Girl Stuff

I have been tagged by Megan from Imaginif for a Girlie Meme.
People who know me are probably falling off their chairs laughing at the moment. Miss F is. She can't believe other people are asking me about make up, and she says she will help me so I don't use her lip gloss as eye shadow again.
I maintain I only did that once, and I was nervous because Miss F was watching me.

Before I get to the meme questions, I have a disclaimer:
I don't wear make up. I haven't since I was about 17. Not as "me" anyway. I love getting into costume and donning stage make up, but I see that as a character - a performance - not a personal choice.
The reason for my lack of make up is not lack of care. I do take pride in my appearance and make an effort to look and feel "good", but using make up to change, enhance, or 'better' my face doesn't sit well with me any more.
It took a few hard lessons for me to learn that no amount of 'bettering' will make me feel beautiful if I don't already feel beautiful to start with. Once this clicked and my thoughts changed from covering up the perceived imperfections to celebrating individuality there was no going back.
I don't think make up itself is all bad - I understand that for some (including Miss F), make up is empowering and liberating and something that feels good.
It's just not for me.
OK - End of disclaimer.

Meme starting now:

Foundation:
I once wore the wrong type of foundation on stage and the lighting made me look green.

Miss F says that you're meant to wear it so people can't see when you get embarrassed - We both think this is silly.

Mascara:
Ouch. I haven't attacked myself with a mascara wand in ages, and I certainly don't keep weapons in the house.
I have a wicked pair of false eye lashes from my performing days though. They were given to me by one of the most respected drag queens on the festival circuit. When she presented them to me, she said, "Because you need them more than I do, sweetie darling".

Miss F is not yet aware of it's existence. I would like to keep it this way for as long as possible. She does enough damage with her eyes as it is.

Day Cream:
I use fresh aloe from the garden most evenings and wash it off in the shower at night. I also love papaw ointment and use it on my lips all the time.

Miss F - wears tinted (all natural) sunscreen during the day and cleanses her pores with rose water at night.
Seriously.

Essential Beauty Product:
Laughter.

Miss F has her own tube of papaw ointment, her own aloe plant, pink strawberry soap, 13 different shades of lip gloss, 7 tubs of glitter and 9 favourite hair accessories. Apparently these are all "Super 'sentials."

Favorite Makeup Product:
Face paint. I LOVE it. I make an awesome "Patch" the dog.

Miss F is a lip gloss diva. We've had to limit her to 3 colours in her hand bag at a time. We also have to allow an extra 20 minutes or so in our morning routine so she can choose which 3 shades go best with her outfits of the day.

Perfume:
Essential oils (hi Megan!). I make balms with beeswax and essential oils so they aren't too, er, oily. My current favourite is a blend called Dream Time. No idea what it's a blend of exactly, but it's divine.
I have also been known to splash a little tea tree and sodium bicarb deodoriser on my clothes if I smell too much like horses.

God mother makes a lavender spray for Miss F. I actually quite like this too, and it's great for calming down a stressed out Miss F if she runs out of new outfits to change into.

Nails:
Fairly long and very strong - Great for picking tics out of the animals.

Miss F - "Pink, and pink with pink sparkles, and just pink sparkles, and pink with silver sparkles and silver and pink sparkles."
She has 10 different nail polishes and applies a different one to every nail. When the neighbouring teens come over they fight over who is first to get their nails painted by Miss F.

Hands:
I love my hands. They are soft and creative and I love what they can do. I have long fingers, too, and can get lost watching them cruising up and down the keys of a piano.

Miss F says "Hands are for patting, not pulling tails".
(This is kind of our mantra at the moment.)

Feet:
I think my feet are still mad at me for torturing them with years of ballet. They hate shoes, so most of the time I don't wear any. Except for horse riding boots. I ALWAYS wear boots when I'm going to be around the horses.

Miss F is in love with her pink boots. She made a bed for them out of an old fluffy pink jumper and she tucks them in at night.

Three Products to bring on a deserted island:
That doesn't seriously mean products as in, 'beauty products' does it? LOL! Seriously!
OK:
1. A chocolate face mask - because you can eat it.
2. A nail file - for self protection.
3. Miss F's lavender mist - 'cause I figure we'll all need it when she runs out of outfits on the island.

Women I admire for their beauty:
This woman...

Her spirit, her character and her love of life make her one of the most beautiful women I know.
Also, the bumper sticker you can just see behind her says "Men are like floor tiles - Lay them once and you can walk all over them for years".
Now have another look at the grin on her face and tell me that isn't beautiful!

Women with the Best Sense of Style:
Miss F, naturally. She changes outfits at least 3 times a day and has a special "wardrobe bag" dedicated to carrying the selected outfits when she's not at home.

My Ultimate Dream:
To master (or at least get very very good at) the art of living in the moment and only attracting that which brings me joy.

How Do I Define Womanhood:
I came up with a few different things here, but I just can't go past the stunning definition Megan gave:
Womanhood is like a crystal sphere hanging in the window. Given sunshine, beautiful shots of colour occur at any angle and with no notice. Multi faceted, it is possible for the sphere to throw colour in many directions at the same time but to also hang colourless when being systematically watched with an expectation of performance.

Plain, yet beautiful, the multi faceted crystal sphere needs to be handled with care because of it’s dense tough fragility and, given light to perform at its best. Block the light to the sphere and you will get nothing but that which you deserve: nothing more than robotic movement.

Few people have ever discovered the inner workings of the crystal sphere and the angle of the sun required to produce the most brilliant rainbow hues - but that’s okay, because the crystal sphere has ultimate shine and powers when she wants and she is ready.

Favourite Fashion Publication:
Horseland catalogues - They make me laugh. There is just something about people in gumboots and jodhpurs trying to look stylish that I find very funny. I think horses find it funny, too. I know mine do - They make me step in horse poo when I get new boots, just so I don't go getting any posh ideas.

The last bit:
Now that I've managed to incorporate horse poo into a post about make up and girlie stuff, I'm going to tag Jeanie and Pencil Writer.

Phew. Must be time for a chocolate face mask.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

lol....your answers are sheer beauty in them self. Wonderful answers and I am honoured that I am not out on my own for not being a beauty product queen.

Loved the way you gave dual answers and love the extreme juxtaposition b/w beautiful mummy and beautiful F. It is a nice display of how to allow your kids to be themselves rather than parent clones (God forbid that any of my kids were ever like me!!!!).

Ms F...I'm looking out for some decent clothes to put in the dress up box for your visit to Cairns. I had best ask Jade for all her beauty products and accessories too. Jade is 'Queen of Everything' so you two will get on beautifully.

Al, I love Paw Paw ointment. I was given a jar when I was pregnant with Madelin (15 yrs ago) and have used it ever since. Is good for nappy rash, sore nipples, tick itch, march fly bite, etc, etc.

jeanie said...

Well done, Alison. I am fairly similar - well, except for the kewl bits. Will do my utmost tomorrow...

Alison said...

Megan - We can't wait to meet Jade! The kewl girls are especially excited because Jade is growing a baby.
Paw paw is great stuff, isn't it! I was going to say "I love papaw and use it on my nipples all the time" but I chickened out.

Jeanie - Looking forward to your take on it :)

♥.Trish.♥ Drumboys said...

Miss F says "Hands are for patting, not pulling tails".
(This is kind of our mantra at the moment.) - priceless

I rarely wear makeup either ... they have take me ugly as I am.

Wonderful answers and yes very creative adding miss F in.

I haven't tried paw paw on my nipples ...

Pencil Writer said...

Well, Alison, I've completed the task assigned. We'll have to see what the response is--good or ill. ONE day, I MAY learn to write beautifully and succinctly. I can always hope and work hard at it. Right?

Alison said...

Trish - Oh definitely try paw paw.

PW - You DO write beautifully! And succinct can be over rated sometimes ;-)

Anonymous said...

Megan's definition gave me goosebumps. Beautiful.
And your make up sense or lack there of is hilarious. Seriously, Miss F is such a little star already! It's times like this I really miss having a girl.

Unknown said...

I too am a non-makeup girl - with the basic premise that if I have to wear a mask to impress someone then they aren't worth impressing :-) I do make an exception when I am around my wonderful Miss Weasley who likes beauty to be emphasized (and she has a lot of it even before the makeup).

Yours definition of womanhood sent shivers up my spine - so very beautiful, so very inspired, so very true :-)