I suck at being a girl

Sometimes getting my best friends to do my make up for me is the only way!
Credit: Mia Holt

When it comes to wearing make up and styling hair, I suck. It’s never been my forté and probably never will be. It seems as though I’ve missed that gap in your early teens where you experiment with different foundations and blushers, learn how to shape your brows and master smokey eyes but now in my early 20s, I feel like I’m paying for it. (I was definitely part of the blue eye-shadow gang though)

I’m in no way saying that every girl should wear make up or have a fancy hair-do to look pretty or feel good about themselves, but sometimes I wish I was able to create different looks just with the tools in my make up box. I know that if I have a big night out coming up, I’ll be wearing my hair in its usual tassled down look paired with my simple mascara and eye liner flicks. I’ll occasionally use a little BB cream but only because I don’t actually know how to apply foundation ( or actually own any…)

To others, it probably looks like I have nothing on most of the time, which you’re probably thinking is a good thing? Well yeah, everyone loves the barely-there make up look but that means actually using make up to create the illusion of perfectly clear skin. I just look like I’ve had a rough night with my under-eye bags and see-through milk bottle cheeks.

I do try though, but it usually ends up a disaster. A few months ago, I was given a pair of eye lashes to review. These particular eyelashes were very delicate and intricate and after rather a long time applying them, I proudly showed them off to my best friends only to be told I had them on back-to-front. How on earth I managed to put eyelashes on back-to-front I’ll never know.  I also once ended up with a crazy streaky tan when I mistook tanning wipes for normal wet wipes. Yeah, I’m talking streaky tanned face as well as body. That was fun. Oh and I once put eye cream which was meant to tighten the eye lid, underneath my eyes which ended up with me looking I’d had an allergic reaction as my eyes puffed up like two urm… puffy eyes.

The best beauty mishap has to be when I was cheekily using hair-removal cream on my upper lip (don’t look at me like that, all women secretly do this. Well, some anyway!) when there was a bit of commotion going on outside my house. I got distracted looking out of the window trying to see what was going on and forgot that I had a strip of white cream on my face. Then I noticed the smell. Yup, burning flesh ladies and gentlemen. I’d left the cream on for far too long and my curiosity had ended up giving me a lovely red rash across my upper lip which stayed for the next few days. Explaining that was a joy. 

Why all of this bothers me is not for vanity reasons at all. Even though you may think it. I’m not one for hiding away unless I have a full face of make up and I’m not concerned that by not wearing it every day then I somehow don’t look okay. What I am concerned with is I feel like I’m missing out. I know that sounds silly right? I’ve never worn fake eyelashes on a night out, I don’t know how to contour or actually what contouring is, I can’t remember the last time I had my eyebrows done and honestly, I can’t remember the last time I actually bought any make up. I’m thinking it was last year sometime.

I long to be able to create the looks that bloggers like Lily Pebbles have perfected but I’m scared I’ll end up in A&E with some sort of beauty related injury! Or, I’ll end up looking like I have two black eyes again like the time I tried smokey eyes. I want to be one of the girls that gets excited at the next MAC lipstick release or new foundation but sadly, I can only stand back in awe at those of you who can actually apply lipstick and keep it on your lips for longer than 2 minutes.

Don’t worry though, I’ll keep trying and next time I have an hilarious beauty blunder, I’ll be sure to share it with you so you can have a laugh at my expense. But I’m sorry, hair removal cream isn’t going anywhere near my face…

Benefit: Brow Arch March

Benefit blogger babes. Credit: @Benefit_Queenst

Who was it that said that no matter how low you feel, putting on some lipstick and dressing up will always lift your spirits? Well, whoever it was, I agree with them and so do the guys at Look Good Feel Better; the cancer support charity which helps sufferers face the visible side effects of cancer.

Living with cancer can leave people feel like they’ve lost control of their bodies and this charity helps to get some of the control back by giving them a sense of normality during their incredibly tough time. The charity helps sufferers gain some of their self-esteem back by holding make- up and skincare workshops, as well as offering any extra support.

This month, Benefit Cosmetics and Debenhams have teamed up to support this fantastic charity by launching Brow Arch March and this week, I attended Benefit Cardiff’s Brow Arch March blogger event which helped to raise money for the charity. Everyone who knows me know how bad I am at anything to do with make up, which is why I absolutely love the events that Benefit put on because it gives me insights into how we should actually be applying make up (seriously, applying mascara is as much as I know!).

This event was obviously focusing on the eyebrows. As part of Brow Arch March, Benefit and Debenhams are inviting women (and men) to come in and have their eyebrows waxed and shaped for a suggested donation of £5. Think of it as the female answer to Movember!. The money raised from the eyebrow waxing then goes to the fabulous guys at Look Good Feel Better. The amount raised currently stands at 60,000, which is amazing but it would incredible if we could all raise more.

At the event, myself and my fellow Cardiff bloggers all watched in awe as the team showed us their tips and tricks into getting the perfect brows. Now I swear that my brows are becoming thinner the older I get so it was really useful to see some of the amazing products that Benefit have that can challenge the over-plucked brows of the 90s. The Benebabes showed up how to apply the fabulous Gimme Brow which, coming from someone who is useless at make up, can only be described as a kind of mascara for brows! That sounds odd I know but the stuff is amazing. It gives you thick, natural-looking brows which can fool anyone into thinking you were born with the same brow blessings as Cara Delevingne.

Gimme Brow is also build-able which means whether you like the au-natural look or if you prefer some serious brow action, then you’re able to alter your brow appearance to however you want. As always, the Benebabes looked after us well, treating us to a little goody box filled with samples of our favourite Benefit products (hello It’s Potent!) so thank you to them!

This really is a worthwhile cause so if you have an afternoon free this month then pop into your nearest Benefit Brow Bar and get your brows done. The £5 that you pay will go towards helping someone feel normal again, during the toughest time of their lives. If you can do that just by having your brows done, then I think that’s pretty amazing.

For more information on Look Good Feel Better visit their website or, if you want to find out more about Brow Arch March and their incredible brow products, then click here. If you want to get involved but don’t fancy having your brows done then you can still donate online, so c’mon guys, let’s all do what we can.