A funny and interesting thing happened to me very recently.
I was with my pup, waiting by the side of the road, when a total stranger came up to say Hi. I was a little cautious, as my pup is easily excitable, and I didn’t want him jumping on her. Much to my surprise, she wasn’t there to say Hi to the pup (most do, so I was expecting them to LOL!) but to me!
She said she had been reading my blog for the longest time, and wanted to take the opportunity to say Hi. It was a bit of a whirlwind meeting, and then she was gone, and I was left with my pup, feeling a little bemused, but brimming with gratitude. I didn’t even get her name, because I was shellshocked haha! 😀
Then a couple of weekends ago, I was in Singapore, at the famed Newton Circus food court, stuffing my face with grilled chicken wings (it’s one of my fave things to eat in Singapore, oddly enough), when I received an Instagram DM just as I was leaving, to ask if I had been there. It must have been a long shot, because no one knew I was down in Singapore, but it was me and she said she ought to have come and said Hi.
Both these incidences left me pondering on the impact we leave on people’s lives, even those we think we’d never meet or have never met.
It then struck me just how long I’d been blogging for – 17 years this past 9 March! 😯
While my activity has decreased in these past 5 years since the pandemic hit us, and I started up a new venture that has taken up most of my waking hours, it struck me that I had been actively blogging for over 12 years, and then, sporadically for the last 5.
That’s quite a feat by any measure!
I wish I could say with certainty that I’d be back at it, pounding out post after post, keeping my finger on the pulse of the beauty industry, much as I used to do 17 years ago. But the truth and the fact is that it’s not possible for me anymore, as my day-to-day focus is on growing my fledgling business (that has nothing to do with beauty – thankfully LOL!)
Yet, I am loathe to just close the shutters on something that has kept me going and sane for almost 2 decades. While writing is something I would still love to do, and will still do (don’t get me wrong, I and my blog aren’t going anywhere yet!) I have realised that my biggest stumbling block is the images that go with it.
Photography takes time and effort, and to make photographs suitable for ‘publication’, they need post-processing. While I enjoy the process of photography, I enjoy the post-production process much less. It is for this reason that I have decided to be less anal about the photos that go up on the blog, because it is the biggest stumbling block for me.
As much as I (and maybe you) enjoy looking at pretty photos of a product, what I am here for is not to wow you with photography, but to share my opinions on a product I’ve used in the hope that it may help you discover a new and better product (like the Altruist sunscreen – gamechanger!) and to share a tip or two of something I practise. Perhaps it might even be just something about a life observation, or a lifestyle product.
I hope that this realisation that imperfection is OK will help me get over the stumbling block of publishing new blog posts and product reviews more regularly. The adage that ‘there is no better time than the present’ rings true in this regard, because the longer I put something off, the less likely I’d want to revisit it. Then, the backlog builds up, and I become less and less motivated to write, and the downward spiral will continue.
So this is just my roundabout way of saying that I suck at photography, but I’m not going to let it stop me from continuing to write and share, and be that unapologetic, opinionated ass that I can be 😛 The long and short of it is that I would like to treat this more as a blog – a place I can dump some thoughts, make some observations and share some good finds, whatever they may be. And that is how I intend to use this space moving forward.
I don’t know how long you’ve been following this blog, and who knows, maybe it isn’t even relevant to you anymore today, as compared to before. Our lives evolve, our lifestyles change, and our interests will diversify as we grow – that’s all OK.
Perhaps we’ve outgrown each other. That’s OK too. Ultimately, if there’s something I’ve learnt from recent times is that on my end, I cannot cater to and please everyone, and I cannot expect everyone to like what I do, or to stick around. It’s nothing personal 🙂
So here’s to 17 years. What a ride it’s been 🙂
xoxo
Paris B
I’ve been reading your blog since I started college in 2010. At least 14 years! Was a makeup newbie then, loved your budget skincare and makeup reviews and recommendations! ? now, I’m loving your recommendations for anti-aging products! ? love your style of writing, please don’t stop blogging! ??
Aww thank you Denise, and gosh! 14 years! haha Feels like a lifetime doesn’t it?
Congratulations Paris! I even remember when you celebrated your 10th anniversary.
It would be great if you could continue to blog – perhaps a little more frequently when you can. The tone of your blog is nice. How is your other venture coming along?
Gosh, the 10 year anniversary feels like a lifetime ago! I will definitely try to write more frequently. Now that I’ve freed myself from the shackles of photography, and allowed myself to be more casual about it, I think I’ll be able to find time to write. My venture is growing, with its attendant growing pains, so it is taking up a fair bit of time 🙂
I live in the US, and I’m really old, but I have loved your posts and blogs (and the pups photos ?) for the longest time, and I thank you. You are ahead of the crowd. Over CoVid, you recommended a rose toner that I still use today, and my daughter came home to visit last weekend raving about her “new find,” or the same rose toner you recommend 4 years ago! I thank you for your blogs, your posts, and picture of pups?.
Hi Allison, thank you for your kind words, and for enjoying the pup content too! I’m glad you’ve found the content engaging and helpful, and I’m sure you’re not that old! haha It’s been a privilege to have all of you as long-time readers!
Dear Ms. Paris B, congratulations. Like others here, I started reading your blog when I was at university. I once read a post where there was mention of not looking like the stereotypical beauty blogger etc. But to me (and many others as is obvious in comments on your blog) you and your blog are cherished as a unique, honest, authentic presence in a sea of fake, desperate nonsense. I always enjoy reading even if I’m not even interested in the product – I’m interested in views/opinion. I wish you the best of health and success where it matters. Thank you!
Hi CF, thank you for your kind words! I truly appreciate that despite not being a conventional blogger, I have received so much support from everyone, and it is gratifying to know that people do still appreciate the sharing of opinions, instead of just gloss. Thank you for letting me know that what I did, and am still doing works for you
I think I have been your reader for more than five years. You are one of the reasons that my skin condition improved and make me daring enough to try new products. I have been always a cautious buyer sometimes too thrifty, but through your blog I allow my self to dip into luxurious buys, of course which I can afford. It’s not the spending that is my biggest change, but the mindset that I am allowed to have good things in my life or maybe in another way allowed also positive energy in my life. Thank you for writing such honest reviews and musings about life.
It’s so kind of you, thank you! While I don’t think it’s necessary that we should try new products all the time, it does also pay to step out of our comfort zone every now and then. I’m glad that you have taken away the message that we are entitled to nice things every now and then – being thrifty isn’t a flaw, it’s a virtue and I’m very sure that you are in a good stead because of your nature 🙂 Wishing you all the best that life has to offer!
I have read your blog for the longest time. Yours is probably the only beauty blog that I trust. Whenever I am ever in need of any product reviews, your blog is one place that I’d always check against. Thank you for all your sharing over the years and I hope you keep going at it (even if at a much slower pace). Wishing you all the best with your new business venture.
You are so kind Jen, thank you for trusting me! I only wish I was able to keep up as much as I could before because there’s so much newness out there now. But I will do my best to update regularly, if not often. Thank you again.