It All Ends In Tears

Yesterday, I went into Boots to do a bit of shopping. I think it was the first time in years that I went shopping not because I really needed something, or to get something specific. I went just for fun and bought a few little things, which I will go though in a blog soon.

I came home and painted my nails with Collection 2000 Praline Whirl. In short, the nail polish did not last the day; probably because of the work I do. Nonetheless, it chipped and flaked and I took it off as soon as I got  home, but that is not what this post is about.

This morning, I decided to wear makeup for a change. It all went rather well, but then... disaster!

Okay I'm exaggerating, hugely.

The problem is, basically, that when I put on eye makeup, my eyes water, and continue to leak like a tap for an inappropriately long time (about an hour or so) . I'm convinced that it must be the eyeliner I am using (Revlon ColorStay liquid liner). My eyes also tend to go quite red while this is going on, so I look like I'm crying and I just dab my eyes with a tissue so my makeup does not get destroyed. It's very annoying. It's also quite uncomfortable since the skin around the outside of my eyes starts to sting until it all settles down and I can get on with my life.

I did not put any eyeliner on my water line; it was just an ever-so-thin line on the lash line. Also, the liner was bought in the last few months so it's relatively new.

Am I allergic to this product?

I really hope not because I'm really rather attached to Revlon liners, and have been using them for years (on the rare occasion I have worn makeup, it has always included either pencil or liquid liner by Revlon).

I want to solve this problem, and not by avoiding eyeliner all together, although that my be a good solution in the interim.

Do let me know what you think in the comments below, and please suggest a viable alternative that won't cost me too much.

The Pimple Dilema

Yesterday morning, after being reasonably good with my new face routine, I woke up with a rather severe looking pimple on the side of my nose.

At my age, I thought my days of pimples were over. During my adolescence, I didn't really suffer from acne or pimples all that much. I had the occasional mild breakout in the T-zone but nothing more. I believe that this is part of the reason I did not delve into the world of beauty and skincare before now.

Recently, I sprouted a lovely little pimple at the edge of my lip, which I attributed to the use of Pound Store and Lidl brand products on my skin. I stopped using them as soon as I saw the pimple. The whole point of this new regime was to improve the quality of my skin; not to destroy it.

My little visitor

As you know from a previous post, I am currently using Boots Botanics products and I really like them. They feel really good on my skin and I even kind of like the smell, which is odd because it's not a pretty smell. I am loath to discontinue using these products so I want to know if the product could be causing the problem or if it's something else.

Does anyone out there know the answer to this burning question?

And another thing: what do I do about this pimple, other than hide it or wait it out?

Bondage Chicken

Last night, My husband (let's call him Mr C.), and I made a delicious, healthy dinner. We call it "Bondage Chicken".

The reason for the moniker is simply that once on its stand, we tie the chicken up with string so it doesn't move or fall over.

Bondage Chicken

To make the chicken, we rub it with oil and cover the chicken with a secret blend of 10 herbs and spices, put it on a stand and tie it up. We cook it in the oven at 200 degrees Celsius for an hour and a half.

When we serve the chicken, we take the skin off because we're trying to be healthy, but it's a hard sacrifice to make since it tastes so good!

With said chicken, we also had some modified roast potatoes and salad.

The roast potatoes aren't really roasted. We bang the potatoes, with peels, in the microwave for ten minutes to soften them, cut them in half (long-ways) and baste them with a drop of olive oil. We add some dried rosemary and put them in the oven for 15 minutes and under the grill for a further 10 minutes to get the tops nice and crispy.

The salad dressing was olive oil, balsamic vinegar and lemon juice, with a touch of salt and pepper.

Healthy and delicious!

Now, doesn't that look too yummy?

The Unsmiling Picture

Yesterday, I decided to take a photo of myself. It was an honest portrayal of what I look like right now - no makeup, no smile, no flattering camera angles; a before picture if you will.

I posted this picture in the blog, on Google+ and on Facebook. The main responses were to ask why I was not smiling.

The simple answer is: you'll see. There is a plan. There will be more pictures, some with makeup, some with smiles, but no interesting camera angles. I am not gifted in the photography department and and just grateful the picture was in focus in the first place.

So here is picture number 1:





Last night, I did the following to my skin:

I used the Clinique 7 Day Scrub Cream Rinse-Off Formula.

Then I used the Salon Creative Green Tea and Jasmine Oriental Clay Mask.

After rinsing that off with hot water and a face cloth, I cleansed my face with the Tesco Cucumber range of facewash, cleanser and toner.




To moisturise, I used the Boots Botanics Radiant Youth Serum and night cream.

I woke up this morning with my skin feeling soft and smooth.

Today, I didn't do the whole cleansing routine. I just used a cleansing wipe, some toner, then applied the Boots Botanics Serum, followed by the day cream.

I know it's not perfect, but it's a start.

Please let me know what your thoughts are, what products you would recommend for dehydrated, combination dry to normal skin (with some occasional oiliness around the T-zone). Don't forget to tell me how often I should use them and how to achieve the best results. Just assume I was born yesterday and don't know anything.

Anyway, here's how I look now. Do you see a difference?

Addicted to YouTube

As I mentioned in my last post, I am 35 years old and am a beauty noob. So a few weeks ago, I decided to go on this taking care of myself kick and discovered I know none of the things I should at my age.

My solution - YouTube.

It has a wealth of information, objective reviews and helpful tutorials on everything from skincare routines to nail polish, fashion and, well pretty much you name it, you can find it on YouTube. I have tried this before, but I never really got that into it so it didn't last. Now I have started watching not only beauty channels, but spending an inordinate amount of time watching the widest array or random vlogs and videos online. Does this make me stranger than I was before or am I just a late bloomer catching up to the rest of the world?

Either way, It has resulted in the inevitable temptation to post on YouTube myself, but as I have very little of substance to say and ranting is not a particularly uplifting outlet, I think I may resist.

Also, I "screen tested" myself on my tablet and I really don't record well. I look flabby and my skin looks oh-so-shockingly bad. It was a cringe-worthy experience... but gave me an idea ... so we'll see if I do anything about it, but I digress, which I am prone to doing. So back on point:

I have been watching several beauty and makeup channels and they have been quite helpful. I should be taking notes because there is so much to take in, especially with the bigger haul videos where a lot is being said. It kind of also makes you want to go out and buy stuff, so that's not good; although considering my meagre collection of stuff, maybe not so bad either.

I think that at this point it would be appropriate to link to the channels I subscribe to and have found useful and interesting so far, so here goes:

Fleur De Force - I just love her style!

Essie-Button - Quirky, funny and just my kinda girl!






I have started visiting channels recommended by them, so the list will grow soon and I will update accordingly.

Anyway, that's my story for today.

Beauty Noob

Okay, so I'm still trying to figure out what to write about in this blog. 

It's a little bit weird because I don't generally have a shortage of things to say, and I literally have an opinion on everything; it's not always right, but it is always there. 

Right now, I'm going through a bit of a girly kick. Well, it's more like a state of mild panic about my nails and my skin. You see, I have never been a girly girl and I haven't really worried about or taken much notice of that kind of thing. 

To give you an example: I own 1 pair of boots, 1 pair of trainers, 1 pair of ugg style boots I wear as slippers when its cold, 1 pair of flip flops, 1 pair of open toed sandally wedge type shoes and that's pretty much it. I am so not girly, I don't even know the proper name for the types of shoes I own. 

I don't know many cosmetic or clothing brands, I seldom wear makeup and never do anything with my hair.

Having said that, I recently realized that if I don't start taking care of my skin I am going to regret it. I have started to wrinkle and my skin has gotten really super-dry from the weather changes and the grunginess of London. 

At the same time, I decided that I wanted to grow my nails a bit, improve the horrible condition of my cuticles and stop biting and chewing both. I have started filing and painting my nails and moisturising my hands to solve that problem. It's not easy, but it's working - all I need now is a better understanding of the nail care and polish brands and which ones apply easily, dry fast and don't come off. It's like being 12 when you're 35. A beauty Noob at my age!

To take care of the skin on my face, I started out by buying cleansing stuff from Tesco - its the Tesco cucumber brand stuff which is very gentle but works well. I also bought moisturisers from the pound store and from Lidl to try. I wasn't overly impressed.

I have a normal to dry skin with some t-zone oiliness at times, but very few breakouts - even as a teen, only got a few in the t-zone area. After a few days of using the Lidl brand cream, I got a pimple. I don't know, maybe it was a coincidence, but I decided I would stop using them.

I went into Boots and bought some products from the Boots Botanics Radiant Youth range to try. I bought the serum, day cream and night cream, so far so good but we'll see how we go.

Hopefully I will remember to use the stuff and take better care of my aesthetic health.

Wish me luck!