its hard work being beautiful - pamper myself more often

i decided to blow dry and straighten my hair instead of letting it just dry naturally in a curly mess. i should do this more often. i feel more put together and dare i say it pretty when i do, less like medusa and more like a girl. makes me feel better too. i need to take care of myself more. its fallen to the wayside a bit. ive had a aha moment about this earlier. basically u need to love yourself first before anyone can love you. and i think thats kind of what my problems are. that right there. been like that for a long time. so guess i gotta work on that.

thing i have been doing…

well i have been growing out my eyebrows for 2 weeks now. for about 8 years now i have been keeping my eyebrows plucked thinish… not thin thin…. but my natural eyebrow is much fuller… so i decided 2 weeks ago to grow them out completely and then see what it looks like, like that… and if i dont like it… then will jsut have it threaded again to how it was.

let me tell u… the growing out phase is the worst… it looked horrible… i had to cover it up with makeup a bit. right now it still hasnt grown out properly… its still patchy in areas… but the worst is over and i think people are getting used to it. but i still cover it with make up…

i have a old picture of me with much fuller natural eyebrows from years ago… and i think it suits better… so im trying to go in that direction with it. but right now its still growing out still, once its all done, will see whats there and if i like it. right now im kind of liking it, even when its not finished outgrowing. once its finished if i like it, i will keep it but have it neatened and shaped and threaded by a professional, but keeping the fuller shape. whats also good about this, is it will be easier maintenance therefore much less to pluck/thread which is always good.

other things i do, is cleanse , scrub and tone, and then i apply a BB cream every day. occasionally i apply a vitamin c skin reviver serum for the day. when i have time off, i do a facial mask maybe twice a week.

i need to do a steam facial again sometime, that would be beneficial, might do it tommorow.

i also cleanse, scrub and tone my skin every night, and apply a anti wrinkle cream with retinol around my eye area. not so much for wrinkles more for dark circles and pigmentation spots which i struggle with. and of course to prevent wrinkles before they come!

the other thing i did the other day, is i had a gorgeous bubble bath, and i applied an amazing scrub with kiwi and mango with dead sea minerals, aromatic oils and some kind of seaweed. it left my skin feeling amazing and moisturied and glistening and soft. afterwards i applied the accompanying body butter with kiwi, dead sea minerals and shea butter… again i felt and smelt amazing.

i also bought a new purifying dead sea black mud mask also with dead sea minerals and bees wax and aromatic oils. and bought the exfoliating facial mask with dead sea minerals and plant extracts. that can be used as a mask and scrub. and i also bought the moisturising day cream with dead sea minerals and plant extracts. but i havent used these 3 yet.

i do like doing these rituals for the face each day… tho will say i often forget about the body… so need to try and get more into the habit of that

treating myself to some shellac manicures over the last few months, i have my eyebrows and upper lip threaded twice a month.

i bought a new epilator which i love but took a bit of getting used to.

i need to get back into my home made facials again… and i want to book a professional massage some time.

on getting my eyebrows done tommorow… thats normal for me lol. and im going to have my nails manicured as well as have a sparkly red shellac nail polish application. cant wait for that. i never have my nails done. have decided this will be my treat to myself for all my hard work and acheivements over 2011 :)

treats today. i used soap and glory’s fab pore facial peel and then afterwards i used body shops vitamin c skin reviver (that stuff is so divine)

word i spent sooo much money today! i had the day off today so went to town. i finally got my hair trimmed and i decided to put the side fringe thing in after all, its just a small side fringe nothing too major, and my hair is nice and trimmed and neat but still long.

i also found a different place to get my eyebrows threaded that is much cheaper than the place i usually go, and i had them done, they look lovely and neat :). this place also does various other stuff, like facials and manicures, and massages, and treatments and what not, so i will be looking into all the things they do, and might treat mysef again.

i then went shopping for perfume and bought 2, paco rabannes lady one million and a ed hardy perfume i cant remember what its called.

then i found myself in the body shop, where i got lost in toiletries and bought, 2 vanilla body mists, 2 vanilla eau de parfums ( i love sweet fragrances) and about 5 tea tree facial products! i also bought a body brush.

then i also bought a black hoody to wear to and from the gym or in general, and i also bought 2 knitted ponchos that look so nice and cool but also perfect for winter, one in black, one in brown. it sounds weird but it looks good. they kind of modern and funky looking, not dowdy or anything like that.

i also went to nandos for lunch where i had a mediteranean salad, side of macho peas and grean tea.

also bought some raspberries and blackberries and 3 magazines in waitrose (cosmo, zest and psychologies magazines)

and finally i ordered a gym bag from a sports retailer on amazon, when i got home.

i am officially not shopping for a while!

on a side note, i also gave myself a wonderful home facial when i got in, i love them, they do me the world of good. will prob do another one tommorow. im off tommorow again, woohoo, but i wont be going near any shopping malls this time.

going to have my eyebrows threaded tomorrow :), and im going to have my hair trimmed, keep the long length. i played with the idea of putting a side fringe in for a while, but i think i want to leave that for a bit, and leave it as is and do it later, possibly when i decide to cut my hair shoulder length again, then go for the fringe.

right now its nice and long, in the middle of my back, i will keep it neat and simple, no fringe, no layers, just give it a good trim to get rid of any split ends. i want to jsut enjoy having long hair for at least another 6 month if not longer before i chop it all off and throw in the side fringe.

however… i might choose to throw in the side fringe at some point whilse keeping the lengh, we shall see…

anyway, im jsut gonna have a trim tommorow.

thing that i do almost every day, that i consider great pampering for me, is i take a power nap almost every day in the afternoon. it lasts anything between half an hour and 2 hours at most. i do this if i have the day off, and only work in the eve, or sometimes in between my shifts on a long split shift day at work, i come home, have a bite to eat and then sleep for a bit before going back to to work for my second shift. it makes all the difference to me and how i function at work, especially when i work late and there for go to bed late and then have to be up early for work or gym or what not the next day. so it really helps me to feel better, and gives me more energy and keeps me sane :) and i love it.

anyway im gonna take a hour and a half nap very soon, before i have to start gettign ready to be at work at 5am.

to add that yesterday i went shopping too, after gym, first i treated myself to a healthy lunch in one of my fave places. but after that i went to the clothing store that my mom works in, they have really nice clothes. and chose 2 really gorgeous tops for myself. and cos my mom works there i got a 30% discount. woop woop. im always buying stuff there, its nice stuff, good quality but still affordable. similar to mns. anyway my moms discount is usually 20%, but for this month only its 30%, so thats cool.

the tops i bought, 1 was a silver/grey light, fitted jumper that had silver sequins dotted all over it. the other was a pale pastel pinkish light fitted top, with long shciffon sleeves. both great investment peices and great for a evenin out, smart casual :)

happy with my purchases :)

pampering today,

great sculpt gym session, great food, and then lovely home facial, also had a lovely hot bath with bubbles, and had a nice exfoliating body scrub with a coconut and almond body wash, afterwards, applied palmers cocoa butter all over the body, and i am nice and soft and smelling like a beach holiday lol. :)