Given that The Beauty Spyglass is nearing its 1st anniversary, I thought I would look back at how it’s altered over the past eleven months…
Since becoming self-hosted back in February, I’ve spent countless hours tinkering with the layout and colour scheme. Leaving the pink overload behind, adding new widgets or plugins, and tweaking anything which can be tweaked. Sure, we all have different ideas and perspectives on what works and what doesn’t but there is, however, one thing we can all be certain of in life – “everything will change”.
Following along with that theory, something is happening to The Beauty Spyglass, it’s evolving. I’ve stepped away from the blogger cliché fake marble backgrounds and changed things up. Don’t get me wrong, pink flowers aren’t banished forever, I may still use some seasonal blooms in my photos – when I have some at hand. Marble, however, is something I’ve gone off over the last few months, I’m tending to use a plain white background or a mix of colours now, and actually – I prefer it!
Blog Logo…
Something else I quickly become bored with is my blog logo. As you can see below – I used to have the tagline “A closer look at beauty” then later, I decided I wanted to include lifestyle posts along with beauty and so I added “lifestyle” to my tagline – giving my blog a new identity. Nowadays, I don’t think I need a tagline at all – I’ve ditched that too. Then I wanted “By Samantha” but that soon fell by the wayside. When I look back over the last eleven months and see where I started I just think oh dear what were you thinking?! Saying that, I didn’t know what I was doing and just limped along – hoping for the best.
Previously, I designed and created all the logos seen below using an app, but I was never really happy with any of them or their grainy/pixellated appearance, hence all the changes. These are just some of the versions I still had, yes, there are more! I’ve finally settled on my logo now and I’ve not tinkered with it in a while (that’s got to be a good sign) I designed it myself using an app, but since it appeared grainy I decided to have it reproduced professionally in the correct format by the lovely Sally – graphic designer and owner at Designbean.co.uk Have a look at her fab website!
#myinstastyle…
As for my Instagram grid – it’s changing too. Here you can see that I’ve also left my pretty pink theme behind. I’m going for a different look there too. I’m kinda over the “theme” situation and as soon as Autumn hit the streets, my grid took on a whole new look. I’m trying out different angles and segment shots, is that a thing? When I look at my grid as it was before I just see a blur of hazy-pink flat lays. I understand this new look may not sit well with everyone, but right now, It sits well with me.
My trusty ol’ blog prop box filled with ribbons, pearls and pretty bits and bobs has been made redundant. My daughter is gradually squirrelling away my “blog prop notebooks” to use for school bits and Harry Potter related doodlings.
I realise it’s not always a good idea to keep changing the look of your blog-brand as consistency is key. However, what I like now is far from what I liked when I started out, and since The Beauty Spyglass is my blog I’m doing what works for me. I like to think of it as a butterfly going through her life stages – beginning as an ugly chrysalis, evolving and growing into something beautiful. Let’s hope it lasts longer than a butterfly and her paltry life-span.
My one-year “blogga-versary” is looming ever closer, November 15th to be exact. I’m considering changing my theme or even going for a more bespoke look for the new year. Yes, getting a little tired of that too! Keep a lookout for my anniversary post and I may run a giveaway, I’ll share details nearer the time!
Is your blog ever-evolving? I’d love to know how.
