Wednesday 29 November 2017

November Empties

I finished a blush, a lip balm and a perfume this month! WooHoo! As nice as it is to finish products, I was sad to finish my Mulberry Lanolips as it's no longer available. Oh well.


The Body Shop Blueberry Shower Gel
Unfortunately Blueberry is no longer available, but knowing The Body Shop they'll bring it back eventually. When they do, grab lots cause it's a gorgeous fragrance. 

Lanolips Mulberry 101 Ointment
For Christmas 2015 Lanolips released the beautiful Mulberry lip balma. It was the perfect sheer berry balm. I've been hoping they'll release it again, but no luck so far. I live in hope. 

Vapour Organics Concealer
As I slowly replace my beauty products for natural and organic make-up, I'm trying as many samples as I can. This Vapour Organics concealer was beautiful under my eyes, it stayed in place all day and didn't crease. I'm using the Inikia concealer at the moment and will purchase this when the Inika is empty.

The Body Shop French Grape Seed Body Scrub
I don't normally find the body shop scrubs scrubby enough for me, but this one was great. If I wasn't devoted to my It's The Bomb scrubs I'd definitely purchase. 

Alcome Co Bearly There Deodorant
I now have a lovely selection of natural deodorants that actually work. The Alcome Co deodorant is beautiful, it's soft, soothing on sensitive skin and keeps me smelling nice all day. You can read my full review here.

Palmer's Creamy Cleanser and Make-up Remover
I love these little tubes of cleanser for when I'm travelling. The creamy cleanser is gentle on my skin, doesn't irritate my eyes and easily removes my make-up. 

It's The Bomb Body Scrub
The only body scrub I use now is my It's The Bomb scrub. It has the perfect amount of scrubbiness, it smells beautiful and it's made locally. Perfect. I already have another tub on the go.

Hylamide Sub Q Anti-Age
I'm not convinced this did anything for my skin. I used the whole bottle and didn't notice any changes. I stopped using it a week ago so am waiting to see if I notice any decline in my skin condition, but so far there's no difference, which confirms that it did nothing for me. I'll be going back to my Skinstitut combo of Vitamin C powder and Even Blend serum. 

Becca Watermelon Beach Tint
At first I had a love hate relationship with Becca's Beach Tints, but now it's all love. I used this on both my lips and cheeks, it's a very light, waterproof tint that stays put all day. When I get through a few more blushes this will be a definite repurchase.

Skin Again AHA Exfoliating Cleanser
On the mornings when my skin is feeling rough, this is my go to cleanser. I need to order some more. 

Cancer Council Sensitive Sunscreen
We liked this, it didn't irritate our sensitive skin. Not much else to say about it really. 

Original Source Green Banana and Bamboo Milk Shower Gel
We always have a few Original Source shower gels floating around, they're natural, gentle enough to use on the kids skin and the fragrances are beautiful. 

Drunk Elephant T.L.C Framboose Glycolic Night Serum
Out of the four Drunk Elephant products I tried, Glycolic Night Serum is the only one I rate. I applied it at night an it made my skin feel lovely and soft the morning. I won't purchase it because I don't think it's worth the try, there are plenty of glycolic products available for less than half the price.  

L'Occitane Rose Perfume
I love a good rose perfume.


I've been concentrating on finishing my pile of samples. I'm sure they regenerate overnight, just when I think I've used them all new ones appear. 

These were all okay samples. The one that gets an honourable mention is the SK-II Skin Signature 3D Redefining Mask. I was hoping not to like this but it's amazing. At $200 for six masks it's way out of my budget so unfortunately I won't be purchasing.

Monday 27 November 2017

My favourite beauty books


I love a good beauty book. I've been collecting them since I was in my 20's. I remember buying Cindy Crawford's Basic Face book and studying it for hours. Even though it's now 26 years old, the information and looks are still relevant.

The next book I bought was Makeup The Ultimate Guide by Rae Morris. Her work is amazing, the photography is beautiful and I love the way she breaks each look into simple steps. 

The book that totally changed my skin was The Skin Type Solution by Dr Leslie Baumann. I'd thought that I had oily skin, but it turns out my skin was dry. Once I started using the right products for my skin type my skin was transformed. If you're struggling with you skin I highly recommend this book. 

Amazing Face and the more recent Amazinger Face by Zoe Foster are brilliant books that cover everything from skin care to make-up. They're great for the novice to someone who's been into beauty for years. As Zoe is Australian it's full of information that is relevant to us, which is great.


No beauty book collection is complete without a book by Scott Barnes. The man is amazing. Amazing Face is full of beautiful looks that are easy to recreate at home. There are photos and explanations for each stage and looks for all ages and occasions. 

Pout Perfect was written by a gorgeous Aussie blogger Yishan Chan. It is a great guide for the makeup beginner and covers all areas of lip care, creating a lip wardrobe, lipstick application and so on. 

Pretty Honest by Sali Hughes is a wonderful guide to all things beauty. She talks about beauty treatments, beauty when you're ill, wig selection, finding your signature scent, choosing foundation and all manner of other beauty areas. She is based in the UK so this would be better suited for people living there.

The last of my favourite books is one that I recently got from the library and will be purchasing soon. Skin Deep by Bee Shapiro is all about the beauty routines of well known people. If you're a sticky beak like me and love peeking into people's makeup and skincare, this is the book for you. 

What are your favourite beauty books?

Sunday 26 November 2017

Thoughts of the week

1. They're dropping like flies in Hollywood at the moment. I'd like the same thing to happen across the board. Sexual harassment is not okay and perpetrators should face the consequences of their actions. 

2. Victim blaming needs to stop too. No-one asks for or deserves sexual harassment. Regardless of what they're wearing, the location they are in, etc. No, just no. Blame the perpetrator not the victim.

3. A few days ago I put all my make-up and lip balms into a big tub. I'd had things stashed all over. Now they're all in one tub I can see exactly what I've got and work on using things up. That's my focus going forward. Getting rid of products I don't love and using the ones I do love. 

4. Who shopped the Black Friday sales? I didn't. 

5. Becca's Under Eye Brightening Corrector may be my new holy grail concealer. It's early days but so far I'd say it's equally as good as my all time favourite Bobbi Brown Corrector. 

Friday 24 November 2017

FFS Friday - Okay

Turns out sending Chai back to school was a huge mistake.

Last Thursday he told me he was going to school all day Friday. Friday morning he woke up with sensory issues. His clothes were uncomfortable, everything irritated him and he wasn't happy. 

He decided that he wasn't going to school, he wanted to go to breakfast club then come home. It took him half an hour to get dressed because all his clothes irritated him. He tried on about ten tops before one was okay. I gave him the option of staying home but he wanted to go to breakfast club.

We went to breakfast club and when it was time to go to his classroom he wanted to go home. We spoke to his teacher who couldn't convince him to stay. When she tried he got really upset and started crying. We saw the deputy on the way out who also tried to convince him to stay. He wasn't having a bar of it.

He was off all day and at cling factor ten. It was a long, tough day.

If I thought Friday was bad, Saturday was worse. He was back to the old Chai that I had when he was going to school full time. I swear the day felt like it was 300 hours long. 

By 8am I was over it and ready to walk out. We'd been awake for two hours.

By 9am I was considering having a drink, which is saying something considering I rarely drink. 

The day was long and never ending, filled with tears, tantrums, fights, etc. Nothing I did helped. 

That evening I told Chai he wouldn't be going back to school. He still wants to go next year. I'm not optimistic about it.

It's been a week and his behaviour is only just starting to calm down. His anxiety is through the roof and I have no idea how to help him. 

Until yesterday he wouldn't even be out of my line of sight due to his anxiety. The poor little man. It's been tough for both of us.

I'm at my wits end and wondering if he needs to be medicated. I'm anti medication. Very anti medication. It seems silly to medicate him so that he can go to school, when I can homeschool which would then negate the need for medication. 

I refuse to medicate him to conform to a flawed schooling system. If it's a choice of medication or home schooling then I'll choose home schooling. I know there are children who need medication and I don't have a problem with that, however I don't think Chai is one of those children as his issues are all caused by school. 

We have a psychiatrist appointment next week and we're going to see the free range school. I'm told it's impossible to get into the free range school, but it's worth a try.

I just want my boy to be okay. 

Wednesday 22 November 2017

What's in my Summer make-up bag



Last month I posted about what was in my Spring make-up bag but since we skipped Spring and went straight to Summer, I've changed up my products and swapped to summer appropriate beauty. I like to keep things simple in summer. No point wearing lots of products that will melt off in a few hours.

My favourite summer foundation is MAC Pro Longwear Nourishing Waterproof. Even on the most humid of days it stays put and looks flawless at the end of the day.

On days when I want less coverage I use It Cosmetics CC+. It has an SPF of 50 making it ideal for summer, although I still wear sunscreen underneath. I'll add a dusting of my Maybelline Superstay Waterproof powder and I'm good to go.


My summer lip and cheek tint is all thanks to Benefit. When I took this photo I was also using Becca Watermelon Beach Tint but I've finished it now, so I'll be using Benetint and hopefully finishing it by the end of summer. I love that it can be used on cheeks and lips. 


I keep my eye make-up simple in the warm weather. I wear a light wash of The Body Shop Cypress Bronze Eye Colour Stick or no eye shadow and a bright eyeliner. If you have yet to try Eye of Horus eyeliners, they're amazing. It was love at first use. They're ultra pigmented and stay put all day. 


Red and bright pink colours will be on my lips thanks to Nars Dragon Girl and Bite Beauty Amarone. 

My mascara of choice is Too Faced Better Than Sex. If it came in brown it'd be perfect. Since it doesn't I make do with black. I use the regular and waterproof versions. 


The RMS kit and Jane Iredale Just Kissed lip and cheek tint go into my handbag for touchups on the go.


What's in your summer make-up bag?

Monday 20 November 2017

The Spring and Summer foundation edit

Whilst it's officially Spring in Australia, mother nature seems to think it's Summer, we've gone from cold winter straight to hot summer. One week it was 13, the next week it was 31. I had to hastily sort through my collection and pull out all my warm weather make-up.

Over the next few weeks I'll be showing the products I'm using in Spring and Summer. I've already shared my Spring make-up bag contents, today I'm talking foundations, next up will be lip products. 
 

Maybelline Superstay 24H Waterproof powder 
I can't say if this is actually waterproof, however it is a lovely, fine milled powder. I use it to set my make-up and when I need a bit of extra coverage to hide uneven skin tone.

MAC Pro Longwear Nourishing Waterproof foundation
If you live in a hot, humid environment and want a full coverage foundation, Pro Longwear will be your bff. I wore this in the Bali humidity and it didn't budge all day or night. Any foundation that can survive a Bali summer is miraculous. Paired with a bright lip I looked like I'd made way more effort that I actually did. Pro Longwear is my special occasion foundation.

It Cosmetics CC+
The hype is true, CC+ is the best. Often when a product is so hyped I'm disappointed, but the It Cosmetics CC+ lives up to all the hype, it's amazing. It gives medium, natural looking coverage. I'd say it's more like a foundation that a CC. The SPF of 50+ just tops off the perfection. If you are yet to try CC+, what are you waiting for? I get mine from Beautylish, even with the exchange rate it's still cheaper than Sephora Australia.

It Cosmetics CC+ Illuminating
After loving the regular CC+ I decided to try the Illuminating version. It's equally as good. The illumination is subtle, non glittery and makes my skin look lit from within. I can see this being a regular in my winter routine when my skin usually looks a little dull.

L'Oreal Infallible Mattifying foundation
Lightweight, natural looking full coverage foundations are difficult to find, however L'Oreal really nailed it with this one. If long lasting, flawless, matte coverage is what you need, this is the foundation for you. Infallible is my every day foundation, I alternate between this and CC+. 

What are your favourite Spring and Summer foundations?

Sunday 19 November 2017

Thoughts of the week

1. The marriage equality plebiscite results are in and the majority vote is yes. I'd love to be excited but it still has to go through parliament. I'm annoyed that the government didn't make the decision themselves instead of wasting millions of dollars. Now that they know what the public wants, I'm still sceptical that it'll get through parliament. 

2. Lip Smacker Tsum Tsum lip balms are available at Target! Finally! There are only four of them but at least we have them here.

3. Lanolips have a new coconut 101 ointment and hand cream. I need them both.

4. We've decided to do up our garden. I want to make the back yard a pleasant space, which it isn't at the moment. Unless we spend a fortune on water our lawn just won't grow, so I'm investigating lawn free options. Mum suggested ground cover.

5. If you're on the hunt for a new sunscreen, Natio's Moisturising Sun Lotion SPF 50+ is good.

Friday 17 November 2017

FFS Friday - Maybe

This week Chai went back to school. I sent him despite my soul screaming at me not to send him back. Sunday night I couldn't sleep because I didn't want to send him back to school.

Monday morning went okay. I was on the school grounds with Eljay and Tiger, so the deputy popped in to see me and told me that she'd been in Chai's classroom, that the teacher had been giving him appropriate breaks but he'd refused to use his wobble cushion or take his shoes off. She said his behaviour was up and down and that if he wasn't using the sensory tools they offered him then there wasn't much they could do.

WTF!?!?

He's been traumatised by his teacher, he's back in class with the same teacher, he's had about nine weeks off school, he's extremely anxious about school and they're expecting everything to go perfectly on his first day back.

WTF!!!!!

Now maybe I'm ultra sensitive when it comes to Chai, but really? WTF is wrong with the school? Is it me or them? I just don't understand how they think the way they do.

It's the little things that get to me. For example. Last Friday I took Chai to school for the last ten minutes, just to break the water and see all his friends. The deputy came to the classroom with us and when we got to the door of his room Chai sat down on the bench and didn't want to go in. The deputy and I were trying to convince him to go in when the deputy said to him "But you have to go to school." To which Chai replied "No I don't, I like doing school at home". Heh, that's my boy.

He doesn't have to go to school. If it's not working for him he won't go to school.

Just because he's a child doesn't mean that anyone has the right to dominate him or force him to do things. If it's not okay to treat an adult like that then it's not okay for a child either. 

Imagine dealing with indignities on a daily basis. Monday Chai needed to go to the toilet during class. He asked his teacher and she said no. I kid you not. Can you imagine that happening to an adult? Imagine if you were at work and had to ask to go to the toilet. That in itself would be bad enough, but what if your boss said no? How ridiculous. Yet we think treating children like that is acceptable. 

None of the children are allowed to go to the toilet during sports. Busting or not, they can't go. One girl wet her pants because of that. 

Children who need to go to the toilet too frequently during class time are required to give one of their reward things to the teacher. The adult equivalent of that would be paying $5 to your boss every time you needed to use the toilet. Not okay. Maybe society in general thinks treating children like that is okay, but I don't.

I know my views are not the norm and I'm okay with that. This is why I struggle with the school system. Really struggle. It's just not right. Especially not for sensitive souls like Chai. He just doesn't cope. He shouldn't be forced to cope. He will not be forced to cope.

Wednesday he was excited about going to school and wanted to leave the house at 8am. As we were walking into the school he asked me why he has to go to school. I told him he doesn't have to go to school but that he goes because he wants to see his friends.




When we got to the classroom and he saw what was on the agenda for the day he decided to stay until the end of lunchtime. Winning. Maybe school will work out for him. Maybe it won't. As long as he's happy I'm happy. 


Wednesday 15 November 2017

Interview with Kelly the founder of Lip Lip lip balms

Recently I wrote about a gorgeous new range of lip balms that I discovered on Instagram, today I have an interview with Kelly, the founder of Lip Lip lip balms.

I'm assuming you are a fellow lip balm addict?

Absolutely - I never really got into lipsticks (they always seemed a little too grown up for me) and lip balms are so much better for your lips than lipsticks as well! Plus they come in so many awesome flavours - how could you not be in love with lip balms!!


What started your love affair with lip balm?
I've been using lip balms for as long as I can remember (back when Strawberry Chapstick was about as fancy as you could get). Then when brands started introducing different sheens and nicer flavours it only increased my love!

Why did you decide to start your own range?
My children sort of got me into this one - my kids have eczema and react to EVERYTHING including lip balms, which upset my daughters who wanted to copy everything that I was doing including using lip balm.
So I started making my own completely free from harsh petrochemicals, harsh preservatives, synthetic colours etc and it all kind of snowballed from there and before I knew it Lip Lip was born. The name came about because that's what my kids would call lip balm - I think it must be easier to say Lip Lip rather than lip balm - my 2 year old walks around saying 'Lip Lip' all day long - it's really quite sweet - well for the first hour anyway!

How did you come up with the perfect formula? Did it take long?

Oh gosh it took forever! There was so many wrong batches and nearly there batches - too hard, too soft, too everything etc. My poor friends who are the guinea pigs of Lip Lip must have thought I was crazy!

We believe in keeping it pure, natural and simple so it's all about the way the ingredients work together and how they react with your lips. It was important for us that all the ingredients are not only organic or naturally derived but nourishing for your skin as well. We work together with our suppliers to ensure that we get only the highest quality, certified organic ingredients to use in our products.


What was the most difficult part of starting your range?

Finding the courage. It's really scary putting yourself out there to be judged. Especially when it's something that you truly believe in, that you feel can help people and that you've put your heart and soul into. Every time I send a Lip Lip package off I still get nervous!!


You work together with One Tree Planted - Tell us more about this?

Yes - we wanted to give something back to the world that our children will be growing up in. We chose to focus on reforestation - no small feat I can assure you! So we're really proud of the fact that for EVERY lip balm purchased we plant a tree! It's actually really cool letting people know how many trees they've planted with their purchase - I love it!


Where can we buy your beautiful products?

Our complete range is at www.liplip.com.au


What's next for Lip Lip Lip Balms?
Shhh...Just between us we're about to launch a summer line featuring 4 gorgeous new summery flavours - I'm a bit excited about these ones as they're sooo delicious and the flavours completely sum up life at summer time. So make sure you keep a look out on Instagram and Facebook for the sneak peeks!

Anything new or exciting that you want to tell us about?

Keep a look out on our social media as we'll be running a few give-aways coming up to Christmas!! 

Thanks so much Kelly, I can't wait to try the summer balms :)

Monday 13 November 2017

Frank Body Send Nudes Lip and Cheek Tint


Every now and again I buy a product and fall in love the first time I use it. It's that wonderful feeling when I know I've found the perfect product and I want to shout it from the rooftop. It doesn't happen often but when it does it's amazing. 

That is exactly what happened when I tried the new Frank Body Send Nudes Lip and Cheek Tint. It's perfection in a tube.

Often lip products labelled as nude are too brown or too warm for me, however the Frank Body nude balm is gorgeous. It's a medium sheer mauvey pink, almost the exact colour of my lips. 

  
Aside from the gorgeous colour and super hydration, what makes this balm perfect is the flavour. It has a slight, sweet coffee flavour that is amazing. I wish all lip products were flavoured, it makes them so much nicer to use. 

The combination of colour, hydration and flavour is why I'm calling this one of my all time favourite lip balms. I love it so much that I'm seriously considering buying one or two back ups so that I'm never without this in my collection. 

The fact that it also works as a sheer blush and eye shadow is an added bonus. I've tried using it as both and it works well. It gives a very light flush of glowy colour on my cheeks and the same on my eyes. 

I purchased my balm from the Frank Body website in the trio set which costs $29.95 with free shipping. It can also be purchased individually for $11.95. 



Ingredients:


Sunday 12 November 2017

Thoughts of the week

1. Chai starts back at school tomorrow. We are all nervous. He's only going for a few hours three times a week to see how it goes. 

2. We seem to have skipped Spring this year and gone straight from Winter to Summer. So far I am not coping well.

3. I've decided to make the transition to mainly natural, cruelty free beauty products. I'll use up what I have and when products need replacing I'll purchase a natural or cruelty free version.

4. We went away for a few days this week and it was lovely. We haven't had a relaxing getaway for years. Usually if we go away for a few days we go to the city which is anything but relaxing. I'd forgotten how wonderful relaxing getaways can be.

5. Who's done their Christmas shopping? I haven't.

Friday 10 November 2017

FFS Friday - Monster

There are times Eljay is a little monster. Other times he's a gorgeous little monkey.

The last few weeks he's been a particularly bad monster. FFS.

He regularly tells Chai that he hates him and me that he doesn't like me, but this week he decided to up the ante and tell me that he wishes I wasn't alive. He then went on to say he wishes I hadn't been born and that he only wants Daddy not me. 

To make things worse, we were at the shopping centre when he said it. 

I have no idea where he gets it from. Tiger, Chai and I don't talk like that. How he thinks of such awful things to say I have no idea. 

Whilst I know that he doesn't have any idea what he's really saying, hearing your child say such awful, hurtful things is not nice.

Worse, I have no idea how to stop him. I've explained to him how words are hurtful, we've read books about it etc yet he still continues. 

We talk about kindness, about how being nasty doesn't make us feel happy etc. 

I'm now throwing out one of his toys each time he says something awful. Let's hope that works. If it doesn't I have no idea what I'm going to do. I may have to rehome him.

Send help. And chocolate. And coffee. 

Wednesday 8 November 2017

Lip Lip Lip Balms

I've gone off social media lately, it's making me disillusioned. The one social media site I use regularly now is Instagram. Despite how they've messed it up with their silly algorithm and not showing posts in chronological order, I still manage to find great new Aussie brands. The latest brand I've discovered is Lip Lip, who make a beautiful range of organic lip balms.


A few factors make Lip Lip balms special. Firstly, you can choose your flavour and tint. Secondly, for every balm you purchase they plant a tree. How awesome is that!

There are eight flavours and four finishes available. I chose the Ruby Rose tint for my Blueberry balm and Pink Lemonade finish for the Raspberry balm. Each balm costs $8.95 with free shipping in Australia.


I find the balms to be lightweight, hdyrating and pleasant to use.  They feel light and creamy. I need to reapply every two hours. The oval tube is the perfect fit for a pocket (which is how I carry my balms around, in my back pocket).

The tints are sheer so look like my natural lips, but tinted enough to subtly brighten my face.


Lip Lip lip balms are made in Australia from natural, organic, cruelty free products. Their packaging is fully recyclable. 

You can purchase Lip Lip Lip Balms from their website

The Skin Healing balm is next on my wish list, along with a few more flavours of the lip balm. 

Monday 6 November 2017

Mecca Max City Slicker Tinted Oil



To my great excitement Mecca Cosmetica recently launch it's own line called Mecca Max. The range consists of 206 products with nothing over $45.

Being a huge fan of Mecca's products I couldn't wait to get my hands on the new range. I purchased two lip oils, tweezers (boring but necessary), a lip gloss, liquid lipstick and an eye shadow. I received a mini lipstick and face wipes as gwp's.

The first product I tried were the lip oils. I was disappointed that they don't have a flavour or fragrance, but happy with the product.  

I sent the liquid lipstick back as the colour I chose was way too pale for me. I also sent the eye shadow back as it wasn't the right colour either. That's the trouble purchasing online, you don't always get the colour selection right. Thankfully Mecca's customer service is excellent so returning products isn't a problem.  


Anyhow, I digress. The lip oils. I purchased two shades, Nude and Rose. They're not what I was expecting but they're nice. Most lip oils are quite light and feel oily (funny that). The Mecca oils have more of a gloss feel and they're a lot more hydrating than I expected. The colours are opaque for a lip balm and wear for around three hours before fading. 

 

Nude is a cool pinky mauve and Rose is a mid tone cool rosy pink. If I had to choose one it'd be Nude because it's close to my natural lip colour and great for every day wear.


City Slickers are a bargain at only $16. There are three shades available, Apricot, Nude and Rose. 


Ingredients:

Did you purchase any Mecca Max products? What do you think of them?

Sunday 5 November 2017

Thoughts of the week

1. This week the boys did Halloween for the first time. They loved it. Chai has been wanting to do Halloween for a few years now but I've always said no, I don't like the idea of encouraging them to go to strangers homes and collect lollies. This year our local shopping centre had Halloween, how awesome is that! The shops participated with stashes of lollies, so I got to browse the shops whilst the kids collected lollies, it was brilliant

2. Model's Own is at Priceline now! I checked them out but was underwhelmed so didn't buy anything.

3. Whilst we're on the topic of make-up, the latest Shanghai Suzy collection has been released. I'm disappointed that they've raised the price to $19.95. This collection is the moisturising formula and they're bringing back my favourite shade Lilac. I have it in the matte formula with the grape scent (which I really don't like), so can't wait to get it with the new formula and scent.

4. I've come to realise that the mistreatment of women is so ingrained that we don't even realise it. Take for example the way media speak about women. They'll show a photo of a female at the beach and say she's "flaunting her bikini body." No, she's at the beach in her bathers. Or when Kate Middleton went out in public for the first time after announcing her pregnancy they said she was "flaunting her baby bump." No, she was performing her royal duties. 

Every time I see a report like that in the media I'm going to comment on the article and object to the language they use about women. 

We have a voice, we just need to use it.

5. A few weeks ago I started using a charcoal toothpaste. It's amazing. My teeth look whiter and they feel so clean. Full review coming soon.

Friday 3 November 2017

FFS Friday - No f*&^%ing idea

Yesterday I had another meeting with Chai's school.

It was going well until she said one sentence. 

We were talking about how writing is painful for Chai due to muscle weakness and coming up with strategies to put in place when writing is hurting him when the deputy said that he has to be pushed and get used to pain/discomfort as it'll teach him resilience.

No. Just no. He's six. He does not need to be forced to do something that hurts him. No child should be forced to do something that hurts them.

He should be encouraged to strengthen his muscles and do exercises so that writing doesn't hurt, not forced to continue when he's in pain.

That one little sentence got me wondering all over again. WTF am I doing? Why am I even considering sending him back into an environment that thinks it's acceptable for him to be in pain?

The other thing that really concerns me is that he'd be going back into the same classroom with the same teacher. The deputy told me that she's had lots of discussions with his teacher and that his teacher feels like she should have done more. 

Done more? She did sweet f@#$ all! If she'd said that she didn't understand sensory issues I would have been okay with that, but her saying that she did understand but just didn't do enough, that doesn't cut it with me. That means she knew exactly what she was doing when she constantly punished Chai for behaviours he had no control over. 

Chai doesn't want to go back to school until next year. Tiger wants Chai to go back but is doing nothing to make that happen.  I have no idea what to do. The thought of sending him back to school makes me feel sick.

Wednesday 1 November 2017

Recent favourites


It's been a long time since I did a monthly favourites post, mainly because I use the same products all the time now. 

I've gotten to the point with my make-up routine that I like it to be quick and easy. I want to make myself look fresh and glowy so use pretty much the same products every day. I'll do a post soon on my every day make-up routine. Meanwhile, here's a look at some of the products I've been loving lately.

Natio Rosewater Antioxidant Micellar Cleansing Water
Natio recently released a range of rosewater products. Being a rose lover I had to pick some up. I'm not a fan of Micellar Water, I think it's over rated and it shouldn't replace cleanser. That said, I've been using the Natio Micellar water as a second cleanse and it's gorgeous. It's soothing on my skin and smells beautiful. 

L'Occitane Hand Cream
I have so many of these floating around and yet I don't remember the last time I purchased one. I get most of them as magazine gwp's. If I could only use one hand cream for the rest of my life it'd be L'Occitane. The scents are beautiful, it absorbs quickly and is very hydrating. In winter I apply a thick layer before bed and wake up with soft, hydrated hands. It's one of the few hand creams I can use during the day as it absorbs so quickly and doesn't leave a greasy film. 

Becca Watermelon Beach Tint
I love dual use products because they save me time and effort in the morning. After having a long term love/hate relationship with my Beach Tint eyeshadow, I've found love with the Watermelon Beach Tint. It's my daily blush for a light flush of colour and works equally well as a sheer lip tint. I use it on my cheeks then swipe the remainder on my lips. Perfect.

Too Faced Shadow Insurance 
Shadow Insurance is my all time favourite eye primer. It's the only one I've found to be effective and non irritating. For a while I used Urban Decay Primer Potion but found that it irritated my eyes. Shadow Insurance doesn't irritate and it makes my eye shadow stay put all day.

Alcome Co Black Magik Activated Charcoal Toothpaste
The first thing you need to know about charcoal toothpaste is that it's messy. Very messy. If you're used to slopping toothpaste everywhere, be warned. You need to wipe out your basin after every use and clean down anything else that the charcoal got into contact with. The mess is well worth it. After the first use I noticed that my teeth felt a lot cleaner and after two weeks they were noticeably whiter. I've been taking progress photos and will have a full review posted soon.

Maybelline Taupe Colour Tattoo Eyeshadow
After finishing my Laura Mercier Caviar Stick eye shadow, I replaced it with Maybelline's Colour Tattoo eye shadow in Taupe. This has become my daily eye shadow, I just swipe it on and I'm good to go for the day. It doesn't crease and stays put until I remove it at the end of the day.

Physicians Formula Deep Brown Eye Booster Eyeliner
If you're after the perfect liquid liner, look no further. Eye Booster has a fine brush applicator and intense colour. It's super easy to use and lasts all day. The only downside is that the Deep Brown shade isn't available in Australia, I buy mine from iHerb. 

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara
Believe the hype, this mascara is amazing. It gives me volume and curl, doesn't flake and is easy to remove. The only thing that would make it better is if it was available in brown as well as black. Why are brown mascara's so difficult to find?

Lanolips Mulberry Lip Ointment
It's a bit mean showing off a product that is no longer available, but I love this so much I had to include it. Mulberry is the perfect shade, it's a sheer berry colour that looks subtle but is enough to brighten my face up. It was a limited edition christmas release years ago. I'm hoping that they'll release it again one day.

Lush Black Rose Lip Tint
In the past when I've used Lush Lip Tints they were a horrible, lumpy mess. Happily they must have reformulated because my Black Rose Lip Tint is smooth, hydrating and beautiful. It looks black in the tube but applies as a beautiful berry pink stain.
Black Rose was part of the Halloween release but it's still available so get it whilst you can. I'm hoping that they'll make it permanent because it's gorgeous.