Last week, my mum jokingly asked if I was planning on writing a post about her for Mother’s Day. Little did she know, there had been sorta one in the works since International Women’s Day… but it never got published because it never got finished. Why?

Well where do you start when you want to write about your mum?

I guess I could start with a thanks for all the practical stuff she’s done for me over the years; but she is more than just the woman who helps around the house, or comes to my rescue more times than I can count.

She’s the women that had boys from my school coming up to me, asking if we were related because she is “so cool.” I know, whaaaatt?

She’s the woman who is always being creative. Whether it was painting, sewing, crafting… you name it, she made having a creative outlet seem like a normal part of life. Whereas countless journalists tell you how hard it is to juggle working, family life and keeping a sense of self, she made finding time for something seem easy. She taught me if you really want to do something, you’ll find the time not an excuse.

She’s the woman that taught me not to take life too seriously. Although I wouldn’t say I’m really serious about a lot of things, there are a few parts of life that I can get a bit too focused on. I’m a bit of a control freak, what can I say? However I do manage to find the funny side in a lot of things, and I put that down to her. Whether it’s a dirty joke, or an off-beat observation she is the one that keeps things light, and the almighty queen of the casual flirt.

She’s the woman who gave me my style. Well maybe not completely (a lot of the things I appear in are ‘different’ according to her) – but I do credit my penchant for all things bright down to her. Whilst my friend’s mum bought mules or trainers, I always remember my mums brightly coloured pop-art sandals. Whether it’s glitzy jewellery because hey, it’s a Wednesday; bright colours, bold lipsticks or all three at the same time – she taught me that if it makes you smile, wear it.

She’s the woman that made body-confidence not a big issue. While there has been  a big push to increase body confidence in girls and women alike (and rightly so) it never seemed like a big deal in our house. Whether she always felt good about herself I can’t say – thankfully I can’t read her mind – what I can say though is she’s never shy at throwing on a bikini and heading to the beach. Unless I really rack my brain, I cannot remember her being on a proper, serious, diet. She doesn’t cut things out, or restrict things, she has what she wants but in moderation. She passed down a sense that feeling good about yourself should be the norm, not something saved for special occasions that follow eight weeks of living on Ryvitas.

I guess what I’m trying to say is this: My mum is not just the woman that raised me, she’s the one that helped make me who I am. She’s one of my best friends, mentors and advisors.

Thanks Mum. Happy Mother’s Day  <3

‘Unskilled jobs’

‘Unskilled workforce’

If you follow, or even just occasionally catch any news outlet chances are you’ve heard this phrase numerous times. I have, and it never really registered. I knew the sort of jobs/people they were talking about: those that worked in retail, customer services, call centres, waiters, waitresses’ and bar workers. I knew it meant those kinds of roles and didn’t think much of it.

Then I read an article on The Pool (it seems to have disappeared since) about the classism surrounding the ‘wellness’ and the clean eating movement. It discussed how ‘clean’ food was probably ranked low on the list of priorities if you were a mother struggling to get by with your unskilled job.

And seeing it ‘unskilled worker’ in print, in such a modern article hit me. It hit me and it angered me. I do like a good rant admittedly, and give me a reason I will happily get on my feminist high horse… however things about job types/general life doesn’t usually touch a nerve. I’m still not sure why it did in this instance, but here’s what annoyed me.

Some of the best people I know are, according to the media ‘unskilled’ which is ignorant at best, and insulting at worst. ‘Unskilled work’ gives you a lot of skills that others lack:

• Even if you are having the shittiest day known to man, you can slap on a smile and pretend you are so excited about the current sale. Being able to put your personal shit aside and focus on the task at hand is a skill valued in any line of work.
• Explaining to an inexplicably angry person that they cannot have what they want for free/cheaper/right this very second just because they want it is diplomatic skill at its finest. If all politicians/celebs were required to spend three sale and post-sale periods in retail there would be nowhere near as many gaffs.
• In these sorts of jobs you don’t get a single type of person, you get many from many different places, points of view and motivations. You get the people that are going to get the most sign ups on the mailing list ever¸ and those that are not even sure they are sober when the clock in. Being able not only to deal with different types of people but also learning from (or at least accepting) differing perspectives on things is a skill the world could do with more people having.
• On the practical side, these jobs usually don’t offer the best wages in the world. But hey, you are a highly skilled money manager and resourceful babe if ever there was one. You could probably show the Treasury a tip or two.
• Working on the ground floor with goods coming and going makes you a problem solver. So you don’t have the right equipment for this delivery? You have enough initiative to either find someone who does or make your own device because this lot ain’t going to book itself in. You can think on your feet, and when you know your boss is coming back soon, you can think bloody fast.
• You can forgive and move on. Working with the general public means you are, at some point, going to encounter a few idiots but instead of getting riled up and letting it cloud your day you’ve learnt to forgive and forget. Well maybe not forgive… if you take extra-long serving them next time, I won’t blame you.

So, here’s to the people that keep the world going round. Here’s to the ‘unskilled workers’ who are anything but unskilled.

Restaurant guides review restaurants, often ranking them or providing information to guide consumers (type of food, handicap accessibility, facilities, etc.). One of the most famous contemporary guides is the Michelin series of guides which accord from 1 to 3 stars to restaurants they perceive to be of high culinary merit. Restaurants with stars in the Michelin guide are formal, very expensive establishments.

The main competitor to the Michelin guide in Europe is the guidebook series published by Gault Millau. Unlike the Michelin guide which takes the restaurant décor and service into consideration with its rating, Gault Millau only judges the quality of the food. Its ratings are on a scale of 1 to 20, with 20 being the highest.

Say what you want but this is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. When it comes to beauty, I seem to have regressed. Forget multi-tonal palettes, with the oh-so-subtle but oh-so-important different shades. Unless it’s a special occasion pass me da make up crayons babes.

It was only whilst packing an overnight bag that I realised I’d fallen for make up crayons, but now I’ve realised there is no looking back. There quick, simple and when done with a bit of care their effective enough for an every day look. So without more rambling, here’s a selection of my current faves.

Maybelline Contour V Stick

I got this on a whim after growing a bit bored with the powder contour I had at the time. It was ok, but just ok. As I am normally paler than a pale thing, I wanted to get the light colour way, but as it had sold out I talked myself into the medium option. Nothing says impulse buy like that, right? Anyway now I am on the light version and the only real difference is it is slightly cooler in tone, though  not necessarily darker. You do have to blend it quite a bit to steer clear of just looking a bit grubby but on the whole its perfect for quick cheekbones, and slimmer noses. Slight disclaimer: I do tend to use this in conjunction with another contour kit for evening looks, just to give it a bit more oomph.

Maybelline Brow Drama.

Get me telling you about brows, when I am no where near a Delevingne. But anyway, I snapped this up after a recent threading session. It won’t give you that defined look, but I tend to use it to get the main shape, before creating the angles/filling in with an eyebrow powder and slanted brush.  Luckily the medium one is exactly the same colour as the Tropic brow powder.

Primarks Complete Crayon Lip and Cheek. (In store only)

The shop floor layout people at Primark obviously know what their doing,  put some cheap make up and brushes next to the men’s changing rooms and whaddya know.  A few brushes and a lip/cheek make up crayon has fallen into my basket (and into my heart)

I haven’t tried this as a blusher, but as a lip colour boy is it creamy. They come in a few shades but I love this dusky pink colour, it’s fairly natural but still has enough pigments to make you look put together.

Maybelline Colour Drama

From creamy pinks, to punchy brights. These are not the creamiest dreamiest of things admittedly. They are by no means bad to apply but it doesn’t feel exactly luxurious shall we say. They do however last a long bloody time. Even when I have a billion cups of tea it doesn’t budge. Well it does – they are brilliant at leaving their mark on a white mug – but your lips still remain the centre of attention.

I may be twenty-five but colouring pencils still have a special place in my heart, especially when they are b0und for my face it seems.