This October, the blog celebrated it’s 11th anniversary, and I remembered briefly the first week of the month, meant to acknowledge the milestone with a post as I often do, but with the madness of holiday review season, I forgot all about it the next time I sat down at my desk!  I didn’t even remember again until yesterday evening, and I figured, it’s still October, right? What I like most about the blog anniversary is its an opportunity to express my gratitude to my readers, and then the second aspect I enjoy is reflecting on the last year and what has changed (or what hasn’t).

Beauty blogging has changed dramatically over the last five years; its viability as a full-time job is completely different today than it was five years ago.  I’d say that 11 years ago, it wasn’t viable.  Beauty blogging was still getting its legs back in 2006, but I think by 2010 or so, it started to emerge as a successful niche with lots of opportunities. There’s always been some back-and-forth since beauty has taken off on YouTube, but the last few years, I have seen an increasing number of long-time beauty bloggers retire, back off of their blogs considerably, or transition to lifestyle content.

It makes me feel particularly fortunate that Temptalia is not just still here, still surviving but that it is actually thriving with a strong, loyal readership.  It is the ongoing, tremendous support of all of you, my readers, that has made it so I can focus on creating content and improving the site without fear.  That’s why the trust of my readers is so paramount to me because that’s who I consider my #1 customer, so it’s all about how can I help you, how can I make your life better/easier/more fun when it comes to beauty.  Your support gives me strength on a daily basis to make the right decision and to make those so-called tough decisions very easy more often than not.

The blog is as much my baby as my fur-baby, Magellan, is. It is home. It is also family.  It is what has given my life purpose and direction and a place where I can always be.  It has created a community of knowledgeable, enthusiastic people all in the name of beauty. I am deeply committed to and passionate about what I do and doing it to the best of my abilities.  I never want to take this opportunity for granted because doing this has been one of the best things that has ever happened to me.  I always want to look for ways to improve and be better and do better for you each and every year.

There are, honestly, no adequate words to even express to you how thankful I am to have you here on this journey with me. Thank you for reading, whether it’s been an hour, a day, or 11 years.  Thank you for your trust, which I know is earned and not just given.  Thank you for being such a huge part of why Temptalia is where it is today. I look forward to seeing what the next year brings

Temptalia By the Numbers

Here are some interesting numbers I pulled out in honor of our 11th anniversary

• 150,000 dupes on The Dupe List
• 210,000 photos in our database (comprised mostly of photos from 2011 to present)
• 11,500 lip swatches (again, mostly from 2011 to present)
• 16,881 reviews since 2013 (estimated 20,000 from inception)
  • 2013: 2,285
  • 2014: 3,251
  • 2015: 3,564
  • 2016: 3,996
  • 2017: 3,785 (so far!)
• 25,371 blog posts
• 1,400,256 comments
• 1,557,204 votes cast in our weekly poll

I reflected more deeply on a personal level with respect to blogging and the journey last year (which was the big 10!), so if you’re curious about that, check out my 10th anniversary post