Sorry to start off on a tangent, this is relevant!

I’m ‘eating Vegan’ for 4 weeks as a fund-raiser organized by Cancer Research. I do anyway, normally eat ‘consciously’ and have become increasingly concerned about the impact of farming methods on the environment, though it has to be said, living by the sea I love the opportunity to eat the freshest fish and seafood…..

Anyway packaging, product content and production have become an increasing concern of mine, so I was fascinated to learn about Hourglass Cosmetics.

Founded in 2004 by Carisa Janes, the products are predominantly vegan and never tested on animals, free of parabens and sulphates. Don’t be fooled into thinking these are the kind of products found on a dusty shelf in a local hippy, health-food emporium. Hourglass is a luxurious, beautifully packaged range of products with a focus on active ingredients and a price point to match. The brand crosses science, beauty and luxury and has become acclaimed for its breakthrough formulations, technological innovations and a commitment to reinvention. The products have sensorial textures, covetable colour collections, and absolutely beautiful packaging……But did I love it?

Undoubtedly, looking at a display of Hourglass Cosmetics I felt like a kid in front of a sweet counter. Without trying anything I just wanted to have the products on display in my bathroom. But, as I’ve said, these products aren’t cheap, so I had to rein myself in. In the end I bought a primer serum, mascara, a bronzer and brush, loose powder and an eyebrow sculpting eyebrow pencil.

See what I thought of HOURGLASS below:

Primer Serum £59.00

Infused with 28 beneficial ingredients, I absolutely love this product. It’s both a primer and serum and it makes your skin feel fabulous! It really helps the easy application of makeup and is silky to feel, leaving the skin hydrated. It’s got to be my number 1 primer.

Ambient Lightening Bronzer £45.00

I’m using this on my cheeks to give a sun-kissed glow. The 2 colour palette gives both depth and illumination and applies really evenly. And, the compact is gorgeous.

Ambient Powder Brush £35.00

I’ve been using this to apply the bronzer (and the powder). Firstly it’s PETA-approved, but is nevertheless ultra-soft and gives a really even application. As a former editorial makeup artist, I’m fussy about my brushes, but I love this one!

Caution Extreme Lash Mascara £25.00

 I’m adding this to my list of fav’ mascaras. This one amplifies, separates and adds maximum volume. I’ve liked it more after using it for a week as the first couple of applications felt a bit ‘gloopy’. It really coats the bottom lashes well – reaching even the smallest hairs and making them look voluminous. Just one coat is enough. I’m hooked.

Arch brow soft pencil £31.00

As you get older your eyebrow definition is really important and can lift the face and enhance your appearance hugely. I can’t impress how important it is to get your eyebrows looking good. When I say “good” I mean naturally defined, neither too thin nor too thick to frame your eyes. This product is justifiably award-winning and is a powder, pencil and wax in one. The triangular shape of the pencil allows you to create a great arch really easily, with fine, natural looking strokes. Just brush through before and after application for perfect brows. (I’m using Warm Blonde for my colouring.)

Veil translucent setting powder    £42.00

I don’t use powder everyday, but when I do, I know I should. This fine powder is just magical. It’s absolutely weightless and has light-reflecting particles that cover up imperfections such as fine lines and large pores. I wore it last weekend when I was on-stage under hot lights, working on a charity event and my makeup stayed put perfectly all night!

HOURGLASS is available from most big department stores and online. In the UK you can get it from Selfridges, John Lewis and Harvey Nichols.

Buy it online from:

www.spacenk.com/hourglass

www.cultbeauty.co.uk/hourglass

www.feelunique.com/brands/hourglass

#makeup /  #cosmetics / #vegan / #sulphatefree / #mascara / #primer /#hourglass /#powder /  #bronzer  /#makeupbrushes  / #primer /  #sensorial  /

My ode to Menopause Day 2018

According to the British Menopause Society, three quarters of women say the menopause caused them to change their life and over half say it had a negative impact on their lives. In fact, so much is written negatively about this ‘state’ we can assume every woman goes through a traumatic period often continuing for months and even years. Maybe I’m lucky, but I’d like to challenge all this negativity and talk about freedom, renewal and understanding yourself.

Change Yourself! Only you can do it.

Menopause is taken from the Latin: ‘Month-Pause’ and was once translated as “change of life”. Indeed I remember my mother calling it: “The change.” During our lives we go through many traumatic changes, probably starting with the day we start school, (if not the day we were born!) When we hit puberty all kinds of trauma hits us and the resulting emotional turmoil is not dissimilar to a ‘menopausal woman’s mood swings’. Leaving home and beginning a career throws more stress our way and when we reach our 20s and 30s these decades are often filled with career disappointment, the failure of relationships, divorce, having babies and the loss of the freedom of youth.

Remember: Every decade brings its joy and its pain.

By the time you reach your mid 40s, early 50s, it’s very likely you’ve already endured many painful experiences that have sent you into downward spirals, if only for short periods. It takes inner strength and focus not to fall. It’s likely you may have lost a parent or loved one, maybe you’ve got divorced, your children have grown up and if they haven’t actually left home, no longer need your constant support, friends have moved away, younger people are overtaking you on the career ladder, you may be thinking of ‘downsizing’…..and on top of this, you begin to feel you’re getting ‘old’, losing your looks, putting on weight and generally becoming invisible, oh and not to mention suffering from mood swings and being overly hot. Well don’t!

Take control. Become ‘you’ again.

I went through all those things in a matter of months: moving to the other side of the country, leaving my friends, seeing my daughter evolve into a beautiful adult, watching my mother’s health deteriorate, feeling ‘frumpy’ and unappreciated, and generally getting myself in a black place. I was grumpy! One thing I quickly learnt though, was only I could make it better. I couldn’t change all these things, but I could accept them, and when it came to myself, I could take control. I began exercising, I worked harder, I ate better, I found my life again and to be honest, I ignored all the physical things I hear other women complaining about.   (Personally I found if I kept what I was going through inside me, they didn’t bother me so much.) Yes I found myself flinging off the duvet at 3am and longing for a night when I could sleep through without waking up several times, yes I occasionally sat in the office and had a momentary flash of heat flip through me and yes I did (for a few months,) let myself put on weight. But I didn’t let it get me down! I stopped snacking and ate ‘consciously,’ watched my alcoholic intake and soon lost the weight. I’ve always been fashion-focused, but moving to the depths of Cornwall had briefly made me think I’d have to walk around in a fleece forever. Once I got over that, I became me again.

Move on.

Accept the physical changes! – Who wants a period every month anyway? Turn down the thermostat, (and help the environment,) get moving, take a long look at yourself and make sure your hair and makeup flatter you. (Get some expert advice, but don’t kid yourself what worked for you 20 years ago will work now.) Think and act positively and surround yourself with women who can both support you and get you up on your feet, and, (metaphorically at least,) dancing. Life’s too short to bemoan your situation.

You’re not alone, every woman has to endure the experience, so make sure you come out the other side feeling free and fabulous.

#Menopause / #lifechange / #mylife / #feelfabulous / #freedom

Question: What is it that women love and men don’t understand?

Answer:   Cushions.

How many times have I heard husbands and boyfriends moaning at the fact they have to remove ‘at least six cushions’ before they can get into bed at night. Even worse, accompanying wives and girlfriends on a shopping trip, they can be at least visibly seen, if not verbally heard, demonstrating their distaste for this peculiarly feminine desire…as their loved-one buys yet more cushions. My own husband balks at cushions on the sofa and moans he can never get them to sit quite correctly!

But, guilty as charged! I have a lot of cushions going on in my house – every bed has a bunch, and chairs, even chairs that don’t need a cushion have a cushion. Then there are the hidden, stored-away cushions, once loved, now discarded, but not hated enough to actually throw away. I have cushions brought back from a market in Mauritius, traditionally woven cushions from Sardinia, marine style in blue and white stripes, and with boats, knots or anchors -absolutely fitting, in my mind, to my Cornwall home, even though the sea is 5 miles away.

Fluffy, velvet, sequined, embroidered, suede, leather, woven, batik, or just plain….cushions have become a way of updating a room, changing a mood, adding softness to hard lines or an indulgence to snuggle into.  Don’t you love a cushion?

My latest cushions come from https://www.earthworks.uk

…of course, they have sent me on a journey. I’ve already bought the matching coasters and I feel it won’t belong before place mats and lampshades appear in my home!

Cushions / Soft furnishings / Interiors / Interior design / My home / My style

It’s a well-known fact that women are good at supporting each other through the good and bad times. It’s also become very ‘on-trend’ to talk about your ‘tribe’- whether it’s about sharing your ideas on home decor, how you deal with teenagers, the menopause, food you eat, fitness or fashion.

I’m lucky to have a group of close friends who can laugh at each other, enjoy each other’s company and share the good, great, boring and bad things that happen in daily life. In fact. it was my ‘tribe’ who encouraged me to start this blog. Sometimes we see each other all the time, sometimes our paths don’t cross for weeks or even months, but we all know we can send a quick message or pick up the phone and there will be someone there to listen, laugh, compliment or commiserate.  We lead quite different lives and different jobs…I’m far older than the others, but when we get together it’s always special. We have a bond.

Looking at people’s posts on Instagram I am pleased to see there are lots of wonderful women supporting each other with their own groups and tribes, but there are others desperately searching for support, friendship, sympathy or praise. Even more however, men clearly don’t have this same friendship closeness, able to share emotions and thoughts as we women do,  I’ve discovered there are all too many out there on social media searching for something, I am sure they are not going to find and showing both loneliness and a loss of purpose. Oh! we women are lucky.

My blog and my Instagram posts are aimed at sharing my own experiences and expertise and it’s lovely to create bonds with like-minded people. However, my real friends, in real life and real time, are the ones I treasure, not the pictures I see that don’t tell the story behind the image. Do you agree?

friends / women /tribe / social media

Good customer service is, as we all know, imperative, and definitely the make or break in a sale.

Last night I had 2 hours to kill in Palma airport. If you’ve ever been there you’ll know, it’s not the most comfortable of places and there were a lot of Stag and Hen parties returning on late flights having made the most of the weekend, and still up for a bit of loud partying…..so I was all for hiding in Duty Free midst the waft of fragrances and makeup. I was ‘perusing’ the Mac area for quite a while, while the 4 assistants were chatting together. More importantly I was thinking of buying a few items – a favourite lipstick, a compact and an eye shadow. Could I get their attention? No chance! I wandered off to have a look at the other brands, by now with a left hand covered in lipstick stripes. The assistant at Dior saw me rummaging in my bag for a tissue and immediately came over with both tissue and makeup remover, then began chatting proceeded to give me a super-informed spiel of the various lipsticks. And of course, she made a sale.

Moral of the story: keep your eyes open to see what’s happening around you, be nice to people and know your stuff!

I bought:

Dior Addict Lip Glow in Holo Glow

Dior Fix It Correcteur 001 Light Beige

Get Dior cosmetics from: www.escentual.com/Dior/Lip-Glow

Makeup / cosmetics / Dior / lipstick / customer service /

3 weeks ago I was called for a routine mammogram, not a particularly pleasant experience, nor 100% foolproof, but nevertheless important. I wouldn’t call myself a hypochondriac, but I have an inclination to expect the worst, so over the last couple of weeks, until the letter arrived this morning saying I was cancer free, my ‘ever-so’ slightly vivid imagination had from time to time dived momentarily into gloom.

Statistically of course it’s a common cancer with 1 in 8 women succumbing to the disease. It tends to hit older women, (so that’s me then,) but of course cancer can be unexpected, so even younger women, (as well as men,) should be aware of changes in their breasts.

When you open a letter and receive good news it’s such a huge relief, but it made me also think how I’d have felt and how I’d have reacted had the news been negative.

So why am I telling you this? ……Don’t worry, I’m not offering any medical information or shock horror stories.  All I want to emphasise is how important it is to go for tests. A few minutes’ discomfort and the odd prod here and there, should be bearable – in fact far less uncomfortable than the average visit to your dental hygienist. ……You’ve only got one body, so look after it!!

breasts / health / wellness / check-up / mammogram / hypochondriac