Bottom bitches and baby mamas? Seriously?

My eyes can't stay open today because I was up til crazy hours last night reading this  new blog I found (blackgirlsareeasy.com). The name is a bit misleading, because it's not as bad as it sounds! Rather, the author points out the difference between 'women' and 'girls' (interesting study posted the other day, comparing statements from rapists and those found in ladmags, showed that when the men were talking in a derogatory and sexist manner about females, eg. the way they had sex, and looked, and didn't deserve any respect, they used the word 'girls' and when they were complaining about how hard done by they were by females who were too independent and confident, they used the word 'women') and posts super long essays about how men and women should strive to have self respect and be more adult, if you will, in their relationships.


He also writes a helluva lot better than me, so you won't find such crazy running sentences in his work.


The main themes he writes about are women (of course), self respect, commitment and drive. But in such terms! I can't believe that I've been living a sheltered life, but some of the stories he tells, and the comments that people leave, are shocking. Do some people out there really believe that men are incapable of monogamy? That women need to investigate everything about a man before she can trust him? That men take pride in emotionally abusing women, and that women take pride in their vagina's ability to keep a man? It would seem so, unless the people leaving the comments are hiding behind their screens and putting forth this ghetto persona. Which is a shame, because it goes against what the author is saying.


As indicated by the title, the blog is written by and read mostly by black people, and so black stereotypes are discussed - that women are catty and spoiling for fights, poor and socially disadvantaged, and that men are gangster balling players (I'm not sure I used those words right...). I think it's great that these stereotypes are talked about and argued so eloquently. The writer's style is very bold and confrontational, and I think that works brilliantly with the messages that he puts across. I think everyone can get something from reading his blog - for me, his 'don't hate' messages are presented in such a fresh manner that it really makes an impact. It's not a vague 'be happy with what you have' open letter to the world, but a passionate and fierce missive that has so much force and conviction that I can't help but believe in it. There is a lot I don't agree with (such as the interchangeable usage of the words 'woman' and 'bitch', and being so blase about using multiple women and objectifying them) but still, it is good to try to understand different viewpoints and accept them - or at least, accept the fact that they exist.


All in all, a riveting read.

Illamasqua

So I found out about this new brand, and judging from the awesome reviews on the net, about time! One of the things I've been hearing a lot of good about is the foundation, so I went in for a test (apparently they don't give out samples). The MUA matched me to SB09 and said it blended in perfectly... I looked at it and thought it made my skin look dull and a bit grey. She poo-pood me, but when I went to walk away, she said that the next shade up might suit me better. She put on SB10 and then gushed about the difference it made and how much better it looked than the last shade.. which she had said was perfect. I felt like I couldn't trust her then, so I didn't get any, but I did pick up some under eye concealer.

The foundation. Comes in a heap of shades and the swatches on the net aren't the greatest for comparing to. They've also included a table of comparisons with most major brands eg. MAC, Nars etc. but I've heard that can be off too. Best to go in store and get a MUA to do it. And come back another day and get another MUA to match you.

The undereye concealer. Illamasqua do a funky shaped container, and there's a mirror inside the lid. So far seems to wear well.

The intense lip glosses are reputed to have almost lipstick like coverage, and great lasting power than me. Just trying to decide if a gloss is worth $30+.

I tried on some of the liquid metal pigments and *swoon* absolutely gorgeous. Just swiped it on my arm (well, my son's arm) and it didn't last more than a half hour, but probably would be better on a face and with primer and base underneath. 

Illamasqua is having a huge online sale at the moment - if only the postage wasn't so exxy for the few itms I could afford to buy :/

Makeup Comp!

No, not me :)


But Meredith Jessica of http://pigmentsandpalettes.blogspot.com/ is running a comp and the prize is a $250 Sephora voucher!


Even though it will still cost me super postage if I win it as I will have to use a parcel forwarding service, it'd still be awesome.


So imaginary readers, if you could vote here: https://www.themakeupbee.com/look.php?look_id=15329 for this awesome look like so...

A woman this talented deserves to win!

Independence?

So far I have been using mainly attachment/natural parenting when it comes to my son, but last night I just felt like I had enough.


It was 1:30 in the morning, he refused to sleep and just wanted to lie there kicking me and flinging his arms around, and trying to sneak in a breastfeed and I was completely over it. I started fantasising about getting him his own bed and just closing the door for his room at night and leaving him to it...


It's daytime now and that's when I usually become free of these awful thoughts that really are akin to child abuse (leaving them to cry it out until they throw up or are just plain traumatised), but still the thought of buying him his own bed is lingering...

I like this one from Ikea because you can use it upside down for when the kids are little so they don't fall out, and then tip it so that it's like this with a play area underneath for when they're bigger!

Just looked it up at the US site and it's half the price it is here in Australia though :( Odd, since it's made in China right? And shipping to Australia should be cheaper! Wonder if this comes in a full size single bed and not a toddler bed...

Foundations

Quick foundation review (mostly to remind myself what I've got so far and how they're measuring up!)


- Estee Lauder Double Wear Light Intensity 3.0. Looks very cakey and powdery on. Applied a tiny amount with a foundation brush and set it with translucent finish powder, but it made my skin look terribly dry. Had to go over again with moisturiser on a cotton pad. Maybe try different applications/mixing with other stuff?


- Illamasque 9 & 10. 9 looked a bit off to me but the sales assistant said it blended in perfectly. Then she took out the 10 and put that on, and said that the 9 had a pink undertone and therefore gave my skin a grey cast (then obviously it didn't blend in perfectly?) That bit of bs made me walk away, but now that I'm home and looking at my skin again, the 10 seems  quite nice. A bit thick though, although that could've been her application.


- Have Nars Sheer Glow in two shades to try still.


Also tried Benefit Boi-ing, but that looked very cakey and powdery, and didn't cover my undereye circles anyway.


Laura Mercier in Maloo (?) seemed quite good, although that could be cos the sales guy applied it with a very light hand and then set it with translucent powder. 


Ended up buying Illamasque undereye concealer. Doesn't really cover my undereye darkness either, but maybe I just need more sleep! 

So more stuff happened...

In the last couple of days...


- I have cleaned up dog poop in the house;
- I have cleaned up people poop in the house;
- I have cleaned up cat poop in the house;
- I have done all of the above on my birthday; and
- I turned a year older.


Well, I guess the turning a year older actually happened over the course of the year, and not magically one day i was a year older than I was the day before it.


I also discovered that while flat packed gingerbread houses are an awesome idea in theory, in reality when you open the packet you will find that the sheets that are the walls have broken into at least two pieces. Because that's the minimum amount of pieces it can break into, I guess.


The last few nights I've been finding it really hard to sleep and I think it's taking its toll on me, hence all this gibberish.

What a day!

Got up at a ridiculous hour this morning (8 am!) and spent hours doing housework. Took the Monster to playgroup which resulted in acrylic paint being used as hairgel.


Got two cruddy phone calls. The first cruddy phone call was from a woman who'd adopted my foster dog on the weekend and wanted to return it because she said it was aggressive and she couldn't trust it around other dogs and children. So she returned it to me. Me with my two dogs and toddler.


Second cruddy phone call was from this guy. I'd won a dog crate off eBay and had arranged a pick up time for later in the afternoon. He called me to tell me that an hour before the arranged time, someone had nicked the crate that he'd left in the front yard for me. 


And now the Monster has just emptied a tub of yoghurt onto his foot. /sigh