Things I wish I had known before I started blogging

The recent fall out and gossiping over a certain site got me thinking about all the things I wished I had known about before I started blogging.  My blog is by no means perfect and from my first initial post, to the ones I post today, I do feel like I have learnt a lot, but I obviously don't know everything there is know.  

Blogging for me is a constant learning curve and I pick things up from new bloggers just as much as those who have been doing it a lot longer than I have and I suspect many people do the same thing.  That said, I do see things on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and so one which make me think  "If only I knew that when I started out as a mere newbie blogger", one of the main tasks being how difficult it can be to grow instagram followers and that it isn't something which will happen overnight, it is a never-ending process, as people follow, people will unfollow, it isn't personal. 

So, with that I thought I would list some of those valuable insights, tricks of the trade, secrets or whatever you want to call them in my first year of blogging and I would be really interested to hear your thoughts and comments too.

It is okay to miss posting daily!

When I started blogging I would be constantly writing one after another to ensure that I had at least 7 posts a week or one for everyday if you will. 

Sometimes I would really have to burn the midnight oil to juggle being a wife, work full time, spend time with the Hubby and friends, not to mention all the chores that need doing at home or in the office.  In the first few months I put a lot of pressure on myself to be consistent and whilst it is good to have a schedule that everyone comes to know, there are times when life just gets in the way and you have to learn to deal with that because it is inevitable that there will be days that you simply do not have the time to post.  

If this happens, what should you do?  Well never feel you have to apologise, we are all human and non of us are perfect, life is too short to worry about it and it isn't as though you have just abandoned your blog, people will understand. Don't stress about it, write your next post at the next available opportunity and continue with life as normal, it is unlikely people will click that unfollow button because they haven't heard from you in one whole day.

It's not about the 'free' stuff!

I have for the last ten or so years always had a platform online where I share my views on the products I use and those profiles are still open and online on sites such as Ciao and DooYoo. For me blogging was the next step up because I felt life had become quite sterile on both sites, though I am still fairly active on one of the sites.  I didn't start blogging to get those free things, infact I never knew PR companies sent things out to bloggers until I was contacted.

Anyway, as PR Samples is one of those topics which pops up on twitter every now and again with moans, whinging and gripes that so and so gets lots of samples whilst others don't, some don't declare it properly, others do and so on. I hold my hands up and say that frankly this doesn't interest me one iota, I couldn't care less who gets what, it is their view I am interested in and whether or not I need it in my life.   Take the last lot of Benefit products which got sent out, now I had flagged Big Easy as a product I thought I would love after reading about it online, turns out after reading 5 or so reviews from bloggers I like, that I don't think it is for my skin tone and I therefore haven't bought it, but do I think less of Benefit because they didn't send the product to me? Not at all.  Would I stop using Benefit products because I didn't get sent something? Not at all.  

Relationships with PR's

For me this is really really important because I have been lucky enough to receive some absolutely brilliant products and I am always grateful for those opportunities and I do take my time to properly use those products and blog about them. I have also met some fabulous PR representatives who take have made a real effort to form a relationship, naturally there have been some awful ones which I am sure is par for the course.

However, despite those relationships, I am not one of those people and nor will I ever be, someone who gets a product and writes about it three days later claiming it is the next wonder product. Sorry that isn't me, how can I tell you if a shampoo is amazing after using it twice? I can't it is that simple, it takes a good few weeks for your hair to get used to using the shampoo and over that time there will be certain changes which take effect and I will want to write about them and include them in my review.

All of this takes time and a lot of effort, so whether or not a product is really 'free' is for you to decide, but reviewing things for brands does throw up a lot of questions:

• What do you do if you don't like the product that you've been sent?
• What do you do if your skin had a bad reaction to a product?
• What if the shade you were sent doesn't suit your skin tone at all?

It is quite simple - Be honest and have some integrity. I never want to offend a PR company/person, a brand or even another blogger but there are always going to be some products that are not right for you and it is far better to be honest about it than to simply state everything is fabulous when it isn't. I personally couldn't do it and when I have been sent a product I didn't like, I have always told the PR exactly why, sent them my review and we have taken it from there, you won't get your head bitten off and they won't think you are ungrateful, total opposite infact.

Constant improvement is a good thing!

When I first started blogging, I was offered a product to view and I eagerly replied saying yes please I would love too, only to be told that on reflection my viewing figures were not high enough and my Google Analytics figures were not good enough either, the same thing happened with a well known advertising company, they approached me first, I filled in their questionnaire form thing and again I was told "Sorry you don't actually meet our requirements".  To be told that crushed me, why offer something then take it away and why not do some proper research first? and for a few weeks I did debate whether or not my blog was any good and was I wasting my time if I wasn't good enough.

Having chatted with a few friends, they gave me some tips and pointers and my backside was well and truly kicked into looking at my blog properly.  Since then I have always compared my blogs to others, instead of finding it quite daunting and depressing, I find it quite helpful.  I always have these questions in my mind when doing so:

• Why is it that some blogs have lots of followers and others don't? 
• What is it they do that I don't do? 
• What can I do to improve?

From there I have learnt some valuable lessons about fonts, photo sizes, labels, alt-tagging photos, blog post titles and buzz words to name but a few. I am sure I still have a lot more to learn and I have no doubt that there are many things I can do to improve my blog, but for me they are all things I am learning about at my own pace.

You don't have to have a million followers to be a good blogger!

There is a lot of pressure out on bloggers to increase their readership, it is a simple fact and the point above demonstrates why in one example. But readership and followers are two very different things for me.

I do love it when people follow my blog,  I get quite excited when I am alerted to a new follower and I always go and check out who they are, have a quick read and follow them back (if I can find out how) if I like their blog.  I never do follow for a follow, I think that would demean the whole point of blogging and be a little unfair because I value each and every follower that I have and I do spend time reading their blogs.

Readership on the other-hand is more important.  If you have spent hours writing a post and no-one reads or comments on it, it can be quite deflating. I have been there and done it, it still happens from time to time, but I use it as a learning curve to see what people like to read and what they don't like to read on my blog.

Google Analytics
Yes the dreaded GA.  When I set my blog up, for the first 6 months or so I had no idea what GA was or how I could install it and I always got confused when people asked for my figures, I assumed they were the ones you saw when you logged into your blog, clicked page-views and had a nice little set of figures. No, apparently not.  

Instead of spending hours reading about it, I came across a really fantastic help guide by fellow blogger Georgina or Makeup-Pixi3 as you might know her and it was so well written and easy to understand that within half an hour I had it set up, correctly and it is still working right now.

Why do you need it? Well if you want to work with PR Agencies it is helpful because they will more than likely want those 'figures' such as unique page views and followers and for yourself, I really like looking at how each post performs, which ones get more reads and which ones barely get noticed.  It has also helped me find the perfect time for posting to get the most exposure on certain days and see where my traffic is coming from.

People can be cruel

Going back to my first point really.  Sadly there are in life nasty vile trolls who take it upon themselves to have a dig, say nasty things, put you down, poke fun and so on.  There is nothing you can do about these people, they are trolls who thrive on negativity and as a blogger you need to develop a thick skin pretty quickly because no matter how hard you try or how much effort you might put into something, there is always someone who has an 'issue' with it. 

However, please don't let that discourage you and stop you from blogging, everyone is entitled to their opinion and for every negative comment you get I am sure there are ten times the positive and supportive comments and if you don't everyone to see the comment, you are the one in the driving seat - delete it.  I have had one or two comments from people and a few facebook messages which said my blog was "Boring, dull, useless and that my posts were truly awful" and yes it did upset me at the time and it did make me question whether or not I should continue.  That was however one persons view and I took a look at their blog and didn't particularly like what I saw either, only I chose to not tell them and instead move on.

Network and make friends with other Bloggers!  

Blogging is not a competition, there us plenty of room for all of us, even though at times it feels as though it is and there isn't. Bloggers make great friends, infact since I started blogging I have been lucky to meet quite a lot of you at various events and have made some amazing friends and it is such a valuable friendship to have. Why? because they understand where you are coming from, it is likely you have similar interests, they read your blog, they can give constructive criticism, they want to see you do well and if you are falling out of love with your blog and are wondering whether you should continue, they are the ones who can tell you to get over it and get on with it.

It is also nice to share things with your blogger friends.  If I get invited to an event that I think someone else would love, I tend to ask if I can bring a friend and if the answer is yes, I ask that blogger if they would like to come with me. 

If you do get to go to events, talk to other bloggers, don't stand there in a corner on your own, be bold, be brave and go say hello.  Not everything you read about bloggers in true and I am yet to meet a nasty horrible one!  Same can be said for Twitter chats, they are invaluable.  You don't have to do them every week, but I would advise you to do as many as you can to get yourself and your blog known.

Source

Photographs.
Yes one of the issues I have with my own blog is how awful my photos look alongside other bloggers. I feel the photos I take are as important as the words I am typing, so with that in mind, I am constantly striving to improve them and be more creative to make them stand out, look professional and be better than I ever imagined they could be.

I have been spending some time learning how to use apps like Picmonkey to see how hard/easy it is to play around with some of the photos I have taken to make them look better.

Social Media is Important!

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, Digg, G+, Stumbleupon and so on, you name it they are important to your blog and driving traffic and this is one area that I am still learning about.  There is now so many social media sites that I have come across of late, I have them written down in one of my notebooks to look at and learn about.  

When I first started blogging, all I ever used was twitter and instagram, two things I had for 'Real Life' that I adapted to blog life.  In reality, I wish I had been more clued up on how to use them all in the beginning because things might have been so different to how they are now, that said, I am getting there slowly. 

How do I contact you?

Bloggers are nice people, PR people are lovely, brands have some lovely staff and non-bloggers are also on the whole lovely.  However, more often than not I come across a new blog that I like reading and I can never find a way of contacting them.  Make it clear on your blog how I do this, where I can find you and possibly most importantly how you want to be contacted.  

On my blog I have a contact page which lists numerous ways in which you can find me - email, twitter, facebook being the main ones and I have symbols for each of these displayed clearly on my blog page constantly under my photo. If you want to hear from people, make sure they can find you easily.

Those are the things I wish I had known before blogging, not that it would have put me off, but it would have made my life much easier.

I would love to know if there is there anything you wish you'd have known before you started blogging?

Murad Essential-C Sun Balm

We all know the importance of sunscreen and for me it is just as important to apply it as it is moisturiser. You dont have to wait for the sun to come out, a common misnomer and I am one of those people who always looks for a product that has a high enough SPF that I am comfortable with to protect my skin.

I was sent the Murad Essential-C Sun Balm** which is essentially a sunscreen stick with Vitamin-C to prevent and combat sun damage. Now when I say sunscreen stick, think of a roll on deodorant and it is very similar. Whats more is that it is the perfect size for putting into your handbag to carry around to use as and when you need too.

As a balm this product is still designed to protect and shield your skin from UVA/UVB rays, free radicals and dehydration. With an SPF35 it uses

• Broccoli Extract which stimulates skin’s natural defense against UV damage
• Tangerine Butter which locks in moisture and leaves skin silky smooth
• Antioxidant Vitamins A, C and E defend and protect skin’s health

What I love about this balm, other than the fact it is perfectly portable is that it doesn't come with that sunscreen smell and when on the skin, it isn't greasy, it doesn't leave behind any marks or stains and in all honesty it doesn't feel as though you are wearing anything at all, which of course I really like. To use, you simply apply liberally to your face, neck and chest 15 minutes before exposing yourself to the sun and re-apply every two hours. I have used it on my face, ears, behind my ears, back of my neck, my chest and on both shoulders to great effect when the sun has been shining.

The Murad Essential-C Sun Balm costs £19.50 and can be bought here.

My SS14 Wishlist

Every so often I see something and think "ooh I like that", make a note of it and then forget all about it. This wishlist is one of those, I have seen a dress or a top that I like, make a mental note to buy it or wait for the sale and then more often than not it is either too late or it is no longer available.

Here is my SS14 Wishlist

I never thought I would be someone to wear Jeggings, EVER but truth be told I really like them and find them comfortable.  The one and only pair I have from Asda, which are superb are no longer available so I have been keeping my eye on these skinny jeans which are very similar to the ones I have from the ASOS Curve Range.

F&F Clothing sometimes have some beautiful clothes in and the dress which you can see in the middle of my wishlist is from there, though sadly only now available in a size 6, I think it is stunning.

Ted Baker purses have appeared on more than one of my wishlists and one day I will get one in the sale, but for now, I have about 4 or 5 that I really like the look of and as soon as they hit the sale I will buy one.

MAC Lipstick, well yes Fanfare has become top of my target list.  I have read so much about it, love the colour and need to go and swatch it properly to make sure it is something I would wear.

The two tops in this post are both from Dorothy Perkins and are both in the sale which you can see HERE and HERE so I am currently debating whether or not to bit the bullet and buy them.  My problem is they are not normally tops that I would buy.  Neither of them have sleeves and I am conscious about my arms, but I think they are just so so pretty.

Make-up Revolution - Everyone is raving about this brand currently and it is a bandwagon I am yet to join and test, though I do have a palette from my BBB Bow to try.  The one item I do love the look of is the Baked Blusher and there are two which I currently love the look of - All I think about is you and Make Love Instead.

Fitflops - I bought my first pair about 6 years ago and they now look very tatty and in need of renewing.  That said they are the most comfortable pair of shoes I have EVER owned, if there was a holygrail for a flip flop then for me FitFlops would be them.  Recently I have kind of fancied these rather funky looking Fitflops called Bon Easy Sandal.  So as well as another pair of Fitflops which I will definitely be purchasing, I like the look of these too.

The final item on this list is from Marc Jacobs and as soon as I saw the bottle I wanted it.  Pink Honey as it is called is encased in this beautiful bottle, very similar to Honey itself only the bottle is a sheer pink and I love it.

What do you think to my list? Do you have any of the items on it? 

Do you have your own wishlist?

Bomb Cosmetics Sherbet Lemon Lip Scrub

I am a huge fan of Lip Scrubs and have used quite a few different ones. Today's post is about a lip scrub called Sherbet Lemon from Bomb Cosmetics, a product that I won in a competition a few months back and its only now when I have run out of Bubblegum that I came across it.

Described as follows "The Bomb Cosmetics Sherbet Lemon Lip Scrub is a classic sweetshop favourite, sherbet lemon oozes zestiness with sweet and sharp notes in this gentle scrub to exfoliate your lips".

The directions are that you should apply liberally and evenly as often and as necessary and you use it as you would similar products.  Inside the cute little tub, the formula is similar to a lip balm and not at all what I was expecting.  As soon as you apply it to the lips and apply a bit of pressure you can feel the tiny sugar particles which work to remove the dry and dead skin from your lips and because the sugar is within the balm it also stops your lips feeling dry as you exfoliate.  

Naturally coming from Bomb Cosmetics it contains some amazing ingredients such as Shea Butter and Olive Oil to moisturise and smooth the lips.  Sucrose or sugar to you and I is used for the exfoliating particles

It also smells wonderful, think of those sherbet lemons you can buy or lemon bon bons and that is the exact scent, it is amazing, I love it.  As soon as you have finished using it on your lips, they do feel soft, smooth and moisturised and because the scrub is much more like a balm than similar products I have used, I never feel the need to quickly apply my lip balm immediatley, it basically does two jobs in one with exfoliating and moisturising at the same time.

This little pot of goodness costs just £2.49 and it lasts for such a long time.  I currently use my pot once a week and I am less than a third of the way throug the pot in 5 weeks, so it is great value for money.

Do you have a favourite Lip Scrub? Do you use Lip Scrubs?

Bomb Cosmetics:

• Are against animal testing. They believe that neither animals, humans nor the environment should suffer for our luxuries.
• Believe in the power of essential oils.
• Believe handmade is always better.
• Recycle whatever they can and uses recycle materials for packaging wherever possible.
• Use natural ingredients wherever they can.

M.A.C Frost Lipstick - Angel Review

It has only been a month since I introduced my very first MAC lipstick into my life and now I already have another one oops!  The first one Creme Cup which you can read about HERE is a shade I really really like.  Then Cohorted announced that they had a MAC lipstick that I quite liked the look of and before you know it, it had arrived.

The newest addition to my MAC Collection is Angel, a frosted lipstick, meaning it is less creamy looking on the lips I am told.  It is described as being a soft pink shade and for me, it is actually quite similar to Creme Cup.

The first time I used this lipstick I found it to be quite sheer looking, but it is one of those products which is buildable, so you can keep on applying it until you are happy with the finish. The one thing that did confuse me is that I didn't find it all that frosty, infact once on the lips, the texture was quite creamy, more so than I had been led to believe it would be. It also has a slight vanilla scent, not something I usually like in a product, I would go as far to say that it is one of those scents that I really really dislike, but within this lipstick it is tolerable and not too overpowering. 

I also like that with this lipstick you can wear with just a BB Cream or a full face of foundation, it seems to so far fit every aspect of the make-up look I choose to wear, which more often than not is a natural look.

I have mentioned that Angel is quite similar to Creme Cup and here you can see the two together with swatches. I did have photos of me actually wearing the lipstick, but deleted them instead of uploading them, so I need to get a nice sunny day to repeat the whole process.

Angel, like Creme Cup has a good wear time in it, I find it lasts around 3 hours, obviously depending on what I am doing whilst wearing it, which on the whole is really good. When I first got Angel, I wasn't totally sold on it, I didnt think it suited me or my skin tone because I have dark blonde hair and am quite fair, that said, I persevered with it and find that I actually have started to wear it more, it isn't a lipstick that would be in my top 5, but it is one of those lipsticks that I do wear and do like.

I do still have my MAC Lipstick Wishlist as before which includes:

Do you own Angel or Creme Cup or indeed any Mac Lipsticks on my wishlist?  

Are there any you recommend?

Exfoliating Feet Mask

With Spring here and Summer on the horizon and the chance to hide away my winter boots and bring out my Fitflops, it is time to do something about my feet and and make sure they are in tip top condition.  Many of you will by now know that I have a hatred of feet, I can't think of anything worse than having to touch someone's feet and the thought of someone touching mine makes me feel quite ill. You only need to show me a contraption like a Ped egg and I am heaving. That said, like every other part of my body, I take care of my feet to avoid any eventuality of needing some form of specialist care.

In Primark, I came across this Exfoliating Foot Mask from Purederm, only it isn't a cream that you rub on, massage and wash off, it is more of a treatment in that it comes as a pair of wearable masks which are sock shaped and I bought them because for £1.50 curiosity got the better of me.

An exfoliating foot mask isn't something I would class as a must have product usually, BUT, get this bloggers , this product is amazing, there I've said it... Something amazing and it involves feet!  Yes I have a hatred of feet, always have had and probably always will have, but I love this product.

Once the packet is opened, there are two plastic socks. These plastic socks contain a clear liquid which is made up of papaya, lemon, apple and orange which with other botanical extracts work on breaking down the dead skin and calluses on your feet whilst using chamomile extract to help calm the skin. The socks only have to be worn for 60-90 minutes, and then after about 4 - 7 days the dry skin and calluses start to peel off, and eventually you end up with super soft feet.  Once they are on your feet, do not try and attempt to walk around because it isn't safe and is really hard to master.

Now I do apologise for the next few photos but as with every product you need to see how they work right?  These are my feet and this is the process of the product working

Top left day 4, Top right day 5, Bottom left day 6 and Bottom right day 7

As you can see within 4 days my feet began to look rather disgusting and the skin began to come a bit loose, then on the 5th and 6th day more skin became loose and fell off and finally on day 7 was the day of reckoning when like a snake, I practically shed a second skin.  The instructions on the packet state that you MUST NOT use a callus remover nor must you pick at and pull off the skin, which I will admit is really really annoying and I had to try really really hard to not pull it off.  That said, all of the skin has now come off on its own and I am left with very soft and smooth feet.

Not exactly a beautiful product that I have shared with you today, but it is one of the most useful ones I have ever bought and for an absolute bargain price.  It did everything it said it was going to do and it left my feet feeling in great condition so that now (should we ever get some sun) I can wear my Fitflops without worrying too much about my feet being on show.  A product I would definitely purchase and use again.

Have you tried this product or anything similar?  

Did you get similar results to me?

Yves Rocher Moment de Bonheur

I am a huge fan of perfumes and can quite happily spend hours wandering around department stores testing them to find one I find really like and it is also why I am signed up to a quarterly perfume sample subscription service too. 
Until a few years ago I would always stick with the same brands and I then realised I was missing out on quite a lot of other good brands.  So when I got the chance to try Yves Rocher Moment de Bonheur** perfume, I jumped at it because I have tried another perfume from the range which you can read about HERE, and was really impressed with it.
Moment de Bonheur can be found in this really lovely solid  glass bottle which is such a lovely shape, quite squared and sturdy and it helps to show the bright green fragrance inside the bottle.  Until I got this bottle I had never paid attention to what colour the scent might actually be, I have always assumed it would be clear or have a slight yellow tint to it.  That said, the greenness of the scent is something I associate with Spring and this is exactly what this perfume is for.

Described as:
"All the optimism and spontaneity of MOMENT DE BONHEUR YVES ROCHER in a fresher and fruitier version. 

A modern and sparkling accord created from a delicate and transparent infusion of Centifolia Rose from Grasse, subtly enhanced with the crunchy and sharp imprint of the unusualessence of sweet apple. At the base, the woody signature of Virginia Cedar essence reveals the note’s vibrant character".
For me, this Yves Rocher perfume has a perfect mix of fruit and floral notes, as you can see from the description above there is a mix of Centifolia Rose and a trace of apple original essence which both work together with the base note of Virginia cedar making a really lovely fragrance. For me, this scent is one that I wear both during the day and in the evening and I have come to really like it.  The staying power is also pretty good too for an Eau de Toilette, but if you want to wear it for longer periods of time, then I would recommend popping some into an atomiser so you can re-apply because as with most perfumes the strength of the scent does fade as you wear it.
If like me you enjoy a perfume which is fresh, fruity and floral whilst not being too overpowering, then you will like Bonheur L'eau.  You can can purchase a 50ml for £38.00 from the Yves Rocher website and check out there other products (make-up, skin care and perfume) here. 
What do you think of this fragrance?  Do you have a perfect day time fragrance?