Happy Mondays #1 - Intro / Beauty Products

A while back, I had an idea for a weekly post that would push me to update more regularly.  My biggest problem with the blog is while I love having it and reading back over things I've writen, I'm astonishingly bad at updating it. 

In part, thats because there really isn't anything much happening in my life.  I go to work, I come home, I watch TV. Lather, rinse, repeat.  Occasionally I do something exciting like go out to eat, but at the moment its mostly the same routine.

Naturally, that can drag you down a bit and certainly make you lose sight of how fortunate a position you're in.  Which brings me right to this weekly post thing - Happy Mondays (every time I say it I hear the piano intro from "Step On", by the way).  Each Monday - or at least some Mondays - I'm going to post about something that I'm grateful for or that makes me happy or that I just discovered and totally love.  I guess some of the posts will be fairly shallow, others might be a bit more deep and meaningful.

First off, I'm going with something that makes me happy - all things beauty.

I am a make up junkie.  I'm completely, totally, hopelessly addicted.  I buy endless bottles of body lotion.  I have 3 lots of shampoo/conditioner on the go at any one time.  I drool over beauty websites like HQ Hair or MAC for hours on end.

I've posted about this sort of thing before, I think at one point I had a photo of the collection up and one blogger suggested I seek help.  I didn't, of course, and my collection keeps growing.

I should probably explain my reasons behind my love of the stuff, just because I realise that I'm in a minority here.

I don't wear much make up on a daily basis.  I'm happy enough and perhaps fortunate enough that I can get by with a bare face and for that I genuinely thank every positive force in the universe.  In spite of this, I love what make up promises.

Its the promise of outer beauty.  The notion that a bit of this here and a bit of that there (skillfully applied of course) can turn you from "meh" to "wow!".

I love being able to change how I look with a smudge of eyeliner or a slick of lipgloss.  I'm very excited about how a carefully placed line of white eye pencil along the bottom rim of your eye makes you look awake, or a pale pink highlighter pencil can lift your brow.

I am constantly on a quest for the next best thing, the holy grail product that will turn me into a supermodel in a nanosecond.  Its not out there yet (but with technology who knows!) and so I'll keep searching.

Luckily for me, I've been able to find a couple of products that I now can't live without and for anyone who is interested, they are;

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish - the beauty editors darling, the best cleanser I've ever used bar none.

Laura Geller Balance N Brighten - Powder/Foundation/Concealer combo, perfect for every day and goes on in one sweep.

Clinique Lash Power Mascara - It stays on.  It doesn't smudge or flake.  It washes off with warm water.  Its a miracle in a grey and silver tube, is what it is.

Carmex Lip Balm - Nothing touches this stuff.  Good for chapped lips, or cuticles too.

Nivea Nourishing Hand Cream - Smells like holidays, possibly because I'd used Nivea Sun Cream in the past, but thats beside the point.

If anyone has any beauty recommendations they want to share, I would love to hear them and also if you want to share what's making you happy this week that would be cool too!

Comments

[Deb]

I also grew up with Nivea and the smell is very nostalgic for me. Carmex is awesome. Clinique mascara rocks as well. I don't think we have Liz Earle stuff here, but I'll keep a look out for it. And Laura Geller is available online I think in the US.

[Beth]

Deb - Liz Earle is definitely worth a look - its all natual, smells devine and actually works. I love it!

[oe]

Seek help. Again.

[Roses]

I'm a beauty consultant for a Prestigious Cosmetic House and I must admit, I'm right with you. I lurve having potions and lotions. What is the point of being a woman if you can't play with make-up, sparkely things and smelly things?

My favourite at the moment has got to be the Ambre Solaire self-tan products. I've actually gone brown, not orange and people at work have stopped me to say how well I look. And of course, there's no risk of sun damage.

I would also recommend you have a look at Korres. It's a Greek homeopathic cosmetics company. They have lotions and potions that smell fabulous, do exactly what it says on the jar/tube, it doesn't cost the earth and they are very keen on having everything as natural as possible. The last I heard they were reformulating their shampoos to be paraben free, everything else in their range is free of that preservative.

[Beth]

OE - I think its too late for me. I'm beyond help!

Roses - Welcome and thank you for the recommendations. I've had a sniff of a few Korres things, I remember being quite taken with the Watermelon body scrub but didn't buy it for some reason. I'll reconsider next time I'm in John Lewis!

[ruby]

Clinque mascara is wonderful! I love it with all my heart and soul! Mondays are going to be great