Tag: street art

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Makeup Free Month Day 27: bad skin day and ingredients

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Bad skin today. A combination of not enough sleep (thanks to excited children who decide they only need a few hours when on holiday!), red wine last night (my excitement when on holiday) and the time in my cycle.

It’s a day when I would normally want makeup. So I feel like this is a good time to look more at the ingredients of the makeup I’ve been using for years…. Maybe to put me off a bit 😉

To do this I thought I could pop into a shop and look at the labels. Hmm not so easy. The boxes often don’t have ingredients on, and many bottles/containers currently seem to hold their ingredient list on the inside of there labels. Which you wouldn’t normally peel off until you had bought the product!

So… It seems easier to use the good old internet for the ingredient lists for each type of cosmetic product. However as I started to search and see the huge long lists of ingredients I realised that I’d not only potentially bore you all, but I was just replicating what we have available already! So here is a very thorough website where you can check not only the ingredients of your specific product but it also has it’s own ‘safety’ guide/rating.

I will start with their list of foundations, and if you click on one of them you can see what is in it.

http://cosdna.com/eng/product.php?q=Foundation

I have asked another company specialising in homemade products to send me an ingredient list for their products. When I get it I will share it with you so we can do a comparison.

Ok. Off for water and sleep now- hopefully improving my skin for work tomorrow!

If you haven’t yet seen my Street Art video – Skin- please take a peek!

If you would like to donate to Macmillan Cancer Support please do so via my Just giving page or via text as described below. xxxxxx http://www.justgiving.com/Susan-Merrick

or text MMFM 50 £1 to 70070

 

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Makeup Free Month Day 25: Success and Suncream

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I’m reading a book at the moment about women, business, goal setting, success etc. Some of it I have to take with a pinch of salt. Having had my very british upbringing it’s enthusiasm makes me giggle/raise my eyebrows at times. But some of the tips are good old common sense that are easy things to forget/good habits to break/make. However one line just jumped out at me!

“Looking and feeling great can have a direct impact on your earning potential. Women who are well groomed earn more, it’s a fact.” P167 “Get Rich, Lucky Bitch” Denise Duffield-Thomas

So…. (Some?) people really believe this. She does go on to say thag it’s about confidence. And this I definitely see as true. But ‘well groomed’? And what does this mean?

I know my husband has commented that he rarely sees unshaven, stubbly faces in the men at higher levels where he works. That being well groomed is certainly part of looking/being or being seen to ‘look’ professional. So for women, what does this include? Hair and Clothing as with men… And makeup? I’m aware it often includes piercings and tattoos too. And weight?

I guess this really depends on what your work is, the culture of your workplace or profession. Can your confidence outweigh your appearance? I’d love to read more about this. Any links would be greatly appreciated!

On a personal note today we had some lovely sunshine and wind here on the coast. My freckles are coming out and my face feels a little overcooked! Which leads me to another product issue. Sun Cream! Who uses it? Who doesn’t? I have friends who do and don’t. Being a freckle-some redhead I’ve always been told to wear it. And when I haven’t I’ve occasionally burnt. Not something pleasant, it’s very painful and potentially according to some research increases my chance of skin cancer.

Application of sun cream however, depending what product you use, means using chemicals, and some other debates I’ve heard include the potential harm to your skin from using this too! Argh!! Bloody product debates. It’s easy to be sceptical about research, when often it’s done or funded by the product companies or their alternatives. But I know I DO burn, and I don’t want to, and I like being outside in the summer and having some sunshine. I guess I could wear long sleeves and hats as I often suggest my children do. But I love my dresses/shorts …. Even if it does often mean blinding people with the reflection of my bright white legs 😉

So… No answer, more questions and a slightly pink face today. Maybe I can see if those who produce gentle or homemade makeup also do some sun protection products or advice. Or some kind soul who reads this may respond…… Please?

Night night x

If you haven’t yet seen my Street Art video – Skin- please take a peek!

If you would like to donate to Macmillan Cancer Support please do so via my Just giving page or via text as described below. xxxxxx http://www.justgiving.com/Susan-Merrick

or text MMFM 50 £1 to 70070

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Makeup Free Month Day 17 My Street Art!

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I’m jumping up and down with excitement as I introduce my finished Street Art video project that inspired me to go Makeup Free!

Huge thanks to Ashley Meneely and Starr Meneely for your fabulous efforts in getting this done, to The Glass Child for your beautiful song, to Ann Marie Black for babysitting (so I could do this in one sitting!) and to the women of the Red Thread group who supported me on the day! Speech over, enjoy the video! Xxxx

The Glass Child has a youtube channel here https://www.youtube.com/user/aGlassChild and her music is available o itunes and from her website www.charlotteeriksson.com

If you would like to donate to Macmillan Cancer Support please do so via my Just giving page or via text as described below. xxxxxx http://www.justgiving.com/Susan-Merrick

or text MMFM £1 to 70070

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Makeup Free Month Day 15: Pretty much halfway!

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Well I’m pretty much halfway through my month without makeup. I’ve looked at what cosmetics I use, why I use them, some history of makeup and a bit about feminism and makeup. I’ve discussed makeup with relation to professionalism, confidence and self esteem, and where these assumptions/ideas come from. I’ve talked about some reactions I’ve had and also how I’ve felt in myself. I’ve touched a little on homemade and natural skin products and towards the end of the month I want to consider some alternative cosmetic products or even homemade ones to try once my month is up. Seeing how good my skin looks and feels I’m reluctant to slap rubbish back onto my skin!

I’m feeling very excited today (jumping up and down a little) as the video of my Street Art, that inspired me to go makeup free, is almost finished. The fabulous Ashley Meneely has worked so hard to create a beautiful piece of film that captures not only the artwork that I created but the feel of the day and what I was trying to achieve. It’s also come together by us being allowed to use a gorgeous track by singer songwriter Charlotte Eriksson. The lyrics are truly perfect for drawing out all of the ideals and issues that I wanted to question with regard to what we use on our skin. But I will discuss this more once the video is up for viewing 🙂

We are hopeful that this will be finished over the next few days and when it is put up on The Mother Magazine website (thank you so much Editor-in-chief Starr Meneely for agreeing to showcase it) I will shout! Loudly!

If you would like to donate to Macmillan Cancer Support please do so via my Just giving page or via text as described below. xxxxxx http://www.justgiving.com/Susan-Merrick

or text MMFM £1 to 70070