Thursday 28 May 2015

Lifestyle | Tattoos; Let's lose the stigma!


Tattoos. You either love them, or judge people for making unwise life decisions who decide to permenantly scar their body with ink.

Okay, that may be a bit harsh, but people get so judgey when you tell them you have tattoos, am I right?

It's getting to that time of year when the suns coming out, you're wearing less clothing, and people are suddenly hideously aware of the fact that you have a tattoo... Let the judging commence!

I love tattoos. And if I had the time and money i'd have many more than I already do... I only have 2 but still, I like to think i'm pretty hardcore.

What gets me though is people's reactions when they find out you have a tattoo. 

~ You'll never get a proper job
~ You'll regret it when you're older
~ You know it's permanant right?

Let me start off by saying that anyone who is unaware that a tattoo is permanant probably shouldn't be getting one in the first place...

~ You'll never get a proper job

Define 'Proper Job'. I have a 'proper job'. My tattoos in no way affect my ability to do this job. 'Oh Emily can you fill out this response form for me?' Well you know, I've got a tattoo so i don't really think I can...
My sister is a nurse. She has a tattoo. In fact she has a massive tattoo all the way down her leg. If your Grandma, or loved one, was in cardiac arrest, how likely is it that someone will turn to my sister and say 'actually excuse me, you can't do that because you have a tattoo. You shouldn't be allowed to do this job'. Bye bye Grandma!
My mum's aneasthetist had two full sleeves. Both of his arms, covered in tattoos. But I'm sure people would much rather stay awake through surgery because clearly he can't do the job 'properly' because of his tattoos.

Ridiculous, right?

~ You'll regret it when you're older

And? If I regret it when i'm older, I regret it. As of right now, I don't. Each of my tattoos have a meaning, so I personally see no reason as to why I would. So i'm going to get old and wrinkly, i'll just be old and wrinkly, with tattoos. Luckily, that's no one elses problem!

I thought we were past the times when people were being judged for doing something they had every right to do. If you don't like tattoos, don't get one! It's like being mad at someone for eating a doughnut when you're on a diet. Pointless.

Thursday 21 May 2015

Lifestyle | All the ladies, who independent!

Throw your hands above you!



I woke up last Monday, and as you do, I was lying in bed, checking social media before doing anything productive with my day, and I came across the picture above (which was posted by hairbyseaane) and I don't know what it was about this picture, but ever since i've felt this sense of empowerment! Not in a tyrant/i'm taking over the worl kind of way, but in more of a, I know what I want in life and i'm going to do everything I can to get me there!

For ages and ages i've scrolled through Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, seeing the likes of people like Seaane, Karla Powell, Zoe London and loads of others and been insanely jealous. Why? Because they've taken the world by the balls, and I want to be like them!

So I had a moment where I felt sorry for myself, because where I want to be career-wise and life-wise seems so far away from where I am now, but everyone starts from the bottom right? (This is where the sense of empowerment kicked in).

I made a list. Like an actual pen on paper list, not just one i've written in the notes section of my iPhone... And I wrote down every thing I wanted in life.  ' I will have my own house... I will make it as a Freelance hair and make up artist... I will fall helplessly in love and build an empire with my future husband to take care of my future children'. And under all of these points I wrote what I needed to do to get there. I find it much easier to deal with life if I break it down into bitesized chunks, that way, you get to tick more things off the list, and if you don't acheive something as fast as you would, it's only a little thing so there's no need to stress!

Far too often I see other women trying to put people down for a picture they post, of a vlog that they don't like, or because someone's eyebrows aren't 'on fleek' (what does that even mean??), but i think the thing to remember is that the only people can drag you down are the people that are already beneath you.

So come on ladies, who's ready to take the world by it's metaphorical testicals?

Sunday 17 May 2015

Fitness | Always Beach Ready!

I've always had it in my head that i'll get to a point in my life where i'll be able to travel, and visit exotic places, and go on the most fabulous holidays, and now that i'm a part-time freelancer, I feel like this is the perfect opportunity to do that. Right now i've got friends that are in India, New York, Australia... and I couldn't be more jealous if I tried!

But then I had a thought. If people start going to the gym after Christmas to get their summer body, what if i'm not summer-body-ready when I want to whisk myself away on an exotic holiday (whilst doing much freelance research of course)?

So i've made it my mission to be summer body ready all year round! (I'm getting a bit sick of saying summer boy ready...)

I'm taking full advantage of my membership at PureGym. I'm making going to the gym at least twice a week part of my routine, not just an option. What i've also done, is i've joined a spin class (all included as part of my gym membership), and let me tell you, it's a killer! If you want to work out every single inch of your body in the space of 45 minutes then spinning is definitely for you.

I used to be quite intimidated whatching over the spin class while I was on my tredmill, thinking that i'd probably cry if I was on the bike and the instructer was shouting at me to go faster, but until I joined in I didn't realise that unless Josh was there shouting at me to push myself, not only would I have given up and wasted a work out, I would also have fallen off that bike... a lot!   *NOTE TO SELF* Don't suddenly stop peddling, because you will fall off... and die...

So, this is where my fitness journey starts. And you can all follow it too! I'll be posting updates on here, Twitter and Instagram.

Now I know not all of my readers are interested in my fitness, and are wanting to read the beauty things I post, so all fitness posts, (and other not-beauty related posts) shall be clearly labelled at the begining so you don't have to read them if you don't want!

Wish me luck, the abs are coming out!

Wednesday 6 May 2015

Beauty | 'Gotcha back bra, Faces be crazy!'

Now i'm really hoping that most of you can see the reference to the Big Bang Theory in this blog title, because if not, I just look a bit weird!

I'm paraphrasing obviously...

So, last week I was pretty ill, and I don't know about you guys but whenever i'm ill my face kind of freaks out a little bit and irrupts in an explosion of spots and red blotches, and I every time I look in the mirror it looks like my 15 year old self has come out to play. Not exactly what a going-on 21 year old who's trying to be taken seriously in the work place wants to look like, am I right?

I've faced an endless battle with spots for years on end. There isn't a single picture of me in my teens where I don't have spots on my face! But finally, after smearing god knows what on my face I feel like i've found the one. We get on so well and I feel like the best of me has truly been brought out.

Let me introduce you to Liz Earle... More specifically, let me introduce you to the products which have been sent from the angels above to save my face!



The first being the Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser.

You literally just smoosh it on your face, over your make up and everything (it gets a bit messy if you're not careful), then when you've rubbed it all in you rinse it off with a warm muslin cloth... That's it. Morning and night. So simple! Now it's not magic, it doesn't immediately get rid of your spots, but it takes the redness down, gets rid of any dry bits, and makes it so much easier to apply make up over the top because it leaves your face so smooth and soft. That's the brilliance of it, it gets rid of excess oil AND hydrates your face so that you just want to sit stroking your own cheeks. Which yes, I do do.

The second is the Deep Cleansing Mask.

I only use this once per week as an all over mask, because I find that if I use it too often my face becomes quite sensitive to it. But you leave it on for 5-15 minutes, let it go hard, then wash it off with one of the sponges that comes with it, and it leaves your face glowing! So smooth, less redness, it's just awesome.

I have a thing for having a smooth face okay...

Now, using these products, as well as my knowledge of cosmetic camouflage has made dealing with my spots so much easier! any tips and advice you might need, feel free to drop me a message on Twitter or on my Facebook page and i'll be more than happy to help!

Prepare yourself, the vain before and after selfie is about to happen!