Body Image

This might be a bit of a ramble post, I am not sure yet but I wanted to talk about body image and confidence. 

I have always, since I can remember, had some sort of problem with my body. I think it is just human to look at yourself and see a certain aspect and wish it was different. For me, being over weight has never been an issue as I have such a ridiculous metabolism, but that isn't necessarily a good thing.  I am constantly getting remarks about my weight and needing to "eat more" and "get some meat on my bones". Now if you know me in real life (Not saying this isn't real life, but I mean you can't honestly know someone completely over the internet, can you?) or follow me on Twitter (If not, come follow me here) you will know that I eat, a lot. Fatty, "bad for you" foods and i am forever trying to put on weight. Being slim isn't as fun as it may seem. It is just something that I have slowly had to just deal with and now, I just ignore the comments. I am slim, so what? I KNOW I eat well. I know I am not starving myself or worrying about what I eat, so why should it bother me?

Another, is certain physically features that I am not too fond off. My nose, which I inherited off my father, I feel sticks out and is too pointy. My breasts, that are smaller than the average. My horrific teeth that led met to having a head brace as a child, four teeth removed as well as the usual braces. Not to mention the horrible varicose veins have on my legs. All of these things put together as well as other niggles, such as unwanted hair on my arms, make for a very insecure lady.

There are times when I have considered actually taking actions on my self hates. Such as Laser Hair Removal like Sk:n offers. Or plastic surgery. But then I think about it and try to remember that this is how I am. I was meant to look like this. I am lucky to have a healthy working body and I should just appreciate that. Like the image says above " Your body is the greatest instrument you will ever own". Why change it? A lot of my friends would argue here and mention my tattoos and piercings ( that I once had ) but I disagree. For me, my tattoos are for me, and are like putting pieces of art on to my body. Almost like permanent make up. My tattoos are not a way to cover up things I don't like, they are there for me and just another way of expressing myself. They don't harm anyone, nor do they interfere with my work. So although tattoos can be classed as a body alternation, for me they are not a thing that I had done to make me feel better about myself. 

My body doesn't define who I am, neither should yours. It really is who you are on the inside that counts and what keeps people around you. You could be the most attractive human on the planet, but if you were stupid, no sense of humour, a bitch and no personality, no one would want to be around you.

No matter your size, your shape, the way you nose looks or the way your little toe is nearly non existent ( Yeah, that's me) you should love your body and be happy in it. I know it has been said a million and one times but you are truly beautiful, we all are. 

And with that, I want to say that I honestly well and truly love you all.

Thank you all so much for that extra bit of confidence you have all given me since I have started my little blog. 

The links to the pages I got the images from are available by clicking on the photo. Thanks to the websites!

This is a sponsored post.

January Beauty Haul 2013

It's that time of the month where I reflect on what beauty purchases I have made. 

This month I feel I didn't do too bad with spending lots of money on make up, but that was because I had other things that I needed to buy. Like my photography lights, which ended up costing me an arm and a leg. But anyway, here are the products I bought during January 2013. All of these products I will review and swatch properly once I have used them a significant amount. 

Lots of blacks and pinks. 

1. Ojon Dry Recovery Hydrating Shampoo and Conditioner. 

I bought this two hair products in Boots for £6 each. I have been suffering really badly this winter with dry hair and have been in a desperate search for something that will help add that moisture back in and make my hair feel soft again. I have heard lots of good reviews about Ojon so decided to purchase their Conditioner and Shampoo but in their small 60ml bottles to test them out first. They smell amazing. 

2. BellaPierre Cosmetics Eye Shadow in Oasis Dew

I had never heard of this company before being called over by one of their very enthusiastic sales assistants in House of Fraser. He gave me a mini make over, removed all my make up and showed me their primer, foundation and some powders, but I wasn't willing to spend £40 on each of these products.  Whilst I was sitting down and being pampered I noticed all of their eye shadows. Oh my. The Glitter-lover inside of me went crazy. They had so many lovely colours to choose from, all very pigmented. 

I chose this colour, Oasis Dew, which you might turn around and say, "But Sarah, this looks exactly like the Nars Eyeshadow you reviewed last week! Are you mad?!" Yes. Yes I am mad. The difference with this colour compared to Nars Night Star is that this is a lot more pigmented and has no glitter in it. I will do a swatch comparison when I come round to fully reviewing this little gem. 

BellaPierre's eye shadows cost £12

3.  MUA Lipstick in Shade 3

I've never purcahsed any of MUA's lipsticks before. This is my first. I am a little skeptical, given that this only cost me a £1. But from what I have used of it so far, I am pretty amazed. 

This is a lovely pink shimmer lipstick and I am really looking forward to trying this out properly, if I love it, then I think I will definitely get the other colours. Can't say no seeing as they are so cheap. 

Ooh. Pretty. 

4. Revlon's Balm Stain in Cherish Devotion 

I am not really a fan of Lip Stains. But, this one caught me eye and have seen a few floating around the blogging world and they seemed to get a lot of praise. I tried one of the testers in this colour and then walked off to look somewhere else. It wasn't until I caught myself in the mirror that I literally said "wow" and then went straight back and picked one up for myself. 

I literally couldn't wait to get this photographed so that I could start using it. 

Looking forward to doing some lip swatches and a decent review for this product soon. 

5. Nars Blush in Angelika

I am a huge fan of Nars, as you may know. Their packaging is simple and sophisticated, their products are beautiful and well pigmented. The only thing that stands in the way of me owning everything is their prices. But once in a while I look past that and treat myself. 

This month my treat was Angelika. I had been after a shimmery baby pink blusher for a while and couldn't find one that just grabbed me. But, then I came across this little beauty. 

It is a beautiful pale pink with lots of glitter speckles in it, so if you're not a sparkle fan then this probably wouldn't be for you. I am really looking forward to using this and seeing how it goes with my various make up looks that I love to try. 

6. Sleek's Blush in Pixie Pink

I adore Sleek. For me, they are my cheap version of Nars. Their packaging is smart and simple. For me, their products are more than worth the very little money you have to pay for them. 

After purchasing Nars Angelika I felt I needed a pink that didn't have any glitter in it and was just a solid colour. I had a look through all of the regular brands that I usually try, like Rimmel, Revlon, Bourjois etc, but none of them seemed to stand out like Sleek's. For £4.99 you really can't go wrong. 

7. Revlon's Kiss Me Coral Lipstick

You may have seen me post about this lipstick in my Top 5 Lipsticks post here.

So you may be wondering how on earth can I have a lipstick for such a short amount of time and then it be already in my top 5? To be honest, I have never really been a fan of the orange toned red lipsticks. I just didn't feel like they suited my complexion and was almost too nervous to wear one. 

Then I came across this and I just instantly fell in love. It's just the right amount of orange for me to not freak out but enough to gradually introduce me to the colour. It applies so well and feel great on my lips. 

8. Revlon's Colourburst in Fushia 

Whilst looking around the Revlon stand I couldn't seem to get away from the lipsticks, so ended up with a second Revlon purchase. This time in a lovely deep pink colour. I love the packaging of this lipstick. I go on about packaging too much I know but I think if the packaging looks good, it's going to attract an audience. (Plus I am a Design Technology Teacher, so I can't help but be a bit over analytical when it comes to packaging design)

You can see I have used this once already but looking forward to using it more and giving you a more in depth review. 

9. Kate Moss Lipstick by Rimmel in Shade 16.

Last lipstick I promise. You all know how much I adore the Kate Moss lipsticks and I am slowly trying to get them all. I did a review of the first three I bought in this post.

This time it's shade 16. A cute slightly coral toned pink. Again, much like my other products I am looking forward to getting some use out of this and reviewing it. I am hoping this is as hydrating as the other shades I own. 

10. MUA's 3 in 1 Extreme Contour Liner in Fresh Mint (Shade 3) 

It has been so so long since I have owned a coloured liner. I used to own loads and use them basically every day when I was in College & University. Then for some reason I just stopped and was drawn to just using a basic black liner. 

But then I spotted this in the MUA stand and thought I would give it a go and see if it re-kindles my love for coloured liners. The thing that I loved about this particular liner is the shape of it. Looking forward to experimenting with different looks, with thick lines and thin ones. 

Such a lovely shade of green. 

11. BarryM's Foundation Brush

I have been after a new foundation brush for a while now after my Eco Tools one started to go a little strange. I wasn't willing to spend too much on a Mac or Chanel one as I tend to find that I replace my foundation brushes far too often compared to my others. 

I wasn't even aware that Barry M did make up brushes until I spotted this in Superdrug for £9.99. I like the look of it, the purple is lovely. The brush feels nice and soft so I am interested to use this and see whether Barry M can do decent make up brushes as well as make up. 

12. Collection 2000's Luscious Lashes in Natural Length. 

There isn't anything too interesting about this purchase, I bought this for the Zodiac Inspired make up tag that I started to take part in this Month as Aquarius is this month and needed some new lashes for it. Because I am not a fan of wearing false lashes on a day to day basis I tend to get the cheap ones for make up looks and these are perfect for that. 

13. Andrea Fulerton Nail Tattoos

I have never used anything like these before. The thing that caught my eye was, not only were they half price (£1), but also they were keys and locks. I have a huge obsession with keys and locks. To the extent of I have two tattoos of keys. 

I like the idea of these and being able to do some nail art a little quicker than having to draw my design on. I will take some photos when I use these and let you know what I think.

14. Collection 2000's Extreme 24 Hour Felt Tip Liner

I am a big fan of Collection 2000's eyeliners. I have been using these for years and have even tried using other brands but none can seem to compare. They glide on well, don't dry out and last me ages compared to bigger brands that seem to do the opposite. When it says it lasts 24, I swear you could leave this on all week and it wouldn't budge. Not that you would want to mind you. 

I think this only cost me £2.50 and this will now last me for a good few months of everyday wear so I highly recommend this product if you love wearing eyeliner. 

15. John Lewis' Sapphire Coated Nail File

Probably the most boring out of all of my purchases, a nail file. I was getting a little bit bored of my normal emery boards that I had been using for a while and spotted this in John Lewis and instantly remembered this being the nail file that my mum always used and I think still does. I haven't used this yet but I am hoping it doesn't destroy my nails like the emery board seems to. 

What purchases have you made this month? 

Saturday Top 5: Top Coat Glitter Nail Polishes

This week's Top 5 is full of Glitter Polishes. These are polishes that aren't really meant to be used by themselves but more of a top coat over a solid colour. As you may or may not know, I love glitter. I am like a Magpie when it comes to Glitter, so I own quite a few polishes that are Glitter based. 

So which ones did I choose? 

5. Nothin' Mousie Bout It by OPI

I bought this just before Christmas in the Debenhams where my Mum lives. I didn't even go in there with the intention to buy a polish at all. But, as soon as I saw it I couldn't resist. To begin with it is the most gorgeous pale pink colour. Then, to make it even better, it doesn't only have very fine speckles of glitter it also has pink pearl hearts. Admittedly they are a pain to get out and onto your nails but it just looks divine doesn't it? This is from the Minnie Mouse OPI collection. 

4. Snowflakes by Models Own

Another polish that I just couldn't resist. I think the name fit's this polish perfectly because when you paint your nails thats exactly how it looks. This goes great over any coloured polish and helps make your nails stand out for miles (Okay, maybe not miles, but quite a distance anyway). My only problem with this polish is because of the way the flakes are, it does make your nail feel weird, but a clear top coat sorts that out. 

3. Disco Heaven by Models Own

Can you tell I like Models Own? This one is a favourite of mine because it doesn't just have gold glitter, it has gold and iridescent speckles. This was the polish that pretty much didn't leave my nails all Christmas and goes so well over a nice green polish. 

2. Confetti by Ciate

I reviewed this polish a little while ago as it was one of my Christmas presents so I haven't had this long but oh my, I love this polish so much. When using this polish I prefer using this by it's self and building up the layers as it creates almost a holographic effect. Another polish that is just beautiful to look at. 

1. JunkYard by TopShop's Louise Gray

This is my number one. Not sure on the name, because when I think of a junk yard I don't think of blue and sparkles. I would of named this something to do with the ocean or water because the bigger blue glitter pieces reflect in a gorgeous green. This polish, as shown below I feel, goes amazingly well over a red nail polish. The contrast brings out both of the colours perfectly. And who can not like the bottle? 

All the polishes, in two coats, by themselves. 

What Top 5 would you like to see next week? 

How I keep my hands and nails healthy- Vaseline Healthy Hand and Nail Cream

I get terribly dry hands in the winter and they are very prone to flaking and even cracking in some cases. This is bad news for my nails as it makes them split and break as well. So, this year I have been using Vaseline's Healthy Hand and Nail Conditioning Cream and I have had no problems what so ever. 

It comes in this lovely pink squeezable bottle that fits perfectly into your bag. With both keratin and Vitamin E, this cream leaves your hands and nails feeling amazingly soft and as a little bonus, smelling amazing too. If you get the chance, do try and go into your local stockist and just smell the product inside. It reminds me of sweet cupcakes. Yum. 

The cream is very soft and light, not oily at all. When using this product I first dab a small amount on to each nail and then rub into make sure my nails have been covered properly. Then I put some onto the back of each of my hands and rub in. 

They have since changed the packaging of this product since I purchased this mid 2012 but it is still the same beautiful product and it can be purchased for the very reasonable price of £2.69 over at Boots