We’ve hit the very tail end of 2017 everyone! And with that I wanted to do a mini retrospective and giveaway to get everyone (hopefully) excited for 2018!
For a personal perspective on 2017… what a wild and crazy year this has been.
- Went to New York City with two amazing friends and have plans to travel together again! (I see you LA – we’re coming for you!)
- Bought our first condo in downtown Toronto!
- Went on an amazing vacation to Indonesia and Australia!
- Ran two half marathons, two 5K and two 10K races. Of which two races were in New York City, USA and the other in Sydney, Australia!
In terms of the blog and YouTube, 2017 has been equally amazing. I love looking at numbers, so here’s a quick snapshot. In 2017, I created:
- 136 videos
- 140 blog posts
- Which equals a grand total of 276 unique content items throughout the year. This equates to brand new viewable content (excluding social) every 1.3 days.
I don’t have a ton of social data as I don’t really track it, but the 2017bestnine.com web site tells me that I posted 325 photos and received 28, 116 likes on Instagram!
All in all, I’d say that’s pretty impressive considering I work a full time job in the financial industry, exercise near daily and somehow still maintain a social life! As a word of encouragement for those who feel they never have enough time to do what they want to do… you absolutely do! You just have to find a way to make the time. Anything is possible if your drive and passion are strong enough!
Of course, the thing I love most about blogging and YouTube is reading your messages to me. Whether you’re leaving me a comment on YouTube, on my blog or on social media, I can’t even begin to tell me how much that means to me. Interacting with my readers and viewers is my absolute favourite part of this “job” and it’s the thing I look forward to the most whenever I upload new content.
Giveaway Time!
In celebration of the new year, I wanted to do a bit of a declutter and completely empty out the remainder of my “giveaway drawer”. These are all completely unused items that I just don’t have the capacity to review or try out, and, as a result, want to pass them on to one of you. For me it’s a great way to clear out some clutter (and make room for whatever 2018 may bring) as well as give back to my audience and for you guys it’s a great way to win a whole pile of products to try out!
One winner will receive all of the products featured above (except my Pusheen slippers – you definitely cannot have those!). To make it easier, here’s a big long list of what’s in this giveaway:
- Philosophy – The Microdelivery Overnight Anti-Aging Peel
- Estee Lauder – The Pink Lip Set
- it cosmetics – You Sculpted!
- Soap & Glory – Wait On Hand & Foot set
- Pixi – Glow Tonic To-Go
- MAKE UP FOR EVER – Ultra HD Microfinishing Loose Powder
- tarte – Park Ave Princess Amazonian Clay Bronzer
- tarte – Tarteist Pro Glow To Go
- it cosmetics – Bye Bye Pores Pressed in Translucent
- tarte – Rainforest of the Sea Filtered Light Setting Powder
- Wet n Wild – Mega Cushion in Lavender
- Wet n Wild – Mega Cushion in Green
- Wet n Wild – Mega Cushion in Cafe Au Slay!
- Wet n Wild – Mega Cushion in Peach
- tarte – Pearly Girl Vegan Teeth Whitening Pen
- Duo – Brush on Striplash Adhesive in Black
- essence the metal eyeshadow in silver twinkle
- essence the metal eyeshadow in chocolate frosting
- essence the metal eyeshadow in vanilla brilliance
- essence the metal eyeshadow in patina glow
- essence the metal eyeshadow in ballerina glam
- The Body Shop mini body butter in Mango
- The Body Shop mini body butter in British Rose
- Make-Up Designory Lip Gloss in Shine
- tarte – Tarteist Pro Glow Liquid Highlighter in Exposed
- Mally – Perfect Prep Poreless Primer
- Stila – One Step Prime
- Hard Candy eyeshadow palette in Birthday Suit
- Hard Candy eyeshadow palette (type unmarked)
- Hard Candy baked blush trio (mini)
- Too Faced mini Unicorn Tears lipstick
- essence shine shine shine wet look lipgloss in friends of glamour
- Sephora Collection Cream Lip Stain in the shade 01
- tarte – Tarteist Pro Lash Adhesive
- Hard Candy pencil sharpener
- Hard Candy Stroke of Gorgeous Eyeliner in Black (mini)
- Wet n Wild Gel Lip Liner in I Got The Juice
- Wet n Wild Gel Lip Liner in Sand Nudes
- tarte the lip architect lipstick and liner in Muse
- tarte the lip architect lipstick and liner in Sweet Pea
- tarte the lip architect lipstick and liner in Daisy
- tarte the lip architect lipstick and liner in Romantic
- tarte the lip architect lipstick and liner in Cutie Pie
- Hard Candy Sheer Envy Setting Spray
- essence Instant Matt Setting Spray
- essence say no to dull skin colour correcting stick
- essence say no to dark spots colour correcting stick
- Hard Candy Ginormous mascara
- essence Cover Stick in 20 matt sand
- Sephora Collection Fingertip Eyeliner
- Hard Candy Baked Bronzer in Tiki (mini)
- The Body Shop Shea Lip Butter
- Real Techniques Expert Face Brush (travel size)
- Eve Pearl 106 Definer brush
- Eve Pearl 120 Contour/Highlighter Blender brush x2
- Revlon Blending brush
- it cosmetics 8 Wand Ball Powder brush
- it cosmetics 704 Skin-Smoothing Complexion brush
- it cosmetics 7 Complexion Perfection brush
- it cosmetics 5 No-Tug Dual Eyeshadow brush
- Joe Fresh silver bracelet
Phew! That’s a ton of stuff!
Giveaway Rules
- This giveaway is open internationally!
- This giveaway starts on December 29, 2017 and runs for two weeks.
- One winner will receive the prize pack pictured and described above.
- Please be aware that all entries will be double checked to ensure fairness.
- Once the winner has been contacted, they will have 48 hours to provide me with their mailing address. If the winner fails to respond within that time frame, I will pick another winner. (And so on.)
- “Giveaway accounts” will not be considered for this prize. (If you want to know what I mean by that, please click here.)
2018 Makeup Goal: To get the correct colors of contour makeup to match my skin.
2018 Overall Goal: To strength train more.
Oh man contouring… something I never mastered and pretty much just gave up on!
Good on you for wanting to strength train more! It’s so much fun!
at this point, I just want to survive 2018 in one piece with all my friends and family accounted for !
Oh man, that sounds like 2017 was a pretty rough year for you then. Fingers crossed for 2018!
thanks 🙂
I’m really committed to mastering a pull up in 2018… my arms say no, my heart says yes.
This is an AMAZING goal! And one that’s been on my list for years… holy crap is it ever a lot of work. I managed to do ONE this past June I think it was… and then was never able to repeat it. Like wtf!! I’m rooting for you! We can do this!
Spend more time in the gym!
lol I think most people took this to mean I was looking for their resolutions, but I was really just curious what upcoming plans people are looking forward to in 2018. Are you actually looking forward to spending more time in the gym? In which case, good on you!
Thanks for the giveaway, always look forward to your Halloween costume posts on IG! Happy New Year! This year my goal is to try to eat healthier and actually start working out on a daily basis😅
Awww thanks Rose! It’s one of my favourite things to do in the year for sure. We haven’t decided what to do for 2018 yet… but I’m always thinking about it!
Wow! This is so lovely and generous of you!
I don’t know if I have any specific goals for 2018 other than to just continue trying to live a happy and healthy lifestyle and encourage myself towards more body positivity and mental wellness. Oh, and I want to take up yoga as well!
All the best to you for 2018! Always love watching your videos.
Those are all awesome things to look forward to doing in 2018 Janette! All the best to you as well!
Wow that is so lovely and generous of you! Plus your slippers are so cute! 🙂
In 2018 I would like to take up yoga, and of course continue to keep watching your videos! All the best to you, your husband and kitties!
Something I really want to do in 2018 is to declutter, declutter, declutter! I want to edit my belongings so I only keep that which is useful, needful or meaningful.
Oh neat! What are of your life do you feel needs the most decluttering?
I have a thing for clothing and really need to edit my closet. I’ve had a rule that if I bring something new in, something old has to go. I’ve been slack on my rule and need to do some serious decluttering.
Oh man – good on you for trying!
Holy makeup batgirl! That is a lot of stuff! Fingers crossed!
For 2018, what I really want to do is commit to exercising more… my new job is closed to home so I’m saving over an hour on my commute, so really no excuses!
Oh that’s great! Saves a ton on time!
Wow that’s a ton of stuff! In 2018 I want to travel more and try some new things.
Ooo travel! Where do you want to go the most?
I want to read more books off my to read list!
Oh man, you and me both! I’ve got so many books to read on my shelves!
I really want to see my daughter in 2018…I hope to save up enough money to fly down to see her
Awww I hope you get to see her! Is there a huge distance between you two?
yes, she is in ON and I’m in SK. She drove it in a day lol but I cant’ do crazy stuff like that. Her brother flew in to see her as well for his 2 weeks holidays
That’s a LOOOONNGGG way to drive!!
In 2018 I would love more than anything to finally get the proper foundation, preferably from M.A.C.
Oh man, finding the right foundation feels like so much trial, effort and MONEY! Good luck!
Thank you for the chance at another awesome give away! In 2018 I’m going to try and eat a little less candy lol and just spend more quality time with my kids.
Hahah I’m right there with you! If only I had some self control when it came to candy…
I want to travel more.
Awesome! Anywhere you want to go in particular?
My main goal is to get a job, then is to loose some weight.. Thanks for this opportunity.. I am new to makeup, so this is so huge for me.. If i win, i would be set to dive into this magnificient world of makeup and beauty.. Crossing my fingers…
Good luck Sandhra!
Excited about the giveaway–thanks for your generosity!
Good luck Carla!
In 2018 I want to learn brush lettering and get my photo business back solidly running after surviving year one with a baby 😊
Good luck Rachel! That sounds like a lot of work with a kiddo on your hands!
in 2018 I’m still gonna try to get weight off my daughter. Unfortunately diabetes, and being overweight is in my family and my ex-husbands family . So I we have a bit of fighting to do because its in our genes.
She is beautiful inside and out but this I’m determined to do. No more sugar in the house after Jan 1 and no eating past 7 at night. I know a lot of these things made a difference when my son was diagnosed with diabetes at 15. We were counting carbs.
This is the year for healthier choices for our mental and physical health.
This year is about my teenagers !
Good luck Christina! That sounds like a tough but worthy goal!
In 2018 I want to o be bolder with my makeup. So often I have the urge to do a really colourful or creative look but I don’t cuz I’m worried people will look at me weird. Which is not a good enough reason not to do it!
Yessss! Bring on the bold makeup looks! Honestly, it takes practice ignoring what other people think. And half the battle is getting used to seeing yourself wearing bolder colours too. Good luck!
I would really love to take a cruise to the Baltic this coming year.
Oooo that sounds wonderful! I hope you get to do that!
For 2018 I hope to complete the task of reading 100 books and create new great relationships 🙂
Wow that’s a lot of books!!!
My goal is to accomplish a few on my bucket list which is, to go to the Ellen show and visit family from Australia.
Ooo whereabouts in Australia? I had a great time in Sydney and Cairns this past year!
Melbourne and maybe Sydney, all my relatives on my mothers side lives there and I haven’t met one. Would be my first time on a plane too, excited!
I wish we had gone to Melbourne as well, but we just ran out of available time!
Hi, thank you for another generous giveaway. In 2018 I will work really hard on losing weight and feeling lighter and healthier. Wishing you a wonderful year!!!
Man, the weightloss thing… that’s always on my New Year’s list as well!
Happy New Year Chelle and thank you for your great blog! Not asking for much n 2018, just a calm year as 2017 has been a roller coaster for me.
I hope 2018 goes a lot smoother for you Jolie!
Thank you so much!
What an awesome giveaway! Thank you for all you do. My makeup game is a whole lot stronger because of you.
Awww thanks Mary! Happy New Year to you!
I had back surgery 4 days ago. My goal is to have a healthy, pain free 2018!
omg!!!! I hope you’re healing quickly!
what I really want to do is to travel more. which is way more fun than what i need to do.
Hah, I always want to travel more but there’s only so much available funds to do so!
If in 2018 i can just be little bit more healthy i will be very please!
The new year is always a great time to start afresh!
Went i say healthy it’s not to be sick! I wish nothing bad happen more this year! Be able to go through some projects, would be perfect!
I’m looking forward to finding a new job. Happy New Year!
Good luck finding a new job! Happy New Year!
Holy mackerel, that’s a lot of items! Any plans to choose multiple winners for larger giveaways in the future?
2018 Makeup Goal: Make time for eye makeup! I’ve been demotivated or running late to social events nearly the entirety of 2017 and my skills are sluggish. D:
2018 Overall Goal: Move out of the family home.
The problem I have with splitting up the giveaway items is trying to figure out what would work best for which person. And then trying to sort out who wins what… Blegh. I kind of like to think I do enough giveaways that I don’t need to split things up into multiple winners… I looked back and I think this was my 18th giveaway of the year which is more than one a month! Plus, double packages (or more) means more in shipping costs and I easily spent over $500 in shipping costs to winners this past year. It might be closer to $800, but I don’t want to oversell the cost.
Ah, I figured bundling (and assigning) items into separate packages would be troublesome. Yikes, shipping is costly; worth it to ensure they arrive safely to the happy winner!
Thanks for answering (and all that you do!).
Honestly, this giveaway was also kinda unplanned. I had no content ready to post in terms of reviews and I was like “meh fuck it, do a giveaway and get rid of everything you’ve got so you can start fresh”. Win-win really!
And pfft, always happy to answer!
Haha, giveaway is the answer to everything.
Blog or YTChannel anniversary? Giveaway. Duplicate PR? Giveaway. Holiday cheer? Giveaway. Hole in content schedule? Giveaway!
Eh, it was more like picking your brains and your perspective on something that could have been considered rude to ask. “WHY, CHELLE? TELL ME WHY.”
lol you’ll find that there aren’t very many questions out there that I consider rude – so please feel free to ask away!
Great post! 2017 seems to have a big year!
As much as I think 2017 wasnt the best, as I look back, i realize.. i just got a new job at a great company and have so many great family and friends supporting me. One of my 2018 resolutions is to start saving/looking for a house with my bf. 🙂
Good on you for looking back and finding awesome things in your year!
Hi! I’d love to travel more! I’d also love to get fit! Happy 2018!
Travelling is always a good idea. 🙂
I’m really, really, really hoping to get pregnant again in 2018. Fingers crossed!
Good luck Shauna!!!
Thanks so much!
In 2018 I really want to travel more! My husband and I didn’t take a honeymoon after getting married because I am finishing up my PhD, so once that is wrapped up, my goal is to travel with him! Had a great 2017, so hoping for wonderful things this year!
Oh awesome! Whereabouts would you like to go?
We’re thinking of going to each of our roots, so the plan is Ireland and Italy!
I’ve never been to Italy (although my mom loves it) but I looooove Ireland!
Damn, when you lay it all out like that – that’s a VERY good year!
Something I want to do in 2018 is finish the novel I started writing in November… Not really any intention of publishing, just really want to finish it.
Oh that’s awesome! How much do you have left to write?
I’d say I’m about half way. I think my word count is around 34,000.
Trysh recently posted…2017 FAVORITES: Eyeshadow Palettes & Singles
I would really like to find my passion this year. I’ve been struggling to find a job and would love to try to turn something I love into a business.
Oh that’d be wonderful! Few people are afforded that luxury and up doing stuff just for the money. Good luck!
Buy our first house!!
Yay! That’ll be exciting!
Always want to set small, attainable but nevertheless very important goals.
Look people more in the eye, text and call family more often, cut down on plastic use, declutter!
2018 is our year!!
Small items always make it attainable. It’s kind of silly when people start with enormous goals, but hey to each their own!
I really really really really want to finally go to Japan. I already have tickets to Hamilton on Broadway in January so anything else fun for the rest of the year will be just a bonus!
Danielle recently posted…My Top Five Makeup Products of 2017
Ahhh I’d love to visit Japan! I think that’s off the list for us for a while tough since we did such a massive trip last year though.
I have started doing makeup in 2017 in 2018 I want to do it better. as a beginner I’m okay not horrible but not good either.
It’s definitely something that just comes with a lot of practice!
I’ll try to do it more. though sometimes I feel very lazy to do the makeup and also feel lazy when I think about the hard work of taking the makeup off. So in 2018 I’ll do my best to be not lazy 😀 and thank you for the giveaway, you always do such nice giveaways for the followers. we really appreciate that.
Hey Chelle! Ah what a great giveaway, I’d love to try all of these fantastic products :O
In 2018 I need to get to my dance classes at least 2x weekly and worry less about videos and posts. I used to be so carefree with everything, but I also used to have far more free time. I’m going to take your word for it and MAKE more time to get my work done, then become happier and more productive because of it! Cheers x
How do you worry about your posts? About quality or consistency? I worry sometimes that people strive for too much perfection!
Ah your reply went to spam! :/
Doing reviews takes a lot of time, so I’m going to be more strict with what I accept. My tip posts and DIY videos are what I enjoy most! gotta funnel more time into those categories vs. reviews. Xx
I would really like to go to Disney World this year!
I’ve never been!
I am looking forward to moving to a home, if I can find one that I can afford…
Oh man I feel you. The housing market is absolutely unreal. We got really lucky with our purchases last year and we could only really afford it because it was underlisted by about 200k!
Biggest goal is keeping my diabetes A1C levels at a normal range! Would love to get off insulin. I’m type 2 and would love to be back on just one pill. So health is the goal and so far so good, thank God.
Good luck! That sounds like a lot of work (I say that since I have no real scope of how to do any of that!).
2018 would be ideal for me to start wearing more makeup, because the breakouts and bad skin I kept having stopped me from that years and years…I m close to getting the ideal skin, so fingers crossed for me…also it d be ideal to finish my studies…happy new year!
Oh that sounds wonderful! Congrats on getting your skin to where you want it!
I want to try yoga!
Oooo that sounds great!
There are a lot of things I want to do in 2018! I’m celebrating a big birthday so I want to travel, go to places I’ve never been, see things I haven’t seen, and just experience what life has to offer!
I loooove visiting new places – it makes me feel good to discover things that aren’t in my backyard, you know?
something I really want to do in 2018 is go to Las Vegas with my hubby. It would be such a great break for us and so much fun too. Happy New Year!
I hope you get to go! I’ve never been to Las Vegas!
There’s a few things I really want to do this year! Loose some weight and in general be healthier (hello wedding dress!). Get organized (home, cleaning, blogging) and find a new job! That’s all… 🙂
Happy New Year to you!! 🙂
Samantha recently posted…New Year Goal: Getting Organized
Frigging hell… lose weight is always on my new year list too. Argh!
In 2018, I want to make this my best year yet! I want to do the things I want in life, without being afraid. to treat others the way I want to be treated. No complaining, just enjoying life and love people for who they are. I also want to learn how to do my makeup better and start building my makeup stash with very good quality products.
Building up a makeup stash is a lot of fun! And good on you for wanting to do things in life without being afraid. You got this!
I would like to lose weight in 2018.
Girl, you and me both!
Really want to READ more books and take more me time. Busy with my mom who is home bound and also babysitting the wee grandaughter. Love to eat more healthy this year with better portion control, more veggies in the meals, less fast food.
Thanks for the chance @makeup-your-mind.net
Reading books has been hard for me as well – I feel like there’s always something else I should be doing!
I’m becoming a grandmother again after 7 years! I can hardly wait to hold that child!
Congratulations!!!
As usual, what an amazing giveaway! This year I want to become more confident when it comes to driving. I only recently got my drivers and it’s been really weird driving around without an instructor telling me what to do!
Tarryn B recently posted…The WordPress.com Year in Review (and Resolutions for 2018)
You got this! Driving can be super intimidating for sure!
I would love to travel more & re-visit Las Vegas!
Travelling is always a good idea! It’s funny though… I’ve never been drawn to Las Vegas as somewhere to visit. What makes you like it so much? 🙂
It’s always been on my bucket list to go there & I finally when I just turned 40 I went there to celebrate! It’s the excitement, the array of shows, the lights, the sounds… I thought it was a very cool place to be with friends & can’t wait to go back!
This year I am going to get back into shape. I’ve been slacking off. I feel so much better when I keep in shape.
Totally! But damn does it also feel good to laze around too!
I’m working on an MFA right now and barring unforeseen circumstances I should graduate this year, so that’s the thing I really want to complete in 2018.
Amazing! Congratulations!
im looking forward to reading some good books in 2018 🙂
Seriously… I’m trying to read more!
A bit dull, but looking forward to completing some much needed renovations, then I can concentrate on what I really want to do, reno the kitchen. Also hopefully a trip to Vegas later in the year, I’ve never been.
Renos are fun when they’re over though!
I really want to plan a trip to Europe for the summer.
Oooo where would you like to visit?
Thanks so much Chelle! I really want to just have as stress free of a year as possible…IF that’s possible. Last year was rough for a variety of reasons…I’m just looking for some peace and calm honestly!
I hope you get that peacefulness this year Rebecca!
I want to read more books!!
You and me both! I’ve already slacked on reading in recent years.
I want to be happy and healthy
Those are really the best things anyone could ask for. 🙂
I want to travel! I`m not too picky,I just want to get off this rock!
I hear you! I get stir crazy if I don’t travel!
I want to get a puppy! We just said goodbye to our dear toy poodle Scarlett just before Christmas.
Awww I’m sorry to hear that. That’s not easy at all. 🙁
I really want to visit Europe – our son was born in the country of Georgia and I want to take him back to visit.
That’d be amazing! I hope you get to do that this year!