Hey beauties! First let me remind you, you are already gorgeous!
Our skin is one of most delicate parts of us but our hectic routines, pollution, alcohol consumption and many more factors take away the natural glow of skin leaving it dull and rough.
“Problems come with solutions”
So, here are some very beneficial home remedies to get that natural glow back. And guess what?Most of these ingredients used are already present in your kitchen cabinets. So, just grab them and let the magic begin.
Note:
All these remedies can not bring change overnight you have to be consistent with them to get desired results.
Disclaimer:
Always do the patch test first!
Turmeric
Talking about skin, Turmeric is a life saver. It contains curcumin, super beneficial for skin due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, it helps to get rid of free-radicals and boosts collagen making your skin baby soft and dewy.
What you need?
Gram flour [2 tablespoon]
Turmeric [2 pinches]
Rose Water/ Plain Water [1 tablespoon]
Procedure
The procedure is quite simple all you have to do is take a clean bowl and spoon mix all the ingredients well.
Application
Take a clean brush and apply the paste on your neck and face. Let it dry for 20 minutes. Scrub it off and then rinse with cold water. You can use this pack once or twice a week.
Rice
Rice can do wonders to your skin. Japanese people have been using rice from 1000’s of years for beautiful skin and hair. Using rice has a number of benefits such as repairing the skin, toning effects, sun protection and many more. Additionally, they have anti-ageing properties as well.
In short, rice is guardian angel of your skin!
What you need?
Powdered White Rice [2 Tsp]
Milk [enough to dilute]
Procedure
The procedure is quite simple and you can make it at home. All you need to do is to take some rice powder and mix it well with milk.
Application
Apply a thick layer of paste, let it dry for 20 minutes. Wash it off with cold water. You can use this three times a week.
Aloe Vera Gel
Aloe Vera gel is the most widely used herbal remedy for skin problems. This is because, the gel like component inside it has number of healing properties. Aloe Vera gel, when used with the perfect combinations can give your skin a healthy glow and an acne free look.
Lets see, what is the perfect mix of ingredients you will need.
What you need?
Aloe Vera Gel [1 teaspoon]
Rose Water half teaspoon]
Lemon/Tea Tree oil [2 drops]
Procedure
The procedure is again quite simple. Mix all the ingredients well. If you have an acne prone or sensitive skin use tea tree oil instead of lemon.
Application
Guess what? Its an over night treatment. Also, if you are too lazy to get out of your comfy bed and wash it of in the morning don’t worry, you don’t have to! Just apply it after washing your face at night and you are done.
You can store it as well for up to two weeks and apply it regularly.
Honey
Honey has thick and sweet consistency. It is produced by an enzyme activity, plant extract and living bacteria. They all combine to make this wonderful product.
The process of honey making is unique, which gives it, its magical powers to heal acne and gives your skin a healthy glow
Raw honey has natural exfoliating properties.
What you need?
Honey [Half teaspoon]
Coffee [3 pinches]
Application
Mix all the ingredients well. Apply the paste on to your skin and scrub it gently for 5 minutes then wash it off with some ice cold water, you will be surprised to see results!
There you have it, these are those magical remedies that help you get glowing , acne free skin.
Unless you know me personally you probably have no clue on where I come from and let me tell you now we certainly were not rich, but, my Mother always did her best to keep food on our table she did this by creating the most ingenious ways to take nothing and make a delicious meal out of it and in this series I’m going to show you how I took that idea and ran with it throughout my teen and adult life, starting right here with what I call the poor mans burrito so lets get started!
Ingredients
Tortilla wraps
800g Mince
500g Rice (whichever you prefer, I love brown)
Beef stock cube
1tsp Cumin Powder
Salt + Pepper (to taste)
1tsp Paprika
Either onions or onion salt will do
Garlic (to taste)
Recipe makes at least 25 large burritos and can be refrigerated or frozen to last a few meals. Personally me and my partner get at least 5 meals out of this!
Method
Firstly, you want to fully cook your mince in a hot frying pan as you are doing this you want to add all your spices and seasonings to the mince, this will cook the flavours into the mince.
While this is cooking start the rice, DON’T FORGET to wash your rice first. Cook it until it is vaguely transparent then take it back into a sieve and wash again with hot water until the water runs clear. (You don’t want to be eating the amount of starch and plastic residue that comes of this)
Add the mince to the rice and combine together well
Now spoon your mixture into your wraps, wrap and pop onto a grill
Literally, your done. Enjoy, just don’t burn yourself they are hot!
Did you try out this recipe? what did you think/ what did you do differently to make it your poor man burrito? Do you have any recipes you think are perfect for this series? Make a submission!
So firstly I think we speak to the parents who clearly don’t know what consent is themselves and are in turn raising future rapists. Here is a quick run down for you, the official definition of consent is ‘permission for something to happen’ the official definition of permission is ‘the action of officially allowing someone to do a particular thing’ and lastly the official definition of officially is ‘in a formal and public way’
“If I were to remain silent, I’d be guilty of complicity.”
― Albert Einstein
Now we have that cleared up for you lets go through what your children need consent to do. When it involves another person Touching them, each and every sexual act(over 18s obviously) , hugging them, sending them erotic images (again over 18s). Basically, anything that might make anybody feel uncomfortable if a stranger just did it without permission (ohh, there’s that word again) there in a relationship already you say? And? Makes no difference the rule is without exception. In fact, the rule applies for you with your child.
“Consent is the line between human behaviour and bestiality.”
Are you forcing your child to hug there aunt or kiss there Gran when they don’t want to? How about when you ask for a hug or kiss and they aren’t feeling it? Are you making them feel guilty by showing them a sulky face? What on earth do you think they are going to learn from this? They will learn that if they manipulate the situation and make the other person feel sad or guilty or in a position where they can’t say no, they will get what they want. They are learning that they and others do not have governance over their own bodies. You are breeding a sexual predator by not respecting your child’s body. It is their body, not yours. If they want to say no, leave it there.
‘Its not consent if you make me afraid to say no’
It is your responsibility to shape your child into a decent human being. Which includes treating them in a respectful way and teaching them to treat others in a respectful way. It’s that simple really. So cut that ‘boys will be boys’ bullshit out of your vocabulary and instead learn how a human should act!
Education
Education is the most important thing to remember, everything is education and without it, the world we live in would be a much more awful place. Teach your children about their bodies, teach them boundaries, teach them what a yes is and more importantly, that everything else is a no. This is not just important for when they reach sexual maturity it is vital they understand all along. Did they ask another child for a hug? That child may be shy and not want to be touched, explain that. The child who doesn’t want a hug hasn’t done anything wrong, they have made a conscious decision about their own body. That should be rewarded, used to show your child how to act and treat people. Education doesn’t end, as far as I am concerned you learn until you die, there is always more to know.
For anybody still confused about what is not consent please take your time to read these next passages.
Are they unconscious? Is not a yes
Are they sleeping? Not a yes
Have they been drinking heavily? Not a yes
Are they drugged? Not a yes
Are they wearing a thong? No, why would that be a yes
Are they wearing revealing clothes? Still, in no way a yes
Are they in a relationship? Nope, not a yes in the slightest
Did they say yes? No, then it is not consent
Relationships
There are many things in a relationship that are expected, such as communication, emotional support etc, sex, is not one of them. If you are in a relationship and your partner often will guilt you with the whole, we hardly ever have sex, argument your answer should be, and? A relationship does not mean you have to give away your body when ever they want it. I wish somebody had told me this when I was younger as it is not something people discuss. It does not matter if you haven’t had sex in a year or a month you owe them nothing and anything they have to say in attempt to guilt you into saying yes is emotional abuse and not acceptable.
How about this, maybe you were feeling it not too long ago but have now changed your mind, this is fine! Anything they have to say except for alright is irrelevant and unacceptable. Your body, your rules.
If you are coerced, convinced or guilted into sexual relations this is not ok. This is not consent.
If you are reading this and relating more the partner you need to take a serious look at yourself and get help because how you are acting is not OK or even legal.
Do you guys want a longer article about this subject let me in the comments
Do you think somebody you know might be suffering from domestic abuse? Or have you found out that somebody you are close to has been and is leaving the situation? What ever the reason you are here you are already helping. You might feel a little helpless in this situation but believe me sympathising and trying your best to understand means so much to people who are in this situation, even if they don’t know it just yet.
It has never been so important to stand up and do something, with everybody in lock down and abuse at an all time high with sufferers quite literally locked into their home with their abuser day after day they are becoming even more of a target and the amount of people currently losing their life to domestic violence and abuse has jumped drastically. If you do nothing it could be your friend, loved one or family that is next.
Don’t refer to them as a victim
Using this term gives the feeling of weakness, it creates this feeling that you are weak, you can not escape so why even try. This is one of many tactics used by abusers to keep things how they want them to stay, by telling them they are weak, they need them, they are nothing without them or that they couldn’t even cope with life if it were not for them. Anybody who has been through domestic abuse knows how difficult it is just to survive each day, to go through the day with the constant berating, name calling, threats and some times violence. They are not victims they are survivors. They have survived something that many people cannot even comprehend experiencing and becuase of this they are often left with PTSD or other health disorders. But they are here! They are still fighting and with help they can win the fight.
685,000 male and 1,300,000 women subjected to domestic violence in 2018 alone
Understand what it is
Domestic abuse/violence, firstly, is the same thing. Don’t think that a person has not experienced domestic violence because they were never physically beaten by their abuser. The terms are used interchangeably, something which is unfortunately not commonly know and even the police will often get this wrong. To say they are different is to lessen one, and what are you lessening? To most people they think violence is worse than mental abuse. Please understand how wrong that is, you can’t imagine what it is like to live every day terrified of what mood they will be in, will they be yelling at you or is it going to be the usual self confidence rotting “jokes” maybe today they finally give in to their impulses and go through with the constant threats of violence. Living with abuse such as this is horrifying. You lose you, you lose everybody around you, you hate yourself, you hate them but you know you can’t live without them because your worthless. You hate every single day you are alive but what is your option? Take your life? What if you have children? Pets you love, Siblings? What happens to them? Will all of this just be put on their shoulders. It is a living hell, that becomes the most normal thing in the world to you.
Domestic- as a term means somebody who is or was part of your home life or a family relation. It does not just refer to people within a current relationship or of opposing genders. It could be somebody you co-habit with, it could be an Uncle, a Mother, a Father, a Sibling don’t think the general male / female couple is the only definer.
On average 2 women are murdered every week and 30 men are murdered every year due to domestic violence.
Know The Law
Knowing and understanding what your friend or loved ones rights are are extremely important. Odds are they don’t know themselves and don’t have the ability to look in a safe way or even the foresight to know what they are experiencing is wrong, it could be that they started life in an abusive home and have moved to an abusive partner, how are you to recognise something as wrong if it is all you have ever known? Be knowledgeable on laws in your own country look into the law of domestic violence and coercion and what rights they have.
If they do feel they want to go to the police and you want to support them you are going to need to know this. The police are under funded and extremely under trained in this field and quite often don’t actually know or understand the law and rights themselves. Once you have read up, don’t attack them with law quotes, it is good enough that you know their rights for the time being. If you have been witness or heard anything you can also, with their permission, go to the police and make a statement you can use this time to speak to the police about the law and their rights.
1.32 million domestic abuse-related incidents and crimes reported to police in 2019
The Police recorded only 746,219 of those crimes
Only 60,160 convictions where made
Understand What Denial Is
Many people experiencing domestic abuse have no conscious idea what they are being subjected to. Though, sub-consciously, you might find them asking questions or telling you little things about what is happening. Pay attention to what they have to say and do not push to hard. If a person is in a stage of denial ripping of the band aid in to fast a manner can often cause a total shut down and even a full break down of your relationship with them due to them being invested in which ever way that may be, to the abusive relationship.
It Is In No Way Their Fault
You think it is easy to walk away from an abusive relationship? How about if it is all you have known? Your confidence so low, the person you are completely crafted around what they want you to be, that you have no idea who you are without them?
What if you have children you are terrified of losing? What if you are financially reliant? Maybe you feel guilty? Maybe they have told you everything that happens is your fault? What if abuse is all you have ever known?
You add that to your low confidence, and it makes it something that wouldn’t even cross your mind. Why would it if your behaviour was the issue. Or, other hand what if it is your sick Mother who was abusing you? The Mother who has raised you, who you live with, who you love and rely on for your love and compassion? Would it be so easy to walk away then?
No, and judging them because they are taking a while or struggling to see through what is happening is only going to help the abuser. You are drilling their point home. Abusers love to control the mind of the people they are abusing, they create this control which by the end the person being subjected to the abuse can have no clue they are being abused. People use love, companionship, trust and loyalty to create these relationships and even the strongest willed people can become pray to these people. These people are predators and let me tell you they are good at what they do. They can slap you in the face talk for half an hour and have you saying sorry in the end. This is not you being weak willed this is them, them being monsters. Abominations even.
It can take years of therapy to regain yourself
Don’t expect a turn around over night once they have left the situation, if anything everything has just began. Expect many tears, fights, erratic behaviour and so much more. They have just experienced some awful times and are now being met with having to admit that to themselves which means reliving many traumatic times and seeing them through new eyes. Be there for them, be understanding and do keep suggesting therapies. Above all remember that this what is happening right now is temporary and is much worse for them than you. To begin with, CBT can be really helpful, it doesn’t help with the trauma but it helps teach you re train your brain. To stop blaming yourself and recognise what is your personality and what was crafted by the abuser. It may at times seem like it isn’t helping but stick with it because with hard work it will help.
Be Aware Of Triggers
Triggers can be anything that takes them back to what they experienced, in the right thereputic setting triggers are used but these are in safe spaces created by minds that have years of training and phd’s to prove it. You may think you know and understand what is best for the person but let me tell this, you are not a therapist and you can make everything 10 times worse. At the beginning it is best to avoid triggers when ever possible.
These can be anything, it can be a perfume, a certain holiday it can even be a certain way of holding them. Unfortunately, there is only one way to figure out triggers and that is by being triggered so this is both of you who need to work on this. It is important your paying attention, watch their body language, pay attention to quick mood shifts but they also need to be honest about it. Some triggers you don’t actually understand, especially if there are repressed memories, but to recognise that something happened and it made you feel a certain way is important. Have them makes notes of it, it will help to determine what the trigger is and what it is connecting to so that when the time is right it can be faced.
Let Them Talk In Their Own Time
Pushing somebody to talk about things their brain is not yet wired to compute can be like setting of a flash bang in a 2 person lift. A terrible, terrible idea, everybody gets hurts and nothing is better. Let them come to you, if they aren’t, continue lightly offering your support and information about therapies, if that doesn’t help you can always go to a medical professional and ask for help or advice. Talking is what heals us, talking is so important but is also sadly what many abusers will target. They will have them feeling that it is pointless, because that is what they want, they want them to feel helpless.
It is so important that they feel confident to come to you, that anything they tell you will be met by no judgement and that you will speak in the right places and listen at the right times. It is all about paying attention, if you look closely, you can tell when somebody is not quite finished talking, if they start a sentence and stop, give them a moment to finish it or a slight nudge if needed just a simple yeah? to indicate you are listening and they are safe to say what they are struggling to say.
Don’t Ignore It
What ever you do, if you see somebody is the subject of domestic abuse do something. We live in a world filled with people who wait for the ‘somebody else to do it’ don’t. This is how people die, we lose loved ones and the world loses the chance to help them. There are so many resources of help available out there please use any of them and find the help you need so you can get the help they need. If you are struggling to find the help or are nervous to call any of the help lines please feel free to contact me be it trough the site, through email, through any of my social medias. I will get your message and I will do all I can to help.
I am ashamed to admit that I have for a couple of years been a huge Shane Dawson fan, I would watch every conspiracy video he did but not much else of his content. Today that has changed, drastically. This morning I woke to my partner telling me to look into the peodophilia claims that have been made about him.
HUGE TRIGGER WARNING
Lets make one thing crystal clear. They are not claims, it is fact Shane Dawson is a sexual predator. If you need proof head over to Rainas thread on Twitter and you will be provided with proof in the shed loads. HUGE TRIGGER WARNING though, there are so many videos and audio recordings of him abusing young children.
“good job Lucy, but next time shake your tits more, and you, take of your jacket and show more”
Shane Dawson yelling at two 12 year old girls
After watching all of these I refuse to join in the conversation of it being up for debate, it’s not a joke, or funny, if you are willing to make these ‘jokes’ or commit these actions you are not only a sexual predator but you are also a paedophile. Here are just two reasons why, (FYI I could have listed numerous but just one of these acts is enough) Shane Dawson asked extremely young girls to expose themselves to him, he received a lap dance from a 12 year old girl after he filmed her giving another 12 year old girl a lap dance.
“So why is when somebody like, googles naked baby on google and jerks of to it they can get arrested? I don’t understand that”
Shane Dawson discussing why paedophilia is justified
Why is this an online issue? Why is this not a police issue? I realise in general the police are pretty fucking useless and in a lot of situations cause as much crime as they detect but surely actual video evidence should be enough to start an investigation and prosecute.
“I don’t know if I’m allowed to say this but she’s like sexy”
Shane Dawson talking about a 6 year old girl
We need to stop with cancel culture, like saying ‘Shane Dawson is over’ is anywhere enough of a punishment for what he has done. It is not. Not even close. He should not be above the law. Therefor, I suggest we start using the hashtag #imprisonshane.
“Damn, if iJustine wasn’t watching I would rape all of you”
Shane Dawson, while looking at pictures of young fans
Lets get the police to pay attention and maybe for once actually do their job.
A good morning skincare routine is just as important as a good meal to break your fast from the night before. Your skin has been rubbed on the fabric of your pillow, oils drawn out and moisture soaked up over the hours of sleep.
If like me you wear make up most days you will definitely need a good smooth base. Now, a good smooth base has been almost impossible for me as a person who suffers with dry skin I have the blessing of never getting spots or acne but the curse of what I like to call crocodile skin. If your with me you will know exactly what I mean, if not, what it means is when my skin is un-nourished (all of the time if I don’t keep a strict routine) my skin likes to crack and peal and at its worst, bleed. Yup, not very pretty. So, next time you see somebody with no spot scars maybe think what they themselves might be putting up with before you tell them how lucky they are.
If you are like me and suffer from dry and damaged skin that can almost feel like it is burning when you are putting on what is supposed to a cream for ‘sensitive’ skin you might want to take a look at the products I use on a daily basis. None of these hurt, irritate or burn my skin and they leave my skin actually feeling moisturised all day, even through makeup protecting it until I take my makeup of in the evening and start my evening skin care routine. So without further ado here are my top 6 products dry skin humans should not live without!
I always start with a makeup remover, even when I take it of the night before it is best to start with this. This Garnier cleansing water is perfect because it kind of gets my face ready for the rest of the routine it is oil based and I swear the first time I used it I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I have never, never had a makeup remover be this good and also this kind on my skin before. Before this I couldn’t even use any of them, I had to use coconut oil which is great but to do it every day at least once was a little excessive and started to clog up my pores.
2. Once any and all excess makeup is off and my pores are nice and clean I go in with a toner just a little more cleansing and protection for my dry skin. The L’oreal Paris Fine Flowers Toner in particular I love because not only does it smell phenomenal it really helps to sooth my red cheeks.
3. Quite important this next step and one often over looked is Sunscreen. It is always important to protect your skin from the UV rays but even more vital when in the middle of summer, especially if like me your natural skin tone is radiant white (I wish I was exaggerating but even light porcelain is too dark for me in the Winter)
4. What is the holy grail of skin care I hear you ask? Aloe Vera, pure Aloe Vera gel. This stuff is a miracle worker and one of those products I would definitely have take with me to a desert island. It moisturises, it is an anti-inflammatory, it gives pain relief to cuts and sun burn, it even protects against fine lines and wrinkles what can it not do?! Make me 21 again I suppose but it gets me close to looking it. I can’t say enough on how much I love this stuff. Just buy it, you can thank me later. I haven’t placed a link on this one because unfortunately the one I use doesn’t seem to be available online.
5. Last but by no means least is the moisturiser, Now I will say I do rotate my moisturisers I find it best my skin doesn’t get to used to one also some times I need a little more. For example cocoa butter as great as it is for my skin does still give me that burning sensation but I am pretty sure that stuff is the reason I didn’t age for years because I used it religiously. So, I try not to use that too often and mostly use either L’oreal Paris Wrinkle Expert with Calcium or Lacura Q10 both are incredible, around the same price point and I couldn’t pick a favourite. Honestly, my choice on which one to use is usually based of which is closer to my hand at the time. The Q10 is a serum which works a whole lot like a moisturiser but a little different so in the summer I will use both t=of these products applying the Q10 first.
So, there you have it my top 6 products I use everyday to keep my skin glowing and soft and as wrinkle free as possible. Do you have any products that you can’t live without or some you think I should try out? Drop them into the comments below and let me know
Hi, I’m Ruby, a 25 year old feminist with a bsc(hons) in Psychology. I’m a hairy, fat, bisexual who believes in body positivity because, “If you can’t love yourself how in the hell you gonna love somebody else.” Can I get an Amen.
What is The Body Positive Movement?
Body positivity is a common hashtag you’ll see used on Instagram, Twitter and other social media platforms but it is much more than that. This, is a radical, self-love movement which we should all be able to learn from. The movement has been described by Jessica Cwynar-Horta as:
“a social movement rooted in the belief that all human beings should have a positive body image while challenging the ways in which society presents and views the physical body”
and this is true. For a long time represented in magazines and on television, before social media the bias of the “ideal image” was a thin light-skinned woman, this contributed personally to me and to many others in forming the idea that my body is wrong and isn’t shaped or textured how it is “supposed” to be.
I’ve been on all sizes of the body spectrum, I’ve been smaller as a size 8 and now I’m more plus-size as a size 16-18 and the movement has personally helped me accept my body with all of the changes that it has gone through. My tummy rolls, my stretch marks as well as accepting my body hair has taken a lot of work for me to feel accepted by myself and to healthily deal with criticism from outside points of view. Everyone has to have their own journey in self-love and people deal with it differently. The Body Positive movement has been under fire for misrepresentation of many marginalised groups and misunderstandings in the movement. I’ll explain why I’ve changed how I speak about my radical self-acceptance of my plus size body.
The Body Positive Movement Was Started by Queer Black Femmes
Starting from the beginning, the Body-Positive movement was started by the first wave of feminists in the 1850s-1890s who protested against the use of modifying your body using tools such as corsets, but where the movement really gained traction was during the 1960s-2000s. According to Psychology Today
“The fat liberation movement of the 1960s was created by queer fat black women for marginalized bodies. This was a safe space for marginalized bodies who had been cast aside by society”.
In a lot of documentation, it is left forgotten to mention the people who started the backbone of this movement and they are often left out of it in popular social media today. For example, the biggest names in the world of body-positivity and radical self-acceptance are Tess Holliday and Ashley Graham. Although it’s great to see beautiful plus size women in a beautiful light, the fact most models still have a certain hourglass or pear shape leads people feeling underrepresented in the media and therefore the movement is not promoting their goal.
All bodies are different, yet all people in their bodies should feel beautiful or at least comfortable. It’s important to note that you don’t have to be ecstatic with your body to have body confidence and you can want to change, lose or gain weight healthily but it’s important to learn to accept your body at every shape and size. Learning and teaching Body Confidence is meant to be for everybody and be inclusive regardless of race, gender identity, disabilities and size. However, if we are ever going to make a change, the way we view the movement needs to change. Promoting body confidence and Body Positivity is different in the way that Body Confidence is primarily about loving yourself but The Body Positive Movement is about creating a new world with more representation for marginalized groups.
How Can I Support the Movement?
The point of this article is to express where the term came from, most people are aware of the movement. Whether they have seen radical fat acceptance on social media or the #effyourbeautystandards hashtag. If you are a thin, white person, promoting body confidence is still for you! The aim is for everyone to love their different bodies and recognise that our differences make us beautiful. But, it’s up to all of us to share posts, increase engagement and support the bodies that still aren’t recognised, aren’t empowered and aren’t showcased enough as the works of art that the Human Body is. We can use our platforms to promote different types of bodies, we can help build each other up. We can use social media as a tool to promote influences that are POC, disabled body-positive influencers, LGBTQ+ body-positive influencers.
I am still learning and willing to learn more about the movement myself, I try to support fellow creators by following body-positive influencers. I use different tags on my content to stop the overpopulation of bodies like mine on the body-positive tags, instead, I use #selflove and #bodyconfidence. This is a way other creators can share that spotlight, it’s that simple! Following the movement directly on thebodypositive.org has also kept me up to date with what the movement is and what it represents. The site has compiled a list of Black Body Positive Leaders who are changing the game here.
This article is not telling you to not love yourself you are still a huge part of this movement for change. Keep growing, keep learning and keep on celebrating yourself. Your body is absolutely beautiful, all of you. Learn from Body Positivity, promote Body-Positivity and remember that you you deserve to accept and love yourself. I’d urge anyone wanting to learn to start at the heart with https://thebodypositive.org/.
“If you can’t love yourself, how the hell are you going to love somebody else.” – Ru Paul
I am such a sucker for anything with a mystery, so when I saw that Look Fantastic had a sale on their July Mystery Box I had to. 6 mystery products worth at least £50 for just £10? I feel like I would have to be crazy to say no to that. So, I ordered away and patiently waited (that’s a lie, when ever I am awaiting a delivery I’m at the door each morning like a dog looking for the postman) thankfully the wait was short lived and my box was delivered 4 days later. Took a couple days to test everything and now I am ready to give you guys all my thoughts on this months box.
If you are new to the Look Fantastic brand here are a few details you might want to know, if you are already a huge fan feel free to scroll on by and jump straight into the box!
Look Fantastic was founded in 1996 by Daniel Crown, growing up in a family where grooming was a daily part of life (his Father ran a health and beauty salon) it is no shock that he went on to stay in this industry and create quite an impressive website and business. Look Fantastic is now a Europe’s #1 premium beauty retailer with over 22,000 different products! Not too shabby ey? Ever the man for growth Daniel Crown has now entered into a huge partnership with The Hut Group which is a retail beauty network and has to even joined their board to help over see everything! An impressive man to say the least.
Now, lets not waste any time and jump right in. I have been so excited to share this box with you guys. There are so many products that I am completely in love with and may very well have jumped straight to the top of my favourites list!
So this was the first one to jump out at me. I adore anything to do with lips, lipstick, lip gloss, lip exfoliants. I am a huge fan of anything to make my lips look full but also not give me that I can’t touch anything feeling. This lip cream is amazing and I will tell you why. Firstly it is full size, secondly, the colour is not only beauty but is so, so reflective of the light so has this crazy shine to it and thirdly, it is completely kiss proof. Like completely, a few seconds after applying it you can rub at your lips like crazy and it is not budging!
This one I though was a bit of an odd one to get in a beauty box but I am sold on it. It has a nice mintyness that isn’t overpowering at all if anything it fees like your enjoying a breath mint as you brush away. The paste itself looks like a crystal glitter which, technically shouldn’t matter but I love glitter so, plus to me. Teeth are left feeling extra smooth all day even after eating foods that usually leave a residue and there is no bad aftertaste or much of an aftertaste at all so feel free to brush before breakfast. Little hard to find one in this size but you can pick up a larger tube from Boots for £10 (currently £6.67 if you get there quick enough)
They couldn’t pick a better name if they tried because, this does work! I really struggle to sleep because I never switch off. There are always a million things going through my mind at night which is why I keep at least 3 organised and sectioned notebooks next to my bed so I can jot things down but since using this that hasn’t been a problem. I fell asleep almost immediately, if I did wake up I will fall back asleep straight away, my whole sleep seems to be one long deep sleep and the morning, I wake up so refreshed and ready for the day. I can’t sing the praises of this stuff enough I love it so much. The scent as well!! Oh my goodness, it is the most beautiful mix of Lavender, Vetivert and Camomile.
Unfortunatly, I couldn’t really test this one for what it is mainly used for as it is aimed to people who struggle with spots and acne and considering I get maybe 3 spots a year it isn’t really aimed to my skin, But, I did try it and what I will say is the scent is phenomenal it kind of wakes you up and almost feels like there is a soft breeze on your face where you have applied it. Also I have crazy sensitive skin and dry skin and this did not hurt or bother my skin at all.
Sadly, when I opened this it was quite broken but other than this it is amazing the packaging is beautiful. With the top being held closed via an internal magnet it feels like opening a book a little bit, which with the comic book graphic on the front felt quite perfect. The colour is amazing, it is so highly pigmented and super easy to blend. The singles are quite difficult to find but you can buy the palette with all 12 shades for £27
If you are looking fora hard pencil that can draw precise lines this product is exactly what you are looking for! Can be sharpened to create a super fine edge and can be used to draw on each individual hair. Such a good product and is most defiantly going to be my new daily eyebrow pencil.
This box has been such a treat my star product of the month has to be the This Works Pillow Spray, I have used this for two nights now and both nights I have slept through gone to sleep almost immediately and woke up feeling pretty great. The total worth of this box is £56.50 which when compared to the box that only cost £10 that is such a crazy saving! Definitely one happy customer. Should I make this a monthly slot? Let me know what you think in the comments
I’m a 28 year old film school graduate from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I’ve written about films for various outlets for 4 years and currently run Bitesize Review across all social media platforms
Throughout this series I’ll be listing my 5 favourite films by various actors. It’ll be a mix of their big hits and some hidden gems that hopefully gives you something new to watch!
Known for having most of his success in the 90’s Keanu Reeves is currently in the midst of his “Keanusance” thanks to the achievement of the John Wick series. With 2 huge sequels in the works with Bill & TedFace the Music and The Matrix 4, here’s a look back at some of my favourite offerings of his.
The Matrix
This is widely regarded as Keanu Reeves’ best film and it’s hard to argue with that. The Matrix is one of the best modern sci-fi films out there, thanks to its excellent world building and ahead of their time effects.
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
The John Wick franchise has become one of the most successful trilogies in recent memory but it’s the third instalment where everything really falls together. They up the game with innovative action sequences & a much more complete storyline.
Toy Story 4
Although it may not be a starring role, Reeves’ delightful performance as Duke Caboom the Canadian Daredevil elevates an already enjoyable film. I also may be biased as I am Canadian myself.
A Scanner Darkly
A highly underrated movie, this is one of the best done in the graphic novel style. Boasting a supporting cast including Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson & Winona Ryder, this is a true hidden gem.
Speed
A formula that hasn’t been done as successfully since, Speed is high octane action from start to finish and it’s anchored by great showings from Sandra Bullock and Reeves. A great film to shut your mind off and get lost in.
Let me know in the comments who you’d like to see next and if you want more film content including full reviews of current releases, check out BitesizeReview on Instagram
I am sure you have seen it by now, almost everywhere you look these days if it isn’t face masks for sale or the TikTok logo it is animal print but it is no longer just covering our bodies it is on the eyes, on the face even on the lips and I am living for it!
Now, I don’t know if this is down to Carol Baskin and The Tiger King but I would say so. Doesn’t matter, point is it is back and its everywhere! Give it a month and we will be back to 2005 and using hair dye to put some animal print in our hair
Below are some of the most beautiful examples of this trend in case you were planning on jumping aboard I know after seeing these I definitely am. Carry on reading and I will give you a quick tutorial on how you can jump on this trend!
I don’t know about you but I saw this trend and just had to jump on it immediately. I have done animal print before but never as a look it was always makeup for a costume so I am super feeling that this has came into the mainstream
Want this look yourself? Here is how to do it!
First start with a primed and powdered base, I always use an eyelid primer then pat it down with a translucent powder to give myself a silky base Note: Ignore my lack of lashes they are there I am just a blonde
2. Next you will want to pack on your base colour, I went with a vibrant purple as I wanted more of a cartoon/ made up animal print. *Tip: if you want a clean line use a piece of tape give it a tap on your leg or hand or what ever is nearest to you and stick it from the corner of your eye up towards the tip of your brow.
3. So I wanted a cut crease look so I only apply the next colour to the sections that will have the print. I take a deeper purple and lay on what I can only describe as spots, imperfect spots. After this I cut my crease with a lighter colour
4. Next, you want to define those print details, take a black eyeliner or a fine brush and some snazaroo as I did and draw on a couple of lines on either side of the spots you drew in the last part. Make sure these are all different for a natural look
5. After this is time to add your wing. I love a dramatic wing, I don’t actually remember the last time I did a none dramatic wing. Take a black liquid eyeliner and sweep on your wings. *Tip: If you want to make life easier with your wings don’t ever complete one eye then start on the next. I do mine in at least three sections matching each on the other eye. If you want to know all my eyeliner tips and how I do my wings in record time drop into the comments and let me know.
6. Next, I take my white liquid eyeliner and draw on my under eye highlights, this helps to bring the lines in the makeup out and also highlight your eyes a little
7. I then take that same eye shadow we packed on to the top lid and dust it over the underneath of my lower lash line, this gives your eyes more of a fullness and I think kind of finishes of the look in a way. I will usually take a darker colour and dust that over the outer edge of the eye a little
8. Last but definitely not least is the lower eye black liquid eyeliner, this one you need to be careful, you don’t want it in your eye so slowly draw your lines on in a sort of sad face shape once it has dried use a small brush to dust over some black just to blend it in a little under the eye.
BONUS: So, this one does make the look a much more in your face look but I love the anime big doll eye look so when I finish my make up I will often take my liquid liner and draw on some lower lashes. I love the effect it gives. Did you try this bonus tip? Let us know in the comments what you thought of it if you did.
If you are wanting to know how all of our beautiful ladies did these looks be sure to hop over to their social medias linked below
I’m Tom, I’m an Explorer/Adventurer/Musicaian/Model from the UK. I believe in doing your part to make the world a better place for everyone.
Be the kind of person you would want your children to be
You knew what you were voting for,
Their blood is on your hands.
I can’t believe it’s come to this.
I wish that were true but sadly the general public have always been cannon fodder for the tories. With years of harsh cuts to the NHS and public services can any of us really claim to be shocked by the situation we find ourselves in? You certainly can’t if you voted for it.
Ten years ago maybe you could have been forgiven for believing that the tories want what’s best for the country as a whole. But after seeing what they had done over their reign what did you expect. It’s estimated that the governments austerity politics have resulted in well over 100,000 deaths. That’s not even accounting for incidents like Grenfell tower which killed 72 people at one time. So is it really a shock that this government’s response to Covid-19 was Herd Immunity?
“It was predicted”
In 2016, a pandemic drill was carried out in the UK with shocking results. Due to being devastated by budget cuts the NHS was quickly overwhelmed and it was predicted that the death rate would be high. The government was warned but did nothing and the department of health suppressed the conclusions. The rhetoric of ‘nobody could have seen this coming’ is a falsehood. It was predicted. Singapore realised as soon as Wuhan reported the outbreak that cases would turn up there, so they prepared for it. Unlike the UK who carried on as normal. The kicker is that Singapore basically copied the UK pandemic preparedness plan, the only difference is they actually implemented the plan. This wasn’t unpredictable, many saw this coming, plans were in place. There’s a reason movies like Contagion relate so well currently and that’s because none of this was unpredictable, our government has just been lying to you. There were pre-existing plans for pandemics made ready, in some cases, decades ago that just needed to be implemented, some very specifically for non-influenza, respiratory diseases that would not be effectively treated by herd immunity. Sound familiar?
242k
UK Square miles
290k
Confirmed Cases
41k
Deaths
9.8M
US Square miles
2M
Confirmed Cases
114k
Deaths
We have the most Covid-19 related deaths in the continent, we’re second in the world only to the USA. It seems highly significant that the two wealthy western countries with the worst problems of social inequality and deprivation account for nearly half of all global Covid-19 deaths to date. It’s also of note that the virus is statistically more likely to kill the poor than the affluent. The message now is to return to work. Can we just be honest about what that means? It means that you need to risk your life going to work to provide comfort for those that don’t need to. Research has shown that those living in less affluent areas are 2.3 times more likely to die from the virus than those living in more affluent areas.
It doesn’t matter, to this government your death is a noble sacrifice to keep the economy plodding along and the super rich comfortable in their mansions.
“feeling like they are attending support therapy ran by their abusers”
But what about if you’re working on the frontline of the NHS? What if you’re saving lives and risking yours daily to do so? Maybe you’ll finally get that pay rise, maybe the government will stop considering you an unskilled worker. Nope, you get a two year pay freeze and some clapping. You’re being ‘thanked for your sacrifice’ whilst being left inadequetely protected. Something that would usually be considered illegal within a workplace. You’re being clapped by the very people that have left you forced to use foodbanks to feed yourself and your family and cheered on by those who voted them. The very people that vilified non-uk staff are now thanking them for their bravery. NHS staff have compared what’s going on currently to feeling like they are attending support therapy ran by their abusers. They’re being threatened with disciplinary action if they use social media to criticise the government whilst seeing that same government creating fake accounts, impersonating doctors to praise themselves. But still people applaud, they praise the government as if it were not them that spent the last decade closing countless hopsitals. Who have cut 17,000 beds, driven immigrant staff away and left the NHS short of more 100,000 staff members.
“You didn’t seem to care too much about the NHS a few months ago”
If you’re someone that voted for this do your claps really mean that much? You didn’t seem to care too much about the NHS a few months ago. Inequality didn’t seem to be a concern for you then. Is it only concerning now that the consequences directly affect you? Are you going to be sending your children back to school because frankly the guidance issued to schools is horrifying. The governement has stated that if a child displays any symptoms that they must be locked in to a room on their own until they can be removed by a parent, however long that may be. That’s the advice for 4-6 year olds. If you’re happy to have that happen to your child or any of their friends, let alone any child at all then I’m afraid you need to take a serious look at yourself.
“it’s a rigged system and it has directly led us to where we are now”
None of this is OK. The government has failed and should be held accountable and pointing that out isn’t ‘playing politics’. Labour are not without fault, as the leaks showed the party has intentionally self sabotaged to throw 2 elections just because some of the members, (Keir Starmer included) would prefer the opposition win than Corbyn the party leader. That’s not democracy, it’s a rigged system and it has directly led us to where we are now.
“protect the vulnerable and to create a better future”
I’ve seen so many using this crisis to defend political opinions. It’s not about politics, politics have failed you. It’s about fixing the mistakes that have already been made, holding those responsible accountable and striving for change both to protect the vulnerable and to create a better future. If anything I believe some good should come of all of this, there is no reason that the furlough payments can’t continue. If it continues at the same rate, then by October it will have cost £69 Billion. Whilst this may seem like a lot, £500 billion was spent bailing out the banks in 2009, £200 billion was spent on Trident and £106 billion for HS2. There’s also the matter of the £70 billion a year lost to tax avoidance. Keeping people safe is not un-affordable, we do not have to choose between death by Covid-19 or death by austerity. We shouldn’t be celebrating a 99 year old man raising money for the NHS like it’s a charity. We should be kicking down the doors of the politicians and demanding to know why they think that we should be expected to ‘dig deep’ and pay for their shortcomings.
The sad thing is I told you so doesn’t quite cut it. The left told you that the election was a matter of life or death. If you voted for this, you made your choice, their blood is on your hands. The question is, what are you going to do to make up for that?
A note by our editor:
What do you think about this, do you share the same view as our writer do you think differently? Let us know in the comments and if you have anything you would like to see Tom’s opinions on drop that to us too.
I absolutely love an excuse to dress up which is half of the reason that Halloween was always my favourite holiday growing up until I decided why the hell do I need a day to tell me I can be a mermaid for the day? …..
I don’t, you don’t. Stop telling us we do. I adore makeup and doing anything creative with it so doing cosplay to me is hugely reliant upon a good face of makeup, not everybody’s taste but is definitely mine so expect some makeup heavy cosplays!
A quick history of Cosplay
Before cosplay came costuming, an art form which began in Cincinnati, the first instance of this being recorded in 1908, It stayed as quite an ‘underground’ form of expressionism until the release of The Rocky Horror Picture Show in 1975, it was the fans of this new movie, a flash back to bygone sci-fi movies, that thrust both the b-movie and costuming into the lime light it became the done thing for fans to show up at the cinema in full costume to watch and engage with the movie as it was screened, it was for this reason that Rocky Horror quickly became a hit and also the longest-continuously running movie to date. Cosplay, is a term used to describe costuming and play. It began around 1984 in Japan when Nobuyuki Takahashi coined the term, since then it has become increasingly popular in Britain mainly amongst gaming and movie fanatic circles.
So, in respect for the wonderful craft that is Cosplay here are my top 9 Cosplayers to look out for if your in the UK and a couple of things they had to say on Cosplay
“I love cosplay as it allows me the freedom to express myself creatively. I’m never not making things! From wig styling to making foam armour, casting in resin to soldering jewellery or sewing an under-suit, cosplay has taught me so many skills, and even now I’m still learning new things. The cosplay community is so lovely and supportive, and I have met so many of my closest friends through the hobby ; it’s been an honour to watch their talents progress and improve over the years, too!”
“My favourite thing about cosplay is how creative you can be and how supportive the people and your friends can be about it all! Everyone is so sweet and helpful and I’ve never felt luckier to be in a community as I do now!” Photography by Thesteamtog
“My favourite thing about cosplay is the sense of escapism it provides, the way you can leave your normal self behind to completely embody a character that not only means a lot to you but to others too”
“my favourite thing about cosplay is the creativity behind it! It can be anything you want it to be whether you mix match characters, make the costumes yourself, or just have fun sourcing costume pieces and putting stuff together. There are so many ways a person can put together a cosplay. It’s such a creative hobby and that’s why I love it” Photography by Samuel Triggs
“My favourite thing about cosplay is the ability to become someone or something else. Your favourite superhero or villain, a role model or your favourite childhood character. It allows you to be creative and have fun.. whether that’s making a cosplay or experimenting with makeup/body paint or getting into character for an event or photo shoot.” photography By Si.VISUALZ
“I am a cosplayer who is more on the making side of things. My favourite thing about it is becoming a character, any character, of my choice. I love learning new skills along the way, problem-solving and gaining that sense of achievement. A lot of people work on a whole range of crafting projects, but cosplaying in particular means you get to experience your work by physically wearing it and have fun doing it!” PHOTOGRAPHY BY aLASDAIR wATSON
“My favourite thing about cosplay is being able to combine my creative abilities with my personal fandom for all things geeky. Visiting conventions and meeting other like minded people that share the same passion as you, that you wouldn’t necessarily meet in every day life. I’ve met some pretty amazing people along my several years of cosplay and cons, some of which are a big part of my life now” Photography by Toneagraphy
“So I got into cosplay November 2016 after doing Harley for Halloween and loving her outfit. Then after following some fan accounts on Instagram I came across cosplay and went for it and have now added so many more cosplays and I’m still upgrading Harls to this day. My favourite thing about cosplay is definitely the confidence I get from it and also the friends too I’ve made so many life long friends I wouldn’t have met otherwise!” Photography by Unmadesugar Photography
“My favourite thing about Cosplay is the creative process behind it. It’s not often in adult life that we get to make “useless” things just for enjoyment. There’s always this push that hobbies have to be productive and useful, that if you’re making something. “Why make a costume when you could make useful clothing to wear everyday?”. Cosplay, for me, is an excuse to make crazy outfits I would never have an excuse to wear outside of cosplay. I can make articulated armour, or a wizard hat that’s a meter and a half wide. It’s just creativity for the sake of it, just for your enjoyment.” Photography By anstellos
I would say my over all take is that the community is quite possibly the best thing about cosplay to its cosplayers, I personally look forward to this Lock down being lifted and going to my first con and telling you guys all about it.
Quick Harley look I did in honour of this post for you guys
Hope you guys enjoyed this countdown, If you want to see more like this send me a message, leave a comment or find me through any of my socials the name NAYLORTOAWALL will have you find me anywhere
Naylortoawall 