My Thoughts #1 - Cosmetic surgery

Image credit (L-R)

I like to think that this blog is a place I can talk freely and address different topics, despite it having the word 'makeup' in the title :)  So, this is one of those occasions when I'm going to talk about something a  bit different.  Before we get into it though, I do just want to say I'm not encouraging anyone to go out and get any cosmetic surgery or treatments, it's a really personal decision and I'm a strong believer that we shouldn't be influenced by anyone to make this kind of decision, these are just some of my opinions on the subject :)

My Thoughts
Being a 'bigger' girl, cosmetic surgery is something I've given thought to, I've been losing weight consistently for about a year now, and as much as I'm lucky that I haven't had any of the horrid excess skin issues happen, I wouldn't be surprised if as I lose more weight it's something I'm faced with.  So thinking about cosmetic procedures is something I've given a fair bit of thought to.  Also, being a beauty blogger it's only natural that I want to look my best in photo's all the time (without re-touching).

I've accepted that having a procedure might be something I'd consider in the future to combat any issues I face, as well as other less invasive surgeries like laser hair removal, chemical peels and microdermabrasion to reduce the wrinkles and fine lines around my eyes.

I'm a big believer in everyone being comfortable in their own skin, but many people, like me, don't and choose to have procedures done, as long as they've been made for the right reasons (for yourself, and not someone else) I say why not try to be the best you can be, whether that's through minor procedures or something more invasive.

One thing I'm always paranoid about and one of the reasons you won't see very many lip posts from me (yeah, I know I did one yesterday and one not long before that!) is because I have lots of downy soft hairs on my face, I wouldn't class myself as a hairy person by any stretch of the imagination, but when it comes to lip closeups, I do get very self conscious.  It's probably one of my biggest hang ups when photographing myself for my blog.  I don't airbrush anything out at all, the only edits I do to my photo's are cropping or adding text.  Occasionally I'll put a fancy filter on the main picture but that's it.  So laser hair removal for my face would probably be top on my list of things to have done.

So if you're considering one of these procedures please do make sure they're for the right reasons and make sure you research the clinic very well first to make sure they're reputable, after all, I wouldn't want anything happening to any of you lovelies ;)

This months Bigest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Laura from A Scottish Lass,
and my Big-Pixi3 advertisers Rachel from Emerald Skies, Tom from Daydream in Blue Sammy from Rambles & Jangles, Katrina from Carousel Diary, Hannah from Bailey Cakes, Lyndsay from Fizzy Peaches and Sophie from Sophie Jane

 

Written by Georgina Kent

*sponsored post

MAC Rebel

This is my first, and only, MAC lipsitck :)  The whole time I was on the spending ban, I was craving one of these little babies.  I'd told myself I was going to get an everyday colour, a nude pink or something like that, but when I got to Selfridges I got brave and went for Rebel!  It's probably a bit silly as it's not a colour I'd wear that often, but oh my, it's pretty!

My Thoughts

First off lets talk about the colour.  It's pretty goddam awesome!  Now, you all know how much I love purple and I love wearing a red lip, well, this is the perfect combination of the two of them.  I'd class this as a red lipstick with a lot of blue in it, which makes it sit somewhere between red and purple without being truly either of them.

Next the texture.  Not drying in the slightest, but not super hydrating like a Revlon lip butter either, somewhere comfortably between the two.  I love that these aren't 'too' glossy either, they have a nice sheen to them :)  I don't know if you can see the difference in the photo's, but the bottom pic is painted on with a lip brush, and the one above it is from the bullet, so it's a bit darker and richer in colour.  My tip here, if you have any dry skin on your lips, apply it with a brush :)

Finally, longevity.  If you're not eating or drinking, this will last you a good 3-4 hours before needing to be reapplied.  If you're having lunch/dinner or having a drink while wearing it, you'll probably need to reapply after 1-2 hours.  It's what I'd expect out of any lipstick to be honest :)

All in all, I love this colour - I don't know whether it's the product or the colour that I love most, but either way, I really like it :)  I'm not in a rush to broaden my MAC collection seeing as I hardly ever wear lipstick, but I'm glad this one is in my paws :)

Where to buy: MAC stores
Would I repurchase? Yes
Cost: £14

This months Bigest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Laura from A Scottish Lass,
and my Big-Pixi3 advertisers Rachel from Emerald Skies, Tom from Daydream in Blue Sammy from Rambles & Jangles, Katrina from Carousel Diary, Hannah from Bailey Cakes and Lyndsay from Fizzy Peaches

  Written by Georgina Kent

How to fix Google adding grey to your banner image

As you may be able to tell I've had a bit of a redesign of my blog over the last few days, nothing too drastic, but a bit cleaner looking.  Let it be known, this was not without major headaches, no thanks to Google!  I designed a new banner, with a white background and when I uploaded it, it had a grey background.  I tried a million different combinations/formats (JPG, TIF, PNG...) and nothing worked.  After having 2 other designers look at it who couldn't figure it out either, I was pretty frustrated.

Finally I sat down with the hubby, and we had another go at sorting it, and after trying to upload it a different way, I had my white background, whoop!  This is how I did it.

1.  Create a new post

Give the post an obvious name like 'IMAGE LOAD - DONT PUBLISH' - this is where you'll upload images to, but it's not a post you'll want to publish.  Then, upload the image to the post how you would normally, right click it and 'copy image url', then hit close.

2. Open the upload banner bit

Go to Layout, then to the bit/module whatever you want to call it! and hit edit.

3. Upload your image

Finally, instead of uploading the image by 'choosing from your computer', paste in the url that you copied of the image into the 'From the web' option and hit ok.  Refresh your blog and you should see your image with a white background as you'd designed it, not with Google deciding it should be a grey background instead!

After some discussion on Twitter we also discovered that this works if you host the image on somewhere like Flickr.  The bug seems to be when you upload the image using the 'Upload from computer' option.

I hope this has helped if you're trying to upload a banner with a white background and getting grey instead!

This months Bigest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Laura from A Scottish Lass,
and my Big-Pixi3 advertisers Rachel from Emerald Skies, Tom from Daydream in Blue Sammy from Rambles & Jangles, Katrina from Carousel Diary, Hannah from Bailey Cakes, Lyndsay from Fizzy Peaches and Sophie from Sophie Jane

 

Written by Georgina Kent