Beauty is Barmy

Image Credit: Natalya Lobanova

"Beauty: slightly mutilating the natural state of your body in order to be deemed socially acceptable."
After a long and aimless scroll down my Tumblr dashboard of designer dreams and cheekbones of steel, I came across this quote. At first, I didn't think a lot of it and put it down as another in-depth outlook on the alternative view of life that most Tumblrians are avid to put forward, but then it got me thinking about the methods we take to, as the saying goes, be "socially acceptable" where our looks are concerned. 
I got talking to a few of my friends about the crazy things we've done over the years to fit in with what we think we ought to look like. In my case, discovering the joys of rock culture at the tender age of fourteen and hiding in the bathroom whilst I cut choppy layers into my long, blonde hair to apparently reach the trend of the mullet, styled by a rabid animal. Things have moved on since the Year of the Punk for me, and along with this process has come a few more confusing and well, bizarre habits. 
A few of my friends (who I will spare the mortification of naming) have revealed an ardent habit for shaving their fingers and toes, whilst others settle for a hair mask of mayonnaise. I remember back in school, a girl in my class boasted of her toothpaste face masks, and apparently not much has changed since I know plenty of us who sleep with a Sudocrem smeared face. It all seems normal to us until we take a step back and wonder why we really put all of the effort into these barmy DIY efforts to transform overnight into a glowing goddess worthy of envy from the likes of the Victoria's Secret Angels. In-flight routines; baking in the sun and damaging our skin cells in the name of beauty and a "healthy" glow; coating our lashes in Vaseline in the hopes of waking up with eyelashes three miles long. 
All of the beauty golden rules we abide by over the years have settled down into a select few life-savers which we know works for us probably a lot better than Colgate skin to warn off the acne (and possibly all other forms of life). Since I've put behind me the days of deciding that I'm a professional hair stylist (my experience is limited to a traumatic Barbie doll experience), I have also given up along the way on the one of the holy grail of beauty techniques: I will never be able to drink eight glasses of water a day to keep my skin glowing in exchange for 65 trips to the loo per hour. On top of that, Lauren Conrad's Beauty book informs me that I should never, ever under any circumstances pop a zit, but trust me, if I was coming face-to-face with Harry Styles, there is no chance I would be doing so with a pulsating spot in the centre of my face. And ten hours sleep? Sometimes that isn't even an option.
Whilst it is important that we keep our health in check and look after ourselves, why do we put so much pressure on ourselves to be perfect and improve the way we look? Rather than preaching the new ways to transform into Miranda Kerr, I think it's about time the media tells us how much we should learn to love ourselves and embrace what is already perfect about us: individuality. Don't worry if you forgot to pluck your eyebrows for one day; don't stress about forgetting to apply your eyeliner. Amongst every girl's unconditional love for lipstick, don't forget to find unconditional love for the most important thing first: yourself.

Love From Storm x

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Weekly Wishlist | Prima Ballerina

 1. M.A.C Studio Sculpt Foundation - Everybody knows that one girl with the most flawless skin in any weather condition and any time of morning. For me, that girl is in my sociology class at college, and after violently demanding to know (overstatement; asking was the preferred option) which foundation she used a few months back, she revealed to me that it was Mac's Studio Sculpt. Needless to say, I haven't forgotten since. £25

2.  M.A.C nail varnish in Snob £11

3. M.A.C Lipstick in Snob £15

4.  Eyelure Girls Aloud Nicola Lashes £5.11

5. Tchaikovsky Swan Lake Royal Swedish Ballet £8 - I just die whenever I watch Swan Lake. It's beautiful.

6. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov £5

New Years Resolutions? Nah | Month in Pictures December 2013

"How fast has this year gone?"

"January already?"

"This year is going to be my year." 

The first day of 2014, and all of us have heard these questions possibly over ten times in the past twenty-four hours. Myself, I'm undecided about whether time is going faster or whether I'm just oversleeping too often. Whilst I try to figure out what kind of message the universe is trying to send me, it has come to my attention that this year is going to be pretty huge. I'm turning eighteen, starting university and growing into my big girl shoes. All of this reflecting and setting new years resolutions has gotten me into the thinking game, and I've decided that for once I'm not going to set myself a resolution, because with such a busy year ahead of me I wouldn't know where to start. It got me thinking, do we ever follow these rules that we set ourselves on the 1st January every year? If I decide I want to become prima ballerina in August, that will be my goal; if I dedicate myself to finding my Buddhist pathway by April or become a body-builder in September, I won't be thinking too hard about the 'stop eating chocolate' rule that I almost applied this month. Are our vows to get toned abs, stop swearing and become fluent in eight new languages all just excuses to compensate for what we've been lacking in the past twelve months? For me, the answer is yes, which is why my only resolution this year is to be the best 2014 version of myself that I can be, because well, there are only so many years of 'thou shalt not over-spend' that I can take. 

Hope you had a wonderful New Year,

Love From Storm x

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Blogmas: Lush | Snow Fairy and Santa's Lip Scrub

Once upon a time, the brains behind Lush took a trip to the North Pole, their heads bloated with visions of winter-worthy products enough to strike envy in the heart of Mrs Claus herself. Around Miss Lush, the North Pole was alight with the glow of Christmas lights in red, green and gold, flickering through the misty haze of winter's white sky where Santa's four-legged friends glimmered in a cosmic dance amongst the stars of Christmas Eve night. 
Dithering, Miss Lush shrugged her faux fur closer around her icy frame and allowed her gaze to drift to the towering, ice sculpture which glistened in the night. The Claus Castle.
Lush gasped. She had heard all about the castle, of course, but only in fairytales, books and films had she ever been graced with the sight of the silver building which reflected the light of the moon. Leaving a trail of footsteps in the snow, she found herself at the doorstep of the castle, knocking once. The door opened of its own will, revealing a vast space filled with presents wrapped in gold, silvers and reds. Elves danced around a sleigh, sprinkling their magic in streams of gold and dispersing with crimson cheeks at the sight of Lush's black cape blowing in the wind. Walking closer, she found herself amongst the creations of the elves, helplessly searching through the parcels until she found a special box, wrapped in sparkling pink and dazzling red. Upon the parcel, sat a note, in cursive letters which caused Lush to gasp in delight:
Dear Lush,
For Christmas you deserve Snow Fairy Shower Gel to leave you smelling of candyfloss and pear drops and Santa's Lip Scrub to soften and exfoliate your lips (he won't notice it's missing.)  
Merry Christmas,
Love Mrs Claus.

Love From Storm x

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theBalm 'Hot Mama' Blush: Swatch and Review

I've been on the hunt for a good blush for what seems an eternity, without burning a huge MAC shaped hole in my pocket in the process. Being the peachy blush enthusiast that I am, I was particularly drawn to Nars 'Orgasm' and MAC 'Peachykeen', and after endlessly strolling through blog reviews I found that theBalm 'Hot Mama' blush/eyeshadow was considered a close dupe, with quite a few people stating they prefer it quite considerably. At £12.50, this product was already less guilt inducing to treat myself to in comparison to Nars and MAC's hefty price tags, so I couldn't help but try it out. There's only so many times you can read the words 'holy grail' and not find yourself hitting the 'add to basket' button...

Our Moment | One Direction's Fragrance

And they're back again! With a never-ending range of products to rival the likes of your local IKEA, One Direction have officially launched their debut fragrance 'Our Moment', to add to their already overflowing sales CV including makeup; stationary; uh, cardboard cutouts and in true pop-star spirit, collection dolls.  

Being the 1D enthusiast that I am, I (shamelessly) jumped onto this band-wagon before I'd even checked what it smelled like. Having gotten a bit carried away by their pretty little faces on the box, I'm relived that it actually smells nice! 

You know the drill, a celebrity will release a perfume under their name and it doesn't really matter if it smells any good, because they will sell millions of bottles anyway (I'm looking at you, Justin Bieber.)

Eye Spy | Holiday Edition

It's that time of year again. You've planned it for months in advance; perfected the sit-and-zip suitcase method; matched all of your bikinis with a pair of sandals and wailed Cliff Richard's 'Summer Holiday' the entire way to the airport. We've all been there, every year is the same old malarky which leads up to the week of sizzling in the sun to cure all of our jet-lag related worries. I've recently just returned from a week in Portugal, and I met a (slightly sunburned) Irish lady who nailed it in a sentence: "It's like being a celebrity for a week or two." Or twelve, if you consider her marvelous tan. 

But despite our love for travel and treats, take away the burning ball of fire, the crushed up rock and the slurring accents which make you weak at the knees and we're left with an awfully familiar game of Where's Wally. There's always that one person who turns up on your every holiday. They may have changed their name, hairstyle and nationality but they're there. Sometimes there's even multiple of them. And they're in an airport near you. 

The Thompson Airways Glamour Girl - As the saying goes, the holiday starts in the airport. We all know her; strutting her stuff (with a slight limp) down the runway/toilet queues with the highest heels known to mankind. We couldn't wear them on a night out, but that girl owns them even on the go. A face full of makeup and the occasional trip over her own suitcase, and the package is complete. For me, I think flats are my go-to companion, but you have to admire her almighty balance skills.