2015 | July Favourites

It's that time again! Another month down, another set of favourites to share with you all! I've got to say, these are my most favourite posts because I get to share all of the things i've been loving with you all!

First up, my nail saviour! It's Sensationail! 

Since leaving the salon I worked at, where I had my nails done by the fabulous nail technician every 3 weeks, my nails just seemed so boring! Going back to using nail polish after having gels for 2 years just wasn't working for me! so i treated myself to the Raspberry Wine starter kit... then 2 more colours... and another 3 colours when the 3 for £30 offer came along! My favourite set are definately the french ones. It's such a simple and elegant look for your nails, and so so easy to do!

Next up we have something I mentioned in my blog yesterday. Zoella's Candy Cream.

I wont go on and on about it, as you can read all about it in my other blog, but it  leaves my skin feeling so soft, and it makes you smell delish!

Let's move on to some fashion favourites.

I bought this cute little handbag from Topshop about a week ago. It looks small, which is what put me off buying it for so long, but once payday came around I decided to treat myself, and it's actually quite big inside! It can fit everything in, my purse, diary, notebook, lunch, there's just so much space that I didn't realise it had! It's called a Soft Duffle Bag and it was £38 from Topshop. It's still available online and in store, and if the other bags i have from Topshop are anything to go by, it will definitely be in it for the long haul!

Let's move on to the things described as the miracle for hair, PopBands!

Now, they do leave a slight kink in my hair, but it soon drops out, much faster than your average hair tie. They don't feel like they're pulling my hair, and they don't make my hair feel heavy (you know what I mean, right?) They're just so girly and pretty, the perfect addition to jazz up your ponytail!

Also this month, after wanting to buy myself it for ages, i got the Pandora October Birthstone ring.

The pink opal is said to bring the wearer true love and harmony, and i've always had a belief in the power of stones and things, so lets see how it goes!

Also this month, as childish as it may seem, i've become quite attached to my Piglet Tsum Tsum which i mentioned in my 'Get to Know Me' post.

He sits on my desk and acts like my little mascot for when I'm blogging! Not to mention he comes in very handy when my iPad gets finger smudges on it! The Tsum Tsum has definitely made Piglet much cuter and adorable, who'd have thought it was possible?

And last but not least, we have a song.  My favourite song this month that I could listen to over and over, and not get bored. My gym instructor has it on during spin class, it's on in my car, it plays on StrayFM all the time, and i just love it! 

Shut Up and Dance - Walk the Moon

Now I know what you're thinking. 'That's everyone's favourite just because it's most popular'... well that's the whole point, there's a reason why it's their most popular!

So that's that for this month!  I'll see you again next month for my next lot of favourites! As if it's going to be August next month!

Beauty | Zoella Beauty - New Collection!

She's done it again! Another fabulous set of beauty products to make you feel and smell delicious! I wont jabber on like I normally do at the start of a post, so i'll just jump straight in!

Now I didn't buy everything from the collection, but i'll tell you about what I did buy...

Fresh Fizz, the bath bomb you can use 4 times! With the signature tutti frutti scent that Zoe has across her collection, all you have to do is sniff this and you already start to feel cleaner! It's a very gentle product that cleans your skin without irritating even my sensitive skin! This relaxing bath fizzer is ther perfect addition to your bath at the end of a hard day! (Note: Using this with Soak Opera from her first collection is the best thing I ever did!)

Best.Sugar scrub. EVER! All the scrubs i've used in the past have just been too... scrubby I guess? Like they felt as though they were scratching of about 7 layers of skin. Not relaxing at all! This however, is so gentle on my skin, you can feel it working, but not in a painful way! In more of a 'gently-buffing-dead-skin' kind of way. My body has never been so soft! I use this everywhere except my face, (even my feet!) and every time I get out of the bath I feel like a brand new person, with baby soft skin!

I use this every single day! I use it after my bath to compliment the sugar scrub, and the tiny bursting beads inside this lotion really work to soften this skin. Even using this alone leaves your skin beautifully soft, and it smells so good. I can't remember how many people have asked me what perfume I'm wearing, and I tell them 'well actually, it's my body lotion'. I can get quite dry skin on my arms and legs, and this works wonderfully helping them to stay soft and not flakey.

This is my favourite item in the new collection. The cosmetic/coin purse. Now, I don't use it as either. I call this my 'essentials purse'. It's the perfect size to go into every one of my bags, and inside I have everything I consider as an essential to take out with me.

~ Carmex

~ Painkillers

~ Plasters

~ Hair pins/ties

~ Sanitary towels

~ A pen

~ Handcream

Yep, all of that fits inside this! So when i'm on my way out of the house and I check my bag, I make sure i've got my purse, phone, car keys, and my essentials purse, and i'm good to go! Instead of having all of these things rattling around in my bag, and having to hunt for them when I need them they're all in one place, and it's bright pink, so you can't miss it!

I love all these items that i've been testing out this month, and I can't wait to see what's in her next collection! 

Have you tried any of Zoe's new bits? What are your favourites?

Skinny Shaming | Can You Not?

So this is a bit off topic for me, but it's something that's been annnoying me. Like, really annoying me.

Let's talk about 'skinny shaming'.

I'm a size 6-8, my boobs are a D-cup, and I have to buy jeans one size bigger to fit my bum in, thus giving me an hour-glass figure. The figure all women dream of right? The type of woman guys MUST be with? So why are people constantly telling me that i'm too skinny, that i need more meat on my bones, that I'm so skinny i'm going to make myself poorly?

Can you just not?

This picture of me was posted on my instagram, and the world went mad. I've never had to delete so many nasty comments in my life. And i don't even have that many followers...

'You're too skinny' 'You look ill' 'You'll probably die if you don't eat something'

All this was, was a progress picture from the work i'd been doing at the gym...

I've never exceeded a size 10, that's just the way my motabolism works. I can burn off food quickly. Society makes out that I starve myself, and that any girl who is skinny clearly has an eating disorder.

This weekend alone, i've had fish and chips, a Domino's meal deal, and enough chinese food for around 3 people... but yeah, clearly i'm starving myself...

At least once a week when I go to the gym, someone points out (usually one of those outrageously muscley men, who spends more time taking mirror selfies than lifting weights) that a 'tiny little woman like me shouldn't be lifting, you should go eat some more'. Go put a few more Kilograms on your bar and shut your dam mouth!

Those types of people don't know why I go to the gym, because they don't know me. I go to tone up, and to improve my cardio, because that helps my Fibromyalgia. Not because I think i'm fat and I need to lose weight...

There was an article in the papers the other day, which was 'shaming' skinny women for 'getting too fat'. What this included, was a picture of Lea Michele bent over, thus creating 'fat rolls'. Newsflash, this is what happens to skin when it's moved. Irrelevent of your size, when you bend over, your skin moves. It has less of a surface area to cover and therefore 'folds'. But obviously that means that Lea is too fat and needs to lose weight, right?

Let's flip this around, shall we? 

There's a new thing going on isn't there. This whole 'plus sized models' thing. Everyone's right happy for these girls because they've finally got this big break, and they're standing up for their rights, and showing women everywhere that they can do what they want no matter what, and you don't have to be skinny to be a model!

That's all well and good but is anyone pointing out that these women have sky high BMIs, probably a whole host of medical issues because of their weight, nevermind the fact that they're actually classed as clinically obese by medical professionals, and yet these women are seen to be more of a role model for young women.

Telling people they are not good people because their body is 'too small' is not okay. These oversized women are told they they're brave, and yet, if someone is seen as too skinny, they're victimised by the media, and told that what they're doing is wrong, and they need to reevaluate their lives.

How about no.

Skinny shaming is not okay. I'm proud of my body, and I worked hard for it. And I refuse to be told otherwise by the media and anonymous people from the internet.

Beauty | Rock Out with your Roots Out!

That's how the saying goes... right?

So it turns out, i'm actually allergic to the hair colour i've been using to colour my hair. Even though it's what i've been using while I was working in a salon, and it's the same brand I use on my clients, the last few times I used it, my head felt like a firey ball of death... Who'd have thought?

Action needed to be taken, As at this point my hair was pretty light, and my roots stuck out like a sore thumb. So I did what you absoloutely should not do, by any means, because it's a stupid idea... I coloured my hair one last time. 

I used my shae chart, because believe it or not I am actually a professional, and I chose a colour that was one shade lighter than my natural colour. I painted this all over my roots, and about 1/3 of the way down my hair. I then left his for 25 minutes. The normal amount of time you leave this colour on is 40minutes, so for the remaining 15, I used my comb to brush the colour that had already been on my roots down the rest of my hair shaft, to create a subtle ombre effect.

It actually looked pretty good!

So then we had the issue of my roots growing out. I needed to find some styles where it didn't look really obvious that i'd missed my appointment at the salon...

Here's a few i'm going to share with you guys. (The picture quality isn't great, but you get the general idea).

1) The mini beehive.

I'm a massive fan of the beehive, and this mini version is my go-to look ever since I had my hair cut short (such regrets!)

2) Half up half down top-knot type thing.

I have no idea what the proper term is, but you get the drift right? Take the top section of your hair, tie it in a messy bun, leave the rest down. It sounds simple but it actually takes me ages to get the bun just right! I just don't get how a messy bun can be called simple when it takes about 5000 goes every morning to make it look right...

 3) Curls curls curls!!

The simple curl itself can help the root colour blend into the rest of the hair, you can also tie some bits back to keep it away from your face. When it involves curls you just can't go wrong!

The key to roots, is blending, and keeping the hair back from your face. Natural colours are so on trend right now, that's why there's been a sudden increase in the amount of people having balyage and root stretches, these are just more high-end (and expensive) ways of allowing the roots to grow without people noticing!

Embrace it! O'natural is making a comeback!

Beauty | Make-Up, Specs, and all that comes with it!

Here I am sat in be at precisely 10pm, with a full face of make up, writing this post for you, because that's what it's like having 2 jobs. I'm a support worker by day, (and sometimes by night), and a blogger/make-up artist/hairdresser by night, and on my days off.... and sometimes when there's a lul at work and I can quickly write down a draft for a blog or snapshot a picture from Pinterest of a look I want to re-create...

That aside! As a member of the visually impaired party, I thought I'd share with you my top tips on how I wear my make up, to complement my glasses. 

Do you ever find yourself looking in the mirror in that moment between finishing your make up and putting your glasses on, thinking 'do you know what? I actually look alright today. I've got that doe-eyed look down, and my eyeliner flicks are on point!' ...Yeah me neither.... Kidding! So you're sat, really pleased with your face, then the glasses go back on, and your eyes look tiny, dark circles like you haven't slept in weeks, you question whether or not you've actually remembered to put mascara on, and that smokey eye look you went for makes it look like you've been bashed in the face with the wrong end of your Naked 3 pallette. (This is obviously a joke, there is no bad end of the Naked 3 pallette, every last bit of it is glorious!).

Well my friends, call me your Fairy God Mother (or just Em is fine...), because I am about to tell you about how you can fix all of these problems.

Step 1) Make sure you have a strong base.

Any dark circles, fine lines, or wrinkles you have around your eyes are about to be maximised by your face furnature. Make sure you're using a primer specifically designed for eyes, and those dark circles need to be neutralised with a yellow/orange based concealer. The darker the circles, the oranger the shade.

NB: Do not, absolutely never, BY NO MEANS use a red lipstick to conceal your dark circles. It doesn't blend. It suffocated your skin as it's designed for lips, not the thinner, sensitive skin around your eyes. Your foundation will not cover it all day/night. The make-up you put on over the top will definitely come of, and you will look like an idiot. An idiot!

Step 2) Use a bold eye line.

Keep it close to the waterline of the eye, but gradually getting thicker towards the outer corner of the eye. And if you're feeling daring, flick that liner! 

Step 3) Big Bold Brows.

A well defined brow is absolutely essential when it comes to wearing glasses. The bolder the brow, the more attention that will be drawn away from your frames, that way, it'll be your brows that frame your face, and not your glasses.

Step 4) Stick to neutral colours for your eye shadow.

Remember when your granny used to have massive specs, and all you could think about was how disasterous her blue eyeshadow looked? Yeah. That. Don't be that person! Stick to the neutrals. If you want to go smokey, use browns/pinks instead of blacks and greys. These colours will make your eyes look even smaller, and a bit like you've let your 7 year old sister play with your face. 

Step 5) Lashes - Go big or go home!

Even though glasses magnify things for you, one think they are great at, is making it look like the 3 coats of mascara you've just put on, may as well have been water. Out of all of these steps, this one is the most important for me. You must invest in a volumising mascara! Having longer/bigger lashes opens up your eyes. Add that to the magnifying you're already getting from your gigs and you actually will have that doe eyed look down to a T!

You could even push the boat out and go for some falsies if it's a special occasion. Word of warning though, if you go too long with the false lashes, you will end up pushing your frames further down your nise with them!

So that's it, my top 5 tips on how to wear eye make up when you wear glasses. Embrace the frames!

These are just the few I follow, but if you have any more, feel free to add a comment, or tweet me on @em_scissorhands !

Beauty | KarlaBrushes - Review

It's blog day! Today i'm going to talk to you about something i've been loving using for nights out, or just generally when I've been wearing my lipstick, and it's my Karla Brushes!

These were featured in my June favourites blog, ( http://emscissorhands.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/2015-june-favourites.html )

 and I just think they're great!

Lip lining is one of my pet peeves when it comes to make up, you have to do it or your lipstick will run, but I can never find the right shade, or it'll go wonky, and don't even get me talking about trying to overline with a lip pencil, because if it's not as sharp as a needle, it doesn't go right!

Rant over... so with these magic brushes, you can completely eliminate the need for a lip liner! Woop woop!

Each of these brushes have a purpose, which is outlined in the little card that comes with the brush. 

The ones I use mainly are the KL2 and KL3, as when I fill in my lips I use my actual lipstick, but when I use them on clients, (don't worry I have a different set for them!) I always use the filling brush, and I just can't put into words how good they are! They don't absorb any of the product, so what goes onto your brush gets transferred onto your lips, which also makes them so easy to clean because there's barely anything to clean off!

And because you create a lip line with the actual lipstick colour, the colour is always a 100% match! It's the small things!

Have you used Karla Brushes? Let me know what you think in the comments!

Lifestyle | Allow me to introduce myself... 20 facts about me!

So after many hectic day's of blog planning/working, I suddenly realised, I've never actually introduced myself to you all, how rude!

So i'm going to take this opportunity, to provide you with a few facts about me, which will give you a little insight to where all my blog ideas come from, and all the goings on in my awesome brain.

1) My name is Emily. My mum named me after her favourite childhood program, 'Bagpuss'. Her other favourite was the Clangers, so if I wasn't called Emily, chances are my name would have been Soup Dragon or something...

2) I am completely, utterly, madly obsessed with Harry Potter. I think the books and the films are the best things ever. And because of this obsession, I'm a little bit in love with Rupert Grint. Go team Ginger!

3) My favourite colour is green. A lot of people think that it's pink, because a lot of my things are pink (like my car), but my theory is, if I have everything in my favourite colour, i'll get sick of it and it wont be my favourite colour anymore.

4) Yes, I have a pink car! She's a Fiat 500, her name is Barbara, and she's fab! 

5) I have two cats. One is black, the other is white with tabby patches and they're both girls. Up until a few months ago, we had 3. His name was Leo, he was a grey tabby, and he was the first thing, other than family, that I really loved, but he had cancer in his belly, so we had to put him to sleep. This was one of the worst days of my life so far.

6) I have 2 tattoos. I have a daisy on my shoulder, and a cat sillohuette on my inner forearm.

7) I love wearing lipstick. It can change my mood from bad to good within a few minutes. It makes me feel so sexy and feminine, that if I could wear lipstick all day everyday, I would. My favourite brand to use is MAC, and I usually apply them with my KarlaBrushes, designed by Karla Powell.

8) Althought I'm a blogger/hair and make-up artist, I'm also a support worker for disabled adults.

9) The name 'Emily Scissorhands' came from when I was working in a hair salon before I decided to be a support worker. This is where I became a fully qualified hair and make up artist (Level 2 hairdressing and Level 3 Make-up Artist), although, the people I worked for weren't so nice, so that's why I left, so I could keep the hair and make up more part-time, where I'd be free to enjoy the job and not dread going to work everyday.

10) I have a massive disliking for chipped nail varnish. It makes me cringe on the inside.

11) I hate having dry hands. As in, dry skin, I don't walk around with dripping wet hands... I will always have a tube of handcream/moisturiser in my bag to make sure this doesn't happen.

12) My favourite Winnie the Pooh character is Piglet. I have a Piglet Tsum Tsum chilling on my bedside table.

13) My ultimate life goal is to be an international Hair and Make-Up Artist, to live in a cottage, to have a family, and to be happy.

14) Another more short term goal that I have is to earn more money than I can spend on clothes, and make up.

15) I love to read, although there are times when I wont read a book for ages, but then I'll go on a reading binge and read about 5 books in 2 weeks.

16) I love cups. I'm a massive fan of a novelty cup. It makes drinking hot beverages much more enjoyable.

17) I love having nice nails, it makes me feel 100% better about life.

18) I'm writing a book! I can say what about, or when it'll be released, but make sure you keep your eyes peeled for the announcement!

19) I have a chronic illness called Fibromyalgia, or 'chronic pain'. The only way I can describe it properly is by saying, imagine being constantly sat of a sofa made out of a cactus.

20) I was bullied a lot in high school, which is around the same time that the symptoms of Fibromyalgia started, and I feel like that has taught me not to give a crap about other people and their opinions of me. There's more to life than the opinion of a small minded person. My success will act as the proverbial middle finger to their moronic attitudes.

I hope this gives you a bit of an insight to my life. As the blogs keep coming i'm sure we'll learn more and more about each other!