I Feel Good

You know sometimes when you spend ages getting ready for a night out, an event or even just a blog post, and the reflection in mirror isn't what you hoped? This challenge is for those times when you look in the mirror, no pre planning involved, and think "I look good today". 

We all have our good days and our bad, but this challenge is to record those good days and to remember that confidence, at any size, is beautiful.

I absolutely love today's photograph.  It was taken at the Friday night meal at Plus North in Leeds with the beautiful Emma from Terrible Tumbles who so kindly organised the meal for us and also some goody bags.

The photo is fuzzy and the two cocktails I had is making me a little cross eyed but I don't care, I love this picture.

Vaseline Spray & Go Body Moisturiser

When it comes to your beauty and skincare routine, is there a job that you hate doing or just don’t have the time for?  In my case, the job that I never seem to have enough time for or just plain can’t be bothered to do is body moisturise.

I always start with good intentions; I buy all the beautifully scented body butters and lotions, determined that my skin will be silky smooth and looking fabulous.  Then life gets in the way.  The rush in the morning to get ready when I just don’t have time to sit there waiting for moisturiser to sink in, at night when I have a shower and, anxious to get into my PJs, I simply forget.  

It comes down to laziness I know, but body moisturisers just seem to be my “last straw” when it comes to my beauty and skincare routine.

I have mentioned in my recent “Shop the Stash” post that I have started to use the Vaseline Spray & Go Body Moisturiser.  I have been getting on so well with it that I thought I would tell you more about it.

Unlike the usual body moisturisers which needed to be rubbed in and given time to sink in properly, this spray is light, easy and takes up no time at all.  You simply spray where you wants, run your hand over the area once and you are done.  The sprays sinks immediately into your skin and you are able to put clothes on straight away.

They retail at Boots for £3.99 but I recently managed to get two cans of the Cocoa Radiant on Ebay for two for £6.00 so make sure to check there first.

Definately recommended, it is easy to use, quick to sink in and makes your skin feel gloriously soft.

Shop Your Stash 3

Welcome to the Shop Your Stash Challenge. This is all about finding a gem in what you already own and creating a blog post on it. This is to let go a little of the stress that comes with being a blogger - even if it is just once a month. Rummage through your beauty products and climb through those clothes draws. You might surprise yourself!

For today's challenge we are looking at what you use to cope with the heat of the summer months.  For this particular post I decided to go down the makeup/skincare route and show you what I tend to use during the summer.

Hot weather is always rough on my hair because the sun rays usually turn my hair lighter and I am always throwing my hair up and out of the way giving myself endless split ends. To combat this (as well as using my usual John Frieda Brunette Shampoo and Condition) I tend to use the Tresemme Split Remedy which you put on after washing your hair but you can also use on the ends when they are feeling a bit dry.

For body moisturising I love the Body Shop Sweet Lemon Body Butter but at £13.00 it is a bit pricey and a bit heavy to lug around in your bag during the day so I carry the Vaseline Spray & Go which is both a lot lighter and also only £5.00 and it lasts for ages.

For my face I am a follower of the god that is Clinique but again, you can't always afford over £20.00 for a moisturiser so sometimes I turn to the pound shop to see what they have.  Typically their beauty products only have six months or less to go (hence the cheapness) but hey, when are you ever going to make a tube of moisturiser last so long?  I am using the Johnson & Johnson Morning Energy Moisturiser in my morning routine which works a treat and only cost me a pound.

The last in my arsenal is the NYC setting spray which I put on after I have finished with my makeup.  I think I paid £8.00 for it but you can probably get it for less if you hunt on Ebay.

A couple of things I use for my summer makeup routine:

If at all possible I try to avoid foundation when I can in the summer, during the day at the very least as my skin really disagrees with it on a hot day.  Instead, once my skin is properly moisturised I just use the Barry M Natural Dazzle at £5.99 which lasts forever and also the Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder which you can pick up for around £4.00.

Finally, the favourite thing is my makeup bag is probably also the cheapest which is my Natural Collection Crushed Walnut Eyeshadow which cost me £1.79.  I use this all year round in order to fill in my eyebrows with a slanted brush which I have found more effective, and has more staying powder, than any pencil, wax or liner that I have used.

So that's it!  Some of my skincare and makeup routines for the summer!  What do you use?

Please check out the other ladies in the challenge and also my blog competition to win some Pamela Mann Tights, linked here

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Nail

It makes me really happy to put this post on the blog today.  I have bitten my nails all of my life and have always been ashamed of how they looked, hiding them away should anyone happen to glance.

A few months ago I decided that enough was enough, if I had the willpower to stop smoking I certainly had enough to stop biting my nails.  I have had a few false starts and many breakages, but after using the Sally Hansen Hard as Nails polish, Almond Nail Oil from The Body Shop and Bettyhula hand moisturiser to make sure that they look the best that they can; I finally have a set of nails worthy of being painted. 

I was recently contacted by Marisota and asked to take part in their 12 Nails of Christmas Campaign.  They kindly provided me with various paints, pens and accessories; everything I needed to create a festive nail look.  

What I really wanted to showcase was a beautiful red varnish, inspired by old Hollywood glamour.  I have a love affair with the colour red and have always wanted to have perfectly manicured red nails. 

When I think of the festive season I think of sparkle, glamour and elegance.  That is what I wanted to create with my nails, something understated but with a touch of sparkle, classic but not boring and above all, a theme that could be carried forward through various celebrations.  After all, you don’t want to spend the entire festivities just painting your nails!

After applying the Aperetif Essie Nail Polish I applied some star tattoo strips from Andrea Fullerton and and then to add a little glitz, some crystals to the thumbs and middle fingers.  This is a look that I would happily wear for any of the upcoming festivities over Christmas.

To go with my newly decorated nails, here is a look that I have pulled together from Marisota for the upcoming festive season.

What will you be wearing this season?

* The nail products were gifted to me as part of the Marisota 12 Nails of Christmas, but all opinions and nail images are my own

Simple Skin

I have always been really lucky with my skin.  I rarely get spots and usually have a clear complexion. 

 

Over the years my skin and I have reached an accord.  I use the Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturiser on it and it stays happy and clear.  The thing with having good skin is that you can fall into the trap of getting lackadaisical about taking care of it the way that you should. I have really been guilty of that, but especially lately.

 

I have always gotten away with just using the beauty facial wipes on it instead of the cleanse, tone; moisturize ritual (I know, I know, you don't have to say).  I usually make sure to at least do a face pack once a week and exfoliate when I remember (read knock over the St Ives Scrub and notice it).  

Now though, my skin has started to remind me that I'm 34 now.  It needs that loving touch that as yet, I have never given it. 

 

So my next quest is going to be finding a decent skin routine and actually sticking to it.  The Simple skin care range seems to agree with my skin and isn't on the expensive side.  Time for me to really start reading some beauty blogs and getting some tips!

 

Source



Pushing Boundaries

Today I decided to push myself a little on the old make up front. 

 

I have previously done a post called “Bare Faced Cheek” where I was pushing the boundaries of what amount or lack thereof, makeup I was happy wearing in front of a camera.  Actually going out in public like that is a further step forward.

 

Now I am not going to say to you that I am suddenly going to stop wearing makeup.  I’m not.  I love it and I love how it can transform your face depending on what look you are going for.  But I would also like to feel comfortable going to work with no makeup on.

 

Especially on those mornings when you are running on slow speed and putting on makeup is the thing that will make you miss your bus or make you late for work.  It isn't that important.  Yet I can't count the number of times I have left the house late because I have needed to "make myself presentable".

 

So here I am at work, no makeup, shiny nose, no eyeliner.  The world did not end.  People didn't draw back in horror.  The mirror didn't crack.  I look fine.

 

Whilst makeup is still something I choose to wear on a daily basis, I now know that I can live without it too.  Another step in being comfortable in your own skin.

 

Bare Faced Cheek!

Like most women, I love makeup.  Everything from the bright pop of a red lipstick that can add a zing to my day to the concealer that hides the late night of the day before.

Over the years I have found myself wearing less and less, until I have found what my tastes are and what I am comfortable with.

Gone are the electric blue eyeshadows I wore in the nineties, along with the neon pink lipsticks and the too thick foundation and in are more neutral colours, focusing more on enhancing what I have rather than starting from a new slate.

Although I wouldn’t go for a day out without makeup, I don’t feel the need to cake it on either.   If you were t0 leave me stranded on a desert island, mascara would be the one indulgence item I would want. 

I have taken three photographs of myself as below.  In the first photograph I’m wearing no makeup.  After doing the #flashtheflesh challenge on Saturday I no longer find this scary.  I wore a swimsuit, on the internet, I can damn well go bare faced.

Second photograph I’ve gone for the natural look which is what I tend to wear at work, although a red lippy is always in my handbag ;)

In the last photograph is my favourite makeup look of the moment.  It is how I would prefer to greet the world ideally, but I don’t hold myself to a “must be perfect at all times” theory so if I pop down to the supermarket with no makeup on?  Chicken Licken, the sky will not fall in.

“Beneath the makeup and behind the smile I am just a girl who wishes for the world.”
  

 

Moving to Bloglovin' !

Firstly, I'm sorry, I know that you are seeing these posts everything at the moment but as Google Reader is shortly closing down, I thought I would join in with providing details of how you can still follow my blog.

You can follow me on Bloglovin' by clicking here

Bloglovin' has very helpfully come up with a way of moving all your contacts from Google Reader to them with a click of a button. Just hit http://www.bloglovin.com/import/reader

I hope to see you there!

 

What's in your Handbag?

Monkey Supermarket are currently running a competition in order to win a Mulberry handbag and for a chance to enter, they want to see inside our handbags!  

Their home insurance expert estimates that women carry around with them on average the sum of £850.00 worth of contents within our handbag and I must confess, I was very curious to see what my total would be.

When it comes to my week day handbag, I like to cover most eventualities.  The thing about having a large bag however is that things seem to disappear into it, never to resurface until you have a clear out.

I took the opportunity of this blog post to go through the contents of my handbag and remove the excesses, including more lipsticks and glosses than I would admit!  I have never really thought about the value of the items I carry around with me so this has been an interesting experiment.

My bag is from Fiorelli and cost me £60.00 about three years ago.  It it a classic shape and style and is perfect for my day to day use as it goes with practically everything.

I have divided the contents into sections, all of which help me in my daily life and are permanent fixtures in my handbag.

Every Day Essentials

Purse - £5.00 from Primark
Cash inside - £20.00

Blackberry - £200.00

Monthly bus pass - £39.00

Face powder – approx £6.00

Powder brush - £3.00

Lip tint from MUA - £3.00

Crystal cat keyring - £5.00

If I were forced to use a smaller handbag during the week, these would be my absolute essentials.  Yes, three items are makeup, but I fail to see the point in applying it at the start of the day only to end up with a shiny nose and dull lips by the end of it.  I am a woman after all!

To Wear Off Boredom

Book - £9.99

Notebook for blog ideas - £10.00

Pen – £1.00

Apple Earphones - £25.00

Blackberry – already listed

For my daily trip to work on the bus or when I am travelling in general I like to have a variety of options to entertain me.  I always have a book with me and a notebook for jotting down blog ideas.  In addition I like to listen to music on the way to work on my phone which also obviously offers the connection to the internet and my addiction that is Twitter.

Helpful Items

Umbrella - £10.00

Dorothy Perkins Sunglasses - £7.00

Spare Blackberry battery £15.00

Blackberry charger £15.00

The three things I detest are getting caught in the rain, being caught in bright sunshine for over an hour without sunglasses and my beloved Blackberry running out of charge (hence the two options on the battery front!). 

My Fix Me Up Kit

Marc Jacobs perfume - £20.00

Benefit They’re Real Mascara - £19.50
MUA Red lip tint – already listed
Pink lipstick from No 7 - £9.00
Little Pink Tin of Lip Moisturiser - £3.00
Soap & Glory body butter - £7.50
Two different hair slides - £8.00
No 7 Slanted Tweezers - £8.00
Two hair bobbles – 50p

I always like to have a little fix me up kit in my handbag.  This works twofold in that I have the everyday items that I use to touch myself up with and also some additions such as the earrings, the mascara and the hairslides/bobbles which I can use to change up my look if I am going straight from work to a catch up with the girls.

One of my pet hates is having to lug another bag to work if you intend on going out for the evening straight after, so I have whittled my kit down to the utmost essentials that can easily and quickly take me from a day to a night time look.

If I had to chose just one item out of everything in my handbag to carry around with me it would have to be my Blackberry.  My phone is the most multi-functional item in my handbag, it would get me most things at the touch of a button and it is what I would chose in a crisis.

Taking into account the cost of the handbag and the contents, this equates to a handbag total of £509.49.  Considering that the average is £850.00 I am quietly impressed with myself!

What do you carry in your handbag?

 

Old Toothy!

I'm writing this post further to the Flash the Flesh Challenge on Saturday, which is all about being happy and confident in yourself.  I wanted to do a short post today to tell you this little story which make me laugh about how silly I have been.

I have a gap in my teeth that I’ve hated all my life,  Every smile I’ve ever given has had my tongue pressed up right against the gap so you couldn’t see it as much.  It’s a ridiculous thing to do but I’ve always done it. 

Recently I decided to do a vlog post, found here.  What I immediately noticed upon watching it back, which had never occurred to me before, is that the gap is perfectly notable when I talk, so all these years of trying to hide it have been completely pointless!

I can’t believe that I’ve actually spent my whole life shoving my tongue behind the gap in my teeth, without ever realising that it was perfectly visible when I was speaking.  What a lunatic I am!  It also then of course dawned on me that it has also been visible to others and I had never had any bad comments about it, so why the worry and insecurity?

Sometimes the insecurities we have are ones that we force upon ourselves without any interference of society and other people’s opinions. 

What have you been insecure about that you have had no need to?

Nailed It

I’ve bitten my nails my entire life.  It isn’t something I’m proud of.  Given that I don’t like my hands anyway, I’ve always been self conscious about them and hid them away.

I have always wanted pretty nails and would love to paint them and experiment with different colours and designs.  The scarlet nailed women in old movies have always been my ideal.

I was looking in shame at my nails a couple of months ago and the thought struck me; if I can successfully quit smoking through sheer stubbornness and determination, surely I can stop biting my nails. 

Given the tiny size that they have shrunk to over thirty odd years, I knew that it would take quite a while to reach any sort of length.

After more than a few false starts and absentminded biting, I have now reached a stage where I’m happy not only to put my nails on my blog, but also paint them!  I may have a way to go with some of the nails and none are how I want them yet, I feel that the majority of the journey has been accomplished.

I’m a few weeks away from booking my first manicure and having a massive smile on my face.  Even at the current, still short length, they are now makes me happy.  One more goal reached!

What goals have you set yourself recently?

Review of MUA £1 Lipstick!

I recently ran out of my favourite red lipstick and so headed over to Superdrug to find another.  Having had a good experience with their mascara and blusher, I decided to give their lipstick a go too.

 

Just like with the mascara and blusher, I’ll confess that my expectations of the lipstick weren’t that high.  What kind of quality can you expect from a £1.00 lipstick after all?  Turns out quite a bit!

 

I chose Shade 13 from the £1.00 range which is a lovely bright red lipstick. 

 

Upon applying it glides on easily and your lips feel immediately moisturised.  I’ll admit that I am always a bit careless when it comes to applying lipstick and rarely remember to blot to improve the staying power.

 

This is another area where the lipstick shows its excellence as it stayed put and in place for some hours without smearing and still looked great.

 

 

Still there two hours later, not a smudge in sight!

I wouldn’t hesitate to purchase this lipstick again and on saying that, I am heading out for more colour options in my lunch hour!