The Final Confession!

I know that Ki, writer of Les Pensées de Ki! and Dressing up for Life, has long been a fan of the Friday Confessionals so I think it only fitting that she's the blogger to end the series. With no more volunteers I think Aunty Brown is finally going to go into retirement. Don't feel sorry for her, she'd only milk the sympathy. Anyway, let's find out what naughty secrets Ki has been bottling up all this time.

Confession is good for the soul, go ahead and unburden yourself! I promise I won’t judge.

I’m sure I commit a million beauty-related sins but here are two off the top of my head...

Sin #1: Come winter and I can go weeks without waxing! As long as the world cannot see my hairy legs, they don’t exist. Right?! It doesn’t help that waxing in France costs 10 times of what it did in India!

Just remember to get them done *before* you swank out of the house in your best gear!

Sin #2: I don’t wear sunscreen. I know I should and I even bought a tube of SPF 50 but somehow, I always forget!

There, don’t you feel better now?

Sort of? *wonders where the tube of sunscreen is*

Aunty Brown has a few more questions though; it’s true that I’m the nosy type.

When was the last time you visited the hairdresser?

Erm, June? God, I should add this to my list of sins as well since my hair is now very shapeless and frumpy looking thanks to my many months of neglect!

Which trend still makes you cringe?

Definitely dark lipliner! Most Indian women seem to have just one lipliner - a dark maroon and they use it with every lipstick, be it a light pink or a dark brown!

Also lighter foundation on darker skintones - I think this also has to do with growing up in India, where everyone wants to be fair even at the risk of their face and neck looking like they belong to two different people!

It’s the day of a special occasion and you wake up with an enormous spot on your face. Do you fiddle or are you the master of disguise?

I fiddle! I know it is the worst thing to do when you have a pimple or whitehead but I just can’t leave them alone!

Let's not forget there are consequences to the fiddling...

When did you last wash your makeup brushes?

Umm, about a month ago?! Oops!

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Thank you very much Ki for being my very last victim, pardon me, volunteer. In fact, thank you to everyone that has taken part in the Friday Confessional over the past 12 months, it's really been a lot of fun.

Imo in Trouble!

Today we have the fabulous Imo of It's A London Thing confessing for us. I knew Imo wouldn't let Aunty Brown down. Though rudely enough I didn't see any of that Toblerone coming in my coming my way. I'm always open to bribes you know....

Confession is good for the soul, go ahead and unburden yourself! I promise I won’t judge.

Well the first sin is that as I am writing this at 8 in the morning and I am eating my way through a bar of Toblerone, the family size one, from the pound shop. That should give you and indication as to the tone of the remainder of this post. Most of these sins were committed in my naïve youth so I knew not what I did.

1. When I was 13 my big sister plucked my eyebrows for the very first time. Nothing major just the removal of a few stray hairs. Fast forward two years and I was all out with the razor (which belonged to my dad no doubt) shaving the ‘arch’ to create a Beyonce style brow. I had brow envy and I wanted her brows damn it but I went too far and I ended up with funny tadpole brows which look back at me whenever I see my year 10 school photo. I thought I looked wicked, the picture tells a very different story.

2. More brow woes. To rectify the damage done by my cack handed razor skills, I decided to get my brows professionally threaded. Word to the wise, professionals are not magicians, they are human and therefore make mistakes. From the ages of 15-17 I was the proud owner of slithery slim brows that made me look like I was always surprised. I was told thin brows were very mature and I wanted in on the action! Looking back, this was a mistake and I paid cash money to look like that and all *shame face*.

Here's a little something I cock...I mean cooked up earlier.

3. Lastly, I could tell you more about that time I got a tooth gem or the time I pierced my pinkie nail and wore a stud in it for two weeks. In the interests of economy the less said about these two the better, I shall refrain from doing so, for now.

There, don’t you feel better now?

Ever so slightly, these beauty sins need to be finally put to rest!

Aunty Brown has a few more questions though; it’s true that I’m the nosy type.


Which trend still makes you cringe?

Black lipliner and silver or gold lipstick/gloss. My mum ‘made me up’ when I was 11 for a talent contest and she used her dark brown eyeliner pencil to line my lips and her gold lipstick to fill in. We thought I looked great. I looked like a mug. This practice still occurs today mind you, it’s a trend that transcends all understanding.

Have you ever left the house knowingly wearing the wrong shade of foundation?

Yes, but I thought no one else would be able to recognise. Only when I looked in the mirror was I no longer bold enough to continue lying to myself. I have either looked like a reddened pumpkin or a ghostly ghoul.

What’s the oldest item of makeup in your collection?

This is really gross, but for a long time I didn’t have the minerals to throw away an eyeshadow duo my best mate from school gave me. I was 13 and I remember using the shadows for my 18th birthday party look. The colours were gorge and I couldn’t bring myself to do the deed. That was a few years ago but now I believe my oldest item is a nars gloss. Its got that plasticine smell so I believe its time to go?

Need I say more?

When did you last wash your makeup brushes?

HA! No sins here, the answer to that is 2 days ago. =P.

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Thank you so much for baring all Imo! Sadly this is the last Friday Confessional unless I have more volunteers between now and next week. Do feel free to email me if you're interested. 

Live, Laugh, Love.......Cry!

This week we have Laura of Live, Laugh, Love confessing to us. A long introduction would be wasted on this frankly shocking list of confessions. I suggest you just jump in and brace yourself for impact. Is it too early for a stiff drink?

Confession is good for the soul, go ahead and unburden yourself! I promise I won’t judge.

Forgive me Aunty Brown, for I have sinned. I'm probably what you could call a perpetual sinner, in the beauty world. I commit almost daily sins that will make your readers gasp in horror, fanning themselves madly in a bid to calm down. It's hard for me to unburden these sins, in such a public manner, so I do hope for forgiveness.

Sin number 1: I use facewipes to take off my make up...although, sometimes, I don't even do that! I have gone through phases of having a dedicated evening cleansing and make up removing routine, but I'm habitually lazy, and whatever can get me into bed the quickest is ultimately what wins. I know that facewipes aren't great for the skin, but actually, I've never had any irritation or break outs, and in my defense they do remove every last scrap of make up...
 
Sin number 2: I am a spot picker. You know when you can feel one brewing, there is no visible sign on the surface yet, but you can sense it, you can feel it forming. The next time you look there is that tell tale red bump, that you just know will be a monster come the next morning. You know that you'll do more harm than good by touching it, and you should just leave well alone. Well, I get all of that. Then I pick it, squeeze it, to within an inch of it's life...then curse myself for leaving a huge red, unsightly mess in it's place. Although, it is strangely satisfying...in a disgusting kind of way!

Sin number 3: I pick my nail varnish off. I've transitioned from a hardened nail biter, to a dedicated nail varnish picker! I'm not sure which one is worse, both are pretty destructive for the condition of my poor nails, lets be honest! I just can't help myself though. I'm fine until the minute I spot a chip, and then I either have to sit on my hands or it's just pick, pick, pick until it's all off!

Sin number 4: I pull my eyebrows out! I know it's gross, weird and really quite foolish (my brows are naturally quite sparse anyway), but I find it strangely relaxing, and almost addictive. If I haven't done it for a few days I can definitely 'feel' it in my eyebrows, it's almost as if the individual hairs themselves are willing me to pull them out?!

There, don’t you feel better now?
Erm...I'll wait and see what the reaction is first!

Aunty Brown has a few more questions though; it’s true that I’m the nosy type.


When was the last time you visited the hairdresser?

For a colour, a couple of weeks ago, but it was LONG overdue, the root situation had gotten ridiculously out of control. There was simply no disguising those bad boys! I'm a bottle blonde you see, and although I'd love to embrace my natural shade (dirty blonde), I just can't bring myself to do it! I haven't had my hair cut in over a year I don't think, I've been trying to grow it ever since I had it cut to just above shoulder length, back when I was HEAVILY pregnant in the hot summer of 2010. All I could think about then was getting all that hair away from my neck and shoulders, but looking back at the pictures, it really wasn't very becoming, and with the extra weight I was carrying during pregnancy, it was probably even worse. My ends are in dire need of trimming off, but I'm finally happy with the length of it now, and am always loathe to have it cut, even though I know it needs doing! I think I shall be brave and have it done soon...

At what point to outgrown roots become ombre hair?

You’ve overslept and have 5 minutes to get out of the house. Are you going out with dirty hair or no makeup?

Dirty hair, always. If I've overslept it's probably because I'm tired anyway, and these days I don't go anywhere without a good covering of concealer on the dark circles! Having said that, I detest having dirty hair, it makes my face feel greasy and disgusting after a while too, so perhaps I'd just hide under my duvet and hope the bed swallowed me up instead?!


What’s the oldest item of makeup in your collection?

I quite regularly go through my make up and throw anything out that is past its prime, so I don't actually think I have much that is 'that' old. It's probably an eyeliner, lipgloss (I have so many and never seem to use any up!) or perhaps an eyeshadow that I just can't bear to finish.

When did you last wash your makeup brushes?

Uh oh...Aunty Brown, these questions are making me look bad! I haven't properly cleaned the majority of my brushes for about 2 months! I keep looking at them and know that I need to, but I just don't get around to it. I'll use the 'busy Mum' excuse in the vain hope that allows me to clutch back some of my dignity?! If I promise to do them within the next week does that let me off the hook, please?!

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Image Credits
Nun - RF Licence purchased from Yay Micro
Drew's Ombre hair from Lookfantastic blog

Sophie says...

Today we have the lovely Sophie confessing for us. Sophie works as a beauty and editorial assistant for www.stylenest.co.uk, so surely there can't be any beauty naughtiness in her past? You know what they say about making assumptions though. I think that maybe you better prepare yourselves...

Confession is good for the soul, go ahead and unburden yourself! I promise I won’t judge.

During my mid-teens, I sported long streaky-blonde highlighted hair (never good on a brunette with tan skin, brown eyes and dark eyebrows), braces on my teeth, used Max Factor Pan-stick foundation in ‘Cool Copper’ very thickly over my entire face, and put actual concealer on my lips rather than grasping the notion of nude lipstick (which doesn’t suit me itself.) I found a more natural colour palette when I hit sixteen, and got a boyfriend…I feel the two events are linked! I think I look completely the opposite now, with dark brown hair and a red lipstick addiction. It’s funny how your idea of what looks good on you can completely alter from teens to early twenties.

Mmm....such a natural colour choice!

There, don’t you feel better now?

Aunty Brown has a few more questions though; it’s true that I’m the nosy type.

When was the last time you visited the hairdresser? About a year and a half ago I’m afraid!…I went to a Rush in central London, and they nearly ripped my hair out from the roots during a particularly aggressive hairwash, and actually gave me a lopsided trim. It scared me off. I do my own split ends now, and use hair oils and Philip Kingsley and Shielo products…my hair looks better than it ever used to so I think until I can afford to use really decent salons, I’ll stick to DIY.

Which bit of beauty trickery couldn’t you live without? Eyebrow pencil or powder. My eyebrows are dark brown but pretty patchy, due to teenage over plucking (which has made me swear to hide tweezers from any daughter I may have, and book her in for a professional threading as soon as she threatens to show interest in hair removal. I wish my mother had done the same!) It’s a testament to my make-up obsession, endless practice and using good products that people are more likely to compliment my eyebrows than anything else, without realising how crap they look without assistance.

You’ve overslept and have 5 minutes to get out of the house. Are you going out with dirty hair or no makeup? No makeup. I have a true horror of unwashed hair…when I see people on the tube or wherever, with greasy roots…I have to look away! I rely on make up almost daily, but when I only have about half an hour to get ready, I’d rather wash my hair and have toast at the cost of my face :-), there’s always sunglasses!

Having given up waxing for Movember, Shelia thought it best to draw attention away from her face with the cunning use of sunglasses!

What’s the oldest item of makeup in your collection? ...an old stub of a Max Factor Pan-stick in Cool Copper…it must be about six years old, but it was part of my identity for so long I find it hard to throw away! It’s unashamedly nestled in between the nice natural shades of Dior and NARS on my dressing table, but I should probably say goodbye soon.

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Thank you very much for sharing Sophie! If you have something you need to get off your chest and want to take a turn in the Friday Confessional you can email me at modestybrown@googlemail.com. It's open to everyone: if you have something to confess, I'm happy to hear it! 

Image Credit

Panstik image from www.maxfactor.co.uk

Sunglasses from www.fancydressball.co.uk

Naughty, naughty Georgie Girl!

Today we have lovely Georgie confessing for us. Georgie isn't a blogger but she is an avid reader and tweeter. In fact I already knew she was a bad 'un after one particular beauty bombshell came out on Twitter. Let's have a look and see how naughty she really is!

Confession is good for the soul, go ahead and unburden yourself! I promise I won’t judge.

Oh Aunty Brown, I think you might need to sit down before you read this… I have such a multitude of beauty crimes that really I have no business being on your lovely blog. I’ll pick my top 3…

1. From the ages of 16 – 23 I was a total tanorexic – and I’m not talking out of a bottle! Sunbeds started to be really popular when I was a teenager, and I’m ashamed to say I was a very regular user. I’ve always been so pale I’m practically blue, so suddenly the chance to have an orange glow was too much to resist. I was so bad that my local salon put a cap on the amount of time they would let me on for, but I got round that by going to two different salons, often on the same day! I’m now completely reformed, but fully expect and deserve to have skin like a crocodile skin handbag by the time I’m 30.

Source

2. Along with my day-glo skin, I used to adore the French tipped acrylic nails. I wore them constantly, and having much more important things to spend my money on (like sunbeds) I used to go to the dodgy cheap places, and only stopped when I picked up a nasty fungal infection and all my nails went yellow and fell off. My real nails. It was gross, and painful. I still wear fake nails as mine are so pathetic but I see a lovely lady now who does lovely natural looking gel ones, and doesn’t use the dreaded nail drill!

3. Until a few months ago I didn’t use facial moisturiser, my reasoning being that my skin didn’t need it as it was oily already! It was on twitter that the lovely Kenneth Soh and you Aunty Brown, persuaded me that I was being a total idiot and educated me accordingly… do you remember?


There, don’t you feel better now?
No. I feel dirty and ashamed, and not in the good way!

Aunty Brown has a few more questions though; it’s true that I’m the nosy type.

You’ve overslept and have 5 minutes to get out of the house. Are you going out with dirty hair or no makeup?
Oh dirty hair for sure! I only wash my hair about every 3 days as it’s long and curly, and I can usually push an extra day if I have to… However I’ve got spots and small piggy eyes, so without at least foundation and mascara even my dogs won’t be seen in public with me.

Which trend still makes you cringe?
Poker straight hair was all the rage a couple of years ago do you remember? Unfortunately this only suits certain people and I am definitely not one of them. Looking back at my round face with its flat lank strands hanging down around it makes me squirm! I have since learnt to embrace my natural curls and my hair and face are very grateful. As is my Dad, who regularly told me I reminded him of Morticia when my hair was straight!

What I need to know is, were you rocking Morticia with a tan?? Image Source

It’s the day of a special occasion and you wake up with an enormous spot on your face. Do you fiddle or are you the master of disguise?
I would love to say that as an acne sufferer I have learnt to leave well alone, but it would be a lie. I will squeeze and pick and have even been known to take a needle and tweezers combo to my face to dig out the nasty little blighters.

When did you last wash your makeup brushes?
I wash them once a month, so about 3 weeks ago! That’s good right?!

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Thank you very much for sharing Georgie! If you have something you need to get off your chest and want to take a turn in the Friday Confessional you can email me at modestybrown@googlemail.com. It's open to everyone: if you have something to confess, I'm happy to hear it!

The Lipstick Lunatic lets it all hang out!

We're back!!! This week we have Erin confessing for us. Erin has two blogs, Ravings of a Lipstick Lunatic and The Cheap Chick. Do we have any dirty secrets lurking here? Oh, but of course. Let's have a look then shall we...

Confession is good for the soul, go ahead and unburden yourself! I promise I won’t judge.

Oh, where to begin?! Although I don't leave the house without wearing some kind of makeup to even out my horrible skintone, I often go days at a time without wearing any makeup, or washing my hair, or even changing out of my pajamas! I'm an unemployed student who takes classes online – I don't have to go out every day (I do still shower, though, thankyouverymuch).

Just don't forget to put some clothes on before you go shopping. Even if they are your best PJ's...

Also, for some reason, no base coat will make nail polish stick to my nails, so whenever it starts to lift up at the edges I will peel it all off without mercy. Needless to say, my fingernails are not in the best condition ...

Oh, and I have a huge collection of eyeshadows, both loose mineral and pressed, which hardly ever see any action. I sometimes feel I don't deserve to own all of it, but cannot bear to part with any of it!

There, don’t you feel better now?

Actually, no … I feel a bit worse about myself xD


Aunty Brown has a few more questions though; it’s true that I’m the nosy type.

When was the last time you visited the hairdresser?
Actually, just about a month ago – but before then, it had been over a year. I won a $100 gift card and knew I HAD to use it to get my waist-length, split-end-filled hair trimmed and shaped! I lost about three inches of hair just to remove the worst of the damage … but honestly, it was either go without haircuts for that long, or go to SuperCuts O_o

You’ve overslept and have 5 minutes to get out of the house. Are you going out with dirty hair or no makeup?
I'm a bit ashamed to report that I very often do go out with dirty hair! I have a special Stewie “Victory Is Mine” hat I keep for this very reason …

You do WHAT with my hat?

… oh wow, I'm gross.

Which trend still makes you cringe?
SO MANY! Uggs, “harem” pants, and more recently, spider lashes – c'mon, haven't we all been complaining about the spider-lash-effect since mascara was first invented?!

What’s the oldest item of makeup in your collection?
I'm sure there are several lipsticks and glosses that are more than five years old still living in my collection. Some of my oldest items are higher-end brands, because I used to have more money to spend! They're all lipstick and glosses, though – like my MAC Russian Red lipglass, and the mini LORAC Lip Polishes I got in a set one year – because I own so many lip products I almost never run out of any one of them. You say obsessive, I say collector ^_^;

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Image credits
Picture of Stewie from www.familyguyquotes.com
Picture of the lady banned from shopping in Tesco from www.mirror.co.uk

Ok, I confess...

..you're stuck with little old me today. Aunty Brown had no one to interrogate today and she looked so glum that I took pity on her. Plus, it's been a long time since I confessed. I've got a few bits that I should probably share.

Confession is good for the soul, go ahead and unburden yourself! I promise I won’t judge.

A popular question on here is how long is it since you last had your hair cut. Keen observers will probably already have realised this shocking truth but I haven't had my hair cut in a long while. Since February 25th to be exact as I wrote a post about *that* haircut here. So traumatised was I by that incident and those layers that it's taken me over seven months to face the chair again.

I finally visited the hairdressers on Wednesday. After some intensive coaching on Twitter I managed to say the words BLUNT CUT and NO LAYERS with enough conviction that I now have a blunt cut, with no layers. And no signs of mushroom. Result! I think I put the wind up the poor young lady that did my hair though after she discovered that I share all of my hair disasters on the internet. She's safe though.

Hair today, gone tomorrow!

I do have another hair related confession. Despite promising to stick to just touching up my roots, I have done nothing of the sort and we have another case of overdye on the ends. Fortunately quite a lot was chopped off but I do need to change my habits. I discussed with the hairdresser how I would like to add some some subtle lighter section to disguise the grey rather than an all over tint but that I'm worried about the upkeep. She suggested that I could do some modelling for the trainees which I'm actually tempted to do. What's the worst they could do? On second thoughts, don't answer that!

But I'm sure I said highlights.....

There, don’t you feel better now?
It's debatable

Aunty Brown has a few more questions though; it’s true that I’m the nosy type. 
Alright, alright. I'm only answering one though!
 
You’ve overslept and have 5 minutes to get out of the house. Are you going out with dirty hair or no makeup?
I've not being feeling very well this week and I'm ashamed to say I've been out with both messy hair and no makeup. What can I say, I needed the extra time in bed. Nothing elicits sympathy quite as much as the true horrors of my face minus concealer. Is that a bit evil?!

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The Friday Confessionals posts have always been a lot of fun for me and I'm truly grateful to everyone that has taken part. I'm aware that it's a little more exposing that some of the other blog Q&As! I'm without volunteers at the moment so Aunty Brown may have to take a little break. You don't need to be beauty blogger to take part, in fact you don't have to be a blogger at all. It's open to absolutely anyone! I don't even mind if your confession isn't beauty related; I once confessed to buying a Shania Twain album so, anything goes. If you would like to take part, feel free to email me at modestybrown@googlemail.com.

Charli Confesses...

This week we have Charli of Charli... confessing for us. Aunty Brown is cranky from the hot weather so I better just hurry along to the main part. I don't want to risk you having to listen to another rendition of the weather monologue. Or worse still, one of her bad morse code jokes. So, take it away Charli...

Confession is good for the soul, go ahead and unburden yourself! I promise I won’t judge.

Hello, I’m Charli and I am here to confess my beauty sins..I hope it doesn’t put you off following my blog ;) Before I started blogging I used to break a number of “beauty rules” that I have come to learn. The worst one was never washing makeup brushes, I never ever used to wash them...and I mean EVER. Ew! Now I wash them at least once a week. I would never throw out mascaras even though they only have a 6 month use by date once opened – who knew?! But now I seem to have a new one every week (maybe this is because I decide that I need every mascara I see that is posted). There are still some things that I still do, even though I have been told that they are bad for me! I still pop spots... I cannot leave it there, they really creep me out! However I have learnt to do it in a more sterile way! I still go to bed with my makeup on, ok not all the time, but some days I am just like “meh...sleep time”...always end up regretting it in the morning. Oh and I still use make up wipes...sometimes even just baby wipes...anyone with me on these? Or am I on my own?

Baby wipes?! I've used them to successfully remove felt tip marks from carpet. Need I say more?

There, don’t you feel better now?

Aunty Brown has a few more questions though; it’s true that I’m the nosy type.

When was the last time you visited the hairdresser?
Honestly, about 8 months ago. Shocking I know, but I am trying to grow my hair and I am starting to get a fear of the snip because of this. Although I am not as disgusting as I sound, my boyfriends mum is a hairdresser so has done the odd snip here and there.

You’ve overslept and have 5 minutes to get out of the house. Are you going out with dirty hair or no makeup?
Neither!! I would use dry shampoo and apply makeup like a loon. I have been known to wake up 10 minutes before my shift started (5:50am) and still be clocked in by 6:00am. I wouldn’t feel smart enough if I had dirty hair or no makeup on! I feel like I have cheated my way out of this question...

It’s the day of a special occasion and you wake up with an enormous spot on your face. Do you fiddle or are you the master of disguise?
I would do both, this is the more sterile way that I have created (whether it is right is another story). Warm flannel to draw the spot out, pop with cotton buds that are soaked in TCP, sudocreme on the spot whilst I was getting ready, then conceal like a mad women. That was a bit gross but I would never just leave a spot. I really hate the feel of them on my face, luckily I don’t really suffer from spots, I just get the odd hormonal ones.

The SpotBuster Team!

Have you ever left the house knowingly wearing the wrong shade of foundation?
Unfortunately, yes. If you take a look at my youtube video called “My Makeup Story” you will hear more about this but basically I used to get really red cheeks (still do) and to cover them I would buy whatever foundation I could afford and slap it on...yes I am talking tide marks ladies. In my defence I was about 14 and getting bullied.

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Thank you very much for sharing Charli! If you have something you need to get off your chest and want to take a turn in the Friday Confessional you can email me at modestybrown@googlemail.com. It's open to everyone: if you have something to confess, I'm happy to hear it!

Salon de Beaute Confesses

This week we have Rebecca of Salon de Beaute confessing for our reading pleasure. Rebecca is a professional makeup artist, cat Mum and all round good egg. She can't have a shady past surely? What could be so bad that she felt compelled to jet off to Morocco?!

Confession is good for the soul, go ahead and unburden yourself! I promise I won’t judge.

I didn’t start wearing makeup till much later than most of the girls I know. I started wearing mascara and some pale pink lipstick for special occasions when I was 16. In boarding school when I was 17 it was cool for us to concoct our own rouge noir shade of lipstick and wear it out. The other girls made fun of how big my lips looked so I would spend hours trying to make my lips thinner. Argh!!!

I'd like to think that this is how you looked. Am I close?!

There, don’t you feel better now?

Aunty Brown has a few more questions though; it’s true that I’m the nosy type.

When was the last time you visited the hairdresser?

I hate being poked and prodded and sitting down for very long. I last had someone else cut my hair in June. I cut and colour it myself most of the time.

You’ve overslept and have 5 minutes to get out of the house. Are you going out with dirty hair or no makeup?

Isn’t that what dry shampoo is for? I’d rather spend five minutes putting on some concealer and mascara with my hair tied back.

Which trend still makes you cringe?

There are so many! I hate orange people, I hate that chalky, nude lipstick look that orange girls wear. Oh, if lace isn’t expensive then you shouldn’t be wearing it on your person. It looks cheap and tacky. Designer handbags with thick, spidery lashes and caked on foundation. I could rant about this kind of thing for years.

Have you ever left the house knowingly wearing the wrong shade of foundation?

Yes! Being an Aussie, sticks of zinc are readily available to any and all as a brilliant form of sun protection. You see cricketers and life guards with that white streak across their nose and that’s their zinc stick. I used to use it all over my face throughout high school. Partly as sun protection for my insanely fair skin and partly as a foundation to pale my skin a little more for that truly gothic look I loved.

The white nose is fine but those hats are something else!

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Thank you for sharing Rebecca! If you have something you need to get off your chest and want to take a turn in the Friday Confessional you can email me at modestybrown@googlemail.com. It's open to everyone: if you have something to confess, I'm happy to hear it!


Illamasqua image - illamasqua.com
Zinc stick image - www.planbooktravel.com.au

Beauty's Bad Habits

Back in my days pre-blogging, I used to be a serial lurker on Specktra and this is where I first came across the lovely Lily of Beauty's Bad Habit. She has amazingly striking features and I don't think many people have such skill with an eyeshadow brush. She's alluded to her bad habits before (see what I did there?) so Aunty Brown welcomed BBH into the Confessional with open arms....

Confession is good for the soul, go ahead and unburden yourself! I promise I won’t judge.

Oh Lordy - here we go! I think my biggest beauty sin is that I don't have a skin care routine.

Honestly. Hot water, soap - done. It's not that I don't WANT to, I really, really do, it's just that nothing seems to work with my skin. Occasionally something does work, but the effect is so minimal it seems a waste of time! I only started looking after my hair this year after torturing it consistently for at least five - bleaching, dying, crazy hair cuts, dreads...You name it, I've done it, I'm honestly surprised I still actually have hair! I never wear sun cream, even though I know the effects of the Sun are awful for the skin, I'm just lazy and forget - I don't even think we have any in the house.

There, don’t you feel better now?

* Pulls off a few dead ends* Hmm...

Aunty Brown has a few more questions though; it’s true that I’m the nosy type.

When was the last time you visited the hairdresser?

About four years ago! That seems terrible, right? Well, last time I went it was to have my head shaved. I'd had enough of my unruly, frizzy, dry hair and thought, 'Sod it, I'll get a mohawk.' The poor hairdresser was terrified and had to ask her manager for the 'Okay'! About a week later I bleached my hair again and dyed it green...because...y'know...who doesn't want a green mohawk at the start of college?! It was easy to maintain myself so I never went back, now I'm growing it out I'll soon need a professional restyle, though!

Which bit of beauty trickery couldn’t you live without?

EYEBROWS. Well, my eyebrows kit - tweezers, dark brown eyeshadow, eyebrow pens and small angle brushes. My eyebrows are honestly the most complimented part of me haha. I'm eyebrow obsessed. I think it stemmed from my year 6 teacher, who had eyebrows shaped like hockey sticks. I was only about 9/ 10, but remember always thinking 'Why are your eyebrows like that? They look silly.' If it were socially acceptable, I'd walk around town fixing people's eyebrows for them in the street.

Erm, so I'm guessing now isn't a good time to talk about my new brows.........

Have you ever left the house knowingly wearing the wrong shade of foundation?

Ha, oh yes. A 'from the bottle' match to my skin doesn't seem to exist, so I always buy foundations to mix. Occasionally the mixes I make are a little too light or a little too dark, but so long as they're not absolutely ridiculous I'll still wear it! Sometimes I forget I'm wearing fake tan, too, so I'll mix my normal foundation colour, apply, see myself in a full length mirror and think 'Sweet Jesus! What's up with my face?!'

What’s the oldest item of makeup in your collection?

A Collection 2000 lipgloss my mum bought it for me along with some eyeshadow and mascara when I was around 11. That's eight (almost nine) years ago! At the time, I didn't have the vaguest interest in make-up and thought it was only for women who thought they were ugly. I found it an offensive gift,  I thought she was hinting at me that I was a hideous child who needed to be prettier. Who in their right mind gives an 11 year old tomboy make-up as a gift?! If I ever have a daughter, I'm never springing a make-up kit on them as a gift when they're that young. Not just because they wont need it - but because that kit made me feel like I must be the ugliest little girl in the world. I never used it, it smelt like mint and was an awful frosty shade of pink - I guess I just keep it for 'First piece of make-up' sentimental value.

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This confessional made me giggle and cry. I was amazingly sad for your young self feeling like a gift of makeup was a hint that you weren't pretty enough. It's a good lesson for me as a Mummy, I would hate to accidentally make any of my children that way. Thank you so much for sharing.

If you have something you need to get off your chest and want to take a turn in the Friday Confessional you can email me at modestybrown@googlemail.com. It's open to everyone: if you have something to confess, I'm happy to hear it!

Flossie Fesses Up!

Emma-Jayne of Flossie's Beauty Love seems such a lovely thing. But as every beauty lover knows, you can hide a multitude of sins if you know what you're doing. It may be wise to mention in advance that feet will be mentioned. If you're funny about feet, this might be a good time to make your exit....

Confession is good for the soul, go ahead and unburden yourself! I promise I won’t judge.

Ok, I have sinned in the past.....although most of these are quite current!!

1. I really neglect my feet, I have yucky hard skin, I don’t let anyone see my feet!! My toe nails are always painted, I just don’t buff and moisturise them enough! Oh and once while I worked at Harvey Nichols, I got a blister, so I was sorting that out when my manager at the time said ‘Emma, your hair and makeup are immaculate......but your feet are disgusting!!!’ Lol! Cringe!!! My Mum has always really looked after hers so she’s pretty disgusted at the sight of mine!!! Sorry Mum!!

You remember these don't you?

2. Despite doing Beauty Therapy and being in the beauty industry before I had the kids, and knowing the importance of properly cleansing your skin, I have only recently stopped using facial wipes to take off my make up! It’s purely laziness, but since using Liz Earle’s Cleanse & Polish, I’ve got a lot better!!!

3. When I was young, free and single, the girls and I would holiday in Ayia Napa. Instead of being sensible and wearing an SPF 30 for my very fair skin, I’d use SPF 10 or even oil! OMG, I can’t believe I never got burnt!!! I just ended up pink and patchy, not the look I was after!!

Fancy a rub down?

4. I straighten my hair almost everyday and I’ve NEVER used a heat protector....Oh that’s bad!!

There, don’t you feel better now?

Hmmmm I guess, I’m quite ashamed of the yucky feet part! Cringe!!

Aunty Brown has a few more questions though; it’s true that I’m the nosy type.


When was the last time you visited the hairdresser?

Only about 4 weeks ago. I had around 7inches chopped off! It was a complete restyle, I went for a concave bob! My hair had been long for about 12 years so I really needed a change!!

Which bit of beauty trickery couldn’t you live without? 

I can’t live without fake tan, I’m naturally very pale so I need a bit of colour, although as careful as I am applying it, no matter how much I exfoliate and moisturise, I still end up with streaky legs, darker elbows, knees and ankles!! I love false eyelashes too, but I just don’t have the hand to eye coordination for it, so I end up throwing a strop and getting a friend to apply them for me!!

You’ve overslept and have 5 minutes to get out of the house. Are you going out with dirty hair or no makeup?

Dirty hair I’m embarrassed to say! Isn’t that what dry shampoo is for anyway??? When I had longer hair I’d tie it up in a messy bun and stick a flower in to draw attention away from the greasy roots! Not sure what I’ll do now!! Eeekkk!!

Which trend still makes you cringe? 

I can’t stand thick obvious lip liner.....Pamela Anderson, I’m thinking about you!!!! Oh also, the awful really fake acrylic french tipped nails!! They look so bad, I’m afraid I have been guilty of this in the past! Not anymore though I promise!!!!!!

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Thank you so much for sharing Emma-Jayne! Naughty, naught regarding the sunbathing. You realise this will cause a stir! 

If you have something you need to get off your chest and want to take a turn in the Friday Confessional you can email me at modestybrown@googlemail.com. It's open to everyone: if you have something to confess, I'm happy to hear it!

Image credit: Scary foot image from NYDailyNews.com.

Daily Polish or Dirty Minx?

It's Sara aka Daily Polish's turn to lift the lit on her naughty beauty secrets. I've been looking forward to posting this one. The minute I saw the word Jem, I knew we were in for a treat. Let's take a little look!

Confession is good for the soul, go ahead and unburden yourself! I promise I won’t judge.

When I was a kid I was so into makeup but I didn’t understand the mechanics of applying it, so I used to beg my older sister to give me ‘makeovers’. Except they had to be Princess makeovers! Elegant! Beautiful! So I always gave her full reign over my face….and always ended up with the “Jem” makeover. The Jem makeover was hot pink lipstick, red blush and neon blue eyeshadow. I fell for it for about 3 years straight.

Is it wrong that I feel the urge for a Jem makeover right now?!

When I was 13 my mum decided I wasn’t taking care of my hair so I had to get it all cut off, and I decided to emulate my other sister who had this great short, punky haircut. I ended up going for spiked hair and somehow let my mother talk me into letting her bleach the tips (it really suited the braces all over my teeth)! I sat in her bathroom for hours as she pulled my hair through this bleaching cap, and she was ecstatic. This is the same woman who used to insist on curling my hair into a pageboy style as often as possible.

I’ll never find all the photos to burn :(

There, don’t you feel better now? 

I’m not sure I should have shared the spikey hair thing, now it will never die!

Aunty Brown has a few more questions though; it’s true that I’m the nosy type.

When was the last time you visited the hairdresser?

Well I went in March because I was supposed to be a bridesmaid for a wedding. I figured I should have nice hair if I have to be in a lot of pictures. But the problem with my hair is that I have very fine hair but a lot of hair. So it falls out by the handful every 5 seconds or the minute I touch my hair. It’s also curly so I need regular cuts in order to maintain any semblance of style. I basically have stringy rats nest hair now because I keep prioritising getting my hair dyed over getting it cut!

Which bit of beauty trickery couldn’t you live without?

Waxing (I break out in hives if I shave!), getting my hair dyed, getting my eyebrows threaded (even though it makes me cry) and getting pedicures. I love painting my own nails but I hate painting my toenails. Although my favourite nail tech only does “dry” pedicures so I really need someone to come and saw at the pound of dead flesh hanging out on my feet (since I live in my FitFlops, London weather be damned, I am a California girl through and through).

You’ve overslept and have 5 minutes to get out of the house. Are you going out with dirty hair or no makeup?

Actually both. I genuinely just don’t care about either one. I will pull my hair up and I rarely put the effort into wearing makeup (despite owning more makeup than I will ever know what to do with, I have so many lipsticks and eyeliners and eyeshadows (some dating back decades because I won’t throw them away). But I never leave with bad nails, ever (have to do something with those 1100+ bottles of varnish!).

Which trend still makes you cringe?

People who shave off their eyebrows and draw them on. I just don’t understand. What did your natural eyebrows ever do to deserve to be shunned off your face, into oblivion!? I once went to high school with a girl who drew them on in such an exaggerated fashion…she looked like a scary clown!

Look at that! Blue eyeshadow, clown brows and a staggering lip line. Perfect!

People who get permanent makeup like lipliner but then don’t wear lipstick. I once knew a woman who had the lipliner done and she was so pleased….but she never wore lipstick! She just always wore her permanent lipliner. WHY!?

And I might get shouted at for this one but people who wear really overbearing perfumes. Or smell like cucumbers or weird fruit in general. I am super scent sensitive and certain perfumes trigger migraines (although I am trying to desensitise myself) and if I am next to someone on a train who is wearing a scent that is triggering me I genuinely have to plug my nose and run away from them. I could give Usain Bolt a run for his money getting past perfume counters! Why can’t you people just wear a NORMAL SCENT! YOU DO NOT SMELL NICE TO MY NOSE AND YOU ARE CAUSING ME PAIN!!

Sorry. A bit shouty but being scent sensitive is one of the most annoying things ever!

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Thank you very much to Sara for sharing! If you have something you need to get off your chest and want to take a turn in the Friday Confessional you can email me at modestybrown@googlemail.com. It's open to everyone: if you have something to confess, I'm happy to hear it!


Image of Jem from therealmtoys.com
Image of the Red Queen from aliceinwonderland.wikia.com

A Shocking Confession!

I have always thought of the voice behind The Bristol Beauty Blog as being a sophisticate and sensible young women with impeccably good taste. So, it was a shock to discover TBBB's terrible secret and realise that although she is indeed sophisticated, lurking below the surface is a complete disregard for personal safety as part of her grooming routine. Not to mention hair murder. Anyway, I will let you see for yourselves. Any Health and Safety Officers reading better look away now!

Confession is good for the soul, go ahead and unburden yourself! I promise I won’t judge. 
 

Well Aunty Brown I need to confess a truly terrible crime against beauty. I have many sins, but this one is probably my worst crime...

I love my GHDs – I cannot describe what a difference they have made to my life, turning my hair from a frizzy mess to sleek and smooth. When I wash my hair I just leave it to dry naturally – I almost never use my hair dryer. I then straighten it. And I confess that I can be impatient and often I straighten my hair before it is dry. My hair makes sizzling noises, steam comes off it – surely this isn’t good for my hair?! And sometimes, my hair isn’t just a little damp and I use my GHDs to actually dry my hair. Does this explain my split ends?

You do WHAT with your GHDs?!

There, don’t you feel better now?

A little! I promise to get more acquainted with my hairdryer!

Aunty Brown has a few more questions though; it’s true that I’m the nosy type.

When was the last time you visited the hairdresser?

About a month ago and I wish I hadn’t! I’ve been growing my hair long for the last 18 months, and although I’ve been having regular-ish trims, she took quite a bit off (aforementioned split ends) so I’ve got a bit more growing to go.

Which bit of beauty trickery couldn’t you live without?

I’m not that into trickery, but I’ve discovered the joy of underarm waxing this year and I’m a convert. I also never leave the house without concealer.

You’ve overslept and have 5 minutes to get out of the house. Are you going out with dirty hair or no makeup?
Dirty hair! I can’t leave the house without makeup, but my hair can just be pulled back.

Which trend still makes you cringe?

There was a trend in the mid-nineties for white nail polish – like Tippex. I wore it religiously every weekend for about 6 months (I wasn’t allowed to wear it for school). I’m sure I even tried using Tippex to do the look.

Will you be wanting top coat with that?

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Hopefully at some point today I will recover from this shocking revelation! Definitely time to get friendly with your hair-dryer!! Thank you for sharing TBBB. If you have something you need to get off your chest and want to take a turn in the Friday Confessional you can email me at modestybrown@googlemail.com. It's open to everyone: if you have something to confess, I'm happy to hear it!


'Shocking' hair image from http://www.waltsense.com/

Does this Jewell have a less than sparkling past?

The lovely Joy is founding editor of the blog Twelve52. Joy swapped our shores for glamourous Dubai but is she all glamour and sophistication? Or are we about to uncover some dirty secrets?

Confession is good for the soul, go ahead and unburden yourself! I promise I won’t judge.

OK, deep breaths. Here I go…

I’m absolutely appalling at applying nail polish. Seriously, terrible. I am the most cack-handed moron when it comes to getting it right. They say practice makes perfect but I’m willing to admit that I may be a lost cause on this one. 

As for my hair, well I’m rocking a couple of inches of roots at the moment after stopping getting highlights. I’m living in Dubai for a while and the sun, chlorine and desalinated water has been wrecking my hair; it couldn’t handle regular colour too. So I’m ditching the chemicals until I can breathe a bit more life into my sad tresses! 

Finally, I have a sickening amount of taupe eye shadows. It’s really not necessary to have so many and I ought to try some more colourful shades but I’m a woman obsessed and there’s no stopping me. I think I need to work on that. 

Are we saying this isn't normal? Oh dear.....

There, don’t you feel better now? 

Aunty Brown has a few more questions though; it’s true that I’m the nosy type.

When was the last time you visited the hairdresser? 
Ooh, about ten weeks ago. So, I’m overdue right? 

Which bit of beauty trickery couldn’t you live without? 
He-Shi tan is my fail safe trick for making me look instantly better. It’s pretty fool proof and the colour is fairly gentle so you can’t really go wrong. A nice tan always makes me feel a little bit nicer looking and He-Shi seems to trick everyone as it is so natural looking. 

You’ve overslept and have 5 minutes to get out of the house. Are you going out with dirty hair or no makeup?
Dirty hair, definitely. I think if my face looks fairly OK most people won’t pay too much attention to the hair, which I tend to stick up in a top knot if it’s looking a bit, erm, past its best. 

Which trend still makes you cringe?
I can’t handle the whole eighties eyebrow look. That whole bushy, big, ungroomed and dark look just makes me shudder. I don’t mind a bold brow but it has to be shaped nicely! 

An 80's classic! Source

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Fabulous! I'm still unsure about a vast collection of taupes constituting a crime though. If you're going down, I'm going down!! If you would like to take a turn and unburden yourself in the Friday Confessional you can email me at modestybrown@googlemail.com. It's open to everyone: if you have something to confess, I'm happy to hear it!

The Bunny Confesses!

Today we have the gorgeous and hugely entertaining JoeyBunny confessing for our reading pleasure. Formerly blogging on Pink Sith, Joey has returned to updating her own blog, Beauty, Bacon, Bunnies. If you've not seen her drool worthy NYC food porn, you've not lived! I'm fairly sure that JoeyBunny has a naughty side so I'm hoping this one is going to be juicy....

Confession is good for the soul, go ahead and unburden yourself! I promise I won't judge.

My makeup currently languishes in terrible disarray in my bedroom. My storage situation is so horrifically terrible and inadequate that I often will buy something, put it down, and because it ends up being covered by a mound of new makeup, I forget about it. Whenever I have the urge to organise my makeup - which happens whenever I realise I haven't seen a given item in a half-decade - I end up discovering products that I forgot that I had, that I've never touched, and that I probably will never touch. Oops!

Yet, I keep buying eyeshadows and lip colours and blushes - I have over 500 lipsticks and lip glosses, close to 100 blushes, and my eyeshadows must number a thousand. Yes, I have issues.

Oh, and another confession: I rarely get pedicures even though I love them. I wait to get one until my feet are near scaly and toenails are all haggard. Ew!

Ewwww!

There, don't you feel better now?

A tiny bit!

Aunty Brown has a few more questions though; it's true that I'm the nosy type.

When was the last time you visited the hairdresser?

Oh, this was back in May; I have 9 inches of my hair chopped off at the John Barrett Salon at Bergdorf Goodman - all for the sake of a blog post. I went from having hair down to my bum to hair that just hit my shoulders!

Which bit of beauty trickery couldn't you live without?

I can't live without facial contouring. My face is rounder than a breast implant, so if I want to look like I don't weigh a metric ton, I always have to contour my cheeks, jawline and forehead.

I suspect Boy George has seen this picture before!

You've overslept and have 5 minutes to get out of the house. Are you going out with dirty hair or no makeup?

Since my hair is curly, I rarely wash it. So, dirty hair! Although, I often leave the house without makeup - I just do it when I get to work. I'm a travesty!

Which trend still makes you cringe?

Whoever decided that it was ok to wear falsies in public, during the day, needs to be whipped. I'm sorry, but falsies rarely look natural. Get eyelash extensions if need be, or wear a ton of mascara (within reason), but don't wear a full strip of false lashes to go to work or the grocer. It's barely excusable for makeup artists, even.

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Hee hee! You crack me up. I don't think I've ever heard anyone compare their face to a breast implant. You have no idea how tempted I was to post a piccies of an implant with a face on it! Thank you so much for sharing.

If you have something you need to get off your chest and want to take a turn in the Friday Confessional you can email me at modestybrown@googlemail.com. It's open to everyone: if you have something to confess, I'm happy to hear it!




Image credit: Scary foot image from NYDailyNews.com. Contouring image from Kevyn Aucoin

Madame Gourmand Tells All!

This week we have the wonderful Madame Gourmand confessing for us. Every time I chat to Mme Gourmand on Twitter I feel the urge to eat something, is that bad? Anyway, I better be quiet as it's not my turn to be doing the confessing (wipes away croissant crumbs)! Take it away Madame Gourmand.

Confession is good for the soul, go ahead and unburden yourself! I promise I won’t judge.

My biggest sin is going to sleep wearing my make up, I know it’s really bad and I shouldn’t do it but I’m afraid to admit that I do.

I’m the first one to preach about looking after your skin, how to avoid spots, etc. I even wrote a paper at university on skin and the importance of removing makeup before bed as our pores need to secrete sebum that helps to moisturise and protect the skin, makeup clogs the pores and prevents the sebum from doing its job. The sebum builds up which can cause spots which I am always complaining about having, it’s my own fault yet I still go to bed wearing my full face!

There, don’t you feel better now?

Aunty Brown has a few more questions though; it’s true that I’m the nosy type.

When was the last time you visited the hairdresser?

I last visited the hairdresser in May, I love nothing better than getting my hair done. I did go through a phase where I would go twice a week for a wash and blow dry but when I worked out how much money I was spending I was horrified so I’ve cut it down to a cut every 6 weeks and a wash and blow dry before a night out.

Which bit of beauty trickery couldn’t you live without?

I could not live without Laser hair treatment, of course waxing goes hand in hand with it. It became a very expensive treatment for me to have so I went on a course and purchased a laser hair remover of my own so I can do it in the comfort of my own home.

You’ve overslept and have 5 minutes to get out of the house. Are you going out with dirty hair or no makeup?

I’m going out of the house with dirty hair! Dry shampoo and hair accessories are my best friend. Maybe I should have added going out with dirty hair to my confessional as I do this on a regular basis when doing the school run! I couldn’t face going out without tinted moisturiser or mascara on my face.

Which trend still makes you cringe?

Crimped hair is a trend I never want to see again, I remember my mum crimping my hair for school disco’s in the late 80’s early 90’s. I can’t even look at old photos of me with my crimp, it’s was such an awful trend, please fashion gurus don’t ever bring it back!

Yeah, I'd look like that too!

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If you would like to take a turn and unburden yourself in the Friday Confessional you can email me at modestybrown@googlemail.com. It's open to everyone: if you have something to confess, I'm happy to hear it!

Image of Tyra from icydk.com