Saturday 26 December 2015
Thursday 24 December 2015
Sunday 20 December 2015
Identity Crisis: I am what I post. (Social media and it's impact on identity)
Hello Everyone,
This is just some rough media theory ideas I have to start with. The essay discusses the impacts of social media on our identity and sense of self.
Media has impacted our lines of communication, opinions and views of the world in a variety of ways, some of these being positive and others negative; some have even impacted our identities and sense of self.
This is just some rough media theory ideas I have to start with. The essay discusses the impacts of social media on our identity and sense of self.
Media has impacted our lines of communication, opinions and views of the world in a variety of ways, some of these being positive and others negative; some have even impacted our identities and sense of self.
There have been many discussions about how social media, in particular, is impacting generation after generation; it is believed that social media has been a true cause of “identity crisis” in some cases where the lines of online persona and offline identity blur. Self-esteem, confidence, language and social interaction development is believed to be less advanced in those who use social media regularly, in comparison to those who have regular face-to-face communication.
Your identity is not something you are born with, who you are, is not written within your DNA and nor is the person you will become. Moreover, your identity is built up through external and internal experiences, I am not the same person I was 5 years ago at the age of 18, nor will I be this same person at the age of 28, 5 years later. Who I am is based on my environment, experiences, the people I surround myself with as well as many other factors. If we throw in a mix of the media culture with easy access to a variety of different corners of the world and I’m sure you get the idea; media is believed to be an extension of self.
Before the Internet became a high part of our day-to-day life, there was a high amount of anonymity with a lot of people not revealing as much about their real identity as they do online, in today's culture.
Online persona’s have become closer to our reality with many people beginning to blog their day-to-day life, post a status about it on Facebook, share images which relate to their situations as a form of expression and write tweets of no more than a few characters to their favourite celebrities; the social media is gaining more of our identity in comparison to how it was previously and this can pose many threats such as identity theft, hacking and tracking every move, easy ways of finding where you live etc. But of course, it has many positives as well, we can get to know new people and learn more about ourselves by connecting with these people, who we share similar interests with according to their profile.
However, although social media attempts to connect everyone together, forming a united global nation, there are still some negatives and worrying cases in which, social media has actually placed people in harm or had them questioning their identity and sense of self.
Identity theft is just one of the many crimes that can occur on social media, people who often steal your identity and take on this fake persona can be after a variety of things, and they may target your friends or family. Over one million people are affected by online identity theft every year; the aftermath of these events can cause the victim major identity repairs which cost them countless hours and money to fix. Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, the more information they obtain about you, the more they target adverts and interests personally to you therefore, giving them more revenue, which is why many adverts that appear on your Facebook, twitter or YouTube will be different to the adverts appearing on your mothers or best friends. However, by publicizing so much online you are opening up a world of crimes right at your door step, for example if you post that you’re out of town on Vacation you may have invited someone in to burgle your house and they’ll find that online somehow, whether it’s tracking the location of your old statuses etc. With websites like Pinterest, YouTube and Flickr, people can get real insight into who you, your family, your friends are and what your interests etc.
Identity theft can make a victim feel very intruded upon, they may even begin to relate themselves to the person whose stolen their identity, making vast changes to themselves to not associate with the theft of who they are. It’s like you’ve been burgled except what they’ve stolen from you is the safety of your family, yourself and your skin. It’s like they’ve taken your body for a walk around and never returned it, it can lead a person to self loathing for publishing too much about themselves online and sharing so much with others, it can make a person feel invaded, like they have taken away everything you have by becoming you. Furthermore, identity theft especially if your name and details are used to take out credit or bank cards, can wreak havoc on your credit scores preventing the victim from being able to obtain a mortgage to buy a house. (Read about preventing identity theft here: https://www.protectmyid.com/identity-theft-protection-resources/identity-recovery/one-victims-story.aspx )
You could argue that in some ways, you see so many Instagram photographs, twitter posts about how fabulous your favourite Youtuber’s life is etc. you do your best to look like them, to be slim, toned, to have the same or similar designer makeup brands or clothes.
Social media is a cause for concern on the younger generations to some extent, however let’s not get caught up in this idea that the generation of young viewers do not understand, because they know and they are totally aware of the difference between their social media representation and their reality representation. They are also fully aware that the media’s view and representation of the world is just like looking through a window; you can not see the full picture, you do not know what the surroundings beyond this window view look like; they know this is just one perspective or view point, if they moved away from the window and stepped outside they would see more than just this one view. So why is everyone discussing something, which is just one particular way of viewing the world? Why is the number of views, likes etc. so important? Acceptance.
Each piece of media is targeted to audiences; these audiences will connect and accept each other because they share the same views, it is human nature to seek social interaction and acceptance throughout our lives. People with the same views, obsessions and interests find comfort as well as reassurance, because they are not the only person thinking or feeling this particular view, emotion or obsession, their peers accept them; this acceptance has been known since the dawn of time in human subconscious to have many benefits on a person’s life, you see it within the tribes when we had just basic instinct to survive.
In social media terms, a thousand likes on a photograph, loads of comments showering the person with compliments, affection and admiration, 1 million and something followers may lead to the subconscious thought of “in order for me to be accepted into a social sphere or liked, I need to look like or be like this person.” The feelings of needing to become someone else due to their acceptance or lack of on social media sites have been known to be affect or sometimes be the cause of mental health problems such as Anorexia, depression, anxiety, Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) to name a few.
A constant comparison between yourself and another person is of course known to lead to low self-esteem, distorted ideas about body image, weight and size or sometimes issues with self and your own personality. So what kind of “identity crisis” does this create? Simple, the audience members may wish to become what they are exposed to or become similar to their peers on these social media sites in order to gain followers, likes, sponsorships, fame, admiration or friends; if this attempt at gaining admiration or followers doesn’t work, they may begin to feel rejected and this will cause comparisons, consist change of image or personality, low self-esteem and confidence, as well as self-loathing.
In experimenting with their looks, their personality and trying to obtain the same style or look as someone they idolize; they may lose the current identity they have. This can be deemed as totally ok, because throughout life we do change identity consistently. However, it is when this desire to be or look like another, lowers the self-esteem of the person and causes severe behaviour changes which are life threatening to themselves or others. It’s OK if you bought the jacket you saw on that YouTuber because you liked it, or because you liked the colour and style of lipstick etc. But when you go to extremes to become this person, when you say things such as “I will never be as popular or glamorous or famous as her” or desire and want what they have, that the audience member may think they require the expensive makeup or jewellery to be accepted, they may seek to find their value online by beginning to blog themselves or expose themselves on camera, even go to extremes of putting themselves in debt to obtain their look.
Essena O’Neill left social media in September 2015 claiming that it’s “not real life”. She claimed that people should not give up on their dreams, went into descriptive details about how she went around taking her images just for the acceptance from others online and went on to say that this is not a life, being stuck to her screen waiting for the comments and likes was not a life.
To some extent, her opinion is valid and certainly understandable. However, although social media has had negatives and created some flawed opinions of audience’s body image, social media has made some advantages of bringing others together.
Facebook has been used to bring people together in a variety of ways, from connecting people such as myself to friends and family back in the UK, to forming revolutions, which overthrow presidents. The Tunisian revolution using Facebook in 2010 and the Egyptian Revolution (also known as January 25) in 2011 are two of the most well known, social media organised revolutions. Tunisian revolution also is known as the Jasmine revolution was a popular uprising against poverty, corruption and political repression, which eventually resulted in President Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali to resign in January 2011. The Protests began when unemployed 26-year-old, Mohammed Bouazizi, set fire to himself outside a municipal office in the town of Sid Bouzid in central Tunisia. The officials demanded his merchandise and they were demanding bribes; many of the protests, which followed these events, were often organised via social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter. Ben Ali responded by sending in his police forces to shoot the protestors and this battle between them continued, from December 18th until January 2011, so what was the involvement of Facebook? Many people involved in the protests posted their videos online either in Tunisian uprising groups, events pages, some contacted each other via Twitter and many of them filmed the events of the police shooting the protesters, posting these online to gather support and more followers in their course. Some of the anonymous people running these pages, in fear of getting arrested asked to remain anonymous, claim to have stayed online for 18 hours to run this page, ensuring protesters have all the information. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9KIWD4Ru_0 )
Although there may not have been many changes within the wages and unemployment, however, they have more freedom to speak and their online social media, videos etc. are no longer controlled by their government; they have a freedom to speak openly about their experiences, opinions and ideas.
This, however, was not the first time media had been used to gain more followers, in fact, probably some of the most historic moments were the suffragettes extreme attempts to gain propaganda, in order to obtain the votes for women. The WSPU organisation of 1906 was the most radical party, which brought more news and press coverage to the political argument, which had already been debated for a total of 46 years. Emmeline Pankhurst and her two daughters, Christabel and Sylvia, founded the Women’s Social and Political union with the slogan of “Deeds not words”. They committed acts such as smashing the windows of the Prime minister office, chaining to buildings, throwing themselves under the King’s horse etc.
These connections with others who share the same view can be just as dangerous as they are revolutionary. How does this connect with the idea of “identity”? Can you be involved in a social media revolution and tell me it will not change you? To have caused a revolution and have some notice from the government or press, there is an ideology that more and more people will join your course or motion. Sharing petitions online might not be as extreme as jumping in front of a horse, but you’re still speaking about your view point and when others share it or join in with the petition, you instantly have a connection or similarity with that person and you’ve both made some sort of difference. This may have some positive impacts on your sense of self as you realise standing for what you believe in will gain more followers, signatures, likes etc.
Could you imagine what would have happened without Thomas Edison, the man who gave us the light bulb, the phonograph and motion picture cameras? Could you imagine if it were another man, aside Abraham Lincoln, who led America into the Civil war? Would slavery have been abolished without Abraham? The same applies for yourselves, although you may not be a president or king right now, you may not yet have invented something as important as “toaster strudle” or have a daughter named Gretchen, but one day you are going to invent or make a difference, either impacting the world, another world or just a person. This blog post is not to make you feel less of a person, but to make you proud of being who you are, online and offline.
Before the Internet became a high part of our day-to-day life, there was a high amount of anonymity with a lot of people not revealing as much about their real identity as they do online, in today's culture.
Online persona’s have become closer to our reality with many people beginning to blog their day-to-day life, post a status about it on Facebook, share images which relate to their situations as a form of expression and write tweets of no more than a few characters to their favourite celebrities; the social media is gaining more of our identity in comparison to how it was previously and this can pose many threats such as identity theft, hacking and tracking every move, easy ways of finding where you live etc. But of course, it has many positives as well, we can get to know new people and learn more about ourselves by connecting with these people, who we share similar interests with according to their profile.
However, although social media attempts to connect everyone together, forming a united global nation, there are still some negatives and worrying cases in which, social media has actually placed people in harm or had them questioning their identity and sense of self.
Identity theft is just one of the many crimes that can occur on social media, people who often steal your identity and take on this fake persona can be after a variety of things, and they may target your friends or family. Over one million people are affected by online identity theft every year; the aftermath of these events can cause the victim major identity repairs which cost them countless hours and money to fix. Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, the more information they obtain about you, the more they target adverts and interests personally to you therefore, giving them more revenue, which is why many adverts that appear on your Facebook, twitter or YouTube will be different to the adverts appearing on your mothers or best friends. However, by publicizing so much online you are opening up a world of crimes right at your door step, for example if you post that you’re out of town on Vacation you may have invited someone in to burgle your house and they’ll find that online somehow, whether it’s tracking the location of your old statuses etc. With websites like Pinterest, YouTube and Flickr, people can get real insight into who you, your family, your friends are and what your interests etc.
Identity theft can make a victim feel very intruded upon, they may even begin to relate themselves to the person whose stolen their identity, making vast changes to themselves to not associate with the theft of who they are. It’s like you’ve been burgled except what they’ve stolen from you is the safety of your family, yourself and your skin. It’s like they’ve taken your body for a walk around and never returned it, it can lead a person to self loathing for publishing too much about themselves online and sharing so much with others, it can make a person feel invaded, like they have taken away everything you have by becoming you. Furthermore, identity theft especially if your name and details are used to take out credit or bank cards, can wreak havoc on your credit scores preventing the victim from being able to obtain a mortgage to buy a house. (Read about preventing identity theft here: https://www.protectmyid.com/identity-theft-protection-resources/identity-recovery/one-victims-story.aspx )
You could argue that in some ways, you see so many Instagram photographs, twitter posts about how fabulous your favourite Youtuber’s life is etc. you do your best to look like them, to be slim, toned, to have the same or similar designer makeup brands or clothes.
Social media is a cause for concern on the younger generations to some extent, however let’s not get caught up in this idea that the generation of young viewers do not understand, because they know and they are totally aware of the difference between their social media representation and their reality representation. They are also fully aware that the media’s view and representation of the world is just like looking through a window; you can not see the full picture, you do not know what the surroundings beyond this window view look like; they know this is just one perspective or view point, if they moved away from the window and stepped outside they would see more than just this one view. So why is everyone discussing something, which is just one particular way of viewing the world? Why is the number of views, likes etc. so important? Acceptance.
Each piece of media is targeted to audiences; these audiences will connect and accept each other because they share the same views, it is human nature to seek social interaction and acceptance throughout our lives. People with the same views, obsessions and interests find comfort as well as reassurance, because they are not the only person thinking or feeling this particular view, emotion or obsession, their peers accept them; this acceptance has been known since the dawn of time in human subconscious to have many benefits on a person’s life, you see it within the tribes when we had just basic instinct to survive.
In social media terms, a thousand likes on a photograph, loads of comments showering the person with compliments, affection and admiration, 1 million and something followers may lead to the subconscious thought of “in order for me to be accepted into a social sphere or liked, I need to look like or be like this person.” The feelings of needing to become someone else due to their acceptance or lack of on social media sites have been known to be affect or sometimes be the cause of mental health problems such as Anorexia, depression, anxiety, Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) to name a few.
A constant comparison between yourself and another person is of course known to lead to low self-esteem, distorted ideas about body image, weight and size or sometimes issues with self and your own personality. So what kind of “identity crisis” does this create? Simple, the audience members may wish to become what they are exposed to or become similar to their peers on these social media sites in order to gain followers, likes, sponsorships, fame, admiration or friends; if this attempt at gaining admiration or followers doesn’t work, they may begin to feel rejected and this will cause comparisons, consist change of image or personality, low self-esteem and confidence, as well as self-loathing.
In experimenting with their looks, their personality and trying to obtain the same style or look as someone they idolize; they may lose the current identity they have. This can be deemed as totally ok, because throughout life we do change identity consistently. However, it is when this desire to be or look like another, lowers the self-esteem of the person and causes severe behaviour changes which are life threatening to themselves or others. It’s OK if you bought the jacket you saw on that YouTuber because you liked it, or because you liked the colour and style of lipstick etc. But when you go to extremes to become this person, when you say things such as “I will never be as popular or glamorous or famous as her” or desire and want what they have, that the audience member may think they require the expensive makeup or jewellery to be accepted, they may seek to find their value online by beginning to blog themselves or expose themselves on camera, even go to extremes of putting themselves in debt to obtain their look.
Essena O’Neill left social media in September 2015 claiming that it’s “not real life”. She claimed that people should not give up on their dreams, went into descriptive details about how she went around taking her images just for the acceptance from others online and went on to say that this is not a life, being stuck to her screen waiting for the comments and likes was not a life.
To some extent, her opinion is valid and certainly understandable. However, although social media has had negatives and created some flawed opinions of audience’s body image, social media has made some advantages of bringing others together.
Facebook has been used to bring people together in a variety of ways, from connecting people such as myself to friends and family back in the UK, to forming revolutions, which overthrow presidents. The Tunisian revolution using Facebook in 2010 and the Egyptian Revolution (also known as January 25) in 2011 are two of the most well known, social media organised revolutions. Tunisian revolution also is known as the Jasmine revolution was a popular uprising against poverty, corruption and political repression, which eventually resulted in President Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali to resign in January 2011. The Protests began when unemployed 26-year-old, Mohammed Bouazizi, set fire to himself outside a municipal office in the town of Sid Bouzid in central Tunisia. The officials demanded his merchandise and they were demanding bribes; many of the protests, which followed these events, were often organised via social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter. Ben Ali responded by sending in his police forces to shoot the protestors and this battle between them continued, from December 18th until January 2011, so what was the involvement of Facebook? Many people involved in the protests posted their videos online either in Tunisian uprising groups, events pages, some contacted each other via Twitter and many of them filmed the events of the police shooting the protesters, posting these online to gather support and more followers in their course. Some of the anonymous people running these pages, in fear of getting arrested asked to remain anonymous, claim to have stayed online for 18 hours to run this page, ensuring protesters have all the information. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9KIWD4Ru_0 )
Although there may not have been many changes within the wages and unemployment, however, they have more freedom to speak and their online social media, videos etc. are no longer controlled by their government; they have a freedom to speak openly about their experiences, opinions and ideas.
This, however, was not the first time media had been used to gain more followers, in fact, probably some of the most historic moments were the suffragettes extreme attempts to gain propaganda, in order to obtain the votes for women. The WSPU organisation of 1906 was the most radical party, which brought more news and press coverage to the political argument, which had already been debated for a total of 46 years. Emmeline Pankhurst and her two daughters, Christabel and Sylvia, founded the Women’s Social and Political union with the slogan of “Deeds not words”. They committed acts such as smashing the windows of the Prime minister office, chaining to buildings, throwing themselves under the King’s horse etc.
These connections with others who share the same view can be just as dangerous as they are revolutionary. How does this connect with the idea of “identity”? Can you be involved in a social media revolution and tell me it will not change you? To have caused a revolution and have some notice from the government or press, there is an ideology that more and more people will join your course or motion. Sharing petitions online might not be as extreme as jumping in front of a horse, but you’re still speaking about your view point and when others share it or join in with the petition, you instantly have a connection or similarity with that person and you’ve both made some sort of difference. This may have some positive impacts on your sense of self as you realise standing for what you believe in will gain more followers, signatures, likes etc.
Could you imagine what would have happened without Thomas Edison, the man who gave us the light bulb, the phonograph and motion picture cameras? Could you imagine if it were another man, aside Abraham Lincoln, who led America into the Civil war? Would slavery have been abolished without Abraham? The same applies for yourselves, although you may not be a president or king right now, you may not yet have invented something as important as “toaster strudle” or have a daughter named Gretchen, but one day you are going to invent or make a difference, either impacting the world, another world or just a person. This blog post is not to make you feel less of a person, but to make you proud of being who you are, online and offline.
Friday 18 December 2015
Wednesday 16 December 2015
Once upon a time 5A: Camelot Plot, Merida, familiar faces and the Underworld.
Hello Everyone,
Those of you who know me personally or have just read my previous post in June, you will know how much I love Once upon a Time and with Season 5A drawing into a close until March, I have only a couple of words to summarise my feelings towards this winter season finale; curious, intrigued, uncertain and out-of-body, to name a few. This review is super long as always, because I review the whole season and not just an episode at a time, so as of 5B I think I will start to try to do an episode at a time so expect a review each week for this show as of March. For now, here is the half of the review specifically looking at Merlin, Arthur and the Camelot plot, Merida, the return of Red and Mulan plus what we may expect from season half B.
Let's bring you up to speed...
If you haven't already you can read my previous post about Season 4 finale as well as the season 5A winter finale on Zelena, Regina, Dark Swan, Hook, Rumple, Belle and Robin Hood. Give yourself a couple of minutes to read through those OR please come back to this post once you've watched season 4 and 5A.
Do not read any further if you have not seen it already as this contains many spoilers.
Season 4 began with Emma being "sucked up in a vortex of evil" and our sorcerer's apprentice ushering his final words "find Merlin, he is the only one that can help you now". So naturally, we're given the quest to cross realms and dwell into the Arthurian Kingdom of legend that is Camelot and it is not the place you expect it to be.
We arrive in the Enchanted forest where we meet our first new character, the Queen of DunBroch, Merida.
As she failed to complete the task, Red has decided to seek the help of, who better to invite than Mulan? Oh yes, Once upon a time will have its first Lesbian-Bi-Gay relationship and I completely support RedWarrior. (again look at her smile and the captivation on Mulan's face then please tell me you haven't already swooned and fell in love with the idea of these two? Or just Ruby on her own!)
We left these lovelies with Ruby/Red riding off with Mulan in search of others like her, meanwhile, Merida called upon the spirit of her father (which was awesome!) and she found out that it was Arthur, who killed her father on the battlefield and her next quest: to avenge his death.
Never thought a person could be so happy to see someone declare they will chop off King Arthur's head but looking in the mirror, there I was with a team Merida grin on my face.
Camelot is not as it appears in the legend or at least, not in Once Upon A Time. Of course not! Instead, we have King Arthur and his incomplete Excalibur, a drugged up wife because Guinevere was no longer in love with him and our spoilt little king couldn't have that, furthermore, his men won't even follow him into battle, so what was Arthur good for again? All he did was pull a sword out of a stone and he let Merlin down massively, he was supposed to be the son of Merlin, instead, he turned into a monster after allowing power to go to his head. If you haven't noticed already, Arthur is a horrible person and no one likes him, just to clarify. He goes to extreme lengths to find and reunite Excalibur, Guinevere began to feel unappreciated by Arthur, who previously promised her when he became King she would be his beloved Queen and would always fill the kingdom with Middlemist flowers for her birthday. However, he became obsessed with trying to find the sword so he could be the "rightful" king of Camelot, to his dismay as he pulled it out and realised it was incomplete, his obsession for power and to be the right king continued, leaving Guinevere to feel unloved and falling ever more deeply in love with Lancelot as they quested together to find the missing half of the sword; The Dark One Dagger. In Arthur's panic to keep Guinevere, he sprayed her with a sand which "fixes anything that is Broken", when Guinevere say he needs to choose between "his quest" or his marriage, otherwise she will follow her heart.
I still have a lot of questions though because the last time we saw Arthur, The Charming's locked him in a police cell and took Excalibur from him, he burnt the toadstool so they couldn't communicate with Merlin etc. because he didn't want them to discover or find where Excalibur was or why they needed it to relinquish the darkness, because Arthur felt without the sword he wouldn't be king. Anyways, explained all that now! Where did Arthur go? Did Guinevere ever get freed from this sand and end up being back with Lancelot? What will happen to the kingdom now they have no Arthur to lead them? What happened to Violet and Henry? They did not wrap up the plot of Camelot too well in my personal opinion because I still have so many questions, perhaps only Merlin can answer them.
Merlin as a character alone was depicted and portrayed very well, we got the sense of high morals and wisdom, the kind heart, consideration for others down to a tea and when he loved it was obvious that he loved deeply. Almost a close second favourite wizard to Dumbledore of course, though not necessarily on the same level. Merlin's deep care and love for Nimue is reflected through and through, even towards the end before he goes because Hook and Nimue kill him, there were a lot of parallels between Emma and Merlin from when Nimue and Hook both turned dark, "if you crush his heart, you will ruin our happy ending" sort of deal, which I really liked, it shows that although filled with power both Merlin and Emma did not allow it to go to their heads, they still fought for the person or people they loved just in different ways. Furthermore, as Merlin dies his eyes turn to Nimue as her being the last one he saw before he passed with tears in his eyes, we could argue this was down to shock and not heart felt loved, but I'm going to go with love and in his last moments Merlin wanted Nimue to be the last thing he saw.
Finally, my last point of what to expect from Season 5B and the underworld. Do not fear, the writers have promised us that actually the underworld season 5B is NOT solely about finding Hook, Co-creator Ed told Hollywood Reporter magazine alerted us
We have finally found Emma's true love and she really is going to fight to save him, Hookers everywhere are praying for his return; bring him home to us Emma.
Tuesday 8 December 2015
Once upon a time 5A: Food for thought. Hook, Dark Swan, Rumple, Zelena, Robin, Regina and Baby Pistachio review.
Hello Everyone,
Those of you who know me personally or have just read my previous post in June, you will know how much I love Once upon a Time and with Season 5A drawing into a close until March, I have only a couple of words to summarise my feelings towards this winter season finale. Curious, intrigued, uncertain and out-of-body, to name a few. This review is super long as always, because I review the whole season and not just an episode at a time, as of 5B I think I will start to try to do an episode at a time so expect a review each week for this show as of March. For now, here is the first half of the review specificially looking at Zelena, Regina, Robin, Pistachio, Rumple, Hook and Dark Swan.
Let's bring you up to speed...
If you haven't already you can read my previous post about Season 4 finale, which should bring you to the start of season 5A, give yourself a couple of minutes to read through that OR please come back to this post once you've watched season 4 and 5A. Do not read any further if you have not seen it already as this contains many spoilers.
 |
| I do not take ownership of the photos or images on this post. |
I feel like this is the perfect photograph to summarise this season half; what the fuck am I even watching? Season 5A has taken us on another rollercoaster ride from beginning to end, in a way I can not imagine. So let's start from the end of season 4.
Season 4 leaves us with Emma being "sucked up a vortex of evil" (we can only hope she was riding a magic unicorn, despite popular belief of Regina) after taking all of the darkness by tying her soul to the dagger, a pregnant Zelena who is carrying her half-sister's partners baby inside her (baby Hood in the witch-house!), an almost dead Rumplestiltskin who now has a pure heart, a deceased sorcerer's apprentice and a need to find Merlin to save Emma from darkness. So where did season 5A go from here? It begins with a young Emma, ironically going to watch "The Sword in the Stone" in the cinema, to set the scene for us entering Camelot. Within this opening, we see a young Emma pick-pocketing a candy bar spotted by the Usher, who we later find out is Merlin, (we should have really known from that moment, rewatching does help) telling our young Saviour not to remove Excalibur from the Stone. Say Emma didn't get Rumple to remove the sword from the Stone again, Hook wouldn't know he was the Dark one, we'd still have a Crazy King Arthur on a deluded fantasy, still have Emma as the Dark one and we may have seen a different season altogether. Of course, that might have been extremely dull and as a fanbase of Disney, I think we were all excited and wanting to see Excalibur whole.Emma's trip in the vortex of evil leads us into the Enchanted forest, where we see the new Dark one and our "former" saviour, Emma Swan, rise from the chamber, greeted by"The voice inside her head; the dark one's powers inside her, inside all the dark ones" taking the shape of Rumplestiltskin; probably a lot easier than being that of Gorgon's fire-breathing Bandersnatch. Here we see the struggle between Emma still being the saviour and Dark Swan begin, which Adam and Ed did promise us would be what we saw throughout the first half of Season 5 "Every part of her is fighting her dark urges" (-Edward Kitsis to Ew.com July 3rd, 2015). Whether that first half is part A or part B, I personally believe to remain unclear, as at the end of this Season we still see that Emma has a link to the dagger. When entering Gold's shop she can still hear it calling to her; perhaps because she was a former Dark One OR perhaps because a tiny part of the darkness still remains inside her.
Throughout the season, we can safely say that so far we have not entirely lost our saviour to Darkness, it was teased in promo's before the new season began that she would have the stereotypical dark one glitter-reptilian skin, within this promo we see her imprisoned within a cell and then crushing the heart of the guard into not dust, but diamonds, giving extra glam, power and fear of what this Dark one maybe like.I feel like perhaps the fans that were hoping to see her fully go into the darkness, as that promo would suggest (if you haven't seen it, click here) may feel slightly disappointed, but let's look at what happened to our "Dark swan" throughout the season.
Emma's adventure begins within the Enchanted Forest, we see her arguing with the voices of the Dark one's inside her head. Throughout the other seasons of Once upon a Time, Emma (Jennifer Morrison) as a character has shown some outstanding developments, from not only being a non-believer but furthermore, by starting to believe in herself, her loved ones and her family. In Season 5 this plays a very vital and crucial part, it differentiates her from all the previous Dark One's, who felt they needed the power of the Darkness to become someone either brave, powerful, revenge or perhaps because they believe they do not possess the ability to be loved or to be a "hero". ZoSo, the Dark one before Rumple, became a dark one due to his greed for power, Nimue the original Dark one was seeking revenge, likewise Hook embraced the darkness when he was seeking his revenge as well. However, in the incidence of Emma Swan, she took on the darkness to protect Regina and her family from living with it and as we see her arguing with the voices inside her head, we see "her guide" disappears due to her self-belief and her awareness of her self-worth.
Personally, I feel this is what makes her so different from Rumplestiltskin (Robert Carlyle), as we often see that without the power of the Darkness he feels as though he is "not the man Belle deserves" and that he will always "be a coward", he shows a great lacking of self-respect and self-esteem without the power throughout all the Seasons. The only season where I can honestly say I have admired Rumple throughout was Season 3. We saw that he was good at the same time still a man with great power, still someone you didn't mess with and if you did then you were in for some really dark days. Since season 3, he has returned to believing he is a coward and his lack of self-belief, as well as the continuous need for power has consumed him. I believe this is the main reason why at the end of Season 5A, we see he has decided to regain the Darkness and tie himself to the Dark one dagger again, he feels like he can not achieve anything unless tied to it. However, he even proved to himself he could be a hero and yet still dangerous, still powerful I mean he fought Dark Hook and won.
In contrast to that Emma manages to defy the darkness within her and her actions are arguably always self-less. In fact, the only time she uses her Dark Magic throughout the season was to save Robin, save her family, save Hook and to reunite the dagger with Excalibur.
Arguably, we do see her controlling Henry's first love, Violet, in turn breaking her son's heart as part of her "plan" to have the tear of a freshly broken heart to create a potion. Let not also forget she wanted to put all the Darkness into Zelena then kill her using Excalibur, using Zelena as a vessel. Perhaps for the greater good of everyone else and to save everyone, but alas she still did something to Dark in order to achieve it. We could argue that although her acts are heroic, she has used Dark Magic to achieve it and therefore "she has embraced her darkness". I think this is what the writers were referring to when they said we would see her "fully embrace the urges of Darkness" in the first half of season 5A; she was refusing to indulge in Dark Magic. We must note that dark magic is completely different to light magic and through Emma's character we see this, it comes with a greater price than her just needing to believe in herself in order to make magic lights come out of her hands. In this Season we see her resurrect two people from the dead, reunite Excalibur to the dark one dagger, cast a potion to communicate with Merlin, command Killian and Nimue to appear etc. all of which come with a steep, dark price to pay from breaking her son's heart to saving Robin and sacrificing someone else at the request of Regina. The prices being as steep as they are, although the acts were out of love and care for another person, they are enough to change a person, she's still indulged in magic which she tried hard to resist and therefore, she has still changed into Darkness. All of this in mind, I think it is fair to say that Emma has in some way embraced the darkness, therefore, calm down. 
In contrast, Emma and Hook's love throughout this season has been on a rollercoaster, I feel it is safe to say that this has been very focused on the CaptainSwan ship, true love and Emma's happy ending. (operation light swan or operation mongoose 2). The scenes of Hook within Camelot, as well as when he had no recollection of being the newest Dark One, in terms of his feelings for Emma almost mirrored each other showing that although Emma was dark, he would go to the ends of Earth and beyond to save and protect her, that he always loved and he always believed in her right?
Nope, hang on a second! In Storybrooke, he at one point said he no longer loved her on two occasions, once when he was on board the ship and refused to accept Emma as the Dark One, Second after discovering he was a new dark one and going full on badass. A lot of the fans I have seen have been saying "how could Hook change within 5 seconds of finding out he was the dark one?" but there is a reason I said "almost" mirrored each other.
In Camelot, we saw a lot of Hook showing true belief in Emma as he is probably the only character, who refused at points to use the dagger to convince her to do the right deed. In fact, the only time he used the dagger was to try to call for Emma and bring her to him at the start of the season. When returning to Storybrooke six weeks later after his memory was erased, Colin showed an in between of Hook where for me personally, I sensed a darker and different edge to him, but I could still see his love for Emma being overpowering of that darkness at points. Example, the moment on board the ship where he said "he no longer loved her" I believe to be the Darkness instead of our beloved pirate talking to her, during episode one "The Dark Swan" when he walked out of her home and said "something felt different", showing first real signs of uncertainty because of Emma being the Dark one, again I believe this to be the Darkness within Hook.
Despite those two occasions, he still believed in her in some way, we see this mostly in "Birth". (episode 8) Throughout this episode until the end, in particular, we see Hook trying desperately to rekindle what he and Emma had, saying he forgives her for whatever she is trying to atone for, although this basically backfires when Hook discovers Emma saved him by tethering his soul to the other half of Excalibur thus turning him into the Dark One. However, the season finale episode "Swan Song" shows a Hook who can fight the darkness to be the man he wants to be, the man who protects Emma, Regina and their families by sacrificing himself, he shows in this moment that his true love for Emma outweighs the power of Darkness, as he puts an end to all the Dark ones returning. Can we also take a moment to appreciate the difference in music as Emma rose from the Dark one chamber in comparison to Killian? We had some pretty heavy, dark, orchestral sounds from when Killian rose as the dark one whereas, in contrast, Emma had a sort of light and almost hopeful sound to it.
If I didn't talk about the paralells between Snowing and CaptainSwan I would be foolish, Adam and ed have used this in particular I would say as a comfort to the fans, yes we're going to the underworld, yes we're going to see cora, Peter Pan and many other people we don't want to see but it's ok! Because we're going to find Hook, we will always find Hook. In addition to this reassurance, I feel that it is a verbal symbolism like an unbreakable vow, this is true love, the real deal and the idea of them sharing one heart is symbolic on it's own. I really can not cope it's just a beautiful comparison and relfection of love; though I am sure many of the Snowing fans feel deeply offended "that's OUR LINE". This shouldn't be taken personally, Adam and Ed have used this as a tool to reinforce that this is the real deal and there isn't any way these two no matter what is thrown at them, they will not be seperated.
If I didn't talk about the paralells between Snowing and CaptainSwan I would be foolish, Adam and ed have used this in particular I would say as a comfort to the fans, yes we're going to the underworld, yes we're going to see cora, Peter Pan and many other people we don't want to see but it's ok! Because we're going to find Hook, we will always find Hook. In addition to this reassurance, I feel that it is a verbal symbolism like an unbreakable vow, this is true love, the real deal and the idea of them sharing one heart is symbolic on it's own. I really can not cope it's just a beautiful comparison and relfection of love; though I am sure many of the Snowing fans feel deeply offended "that's OUR LINE". This shouldn't be taken personally, Adam and Ed have used this as a tool to reinforce that this is the real deal and there isn't any way these two no matter what is thrown at them, they will not be seperated.
On to something a little bit more Wicked, Zelena and Robin's "baby pistachio" has arrived at once upon a time (thanks Emma for the onion rings). Let's bring you up to speed with this one because honestly, it's a little bit complicated. So since season 3B, we have had the lovely Rebecca Mader playing the overly Wicked Zelena, if we face facts any Evil Regal has secretly loved to hate this witch, is it normal for all those who are Dark to be so deranged? In any event, so Zelena at the end of 3B went through the time vortex with Emma and Hook, during this time Emma freed Robin's first wife, Marian, from ironically, Regina's cell. Before returning to the present day in Storybrooke, Zelena killed Marian and used a potion within her necklace to transfigure into her, fooling everyone into believing she is Marian including Robin. Eventually, although hit by Elsa and giving her an even colder heart, she is freed and Regina encourages Robin to start a life in New York City with Marian and Roland, without her. Down the line of Season 4, Rumple and Regina discover that Robin has been tricked a little too late as Zelena is now carrying baby Pistachio. She was two months pregnant, however zapped out of her cell and given onion rings by Dark Swan, her pregnancy soon sped up and welcome the new baby. Firstly, I loved Dark Swan in that labour room giving sass to Zelena after she was, in my personal opinion, rude to Regina, that Swanqueen love shows no limits.
Second, I couldn't help but notice how upset everyone has been over Regina and Hood deciding to send Zelena away to Oz, I am aware of Regina's history plus the fact she was allowed to keep Henry despite how semi-insane she was in Seasons 1 and 2. However, she always placed Henry first in some way or another and eventually accepted that Emma was his biological mother, with just as many rights as she has and furthermore I think she realised that he's grown up a lot since the start of the show. Almost having your heart ripped out by your great-grandfather can be enough to make you realise what kind of man you want to be, him also being the new author and holding that much power has made Regina realise he can handle a lot of responsibilities. Let's not also forget that since Season 3 she has changed dramatically from her previous Evil queen stance, I hear you why can't Zelena do the same? Why isn't Zelena been given a chance?
Second, I couldn't help but notice how upset everyone has been over Regina and Hood deciding to send Zelena away to Oz, I am aware of Regina's history plus the fact she was allowed to keep Henry despite how semi-insane she was in Seasons 1 and 2. However, she always placed Henry first in some way or another and eventually accepted that Emma was his biological mother, with just as many rights as she has and furthermore I think she realised that he's grown up a lot since the start of the show. Almost having your heart ripped out by your great-grandfather can be enough to make you realise what kind of man you want to be, him also being the new author and holding that much power has made Regina realise he can handle a lot of responsibilities. Let's not also forget that since Season 3 she has changed dramatically from her previous Evil queen stance, I hear you why can't Zelena do the same? Why isn't Zelena been given a chance?
Back in season 3 (click it to see the clip), Regina placed Zelena's necklace in her vault and gave her a second chance instead of killing her, in an interesting sibling way where she threatens her to take the second chance or she will rip her heart out. Take it from someone with a sibling, this is normal behaviour and trust me, although Regina threatens it she will not actually do it because if she was to do it, she would have by now. The truth I feel is that Regina is clearly tired of Zelena trying so desperately hard to take everything from her or tired of giving her chance after chance, she obviously loves her sister and that is plain to see for the typical sister love of "no one hurts her but me" kicks in during the "Birth" episode. Zelena is refusing to take these chances and make a change. Personally, I feel no sympathy for her especially after in "Swan Song" where she says "neither of you will be here to stop me, you'll both be dead! I'm going to raise this child to be wicked" personally, my morals are very much against this as I don't believe it is fair first of all, to celebrate the death of your child's father, in addition to then force the child to be someone that she may not want to be; Don't even get me started on the fact she's actually considering calling the baby Pistachio.
I can understand Robin and Regina's sudden change of heart and sending Zelena back to Oz, they had to do whats right by Hood's daughter and offer her the best chance she has at being the woman she wants to be, I love how this also mirror's Killian's story with his father and how that also relates to Regina wishing to kill her mother and hiring him to do so, I felt this clever parallel was very enjoyable to watch during "Swan Song".
Regina has shown that she is the true saviour this season and proven just how far she is willing to go, to keep her true love Robin, how far all of them are willing to go to secure each others happiness. Snowing and all the dwarfs even stepped in offering a part of their lives to trade for Robin's. It's nice to see that the whole town are starting to see Regina has changed as well, not just those that are close to her I feel like we finally have our queen. In addition to this, in the end it was her words to Hook that made him realise what he had done and made him decide to change, to become the man he wanted to be; a hero. You Go Regina! She's also shown an amazing growth as a mother, not only to Henry, but to Roland and Baby Hood as well, which is fantastic to see. I am loving the fact that Regina is starting to believe in herself and to become a true hero, the rest of the town starting to believe it as well was really enjoyable to see in the first episodes. Although they have not been given much screentime, I personally feel like these characters are in a perfect place, we've seen sme growth in Regina when it comes to self belief and although with their complications, OutlawQueen still stands strong; yay!
Saturday 5 December 2015
Tarte: I am like 365 days behind in this news, I am sorry.
Hello, Everybody.
I hope you are all well on this fine Saturday (depending where you are in the world), it is the afternoon in ever-so-windy Egypt; I'm actually really too scared to get my washing in due to this wind I'm hearing outside, that and it's also freezing outside my bed.
I have never used any Tarte cosmetics before, but I was eagerly excited to try some at some stage, currently speaking they do not sell to the area of the UK I live in and to my knowledge they are not available in Egypt either. From the many reviews I have read on their cruelty-free products, the more I read the more excited and uncontrollable my desire to get my hands on some products became. However, Tarte cosmetics the cruelty-free company, who have brought us fabulous makeup products such as the Amazonian Clay blusher's, butter lipsticks, camera lashes and many other fabulous products have been bought by Kose.
Kose corporations were founded in 1946 in Japan by Kozaburo Kobayashi, who had a desire to give create makeup and skincare products. They sell a wide range of products under brand names such as Infinity, awake, Kose, Beaute de Kose, Cosme Decorat, Jill Stuart, Albion and many others; as of March 2014 the company has 33 subsidiaries. Their main beliefs are that the success of the products is based on the care for the environment, within this "environment well fare" that includes the working environment within their company. Kose corporations are known in the beauty world for their testing on animals to ensure "products that will fulfill the clients hopes and dreams" and the company has recently bought our beloved Tarte cosmetics. So where does that leave Tarte in the land of testing on animals?
Tarte Cosmetics was founded in 1999 by Maureen Kelly, her main philosophy was to create a makeup brand that would be good for you, using natural minerals instead of highly produced, "icky" chemicals in her products and a firm belief in the environmental well-being of the planet, forever looking for ways to take care of the planet whilst making the products we all know and love.
Back to the situation at hand, Tarte was bought by Kose last year in 2014, but after only doing extensive research into Tarte recently-yes, I am aware I am very far behind, for this I can only offer my deepest apology.
So after announcing the news, Tarte has given a public "reassurance" that they will not test on Animals.
I hope you are all well on this fine Saturday (depending where you are in the world), it is the afternoon in ever-so-windy Egypt; I'm actually really too scared to get my washing in due to this wind I'm hearing outside, that and it's also freezing outside my bed.
I have never used any Tarte cosmetics before, but I was eagerly excited to try some at some stage, currently speaking they do not sell to the area of the UK I live in and to my knowledge they are not available in Egypt either. From the many reviews I have read on their cruelty-free products, the more I read the more excited and uncontrollable my desire to get my hands on some products became. However, Tarte cosmetics the cruelty-free company, who have brought us fabulous makeup products such as the Amazonian Clay blusher's, butter lipsticks, camera lashes and many other fabulous products have been bought by Kose.
Kose corporations were founded in 1946 in Japan by Kozaburo Kobayashi, who had a desire to give create makeup and skincare products. They sell a wide range of products under brand names such as Infinity, awake, Kose, Beaute de Kose, Cosme Decorat, Jill Stuart, Albion and many others; as of March 2014 the company has 33 subsidiaries. Their main beliefs are that the success of the products is based on the care for the environment, within this "environment well fare" that includes the working environment within their company. Kose corporations are known in the beauty world for their testing on animals to ensure "products that will fulfill the clients hopes and dreams" and the company has recently bought our beloved Tarte cosmetics. So where does that leave Tarte in the land of testing on animals?
Tarte Cosmetics was founded in 1999 by Maureen Kelly, her main philosophy was to create a makeup brand that would be good for you, using natural minerals instead of highly produced, "icky" chemicals in her products and a firm belief in the environmental well-being of the planet, forever looking for ways to take care of the planet whilst making the products we all know and love.
Back to the situation at hand, Tarte was bought by Kose last year in 2014, but after only doing extensive research into Tarte recently-yes, I am aware I am very far behind, for this I can only offer my deepest apology.
So after announcing the news, Tarte has given a public "reassurance" that they will not test on Animals.
After many tartelettes posting their concerns and comments all afternoon, Maureen Kelly herself made an announcement to reassure all our tartelettes that they will remain an eco-friendly, cruelty-free cosmetic brand and Kose will support this decision 150%.
In my personal belief, I will keep Tarte written as a cruelty-free company, just as I do Body Shop, NARS, Urban Decay, Burt's bees etc. However, it is noted that their mother company does test on animals.
I try to ensure that you guys are kept up to date with the latest in beauty knowledge from here on, I was aware that I did put Tarte on my cosmetics cruelty-free list. In addition to that, they have remained on the PETA cruelty-free list, however, they are not accompanied with the leaping bunny logo due to incompletion of forms.
Ultimately, it is your decision to make, I strongly encourage my readers to have independence and to make their own decisions as a consumer, with what they feel comfortable with. I hope I provide sufficient enough research and education to assist you in your purchase choices, as well as making you more aware of what it is you are consuming. You are not me, you have your own beliefs, own morals, own principles and you are able to make your own decision so you OWN that freedom! I do deeply apologise for being unaware of Tarte being owned by Kose and not including this on the cruelty-free list. I will do my up-most best to stay on top of all news beauty so you have the knowledge first.
Until we meet again ladies and Gents,
Chow for now! xox
Hey tartelettes – It’s Maureen
I’ve been reading your comments and concerns over the past hour and wanted to let you know I hear them all loud and clear. I promise, I’m not going anywhere. I started tarte out of my one bedroom apartment and I’m still just as passionate about making innovative, eco-friendly products that deliver real results. I’ll still be in the office every day working with my team to develop new products I hope you’ll love as much as I do. Remember, tarte will NOT be testing on animals, or EVER test on animals. We are a cruelty-free company and will remain one. KOSÉ is completely on board with our position as an eco-friendly, cruelty-free company and has given tarte such a great opportunity to grow and expand around the world. It’s really an exciting time and we can’t wait to reach more tartelettes worldwide. Please look at the checklist below and be assured tarte is in great hands.
· We will remain a cruelty-free beauty brand focused on high-performance naturals™
· We will continue to manufacture our high-quality products to our exacting standards, which means our formulas will continue to be formulated without parabens, mineral oil, phthalates, triclosan, sodium lauryl sulfate, and gluten
· We will continue to formulate with good-for-you ingredients like Amazonian clay, maracuja, minerals, colored clay, superfruits and vitamins
· With my team, we will continue to innovate and create products we believe tartelettes will love
· We will continue to expand internationally where are our high standards are met—we can’t wait to reach more tartelettes worldwide!
In my personal belief, I will keep Tarte written as a cruelty-free company, just as I do Body Shop, NARS, Urban Decay, Burt's bees etc. However, it is noted that their mother company does test on animals.
I try to ensure that you guys are kept up to date with the latest in beauty knowledge from here on, I was aware that I did put Tarte on my cosmetics cruelty-free list. In addition to that, they have remained on the PETA cruelty-free list, however, they are not accompanied with the leaping bunny logo due to incompletion of forms.
Ultimately, it is your decision to make, I strongly encourage my readers to have independence and to make their own decisions as a consumer, with what they feel comfortable with. I hope I provide sufficient enough research and education to assist you in your purchase choices, as well as making you more aware of what it is you are consuming. You are not me, you have your own beliefs, own morals, own principles and you are able to make your own decision so you OWN that freedom! I do deeply apologise for being unaware of Tarte being owned by Kose and not including this on the cruelty-free list. I will do my up-most best to stay on top of all news beauty so you have the knowledge first.
Until we meet again ladies and Gents,
Chow for now! xox
Thursday 3 December 2015
Guess who is going to tread foot on British soil?
Hello, World!
I haven't posted in a very long while so my deepest apologies, I have missed you all so much. It is with my apologies and excitement, that I am happy to announce, I will be returning to the United Kingdom and planning on staying there from 23rd December 2015. This is due to a number of things the first being that I am currently not happy in my employment, nothing to do with my employees or my pupils in the classroom, but I personally do not enjoy teaching and the more I stay trying to enjoy it the more I am realising that I miss blogging, counselling and generally caring for people in an alternate way.
I would like to thank my partner Tom, who has been overly supportive and brilliant throughout, he was the person who helped get me the job in Egypt and took care of my accommodation whilst I was here, he's supported me and done so much more, he really is truly amazing, I can't even stress how important he is to me and I owe him so much for being there for me, looking out for me and not being grossed out by me, even when I'm eating sweetcorn with my hands!
I would also like to thank the amazing support of my head co-ordinator, May, and the rest of the year 3 team, Brinette, Louise, Jenna and Rajwana who have given me so much advice, help and support throughout my time here they have made it so much easier for me to feel at home and I really appreciate all your expertise! Kayleigh, who has been a fantastic friend to have and has reignited my love for drama and the performing arts I would have been lost without her energetic and positive attitude. I would also like to thank the supportive parents of my pupils, who have shown great care for myself and of course, their children, but they have been fantastic throughout my time here so I really want to say, thank you. Everyone else who has made my time in Egypt exceptional, all the fantastic people I have met I want to thank you :) You have been brilliant! I feel like it is the right time to return home and focus on myself. Those of you who have read "Meet my friend Anxi" know that I have been struggling with mental illness for the good part of 6 years. Before I left for Egypt this took a severe turn for the worst, the best way I can describe what I felt, it was like I was suddenly thrown into a dark black room, no windows, no doors and suddenly I was being thrown from one wall to another by my own emotions. It felt like I had no control and I still feel as though I have no control right now.
I no longer want to be trapped in this room where I'm just hurtled around by my own feelings, I want to have control, I want to think logically, I want to be myself again because often I feel like I have lost myself to my emotions.
I do not always feel like this, I do not always have days where I'm so low that leaving my bed is a difficult task, in fact, I have days where I feel like I could take on a 70ft tall fire-breathing dragon, who is on a strict "eat the Natalie's" only diet. I want to have constant dragon fighting days, days where no matter what happens-sad news or good, I feel like I can rationally take it on. I can't stop the negative thoughts popping into my head, but I want to be able to not let them control me, to not let them set off or cause feelings of sadness and emptiness, anger, frustration etc. I want to be in control and have the choice to be happy, at present I don't feel like I have the control to choose to do that.
I will be back in the UK which means I will be back to beauty blogging in a number of weeks! I can not wait to share my Christmas beauty goodies with you all!
Chow for now!
I no longer want to be trapped in this room where I'm just hurtled around by my own feelings, I want to have control, I want to think logically, I want to be myself again because often I feel like I have lost myself to my emotions.
I do not always feel like this, I do not always have days where I'm so low that leaving my bed is a difficult task, in fact, I have days where I feel like I could take on a 70ft tall fire-breathing dragon, who is on a strict "eat the Natalie's" only diet. I want to have constant dragon fighting days, days where no matter what happens-sad news or good, I feel like I can rationally take it on. I can't stop the negative thoughts popping into my head, but I want to be able to not let them control me, to not let them set off or cause feelings of sadness and emptiness, anger, frustration etc. I want to be in control and have the choice to be happy, at present I don't feel like I have the control to choose to do that.
I will be back in the UK which means I will be back to beauty blogging in a number of weeks! I can not wait to share my Christmas beauty goodies with you all!
Chow for now!
Tuesday 13 October 2015
Chapter 1 (I guess): 6 weeks of Egypt. (To be continued...)
The First feel of Egypt.
Travel writing is not particularly a strong point of mine, but with my words I hope to make you fall in love with the world we live in.
Every continent, every country, every state, every town and every single friendly, kind and considerate human being that enters my life, I hope to bring them into yours with my words.
I hope that as you read about the sea of luminous colours, spices dancing on tongues, music of a different kind surrounding and embracing all who can hear; I hope as you read my words, that you are transported here with me, that the world begins to surround you, that you can visually see, feel, hear, touch and taste all that I have embraced; these words, should help us share this experience together.
Travel writing is not particularly a strong point of mine, but with my words I hope to make you fall in love with the world we live in.
Every continent, every country, every state, every town and every single friendly, kind and considerate human being that enters my life, I hope to bring them into yours with my words.
I hope that as you read about the sea of luminous colours, spices dancing on tongues, music of a different kind surrounding and embracing all who can hear; I hope as you read my words, that you are transported here with me, that the world begins to surround you, that you can visually see, feel, hear, touch and taste all that I have embraced; these words, should help us share this experience together.
Egypt is mostly known by everyone to be the place of the Pyramids, the Sphinx, Ancient Egyptians and the film "the Mummy" but there is a lot more to Egypt than just its history and action pact film. Although it's history is simply beautiful on its own, modern Egypt is very much a beautiful, intriguing place to be and I can agree 6 weeks is not a long time to know a place, but it is enough time to feel more at home and from what I have experienced so far, Egypt should be known for more than just the Pyramids, the Ancient Egyptian history and its outstanding heat.
It's friendly, helpful and kind citizens, well-protected estates or compounds, it's passions towards it's religious beliefs and the beautiful language it speaks, Arabic, should make Egypt a more well respected and appreciated place.
As soon as I landed in this country, the first thing that took my breath away was the heat, it was like opening an oven and getting a face full of hot air. Not fully expecting it, but appreciating it all the same after being on a long day of travelling, thankful to be on two legs for a short time whilst walking to the bus after 14 hours of being sat down. After a while of looking out the window, watching all the empty buildings, stray dogs and some exceptional small-desert like spaces as we passed, the curiosity of what lay ahead was growing stronger and stronger. OK perhaps it's not like a picturesque wonderland, however if you are like me you don't see empty buildings, stray dogs or desert spaces; you see potential in the place. The initial reaction was "grabbing my camera would be an ideal love right now, why did I forget to pack it!?" because what I see is creative space, somewhere to fill with purpose, make something be it a person, building or animal look and feel like it has a purpose even if it is just for a few seconds.
Learning what I did about Egypt, the empty houses were half built during the boom season some years ago, a lot of people were moving or visiting Egypt as a holiday destination and because of this it tried to accommodate those needs. Unfortunately, the boom soon ended and a lot of these buildings have been left incomplete since, I am hoping they continue building because some of the architecture of this country is simply stunning. The detailed tiles, delicate patterns that frame the windows and doors, lined with flowers, some with diamonds and their pale backgrounds making the details stand out even more; makes anyone proud to call some of these buildings their homes, they are simply beautiful.
The first hour being in this new land excited and caused total anxiety all at the same time, but as the bus pulled up outside my new home and I was greeted by the security plus my partner Tom, as soon as I laid eyes on my beautiful new home I felt a lot more relaxed. The building I live in is in a quiet area of 6th October City and it is a magnificent building, at first it felt more like Spain with it's red walls, delicate blue flowers on the plain, white tiles and the shimmering clean concrete that guided us to the steps. It was beautiful, I couldn't see much of it when I first landed, being totally honest as it was 11pm but I could still see a bit of it and I could still appreciate it. After 14 hours, being curled up next to Tom in this beautiful country, I felt a lot more at ease and ready for the next day that lay ahead of me.
As soon as I landed in this country, the first thing that took my breath away was the heat, it was like opening an oven and getting a face full of hot air. Not fully expecting it, but appreciating it all the same after being on a long day of travelling, thankful to be on two legs for a short time whilst walking to the bus after 14 hours of being sat down. After a while of looking out the window, watching all the empty buildings, stray dogs and some exceptional small-desert like spaces as we passed, the curiosity of what lay ahead was growing stronger and stronger. OK perhaps it's not like a picturesque wonderland, however if you are like me you don't see empty buildings, stray dogs or desert spaces; you see potential in the place. The initial reaction was "grabbing my camera would be an ideal love right now, why did I forget to pack it!?" because what I see is creative space, somewhere to fill with purpose, make something be it a person, building or animal look and feel like it has a purpose even if it is just for a few seconds.
Learning what I did about Egypt, the empty houses were half built during the boom season some years ago, a lot of people were moving or visiting Egypt as a holiday destination and because of this it tried to accommodate those needs. Unfortunately, the boom soon ended and a lot of these buildings have been left incomplete since, I am hoping they continue building because some of the architecture of this country is simply stunning. The detailed tiles, delicate patterns that frame the windows and doors, lined with flowers, some with diamonds and their pale backgrounds making the details stand out even more; makes anyone proud to call some of these buildings their homes, they are simply beautiful.
The first hour being in this new land excited and caused total anxiety all at the same time, but as the bus pulled up outside my new home and I was greeted by the security plus my partner Tom, as soon as I laid eyes on my beautiful new home I felt a lot more relaxed. The building I live in is in a quiet area of 6th October City and it is a magnificent building, at first it felt more like Spain with it's red walls, delicate blue flowers on the plain, white tiles and the shimmering clean concrete that guided us to the steps. It was beautiful, I couldn't see much of it when I first landed, being totally honest as it was 11pm but I could still see a bit of it and I could still appreciate it. After 14 hours, being curled up next to Tom in this beautiful country, I felt a lot more at ease and ready for the next day that lay ahead of me.
Friday 25 September 2015
Natiee blog's will live on!
Hello, my lovelies!
As many of you know thanks to my previous post, I have indeed moved to Egypt for the next two years to pursue and test out a career in teaching. It's been on my career thought list for a while, but I decided to give it a shot and so far it's going well, I have a few things I know I need to do to improve, but I know I can do it 100%.
In any event, I thought for a small period of time this would mean I would have to stop my beauty blog, which made me feel quite sad because I really do enjoy testing out products and writing my experiences with them, doing the research and learning just what is good for the human skin, body and mind, how different makeup brands use different ingredients and which of them really benefits us etc.
I thought this may be challenging to do in Egypt, because I didn't know what makeup would be available, I was uncertain of finance etc. and being vegetarian with my products makes it all the more challenging, it was challenging in Britain and I only just found my feet with it.
After some research I am pleased to say, I am not going anywhere! I will be continuing my beauty blog, with a few extra adventures and perks in the mix. Next month, I do need to purchase goodies for my apartment, however with the following months pay I will be purchasing some beauty goods and review them all for you shortly.
I hope you are all keeping well and I look forward to blogging some beauties with you soon,
TaTa for now!
As many of you know thanks to my previous post, I have indeed moved to Egypt for the next two years to pursue and test out a career in teaching. It's been on my career thought list for a while, but I decided to give it a shot and so far it's going well, I have a few things I know I need to do to improve, but I know I can do it 100%.
In any event, I thought for a small period of time this would mean I would have to stop my beauty blog, which made me feel quite sad because I really do enjoy testing out products and writing my experiences with them, doing the research and learning just what is good for the human skin, body and mind, how different makeup brands use different ingredients and which of them really benefits us etc.
I thought this may be challenging to do in Egypt, because I didn't know what makeup would be available, I was uncertain of finance etc. and being vegetarian with my products makes it all the more challenging, it was challenging in Britain and I only just found my feet with it.
After some research I am pleased to say, I am not going anywhere! I will be continuing my beauty blog, with a few extra adventures and perks in the mix. Next month, I do need to purchase goodies for my apartment, however with the following months pay I will be purchasing some beauty goods and review them all for you shortly.
I hope you are all keeping well and I look forward to blogging some beauties with you soon,
TaTa for now!
Friday 18 September 2015
Security.
As you know I haven't written much online due to moving to Egypt, but I have been writing in my journal for myself. I want to share with you a piece that I've written, since living in Egypt I have found my confidence growing a lot, myself growing a lot and my anxiety shrinking a lot. So I want to share with you a short piece of "poetry" if you wish to call it that, called "Security."
Security does not come from a place.
It does not live, eat, sleep or breath in the same home
you live, eat, sleep or breath.
It does not live behind locked doors, closed windows
or metaphorical walls we tell ourselves we hide behind.
Security does not come from a person.
It does not come from the arms of the man or woman
that holds you, does not come from your mother holding your hand.
It does not live in your friend, your neighbour
or that soul mate you're so eager to find.
Security comes from belief, comes from you.
It comes from knowing in the darkest of times
there will come a blinding dawn.
It comes from knowing that the arms around you
will stay with you because you're worthy of love.
It comes from lonely dinners that feel
overcrowded, from long walks with the wind holding your hand,
from nights of spreading on your double bed
and enjoying every minute of solitude.
Security comes from yourself and yourself,
alone.
Security does not come from a place.
It does not live, eat, sleep or breath in the same home
you live, eat, sleep or breath.
It does not live behind locked doors, closed windows
or metaphorical walls we tell ourselves we hide behind.
Security does not come from a person.
It does not come from the arms of the man or woman
that holds you, does not come from your mother holding your hand.
It does not live in your friend, your neighbour
or that soul mate you're so eager to find.
Security comes from belief, comes from you.
It comes from knowing in the darkest of times
there will come a blinding dawn.
It comes from knowing that the arms around you
will stay with you because you're worthy of love.
It comes from lonely dinners that feel
overcrowded, from long walks with the wind holding your hand,
from nights of spreading on your double bed
and enjoying every minute of solitude.
Security comes from yourself and yourself,
alone.
I have moved to Egypt!
Hello my Mad Natters!
Hope you have been keeping well, I apologise for the lack of posts but due to an amazing job opportunity, I have moved to Egypt.
Writing reviews for beauty products around this area is fairly tough, my internet isn't always working, makeup and skincare products are very expensive but the most heartbreaking news of all is, THERE IS NO LUSH COSMETICS! (Luckily I stocked up before I left)
BUT I am however having a fantastic time, I am enjoying my new career as a Primary school Teacher, I have met some truly fantastic people and I look forward to sharing all these experiences with you soon.
Awaiting my first pay slip then I'll show you all the beautiful apartment, locations etc.
Right now, I have some marking to do so TaTa for now my lovelies!
Hope you have been keeping well, I apologise for the lack of posts but due to an amazing job opportunity, I have moved to Egypt.
Writing reviews for beauty products around this area is fairly tough, my internet isn't always working, makeup and skincare products are very expensive but the most heartbreaking news of all is, THERE IS NO LUSH COSMETICS! (Luckily I stocked up before I left)
BUT I am however having a fantastic time, I am enjoying my new career as a Primary school Teacher, I have met some truly fantastic people and I look forward to sharing all these experiences with you soon.
Awaiting my first pay slip then I'll show you all the beautiful apartment, locations etc.
Right now, I have some marking to do so TaTa for now my lovelies!
Monday 17 August 2015
Animal Cruelty free (to the best of my knowledge) Replacement Make up Extravaganza part 2!
Hello Everyone,
In my previous but most recent post, I listed a load of brands that were cruelty-free, some questionable as to keep with laws in China they test on certain products or their mother company is owned by an animal testing company and I have done a blog post of all my replacement skin care products.
To follow up with that, like the majority of conversions of course, we clear out the old and bring in the new, so I recently went on a massive haul to convert to animal cruelty free cosmetics, to the best of my knowledge and excessive research. Interestingly, I found it quite fun to hunt for at the same time, fairly difficult with a lot of brands being owned by other brands, who test or sell to China.
I raided every Boots, Superdrug, Debenhams and Hoopers I could find so without further ado, I bring you my new beauty toys. We'll end with makeup, shall we? Yeah, go on then!
The Seventeen matter miracle primer works wonders at banishing the shine, for a solid 10 hours perhaps it's because my job is fairly physically demanding at times, therefore causing me to sweat a great deal more. The primer keeps off the shine for the same amount of time as it keeps the makeup and so for just £5 that is well within it's means.
Rating: 3/5.
Rating 4/5.
In my previous but most recent post, I listed a load of brands that were cruelty-free, some questionable as to keep with laws in China they test on certain products or their mother company is owned by an animal testing company and I have done a blog post of all my replacement skin care products.
To follow up with that, like the majority of conversions of course, we clear out the old and bring in the new, so I recently went on a massive haul to convert to animal cruelty free cosmetics, to the best of my knowledge and excessive research. Interestingly, I found it quite fun to hunt for at the same time, fairly difficult with a lot of brands being owned by other brands, who test or sell to China.
I raided every Boots, Superdrug, Debenhams and Hoopers I could find so without further ado, I bring you my new beauty toys. We'll end with makeup, shall we? Yeah, go on then!
Makeup
From the Top-Left & Down. (Like you're reading an English book!)
Seventeen Miracle Matte Primer
Barry M Flawless Light Reflecting Concealer.
Barry M Brow Kit Shape and Define.
Seventeen Define and Conquer contour kit.
No7 Translucent Perfect light Pressed Powder.
Lush Colour supplement in shade Jackie Oates.
Seventeen Cheek & Lip Stain Gel tint in shade Coral Crush.
Superdrug B. Stunning Vibrant eye shimmer in 098 Poseidon.
Seventeen Stay Pout! Lipstick in the shade "Going Steady."
Barry M Matte Me up Lip Crayon in the shade "On the Frow" (I believe).
Younique Moodstruck Minerals Pigment Matte in the shade "Corrupted."
Too faced Chocolate Bar Eyeshadow Palette.
Barry M Bold white Waterproof eyeliner.
Rimmel London eyeshadow stick in colour "Hydrofuge"
Superdrugs 2true effortless liquid Eyeliner in Black.
Seventeen Falsifeye HD Mascara.
Younique 3D Moodstruck Fibre Lash Mascara. [Please see separate review]
Seventeen Miracle Matte Primer-Price: £4.99 (Boots)
Seventeen miracle matter primer does not quite give "Porefessional" by Benefit a run for its money, but it comes pretty damn close for 1/5th of the price! I switched from the Benefit primer to Seventeen's matte primer as Benefit sell their cosmetics in china, therefore, tested on animals. SO as an alternative I found the Seventeen primer whilst browsing boots, it's a small tube which surprisingly lasts an awfully long time and the smallest amounts stretch quite far.
Miracle matte primer is oil-free, taking away any chance of oils making an appearance on the face, when applying the primer to my skin I found it immediately decreased the shine and left my face feeling soft as ever, it especially worked well when I used the product with "Deadsea Spa Magik Beauty Balm BB Cream" my make up refused to budge the majority of the day, plus my skin had a very soft look and slight glow. However, miracle matte working alone, I found that within a few hours my makeup had indeed already melted away, it kept my makeup on for a few hours but come to the end of a 12 hour shift, like with most makeup and primers-I was bare, red-faced.The Seventeen matter miracle primer works wonders at banishing the shine, for a solid 10 hours perhaps it's because my job is fairly physically demanding at times, therefore causing me to sweat a great deal more. The primer keeps off the shine for the same amount of time as it keeps the makeup and so for just £5 that is well within it's means.
Rating: 3/5.
Barry M Flawless Light Reflecting Concealer-Price: £4.49 (Boots)
Barry M is a favourite brand of mine for certain things, it crushed my heart when they discontinued a majority of their dazzle dust. The reflecting concealer is a hit and miss with me, I love the fact it reflects the lights off my flaws and it definitely covers my spots, taking away their redness. Again, the only problem I have when it comes to concealers is it does not cover the bags under my eyes very effectively. Perhaps I should try a concealer which is specifically designed to cover under eye bags, sadly when I have previously tried them before they haven't worked well but back to the concealer in question.
In covering spots and other flaws on the skin, this is a godsend! It has worked wonders and it most definitely reflects the light, adding brightness to the face as well as reflecting away from the flaws on the face. It covers up spots, takes away the redness and it smells amazing. The extract of aloe vera and cucumber means that it soothes the spots as well as covers the redness-giving flawless complexion and calming spot repellent ingredients. I recommend this concealer to cover spots and flaws, however in regards to dark under eye bags it is not thy friend.Rating 4/5.
Barry M Brow Kit Shape and Define-Price: £5.99 (Boots)
Brow kit shape and define by Barry M was a product recommended to me by my mama B! I have to say, for someone who isn't that much of a brow fan well this definitely changed my mind and showed me the difference defined brows can make on the face. The Barry M Brow kit comes with little tweezers, an angled brush and blender brush, coloured wax, brow powder and highlighter, all tools you need to have those brows "on fleek" as my sister says (whatever I'm down with the kids now cause I used that term!). First, tidying up any loose hairs on the face I personally used my own tweezers because I have big hands, being totally honest and the tiny tweezers aren't my friend. The next step is to grab the angler side and gently dabbed into the wax then apply to the brow, following the shape of your brow and tidying up any stray parts. Using the angle brush, dab the brow powder and then apply to eyebrows. Follow the main shape of the brow, with the blender brush I use for the highlight, apply under the brow and just above to add more tidiness, shape and reflect the light. I am not a brow expert, so do not quote me but this is how I have been using it.
The Brow kit lasts all day, offering tidy and defined brows making you look fierce and tidy.
Rating 5/5.
Brow kit shape and define by Barry M was a product recommended to me by my mama B! I have to say, for someone who isn't that much of a brow fan well this definitely changed my mind and showed me the difference defined brows can make on the face. The Barry M Brow kit comes with little tweezers, an angled brush and blender brush, coloured wax, brow powder and highlighter, all tools you need to have those brows "on fleek" as my sister says (whatever I'm down with the kids now cause I used that term!). First, tidying up any loose hairs on the face I personally used my own tweezers because I have big hands, being totally honest and the tiny tweezers aren't my friend. The next step is to grab the angler side and gently dabbed into the wax then apply to the brow, following the shape of your brow and tidying up any stray parts. Using the angle brush, dab the brow powder and then apply to eyebrows. Follow the main shape of the brow, with the blender brush I use for the highlight, apply under the brow and just above to add more tidiness, shape and reflect the light. I am not a brow expert, so do not quote me but this is how I have been using it.
The Brow kit lasts all day, offering tidy and defined brows making you look fierce and tidy.
Rating 5/5.
Seventeen Define and Conquer contour kit-Price: £4.99 (Boots)
I swear by this contouring kit, it's the first one I purchased but it's so pigmented and defining it's incredible. Seventeen Define and Conquer contour kit comes with a highlighter and bronzer, plus instructions on how to contour, the key to contouring is knowing what the shape of your face it and matching the shading plus highlighting, to bring out those beautiful cheekbones and face shape. I actually learnt how to contour from a post on Pinterest, I have a fairly long round face, using an angled blush brush I use bronzer from this kit and make a 3 shape-start from the top of the face near the hairline on the right side, bring the brush around the edge and down under the cheek bone, back up and down along the jaw line. I normally do two strokes and then follow through with blending a very important step then do the same on the left side, again blending afterwards. The define and conquer kit really gives shape to my cheekbones and face, making it appear less long or round and more defined. The highlighter goes across the T-zone, just on the cheekbones and the under eyes, giving a look of an awaken complexion and healthy glow, remembering to blend well, I only put the smallest dot of blush on top with the cheek stain. Define and Conquer contour kit at £5 is an amazing value for money.
Rating: 5/5
I swear by this contouring kit, it's the first one I purchased but it's so pigmented and defining it's incredible. Seventeen Define and Conquer contour kit comes with a highlighter and bronzer, plus instructions on how to contour, the key to contouring is knowing what the shape of your face it and matching the shading plus highlighting, to bring out those beautiful cheekbones and face shape. I actually learnt how to contour from a post on Pinterest, I have a fairly long round face, using an angled blush brush I use bronzer from this kit and make a 3 shape-start from the top of the face near the hairline on the right side, bring the brush around the edge and down under the cheek bone, back up and down along the jaw line. I normally do two strokes and then follow through with blending a very important step then do the same on the left side, again blending afterwards. The define and conquer kit really gives shape to my cheekbones and face, making it appear less long or round and more defined. The highlighter goes across the T-zone, just on the cheekbones and the under eyes, giving a look of an awaken complexion and healthy glow, remembering to blend well, I only put the smallest dot of blush on top with the cheek stain. Define and Conquer contour kit at £5 is an amazing value for money.
Rating: 5/5
No7 Translucent Perfect light Pressed Powder-Price: £14.50 (Boots)
No7 translucent perfect light pressed powder is a perfect make up setter and finisher. This light powder literally feels like you aren't wearing anything on your face, however it does mattify and rid any final shines that may appear on the face. The pressed powder gives a lovely, even and fair coverage, in particular on days when you just need a light coverage. The powder does need to be reapplied during the day and it is fairly pricey, but it does offer good coverage, sets the make up and softens the face blurring all imperfections and any uneven skin tone, for a powder which is close to transparent or so it appears. It gives a natural, flawless finish. The product comes with a mirror and tiny powder sponge, I advice when applying the powder to brush down so the face hairs don't stand up and its even. Yes, we have transparent face hair which is what makes us so fluffy and cute...sometimes, the No7 powder is good for oily skin as it offers a nice matte finish, reflects the light and makes the skin look flawless.
Rating: 4/5
Lush Colour supplement in shade Jackie Oates-Price: £9.50 (Online)
"Jackie oates" is a gem of a colour supplement/foundation when all you need is a light coverage. Lush cosmetics have entered the world of make up and I am grateful! Finding a decent foundation, which doesn't test on animals, is proving at present to be a challenge but this little beauty entering my life, with its beautiful I personally think watermelon like smell. The colour supplement is the closest I have found to my pale skin, it matches perfectly without any orange or funny coloured mishaps, evens the skin perfectly and as I said, light coverage. Now, I am a lushie I adore lush with all my heart and soul, there is just some tiny problems with this product. I do my usual skin care regime of "angels on bare skin" cleanser, "Burt's bee's radiance toner" and "No7 Daily Essential day cream" followed by the application of my "seventeen matte primer" before applying Jackie Oates. Jackie Oates offers a light coverage, so on the days where I need something to pull through and hide all the flaws, this doesn't quite cut it, the foundation itself does not last all day, it tends to come off quite quickly and I found it lasts a maximum of 5 hours before needing to reapply. I don't like to reapply my foundations, because I feel as though I'm clogging my pores. The ingredients within Jackie Oates there are a selection of approximately five which are all natural ingredients, and these oils or natural ingredients do give the product it's nice smell and allows the skin to breath, it doesn't give the desired stay foundation that I would personally like. Maybe perhaps a fault of my primer? Maybe a fault of Jackie oates? I love Lush's products but this isn't a favourite of mine, it is calming, it is cool on the face but it doesn't last all day coverage.
Rating: 3/5
Seventeen Cheek & Lip Stain Gel tint in shade Coral Crush-Price: £4.99 (Boots)
A little of this goes a long way, which makes this a wonder product in my eyes for the money because that means it lasts 20x longer. Seventeen is a good brand and close coming a favourite especially when on a budget, the Cheek and Lip stain gel at first reminded me of something I had as a 5 year old in those "first make up" kits you have, but hear me out, when you know how it works, it's a good product. Before this, the only other stain product I used was "Benetint" by Benefit and that came with a brush, however, Seventeen's stain came with a stamp-that's right a stamp sponge so of course on my first use, I gently squeezed the bottle and ended up with far too much on my face, Causing coral hell. However, upon second use I decided rather than using the sponge given, I squeezed a tiny amount onto my finger tip and simply dabbed one spot on each cheek, using my angled blush brush blended the gel into the cheeks and it gave a beautiful natural looking colour to the cheeks. The gel has a slight sparkle to it, adding light reflection as well as colour, I have only used this product as a cheek stain so I can not give a lip review I am afraid, I promise I will test it as a lip stain and add to this review.
As a cheek stain, this product really is a great value for money and it lasts a while on the cheeks, smallest amounts go the furthest with this product and the coral colour offers a summer glow to it all! I am in love with coral colours at the moment so this a close favourite.
Rating: 4/5.
Superdrug B. Stunning Vibrant eye shimmer in 098 Poseidon-Price: Free Gift with previous purchase! (NOT YET USED)
Seventeen Stay Pout! Lipstick in shade "Going Steady-Price: £4.49 (Boots) (NOT YET USED)
Barry M Matte Me up Lip Crayon in shade "On the Frow" (I believe)-Price: £4.99 (Boots)
Barry M's matte me up lip crayon is a brilliant product. I had so many winter and autumn shades in regards to lipsticks it was almost insane, I could have passed for a goth so I decided to add some colour and summer shades into the collection, this was the first pick because I found the colour a lot more warming-only other colour on offer was a Dark red. The matte crayon doubles as a liner as well as a lipstick, of course due to the thickness of the pencil being careful with the outline and steady is always a good idea, otherwise we could look like Jay Z and whilst that is the general aim, we don't want to look so Jay Z that we look like we were punched in the lip-I am not a lip pencil expert, my lips are quite big anyways so I don't need to use it (sorry I'm one of those pain in the ass women!), but when I tried to...punched in the lip was the look I got. Anyways, thats lack of experience but as a lipstick or crayon which colours in the whole lip, the Barry M matte me up crayon is an awesome product! It has a nice, matte finish which doesn't budge when it comes to biting or licking too much, very tempting as it smells good. Throughout the day, the matte lipstick does need reapplying as I found after a few hours of having a few drinks, my glasses were wearing it. I do highly recommend this product as it did last hours and the colour is beautiful.
Rating: 4/5.
Younique Moodstruck Minerals Pigment Matte in shade Corrupted-Price: Free! Won a competition (First time ever, next stop lottery!)
The mineral pigment matte is like the Dazzle dust's which Barry M used to make, with slight hint of glitter, it works as an eyeshadow, which has a lot more pigmentation to get a dramatic and mesmerising effect.
Corrupted is basically a beautiful way of saying the colour "black" this mineral dust in this colour works well for giving a very smoked eye effect, something which I absolutely adore because it just makes the eyes pop. Soak an eyeshadow application brush in warm water, unbox the product and gently dab the eyeshadow brush into the mineral powder and then onto the eye, blend in between application build up to avoid block-like-eyeshadow and create more of a gradient-marble type eye effect. Younique's moodstruck minerals pigment, especially in this colour, almost looks like the night sky, it's pigmented blackness with the sparkles of glitter can have a very powerful look or a very slight grey sophistication depending on the level of blending. The eyeshadow I found remained on the eyelids throughout the day, refusing to budge meaning that fierce smoky eye, slight fall out as I put too much on the brush so I advice tapping the excess before continuing to apply and you will find you have the perfect amount. This has by far been a favourite product of mine, I love creating dark or light to dark gradient eye looks and it is so pigmented and eye catching, it's hard not to fall in love with it. I received this product free when winning a competition and it's been a beautiful win!
Rating: 5/5
Too faced Chocolate Bar Eyeshadow Palette-Price: RRP: £40.00 (Debenhams) -Day I purchased there was a 10% Discount=£35.
I am not going to lie to you, I had a meltdown in the middle of Debenhams over this beauty! Holy Moly I freaked out you see, us UK ladies did not have access to any Too faced products until now when they have finally come into the world of Debenhams. So in the middle of the store, you could imagine my delight just when I was looking for an eyeshadow palette too. Now I know what you're thinking, £35 is quite expensive for a palette but if you've seen Too Faced's Chocolate Bar or Sweet Shop eyeshadow palette, you would understand why. There is approximately 20 different eyeshadow colours all of which are highly pigmented, refraining to budge from your eyelids unless of course, you wipe them or wash them off but with daily wear it stays on, leaving your eyes to dazzle. There are some beautiful colours in the set, my favourites are "Salted Caramel" and "Cherry Cordial" plus the smell of the eyeshadows is literally to die for, smells like a sweet shop my dogs have tried to lick my eyelids for this. You get so many colours for this price and all are extremely pigmented, creating some beautiful looks!
Rating: 5/5 a new favourite!
Barry M Bold white Waterproof eyeliner-Price: £3.99 (Boots)
I use white eyeliner in the corners of my eyes, nearest my nose to give that eyeshadow and the eyes a bit more pop. I learnt this trick and the effects of white eyeliner from an old friend of mine, she would use the eyeliner in the corners and along the waterline to not only make her eye makeup pop, but to defeat the appearance of red-eyes and tiredness. The Barry M Bold white comes as a black pencil, with the white eyeliner thread and beautiful floral like swirls around the pencil, giving it a classy and beautiful look. Previously, I was using a L'oreal product in comparison and I have to say, the L'oreal felt a lot bright and more like it made a difference to my eyes. That is not to say that the Barry M one fails in comparison, in fact for the price of the Waterproof eyeliner, the quality and the fact it does stay on your eyes! Even when I've been crying, I always find the white eyeliner has remained in the corner. The Barry M in this respect, outshines the L'oreal product by a long shot and it does make the eyes pop a great deal, I find that tiredness is no longer a look with this product.
Rating: 4/5
Rimmel London eyeshadow stick in colour "Hydrofuge"-Price: £1 (Pound stretchers)
The price is right ladies, but it is from pound stretchers so that might be why. £1 Rimmel London eyeshadow stick in the shade "Hydrofuge" which is like a dark purple, originally I quite liked the idea of a pencil eyeshadow, less fall out, more control right? Unfortunately, I didn't find this to be the case. Skin is hard to draw on, let alone when you're trying to colour in your eyelid to get a lovely colour, I found the pencil to be too big and perhaps if it were slightly smaller, the person using it would have had more control. Purple is one of my favourite colours, but I can never find an animal test friendly cosmetic which is highly pigmented, sadly this is another which wasn't too pigmented. I found applying a fair bit of it, then using an eyeshadow brush to blend it began to take some shape but it still lacked the pigmented purple I was hoping for, so my lilac to dark purple gradient like eyeshadow look, looked more like a 5-year-old did my eyelids. For the price, you can not expect too much from this product. I was hoping because I had quite a fall out with Rimmel, their foundations never match my skin, that this product would restore my hope, sadly not. Sorry, Rimmel.
Rating: 1/5
Superdrugs 2true effortless liquid Eyeliner in Black (Shade 1)-Price: £1.99.
2tru make up by Superdrug, I would usually avoid cheap makeup because I will happily admit it, I am a makeup snob sometimes in case you haven't noticed. However, a recommendation from my friend, Becky, well I trust her opinion so of course I bought it to try and I would never go back. Liquid eyeliner can be tricky for the newbies and even the experienced, there have been a number of times I have had a fit when it doesn't go right and the flow of swear words that follows is enough to upset my nanna (sorry nan-eyeliner brings out the worst in people!). 2tru eyeliner makes it a little bit easier, with its thinner application brush it makes it easier to control, some I find to be a bit of a big brush and with the small handle to it makes it even easier. I haven't been using liquid eyeliner as long as others, I used to love my eyeliner pencils so I could smudge it to look darker, back in my emo scene kid days (oh dear!). The liquid eyeliner does not budge, it doesn't come off when you blink and it dries very quickly, I honestly wouldn't go back to using any other eyeliner and it lasts such an amazingly long time, I highly recommend this product.
Rating: 5/5
Seventeen Falsifeye HD Mascara-Price: £4.99 (Boots)
Seventeen's Falsifeye mascara promises similar results to "Younique's Moodstruck 3D fibre lash" except without two bottles. It does and it doesn't live up to its expectations, let me explain see with this product I find it definitely offers the lengthened eyelashes, especially with two coats.
The problem I have with my eyelashes is the lack of volume, they tend to go forwards instead of slightly up and trust me, I've tried normal eyelash curlers, heated eyelash curlers but they're as stubborn as a brick wall. This black mascara definitely boosts the length of lashes by at least 1/3 - 1/2 after two coats, with the Younique Fibre lash mascara you can say hello to Tarantula leg length eyelashes (if that's your kind of thing). Seventeen's comes in a little pink box, even shows you a picture of one person's results and yes after two applications you can have eyelashes that length, but as I said the product does not offer length something which I crave for in a mascara. It is still a favourite of mine and I would definitely repurchase this product, it lasts all day, it does what it says however as always with any mascara, it is stubborn to remove.
The problem I have with my eyelashes is the lack of volume, they tend to go forwards instead of slightly up and trust me, I've tried normal eyelash curlers, heated eyelash curlers but they're as stubborn as a brick wall. This black mascara definitely boosts the length of lashes by at least 1/3 - 1/2 after two coats, with the Younique Fibre lash mascara you can say hello to Tarantula leg length eyelashes (if that's your kind of thing). Seventeen's comes in a little pink box, even shows you a picture of one person's results and yes after two applications you can have eyelashes that length, but as I said the product does not offer length something which I crave for in a mascara. It is still a favourite of mine and I would definitely repurchase this product, it lasts all day, it does what it says however as always with any mascara, it is stubborn to remove.
Rating 4/5.
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