Becoming a Beautician for a Day

Did you know that today is National Beautician Day? I wasn't aware that there was such a day until the lovely people at Gel-A-Peel got in touch to see if my children would like to help them celebrate the day by giving them a chance to become mini beauticians themselves.

Now my girls are typically girlie. They love doing their hair and make up and the latest obsession is buying the fake stick on nails from Primark. So when the Gel-A-Peel sent us one of their Nail-A-Peel kits along with a few extra goodies they were more than ready to get beautifying.

Changing the Face of Confidence

Over the years I've come to realise that beauty really is in the eye of the beholder. As a teenager I began to wear make up, not because I felt I needed it but because it was all my friends were doing but by the time I reached my twenties I became reliant on it, hiding behind it. I lost confidence in my own face. 

Now that I've reached my thirties I've done a u-turn and have begun to gain a bit of my confidence back. Most mornings I don't have time to brush my hair let alone put on a full face of make up, the most you will see me wearing is a bit of mascara and eye liner. 

The bags under my eyes are on full show, showing the tiredness that parenting brings. Persistent spots are there for everyone to see, I'm no longer embarrassed by them because lets be honest they are out of my control and I'm not the only one to have them either. These marks and colours on my face don't define who I am do they?

Having four daughters I want to be able to show them that make up isn't a necessary part of life. By all means wear it but don't hide behind it. There will always be people out there who will want to criticise you but that's normally because they are reflecting their own securities on to you. 

We shouldn't be afraid to be our natural selves and lets be honest, how much time will you be saving if you don't have to put all that 'face paint' on every morning, I know I'd prefer a few extra minutes in bed these days.

My Daily Skincare Routine

My daily skincare routine is one that has been found after a lot of trial and error. I'm a person with very sensitive skin. I'm allergic to quite a few products and from a young age I suffered from outbreaks of eczema and psoriasis. Even when I began to grow out of the eczema, I was left with patches around my nose, this always led to people asking if I had a cold. I seemed to get away with not having spots (a saving grace in my teenage years), but that wasn't to last as when I came off the pill after the husband had a vasectomy, I was left prone to horrible outbreaks on my chin. 

I said at the beginning that my skin is very sensitive and it has left me with a lot of confidence issues, especially when my lovely children point out just how many spots I have on my face on any given day. The problem is is that being sensitive makes it quite difficult to find products that won't lead to adverse reactions like dry or itchy skin and although I don't have the clearest of skin I thought sharing what I use/what I do might help others who have similar issues.

My November Favourites

December is nearly here, are you ready for the Christmas countdown. Well before all of the festive excitement why not take a looking at my list of favourites for November. As always there is a nice mix of food and drink amongst other items for you to have a nosey at.

Popworks Popcorn

Popcorn is one of my favourite snacks at is a low calories alternative to the crisps I always find myself munching on and these are my new favourites. My girls are a big fan of the apple pie flavour but as a peanut butter addict I could not resist these!

My September Favourites

Oh dear god, how are we already at the end of September, thoughts of back to school seem like a life time a go and now I'm ready to talk to you about my favourite products from this month, as always there is a goo mixture from food to beauty products....

My July Favourites

We're reaching the end of another month which of course means I need to tell you about some of my favourites that I've been loving in July. This month seems to have rushed by so I don't have so many things to share with you but share with you I will :

Clif Bars

You may remember a couple of months ago I was telling you all about PhD flapjacks that I had taken to snacking on. Well this month they've been shoved to the back of the cupboard in favour of these scrummy little bars. Packed full of protein and just the right amount of carbs they are the perfect post workout snack, I've become a tad addicted to the peanut butter ones. And they are also a fab size to have in your bag when out and about. I may have eaten all my supply before I could take a photo oops.

My June Favourites

That's it, we're pretty much half way through the year now and of course nearing the end of another month means that it is time for another round up of all my favourite products so lets see what June had to offer.

My May Favourites

I can't believe that we are coming to the end of another month. But of course that means another round up of all the things that I have been loving, so her are my May favourites just for you.

My Top 5 Hair and Beauty Essentials

Ok I am in no way a beauty expert. I'm lucky to get put of the door in the mornings looking half presentable since becoming a mum but I do have some hair and beauty products that help me to look in some way decent so I thought I'd share my top five with you today.

Applying Make Up When You Have Eczema

I've suffered with eczema almost all of my life. When I was around 10 it was at it's worst, it covered a lot of my body and the whole of my face. It was itchy beyond belief and there were times that I would scratch so much that I'd make myself bleed.

Various creams etc were tried, we even resorted to steroid creams for my face which is frowned upon but eventually through trial and error it was made to calm down but the eczema never disappeared completely.

As I got older I felt an ever growing need to cover it up. I'm sure you know how teenagers can be, some of their comments were nothing less than cruel and it left me feeling very upset, with very little confidence in myself. This is when I started to wear make up.

Trouble is my mum never really wore it and having brothers I had noone to advice me on how best to apply it.

Nail Art Book Review

My girls have reached the stage in life where they are becoming more concerned with their appearance and this includes experimenting with both make up and nail varnishes. My eldest two have a bag filled with my old make up to have a play with, seems to be an extension to their dressing up play. We were recently sent a Nail Art book from Priddy Books which gave them even more of an excuse to get creative.

Healthy and Beauty Round Up

I've been sent quite a few small samples recently which all fall into the health and beauty catergory so I thought I'd share with you my top 3 favourites.

Ginerva Green Tea Nude Cove BB Cream

Now I've been having a lot of trouble with my skin recently, a mixture of being run down and eczema/spot break outs has meant that my face certainly hasn't been looking it's best. This BB cream seemed to offer it all : coverage for all skin tones, all day hydration, SPF30 protection from UV rays and reduced formation of wrinkles and fine lines. Almost sounded too good to be true however this has now become a staple in my make up bag.