The Top 5 Most Popular Posts of 2011

When Polished Indulgence started out in September of 2011, we didn't think that we'd have a following of even 10 before the year ended. Not that we're pessimists, mind you, but we do know it takes a lot of hard work and time to amass an audience, as is the case with any new enterprise. Much to our surprise, we did reach that number and went higher than we could've ever expected. By early December, we had 28 lovely followers and a decent number of page views from all over the globe! We were ecstatic. Our Christmas wish was to get to 30 before the year ends. And look, there's 34 now! *waves to all who've indulged with us* It might not seem like much but it's always nice to know that we're being read by so many wonderful people. (Sure beats talking to yourself any day!) It's also very humbling for us and it truly encourages us to churn out even better reviews and up-to-date sales/deals news. We've got lots of exciting things planned for 2012 but before that, let's take a fond look back on 2011's most popular posts.

#5: Color Club New Bohemian

Just about a month into the blogging scene, I was lucky enough to be asked by stamp artist extraordinaire Marta from Chit Chat Nails if I was interested to do a "triplet post" with her and the equally talented Carolina of Colores de Carol. I was floored. Two of the most well-established beauty/nail bloggers wanted little ol' me to do a post with them..? Of course I couldn't refuse such a golden opportunity! I'm all the more glad that it was New Bohemian that we featured as it's easily the polish that made me fall in love with the Color Club line.



#4: Butter London No More Waity, Katie

From a recent trip to the States, I picked up this pretty jelly glitter while Ulta had it on sale: buy 2, get 1 free. That conveniently dropped the price per bottle to under $10.00 (my often mentioned self-imposed maximum price per bottle purchasing limit). It's not hard to figure out why this is popular - with a jelly glitter, and a pretty purple at that, what's not to like? Amusingly, I found that I was more excited to wear this even if Wallis was what spurred that trip to Ulta. And no, I still haven't sported Wallis (although I totally should).



#3: Suncoat Sienna

This was a surprise entry (to me, at least!). I never thought this would generate so much interest! I guess I should've known when a lot of us are trying to find healthier and organic options for our beloved beauty products. Nail polish is no exception. It also helped tons that Suzy Shier featured this post on their Twitter/Facebook page (our first)! I'm excited to do an updated post on this Canadian brand using their basecoat/top coat in hopes I get a better result, as well as play around with other available colors.

#2: Poppy Nail Art for Remembrance Day

How thrilled are we that the #2 most popular post is a nail art one? What started out as an exercise in creativity turned out to be way more fun and satisfying that any of us could've imagined. These poppy nails are a personal favorite as the process of creating them echoed so much of my beloved childhood art classes. Bonus points that these were a cinch to do even with my non-dominant left hand!

#1: Gift Wrapped Nails for Christmas

You already know how HUGE Christmas is to us but that's only part of the reason why we're so excited that this is the #1 most popular post from 2011 on Polished Indulgence. This was the product of one of those "wouldn't it be cool if.." moments. I was brainstorming Christmas themed nail art (I still have a couple that I didn't get to do that you'll see for this year's!) and while this wasn't my favorite, everyone who saw this just fell in love with it. I'm honestly still not sure why but you won't hear me complaining about it. :D To know people enjoy my efforts is enough reason for me.

And there you have it. If you had told us earlier that the top post for 2011 would've been a nail art one, we'd have laughed incredulously. See, we weren't even planning on doing nail art to begin with. Aren't we glad we decided otherwise! Knowing it's been good for you as it's been for us is more than we could've ever hoped for.

To end this post, won't you raise your nail polish bottle with us for a toast? Here's to more sparkly goodness, more beautiful and unique colors and finishes, more innovation in cosmetics, more incredible deals and freebies, and just more of everything wonderful and good in 2012! Cheers! Gan bei! Salud!

Happy New Year from me, Mr. J & Hammie!