Thoughts of the week

1. Tomorrow is the start of World Autism Week.    

2. It's also the last week of school.

3. ELF Halo Glow is finally in Australia. It's supposed to be a dupe for Charlotte Tilbury's Flawless Filter. $35 is pretty pricey for an ELF product imo.

4. April Fools Day is coming up, beware folks. Personally I think it's a good day to stay off social media, the pranks are just annoying.

5. Ed Sheeran's new song is great, I didn't even realise it was him.

FFS Friday - Better, better, best

Hello beautiful people. How are you all?

So lately I've been wondering, why do people always have to be in front or ahead? Why can't they either be next to or behind? What's with the obsession about being in front? Does that make you better? Does it change the course of the day?

 

Take driving for example. Most drivers will speed up to get in front of a car instead of slowing down to go behind. Why? Will that extra second or two make a difference? What's wrong with slowing down and slotting in behind?

I'm driving more now that Chai is at high school and the behaviour of drivers is fascinating. So many of them will speed up to get in front of me instead of pulling in behind. They'll be behind me with a clear lane to slot in behind yet they'll speed up to pull in front. It makes no sense. 

And what about those people who speed up to stop you changing lanes. What's with that? Does it achieve anything? If there's plenty of room for them to change lanes why speed up to stop them? I see it happen every day, the car behind nearly causes the car changing lanes to crash into them because they've sped up, then the car that sped up abuses the one who was changing lanes. 

What's the point? Maybe people like to upset themselves first thing in the morning?

But life is the same isn't it? People seem to want to feel like they're ahead of or better than others. Again, what's the point? Does it change anything? Or is it just that they don't feel good about themselves so thinking they're ahead of someone else makes them feel better? Maybe that's what it is. 

In front or ahead is not always better. If you're in front on a water ride you're the one who gets wet. If you're in front in a head on car crash you get injured more. If you're in the front of a line of traffic and you're speeding you're the one who will get pinged by the speed camera. 

That's why I happily let all the crazy drivers pull in front and I go on my merry way knowing that I won't be the one pinged by the speed camera. Heh.

Have a wonderful weekend lovelies.

 

 

La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5+

I've used La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5 for years so when I found out it was being reformulated I was worried that they'd ruin it. How often does that happen? They take a great product, change it and make it worse. 

Thankfully that did not happen this time, the new version is even better than the original.

If you've used the original Cicaplast B5 you'll know that it can be difficult to spread. It gets a little tacky and needs to be really warmed up and worked into the skin. After it's applied it takes a while to sink in and feels quite sticky for a while. The new version doesn't do that. It spreads easily, doesn't need to be warmed up and once it's on it doesn't feel sticky.

 

In addition all the things that I loved the original version for are still there, it's soothing, hydrating, gentle and healing.

Note: I'm not sure how to disclose this. I purchased a tube of B5+ and then received one to review for BeautyHeaven. So I could say it was gifted and it also wasn't gifted. Either way, it's awesome.

Thoughts of the week

1. I've been looking at the expensive skincare on Mecca and it's got me wondering. Wouldn't that money be better off spent on facials and the specialised skin care that you can only get from a qualified beautician? I'm sure their skin care would be more potent and effective.

 

2. Have you ever thought about how many companies would go broke if women were taught to love their bodies instead of hate them?

 

3. Speaking of expensive things, the new Hourglass lipsticks look amazing but at $63 I won't be purchasing.

 

4. I re-established my indoor jungle last weekend, it makes me so happy. I love having plants inside. Hopefully I'll be able to keep them alive.

 

5. Keeping plants alive is not my forte.

FFS Friday - Awake!

Hello lovelies. How are you all today? Has it been an okay week? 

My week was good, things went well. 

Thursday I had acupuncture. I've always loved Traditional Chinese Medicine, it works really well for me. Since we moved down here ten years ago I haven't found a practitioner that worked for me. I've tried a few different people but they both only did acupuncture, they didn't do the herbs as well. 

Last year I found a practitioner who uses the herbs as well as acupuncture but she wasn't taking on new clients. This year I checked again and she was taking new clients so I booked in. I'm so glad I went! I had a treatment, got some herbs and noticed a difference straight away. She gave me herbs to help balance the symptoms of perimenopause. Since I saw her I've been sleeping amazingly. I haven't been getting restful sleep for years so to wake up feeling rested has been wonderful. I also have more energy and am not feeling exhausted all the time, it's brilliant.

I'm going back in two weeks and can't wait. It's so nice to feel like a person again instead of an exhausted shell of a being. 

That's my good news for the week. 

I'm trying to think if I have anything to whinge about. No doubt I do but I've managed to successfully block it from my mind. I'm good at that. It's a great skill to have. Remember the good and forget about the bad.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

House of Immortelle Hydrating Rose Facial Mist

 

I'm a huge fan of face mists, especially ones that smell like roses. For years I used rosewater, lately I've been using whatever I can easily get my hands on.

A little while ago I was sent the House of Immortelle Rose Facial Mist to review and it's all I've been using since it arrived. 

Firstly, I love the rose scent. If I could have all my skin care rose scented I would, it's one of my all time favourite scents. Lancome used to make a rose scented Juicy Tube, that was awesome. Anyhow, we're not talking about Juicy Tubes (that we still can't get in Australia! I have no idea why they discontinued them they were the best. They've been available in the US for over two years now but we still don't have them here, I'm so annoyed.)

For a while there I forgot how much I love face mists. I added them back into my routine over a year ago and they've made such a huge difference. The House of Immortelle Hydrating Rose Facial Mist is gorgeous. It smells amazing, it's hydrating without being sticky and works really well both under and over make-up. I use the full size bottle at home and mist it on before my serums. I carry the small bottle in my handbag and use it to soothe and hydrate throughout the day when my skin is feeling irritated or dry.

I'll definitely be purchasing a replacement when I've used my bottles.

The 100ml bottle costs $39.98. 

Ingredients: rose floral water, polysorbate20, almond glycerides, rosa damascena, geranium.

*Note: This was provided to me for review.

Thoughts of the week

1. I now have a tween!

2. In August both my boys will be double digits.

3. The Revlon ColorStay Suede Ink lipsticks are really nice. I like them a lot better than the Maybelline Vinyl Ink lipsticks.

4. The 250ml La Mer moisturiser is now $2055 at Mecca. I tried a sample, my skin hated it. It was red, sore and irritated five minutes after I put it on.

5. What's with everything being so ridiculously expensive now?

FFS Friday

Hello beautiful people. How are you all? I hope your week hasn't been too difficult. 

As usual I'm exhausted. Last weekend we went away. As per usual, it was not smooth sailing. Being out of routine is really difficult for a neurodivergent child and really exhausting for me. This time it almost broke me. In fact I think it did break me. 

I've been wondering for a while when the constant stress will break me, I know that it will but at the same time I don't have an achievable solution on how to make life easier. 

Anyhoo, to cut a very long story short, we went to the city and spent an entire day at a shopping centre. It was hell, I knew it was going to be hell and it was. I hadn't slept the night before so I was exhausted when we got there. Shopping centres are not fun for me, I am not a shopper and do not like being there. 

We spent a lot of time waiting around for people to go to the toilet or look at random, boring shops. By the end of the day I was over it. We were standing outside a shop, both the boys were talking to me at the same time and wanting me to answer them, Tiger was also talking to me and wanting me to make a decision about something and MIL was talking too. I am not sure what happened but I hit the end of my tether. I didn't know whether to run or sit down and cry. I yelled that I'd had enough and needed to go. They all looked at me like I was being totally unreasonable. I was so tired when we left that I could barely keep my eyes open. It took three days before the total exhaustion wore off. Thankfully I'm now back to my normal level of exhaustion. 

My current stress levels aren't healthy or sustainable but what's the solution? If there is one my psch and I don't know what it is. All I get from professionals (other than my psych) is to practice mindfulness and meditation. Whilst that might be helpful in some instances they are not helpful for my situation. The other parents in my situation that I speak to all have respite options available and that's how they get through. I don't have that so I suppose I'll just keep going and hope that things get easier sometime in the next few years. 

Right, that was a big whinge wasn't it! What a downer. I'll try for more entertaining content next week!

Have a wonderful weekend beautiful people.

What's in my makeup bag

It's been a little whilst since I did my last "what's in my bag" post so it's high time for another one.

 

As you can see, not much has changed. I've added in the taupe Rimmel eyeliner. I love taupe eyeliner but it's so difficult to find. The Rimmel one is a favourite but rarely in stock. I found it a while ago and it was half price so I grabbed one. 

This 100% Pure blush is gorgeous. I use it on my lips too. I would happily repurchase it once it's finished however I have other blushes to either finish or declutter first. I'm thinking about getting rid of my powder blushes, I'm not really into powder products any more, cream products are so much nicer. 

 

Not pictured is the Revlon Suede Ink lipstick. I got it a few weeks ago and have been using it every day. It's much nicer than the Maybelline Vinyl Ink lipstick, it doesn't last quite as long it's weightless on my lips and doesn't feel sticky. The stickyness of the Vinyl Ink lipsticks gets really annoying after a few hours.

 

 I finished my Maybelline Instant Perfector, I'm now using the Covergirl Clean Fresh Skin Milk. It's a nice foundation, it's not love but I'm happy to use it. 

When this Colour Pop lip liner is finished it will not be missed. It's a lovely product but the liner keeps on falling out of the pencil and it's really annoying. 

This Physician's Formula eyeliner is a must have, I've been using it for about fifteen years and will continue to use it until it's discontinued. I really hope that doesn't happen though as I haven't found another eyeliner that's better. 

 

The Barry M Fresh Face Cheek and Lip Tint is an underrated gem. As the name suggests, it's a cheek and lip tint that gives a gorgeous wash of long lasting colour. I use it under the 100% Pure Blush. 

 

I'm not in love the with By Terry eyeshadow. It creases and is a little too shimmery for my liking. It's nearly finished and I'll be glad to see it go. 

 

The Natio Infinite mascara is okay but not amazing. Once I've finished it I'll go back to my DB mascara's, they're much nicer. 

 

There's so much pan on the Hourglass powder. It's a gorgeous powder and one I'll definitely repurchase once I've finished my other powders. 

Thoughts of the week

1. My baby turns 12 this week!

2. Connoisseur Cafe Grande ice cream is coffee lover's heaven.

3. I've been unsuccessfully looking for a new bra for around four weeks now. Turns out the reason nothing worked is because I was trying on bras what were 2 cup sizes too small. Let this be a reminder to get fitted when you go bra shopping.

4. I'm pretty sure our dog is broken. She loves eating the lint from the washing machine and right at this moment she's eating a fly.

5. Can someone come over and cook dinner for me every night please?

FFS Friday - Neurodon't

Hello beautiful people. How are you all? Has your week been okay?

So what do I want to whinge about this week? It's not really a whinge, just an opinion. In this age of social media and ridiculously high expectations, so often we see posts and comments where people are told to educate themselves. Usually in the same post they're also told that it's not the job of the person who's telling people to educate themselves, to educate people. 

 

Let me try to explain what I'm talking about. When Chai was diagnosed with his many conditions I spent a lot of time (I still do) reading twitter feeds, facebook posts, blogs, books and speaking to professionals about his conditions to educate myself. I did everything I could to try to educate myself. I wanted to learn from adults with the same conditions so I followed as many of them as I could find. As much as I wanted to ask questions, only once did I ask a question. The reason I didn't ask questions is because so many times I'd see people telling others to "do better" or "educate yourself" and "if you want to know about that condition you need to learn from adults who have it" then in the same feed/post they'd say, "it's not our job to educate you" or "it's rude to expect us to give you our time for free".

So what I want to know is, if you can't ask questions and you don't have the money to pay for someone's time, how are you supposed to educate yourself? 

Also, say you did want to pay a random person on twitter for advice, how do you approach them about it? It'd seem a bit strange if a person dm'd you and asked if they could pay you for advice. 

 

I do understand where they're coming from, when you have a condition/illness etc you often don't have the spoons/energy to talk so helping people could be quite taxing, but that's the great thing about social media, you can engage on your own terms, when you want to engage. If you don't want to talk to people about your condition/disability, don't. Simple as that.

 

Now let's talk about the post that triggered me to write this. The person has a condition that I have never heard of. They were accusing people of not being inclusive to disabled people. How can we be inclusive of things we know nothing about? How are people supposed to educate themselves about everything? It's not possible. 

 

I feel like we expect so much of people, but in truth we're all doing the best that we can. You don't know what you don't know and if you can't ask questions how are you going to learn? 

 

Telling people to educate themselves isn't helpful. We're all struggling, we're all overloaded and we're all doing the best that we can in a very trying world. We're going to make mistakes no matter how hard we try. There is no way people can educate themselves about every single issue in the world. It's not possible. We all want to be kind, understanding, inclusive and accepting. We're going to get it wrong. We will get it wrong over and over again. But with each mistake we'll learn and we'll do better. When you know better you do better. 

So how about instead of telling people they should know better and to educate themselves, we just gently point out their mistake and kindly suggest how it could have been done differently? Wouldn't that be better than attacking and criticising? For all we know they might have no idea that they aren't being inclusive.

If you're wondering about the one time I did ask a question, I'll tell you. It was on twitter and the poster was saying that people should ask neurodivergent adults if they want advice about their neurodivergent child. I replied that I'd love to but so often see people attacked for asking questions so I don't. The poster referred me to a facebook group that has been invaluable. I'm really grateful to the person on twitter for referring me to that group.

Funnily enough, I would never ask a question in that facebook group because the neurotypical people on there who ask questions often get very harsh responses and are told that if they find the replies offensive/upsetting then they're tone policing which is not okay. 

On that note, I am constantly wondering if I'm neurodivergent. Chances are Tiger or I are, I wouldn't be surprised if we both are. I've been told I'm weird my whole life so maybe it's me. Then again, with some of the things Tiger does I strongly suspect he is. 

That's all for now. Have a wonderful weekend.