Happy 2012 Fanatics! I hope your NYE was fun, safe and free of any regrettable actions (drunk texts, hangovers, etc). Mine was relatively low key spent with good friends and enjoying an amazing meal with the boyfriend.

I, for one, was ready to watch the door hit 2011 as it left and am embracing 2012 with welcome, open arms. Instead of recapping the past year, because it pretty much blew, I’ve spent the past couple weeks doing a lot of reflecting on ALU and what I want to do with it going forward. How I want to kick off its 5th year. That’s right, ALU turns FIVE today. Crazy, right? Where did the time, and my youth, go?

I have a lot of fun things in store for the upcoming months that I hope you will enjoy.

• A 5 year blogoversary is a reason blow the roof off so, much like I celebrate my own birthday, I’m keeping the party going all month long with a bunch of amazing giveaways. They will be random and only last for 24 hours so make sure you check back often so you don’t miss a chance to win some great nail loot.
• The Fanatic Favorites is back and nominations will begin this week. If you aren’t familiar, take a look at last year’s results and start thinking about which brands/colors were your faves in 2011.
• I’m reinstating the “Untrieds” series but not in a 365 format. I decided to make it a permanent thing until my bin of Untrieds, is empty. And by bin, I mean 5 gallon storage tub. OY! Instead of every day you will see 3-5 untried polishes each week and my goal is to make sure they are accessible unless it’s something I just HAVE to share.
• The amount of new nail polish brands on the market is getting kind of ridiculous and trying to cover them all is impossible. At this point there doesn’t seem to be a clothing chain out there without a private label line of stock colors. I want to focus on the brands I really love, that are accessible and consistently deliver quality. Tried & true staples like Chanel, China Glaze, CND, Deborah Lippmann, Essie, Nubar, Orly, OPI, Rescue Beauty Lounge, Sally Hansen, Zoya (just to name a few). Of course that doesn’t mean smaller, up and coming brands won’t get love from ALU but I will only share things with you I feel are really worth seeking out. Cult Nails, for example, is one to watch.
• While I am admittedly a noob when it comes to video, I have been researching and my plan is to incorporate more video tutorials in 2012.
• And speaking of video, I am also working on launching a regular live show where we can interact in real time.

Of course, I am open to your suggestions and I would love to hear your thoughts. I just ask that they be constructive and feasible. Also, if there is a series or type of post I have done in the past that you really miss, let me know.

Curious what sparkler I chose for NYE? Stay tuned!

It’s a new life. For me. And I’m feeling good (great).

I know many of you are worried/upset/mad/concerned/disgusted about my obvious absence from ALU and I’m very happy to report that is has come to an end. You see, the last 6+ months have been a real struggle, the past few months being the worst.

Last June, my partner lost his job and to say it’s been tough would be an understatement. He is a personable, educated man and neither of us expected it to take this long for him to find a new position. We also didn’t expect the toll it would take on us both mentally.

I’m generally a pretty positive person and way too optimistic thanks to my glass-is-three-quarters-full mother. She instilled in me the idea that things always work out for the best and I really believed that. Well, the last few months I gave up on it all. I became bitter and lost all hope in humanity. It sounds overly dramatic but I’m someone who has battled depression in the past and it felt like I was drowning without a life preserver anywhere in sight.

The point of all this TMI is that with everything going on in my personal life, I just couldn’t bring myself to write about nail polish. Something that brings me so much joy. To have fun and wax whimsical about polish at a time when I just wanted to punch kittens (not literally, I LOVE cats) just wasn’t happening. And rather than deliver a post that didn’t express my pure love of nails and color, didn’t do any of us justice.

Now on to the good news. I am OVERJOYED to report that the boyfriend has landed a wonderful job with a local CPA firm and I feel like I can finally breath again. More importantly, I feel like I can ENJOY nail polish and not feel guilty about it.

I KNOW I have a ton of catching up to do and I will do my best to cover the holiday collections before they pass us by. China Glaze and OPI are no brainers and we’ll go from there.

Thank you all for sticking with me and your emails/comments/tweets of concern. I love you!!