2016 Reflection and New Years Resolutions

Happy New Year everyone!  I hope you had a good night celebrating and aren't too hung over today.  We had a low key night - the kind that I like.  I think going out on New Years Eve is overrated personally.  Anyway, a new year means it time for reflections and resolutions, right?  Well I have been thinking over the last few days and thought why not share?  I think it's always good to reflect back on things and then set yourself some new goals (or resolutions - whatever you really want to call it).  Now this probably going to be a bit of a wordy post (sorry!) and it also may not be of any interest to you and that's ok.  This is probably one of those posts that are more for me than anything else, so feel free to skip over this post (unless you want to leave me some suggestions on what you would like to see me do over the next year.  I am always open to suggestions!).

2016 

Last year was a little up and down for me (especially when it came to nails) and it definitely reflects that in the gaps in blog posts.  My year started off with me being so sick that I couldn't paint my nails for basically the month of January, I had a few mini breaks in the middle of the year, and then did a complete turn around and basically blogged daily throughout October, November and December.  Can I just say that daily blogging is a lot of work!  I don't recommend it when you also have a very busy personal schedule, but overall I really enjoyed daily blogging.

When I originally started my blog back in 2015 I planned to only post swatches and reviews and keep all nail art posts for Instagram.  I started this year with that same thought, however you may have noticed that they has changed.  I added some more reviews of stamping products, water decals and then decided to completely up my nail art game and joined in with some nail art challenges.  Since October, I have joined in with the Digit-al Dozen, and I am also working my way through the 26 Great Nail Art Ideas Challenge.  There have also been a few other challenges that I started and never finished for one reason or another but let's not talk about those.

This year I also did a few "random" posts like tags, where I buy my polishes from and my end of year favourites.  I have loved doing these types of posts as they are something a little different from swatches and reviews. 

Instagram - oh the elephant in the room.  I have a bit of a love/hate with Instagram this year.  Since Facebook took it over, it has just been a downward spiral.  It's definitely not the place that it use to be.  When I first joined there was a lot more interactions between people, it was easy to find and see things in your newsfeed so you really wouldn't miss much.  Now, I miss so much!  Speaking of which, I totally missed that everyone has been posting their best nine pics of 2016 so I have thought I would include mine here.

2017

Now I am not usually one for New Years Resolutions.  Why?  Purely because I think if you are wanting to make a change then you shouldn't wait for a new year to roll around.  As I mentioned earlier, I have already started making some changes to my blog.  Nothing crazy, but minor changes like adding more nail art for example.  But I wanted to give myself some little goals/direction for the New Year.

So what will 2017 bring for Olivia Jade Nails?  Well more nails of course!  I am not going into 2017 with the plan of daily blogging or doing x amount of posts per week.  That is going to be a see how we go thing.  My baby girl starts Primary School this year and I will be returning to work at some point so I may not have as much nail time as I currently do.  That being sad, I have zero intentions of giving up polishing so I will definitely still be around.

 

I will be continuing with my usual swatches and reviews of both mainstream and indie polishes.  I am hoping (and hopefully time will allow) more comparison posts, because who doesn't love comparison posts?  I am also going to be mixing in new collections with some old collections.  What?  You may remember that in late 2016, I set myself a little goal to swatch everything I had purchased throughout the year.  Sadly, it didn't happen but I am bring that goal into the new year.  That's right, everything I purchase in 2017 I will be swatching and reviewing on my blog.  I am also going be swatching all of the polishes I purchased in 2016, and then I will start swatching my way through my entire collection.  That's right, my collection!  I'm talking polishes, stamping plates etc.  I have quite a large collection of bits and pieces that I haven't touched yet and I really need to change that.

I am also going to be doing a lot more nail art on my blog.  There will still be my usual swatches and reviews of various nail art products (mainly stamping polishes and plates because that is my go to form of nail art) and I will still be doing nail art challenges such  as the Digit-al Dozen (and boy oh boy 2017 is going to be a challenge for me with some of the themes - I'm very nervous and excited at the same time) and completing the 26 Great Nail Art Ideas Challenge.  I am also considering doing the 31 Day Challenge in September on my blog instead of Instagram but I haven't decided completely on that one.  I will also be joining in on some other challenges that I find along the way.  If there are any you find that you think I should do definitely let me know!

For something different, I have decided that I am going to be doing monthly favorite posts. I really enjoy seeing other people's favorites plus it should also help me decide my overall favorites at the end of the year.  I can also include any other favorites posts you would like me to do as well.  I am also thinking of doing some other different posts such as my polish collection, storage, tags etc.  If there is anything in particular you would like to see then definitely let me know.

In 2016 I had the privilege of working with a number of brands.  Some of these brands I have been a customer of years, some brands I have worked with previously, and then there were some brand new brands to me.  I am hoping to continue working with these brands and am hoping to work with and discover some new brands.  I'm going to have to make myself a little list of brands I have been meaning to try and haven't yet.  Any recommendations?

I've always struggled keeping up with all the various forms of social media (with the exception of Instagram) and 2017 I am definitely going to try and keep up with myself.  That may be easier said than done but it's worth a shot.

Right, well I think that pretty much covers everything.  I am sure as the new year goes along I will come up with some new thoughts etc but that is ok.  I look forward to looking at this post again in the future and see how my thoughts have changed, and more importantly, if I have met my goals that I have set.

If there is anything you want to see on my blog then definitely let me know.  It can be a blog topic, a brand or particular collection etc.  I am always open to new suggestions.