Beauty is a minefield

Today I finally gave in. My reflection in the mirror has been giving me evil face for about a week and a half now because once again I let my eyebrows go too long without being professionally shaped. I'm useless at scheduling in this kind of thing, so I've made it a mission to put stuff like that in my awesome new personal organiser that I am currently compiling.

Anyway... I called up a local salon that had been recommended to me and made an appointment for a brow shape. I know that it's a hot topic whether brows should be threaded or waxed, but for me - I love waxing. It looks clean, doesn't hurt that much, and lasts a decent amount of time. Both times I've had my brows threaded it hurt like a bitch, I couldn't go out for 48 hours because my eyes were so red and it didn't last as long. Everyone has their own preferences, and wax is mine.

The beautician who did my waxing was lovely - she complimented the natural arch of my brows and the process was fast and relatively painless. I also really dug the modern vibe of the salon and the purple and black decor. She chastised me (playfully) for letting it go too long and I promised to make another appointment in roughly 4 weeks' time. After that, I wandered around town for a bit and headed into one of the local chemists (drugstore to my American readers) and had a nose around. Cut a long story short, I ended up coming home and dyeing my hair.

A month to 6 weeks ago I dyed my hair red, but it was beginning to look very tired and was fading. I like to change up my hair colour so this afternoon I used a box colour to turn it a rather lovely shade of dark brown. I find it easier to find makeup that suits me when my hair is dark, and I also think it suits me better.

The title of this post though comes from my experience of walking around that chemist and seeing the plethora of products. There are products for literally everything and it's no wonder women feel pressured to be 'the perfect woman'. It made me kind of sad.

Have you ever experienced something like this? Let me know in the comments!

Bottled water, sweat and inspiration

This morning I got up reasonably early (for me), ate a modest breakfast and then got hit by a moment of that brilliant, divine madness that occasionally strikes me. I love it when that happens. I remembered that I had a copy of Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred and I decided to do it. Now bear in mind, I am not a fit woman by any stretch of the imagination. I have been told by my doctor that I am morbidly obese. But I'm working on getting healthy, trying to eat right and moving more. My morning insanity was testament to that.

For those of you who don't know much about this DVD programme, it's a pretty brutal workout. It's no Insanity, but it's hard. It's 20 minutes of non-stop circuits incorporating strength, cardio and ab exercises. Jillian is a badass trainer. She does not allow you to rest or quit. She is constantly motivating and talking you through it. Truth be told, she's the reason I keep coming back to this DVD. I like her. She talks her talk and walks her walk; she is unapologetic and doesn't accept excuses. That's really important for someone like me.

So I spent 20 minutes doing the Level 1 workout. Wow. What an eye-opener. I did as much as I could, trying my hardest and I worked HARD. Several times I wanted to turn it off and collapse, but I didn't. I stuck with it. On one occasion I wanted to burst into tears, but I didn't do that either. No time for self-loathing! Time for self-development!

I am now sipping a bottle of ice-cold water, typing this and looking to Gala Darling (see her awesome blog in the links on the side) and considering cleaning out my wardrobe. Otherwise known as the task of DOOM. I have been procrastinating about it for months, but it's constantly on my mind. Once I finish this blog post I think I will go up and start.

Sisterhood

Last night I happened to be looking at my Twitter feed and I saw that the beautiful and inspiring Veronica Varlow had started a hashtag. Now I see trending topics day in day out, and most of them fail to impress me. But this one made me all warm and fuzzy inside. 

That hashtag is #cuteasfuck and it is more than a hashtag. It is a movement, a REVOLUTION. I went to sleep with a smile on my face and I am still grinning now as it is still going on. The premise is this: you upload a picture of yourself to Twitter and use the hashtag as well as hashtagging your location. The outpouring of love and positivity has been astonishing and I feel about ten feet tall right now. VeVa retweets and responds to as many as she can, and I've had tweets from people I don't even know complimenting me. That is some serious love and it makes you feel so damn good. 

I've been riding the wave of some serious inspiration today and TAKING ACTION which is amazing. Thanks to some of the blogs I read religiously (see the sidebar for details, my lovelies) I've got my organiser out and I'm feeling motivated and sassy. This is a rare feeling for me and I have to tell you - I like it! 

I'm going to up my posts on this blog too - aiming to blog twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Watch this space!