Ailsa here from BeautyBay.com… and how nice it is to be asked back. I’m very grateful to you Product Placement readers for not doing whatever the online version of throwing rotten fruit is! Continue reading…
I’ve had my fair share of zits over the years and always thought that I would be rewarded for their unwelcome presence by suddenly having flawless skin in my thirties. It doesn’t really work like that though. Mother Nature just gives you a whole different set of ‘issues’, consisting mainly of ageing stuff like crow’s feet and other such delights.
And you still get spots. Not as often, admittedly, but at the same inopportune times. In fact you can guarantee that if you don’t see a soul other than your toddler all weekend, you’ll have flawless skin. Plan a night out, and all of a sudden you have a kind of second puberty situation right there on your chin. Pah, I say. Continue reading…
I got into coffee very late. I fact I think I wasted a good ten years of my adult life relying on actual energy to get things done. What a fool. Thankfully, in my late twenties I was talked into a cappuccino and I never looked back. These days of course I don’t fanny about with foaming milk and chocolate sprinkles. Good Lord no. When you’ve been up since 5.40am (as I have been today, thanks to a cheery rendition of the CBeebies ‘birthday song’ down the monitor at the aforementioned time) you need something a bit stronger. Not espressos, they don’t last long enough. I’m talking Garfield strength, jet-black liquid with just a splash of cold milk. Essential. Continue reading…
I still haven’t got used to the fact that Mother’s Day might actually involve ME receiving anything. Surprising, really, considering I haven’t exactly held back when it comes to sharing the niggling pain (OK, agony) of childbirth, the unrelenting glamour-free state of being a new mum, and the perpetual drama of looking after a toddler. And doubly surprising when being a mother takes up every waking – and sleeping moment of my day. Oh and night. Even when I’m sitting at my desk, toddler safe in the hands of his carers, I find myself humming the theme tune to Chuggington. Or worse, exclaiming enthusiastically to the department “Oooh, what a NOISY car!” when one revs loudly in the street outside. Continue reading…
I hate it when people moan about having colds. Especially the ones who proudly announce (usually from their desk, while eating a sandwich) that ‘it’s actually flu’. Unfortunately, I have in the last couple of days become one of these moaners. I haven’t told anyone it’s flu though. I may be shallow but I’m not a liar. No, I see myself more as a tragic figure much like Beth from Little Women. (Actually, did she not die? Maybe not Beth then…) I long to be found, pale and ghostly in a nightdress, wandering the house in search of my smelling salts, a fan and someone to loosen my bodice. Continue reading…
When the sleet started lashing against my face yesterday, I realised the difference between going for a walk before and after having kids. In my old life, I would have found the nearest café/pub/bus-stop and abandoned the whole excursion, secretly relieved at being able to blame it on the climate rather than my laziness. Continue reading…
Back in the days of yore (that’s an actual historical period you know), make-up wasn’t created in laboratories and tested on rodents/people. But I’m sure you know this from your History GCSE. In fact, women had to make do with what they could get their hands on, and believe me, it wasn’t great. Consider the poor old Elizabethan ladies. Not only were they forced to be attracted to men in codpieces, they were expected to have a flawless, alabaster complexion. Far from easy when The Pox was rife, and I don’t imagine those with sensitive tendencies had a hypoallergenic skincare range to fall back on either.
So, for the fortunate few, whiter-than-white skin was achieved by an early form of foundation called ‘ceruse’, which was a terrifying – and expensive – mixture of white lead and vinegar. I bet they were gagging for Ye Olde Clinique Shoppe to open in their neighbourhood. Because unsurprisingly, smearing lead on your face came with a few ‘issues’, like making your skin grey and shrivelled. Continue reading…
People expect me to know a LOT about make-up and skincare products. Which is surprising when I often look as though I’ve lost a fight with some Ready Brek, have hair like a homeless poodle and laughter lines that really aren’t that funny. Oh well. Just to live up to your expectations, I’ve done some research into mineral make-up, because, well, I actually find things like this interesting. And it also leads quite nicely into this week’s special featured item. Seamless. Continue reading…
There’s nothing that perks up my day quite like looking down at my keyboard and seeing some freshly painted talons tapping away. (I keep telling you I’m shallow but you won’t listen.) And speaking of shallow, I have a nail tip to share with you: do them last thing at night (my mother-of-many friend Holly told me this). That way the polish gets to dry properly while you’re asleep and you’re less likely to ruin them doing something menial like stacking the dishwasher. Happy days. Continue reading…
When my stepdaughter was doing a school project a couple of years ago, she asked her dad and me if we had gone to school ‘in the olden days’. We laughed of course. But I suppose, when you’re eight, the 1970s were the olden days. Just in the same way that the stories our parents regaled us with about powdered egg seemed like they were from another time.
Even back in the 70s and 80s I remember a lot less choice when it came to items of a beauty product nature. So I’m painfully aware of how I would have struggled to get by with the limited resources that were available to women during World War Two. But despite rationing and shortages, women did not give up. Quite the reverse – make-up helped them feel more feminine and positive about the chaotic world around them, and indeed propaganda encouraged them to make the most of themselves, whether they were in the services, working in a factory or staying at home. Now I just feel spoilt. Continue reading…
