Guest blogger: Jackie Clark - Weapons in the Fight Against Cancer

Makeup and Fashion: Weapons in the Fight Against Cancer
By Jackie Clark

Medical research has shown that there is a direct correlation between looking good and feeling good. Even in cases of traumatic illness, studies have shown that patients who try to make an effort to look better are often able to motivate themselves to better fight the course of their disease as well.

For instance, a woman diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer due to asbestos exposure may be prescribed a course of chemotherapy. While this is a serious diagnosis, mesothelioma doctors are able to give their patients a better prognosis today because of radiation and chemotherapy treatments. These treatments have changed the survival rate of mesothelioma and other cancers considerably, and have given new hope for sufferers of these diseases. Nevertheless, women undergoing chemotherapy might experience hair loss as well as other physical changes that are often emotionally debilitating, and it’s tremendously important to keep up one’s motivation and self-confidence throughout this ordeal.

Because of this, women who undergo chemotherapy treatments are encouraged to continue to take an interest in their appearance. If hair loss is a concern, there are hats, scarves, and wigs specially made to help patients deal with the feelings of low self-esteem that might result from this particular side effect. Some makeup artists also offer specialized makeover sessions and makeup kits for women who might have skin rashes or other side effects from their therapy.

Quite often, cancer patients also have to deal with body image issues, because the impairment and disability of the disease, coupled with the treatments, can sometimes cause weight gain or weight loss. It’s difficult to try to look good when you feel that you’re severely underweight or overweight, but it’s important to remember that a great many clothing styles are designed specifically to camouflage figure imperfections.

If you’re undergoing treatment for mesothelioma cancer or any other type of cancer, it’s crucial to keep your spirits up. Even if you’re on a strict budget, picking up something that makes you look good is a tremendous boost, even if it’s just an attractive shade of lipstick from a dollar store counter or a dress from the clearance rack. If you have stamina issues or you’re simply not well enough on some days to get out and about, then do your shopping from a catalog or the Internet. Likewise, a hair or makeup stylist would probably be happy to make a home visit and give you a makeover or new hairstyle.

For women who are battling cancer, confidence and self-esteem are two important weapons in the fight. Toward this end, makeup and fashion can be used to achieve an optimum outer beauty, which in turn can help promote feelings of health and overall well-being.

My personal note on this post: I thought it was really important to help Jackie encourage this message on my blog. I have had family members suffer from cancer, and it truly is awful. I hope this post has allowed you to realise that everyone deserves to feel beautiful and confident. Repost this on your blogs to spread the word <3

Dry skin anyone?

If you suffer from dry skin, then you will know it is a challenge to discover a cream that suits your skin, helps prevent against flakiness and maintains softness.

My story...

Last year I began taking the contraceptive pill Microgynon. This was hell for me. I took it for three months, as my GP wanted me to try it out for the full trial period. After just the first month I noticed I had put on weight, I did not feel myself and on top of that my skin was terrible. Before the pill I never had acne prone skin, I used to get the rare spot each month but nothing like what I had whilst on Microgynon. I had a lot of redness and it appeared to be more of a rash than anything. I began noticing that I had patches of eczema around my face, especially on my eyelids. They were constantly sore, and I always needed to apply Vaseline on them without fail to stop the burning and tight sensation. Each time I wore eye shadow it would increase the eczema and make my eyelids burn. The fact that all of this had happened in under two months, made me extremely insecure and down about my appearance.

I later reached out to my doctor explaining all the symptoms and he said I needed to up my skin routine and use a moisturiser consistently. He then suggested I switched contraceptive pill, which I did to Dianette. Then to use a cream specialised for dry skin, he recommended DoubleBase gel. I had previously used DoubleBase for the small spots of dry skin I get on my elbows and knees. However, for some reason that cream was not strong enough to work on my eyelids, so he recommended CETRABEN.

This cream was an absolute miracle for my skin. I have been using this cream consistently for a year and I could not live without it. I apply it every morning and evening using it for face and body. I now no longer suffer from eczema on my eyelids, the cream prevents it and keeps my skin soft as a baby’s bottom :)

I bought this large size for around £8 at the pharmacist and I always carry around a 30g (travel size) one in my handbag which is about £1.70 - £2.00 depending on where purchased. I honestly can not say enough good things about this product, CETRABEN is perfect for my skin and i love how inexpensive it is!

Hope this post has helped!

Saby xx

The perfect LBD

I always feel nostalgic when i think of little black dresses. Remembering the times when i was younger and used to play dress up with my older sister's 'clubbing dress.' Ohh what fun i had!

Every girl's wardrobe needs a little black dress, they are just perfect for every kind of occasion. You can dress them up or make them casual as you want.

Last night was a special occasion, my 1 year anniversary with my boyfriend :) So i took the opportunity to wear my new LBD that was a christmas gift from my lovely mother.


The dress is from Topshop priced at £25, although i got it with my good old student discount! I love the open back, it adds style to such simple dress. All my newly purchased dresses seem to have gorgeous detailing on the back. I have definitely been prefering them recently, it just adds something different from the sometimes boring legs and clevage on show.


Overall an amazing evening. The food was delicious, just a tad too small portioned for my liking ;)


Mmmm i could eat that chicken again!

Have a great week xx

Been away for foreverr!!

I haven't blogged in a year! Which is terrible, i feel guilty :( I think it's because i've been too focused on reading other peoples' wonderful blogs and watching way too many youtube videos...oh and uni too.

So many things have happened since then, but i won't bore you with it all. Now i want to focus on this blog, and change it slightly. Hopefully developing it to more of a health/exercise/beauty blog with the odd bit of fashion.

Anyway i shall crack on with the posts from now on!



A photo of me just incase you forgot what i look like :)

Saby :) x

MIA

I know i have not blogged in about 4 months!! which is awful, but a lot has been going on in my life, some good and some bad.

I started university about a month ago, and i am really enjoying halls and my course which is PR and communications. Hopefully i will be able to go into Beauty PR in the future :)

Here is a photo of my freshers at Southampton:-

I can now announce that i am back, and will be continuing with my blog. I hope you find this useful as now i am officially a university student, i will definitely be buying my make up on a budget!

If you have any questions about starting university feel free to ask! And i hope you are able to relate to this blog somehow!!

Feels great to be back :) xx

Another lip combo :)

Today i reached 50 followers yay :) Thank you to everyone who is following me, it is much appreciated!

Anyway back to the lip combo :) So i have been wearing these two products everyday for the past week, and i really enjoy the combination of the colours. They are:-
Natural Collection - Apple Blossom and Vaseline - Rosy Lips


I like the fact i am wearing a lipstick but also vaseline so my lips feel soft and smooth. My lips normally get incredibly dry when i wear lipsticks so i am constantly applying a lip balm of some sort. I love the moisturising feel of the vaseline on top, and it creates a lovely colour. This is what it looks like:-


What do you think? Do you like the Vaseline Rosy Lips? x

FOTD & OOTD

So this is my first FOTD & OOTD :)

Here are all the products i used:-


Face:
Natural Collection foundation - Sand
Cargo OneBase - 02 (Under eyes and around nose)
ELF Bronzer - Warm (Cheeks)

Eyes:
17 eyeshadow - Statuesque (All over eyelid)
Collection 2000 'Dazzle me!' - Magical (Inner corner)
Cargo pencil/crayon - 82 Black (Upper and lower waterline)
17 liner - Azure (Lower lashline)
Max Factor False Lash Effect - Black

Lips:
Natural Collection - Apple Blossom
Cargo Classic lig gloss - Alexandria

Outfit:
Brown vest - Primark £1.50
Orange tee - Primark £3
Jean shirt - New Look £18
Blue skinny jeans - New Look £16
Brown boots - Primark £20

Accessories:
Cream ring - Primark £2
Coral bracelets - Primark £3
Gold necklace - Miss Selfridge £2 (Sale :)

Hope you liked it :) x

Mini haul

I went to Boots yesterday and picked up two lipsticks that i have been wanting for a long time. First one was Maybelline Colour Sensational Lipstick in Ambre Rose 112, which is a lovely pink. It costs £6.99.

The second one was a Natural Collection lipstick in Apple Blossom that i have been wanting for months, and every time i go into Boots they never seem to have it in stock. So i was so happy when i finally spotted it, so i picked up two :) It is a lovely nude a dupe for GOSH Darling, which is great as it only costs £1.95.

The next item is a 17 solo eyeshadow in the colour Statuesque, which is probably my favourite eyeshadow, it is just such a beautiful colour and so easy to apply. I use this on days that i am in a rush or just need a neutral but stand out eye. It costs £3.49 and lasts for ages.

(Left: Ambre Rose, Middle: Statuesque, Right: Apple Blossom)

I then used my No7 voucher and bought a blend and contour brush, which is normally £6.50 but with the £5 off i got it for £1.50
And Finally i bought a shampoo and a hair mask from Boots own brand and they are both ‘Henna & Horse Chestnut’ suitable for brunette and red hair. The shampoo costs £1 and the mask costs £1.99! I must say that the shampoo and hair mask work amazingly together, they leave your hair so soft and silky. So i would definitely recommend them, the hair mask in particular!

Have you tried any of these products? x

Nail polish of the week :)

This week i painted my nails with a new nail polish called Orange Soda by 17, it is from their Candy Collection and costs £2.99. It is a lovely pastel colour great for the spring/summer season. The consistency is good so it is easy to apply, the only downside is that it is only a 8ml bottle, so i could buy a 10ml bottle from Barry M for £2.95. Although i will probably be making more purchases from the Candy Collection soley because of the great colours!

x

Viva Glam Gaga and Cyndi

So i recently purchased these two lipsticks, after everyone was raving about the gaga one. I know a lot of people have viva glam gaga but not many people seem to have viva glam cyndi, and i love them both! The cause is definitely a reason to go out and buy them...the money goes to MAC's AIDS charity. Below are some photos of both of the lipsticks on :-
Viva Glam Gaga - a lovely wearable pink.

Viva Glam Cyndi - a colour in between red and coral. It is very wearable as the colour is not to shocking, but a lovely soft red colour.

Have you purchased these lipsticks, and what's your view on them? x

Favourite lip combo :)

So i wear this lipstick and lip gloss all the time, especially when i am wearing a dramatic eye look.

GOSH Darling and Raspberry Ripple by Natural Collection. These two go so nicely together, and if you're afraid that a nude won't suit you, then i would definitely recommend this to you, as it turns the nude shade to more of a lovely light pink :)

Gosh Velvet Touch Lipstick 134 Darling is really well known, so many people love it and it retails for £6 at Superdrug :) It's not too drying or too light it's very wearable.

Raspberry Ripple is from Natural Collection, Boots own brand and it retails for £1.99. It is not long lasting but it gives a lovely colour.

Here is a photo of my lips :- (without flash)

(with flash)


Have you ever tried this lip combo, what did you think? x

Dress of the month

I normally purchase a going out dress every month or so depending whether i know if i am going out for something special i.e a friends birthday or catchup.

Although i may have a lot of dresses, when looking through my wardrobe i realised 95% of them were either on sale or had some sort of student discount...so i do not feel guilty that i have spent a lot on a dress :)

So i've decided i am going to start a series of showing you my favourite going out/party/evening dress each month. As i have not been out this month, i will show you a dress i loved wearing in April.

Here it is:-


So this is a stripy black and white dress, quite nautical. It is very simple but i love the way it fits, it clings to the right areas and the material is really nice. This dress is from New Look and i think it was originally £18 or £20 i can not remember but i got it for £14 which is a bargain :)

The shoes are also from New Look and they were £20 but i got them with a 20% student discount in November and i love them! So woohoo another bargain £16 :)

And the bag is from Primark for around £4-6 i can not really remember.

Here is a VERY posey photo of me, showing the entire dress lol:-


Did you have a favourite dress in April?

Primark dress

I bought this red dress 2 weeks ago when the weather was lovely, i really love it. I bought it thinking about the holiday i'm going on in June and this is what it looks like:-

These are the reasons why i love it:
1. It's red, one of my favourite colours and great for the summer.
2. The length of it, it just touches my knee - lovely for a day dress, beach dress or to dress up for dinner out in the summer.
3.The stripes are great... they are different on the tummy area so it hides your tummy but emphasises your hips :)
4. It was £5!! always a bonus!

Here is a photo of me wearing it with my new Primark jean jacket that was £13. This was late at night so i'm all natural with no make up :) x

Bridesmaid hair trial

So this afternoon i went to a hairdresser's appointment for my bridesmaid hair trial...i'm a bridesmaid for my sisters' wedding :)



And from the back :-



This is how i'm going to have my hair...what do you think? x

ELF collection

I was really impressed with ELF cosmetics, and i love everything about each item i ordered, of course i checked to see reviews online and then decided exactly want i wanted to purchase, and this is it:-



Warm Bronzer - £3.50
Candid Coral Blush - £3.50
All Over Color Stick in Pink Lemonade - £1.50
All Over Color Stick in Lilac Petal - £1.50
Eye Shadow Brush - £1.50
Defining Eye Brush - £1.50
Eye Pencil Sharpener - £1.50
Complexion Brush - £3.50
Powder Brush - £3.50
Nicely Nude Lipstick - £3.50
Runway Pink Lipstick - £3.50

Favourites consist of the warm bronzer, powder brush, complexion brush and both lipsticks.

What do you think of ELF Cosmetics? x

Nail polish of the week :)

As i love my nail polish :) i will be doing a series of posts presenting a nail polish that i will be modelling throughout the week :)

This week: Eyeko Vintage Polish

This little beauty arrived yesterday...and i have to say it reminds me of barry m - mint green, which is another love of mine :)

The bottle is a tiny 8.5ml and i purchased it from ASOS for £3.



Next week my nails will be sporting my new 17 polish 'orange soda'

What will you be wearing this week? x

St Moritz is needed!

After looking through photos of myself a couple of weeks ago when visiting Brockenhurst, i realised how pale i looked!



So i am on a mission...fake tan myself with St Moritz until i am holiday tanned :) Well, you know at least a healthy tan/glow :)

Like this :-



What do you think? And what fake tan do you use? x

Tangle Teezer Update!

Okay the tangle teezer is my new love :) i had a shower last night and brushed my hair with it. It took only a few minutes, which is amazing as detangling my hair usually takes around an hour!

And tadaaa! smooth and knot free hair :)



:) x

Tangle Teezer?

So i recently ordered the pink tangle teezer as seen on 'Dragon's Den' from ASOS and it arrived today. The reason i bought it was because i heard countless comments about how this ordinary looking hair brush/comb would help vanish my tangles with no pain.

The main reason i purchased it was because i have very fine hair...but i do in fact have A LOT of fine hair, i always where my hair natural curly/wavy , and i do not actually brush my hair on a day to day basis otherwise the waves disappear and i am forced to straighten it....Which takes ages :)

And when i eventually have to brush my hair, it is full of tangles which leaves me wasting around 45 minutes trying to detangle it :( Which is pretty painful.

So i thought i would give this ago, as i had heard lollipop26 also talking about it in a video sometime last year i believe. The price of it was £9.75 and it comes in pink or blank on the ASOS website, and various other colours on the tangle teezer website.

I will keep posted if it works! x

No7 why oh why do you give me numerous vouchers?

I wouldn't say i am a huge fan of No7 in terms of makeup apart from a few items such as their tinted moisturizer. I find their products too expensive, although their skincare is another story.

Once Boots begin to give out the £5 off vouchers i find myself needing to buy something otherwise it's a waste. Then i purchase an item i then receive another one, and then the vicious circle begins :) However i am enjoying their products.

Have any of you found yourself needing to buy something just because you had a voucher, and then ending up accumulating products that you never needed or wanted?