Small Update

I thought I'd write a small update concerning the future of the blog since my updates have been relatively sporadic! 

TL;DR - this blog and other social media updates will continue whenever possible - I don't intend to abandon the blog as I still enjoy writing for more non-indie or non-perfume things, however I am focusing on my own endeavours including my own press on nail shop! (Yuzu's Nails)

the long version: 

For those who have either been reading blogs, or are bloggers themselves, you may be aware that since a few years ago, Google has essentially made their search engine unusable - most of the content you used to be able to find relatively easily (including this blog) have now been rendered relatively obsolete, and even when you look up this blog's name, you won't find it, which includes every single other post or reference I've made on this blog. 

I have never used blogging as a means of income, but as I'm sure many of you can understand, it's not very fun to put a lot of time, effort and love into your creations to be released into the void. I spend a lot of time taking photos, curating, learning how to edit, drawing, painting and writing for things that I love out of my own passion, but it's disheartening to see that my content can't be used by anyone (making this blog as a resource for people was one of the main things I intended to do when I started!), but this is no longer even feasible for people to find or access this information unless it's linked to another platform (typically Reddit). In addition to the usual demands of life, I found it increasingly difficult to find the motivation and time to come back to this platform. 

I originally (re)created this blog at a somewhat uncertain part of my life as a way to bring some motivation and drive to my life after having been diagnosed with a chronic illness which continues to severely impact my daily life, and during this journey I've had many positive and lovely experiences with the larger indie perfume community which has been a deeply important and joyful for me. I cherish every single interaction I've had with every individual I've spoken to, and if you've been one of them, thank you for your kindness and friendship! The support, compliments and love on my content was one of the only things I would be able to see and experience while I was bedbound and housebound for months on end, and I really cannot express how much this has meant to me during the instability I experienced. I tend to be very private about my own affairs, and this may be one of the only times I speak openly about it. 

This blog, my 'vanity' has been with me for a long time, and I want to stay and keep this as a memory of the experiences I've had, and I will not be abandoning it. However, in light of the recent global complications, every part of this hobby has been affected, the main issue that affects me which is the complete removal of international shipping from nearly every single North American brand (including long standing staples such as Arcana and Solstice Scents), or the increased charges for such shipping (starting from 47USD). As such, there is no reliable or direct way for me to order and experience scents from newer houses unless they're partnered with Ajevie (which comes with a longer TAT and heftier costs). I still maintain my enjoyment of perfume, but now I try to support local brands closer and nearer to me, but I understand that this is less of an interest to a NA audience, especially in light of the recent (at the time of writing) issues surrounding imported items. 

In this case, there have been many factors surrounding my decreased presence on all of my social media and this platform, and much of it which feels largely out of my control, and at times, brings me a sense of anxiety and sadness around not being able to experience or chat to people about shared things we have all come to love - and on a social media platforms which have largely reduced the reach of content or been insufficiently run for a long time.

Regardless of these factors, I still hope that I will be able to keep this blog as a memento and a resource for anyone who does find it. I still am regularly partaking in my sweetened gourmand delights, it is far less on a public platform that in the past, but my inbox is always open! 

Nowadays, much of my focus has now turned towards other things, the most important being that: I've taken a leap of courage in starting my own indie nail business! If you've seen any of my previous nail designs in photos with indie scents and loved them, I now make them as custom orders! If you're interested or you'd like to show me some support, I've recently started my own shop on Etsy for handmade press on nails (https://www.etsy.com/shop/YuzusNails)! 

If you've made it this far, I want to again thank your support (for even being able to find this post!!), and hope that even one of my posts been of help or interest to you, to support small indie perfumes, finding disabled, queer and progressive artists making incredible scents and fragrances, or even finding something that brings you joy. I know this blog (and the community) has been something that has allowed me to experience all of these, and I still hope to be able to engage with it wherever possible, whenever possible.