HAPPY BIRTHDAY KBS!

Today is the first anniversary of this blog, and I want to send out a big thank you to everyone who has helped and supported me along the way.

My readers and YouTube audience, my family and friends, the awesome PR people I've had the great fortune to work with, and most of all to my wonderful partner, Christopher, who always shares my posts on facebook, even though it's all girlie stuff, and waits patiently for me outside makeup stores when I'm spending on things to show you guys.

Like I told you, there are several giveaways happening this month, so make sure you check them out. On my Instagram, there is a particularly awesome giveaway from Sukin organics, valued at over $160! Go check it out, my Instagram is @katylylak. I'll be posting the entry pic regularly over the course of the month.

Don't forget Liptember is on right now, so there will be lots of challenges there and things for you to win. Liking their page on facebook is the way to go, to get all the latest.

I'm home from Texas now, and back on track, so you can expect lots of content from me, from the massive makeup haul I splurged on in the USA, to reviews and tutorials.

THANK YOU, EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU, FOR HELPING TO MAKE KATY'S BEAUTY SECRETS THE SUCCESS THAT IT IS.

Katy's beauty secrets is celebrating it's first birthday! You get the gifts!

On September 3rd, 2012, I began my blogging journey. With limited resources and zero audience, it was a bit of an uphill battle. Over the first couple of months, I posted and posted, and enjoyed it so much that I did it every day! In a very short amount of time, I had 1000 views every month, then 2,000, then 3,000. It was amazing. Now, a year on, I'm happily pulling back the reigns and only posting twice a week, to keep my workload manageable, and I'm so happy to say that between the blog and the YouTube channel, we're averaging 3,500 views every single month! Those views don't happen by magic just because I posted something. They happen because readers like you have taken an interest in my work and you keep coming back for more.

I can't thank you all enough for making my first year of blogging so amazing and enjoyable. I know that my numbers are relatively small, compared to a lot of other blogs, but right now, this is a great size for me. It feels like I have a little community happening, and I am grateful for every single one of you.

Now, I would absolutely LOVE to give all of you an individual gift to celebrate my blog's birthday, but unfortunately, that would be a logistical nightmare. What I can do, with the help of some really awesome brands, is celebrate by doing some giveaways that will allow a few of you to win some really great prizes! Stay tuned tomorrow for the first giveaway of 3 (or more) that will be happening over the next month. Details in the giveaway posts.

I would like to send out my warmest and most heartfelt thanks to Sukin Organics and John Frieda Hair care, who have sponsored this celebration by providing products for the giveaways. Without the cooperation and support of beauty brands like these guys, my blog wouldn't be half as awesome as it is. I have to acknowledge all of the wonderful PR reps who I've built a wonderful working relationship with over the last year. It really has been a pleasure.

So once again, thank you all so much, and here's to many, many more birthday celebrations!

Ponderings on beauty and how things have changed.

Today is my 32nd birthday, and I've been thinking a lot about my own beauty trends over the years, and how they have changed. How the concept of beauty has changed for me over the years, and how I can help to pass on healthy and achievable beauty-image philosophies to my family and the younger generation.

Most of you know that I have 2 sons. They don't have much interest in the beauty world, so I'm probably not going to need to pass on a lot of knowledge to them in that regard, except to teach them that sometimes girls need to spend an hour in the bathroom to look as pretty as they possibly can, and that if they are the beneficiary of that effort, they should take the time to really appreciate it.

I also have a nephew, who I'll probably get around to teaching the same thing about girls and their bathroom time. Then there's my niece. She's already beautiful. She's got these gorgeous almond-shaped eyes and lovely skin, and I'm sure she got all of the best things from both sides of the family in that regard, so all I want to teach her when she gets old enough to learn about beauty and makeup and skincare (and she'll learn most of it from her mum, who is also gorgeous) is to be thankful for the good things she got. I, for example, am extremely grateful for my skin. I'm 32, I have very few wrinkles, rarely do I ever break out or have blemishes that are difficult to resolve. I'm very lucky to have nice skin. I am also grateful for these massive eyes that are so much fun to make up. i'm lucky, I have pretty eyes and I have learned great makeup techniques to make them really pop.

I really think that's the best thing that we can hand on to our children, or the children in our lives. Find a little love for everything you are, and don't worry about what you're not. Your beauty shines a little brighter when you stop worrying about flaws and shortcomings.