Happy New Year! 2012 I’m So HAPPY To See You
Happy 2012 Fanatics! I hope your NYE was fun, safe and free of any regrettable actions (drunk texts, hangovers, etc). Mine was relatively low key spent with good friends and enjoying an amazing meal with the boyfriend.
I, for one, was ready to watch the door hit 2011 as it left and am embracing 2012 with welcome, open arms. Instead of recapping the past year, because it pretty much blew, I’ve spent the past couple weeks doing a lot of reflecting on ALU and what I want to do with it going forward. How I want to kick off its 5th year. That’s right, ALU turns FIVE today. Crazy, right? Where did the time, and my youth, go?
I have a lot of fun things in store for the upcoming months that I hope you will enjoy.
- A 5 year blogoversary is a reason blow the roof off so, much like I celebrate my own birthday, I’m keeping the party going all month long with a bunch of amazing giveaways. They will be random and only last for 24 hours so make sure you check back often so you don’t miss a chance to win some great nail loot.
- The Fanatic Favorites is back and nominations will begin this week. If you aren’t familiar, take a look at last year’s results and start thinking about which brands/colors were your faves in 2011.
- I’m reinstating the “Untrieds” series but not in a 365 format. I decided to make it a permanent thing until my bin of Untrieds, is empty. And by bin, I mean 5 gallon storage tub. OY! Instead of every day you will see 3-5 untried polishes each week and my goal is to make sure they are accessible unless it’s something I just HAVE to share.
- The amount of new nail polish brands on the market is getting kind of ridiculous and trying to cover them all is impossible. At this point there doesn’t seem to be a clothing chain out there without a private label line of stock colors. I want to focus on the brands I really love, that are accessible and consistently deliver quality. Tried & true staples like Chanel, China Glaze, CND, Deborah Lippmann, Essie, Nubar, Orly, OPI, Rescue Beauty Lounge, Sally Hansen, Zoya (just to name a few). Of course that doesn’t mean smaller, up and coming brands won’t get love from ALU but I will only share things with you I feel are really worth seeking out. Cult Nails, for example, is one to watch.
- While I am admittedly a noob when it comes to video, I have been researching and my plan is to incorporate more video tutorials in 2012.
- And speaking of video, I am also working on launching a regular live show where we can interact in real time.
Of course, I am open to your suggestions and I would love to hear your thoughts. I just ask that they be constructive and feasible. Also, if there is a series or type of post I have done in the past that you really miss, let me know.
Curious what sparkler I chose for NYE? Stay tuned!
Hiya Michelle! Wowie 5 years huh. I guess I was there since almost the beginning.
Looking forward to 5 more years of happy polish oggling!
Sounds good. Congratulations on five years – so impressed! I’ve been reading on and off for maybe half that time. Really hope 2012 is fabulous for you.
Good for you Girl! I can’t wait to see what you got comin’ up in 2012 – looking forward to it!
You rock.
Happy five year blogaversary!!! *throws confetti* I love your blog and am always excited to see what you post.
Wishing you a wonderful new year!
Perhaps you could have some guest posts featuring dark skinned bloggers? Like one on nude polishes for dark skinned women, one for pink polishes, etc.
Thanks for the suggestion Chris!
Happy Anniversary ALU! And Happy New Year to you Ms. Mismas. Looking forward to the new changes that will take place here, and welcome back to blogging.
Interesting you highlight Cult Nails as: “one to watch”. Would really, really (!) like to know why. Please!
Have bought a couple bottles from Cult Nails, trusting the rave reviews from bloggers. Admittedly, the colours look absolutely gorgeous on screen.
Yet … the actual formula leaves much to be desired. In real life, it’s incredibly poor quality … low sheen, not easy to work with, peels and chips like crazy, colour not as intense as the pics, have found it to be one of the worst brands of polish ever (and that’s saying a lot).
What exactly do you like about Cult Nails?
I’m sorry you haven’t had good experiences with Cult Nails. I was honestly skeptical of the brand because there are so many home grown brands hitting the market that don’t deliver. The colors I have used have been of great quality. They wear well on me, have great pigmentation and apply well.
Not every brand works for everyone. There are just as many Chanel polish lovers as haters. I love Zoya but my salon won’t use it because they don’t think it wears well.
I just found your blog and LOVE it! I was cruising Pinterest and saw Nfu Oh for the first time and hit the web trying to find it and found you, thankfully
I do have one suggestion: You could send me all the polish you don’t want! Srsly, I’m wayyyyy too poor to buy anything even remotely like the stash you’ve got. I started a little blog a while ago to let me voice my opinions on what’s going on in the world and let me be ale to tell the world about how awesome nail polish is, because they need to know that, of course. Anyway: I saw the NFU and the first link that came up was Amazon, the seller there was charging $24.95…Mortified! Then I found another site that’s charging $12.50 for the holos and stuff, all of the “new” polishes, the FS series are $10. I still can’t float that. I have one bottle of Sephora that I bought with Krismas money, until my nail mama decides to get rid of her OPI stash for less than $7 a bottle for stuff that’s at least 5 years old…I’m on the cheap. I’m always on the look out for the $1 stuff, and I find it! Back on track, my suggestion is that you could use some of your loyal readers to help you with the “Untrieds.” You could send someone you trust 10 bottles or so, they could do reviews and you would be out of the wood in a few months! Just a thought, love your work, K
Amazing! 5 years – and all the info you have shared with so many! Thanks for all the hard work! Now if I can just get my ISP not to keep tossing out anything coming in from FeedBlitz before it tosses it to either my spam or inbox for ME to decide! I hate missing days at a time.
Happy New Year! I hope it’s off to a great start. Happy Blogoversary too! I look forward to many more wonderful posts.
I really miss “What’s on Your Nails?”. It’s what first got me following your blog.