'Oh I do like to be beside the seaside'

Last week when the UK was having a crazy heat wave (*insert overly excited emoji*) and we were all slapping on the sun cream like nothing else on earth, myself and my family decided to make the most of the rare sunshine and take a trip to the beach. I love the beach and although taking a walk down the boulevard with the wind blowing in your face and seagulls squawking all around you sounds like hell to some people, I actually quite enjoyed it. I enjoy some weird things, I know. Anyhow, I took a few photos and I thought I'd share them with you all seeing as we now seem to be getting attacked by clouds and rain. Oh I love British summertime. 

The amount of weird looks I got when I was kneeling down on the sand to take these were quite amusing really. Oh the things I do for my blog.

Some typical feet photos for you all. If you don't like feet, I do apologise. 

No trip to the beach is complete without a tub of fresh mango and driving with the windows down. I think I may have possibly eaten more hair than mango. 

And that was my day at the beach. Sometimes it's great to just go outside, leave the wifi behind (it's hard I know) and enjoy yourself. The outdoors isn't as scary as it looks, I promise.

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Lipstick / Olé Flamingo

I've done it. I've gone and jumped onto the blogger bandwagon and I've bought a Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Lipstick. I couldn't resist. It was sat on the stand with the '£3 off' sign screaming at me. I had a gift card, and it happened. This little tube of bright pink-ness was on it's way home with me. And I have no regrets.

Before I even begin reviewing this product can we just take a moment and admire the packaging? How can it look cute, yet sleek and high end at the same time? Bourjois how do you do it? 

The shade I picked up was '05 Olé Flamingo' which is a bright, bright, bright pink. Yes I know, my description skills are crap, but it is what it is. A bright, bright, bright pink. And being the 'I'm going to wear the brightest coloured lipsticks I can find because I do not care what people think' person I am, this shade is right up my street. 

The above swatch is just one coat. The pigmentation is insane.

The Rouge Edition Velvets have a doe foot applicator which makes them really easy to apply, and if you know me, I adore doe foot applicators so extra brownie points from me. In terms of application, these apply like an absolute dream. It honestly feels as though you're applying velvet to your lips, and once it's on your lips, you wouldn't know it's there. Bourjois promise 24hr lasting power but who actually wears lipstick for 24 hours? Let's be real now. However, I wore this the other day for around 13 hours and by the end of the day there was only slight fading in the centre of my lips. Impressed doesn't even cover it. 

I honestly could not recommend this product enough and if you're not so into bright colours, there are some more neutral shades in the range too, which I may also have to try. I have the urge to buy every single shade in the range, but I know for a fact that my purse will not enjoy that. Sigh. But I'll definitely be picking up more shades sometime soon. Not that I actually need more lipsticks. 

I don't know how long this deal is on for but the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvets are currently £5.99 in Superdrug so I'd suggest running (or speed walking, whichever you prefer) to your nearest Superdrug and grabbing one before the deal ends. You won't regret it. 

'Perfect'?

Perfect. It's a phrase we use very loosely and very often in today's society. We open up magazines and go 'wow she's perfect', we scroll through our Instagram feeds and think 'I wish I could be her, she's perfect'. But does 'perfect' really exist? Why have we as a society labelled what we think is 'perfect'?

Society today has been constructed around this idea of 'perfect' but perfect does not exist. Photoshop exists. Filter exist. Makeup exists. But perfect doesn't. The 'perfect' that we all know is a construction. Apart from surgery, fake tan, makeup and all that jazz, there is very little that we as human beings can do to change our bodies and the way we look. How we look, although it is superficial, has a huge impact on our lives. For the past few centuries we have defined beauty, not just as health and youth but also as tall, slim figures with perfectly toned tummies, long shiny hair, perfectly clear skin and tanned, smooth, glowing legs. These are the sorts of things that we see in magazines and adverts. When in real life have you ever seen someone that has absolutely flawless skin with no pores, scarring, freckles or imperfections? When? Never. 

Every human being to walk this earth has imperfections. Whether it may be acne, freckles, cellulite, wrinkles, stretch marks or scars, everyone has something. But what I think has gone wrong is that girls look at women in magazines and adverts with their flawless, poreless skin, then go look in the mirror and see fault in everything they see on themselves. Yes, we all have days when we feel a bit crappy and down about our appearances sometimes, I definitely do, but what we look like doesn't define who we are as people. You could have the bubbliest, happiest personality out of everyone and you may have a few spots or squint teeth and see yourself as 'ugly' or 'not good enough' because you don't look 'perfect'. Your looks do not define who you are. Although it may feel like it, looks aren't everything.

Let me tell you now, as cringey and cliché as it may sound, we are all beautiful. We need to learn to accept our flaws and turn them into positives. It's quite ironic really because it is us as a society that have created these problems but it is us as a society that have created the idea of 'perfect'.Who's to say that having acne, messy hair and braces doesn't make you beautiful? What is any less beautiful about that girl that just walked by you in the street with cellulite and yellow teeth than a model that has been airbrushed beyond belief? The way I see it is that imperfections are okay. It's okay not to look like a model that you've seen in magazines, 9 times out of 10 that model will have been photoshopped within an inch of her life and in real life has imperfections, just like you. We want to see the real people, the people behind the layers of photoshopping. We want to see the imperfections. We don't want to see a skincare product in a magazine and only see an airbrushed, edited photo of the lady's face, not showing if the product actually does anything at all. We want real images. Not constructions.

There is no such thing as perfect. How can you even define someone or something as 'perfect'? 'Perfect' could be defined in many ways, whether it may be a size 16 or a size 6; small breasts or large breasts; long hair or short hair. 'Perfect' could be anything. But, I have one question. Why did we, as a society decide that models that are 6"2, have tiny waists and poreless skin are 'perfect'? Why did we, as a society decide that stretch marks, acne, squint teeth or large noses are 'ugly'? Why? 

You are beautiful. Whether you may think it or not, you are. It's okay to be different, it's okay to have imperfections, it's okay not to look like a model. You're you and you are beautiful and amazing just the way you are.