6 Women That Inspire Me

Who runs the world? Girls. Right Beyoncé? Sometimes it can be hard to find female role models in the body shaming, sexist, ignorant mess that makes up the majority of our media. Have you ever noticed how men stripping down are praised while women are shamed? Have you ever read through the screeds of nasty comments any time a brand dares to use a plus sized model? Have you ever seen women rolling their eyes on the red carpet because they want to be asked more than "What are you wearing?". There's not a lack of great female role models, there's just a lack of them being shown in the media. So today I'm going to write about a few of my female role models - from Nobel Prize winners, to girl crushes, to survivors. So let's get started...

Michelle Obama

"...don't ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own." 

I've loved Michelle since I first seen a video of her talking about the importance of education for women. She's confident, she's brainy, and she talks about important issues - like childhood obesity and education. No one can deny she has worked hard to get to where she is today. Obama once said: "Some may dispute the quality of our president, but nobody disputes the quality of our first lady. Michelle is definitely a star in her own right. If I look half as good at 52 as Michelle looks, I'll be happy (and amazed).

Audrey Hepburn

"I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong."

Yes, Audrey Hepburn was famous for her beauty and her acting career. Most people don't know much more about her, despite her being a household name. It's a perfect example of how the media always focuses on the physical appearance of a women. Well, let me get started.

Audrey Hepburn was a beautiful woman and had a successful acting career (Breakfast at Tiffany's anyone?). She grew up in Holland during the war and faced starvation when the Nazi's cut off the food supply. It's said that she sometimes skipped her dancing lessons because she was so weak and malnourished. It's well known that Audrey Hepburn liked ballet, but less known that she performed ballet during WWII and donated her earnings to the resistance. She also acted as a courier and took messages between resistance groups - even though her parents were Nazi sympathisers.

Later in life she was appointed a special ambassador to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and dedicated the last years of her life working for UNICEF to help children in need around the world. If all that isn't enough, she is also an EGOT, which means she has one an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award. Sometimes we need help, sometimes we need to help. Audrey's commitment to helping others makes her a role model for everyone.

Marina Diamandis

"I found what I'd been looking for in myself"

"People like to tell you what you're gonna be

It's not my problem if you don't see what I see

And I do not give a damn if you don't believe"

"I am never gonna give you anything you expect"

"I know exactly what I want and who I want to be"

"The lower I get the higher I'll climb

And I will wonder why

I got dark only to shine"

"If history could set you free from who you were supposed to be"

What's all that? Oh, just a collection of my favourite, feel good, inspiring lyrics from the talented Marina Diamandis (known by her stage name, Marina and the Diamonds). I love Marina's music and voice. I've seen her live twice and can say she sounds just as good in person whilst putting on a great show.

I may not have seen many interviews of Marina talking about "serious" issues, but what better way for a singer to "talk" about issues than through her music? She tried hard to make a music career for herself. After trying and dropping out of various schools and universities, she started composing her own music and learned the piano. She also self-composed and produced her earliest music on websites like GarageBand and MySpace (remember them?). Her strong, relatable lyrics and musical talent is what inspires me.

Malala Yousafzai

“We realize the importance of our voices only when we are silenced.” 

“One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.” 

“When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.” 

If you haven't heard of Malala you must be living under a rock. She is the youngest ever to win a Nobel Peace prize, at age 17. It is said that Malala started speaking about education rights at the age of 11. She speaks three different languages, all of them fluent. Malala has literally been shot in the head, survived, and continued her fight for education. She also blogged for the BBC under a pseudonym, risking her life. I could keep listing what makes Malala not only an amazing role model, but an amazing women. She proves that any of us has it in us to make a change, and that we should always stand up for what is right. If you haven't yet read "I Am Malala", I do recommend it.

 Emilia Clarke

"Woman? Is that meant to insult me? I would return the slap, if I took you for a man."

Okay, you got me. That quote wasn't Emilia, but Daenerys - a character she portrays.

You may be reading this and thinking "Emilia Clarke? What has she done?". Emilia Clarke is a pretty new celebrity, famous for her portrayal of Daenerys Targaryen on Game of Thrones (a series I'm obsessed with by the way). Her personal life seems to be kept personal (which I totally respect). So why am I inspired by Emilia? 

Emilia was named "Sexiest Women Alive" for 2015 by Esquire magazine, so it's safe to say she's considered a beauty. Yet anyone who follows her instagram can see that she isn't afraid of posting goofy photos and poking fun at herself. In a world where girls are growing up exposed to countless filtered, touched up, "perfected" photos I think this is a big deal. Emilia shows that you don't need to be what is considered "perfection" to be beautiful - or named "sexiest women alive".

She's also one of the only women I've ever seen on TV or in the media with a body type somewhat close to my own, and that makes me feel good. There are many things I hate about my body. The media is plastered with tall, slim women sporting the golden tan and curvaceous waist to hip ratio I'll never have no matter how much I exercise (thank you bone structure). I celebrate whenever I see other types of beauty being shown in the media, but it's great when it's someone I can relate to myself. I think we all need this kind of role model, and it doesn't hurt that Emilia also seems a super friendly and fun person too. She's my girl crush.

Eva Schloss

I must admit, I'd never heard of Eva Schloss until I attended her talk at my local library. My mum phoned home one Monday afternoon informing me that she had got me tickets to a woman talking in the library that night. A woman whom was Anne Frank's stepsister and had survived the concentration camps.

Eva's talk was heartbreaking and inspiring. She went through hell, as many others did in the camps, and she survived. Not only has she survived, but she has grown. The confident, smiling, strong women I seen before me seemed miles away from the girl she spoke of. Yet, it was her.

There is something she said that really stuck with me. She commented on a famous quote by Anne Frank: "In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart". It's a quote I personally love. Eva stated that if Anne had wrote her diary after experiencing the concentration camps, then she wouldn't have wrote that. It broke my heart. Even after listening to her story, or reading her book, there is no way I can picture or imagine the horrors she and many others went through. Yet she survived, and she uses her voice to help others.

Eva told us of how she was soon travelling to America to talk about the current refugee crisis, as she was too a refugee as a child. Eva is the author of several books, the most well known being "Eva's Story". It tells the tale of her childhood during WWII and her experience of the concentration camps. It is again a heartbreaking tale, but I definitely recommend it.

There are countless women out there who are great to look up to. Whether it's Beyoncé balancing her busy career and family life, Rihanna setting up her global scholarship fund or Ellen proving that women can do comedy and rule at it, there is someone for everyone. Look to who inspires you, who makes you strive to be better, who you can relate with. We all need role models in our life. These six women just happen to be some of mine.

Quotes sourced from Goodreads 
Pictures are sourced from google images - they were linked but they kept on breaking!

Why I Don't Wear Fake Tan

Firstly, this is not an attack against fake tan. I don't care if you do or don't wear fake tan. If you like it and it makes you feel confident you lather that stuff on until you're a bronzed goddess.

But seriously, there's so much hate for pale skin. Girls seem to think that if they're not lathered in fake tan that they're not beautiful. Yes it can be thrown round as a joke, but where's the self love? Make-up, fake tan, hair dye... it's all great, but you got to believe you're beautiful under all that too. I'm not saying this is some huge problem, it just feels pretty rubbish seeing girls putting others down. I'm sick of hearing girls say pale skin is ugly. It's not. No skin shade is "ugly". It's like the war between girls who do and don't wear make-up. Why care? It's personal choice. If you want to cake that face up with a bold lip and smokey eye, go for it. If a little wipe of lip balm is enough for you, rock it. Stop putting others down girls, please. Anyway, lets get to why I don't wear fake tan.

1) Health. Any time in the past I've used fake tan it has not been good for my skin. Have you looked at the ingredients in that stuff? Pretty nasty. I personally like to stick with body oils and lotions to help heal, repair and moisturise my skin. There are some friendlier tanning products out there, from brands like Lush and Green People, but they just don't tickle my fancy.

2) Time. It's been a long time since I've wore fake tan but damn that stuff takes a while to put on. Making sure every bit of your body is covered evenly, getting help with your back, messing around with those big mitts on... Then waiting for it to dry in just for it to ruin pyjamas and bed sheets alike with its runny colour. Nope, not for me. I'm already too lazy to style my hair beyond a brush through most days, so I certainly won't be starting a tanning ritual any time soon.

3) Money. Yes, there's cheap fake tan. Every one I've tried has stunk. Or stained. Or been too dark and orange. Or streaked. They just plain suck. I have tried ones that performed much better - they were fast, long lasting and had little smell. They were also £30 odd a bottle. £30? No way. I have better things to spend my money on (books, art, games...) basically anything but fake tan. There's only a few beauty products I buy at higher prices, and only when I think they're worth the money. Sadly, fake tan isn't one.

4) It just doesn't suit my colouring. I have very pale skin. I also have coppery hair and brown-green eyes. I have rosy lips and blush and get freckles in the sun. Tan somehow looks... wrong on me? It doesn't work with my cool tones. I certainly don't turn in to the bronzed goddess I imagined.

5) Self Acceptance. This is the most important reason. I feel fine without it. I may not love everything about how I look, but I'm beginning to be comfortable in my own skin. I like my "paleness" and think I can still look great without a tan. Whether you wear a lot of products or not, it is important to feel great in your natural state.

I apologise for the awkward poses but I'd never had shots like that taken before. Yes, I got these photos especially for this post. I don't always feel great in my own body, but I'm learning. I may not have the coveted warm tan, or the long model legs (I'm only 5ft4!), or the picture perfect face, or anything the media labels as "beautiful" - but I still feel great. And I believe everyone else out there should, and can, too. Fake tan or no fake tan.

Mineral Pigments and What You Can Do

Mineral make up is still something that seems to be frowned upon in modern beauty. Minerals are often overlooked amongst fun new beauty trends like cream contouring, highlighting and cut crease eye shadow. Minerals can seem too safe, too normal, too boring... but it doesn't have to be! If you're anything like me and have your eyes popping out your head when reading the ingredient lists on some major make up brands, I'm happy to say that us natural beauty lovers can have some fun too!

Anyone who's had a nosey into mineral make up has probably came across mineral pigments, usually labelled as "loose mineral eye shadow". I've had a stash of mineral pigments sitting around for a long time and, although I love eye shadow, they've been gathering dust. The truth is, my eye shading skills suck (I'm working on it). So recently I've been experimenting with them to see exactly what else they can do. I've not been disappointed and, more importantly, neither has my skin. So what do you need to get started? Some mineral pigments/eye shadows (as seen above), water, and some brushes. These are from an old BareMinerals set I received as a gift. BareMinerals aren't my favourite mineral brand, but I'd recommend shadows from Honeypie Minerals, BareFaced Beauty and Lily Lolo (or try Everyday Minerals or Meow Cosmetics if you're from across the pond).

Good make up is wasted on bad brushes. I absolutely adore EcoTools (Honeypie minerals sell them here for the UK), but I've heard good things about Real Techniques and Lily Lolo's brushes. All are cruelty free. From left to right:  Lovely Looks Lip Brush, Detailed Lip/Liner Brush, Angled Eyeliner Brush, Lovely Looks Flat Eyeliner Brush.

Brows are definitely in, and it doesn't look like they're going anywhere soon. I really struggle doing my eyebrows, but I never though mineral pigment would be the answer! 

I use the Angled Eyeliner brush and a mid brown pigment mixed with water. I simply mix them both in the lid with my brush. This brush is the perfect shape for brows and they take moments to fill in. I usually pair this with the brown eye pencil from Lily Lolo for the whole "light to dark" look.  

The "Matte Lip" is another current trend that's hard to miss. It's definitely a "love or hate" look. I absolutely love it. I used two different pigments here - "mauve" and "velvet wildflower". I adore the shade "velvet wildflower" and it's my favourite pigment I currently own. I used this darker shade to line my lips, and the lighter "mauve" to fill in.

Here is the finished look, in some miraculously good lighting may I add. It was one of those days in the house where your make up turns out better than ever and you feel like going out just to flaunt it. I ended up in bed watching Game of Thrones most probably. The great thing about this is that you can turn the lips metallic with a little dusting of highlighter. Or if you just want your eye shadow and lips to match, simply mix the pigment with some clear gloss. I also done my eyeliner with minerals here, and will go into it further below.

I love a good cat eye. When you pair my pale skin with my purple under eye bags in the morning I can look eternally tired, and a sharp wing can really waken up my face. Liquid and gel eyeliner can sometimes sting, feel heavy on the eyelids and smudge throughout the day and I can never get a pencil eyeliner to look bold or sharp. I'd noticed some other bloggers using dark mineral pigments to line their eyes, so thought I'd give it a try. I was impressed. 

I used the shade "charcoal grey" (the closest to black I own) and mixed it with some water. I used the Lovely Looks Flat Eyeliner brush to line my lid, and the Detailed Lip/Liner brush for the flick. I find it helpful holding the straight edge of a tissue/piece of paper under my eye to get a precise flick. I've seen people do this with tape, but tape can pull on the delicate skin around the under eye area so be careful. I've also tried some mineral liner on my mother, who also liked it.

I'd like to try this with a black mineral powder as I really think it will replace my usual liquid pen eyeliner. It felt weightless and didn't irritate my eyes at all, and it still remained on me at the end of the day (after fighting back some tears in the cinema with my friend watching "Me Before You"). It's a winner for me. 

Help For the Switch to Natural Beauty - Moisturisers

So we've been getting some work done at the house this week and I haven't had WiFi access for my laptop, so my blog has been quiet... but I'm back! Continuing with my "Help for the Switch" series, I will be looking at moisturisers today.

Personally, I think moisturiser (along with make-up) is what affects your skin the most. As we tend to moisturise day and night the stuff spends a lot of time on your skin.When using the right stuff to moisturise it can really help, but when using bad stuff it can really damage your skin. Do you know what's in your moisturiser? That's a question I only started asking myself last year. Take a look at your moisturisers ingredient list and search them up on Skin Deep, have a look at exactly what is going on your skin every day.

Now there are hundreds of moisturisers out there. I used to feel lost in stores like Boots and Superdrug when searching for new moisturisers -because whatever brand I'd used before was never working.

Before I started using more natural moisturisers my skin would feel tight after washing. I'd moisturise right after washing my face to prevent this, thinking the product was working. Honestly, it wasn't. Now that I use better products, my skin is soft and silky before applying anything. That's how I know my stuff is working.

So where do you find the best moisturiser? Well there are a ton of great cruelty free and natural brands out there. It can be overwhelming at first, especially when you're just trying to find them. So I'm going to list some of the best moisturisers I've came across and what I think they are best for:

Arran Aromatics Feel Good Formulas Jojoba & Vitamin E All Weather Moisturiser

What a mouthful! While this moisturiser does not have the purest ingredient list, I have researched the stuff on Skin Deep and everything had a "low hazard" rating. I love wearing this under make up as it is light, primes the skin and still moisturises. And any followers of this blog will know how much I love Jojoba Oil. I've wrote more about this product here.

The Caurnie Soaperie Nettle Moisturiser 

This is my holy grail when it comes to eczema. I have had this clear up small eczema breakouts in less than a day. I'd never go back to the steroid creams from the doctor, which just thinned my skin anyway. Even for those who don't suffer from eczema it is a wonderful moisturiser. I'd say it's best for the body and moisturising dry patches. I personally didn't use it on my face a lot as it is heavy, although I do use it overnight sometimes when my skin is feeling dry.

Pai Skincare Geranium & Thistle Rebalancing Day Cream

I was first introduced to this whilst reading Kate's review on it on wildorganicbeauty* (one of my favourite blogs by the way, check it out!). She wrote a great post on it that will describe it better than I can. It's great for sensitive skin and it is another moisturiser that primes the skin perfectly for make up.

Lush Magical Moringa

I've loved every Lush moisturiser I've tried. Vanishing Cream was great for a light cream in the morning to prime before make up. Skin Drink was great at tackling dryness and healing my skin. But Magical Moringa is a different story. It's more a "balm" than a "cream" and feels unlike any other moisturiser I've tried. It also makes my skin look and feel amazing. Once absorbed I find it is great under powder/mineral make up. I'm not so sure with liquids because it contains cornflour. I think this is best for no make up days or when you want something that feels luxurious on your skin.

Facial Oils

These are my absolute favourite products for moisturising. Many brands do facial oils, but I tend to mix my own because I can switch up the ingredients to suit my skin's needs throughout the year. Many people are sceptical when I recommend facial oil to them. They either believe oil to be "dirty", they think it will make their skin more oily, or they tried some brand's facial oil from the chemist that was loaded up with awful ingredients that broke them out.

When you buy or make a good oil it is amazing for skin. My skin has actually stopped being so "oily" since I started using oils. Whenever my mix runs out I can look at my skin's current needs and make a unique blend that targets everything I need at that time. I do not have perfect skin - I have years spent using nasty products from the chemist to thank for that - but it has never been as good as it is using these products. My facial oils have finally got rid of my acne, they have decreased my redness, smoothed my skins texture and made it feel "good" again. If I had to recommend one product to anyone it would be Jojoba Oil, but there are so many great oils out there I think it really is worth looking for blends that will help your skin. I've been making custom blends for friends and family and so far they have been working!

There are many other brands out there that do great moisturisers, but unfortunately I've only sampled a small few myself. My blog isn't so popular (yet) that I get free samples to try, so everything I do try has been products I've used from start to finish out my own pocket. I still think facial oils are the best, but I understand how many people are more comfortable with a cream. So good luck in finding that perfect moisturiser and I hope this post has helped those of you looking to switch.  :)

*since I've made this post my favourite blog has actually disappeared! So I've had to remove all the links as they are broken.