Beauty tips, the Bush Babe way!
Red Alert: Serious Chick stuff ahead.
If you are male, and not into makeup or beauty secrets, please visit here for wild-looking real bush creatures, here for stomach-churning bunyips stories, or here for some mind-blowing analogies between tractor and sky.
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OK. Are they gone? Just us women-folk and gay guys left?? Okey Dokey.
I have been tagged by the lovely Pencil Writer, a regular American visitor to this humble little blog. She wants to know my beauty secrets. I ’m not sure why PW thinks I have any knowledge about female artifice and adornment (in fact my beauty secrets are still mostly secret from me too!) but I am willing to play the Meme game.
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To preface my answers you should know a couple of facts.
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OK. Are they gone? Just us women-folk and gay guys left?? Okey Dokey.
I have been tagged by the lovely Pencil Writer, a regular American visitor to this humble little blog. She wants to know my beauty secrets. I ’m not sure why PW thinks I have any knowledge about female artifice and adornment (in fact my beauty secrets are still mostly secret from me too!) but I am willing to play the Meme game.
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To preface my answers you should know a couple of facts.
Number 1: I am olive-skinned and I battle the oil demons. I would hate to think how much time I have wasted on trying to blot and mask, and how much money on various “remedies”. Now, you fair-skinned readers out there can stop your protests – I know how lucky I am to be darker-skinned. Natural sun-protection, easier ageing blah, blah, blah. Heard ‘em all from my Ma and my sis who are both fair. I’m now (ahem) in my 40s, and I should be long past worrying about adolescent issues. How is it possible that I can now find wrinkles in my reflection right alongside the shiny forehead?? I AM STILL SHINY. It ain’t right. ‘Matte’ and ‘oil-free’ are key-words in my make-up repertoire.
I’m also waiting for the ‘shiny look’ to come back in again.
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Number 2: I am not particularly interested in my looks. I do groom and I do use make-up and try and be presentable, but I no longer get much of a kick out of the result. When I was in my 20s I was “into it”. I still hated my shiny skin, and fretted at my occasional spot (I thought my acne was bad, in retrospect, I was pretty lucky really). But I enjoyed dabbling in “looks” and new products. I was your typical self-conscious young Western female consumer. I worked jobs where people saw me, where my grooming was noticed. I looked in a mirror.
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And then I had kids. I had a kid who needed me 24/7. And then some. And the “me” I once worked on and pampered disappeared. I have no idea where she went, and most of the time, I don’t really care. Occasionally I do glance in the mirror, to tend teeth, comb hair, apply foundation. I rarely take the time to check our the “whole package”. I get a surprise when I see photos of myself. Sometimes, I’ve gotta say, it’s not a very nice surprise.
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Still with me? Here we go (with a favourite rhyme of my father’s ringing in my ears):
Still with me? Here we go (with a favourite rhyme of my father’s ringing in my ears):
“Little pecks of powder
And little pots of paint
Make a girl’s complexion
Seem just what it aint.”
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Foundation:
Foundation:
Maybelline Mousse in medium. Goes on easy and covers the sins of pimple-popping exploits from my boarding school days. Nice matt-ish finish. Love it.
Mascara:
Have no idea what brand. It’s usually brown-black and only on top lashes. Less to fall in those eye wrinkles. I’m a practical soul.
Day Cream:
Usually Olay or something light and not too expensive. I use eye cream sometimes before going out at night, when I’m feeling particularly old and haggard.
Usually Olay or something light and not too expensive. I use eye cream sometimes before going out at night, when I’m feeling particularly old and haggard.
Essential Beauty Product:
Product? Blistex Lip Balm (in the pot). Saves cracked lips and makes it easier to smile properly. And I do like to smile.
Essential beauty Secret? Smile. With your whole face – you may get smile lines but the payoff is that people don’t recall you for your wrinkles, they remember that you were happy. And, to me, that is a pretty attractive trait. I love watching someone’s face transform with a smile. It’s a beautiful thing.
Product? Blistex Lip Balm (in the pot). Saves cracked lips and makes it easier to smile properly. And I do like to smile.
Essential beauty Secret? Smile. With your whole face – you may get smile lines but the payoff is that people don’t recall you for your wrinkles, they remember that you were happy. And, to me, that is a pretty attractive trait. I love watching someone’s face transform with a smile. It’s a beautiful thing.
Perfume:
Used to wear Calvin Klein’s Eternity. Still love it. Anything else seems to make me sneeze and gasp for fresh air. But my babies weren’t so keen and frankly, I couldn’t be bothered once I had to contend with the scent of baby vomit. So it’s now lavender body butter… when I remember.
Hair:
Used to have very thick straight dark brown hair. If you look real quickly, I still do. But it’s bloody hard work to keep it that way. I went about 40% grey within a couple of months in 2002. You can read why here. My hairdresser nearly cried. I still battle the greys with my bottle of Soft Colour Light Brown. But I don’t want to be one of those women with black hair and snow white roots… am seriously thinking of doing Shave for a Cure and letting it grow back natural. My mother is strenuously hinting that I avoid this course of action.
I’ll keep you posted.
Nails:
Rarely noticed these days. As long as they are reasonably clean, I don’t worry about them. Once upon a time, I would never have had them without polish. Now, if I’m having a night out or attending a wedding, I whack some pale translucent colour (like the pink base from a French manicure set) on. They look “finished” and you can’t see chips easily. Toes get the white-nailpolished in summer. Regular readers will be transfixed to know that my French pedicure is almost gone… sigh. I’ll get over it shortly…
Hands:
Mine are practical hands. Large, squarish and tanned. Am big on washing them regularly – hygiene comes first! They get involved in my speech fairly regularly (I’m not Italian but could definitely pass for one!) so they probably need more attention than I give them. They get leftover face moisturiser if they are lucky.
Feet:
Hate ‘em. Clean ‘em daily. Moisturise ‘em occasionally. Ignore them as much as humanly possible. I need some serious therapy before I can share any more….
Hate ‘em. Clean ‘em daily. Moisturise ‘em occasionally. Ignore them as much as humanly possible. I need some serious therapy before I can share any more….
Three Products to Bring on a Deserted Island:
Water and lots of it.
Sunscreen (am assuming it’s a tropical deserted island and not an arctic deserted island).
Blistex for lips.
Sunscreen (am assuming it’s a tropical deserted island and not an arctic deserted island).
Blistex for lips.
Women I admire for their beauty:
So many… where to start?
Famous faces: Catherine Zeta Jones, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jennifer Hawkins, Marilyn Munroe, Anne Hathaway, Julia Roberts. Girls who can look good laughing – like they MEAN it!
In my world…
In my world…
My Mum has the most beautiful smile ever. And blue eyes. I love blue eyes.
My sister – if you could see my wedding photos you would see her amazing, serene beauty – something she never seems to be able to see herself (a fact that never fails to give me a twinge of sadness).
My aunt – see below.
Actually, almost every woman I know – not sure how I have managed it, but each of my female friends and rellies is so individual and intriguing and gorgeous in their own way. Really, I am quite surrounded by beauty. Both inner and outer.
My sister – if you could see my wedding photos you would see her amazing, serene beauty – something she never seems to be able to see herself (a fact that never fails to give me a twinge of sadness).
My aunt – see below.
Actually, almost every woman I know – not sure how I have managed it, but each of my female friends and rellies is so individual and intriguing and gorgeous in their own way. Really, I am quite surrounded by beauty. Both inner and outer.
Women with the best sense of style:
Bon Bon – blessed with a great figure and eye for fashion, my aunt never fails to look glam and appropriate for any occasion. I have never caught her looking sloppy and she has amazing posture too… even going mustering she looks chic and fresh and right. Despite being in her (ahem) 50’s, she can dress in fashion and look sexy as hell, without ever looking like mutton. This is a real and rare skill – she should bottle and sell it. Shame she hasn’t had much real impact on this particular niece. Not your fault Bon Bon. (Note to self: pay more attention and stand up straight!)
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How I define womanhood:
Helps to be female. The state of belonging to a select group of humankind with a reasonable amount of oestrogen…. Seriously, though, for me being a woman is an amazing sense of being, which really came only after I had my first child. Not that I think you have to have kids to be a woman. But for me, that “comfy in my skin, in my womanhood” feeling arrived post-partum. I finally got it: that strong-but-soft-and-loving thing that is womanhood. That state that complements real manhood. But that’s another definition altogether!
Favorite Fashion Publication:
Been many over the years. Out with Dolly and Cosmopolitan (many moons ago), in with House and Garden and Notebook. I do read trashy mags on occasion and notice the celebs, but take no notice of the beauty tips.
Hang on… hold your horses!
I very nearly posted without thinking this answer through fully… if you expand this to TV, I love… Trinny and Susannah (TV Pommy makeover chicks)! Love, love, love them. Of course I would DIE if they made me over. Or even looked my way. But I love they can make women get their gear off and try something amazing and new. They are The Bomb!
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OK. I’m now totally bored with me.
OK. I’m now totally bored with me.
I’ll leave you with my favourite pic and tip …
Biggest beauty tip?
You are tagged!
Beauty time at your house, girls…
7 Comments
debby
Oh, dear God! I was praying no one would pick me for this. CCCCCCCEER-ap!
debby
PS. I just got around to googling drop bear when I saw it on Rhubarb Whine, and it trigged the memory that I meant to google it when I read your comment. Smarty pants.
Bush Babe (of Granite Glen)
Deb- be brave. If I can do it, you can too! And DAMN… Google really takes the fun out of things!!! Heh heh…
Pencil Writer
Great Post! How silimar we all seem to be–those in this MEME chain! None of us seem too self important, love being in the skin we’re in, love being women, think smiles are the BEST beauty mark and so on!
I personally think YOU’RE ALL beautiful! I’m grateful to know you through the technology miracle of blogging! Thanks for taking the baton and passing it on!
debby
Okay. I’ve done the tag. So can I have a puppy?
Tracey
Hey, I’ve been away for a few days, got your comment and nearly spat coffee everywhere because me? – beauty? – roflmao…
I don’t know that it’s worth a post telling everyone how unfeminine and useless I am at any kind of beauty treatment. Might be good for a laugh I spose. Not getting to blog anything lately, so we’ll have to see how it goes. Thanks for ..er.. thinking of me though!
Lilly
Thanks for sharing the above beauty tips. I will also recommend this blog to my other friends!
Lilly´s last blog post ..Growing Relaxed Hair: 7 Culprits Sabotaging Your Relaxed Hair Growth