Being a Big Sister

 

If someone asked me what the most important thing in my life was, I'd have to say my youngest sister, Lacey Mae.

Before I delve into how much she changed my life and made me see the world from a different perspective and how much I love her, I'd like to tell you a short story about this little girl.

She wasn't planned. In fact, she was one of the biggest shocks in my family's life because my parents were not expecting anymore children as my mum was on a permanent contraception. Obviously it wasn't that permanent because she's now four, almost five. When my mum first told us, me, my brother and my other sister, I was positive that I did not want another sibling, that I would not like the new comer and that I didn't want anything to change because there was a baby in my house. I was thirteen and in my eyes, having a new sister or brother just wasn't something I wanted to think about, no friends round because it disturbed the baby, no peace because it was always screaming, my mum constantly yelling at us because she's stressed due to the baby, none of this at all appealed to me what so ever. I hated the idea with a passion. Not only this but i'm a daddy's girl, I always have been and my fear of losing his attention to a crying, pooping, eating machine was not a thought I was keen on.

No matter how much I raged and stropped, It was clear that this baby was coming and I was just going to have to accept it. During this period, me and my mum were on rocky ground and I felt like having a young child around would only have a bad impact on this. More on that later.

9 months down the road, on the 25th of October, 2009, Lacey Mae was born weighing 5.6 pounds at around five in the morning. Asleep. My dad panicked and my mum rolled her eyes, having experienced child birth three times already, she knew that little Lacey was okay. The night she was born, I'd been staying at my Nan's and I woke up to find out that I now had two younger sisters. As if one wasn't annoying me enough.



 

Around a week after Lacey was born, my mum started to suffer really badly with post natal depression. All I remember was coming home from school every day and she was upstairs in bed, She wouldn't eat, talk, she told me that she was fully prepared to die. This was scary and I didn't want the stress of having to look after a baby to make her worse. For the next few months I looked after Lacey Mae as much as possible and I developed a very strong bond with this tiny little person that couldn't feed herself or change herself, she relied entirely upon me to do everything for her when mum wasn't around and I planned to make a good job of it. There was something comforting about helping someone that couldn't help themselves, to feel needed. Every night I would take her upstairs to mum for bath time and as she got older, we played this game that my hands were sharks and they were coming after her feet and she'd giggle and splash her legs around. I felt guilty for the thoughts that I had had before she was here, how could I not have wanted this little angel in my life?



 

Eventually, I got a little carried away. It was almost as if in my head, a new mindset had developed, Lacey was my responsibility, I had to look after her and protect her from everything bad in the world. I got into arguments with my Nan about how to change, feed and hold her when she came round to babysit. I got nervous  every time someone else held her, I even vaguely remember my mum having a go at me because she wanted Lacey upstairs with her and I wanted to look after her downstairs so she told me that I couldn't take her baby away from her. So I took her upstairs.

In a thirteen year old mind, you don't exactly understand what post natal depression is and you're not really sure how it can affect someone so in my eyes, my mum was being irresponsible and selfish, not getting out of bed and eating when her four children needed her. I thought that the fact that she all of a sudden wanted Lacey upstairs wasn't fair. This is perhaps were mine and my mum's relationship spiraled out of control. She got through the post natal depression and we argued, a lot. I planned to run away and had a bag constantly packed shoved to the back of my wardrobe, I wasn't happy that suddenly my little bundle of joy had been taken back. I wanted to continue looking after her as much as I could but it was pressurizing, having my mum breathing down my neck about how I held the bottle when I fed her and we were constantly on the brink of an offensive shouting match with each other. She didn't seem to want me around and I didn't want to be around her.

It got to the point where I wanted to run, that or cause serious harm to myself. Lacey was around two years old and this stage and she could talk. She could talk very well for a two year old but that was down to having three older siblings. She used to waddle into my room, dummy in her mouth and climb on my bed. Something about having her around made me want to be happy, to show her that sadness isn't a thing, I didn't want to see her upset because she didn't understand why I was crying, she was two, I didn't want her knowing that bad things happened, I wanted to paint this wonderful false picture of the world for her. So I started trying. Me and mum had a few talks and we started to get along, albeit there were still a few arguments but  none that made an impact for more than a few hours. In my eyes, Lacey is the reason that happened, she was the reason I decided to bother getting along with my mum. She's the reason I didn't run away or seriously harm myself. I know that she isn't my child but she is the most important thing in the world to me and we're a lot closer than I am with my other sister. She'll sit with me and watch me write posts and ask me to do her make up and she'll do mine. We'll take pictures together and i'll take her out for lunch or to jungle gyms. I don't think it's possible to love anything more than I love Lacey Mae.

June Favourites

I decided that ten just wasn't enough different categories for this blog so I figured I’d add just one more, this is my first post for favourites.

I’ve found a lot of things this month that I really like and I’d love for you all to try them (listen, watch, etc.) So here are my June favourites.

Let’s start with my favourite food this month, my friends and my boyfriend in particular have grown quite tired of my raw fish ramblings about cravings for sushi so this is without a doubt at the top of my loving list when it comes to snacking, I just love sushi so much, the Shapers Sushi platters from Boots are the best ones I have tried so far.

Next on my list is favourite drink. The one reason I hate summer is that it doesn’t rain as much and because of this, it feels kind of wrong to drink hot drinks however, it has rained quite a lot where I live this month which means I managed to get round to ordering my favourite hot drink from Costa, steamed milk with a shot of vanilla. Now, I know it sounds plain and I don’t think it’s on their menu but it’s affordable and it is absolutely heavenly, I advise you all to try it at least once.



Seeing as this started out as a beauty blog, I feel that this favourites list wouldn’t be a favourites blog without a spot for my favourite beauty buy of the month which is Katy Perry Cool Kitty lashes hands down. These lashes have no competition in my eyes, I just think they’re fab.



The next favourite is a draw. I’ve been seeing little bits of Michael Posner every now and then since I first found out about him a few years back but he’s risen in my mind again and I just haven’t been able to stop listening to Cooler Than Me (I know it’s old) and The Way It Used To Be. They’re so catchy and the beat manages to worm its way into my head daily so if you haven’t listened to either of them, I feel like you should.

My YouTuber of the month has been MissJessicaHarlow and her Iggy Azalea tutorial. The transformation from MissJessica naturally to her finished look is astounding! I will totally follow this tutorial when I get the chance. Also, the products she uses are great quality.

Unfortunately, because this category was a last minute thought, I haven’t managed to collect a lot of favourites for June but I promise to get more for July. Chow!

Lets Talk Tea!

Everyone enjoys a cup of Rosie-lee every now and then (for those of you unfamiliar with cockney rhyming slang, that’s tea) but are the health benefits of different types of tea often dismissed when people settle for the average cup with milk and two sugars?

There are over 30 different flavours of tea, each with their own variety of health perks. After testing out a few different teas, I’ve decided Peppermint is my favourite to wake up to. The minty freshness definitely gets my buds buzzing, ready for the day ahead. It temporarily rids the smell of bad breath, brilliant in the mornings for the period before brushing your teeth and is great for a warm and delicious winter drink but, that’s not all it’s good for, Peppermint tea is also known as a stomach healer and stress reliever which is helpful for those of you who struggle with sleep. Speaking of a delicious winter drink, t’is the season to catch a cold and this tea is proven to relieve symptoms of cold and flu as well as containing vitamin B, calcium and potassium to keep your bones healthy and your brain working. Most tea’s help for you to lose weight but peppermint is amongst the most healthiest to help you do it. It suppresses your appetite, keeping you feeling full and fed for hours on end. That’s not all though, for any young mummy’s, it can get rid of baby colic and ease any pains of headaches and migraines so you and your little one can get a quiet night sleep.

Of course peppermint tea isn’t the only one I researched, here are some examples of different teas and their own profits to your health.

Green Tea

This tea is believed to reduce your risks of cancer as it helps the body to protect cells against the damage linked to cancer and the antioxidants it contains are 100 times more effective than vitamin C and 24 times more effective than vitamin E. This also contributes to preventing heart disease and strokes by lowering cholesterol levels. Green tea is known to be one of the healthiest teas around and it has plenty of reasons to be, it fights anti-ageing and promotes longevity and it can burn up to 70 calories a day! As well as boosting your metabolism so it’ll eat up the fat quicker and stopping the movement of glucose in fat cells to prevent obesity. It isn’t just your organs and weight that green tea benefits, the high level of fluoride makes your bones stronger and boosts memory which in the long run, slows the process of Alzheimer’s. You don’t even have to drink it in order to experience its power, it can be used to clean an infected ear with a cotton ball.

Lemon, Ginger and Ginseng Tea

 

Not only does the infusion of flavours make your taste buds go wild, this tea will also help prevent a whole list of health problems:

Diabetes

High blood pressure

Strokes

Heart disease

Kidney disease

Retinopathy

Eye disease

It can relieve the pains of indigestion and heart burn due to its anti-inflammatory characteristics which will also help sooth menstrual cramps and headaches. Not only does this tea make you feel good on the inside, it makes you look good on the outside thanks to being rich in antioxidants, it helps to clear the skin and reduce itchy scalps and hair loss.

Camomile tea

 

This tea is best known for its ability to cure insomnia due to its aroma helping people to relax but that isn’t all it’s capable of. It contains an antioxidant that acts as a skin cleanser and moisturizer as well as being an all-natural skin bleach,   tightening complexions and rendering a natural glow. It also fights breakouts and is known to eliminate acne scars. This property means that it can also accelerate the process of healing small wounds. Being an appearance benefiting tea, by placing cool camomile tea bags under the eyes will reduce dark circles and puffiness. On top of these, if rinsed in camomile tea, it will cause blonde hair to brighten up and it banishes dandruff.

I can’t see why I’d ever drink black tea again after knowing all of this!

Leopard Halloween Make Up Tutorial

It's nearly that time of year again where everywhere is getting covered in spider webs and fake blood, I figured it was our turn to contribute to the thousands of tutorials that already exist and decided a leopard would be fun so here it is!

To start, apply a pale foundation, I used Laval foundation in the lightest shade available because it's affordable and easy to distribute evenly on the face.



After the base colour, brush on a darker foundation where you would usually contour (under the cheek bones, temples and nose). Also, outline the jaw of the leopard with a brown eyeliner or brow pencil.



Once that's done, blend the dark foundation into the light foundation. Drag the temples into the forehead, the foundation on the nose and out slightly, the cheekbones inward and with the same brush, pull the pencil surrounding the jaw towards the eyes, causing it to fade slightly. Optionally, brush over bronzer on the dark sections of the face to make them more defined, try not to get any on the chin or above the mouth or on the sides of the nose.



If you're like me and get a little carried away with the blending, that's fine, just carefully smudge on some more of the pale foundation on the inner cheeks, eyes and chin.



Next, shade in the dip under the nose to the lips and create a shadow in the chin, along with this, brush downwards at the top of the nose, slightly coming down over the sides and onto the inner cheeks.



I know, it looks messy but it will start to take shape soon. Once you've finished most of the face, it's time to start on the eyes. These can be as messy or as neat as you like, depending on how much time you have. Pat a dark brown onto the lids and drag it out, forming a cat eye. With a jumbo pencil, dramatize the under eyeliner, feel free to tight line if you wish then draw a line close to your lashes on your upper lid. After this has  been done, fill in any gaps with a black eye shadow and at the same time, smudge the eyeliner.



Now for the spots, you may think they're difficult to do but they're actually really easy. Using a brow or eyeliner pencil or even an eye shadow, draw horse shoes of various sizes around the temples, side of the face and upper cheeks. You could even use your fingers.



Now add some personal touches and the nose. I used gel eyeliner to swipe some lines under the eyes and a black eye pencil to dot on whisker spots after I'd finished colouring and shaping the black nose.



If you want to add more details to the leopard print, draw a black line over the top of the horseshoe shapes and using a sponge eye shadow applicator, pull the eyeliner down to make it look like the spots are filled in.



To finish the look, coat the lips in a black lipstick or, as a substitute, black eyeliner and you'll have completed your leopard look!



I would just like to thank Sophie for sitting for an hour as I did her make up and to clarify the fact that I do have her permission to post the pictures on this blog.

Hope you like it.

There's a Difference Between Greasy and Glowing

Being a sufferer of oily skin myself, Summer isn't exactly my favourite time of year.
Summer is a time for beach days, barbeques and birthday parties, but you don't want to attend any of these looking like you've been washing your face with "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter". Along with this, oily skin is prone to breaking out in spots and we all know how stressful that can be when we need to look our best the next day!

Alas, ladies, I have found a few simple and affordable solutions. For those of you who struggle with the daily greasiness of oily skin then read on because no longer will your face be seeping oils ten minutes after you shower once you've purchased "Simple Oil Balancing Exfoliating Wash". This product alone will change your facial texture from dewy shine to cleansed natural glow. "Simple" is definitely my go-to brand when I need to stock up on my face wash.

Now that we've sorted the scrub situation, it's time to go from the girl at the party who's "sticky as sweets" to the Cinderella who's make up lasts well after midnight. Every girl deserves to look good whilst they dance the night away at house parties, birthdays or even weddings, therefore, it is a necessity to have a good 24 hour foundation. Once again, this means the girls with oily skin as well.

The answer to all of your problems is "FashionistA Secret Mattifying Matte Primer". Okay, so £10 just for a primer may be a little steep for some but it is well worth it for more than one reason. Suitable for oily to combination skin types, this primer helps your foundation cling to your face and last longer than most as well as giving it that smooth, natural matte finish.

Now, to top off the dilemma of having unfortunately oily skin, I suggest you get your hands on "Revlon Colourstay Foundation", I've tried a lot of foundations over the years to try and hide my dewy facial texture and out of all the products i've colllected throughout my teenage years, Revlon's formula comes out on top every time.

If none of these work on your skin then browse for differnet products, always keep your eyes open for products that state they're for "Oily to Combination skin types" as these are the products you'll make the most progress with.

Good luck cuties,

Courtney.

Simple Oil Balancing Facial Wash

FashionistA Secret Mattifying Matte Primer

Revlon Colourstay Foundation