. I’m honestly happy about every good feedback I receive – it really means a lot to me. The same goes for criticism. When you don’t like something, I’ll listen to you, try to change it and get better.
No, beauty blogging are not only PR packages, events and joy. Behind all that, there’s a lot of hard work, organization, e-mails, constant presence on social media, financial inputs, emotions any many other things that perhaps stay hidden. But my blog is my pride and joy, so I don’t mind this work at all. I’m so happy that we’ve grown our Low Maintenance Beauty family and I love everyone of you, so I take pride in being able to share my joy, experience, knowledge and life with you. Until next time, stay beautiful!
This post is also available in: Slovenščina