It has been rather a slow start to the year, beauty-wise; I talked in more detail (ish) about burnouts and brain freeze recently, but I shall recap briefly for those who missed it. In very simple terms, I suppose that I reached my limit with juggling work and moving house and trying to look after two very small children. Understandable, when I view it from a more detached perspective (one that’s had a lot more than three hours of sleep every night) but at the time, I felt as though the whole world was falling down around me.
And usually, in times of stress or minor crisis, I use beauty as my salve; trying out glass bottles soothes my overactive mind, swiping on lipsticks helps me to relax and tune out of the more problematic facets of modern life. But to my great surprise, I couldn’t even bear to open a new lipstick, let alone put it on – new skincare launches lay unopened within the drawer, exciting new-fangled hair things gathered dust upon the bathroom shelf. Not only did I lack the time to be enthusiastic about beauty (or, to be fair, anything more other than keeping people alive), I lacked all motivation. My beauty bus, usually so reliable and punctual, ground to some halt.
But then, a shining light after the tunnel, because I started to get some actual real sleep as well as in the mornings I was able to pay proper attention to my face and today, a few weeks later, I’ve began to delve into my beauty stash and take out some new things to play with. My love for beauty (and this is very appropriate, it being Valentine’s Day) returns.
So brace yourselves for any run of in-depth foundation reviews and lighter-hearted lipstick features; I’m currently in a passionate, week-long embrace with my Makeup Launches Bag (huge, leopard print, weighs around six kilos) and my beauty jotter pad is almost full. If you’re wondering which delights I've upon my face in the photographs here, then the list is below. Full write-ups to follow, but I must say that it’s so far so very good with the new Dior foundation…
Lips: Tom Ford Boys & Girls in Scarlett 25. lb29 here* – Max Factor Liner in Red Rush here*
Base: Dior Forever Undercover in shade 20. lb34 here*
Eyes: Clarins Supra Volume Mascara in Brown. lb22 here*
Bunny Ears: lb10 from ASOS here*
