Make up Cheats

Today I thought I’d write down a few make up tips and cheats which will hopefully make applying makeup even with weak/shaky hands quick and easy to do. All these tips are for subtle everyday looks so I thought I’d start with makeup bag essentials which will allow you to do LOADS of subtle looks and use all the cheats in this week’s post =)

Makeup Bag Essentials

Mousse foundation

Translucent powder

Shadow for brows

Vaseline/lip balm

Bronzer

Mascara

Nude eye shadow pallet

Pale lipstick

Eyelash curlers

Wipes/cotton buds

Powder brush

Brow brush

SKIN

Just use Translucent Powder and bronzer instead of a full face of foundation for light daytime looks. This is brilliant because it uses only one brush and it’s so easy to touch up throughout the day. Mineral foundations can be used this way too but doesn’t work very well if your skin is really oily.

If you’re like me, you’ll find it difficult to open lots of small pots. A great idea is to use a pale lipstick as blush as well as lippy and that’s only one lid to deal with and one less thing to pay for! Mulberry Lip Paint by BarryM works really well for this. (Click to see)

LIPS

I sometimes find Lipstick difficult to use because my MS can affect the strength of my grip so here’s a great cheat alternative to lippy. Use your fingers to apply Vaseline or Lip balm to your lips, then brush your bronzer/blusher over your lips when you apply them to your cheeks and you have a brilliant long lasting subtle lip colour! Bronzer with a slight shimmer works really well for this.

Don’t worry about getting into the corners of lips with lipstick. If you put most of the colour on the middle of your lips its gives a great pouty look. You can also get this effect without any lipstick or gloss but putting a small amount of highlighter on the bow of the lips, this can be applied with fingers too so it’s even easier to do.

EYES

The secret to always looking like your makeup is ‘finished’ is to define your eyebrows.  Just lightly go over your brows with an eye shadow that’s one or 2 shade darker, it will fill in any gaps and make you look awake and really well groomed. Eye shadow looks a lot more natural than pencil and is easier to control if you have shaky hands so give it a go it really makes so much difference. (Click to see)

Tinting eyelashes and eyebrows is a great time saving tip because it means you don’t need to wear mascara or do your eyebrows!  It’s quite cheap only £8 each and it lasts for 2/3 weeks. It’s great if you either don’t wear makeup, aren’t confident with it or you have shaky arms and hands and find you keep poking your eyes out with the mascara wand (I do this every day haha!)

If you are with me in the ‘I Poke Myself in the Eye with Mascara’ club here’s a tips that might help you. Rest your elbow on your dressing table/windowsill/partner/ whatever you get ready on so it’s nice and steady, then blink onto the mascara wand and you’re a lot less likely to poke yourself in the peeper.

Another brilliant cheat is to curl your lashes, instant longer thicker lashes for 5 seconds work.

Winged eyeliner is a winning look but you have to be an expert to get the liquid eyeliner perfect and it’s almost impossible to do if your hands and arms are weak. This pen from BarryM (Click to see) is amazing but if you find when you do this look you make a mistake or get a bit of a wobbly line then as easy way to correct it is to use a damp cotton bud. Simple but it works.

AND THE REST…

If you drop eye shadow or lipstick on your clothes, roll a piece of white bread into a ball and use it to blot up the stain. This doesn’t really work on old stains but is really effective on fresh ones.

If you find it’s really difficult to open lids because you can’t get a good grip on them then wrap a few elastic bands around the lid. This gives you a lot more grip and make removing lids so much easier!

Well that’s it for this week I hope this tips help. Let me know if they have done. I’ll be posting as usual next week but I’m planning to do a cheats list for evening looks so if you have any then please let me know on twitter @clairedellow, on here or by email indieclaire@hotmail.co.uk.

Take care guys! x

Guilty Pleasures

Today I thought I’d write about some of my guilty pleasures. My MS can really get me down sometimes and these are a few things (that I wouldn’t ordinarily let people know) that really cheer me up!  I’ll share mine if you lot write your list down too. So here we go….

Eating strange meals

A real pleasure of mine is eating meals which are in no way nutritious and to a lot of people would just seem a bit strange. My favourite is to eat a plate of cold roast potatoes. I know its unhealthy and a bit odd but I’m sure if Jimi Hendrix hadn’t found drugs he would have found roast potatoes instead. Just as addictive but all within the law.

Whole bottle of red wine to your self

This is one I don’t recommend you do very often but I love staying up late, watching bad TV and having a glass or 4 of wine on my own. This often leads to talking/arguing with the TV and often regrettable drunk phones calls and texting. A word of advice, hide your mobile.

TOWIE

The Only Way is Essex is my latest guilty pleasure. I’m an Essex girl myself but I love watching people having the same conversations that my friends and I have. It also is easily the most quotable programme on tv.Have a look here

Duvet days

The BEST way to spend a Sunday is with a ‘Duvet Day’. Theres nothing quite like having a bath, getting back into pyjamas, duvet on the sofa and settling down to a Come Dine with Me Marathon…The only thing that would make it better is if Roger Federer would share it with me lol  

Horrible histories

Yes, it’s a kids programme and yes, I love it. Its one of the few things on TV that gives me proper belly laughs every time I watch it. I know its aimed at kids but there are a few laughs for adults too (either that or I’m very easily amused!)  Have a look here

YouTube karaoke

This is the guilty pleasure that I’m least proud of. I LOVE YouTube Karaoke. I’d be surprised if I could win you guys over on that one, but next time you’ve had a few drinks just go on it and I promise a good time J

Right well that’s just about all of them but as I’ve told you mine you lot have to tell me yours!!

Next week I’m going to write about some cheats and tips that will make putting on make-up and doing hair easier if you have weak or shaky hands and arms. If any of you have any cheats please e-mail (indieclaire@hotmail.co.uk) them to me or on Twitter @clairedellow even if they seem obvious because you will be helping a lot of women J

Take care guys!

Top 10 things I couldn't live without

I thought I’d let you guys get to  know me a bit better by writing the top 10 thing I couldn’t live without (hense the title) so here goes.

Music

 I know it’s a bit of a cliché but I music is so important to me. It’s a real escape for me to listen to music and even more when I can play it myself. I play piano and the feeling when you ‘ve learnt a new piece or just playing with friends is amazing. I have my iPod on constantly even when I sleep! It helps me switch off and relax and for music to be that powerful I think is pretty amazing!

Slanket

For those of you who don’t know, a Slanket is a double size blanket with sleeves, so you can stay cosy and still use your arms and I wouldn’t be without mine now. And for you lovers out there, there are Slankets with two set of sleeves!!  Have a look here

Mash

Yep that’s right, Mashed potatoes. Nothing like a bit of comfort food if you ask me J

Tea

Ok, so sometime I have to drink it out of a beaker in case I spill it, but I can’t function unless I have 4/5 cuppa’s a day! TickRock Redbush is my tea of choice, naturally sweet so no need for sugar and caffeine free so you can have it before you go to bed. WIN!

Family

A corny one but I think its true. I’m so lucky that I have a really understanding and supportive family who try their best to help how and when they can.  My twin brother actually did a dissertation on MS before I was diagnosed while he was at University so I can always go to him if I’ve read something I don’t understand and he can explain in a way a thickie like me will get. My baby brother (18) can always make me laugh which is so important to me. They’re always there for me and I couldn’t love my parents or my brothers more.

Friends

I also have a great group of friends and it always amazes me how relaxed they are about changing plans if I’m having a relapse to make it so that I can still go out with them. They can always make me belly laugh and always get in the first round of drinks…what more could a girl want?!

BarryM Dazzle dust

I’m a bit of a magpie when it comes to small shiney objects so when I found these eye shadows in every colour you can imagine I nearly exploded with excitement! They can be a bit awkward to open if you have problem with your hands but they last for ages and are easy to use with fingers instead of brushes which make it and a lot easier to apply. Have a look here

Comedy

I love going to live comedy shows as well as comedy films and tv shows. I’ve always been brought up to not take myself too seriously and I think that’s helped me get through the last three years. My particular favourites are ‘Look around you’, ‘Spaced’, ‘Family Guy’ and ‘Peep show’ if you haven’t seen them then do check them out, guaranteed laughs.

Laptop

I have an admission to make…I’m a geek. I love my laptop I’m on it far too much but it allows me to research, play and keep in touch with friends. I’ve also found a website called Shift.ms which allows me to talk to other young people in the same situation as me. Plus it's pink!!

Art

Art is my passion. I love drawing and seem to have become resident tattoo designer for my friends which is so much fun. I have 15 tattoos myself and love the history and meanings behind traditional Japanese and Navy tattoos. My favourite artist is Paul Cezanne, his use of colour and brushstrokes are beautiful but do look at James Hance too. He does a lot of Star Wars themed pictures which are brilliant and funny.

So what are your top ten things? Be interested to know if I’m the only one who couldn’t live without these things J

Keep in touch

Claire

Drugs

This week I thought I’d write about my experiences with medication and my MS.

When I was first diagnosed in 2008, I had no idea there was any type of medication that could help manage my symptoms so I was quite surprised when my MS Nurse told me there were a few that might be able to help me because of my type of MS. I went with ‘Beta Interferon’ which is sometimes called ‘Rebif’  because of the brand name.

Beta Interferon is a disease modifying drug which although it isn’t a cure for Multiple Sclerosis, slows down the rate and severity of relapses. Interferon can have about a 20-40% reduction in the rate of replaces so I was naturally very excited about the sound of this drug!

It’s taken as a ‘Subcutaneous’ (under the skin) injection usually on the stomach, leg or arm three times a week. The starting dose is 8.8mg and in the end I was taking 44mg three times a week. It comes in syringes which can be loaded into a'pen' makes injecting yourself A LOT easier to do and reduces the likelihood of not getting the full dose and site bad site reactions.

I had many bad side effects whilst I was taking Rebif mainly site reactions and Flu like symptoms, which might not sounds too bad but they got worse and worse. The site reactions became 5cmx5cm raised and inflamed bruises over my whole stomach and thighs meaning that to find a spot to inject that weren’t bruised and inflamed got more and more difficult the longer I took the medication. The flu like symptoms were manageable with Paracetamol to start with, but as the dose increased they turned from mild headaches to fever, hot and cold sweats, migraines and it became increasingly difficult to stay awake for 24-48 hours after the injection. The worst part of it was that once the flu like symptoms started to ease up, It was time for the next injection and this really started to frustrate me.

This was when I decided to talk to my MS Nurse about coming off Beta Interferon and to try and manage my MS without drugs.

I weighed up the pros and cons and for me, the benefits of taking the medication were not enough for me personally to put up with feeling ill every other day. I saw it as a 60% chance of no change to my illness rather than the 30% chance it will slow the rate and severity of my relapses down. I would ALWAYS recommend talking to your Doctor  or Nurse before making a decision about medication, and I know from talking to other people with MS that they found Rebif to work brilliantly so do plenty of research and talk to your specialist about all the options around.

Speak to you all again soon and don’t forget to send me comments and questions!

Claire