Things I Wish I Knew When I Started My Blog // Blogging

The Curious Ginger started in 2013, and for a lot of you, I know you've only discovered my blog recently! I was thinking of things I do now for my blog, that I wasn't even thinking of doing back then, and I thought I would share my thoughts!

First though, I thought it would be fun to look back on some old logos i've had throughout the years!

I think it's safe to say, the logo I have now, is by far the best I've ever had! I'm so happy with it. If you want to see all about my new logo, I have a post here that you can read.

So, moving on to the things I wish I had known when I first started my blog all those years ago!

D O N ' T   B E   S H Y.

I never told anyone about my blog. I thought that everyone would think it was lame, and would take the piss out of me for it. This stemmed from when I was in year 7, I had my own YouTube channel, it got to around 100 subscribers, which back in the day, was a lot! A group of boys at school found it and started to play my videos all the time during ICT lessons, and year 7 Lauren could not handle it and deleted them all, which now I regret so much! 

I kept my blog so private because I was scared of something like that happening again, but honestly I regret that. Who honestly cares if I have a blog or not? It makes me happy, and gives me a creative outlet, and it's mine. I should own it, and be proud of it! I shouldn't have cared so much about what people thought.

U S E   S O C I A L   M E D I A 

Following on from not being shy, I should have definitely promoted my posts on my social media! That's where the majority of my blog traffic comes from now, and honestly, I have no idea how anyone was finding my blog posts back in the day! 

Since my blog relaunch, I've really been liking using Instagram, and Twitter for my blog, and it's nice to get involved with other bloggers as well! I do have a Facebook page for my blog, but it's mainly just family members who like to stay updated on that! Either way, if I'd have been doing this promotion from the start, who knows where my blog would be now! 

C O N S I S T E N C Y   I S   K E Y 

If you look at my Blog Archive, (on the desktop version of my site, to the right hand side) you'll see I have loads of posts from 2013, a few in 2014, and then it goes down to less than ten posts a year, up until 2018.

Life did get in the way a bit when it came to this blog, but sometimes I do wish I'd have been a little bit more consistent with it.  Even now, I think I need to make myself a blog post schedule, so I have deadlines to work towards, because at the moment, I'm just writing posts in advance, and then setting them live whenever I remember, and have the time to promote them on my social media! 

I think these three things alone, could have made my blog a lot more successful then it currently is. Honestly though, I'm not really making this blog to try and get 'famous' or whatever, I genuinely just like writing, and talking about makeup, and my life, and I love re reading my old blog posts. 

Obviously, it is really exciting when posts do well, and I'm excited to see what the future holds for The Curious Ginger,  but for now, I'm loving blogging and am ready to start learning more about it! (Once I get my degree I suppose...)

I hope someone will have found this post helpful in someway, and if you do have a blog, and you are nervous about people you know in real life finding it- try not to be! It is a bit scary, but most people will think it's pretty cool, and also be proud of what you create! Just go for it.

Thanks as always for reading,

Lauren xx

Blogging Made Me Buy It // Glossier

Hey guys, hope you're all good!

I was sat in a dissertation meeting yesterday, listening to what other peoples ideas were, and someone is going to look at how/why people buy products because of YouTubers or Bloggers recommendations.  I am definitely one of those people, and always look for a review on a product first before I buy.

Words to live by...

If I need some new makeup, I'll often look for blog reviews or YouTube videos first, so I can see whatever the product is in more depth, and see it in action, but also to get other peoples opinions as there is literally nothing worse than spending money on makeup only to discover you hate the product. (I mean, there are definitely worse things in life, but hey- you know what I mean.) 

So, with that in mind, I can think of a fair few products that the blogging community "made" me buy, so I thought it would be cool to start a new series on my blog! This is by no means a concept I created and loads of bloggers also do this, but I wanted to try it out for myself too!

First up in this series, Glossier. 

This brand has suddenly sprung out of nowhere, but now I feel it is e v e r y w h e r e. Some of their stuff just isn't for me, like their really low coverage foundations for example,  but some of it intrigued me. After reading reviews, and hearing people I know in real life talk about it as well, I thought I'd see what all the hype was about.

I saw so many people raving on and on about how the Glossier Balm Dotcom was the best lipbalm they have ever used, and honestly I was skeptical. It's a lipbalm.... But me being me, and having no self control whatsoever, thought I'd try it out anyway.  You can get 1 for £10 or 3 for £25 which is actually ridiculously expensive for lipbalm (but you can also use it on any dry patches of skin) on reflection, and now I am regretting all of my life choices... but, lets carry on.

Originally I picked up the scent "Birthday Balm Dotcom" (Mainly because of the sparkly packaging, and promises of it tasting like birthday cake) And it was nice, but it definitely wasn't my fave thing ever. I did enjoy the scent though- tastes smells a m a z i n g. But this particular one has tiny glitter particles in, which don't feel any different on the lips, but I just wasn't a huge fan of how they looked.

I then wanted to try the Cherry version because I'd read it had a tint to it, and then I also thought I could justify getting the Mint version as well, to keep in my car. (How I justified this, I have no idea, but it was payday and I was pretending I had no responsibilities other than keeping my lips moisturized... lol) Fast forward to now, I actually am really enjoying all three.

I keep the Birthday one on my bedside table, the Mint one by my Makeup Mirror (it was being neglected in my car) and I keep the Cherry version in my bag for on the go. They are really moisturising, smell amazing, and I also really enjoy the clinical looking packaging. Even though I use these every day I still have loads left and am really enjoying them. I'd say if you need to bump up your Glossier order to get free shipping, definitely give these a try! Or even if you are just obsessed with lipbalm, I don't think you would be disappointed!

Out of the three, I like the way the Mint one feels, as it feels really tingly and refreshing in the morning, but I do really like how the Cherry one makes my lips look! They do also sell a non scented version, and a rose scented one with a pink tint, but I'm happy with the ones I have.

I wasn't massively into the Glossier makeup, as I personally prefer a more high coverage look myself, whereas Glossier is aimed at people who want barely there coverage. But, my friend Katy tried out the cloud paint and told me they were really good, so naturally again, my issues of self control came out to play and I placed another order.

I got the shade "Beam" and honestly I really, really like this, and I'm not even a huge fan of blush. I was scared of it making me look overdone, as I never use cream products, but the tiniest bit of this goes a long way, and it blends really easily and quickly into the skin, even over powder. I was scared this colour would look too bright on my ridiculously pale skin, but it actually looks incredibly natural, and I am very impressed! 

I also decided to get their most popular product "Boy Brow" which is described as a "grooming pomade." This has loads of rave reviews. I got mine in the shade Brown, and I do like it, but I wouldn't say it was my favourite makeup product I've ever tried. I use this on days where I'm not using much makeup, or can't be bothered to do my eyebrows properly, and it gives them a decent amount of colour, and keeps them in place all day. It's nice, but I probably wouldn't buy it again. 

So for me Glossier was a semi successful blogger induced purchase. I do really want to try out their Priming Moisturiser, face masks, and their highlighter, and also their perfume smells sooo amazing, but I am banning myself from buying unnecessary things for the moment. Living that student life...

Let me know if you have tried anything from Glossier, or if you would? 

Thanks as always for reading my rambles,

Lauren xx

Life Update | July 2016

Hey there,

*It's a bit of long'un, just warning you!*

So you may notice that every few months I'll pop up with a new blog post saying how sorry I am that I haven't been posting much, but that's all going to change blah blah blah-  you know the drill. All I'm going to say is that, yes, I can admit, I have been a bit of a failure with the whole blogging spiel recently- for the past few years to be honest. *slaps self on wrist.*

The other day I had a phone interview for a social media role and the woman asked me if I had a blog or some online portfolio that she could read through and my immediate thought was this blog. But then I realised I hadn't updated it in months, and I couldn't remember how professional it was at all, so I decided to come back on here and read some of my old posts, and honestly, they aren't as terrible as I had imagined them to be, and I spent hours just reading through them all, and it was nice to remember that time in my life.

Anyway, the whole point of this ramble, was that I really miss blogging. Obviously I don't have the worlds most popular blog in the world, and I don't have that many followers, but honestly thats not why I enjoy it, (don't get me wrong, I love it when you guys comment on my posts and interact with me!) I just missed the whole experience.

When I started this blog I was 15 years old, hadn't even finished my GCSE's, and this was honestly just my hobby. In 2010/2011 I even had my own YouTube channel, and I managed to get 100 subscribers and it honestly made me so happy, but soon enough some boys at school found it and teased me about it and so I deleted them all and stopped it, which looking back I really really regret now. I still always find myself thinking things like "ooh i could review this on my blog" or "I should really keep these empty containers of products for an empties post" anyway the point is, I want to blog again, properly, set aside time of my week to dedicate to my blog, because I really do enjoy it.

In a way this is kind of a new beginning to my blog, so I thought I would update you all on my current life situation, as I did when I first started my blog! (See here if you're interested!) In that post I gave you 10 points about myself, so to keep myself from rambling (As if I haven't done that enough!) I'll do the same now. So...

1. I suppose the biggest life update is that I no longer technically live at home. I go to the University of Sussex, and I study Media and Communications, so I live in Brighton, and honestly I love it so much! I love everything about Brighton and I could not be happier living there! I passed my first year, and moved out of halls, and I'm currently waiting to move into our new house in September. I might do a whole post on this though, because I know I'll want to look back on it!

2. I can drive! And my nan recently surprised me when I came home from Uni by buying me my first car, which I am ever so grateful for! I have been able to drive for about a year, so now I have a finally car it feels gooooood! (Considering it took me over a year to learn... woops) Also, my car is called Sally, because I'm that person who names their car! #noshame 

3. Bit of a personal one, but looking through my blog I found old posts like "The Boyfriend Tag" and also the post I did for my 18th Birthday, but I have removed them as I am no longer with my ex boyfriend anymore, so felt a bit inappropriate to have them still on my blog, and also to be honest with you they were just cringey as hell! Thought i'd throw that in here in case anyone wondered (not that anyone probably will, but hey!) 

4. I'm actually running out of things to say about myself! I still have my cat, Smokey, and he's still very special to me, obviously! 

5. To be honest, I have no clue what I want to do in the future anymore. In my first blog post I said that I'd love to work for a beauty/fashion magazine, and I still would I suppose, but I would also like to work in Social media, or PR. If all else fails, then I would absolutely love to train to be a Makeup Artist for TV/Film. 

Turns out, I can't think of ten points interesting enough to tell people so 5 will do! I'll leave this  post with a few photos, and just by saying I honestly do want to get into blogging again, so this time when I say expect new posts soon, you can! I have a few planned already, and I'm just going to be posting anything/everything I want to write about to be honest! If you fancy a trip down memory lane, I haven't deleted the majority of my old posts, so just apologies in advance for the cringe factor! 

First day vs moving out of halls, sad times! (I'll do a first year uni experience post in the near future)

Anyway, thats enough of me today, consider this post a fresh start! Lets hope you hear from me soon!

Lauren xx