Lessons Learned From Beauty Blogs

Reading beauty blogs encouraged me to start blogging.  Beauty blogs can be a useful source of information about new products and techniques, a form of escapism and amusement.

Here, in no particular order, are some of the good things I've learnt from beauty blogs:

• It's really important to take good care of your skin.  

• Wash your face in the morning to remove any leftover skincare and general grub.  Double cleanse at night.  The first cleanse removes makeup and sebum.  The second deep cleans.  

• Notice how your skin reacts to ingredients so you can avoid products with them in.  Alcohol can dry skin.  Silicone and mineral oil can blog pores and cause spots.  Be careful about introducing new products into your routine.  I usually do one at a time.  That way, if I react to something, I can quickly work out what it is.

• Exfoliating helps aid skin turnover, reduce sun damage, clear pores and soften skin.  Some people like scrubs and others like liquids.  Choose something that's not too harsh that won't upset your skin.  

• You need a serum that's packed with good stuff to care for your skin.  Applying it after cleansing and toning allows it to penetrate.  Following up with moisturiser locks it in so it works properly.  Serums don't have to be expensive to be good.  Superdrug Simply Pure Hydrating Serum costs £2.69 and leaves skin smooth and glowing.  

• Calling it a skincare routine or regime sounds dull and boring.  A ritual sounds more fun and like you're doing something nice for yourself  Which you are.  In the evenings, I double cleanse, tone, serum and night cream.  In the mornings, cleanse, tone, serum and day-cream / SPF.  

• Wear sunscreen.  Everyday.  Limit your exposure to the sun.  It's the main cause of ageing and causes rough texture, discolouration, wrinkles and dullness. 

• Don't be afraid to try something new.  A new brand, routine or shade.  But sometimes, if it isn't broke, don't try and fix it.  

• Choose the right products for your skin. That'll help your skin look it's best.  The right products might not be the ones that the beauty bloggers are pushing.  Don't believe the hype.  Test it first to see if it'll suit you.  Then check your bank balance.

• You don't need much makeup to look amazing.  

• There's always someone else with the same skin concern or problem.  

• Everyone knows it's important to wash makeup brushes regularly.  And still we all forget.  But cleaning your brushes avoids transferring bacteria from the bristles to your face.  Nice!  

• Everyone went through the stage of wearing too much of a particular product.  (Mine was blusher.  Opps!  Aunt Sally face!)

• You'll always be looking for the next "holy grail" product.  (I hate that term to be honest).  But, there is no such thing as a "must have" product.  If you can afford it, think you'll use it, then buy it.  But if you can't, then don't.  

• There is a shade of red lipstick for everyone.  You just to have to find it.  Or give up and stick with what you like. 

• Drink more water, get more sleep, eat more fruit and vegetables and exercise more.  I so know this.  And still I don't do enough of it.

• Liking beauty products and wanting to look your best does not mean you're vain, self-absorbed, have low esteem or are a bit thick.  Blogging about beauty products doesn't make you a unethical, marketing shrill.  

• Read widely.  Don't just read about new product launches or how to apply products.  Read about the ingredients and the science bit.  Knowledge is power.  It stops us being conned by clever marketing.  It teaches us how to care for our skin better.  It helps us identify products that will, won't and could work for us.  

What things have you learned from reading beauty blogs?  Or from blogs in general?  Let me know in the comments.

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Quick public service announcement:  As next week is a bank holiday, there will be less posts than usual as I'm having some me time that's not spent blogging!  w00t!

Making the Time Fly Past When You're Commuting

Time may fly past when you're the driver of a train, when you're riding on the footplate there and back again, but it doesn't when you're the passenger.

You need things to make the journey better or pass the time when the train or bus is late.  Here's what I use to make the commute better:

• Notepad.  For scribbling down reminders, notes on ideas, to do lists.  And then crossing them off when they're done. 

• Something to read.  Metro to catch up on news, plus a Kindle loaded with books.

• A phone.  To play games on.  Preferably ones that don't use up all the battery or wifi allowance. With a great playlist on as music makes a long commute seem shorter.  And access to social media to check Facebook, Instagram or ...

• The right kit.  Hat, gloves and a scarf when it's cold and a bottle of water for when it's hot. Plus, if you have small travelling companions, healthy snacks, a drink, something to read, something to do and a Tablet loaded with stuff to watch / listen to.  With headphones.  The rest of the carriage does not want to listen along too.

How do you while away the time whilst getting to work?  (No news by the way.  The process trundles on and I am job hunting).

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From House to Home

When we moved into the Manse, it took a while to make it feel like home.  Moving stuff in isn't enough to make somewhere feel homely.  It's living somewhere and getting to know a place's quirks. 

Arranging

We moved the furniture around a few times until we got things exactly how we liked them and it felt like ours. It's tempting to arrange the furniture in exactly the same way as the previous owners. (Although when you move into a Manse, you often don't meet the previous owners or see how they had their furniture.  The house just is).  Finding a place for everything, and everything in its place also helped us feel at home.

Finishing Touches

Candles, reed diffusers and room sprays so it smells nice.  Flowers to bring nature in.  (Some people do this with plants.  As I kill plants, I leave them well alone.  Because I rather like them).  Books, prints and photos.  Nice bedding.

Living

After we'd lived in the Manse for a few weeks, we got used to it and developed a routine.  The times of the buses, divided up the chores etc.  Plus all the little things that we don't even think about - making the bed, doing the washing up, keeping the place neat and tidy.  All these things help make a house feel like a home to come to at the end of the day.  

Going Away

Going away for a few days made us appreciate our new home.  Our things!  Our bed!  Our very own bed!

Making Memories

Friends and family in the house and the garden. Barbecues, meals, coffee and cake.  High days and holidays.  One night, Rev T and I went out and we got a friend to babysit the Tubblet.  She bought her dog to keep her company.  After a few hours, our house was part of the dog's territory.  When we came back, he started barking and growling at us.  Like a good dog, he was defending his space and his mistress.  Still makes us laugh.

What other things make a house feel like a home?

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Everyday Me. My Personal Style

Over the past few years, I've worked on defining "my personal style".  (I can't believe I just typed this with a straight face.  Seriously.  I.Can't.Even).  As I've got older, some of the things that used to work for me don't work as well any more.  Black just looks wrong.  Sadly.  I also realised that I was trying to copy so many different looks, not everything in my wardrobe went with everything else.  And a lot of it didn't work for the life I had.

I looked at lots of pictures of other people and myself to identify things I liked, that I felt comfortable in and made me look nice. Then I tidied my wardrobe and took unwanted clothes to the charity shop. After that, I decided to try the five piece wardrobe to keep everything in order.    

Here are the everyday things that I tend wear all the time:

• Jeans.  Flares and slim fit for winter.  Cropped for summer.

• Longer tops.  To skim over the wobbly bits.

• Cardigans.  For layering.

• Docs, fur-lined and long boots for winter.  Converse and Birkienstocks for summer.

• Dresses.

• A decent bag.

What do you wear everyday?

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Spring Has Sprung ...

... the grass is risen and the birdies have started appearing.  I'm not sure how it's spring again so quickly, but here we are.  The days are getting longer.  Which is great as I no longer come home in the dark.  Although it's still cold, the sun has started appearing and it's great to get outside and get some breathing space.  

It's time to think about how I'm getting on with those goals.  Some may not be so relevant now, whilst others are even more so.  It's also time to 'fess up that there probably hasn't been as much progress on some of them as I'd like. (Post to follow?  Of course!)

As it's spring, I could start thinking about doing some spring cleaning.  Cleaning out cupboards is really cathartic and stops my mind from wandering.  Clean, tidy surroundings make such a difference to how you feel.  (Post on that?  Of course!  Planning my content whilst blogging.  Oh yes!0

The other thing I could think about is what I want from the next few months.  Do I want to be busy or do I want to take things more slowly and be a bit leisurely.  

What do you plan to do this spring?

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The Double Cleanse. Beauty Things I Do Every Day.

Reading beauty blogs convinced me a double cleanse in the evenings is a good idea.  (Or the triple cleanse if you're being picky).  I live near London.  Whilst pea-souper fogs are long gone, the air isn't exactly fresh and clean.  A few days of not washing my face properly leaves me looking grey around the gills.  Not good.

I start with a micellar water to get most of the makeup off, followed by an oil or a balm to remove the rest massaged all over the face in an upwards direction in the hope face takes the hint.  I wash the oil off with a wet flannel.  I finish with something that lathers and water.  All clean!

This helps the moisturisers and serums do their job properly.  Otherwise I'm applying everything to a grubby face.  Which seems daft.  The whole process takes a few minutes and is way more pampering than a wipe.  

In the morning, I just use the one that lathers.  I know some people don't wash their face in the morning, but I don't understand why.

These are the products I use, but others are available.  If you don't want to buy two products, then don't buy the oil / balm.  Just wash your face twice.

Rose Miracle Makeover Facial Oil - Super Facialist

Packed with lots of good skin stuff.  Lovely rose smell.  Great for skin massage.  Add water it washes away.  Costs £10.99.  

Calming Creamy Cleanser - Super Facialist

With Shea and Cocoa butters plus Pro Vitamin B5 and other good things to remove anything the other two cleansers missed without drying skin.  Smells like the rose garden no one was ever promised. Costs £7.99.

What cleansers do you like?  Let me know in the comments.

[Disclosure:  All products purchased by me.  Links not affiliate] 

One Man. More Lego

As you seemed to enjoy my tour of Rev T's Lego collection, I thought I'd share some more items:

Are you a fellow Lego widow?  Let me know in the comments.  (Some of the photos were changed due to blogger error so these may be newer models)

Coffee. I love Coffee ... #WithOxfam

Littered around this blog are numerous pictures of coffee.  With or without cake.  I'm slightly amazed that I have never written a post about how much I love the stuff.  It's the go-go juice that helps me function.   

Like this. You can buy the t-shirt!

I love coffee because ...

• It wakes me up and helps me keep going throughout the day.

• Making a cup of coffee is a little piece of me time.  Whilst waiting for the kettle to boil and the coffee to fester, I can have a little time out from whatever else is going on.

• Whatever the occasion, it can be combined with coffee.  To celebrate.  To commiserate.  Just because.

• Hot coffee when it's cold.  Iced coffee when it's warm.  You can add flavours to it as well.  Vanilla latte?!  Yum!

• It's something to do.  Particularly when bored.

• It's great to share a coffee and a chin-wag with someone.  With or without cake.

• Coffee is photogenic.  It just looks so pretty.  

• Freshly brewed coffee smells wonderful.  

Unless it's after 4pm.  In which case, I'll have a tea.  I need the sleep and coffee too late in the day keeps me awake. 

My love of coffee is one of the reasons I'm supporting Oxfam's Bloggers Against Poverty Campaign.

Oxfam is working in Honduras where coffee rust, a crop-destroying fungus, is spreading faster and further due to climate change.  Destroyed coffee plants means less coffee beans to pick. Less coffee beans to pick means less work for the coffee farmers and their workers. Less work means less money for essentials like food for the farmers, the workers and their families.

Oxfam is helping people affected replant and maintain their new coffee crops using sustainable, farming methods.  Better for the environment, the community and helping keep farmers farming and their families fed.

If you would like to support this work, please donate.  

Thank you.  

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[Disclosure:  This post was written by me, in collaboration with Oxfam.  I also donated a week's coffee money].  

Treating Yourself Right For Not Much Money

Treating yourself can be expensive.  Expensive isn't an option if you're trying to save or money is tight as I am right now.  Today I wanted to share a few ways to treat yourself without spending much (any) cash:

• A hot bath.

• A good book.  Either an old friend or a new one.

• Fresh bedding.

• Watch your favourite TV show or film.  Wrapped in a blanket.

• Pamper yourself - face mask, manicure and pedicure.

• Play a board game.

• A nice cup of tea or coffee.

• Add a packet of your favourite sweets to your weekly food shop.

• Chin-wag with a good friend.

• Fresh flowers.  Carnations last for ages and are often on offer.

What are your favourite ways to treat yourself without spending little or any money?

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