A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

I’m updating this from my phone, the wordpress app is woefully lacking in both usability and functionality, so a quick textual update is the best I can manage.  We’ve moved in to the new place now and the carpets came up a treat with the Rug Doctor, so a big thank you to your lovely selves for saving me about £80 in carpet cleaning fees (that’s topped up my Boots fund!).  The neighbours are an odd bunch…. the ones below us are mega keen on Country and Western – I’m a bit of a closet fan myself, so was secretly pleased that they’d at least be playing stuff I’m happy to tap my feet along to…. until they had a full-on karaoke hoedown. FFS.

The other neighbour seems to have a bit of a voracious appetite, and we’re not talking KFC.  I’m just grateful that we have a one man in, one man out situation.

Other than that, we’re settling in pretty well – although it does look like someone’s walked through the door and vomited IKEA.  Gotta start somewhere no?

We’re due to get a phoneline connected on the 9th August, blog posts will be extremely few and far between until then but as soon as I’m a bit more settled, hopefully by the end of next week – I’ll be able to use my phone’s 3G connection to power my PC’s internet and I may well be able to get some updates done then – heaven knows I’m missing the crap out of blogging.

Much love, me x

If you’re here for a beauty review today, I’m afraid you’re gonna be a bit disappointed. As I write this, it’s 01:39am and I promised my husband that I wouldn’t be late to bed tonight. I didn’t even have my fingers crossed when I made that promise but still, time has once again, caught up with me.

Time is a particularly precious commodity at the moment and I can only see it getting more stretched over the next month or so. You see, at the ripe old age of 30 – I’ve finally flown the nest. As a family, we’ve very comfortably shared living space with my Mum and Dad for the last ten years. I know it’s a bit taboo and even a bit “weird”… but it’s a situation that has been more harmonious than most would imagine (sometimes!)

Yesterday we signed the tenancy agreement on a new flat and to say I’m bricking it, is an understatement. I wish I still had the bravado that doing this kind of thing when you’re young(er) supplies but alas, I’m just a big wimp if I’m honest.

top floor – if it ever stops raining, we might enjoy the balcony

 Now that the excitement of having a place to call our own has died down a little, I’m overwhelmed. There’s a lot to be done and the previous tenants have left the flat with filthy carpets, about a billion broken “little” things, and a slightly funny smell. Aside from the cupboards, the kitchen is completely empty and all the windows are naked. I had NO IDEA that curtain poles were so expensive!  We’re starting from scratch with nothing more than our clothes and computers to call our own (oh, and makeup – I have some of that too).  Hold me, I’m scared!

If you have any tips on reviving a plush-but-horribly-mistreated carpet, I’m all ears!  Is it worth getting it cleaned professionally?

I sound like a huge moaner. (I am). I’m not – I’m tremendously keen to live out my long-held fantasies of playing house but I’m not afraid to admit that I just have no idea where to start.

And so I apologise, because where there should have been a fantabulous post on beauty this afternoon – all I can really do is stare blankly at the IKEA homepage and wonder what the hell we’ve got ourselves into.

Thanks for listening, I needed that.  I promise to man-up ASAP.

I took delivery of my new hula hoop yesterday – it’s very pretty, which I’m sure isn’t supposed to be the thing that I’m most fixated upon when it comes to exercise equipment.  After getting my interest piqued in the idea of taking it up as an exercise (thanks Cami) I went and bought a Casall Rock Ring but it gave me hella bruising and a back-ache that wasn’t subsiding and after speaking to a hooping guru (yes, there is such a thing!) on Twitter – she advised me that those super-heavyweight things with their bumps and nobbles can actually cause damage to your kidneys, spine and skin – I’ve since put it back in the box just in case.

Instead, she linked me to an Etsy shop (temporarily closed) that offers hoops suited to dance and general exercise and so I went ahead and ordered this one, let’s call her Sally.

Photo courtesy of Innerspiral here (and by courtesy, I mean flagrantly stolen)

Here she is in my photo… I would have taken a piccie of her in full circular glory but I hadn’t picked up Leila’s toys as you may notice from the tornado of multi-coloured, blurry crap in the background.

I love Sally.  She’s very springy and comfortably solid without being heavy.  At 40″ diameter, she’s pretty hefty (much like her owner) and everyone ducks for cover/moves glasses off tables/runs for their lives when I pull her out from behind the sofa.  She’s so much fun – fifteen-minutes of exercise infront of MTV has never flown by so quickly!  I’m a bit of a n00b at finding my rhthym but for once, I can do something better than my husband who basically turns into Mr. Bean.

I found this video last night and I am in awe…

…but I have to say, I got brought back down to earth with a bump on my funny bone when I read mixitango’s comment:

I wish I were tall and thin. Hula hooping is 57320x more elegant when you look like that.

I just look like a potato with a belt.

… I’ve never depotted before.  Which is basically the beauty blogger equivalent of a whore admitting that she’s never actually done it before.  Not that I’m calling beauty bloggers whores.

Wait, where was I?

Well, it was Saturday night and I had about 20 minutes before I was supposed to be in bed, which obviously made it the ideal time to get out a bunch of eyeshadows, light a candle and kiss goodbye to a perfectly good cuticle pusher.

So the above Z-Palette is now made up of a mixture of depots and pressed pigments.  I didn’t sacrifice any of my expensive shadows in the making of this… the whole exercise is an attempt to make me use more of the shades that I’ve been neglecting.  There’s a right old hotch-potch in there – you may recognise some MUA, Art Deco, MAC, The Body Shop, Mary Quant, Maybelline, and NYX.  The ones with bumpy texture are my pressed pigments (mostly The She Space, Shiro Cosmetics and Victorian Disco).

All in all, it didn’t go too badly. I gouged a couple (and quickly re-pressed), dented the pans on more than a couple (what’s a few dinks between friends?) and shattered one (didn’t like it much anyway).  Am I game to do the same for my more cherished eyeshadows?  Am I naff.

Do you depot?  Always or just sometimes?

I came across this fun video on a late night YouTube session…

Low Octane. Really? REALLY? Get off my planet.

The only one that I can think of (from the top of my head) that I struggle with is Weleda.  Is it “vell-eeda”, “vell-ayda”, “well-eeda”, “well-ayda?”  FFS.

Which brand names do you struggle with?

This is your Tuesday morning confessional.  Confession All.

You’d be forgiven thinking that people with our level of beauty obsession might get it right, but we don’t.  Just because we know the rules, doesn’t mean that we don’t break them.  I’m feeling a little heavy-hearted this morning, let me lay bare my (grungy) beauty soul in the hopes of lifting a little weight off my shoulders.

1.  I store my brushes in pots, upside down.  These infact.  They’re perfect and lovely and hold all my brushes beautifully – so what’s the problem?  Dust.  You know, all that dead skin and tiny insect turds that float down onto my brush heads before I buff them into my pores every morning?  That.

2.  Flannel-washing.  Do I use a clean flannel every morning?  Errr… sometimes… not really, um no… maybe 3x a week (on a good week).

3.  Best Before… Unless the skincare actives are very, very active (vitamin C and the like), I can’t promise you that I don’t use skincare after its recommended expiry.  I always mean to write the date I opened it somewhere on the packaging to ensure I don’t go beyond… but you know, I have a fucking life.

4.  Skin-picking.  I am the queen crater-creator.  Find me the tiniest blemish and I’ll make a mountain out of a pimple in no time at all.

5.  Concealer?  Oh, I can’t quite reach you over there – never mind, let me add another 7 coats of foundation on this spot instead, I’m *sure* that will fix it.

In my (weak) defence, I do wash my makeup off every night before sleeping.  Without fail.  What used to be a chore turned into a habit and now I’m actually quite compulsive about it.  Not that it really matters though, seeing as I’m using a “dirty” flannel (oh the shame!)

Make me feel better!  Please share your beauty confessionals this morning!

You may have noticed that posts have been a little thin on the ground over the past week, I’m currently in the North East spending some time with the in-laws and my husband’s family.  We spent yesterday enjoying the charms of market town Richmond, in North Yorkshire.  We walked the cobbles until our blisters had blisters and climbed to the top of the castle keep for an impromptu “I’m the King of the castle” singalong.

You may already know that I’m an avid geocacher but the ‘treasure hunts’ from treasuretrails.org caught my eye and I downloaded one to try.  It was supposed to take 2 1/2 hours to complete, so I’m a little shame-faced to admit that yesterday was our SECOND day returning to the town to complete it!  In my defence, Leila walks at about 200 yards an hour.  It was a fantastic way to enjoy a new town, the clues weren’t too easy… at times we had to retrace our steps (not easy when you carrying a toddler up the steepest hill in the world) and there may have been plenty of shandy breaks to cool down from the blazing sun!

We’re back home next weekend and although I’m looking foraward to it, I’ll miss this daily galivanting!  Hope you’ve been able to enjoy the unseasonably wonderful weather?  Looks like it’s nearly done with us for another Summer (probably).

To my darling girl,

Before you were born, we were terrified of the changes that your presence would mean for our lives – not ready to grow-up ourselves, neither your Daddy nor I really wanted to share our hearts with another soul. We fretted that we’d lose the depth to our connection over time, as if adding another molecule to the formula might dilute its overall strength.

Which is why I need to tell you today that over the last three years, you have brought so much happiness and belly-laughter. You have inherited your father’s awful sense of direction, groan-worthy humour, and brilliant brain for problem-solving. From me, you’ve been fated with an inane desire to share your every thought and feeling. You are so wickedly funny, and you know it – a terrible tease with a penchant for giving me the side-eye just when you know I won’t be able to resist a smile.

That’s not to say you’re without fault my girl, for when tempers flare, you shake with rage, screw up your nose and stamp your right foot for all it’s worth. You whine like a dog when being taken away from your favourite activities and your incessant desire for independence tests my patience on a daily basis. But you have a wonderful capacity for reason, I would never have dreamt that such a small one could have the ability to be able to listen, contemplate and without fail, always do the right thing.

It’s impossible to put into words just how much I love you. A feeling that extends beyond my comprehension, a force that is both immeasurable and bottomless in its reach. When I spend an afternoon without you beside me, I get butterflies as I approach the front door, bounding through it like you’re the Mum and I’m the child. I tell you all that I’ve done that day, and you quietly listen before making me promise that next time, we’ll do it together.

Time moves so quickly, it’s a cliché that every mother tells me but a relentless reminder that one day, we won’t be the first people you think of upon waking. You won’t call out for me when you stir in the middle of the night and I won’t be able to instinctively lift you into my arms when something needs to be made better. Time has always been a cruel mistress, but for all the dreams and hopes I have for you, it’s the one that I pray for most of all. Every minute of every day. I… we, both Daddy and I, want nothing more than to share it with you.

Happy 3rd birthday Leila, you are so very loved.

I may have mentioned once or twice (or seven or eight times) that Leila was having her 3rd birthday party this weekend and barring a mild-meltdown the day before – it all went well, the meltdown being from me, not Leila by the way!  I couldn’t find a cake… who knew it was so bloody difficult to find a Thomas the Tank Engine cake that hadn’t been horrifically disfigured in some kind of supermarket shelf accident.  I phoned stores across the county and every single store, bar one (who didn’t pick up) told me that they had a cake… but that it was damaged.  Sort it out supermarkets.

Anyway, just before midnight on the eve of her party, I found a lovely train one in an Asda quite a few miles away, it wasn’t Thomas but it was carrying a cargo of jelly sweets!  I pretty much did the happy dance in the middle of the aisle!  Thank you to all the lovely tweeters who calmed my frayed nerves, gave me great suggestions on Thomas alternatives and brilliant recipes for train biscuits!

I’ve just compiled a video of some clips from her party and as I’m uploading to facebook for our far-away relatives, I thought I’d stick it on here too seeing as she considers many of you her internet Aunties anyway!

I’m knackered and have to do it all over again on the 16th (her actual birthday), we’re also heading into London together on Tuesday for some serious Hamleys/Rainforest Cafe/girly time!

Hope you’re all having a brilliant weekend and (if you’re in the UK), finally enjoying a little bit of sunshine!  A Happy Mother’s Day to my international ladies too!

About a billion years ago (ok, 4) a friend lent me a Canon A-1 35mm SLR and a 24mm lens.  My first taste of a film camera that pulled no punches when it came to working without technological stabilisers.  I loaded up a Neopan 1600 film (with some help from the internet) and took it off to London with me to shoot a couple of frames.  This was four years ago.  When I got back, I put the camera in a cupboard and to my shame, forgot about it.

My friend found himself getting back into film and about a month ago and I got a gentle nudge in the direction of “Oi, gimme my camera back”.  Remembering the film that was still in there, I headed out to Winchester and finished off the roll before sending it off for processing with my fingers crossed that the film hadn’t spoiled too much over time.  I got the pictures back yesterday and it seems so strange to look at those first photos of London that were taken long before Leila put in any kind of appearance…

London, Summer 2008.

Oh how things had changed by the time I’d browsed through to exposure #11 of a 36-frame film, taken 4 years later.

The exposures are all over the place and my focus is off on a few but now I want a film SLR to call my own and I want to learn how to develop my own, a project for the Summer perhaps!

I received an email after my post about geography and beauty to recommend a book which is basically all about… geography and beauty.  It’s called Passport to Beauty and is written by Shalini Vadhera.  It’s worth keeping in mind that Shalini sells her own products off the back of the “global beauty secrets” that she talks about in the book, but nevertheless, it’s a fairly interesting read that I’ve been dipping in and out of over the past few weeks.

It’s basically a light-hearted voyage around the world, combining beauty tips, DIY face-mask/hair mask recipes and a heap of anecdotes which got a little tiring after a while.  I will probably try some of the hair masks though, simply because I’m on a mission to keep my hair in good condition.  The best laid plans and all that…

Many of the “recipes” are simple enoguh to implement with commonly found ingredients and do give a (very small) amount of insight into the cultures that supposedly make use of them.  Don’t be expecting anything too deep from this book… it’s all about the fluff.

Passport to Beauty by Shalini Vadhera is available to buy online on Amazon, I bought mine second-hand on eBay for a couple of quid, it was worth that but not a whole lot more.

What’s your favourite DIY beauty recipe?

Three years ago today, I started blogging about beauty and although I’ve had some kind of blog since 2001, today marks the longest single stretch yet.  The medium has never been more mainstream or validated than it is today, something which makes me both delighted and horrified in equal measure.  I’ve tried from the very beginning to keep true to what I set out to do, which is absolutely nothing other than use this as a platform to be a bit of a gob-shite about something that interests me and captures my imagination.

Over the past three years I’ve forged some friendships of the like that I’ve never had before and have experienced things that were it not for the blog, I’d never have enjoyed.  I’ve given up my day job to write full-time, it’s scary and I’m very bad at putting myself forward for anything but it beats installing motherboards.

Just as it was three years ago, I’d have approximately nothing without you dodging your work/studies/childcare to have a nosy at what I’ve bought/sampled/discovered or (more recently) cooked!  You tell me in no uncertain terms when what I’m blogging is rubbish/brilliant and I still rub my hands together in maniacal glee when I’ve planted the seed of a lemming in your psyche.  Not so much when you do that to me though bitches, you think I don’t have enough shit?

Ultimately, I just want to say thank you for continuing to have faith in me and what I write, it means more than I can express.

Now, let’s all have some cake this lunchtime ok?  If anyone asks, I’ll shoulder this one.