Another year is coming to a close! Are you ready to see what 2013 brings?
What you probably didn’t know is that in 2012, I faced a lot of stressful issues in my personal life that caused me great emotional pain.
Blogging and interacting with you helped me push through it instead of giving up.
If you’ve been following Swatch And Learn for even a little while, I hope it’s evident that blogging and interacting with readers bring me a lot of happiness. Yes, it is hard work and very challenging to keep up, but I’m not the type of person who’s afraid of pulling up my sleeves to get things done.
Thank you for listening to what I think and for valuing my opinion, post after post and tweet after tweet. That is a big compliment!
Most of all, thank you, dear readers, for being encouraging and kind as well as for cracking the much-needed joke.
You remind me that genuinely good people are still out there. I needed that reminder, and you gave it to me in spades!
So, while in this post I list the best of 2012 in terms of nail polish, nail art, etc., I want you to know that Swatch And Learn readers are really the best of 2012!
Before I jump into the list, I’d like to highlight some dates that I think are important because they show Swatch And Learn spreading its wings:
- January 6 – Signed up for a Facebook account
- January 13 – Scraped the old blog layout that was used since 2010
- September 6 – Created an Instagram account
And whenever I think of the 2012 blogging year, I can’t forget October 14 because it was the day when PR invited me to an exclusive event where I met and had dinner with Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, the Executive VP and Artistic Director of OPI! (Getting a swag bag with the entire Nicole by OPI Selena Gomez Collection was the icing on the cake!)
Another awesome moment was when Katie Cazorla (owner of The Painted Nail and star of the TV show, Nail Files) started following me on Twitter and, then more recently, on Instagram!
And here are some quick statistics for January 1, 2012 to December 30, 2012:
Pageviews: 1,267,699
Visitors: 666,333
Top 3 Countries Visitors Came From:
- United States – 311,046
- Canada – 66,875
- United Kingdom – 36,171
Now onto the lists!
My Favourite Nail Polishes That I’ve Blogged About in 2012
- OPI Get Your Number, GoldenEye & Sparkle-icious
- Max Factor Fantasy Fire
- Sally Hansen Project Runway
- SpaRitual Earth Matters
- China Glaze Shocking Pink
- Zoya Daul, FeiFei & Zuza
- Illamasqua Creator, Charisma & Stance
- Color Club Wild At Heart & Too Violet
- Orly Royal Navy
- Butter London Wallis
- Nicole by OPI Purple Yourself Together
- Deborah Lippmann Across the Universe
My Favourite Nail Art I’ve Done in 2012
- Nail Art Tutorial Sheep Nails on a Man
- Flocked Manicure & Caviar Manicure on a Man
- Blue Flocked Nails
- Pirate Nails (I wore this when I met Suzi.)
- Pink & Blue Leopard Nails
- Neon Skull Nails
- Summery Fishtail Braid Nails & Blue/Black/Bronze Fishtail Braid Nails
- Easter Egg Nails
- Neon Ombre/Skittle Nails
- Tuxedo Nails
- Pink & Black Star Konadicure
My Favourite Smorgasbord Sundays Posts
- Bald Men
- Father’s Day
- Helping the Homeless
- How to Make My Favourite Vegetarian Lasagne
- The Original Beverly Hills 90210 TV Show
- I Like Painting Guys’ Nails
- Ancient Egyptian Mythology & Gods
- Seriously…I’m Kidding by Ellen DeGeneres
- Purple beanie & interchangeable knitting needle set
- Yellow beanie, pom pom baby blanket & getting addicted to knitting
Hope you found this little round-up post fun! 🙂 It was interesting to put together – lots of great memories! And I’m looking forward to making more in 2013.
What were some of your favourite manicures that you wore in 2012? Is there something you’d like to see on here in 2013?
Hope you’ll have it better concerning private life in 2013 than in 2012! 🙂 I’m looking forward to read your posts in 2013, you’re an awesome blogger! 🙂 So happy new year!
Gelic’ nail art recently posted: New Year’s stars and glitter nail art
Hey Gelic’ nail art!
Thank you so much – I hope so, too! I really do appreciate your continued support. It’s fun to share similar passions with people who understand nail-polish addiction. 😉
Happy New Year!
Glad to see your blog take off and still find time to do in-depth reviews of polishes. You don’t have to be the first to post new polish swatches. I’d rather wait for thorough reviews and lots of opinions.
I don’t know if your reviews help me save or spend more money on polishes, but it is sure affecting it! I joined the polish collecting/hoarding this year and now I keep finding these bottles slip into my basket when I go shopping. My husband thinks I have a problem.
Side note: I participated in some girly and nail polish themed Secret Santa exchanges this year. I was blessed enough to receive TWO bottles of Fantasy Fire from two different people. First thought: “AHMAGERHD Swatch and Learn is right not enough pictures/video/demos to show off Fantasy Fire!” I keep spinning the bottles because 1) SO PRETTY and 2) they’re so small I don’t want to waste a drop. Coveting *so hard* right now.
Happy New Year!
Hey Tennyoceres!
Definitely – thorough reviews are my thing, so I like to always make time to ensure that not only is there a daily post, but that the content is worth a reader’s time. 🙂 It’s very important to me that I provide some value.
I’m glad to hear that I DO save you some money sometimes. That’s why I sometimes feel the need to ‘BUST’ products on here. People deserve to know about products that just don’t live up to their claims so that they can spend their hard-earned money on better things.
WOW – TWO bottles of Fantasy Fire! That’s amazing! They went to a great home. 🙂
Happy New Year to you, too!
Dearest Mary, 2013 will be better for all of us, and you deserve to have more happiness in your life. Keep up the exceptional work you are doing, with the blog and everything else!
mellinail recently posted: Goodbye 2012!
Hey mellinail!
Thank you for being a great and considerate friend. I’m so happy that it was through the blog that we found each other! And I appreciate your encouragement, too. 2012 was tough, and I hope that 2013 will be a year that you’ll look on with happy and heartfelt memories to make your soul smile.
Happy New Year (& a belated Merry Christmas) to you, Mary! I am ssoooo sorry to hear you’ve suffered such pain; it’s not fair when such sweet, talented, caring people like you are subjected to bad times…but after applauding you for keeping it together and maintain a fun and upbeat blog during it all, I hope you’re finding yourself stronger and on the other side of it all now. And, just in case, here’s a hug sent your way.:-)
Just remember you wouldn’t have all of us wonderful readers if you didn’t keep us checking for your awesome posts that fill us with laughs, good helpful info and more! We are addicted. 😉
I had fun revisiting these fav posts…of course it led to adding to my polish wish list…and reminded myself I want to try the fishtail braid still…looking forward to a new year of more Mary (to help me get thru some awful leftovers from 2012 also; and knowing you are surviving so gracefully gives me strength – hidden bonus:-) ).
Hey Kim!
Thank you for the well wishes and your sincere empathy. 2012 sure was a trying time, but definitely it’s the hurdles in life that remind us that we can jump. That’s how I’m looking at it because to wallow in grief is too much torture.
It’s not always easy to be upbeat, but I really want Swatch And Learn to be a place that I can go and a place that readers can go to feel happy. Everyone needs to smile and be encouraged.
Your comment and the ones left by others remind me that the nail community is such a strong and caring group. It makes me proud to contribute and participate. I’m very fortunate to have received such a positive response from readers, and it’s something I don’t take for granted. Huge blessing.
Definitely try the fishtail braid nail design! 🙂 There are so many fun variations you can do with it. And when you try it, please share a photo of it with me. I love looking at nail art – hehe, that’s also just as addictive as buying nail polish!
I’m praying that 2013 brings you the best, but even if you have some hurdles, I know that you can jump high and come through like a champ!
Happy 2013! I hope you have a less stressful personal life this year. I would say I also hope your blog continues to be great, but I already know for sure it will be just as great in 2013 as in 2012 :). I look at every post, even if I don’t always comment. Looking forward to seeing what you post in 2013!
What was your New Year’s manicure? Mine was OPI Goldeneye 🙂
Hey Jessica!
Your sweet comment made me smile from ear to ear! 🙂 I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy daily schedule to read my posts. That means so much!
Good choice for your New Year’s manicure! 🙂 I almost went with that same shade, but then I reached for another colour I hadn’t worn before. I’ll be revealing it very soon on here. (Hopefully the post will go live tomorrow. Still need to crop the photos and write the review.)
Wishing you all the best for 2013. I am always impressed at how through your posts are everyday. Keep up the good work!
Hey @messy_manis!
Thank you so much! 🙂 I’m glad that you really enjoy the posts!