A better place

You will have noticed that I added a link to my twitter account recently. Truth is, I signed up in 2010 already thanks to a dear friend. He was forever tweeting and naturally I wanted to join in on all the fun, FOMO tends to get the better of me at times. My first response then was, "Uhm, where are all the pictures?"

Now I love pictures and I think back then twitter was just status updates and comments (I could be wrong). I tweeted for two days and decided that I seriously had no idea what was going on in twitterville. So after two delightful days of confusion I deleted the app from my phone and accepted defeat. 

But now that I'm blogging I felt that being on twitter only made sense. So I ventured into the maze yet again and I really wish I could say I'm back with a bang but I kid you not, while I am doing far better this time around, I am still in the dark about too many things. 

I will now cut a not so lengthy story into an even shorter one by saying that I sent out a cry for help on twitter earlier this morning. I was so glad when someone responded without any judgement. This was very kind of him considering the fact that I couldn't figure out that #NF stood for "Now Following".

Turned out my "knight in shining armour", the man  who rescued me from the dark world of unknown hashtags was in fact a talented poet/artist. I checked out his page and found something so beautiful and so true. 

I will add a link below so you can enjoy some of his other videos but first I have to share another one of my favourites

W.A.G.E

Make my day and follow me on twitter @asilily

Xx

Gotta love Glamour

Now Glamour magazine knows just how to make a girl’s month.

I’ve been collecting Glamour goodies for as long as I can remember. I still remember rocking my first pair of Glamour shades in 2009. That was the beginning of my wonderful journey with over-sized sunnies. Getting the freebies gave me the opportunity to give the glasses a bit of a trial run. I was always a little scared of buying big glasses – I just thought it would be rather unfortunate if I bought the glasses only to realise a week later that the glasses didn’t suit me at all.

But moving back to some current affairs. This month’s issue comes with this divine GlamBerry lipstick. Now you shouldn’t judge me, but the golden packaging of this lipstick is what actually got me buying this magazine. I stood at Clicks thinking,”Well I can’t really tell what colour the lipstick is exactly but the packaging looks quite glamourous.”

One often needs to lower expectations when it comes to freebies. So I rushed home to see just how rich this “rich” hue was and of course, whether or not it would do my complexion and taste any justice. And I must just tell you ladies, I’m as impressed as I’ve always been with Glamour freebies.

 I easily keep a new pair of jeans or shirt in my wardrobe for months – but when it comes to beauty products I swear I often wish I could fly home! I had to just remind myself that vegetables WILL melt if I don’t put them in the fridge first. So after packing some groceries away I got down to the business of trying out this new shade and I tell you, it was definitely worth the risk of the unknown.

I’m off to a braai (South African for “barbeque”) after my jog tonight and while I would usually dress very casually for braai’s, tonight I’ll be adding some glamour to my outfit with this lovely GlamBerry. If you’re just as “Gaga” over this month’s issue, please do share a snap or two with the Glamberry or the GlamPink (available in other copies).

 

Some extras – previous Glamour freebies. 

I had such a good laugh when I started writing this post. I had to check when I got the over-sized sunglasses. 18 year old me was quite the diva it seems. Haha, still can’t decide what’s worse between the semi duck face and the weird neck angle but definitely great memories. (These are the only hoop earrings I’ve ever worn- perhaps I should give hoops another chance). 

I carry this make-up bag with me everywhere. It does a really good job ensuring that I can always touch-up my make-up a little whenever I need to.

 

Another pair of Glamour glasses. I got these ones last year and I love-love them. The beautiful thing about these sunglasses is that as much as I love them, because of their price, I really wouldn’t be very sad if I lost them. 

Have a lovely weekend all and Happy Woman's Day!!

Xx

All that drama

I came across the folder with these pictures while looking for some other snaps from last year. I couldn't help but smile at the memory of it all. I've realised that during my stay in Germany I was actually going wild PAINTING my face.

There was a time I was spending frightening amounts of time on Instagram. These pictures came as a result of a stunning picture I'd seen in one of the make-up groups. It was written MAC MAC MAC all over the description box so I just knew from the start that my eyes and eyebrows wouldn't quite match the picture but I made use of my resources and this is what I came up with in the end.

Now when it comes to trying out new things with make-up I would seriously advise that you do so in the evening. Simply because people might not notice that you have a few smudges here and there. I also feel that it's more justifiable to wear more make-up in the evening than during the day.

You will notice that with everything going on on my eye around my eyes I decided to leave my lips untouched; balance is always so important with make-up and clothing. I actually didn't go anywhere this evening. So after taking a few pictures I relieved my face of all the layers of eye-shadow and liner and in the end my favourite picture was one where you actually couldn't see all the colours.

I was so grateful for this picture. It reminded me that while we can find thousands of products in stores to either add to existing beauty or to create beauty - there is nothing more beautiful that a person who wears their own skin with pride.

And I am sure a number of guys would agree with this picture...

Xx

The do over

Not so long ago I received this beautiful gift from my aunt. I just LOVE the quality and colours so much. So, as you would imagine, I couldn’t wait to try these babies out. Problem was, the rest of me i.e. my hair, was seriously in bad shape, possibly on its “worst behaviour” as my brother would say. So I decided to treat myself to a mini make-over – it was long overdue if you ask me.

My make-over saw me taking one giant leap, one tiny step and a little walk to an old friend. 

The Giant Leap

I CHANGED MY CREME RELAXER!! I was so worried about doing this. Now during my insane research to ensure that I didn’t lose all my hair in the process I realised that most people actually chop and change creme relaxer all the time. I’d been loyal to Ladine for as long as I could remember –  with Ladine all my growth was straightened and my hair was left feeling and looking nourished. But for some strange reason, more and more hair salons stopped buying Ladine and those who still had it in stock were just going wild with increasing the price of this dear product.

In “Keepin’ it Fresh” I mentioned that I tried out the Dark and Lovely Amla Legend night wrap cream and was absolutely pleased with the results - so I decided that I’d give this brand another chance (having had some experience with Dark and Lovely Amla Legend put my mind at ease – well as much ease as I could manage in the midst of major distress).

This lovely box comes with a step-by-step application guide and a pair of plastic gloves. Then, as if that’s not enough, all the items in the box are labelled numerically. 

I have to mention that the one thing that appeared repeatedly in the advice columns was that it’s not so much about changing relaxers but all a matter of taking the best care of your hair after changing from one hair relaxer to another. This means regular treatment, wash and moisturising within the same product range. 

It’s been a week now and my hair’s still attached to my head and looking and feeling strong. And while Dark and Lovely did a really good job ensuring that my relaxing process went smoothly, I decided to add a little something extra. I invited my friend over for moral support because this was the first time I relaxed my own hair and just to save me from the horrors of my imagination. 

The tiny step

This was of course the easiest part and just this once – thee most exciting. I usually use my Catrice Absolute Nude eye-shadow palette because the colours go really well with my skin tone but this time I explored with the lovely mustard #34 and went quite heavy with the black #48 in my crease (I usually use the darkest brown in my palette instead of black). You’ll notice that I also applied some of the mustard shadow close to my dear ducts just to make my eyes “pop”.

If you’d fancy a more extensive eye make-up and eyebrow “tutorial” including the winged liner and lashes, be sure to let me know. 

The walk to an old friend

Now we all know that all roads lead to the Red Lip. So I finished this look off with some bold red lips. I used my Labello lip balm (also included in my ‘Keepin’ it Fresh’ post) as a base and went on to apply a generous amount of Yardley’s Stayfast Supershine Lipgross.

And voilà...

I hope you enjoyed my mini make-over and maybe it will even inspire you to have a mini make-over of your own. Coz when you look good you can’t help but just feel good.

Xx