Consequences of not blogging

When I stopped blogging some 3 months ago unexpected consequences emerged.

Firstly my nails are atrocious, unkempt, uncared for, unloved.

Gone are the manicured jewels of the spring

Leighton Denny Berry Nice

I like nail varnish and colour, if I haven't done much else to make me feel as if I have made the effort, nails make me feel that bit more together. I can't wear nail varnish for work, so applying it defines my week for me - come Wednesday afternoon I can apply some colour and enjoy. I also think that nail varnish really is like jewellery, others get the benefits of earrings, but nail varnish, like rings and jewellery can be enjoyed by me.

A second consequence is that I have more room for my products because I don't feel that I have to keep the outer packaging in order to photograph the whole product. I still keep some packaging - it is a vain attempt to make me feel that each time I am using a product I am *opening it new everyday* and thus will not need to purchase new products with such regularity.........ha

But when the packaging is as beautiful as this, it is a crime to recycle it.

Cue a review of Pai skincare coming soon -  to borrow from The Fast Show "this week I will mostly be..... tending to my nails"

Of course the forseen but not fully understood consequence of not blogging is missing other bloggers dreadfully.

Getting back on the bus/in the saddle

I have been away from my blog, for genuine and serious reasons. I am back on the bus/in the saddle...ish. Maybe to be more accurate, I have my ticket/I am in the queue/I have my jodhpurs on.

And here is a picture of some penguins for no reason other than they look jolly happy and I am loving the Frozen Planet series on BBC.

When is too little non existant?

Right this is a makeup post. I have a love hate relationship with makeup, I love it, the packaging, the glamour, the smell, the grownupness, the little bit of me time......I hate it, I want to wash and go, I can't be ar**ed to do it properly......and tied up with all of that is this fear of the mutton, am I trying too hard? how much is too much?

So this post came out of a rushed "oh my goodness it is 10 to 9, I have to be at an appointment and I can't go out of the door barefaced I have literally 3 minutes to do my makeup"

Here is what I used

Liz Earle Sheer Skin Tint Bare 01 all over face, and eyelids

Shu Uemura Hard Formula #9 eyebrows

Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler (eyelashes dyed)

Clarins Instant Light Gloss 01 on lips cheeks and eyelids

Finished look here

I dunno - I struggle with makeup, is it an essential or a luxury? As somebody once said "Makeup is an essential, the luxury is having the time to put it on"

Cleansing Cloths

This may work as a post, it may not.

I love cleansing my face - if it was an Olympic sport, I would be the Jess Ennis of cleansing, but I need a decent cloth to remove the current balm/lotion/oil of my choice.

So from bottom left clockwise:

FACE FLANNEL - cheap, easily available and can be washed and washed, but not with fabric softener or else the knubbliness will be destroyed. Personally I always find flannels a bit too knobbly for my skin, but every now and again it is perfect. I also find that if I use a knobbly flannel on my body I need no exfoliator.

MUSLIN CLOTHS - EVE LOM - despite popular belief, all muslin cloths are not the same. My EL cloths have lasted me a good 10yrs, are somewhat larger than most and do not shrink in the wash. Again, leave off the fabric softener.

MUSLIN CLOTHS - SOIL ASSOCIATION - I have received this cloth with NYR cleansing balm and Pai Camellia & Rose Cleanser and goodness it is rough as old boots, far too harsh and too small.

MUSLIN CLOTHS - LIZ EARLE - just a bit on the titchy side for me and just not exfoliating enough, these seem to soften and shrink almost immediately which is a shame.

WONDER CLOTH - I bought this from TKMaxx on a whim there is a website. This is a bit like removing one's grime with something one would remove general grime with, it is a sort of shiney microfibre, not unpleasant and certainly effective, but a bit weird all the same.

SARAH CHAPMAN PROFESSIONAL MITTS - these are my current squeeze, ordinary face cloth on one side, a little finer on the other, but what makes it is the fact that sandwiched between the cloth is foam which retains the heat, meaning that the skin is always warm when being cleansed. Fab.

ELEMIS WASH CLOTH - like a great big flannel mitten, fine in theory but for me a bit unwieldy, my hands which are spade like, swim around in the mitten rendering it neither use nor ornament.

MICROFIBRE MITT - a teeny tiny little mitt, enough for 3 fingers only. To be honest I am wary of microfibre for the face because I feel as if it is probing right into my pores - again great in theory but in reality I feel all exposed, and whilst my pores maybe grime free, this lasts for all of a nano second, then they fill again with nobs on so to speak.

Did this work as a post? Answers on a postcard please ;-)

Don't forget my giveaway

Confession time

This is my current bathroom shelf:

My sister is coming up for the weekend, I don't want to share the above so have done a bit of editing:

Now in no way are these products inferior to those of the first picture, I just don't want to share, at all, ever.