cold hands, warm heart.

♥

barely breathing...

We fall back into the same pattern, the same routine.

The grass is always greener on the other side.

There seems to be a general consensus that everyday life…that routine is mundane, dull. Perhaps. Certainly though for many the thought of being able to foresee with a feasible certainty what is to come tomorrow is something of a luxury. The fear of the unknown is tamed…subdued. Insecurity sprouts from a lack of pattern in an individual’s life, be it in relation to their career, relationship or otherwise…

…for me…routine is something of a luxury. Despite the turbulence, the knowledge that we’ll always fall back into the same pattern is my only comfort. To know that no matter how many vicious words we don’t mean are exchanged, we’ll always go back to how we were…to be able to smile, embrace each other with the same expression of affection is a privilege…a bubble of refuge I hide within.

The fear of the unknown is replaced only by fear of change…

You fight to maintain normality…routine…what you have come to know life as. The fear of change blinds us from acknowledging the irreparable. You plaster the small cracks of the façade, occupying your own mind…shadowing it from the unbearable truth that looms above, threatening to destroy the whole structure. Anything to maintain the walls of comfort you have became so accustomed to.

We come to fear the unknown outside the walls of routine…

Something of a vicious cycle isn’t it? It’s almost a cruel inescapable maze…

REVLON REVIEW: Grey Suede nail polish

 (taken with flash)

I suck at taking care of my nails. I’ve nearly always worked in hospitality as a part time job, last year mostly as a bartender. If there’s one thing you should know before you decide to step behind the bar as a job, it’s this: YOUR NAILS WILL SUFFER. In all honesty any job that requires a lot of hands-on involvement is usually bad news for your nails. But in a bar with the addition of constantly washing cups, changing temperatures and openings and closing stubborn tubs and bottles, your nails aren’t usually jumping to give you a thank you card at the end of the day.

So to hide the chips and cracks and just general unattractiveness I’ve always, ALWAYS worn nail polish. I tend to get lazy and there’s always a new chips here and there but regardless polish always remains on my nails. I feel naked without it. I tend to stay between black and a classic red because I know they will ways go with most outfits. At times I’ll venture into purples, dark and lavender, because I adore most things purple.

I came across Revlon’s spring pastel range. I had already picked up their lip gloss in Peach Petal and had fallen in love. So when I saw the polishes were on sale, I had to have a look. I ended up only purchasing one polish, 705 in Grey Suede. I find that although it is well past when this collection was released, I can still find this polish at selected Myer's Revlon counters.

(taken without flash)

I would best describe it as a light creamy taupe with very subtle silver reflects. It’s a rather running consistency which is not ideal but workable. You need about 2-3 coats to ensure perfect opaque coverage and no streaks. In the photos I took, with and without flash, the colour to me seems somewhat lighter than in real life.

I do like this polish. Like I said I always have to wear polish because of my damaged nails. Sometimes though, because of work or I just want a more natural look, Grey Suede steps up to the job. It’s very chic, but subtle and suitable for more conservative environments if need be. It also means I won’t have to change my colour of polish as often because this nude varnish goes with just about everything.

I got mine for about $13(AUS).

I’m still not 100% on how this polish looks on my skin tone though. Check out the photos and let me know what you think =)

SMILE.

All for that Kodak moment. Lipstick. Foundation. Concealer. Eyeliner. Lip gloss. Fake eyelashes. Mascara. Turn to your side. One hand on the hip and lean forward. That smile you put on to convey as if you had been caught in that exact moment, mid-conversation. POSE! Is it a moment or a scene?

*click**click**click*

Photo after photo. Same posture. Same open mouthed fake “smile”. I mean when are any of us caught in that moment? Don’t get me wrong I’m not mocking these social climber’s photogenic characteristics…well maybe a little. But I’m definitely not belittling them. Hardly, I’m most likely one of them. I look at a camera and think. Ok I want to capture the moments in my life. But when in life am I consistently flawless and always facing my “good side” to every person in the room? So when I look back in 60years what am I seeing? That it was a good night? Or that Jesus christ I’m vain! Probably the latter.

(me and some of my best girl friends on a night out back in JAN 2011)

Photography has lost its sentimental value. The countless photos from nights out blur into one. If not for my OCD categorical filing of each of them, I probably wouldn’t be able to tell one from the other. Maybe it's only when we have but a few photos regarding one subject, one event that we come to accept how valuable and precious it really is. Perhaps we only truly come to appreciate what is scarce in our plentiful lives. It saddens me that people who have only one photo of a person they have deep affection for kept in their wallet until its worn and tattered only exist in movies. Yes, I am a hopeless romantic, I won’t deny it. But now days most couples have endless snaps shots of each other and of them together that true appreciation of one photo, one moment together vanishes. Relationships aren’t a stroll in the park. It’s a rollercoaster ride of emotions. Ups and downs. Would any of those photos depict the turbulence? Picture perfect couples. We wish we were them. But where are the pictures of the fights? The looks of disdain? Whether we enjoy those moments or not is irrelevant. They are still a part of the relationship. In order to reach the good, we must conquer the bad. We may not have the desire to capture moments in our lives that caused the aching pain of heartbreak, but if photography has the purpose of documenting the events that shape our lives then we must include the moments of misfortune and misery.

Historically speaking, we use photos to record past occurrences. A picture says a thousand words right? But when our photos are looked upon by future generations, are they getting a correct recollection of what had been? Where were the flaws?

The ugly reality that undeniably exists everywhere around us?

(A piece I did for uni back in 2011 that I really enjoyed.)

LUSH REVIEW: Brazened Honey Mask

Categorised as a "fresh mask" in Lush's "homemade cosmetics" range, Brazened Honey is a concoction of citrus, honey, essential oils, various ground roots and herbs and other natural skin nourishing products. The product claims to leave the skin "vibrant and reinvigorated” after a 5-10minute treatment. Remember to keep the mask in the fridge in between uses to ensure it stays fresh and a usable consistency.

It comes packaged in a small plastic screw top container (75g). I think if you return 6 of these containers you receive a free product. I'm not 100% sure on that, please feel free to correct me =).

Now on to my review =)

How I apply it:

It's a very thick pasty consistency so I suggest applying this after a warm shower on a cleansed face, whilst the skin is still moist. Just makes life a little easier. Also, it's best to apply a generous, even layer to the face and neck.  It adheres pretty firmly to the skin so if you're as busy as I am, you have the option of continuing on with your task without worrying it will fall off. WARNING however, once it dries, you do run the risk of it cracking slightly with facial movements so it may start to crumble depending on how thick you happened to apply it. (Though personally I find the crumbling is not an issue until nearing the end of the products life.) I usually leave the mask on for a good 15minutes before rising it off with warm water. I firmly exfoliate my skin with the mask as it softs with the water. 

My experience with the product: 

To me, brazened honey works much like a heavy-duty exfoliator. The ground almonds, ginger roots, and fennel act as course abrasives to remove sebum, dirty and dead skin cells, leaving the skin polished and smooth. However, a word of caution to those with sensitive or dry skin, this mask may prove to be too harsh on your skin, I would suggest opting for a much gentler mask or at least try this mask sparingly to test your skin’s reaction.

The gingery, citrusy fragrance left me feeling relaxed and somewhat “reinvigorated”, much like I’d been inside a spa where such scents are common.

How it helped my skin: 

I personally have normal/oily skin, minimally oily in the T-zone and normal around the cheeks. I don’t have a massive acne problem, whilst I do get the odd painfully apparently spot here and there, mostly around the forehead. I struggle more with redness and discolouration. So whilst this mask did leave my skin feeling clean and smoother in texture, it did little to minimize redness or discolouration.

That said, I do like the mask. It leaves my pores feelings cleans and overtime, perhaps just my imagination, somewhat smaller.

Now to really test the product for you guys, I used my boyfriend as a guinea pig <3. He has acne prone oily skin, subject to flackiness and dry pathches. What we found was after using the mask, his acne would surface almost the next day, but in a much more manageable size. I will note that the rest of his face however appeared less oily and was left cleaner and softer. A few days later he would use it again and this time the mask helped to dry up the acne that had surfaced. He marked this as a positive experience. Now a few weeks since he finished the mask, I’ve noticed that although he still gets pimples, they are smaller and much less painful, which is of course a positive. 

All in all, I would repurchase and do suggest this product with the words of be gentle and don’t over use it.
SCORE: 4/5

Hope you enjoyed the review

<3 

Chanel

ello :)

So I finally found the nerve to jump on the band wagon and start this blog to make my contribution to the online blogging sensation. Being 19 and female play a factor in my obsession with beauty and fashion, but that would only be a shallow scrap of the many layers of my interest.

I'm not a professional when it comes to cosmetics or fashion, but I've taken a lot of time to delve into both arenas out of interest. I'm hoping to use this blog as a portal to not only share but learn.

That said, enjoy!

<3 Chanel