14 years : Scratching the 7-year itch twice over

You know what? My blog anniversary totally flew right past me this year!

I thought it was bad last year, but boy, was this year even more unique LOL! I’m a whole month late!

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I usually look forward to my blog anniversary. It is a little reminder of this little space I carved out for myself, and a little marker for me to look on it, whether with a kind or jaundiced eye, to reflect on what it means to me.

So, to totally forget about it till just a few days ago, what might that mean for me?

I don’t know.

When I started MWS 14 years ago, boy, was I prolific! I was churning out blog posts daily, often twice a day. That’s 14 posts a day, for years. I know of OG blogging friends who still do (Musings of a Muse comes to mind), and I take my hat off to them!

Things have changed a lot since, and in these 2-3 years, I’ve slowed down on blogging by a lot.

I could say that it’s because I’m out there living life. But it isn’t quite true either. I am living life. I am running my little dog treats empire (haah!) and I’m a slave, court jester and chef to my dog. But, I still have the time to write, and blog and share opinions and views. I just don’t have as much drive or inclination to.

When I do sit down to write, I want it to be about something I love, or that I really want to share about. I don’t really want to waste my time on the inconsequential, or on just telling you about what’s new just for the sake of it (I’m very much out of the loop anyway!). I did many things ‘for the blog’ in the past, and I’m past all that.

The other thing is, so much feels ephemeral in the beauty world. Not only that, it feels superficial.

I don’t mean for it to be superficial in a bad way, but for it to literally just skim the surface. How many of us are experts in the field? Very few. Very few of us are cosmetic scientists or chemists, who can understand all the jargon and ingredients and claim to understand how it all works.

So many people out there are enthusiats, just like you and I. Yet, so many of these enthusiasts hold themselves out to be experts, when they aren’t. So many people telling us what to use, what not to use, how we should be afraid of everything on a label, even if it’s just Aqua. So many people putting down others. I don’t want to be that.

I’d like to think that we all work within our budgets and exposure. If we come across new information that tells us otherwise, then we should be happy to continue using a product that we love. So, they say fragrance in skincare is bad. But you enjoy it, what do you do?

Here’s what I say – use it. Life’s really too short to worry about whether others will judge you for your skincare choices. Some of us can use soap and water and have flawless skin all our life. Some of us can use fragranced skincare and skincare with alcohol, and not see adverse effects. Some of us breakout no matter what we use. Who’s to tell us what to do, really.

I know that being in this industry for so long, many look up to me as some sort of ‘expert’, to which I implore you not to. I’m not an expert. I just like dabbling in skincare and makeup, and then talking about it. I only share anecdotal experience, based on what I’ve tried and what works for me. I’m happy that many work for you too.

But I can safely say many don’t either. I love the Avene Very High Protection Mineral Cream sunscreen and have been raving about it non-stop on Instagram. So many of you bit the bullet and tried it too. So many of you have told me that it doesn’t work for you because it’s too heavy. I understand that, and I expected it. It’s not the most comfortable of textures, but it works for me, because it does the one thing I expect it to do – protect my skin from the sun when I’m out walking my dog. Otherwise, when I’m indoors, I use the Allie UV Perfect Gel, which many have also tried, and also love (whew!) :D

But that’s just it. I’m a blogger and an enthusiast. I’m not an expert. I try a product, and I share an opinion about it. It’s what I’ve been doing for 14 years! You agree with me? Yay! You don’t? Well, you’re entitled to your opinion :)

When blogging first took off, just about 14 odd years ago, many of us lamented that we had to be writers, models, photographers, and publishers. Today, you have to be all that, AND be an actor, artist, interior designer, makeup artist, dancer, comedian, producer, director, lead a glamourous life; AND be on YouTube, Instagram, and Tiktok.

It’s hard to find a place where I fit in anymore haha :D

In 14 years, many original bloggers have either gone on to make big things of themselves, launching their own product lines, becoming rich and famous and taking on a celebrity persona; or they’ve quietly quit blogging. For me, it feels like I’m just drifting in the flow, taking the slow meandering waterways, instead of riding the wild rapids and pushing myself forward.

Maybe slow is good. It lets you take in the sights and sounds and maybe even day-dream a little while you trail your fingers in the warm water :)

But I appreciate that so many of you have grown up with me, and still chat to me. So many of your names and handles are so familiar, it feels like we’re old friends :) I appreciate the handful of brands who still update me with their new products and releases, and put their trust in my views, despite my tardiness in getting the news out.

Like old friends, I guess this is how it’ll be going forth. I’ll update when I update, and we’ll hopefully be able to pick up from where we last left off, without missing a beat :)

14 years. I can scarcely believe it’s been this long :)

Thank you for talking to me, for appreciating what I do, for reading.

Thank you :)

xoxo

Paris B