my sunday face: freckles, eye dots & peachy lips

Happy Sunday earthlings!! I hope you're all having a fab day. Right, today's mission/blog post is about my Sunday 29th May face (I don't always wear makeup on sundays but today I felt like it and wanted to share with you guys!) Read on if you'd like to hear what products I used, and my tips eye dots and false freckles.

Brow game is strong with this one :P

On the brows: Benefit Brow Zings
On the eyes: Rimmel Curling Mascara
On the face: I don't actually wear foundation or concealer really, hence the imperfect skin. But hey, it's okay, I'm imperfect, we all are!
On the lips: Kiko lip stain

My tip for eye dots: my fave look for eye dots is one larger dot on the outer corner of the eye and a smaller one in the inner corner.

How I create them: use a cotton bud and dip it in the excess mascara that occurs (?) on the end of the wand. Simply dot and adjust with more cotton buds and make up remover.


How I create my false freckles: I use eyebrow wax from Benefit and apply dots using cotton buds. I think it looks pretty natural and cute <3

Also side notes: I have (top to bottom) a bridge, septum and labret piercing. And my glasses are from Heritage!

I hope you enjoyed seeing my Sunday make up look. Have a great day guys :D

Love love,

Lou <3

come now, we're not ALL morning people! how to wake up late and be productive!

We’ve all seen those posts: ‘how to be a morning person’, ‘how I get out of bed at 5.30am smiling’, etc. Well, I’m sorry guys, and although I have serious respect for you early risers, that’s just not me. And though I don’t get up at 5am everyday (I do get up super early some days, but that’s if I naturally wake up then) I like to think I’m a pretty productive person! Okay, strike that, I’m a damn productive person. 

I get up at around 9.45am everyday, give or take 30 mins (I have work at 10am on some weekdays, so obviously earlier then, around 8.30am) and allow myself a lie in occasionally AND I manage to get everything done. It’s not even true to say that I’m a total night owl; I like my sleep, and function best on 10 or so hours of it. I stay up sometimes, when inspired, and yes there are nights when I stay up ALL FLIPPING NIGHT. But that’s very rare, and hey, sporadically doing all nighters when sleep evades me is something my body has gotten used to. 

Right, so we’ve established I’m not a morning person, and I like sleep. So how do I get everything done?? That’s the question on everyone’s, or at least my long suffering parents’, lips. Here’s how I do it. 

Firstly make sure your self care routine is up to scratch (as a sufferer of mental illness self care can be difficult for me). It sounds super basic but make sure you’re treating yourself well: eating regularly, staying hydrated and keeping yourself clean and happy. It’s like a pyramid and self care is the foundation layer, if you’re not looking after yourself, how can you expect to be productive? 

Answer: you can’t. 

Lush Prince Charming shower cream // Sukin Facial Moisturiser // Thisworks deep sleep spray //

 Dr Bronner's Hemp Rose Castille Soap 

Next, I make a selection of lists: I have monthly goals, weekly to-do lists, and since reading Rosie’s post I’ve made a daily list of integral tasks that need doing. I keep this all in my Moleskine Planner. If you’d like to see a post about how I manage my essays, totally comment below and I’d be happy to do that. (I might do it anyway!) 

Of course, scheduling work, appointments and the like is very important and spacing out work to be done is essential. This is also done in my planner. 

Thirdly, a vital part of being productive is not procrastinating. For me, the way of getting around procrastination is to schedule a certain number of tasks/words to write/pages to read for each day and to stick to deadlines for these things. So if I have 2500 words to write and I want to get it done in 5 days, I'll do 500 wpd (words per day) and if I don't do 500 on Monday, for example, I'll have 1000 to do on Tuesday. It certainly motivates me to get work done! And as long as I get those 500 words done, it doesn't matter how much YouTube I watch or cups of tea I make trying to avoid it. It's about setting small goals and achieving them. 

And finally, it’s important to make time for what you enjoy and to reward yourself: for me it’s art and reading and YouTube video-watching. So schedule (yeah, you use that planner, girl) time for that stuff. It sounds cliche, but everyone needs some down-time, so pop it in your diary. 

I hope this was a helpful post, let me know in the comments! 

Also, do you have any tips on being an un-morning-yet-productive person? I'd be super interested to hear. Another post soon. 

Adios, 

Lou <3 

sunday feels better when it rains

Sunday is my favourite day, it's even better than Friday in my opinion.

So here's my rainy Sunday to-listen-to/to-do recommendations:

1. Write/draw/paint something (like I'm writing this lovely blog post for you lovely people and I may do some drawing later). There is seriously nothing better than a creative Sunday; pop on your artiste's hat and get creating!

2. Listen to some indie folk, because that's what Sundays are for: The Paper Kites' album Woodland (you can listen here) is beautiful, perfect for a rainy Sunday. It's getting sunnier here but it was lovely and rainy earlier. I just adore the feeling of being inside and watching the world outside when it rains. So tranquil, so peaceful. If it's a sunnier Sunday, I recommend Gregory and The Hawks's album Moenie and Kitchi (her voice is one I would imagine a china doll to have, it's lovely - listen here).

3. Dress as an eccentric Sunday lady/gent/somewhere-in-between (like me). Here's an example when I went for a walk earlier with the doge!

SHIRT + JACKET - charity shop // JEANS - dorothy perkins // TRAINERS - nike

Anyway, I hope you are all having fab Sundays, rainy or sunny or none of the above. Take care, enjoy, now, run along kids.

Love love,
Lou

<3

I'm a hippie???? WTF

Today a young fellow who I was buying paint from in B&Q posed a jokey, in his eyes, and to me, serious question.

He asked: 'Are you a hippie or something?'

I said: 'Uhhhhhhhhhhh. Idk. I don't think so.'

Shocked and slightly taken aback by his comment, I googled 'hippie'. This is what Google, oh dear old, trusty Google, told me:

HIPPIE: (especially in the 1960s) a person of unconventional appearance, typically having long hair and wearing beads, associated with a subculture involving a rejection of conventional values and the taking of hallucinogenic drugs.

synonyms:

flower child, Bohemian, beatnik, long-hair, free spirit, nonconformist, dropout "yesterday's hippies are today's ad execs"

To fully give the context, here's a pic of what I was wearing today; the look, if you will: 

Let's analyse this: 

1. 'Typically having long hair' - I do NOT have long hair, this is clearly visible, though I guess at a push my appearance could be considered unconventional: the piercings, the bowl cut, the Ozzy Osbourne/John Lennon/Elton John glasses, the "interesting" (HAH. My gran thinks I look plain odd) clothes. Maybe I could be considered a 'contemporary hippie'. 

2. 'Associated with a subculture' - Now, this is a contentious issue; I don't like to be associated with any particular already-formed subculture. I tried that jazz: lolita, scene, punk, and I didn't like having rules to adhere to, and people to compare myself to. I take inspiration from everywhere. I'm a mongrel. I like that: JANUART STYLE MONGREL (should that be the header of my blog??? Totally comment your views below!! I'll love you forever <3 ) 

3. 'A rejection of conventional values' - Haha, you got that alright. I'm vegan, religionless and base my ethics on continental philosophers. I love to go against the grain. 'Contemporary hippie (or New Wave hippie') is sounding more and more like me.

4. 'Hallucinogenic drugs' - UH NO. Sorry, no drugs for me. :P 

But is 'hippie' a term for all kinds of alternative people whose look we just can't seem to put our finger on? A mainstream outsider may totally see me as a hippie, but step inside and we see that alternative style is a whole lot more complicated than that. 

Please, step inside. And shout out and thanks to the guy who called me a hippie for inspiring this post!

Totally leave your views down below! I'd love to hear what you think of being a 'contemporary/new wave hippie'. Maybe it'll even catch on! 

Lou 

<3 

John Lennon come Elton John... rose tinted specs in a library??

Today was a momentous day; a day which will, mark my words, be remembered for all eternity.

Okay, okay, it was just the day I got my Irlen lenses. Yes, that's right, I have funny glasses; no, they're not sun glasses, they're to treat my Irlen Syndrome (you can read more about it here). Irlen Syndrome is a visual processing disorder, which means that my brain doesn't process visual information properly, so I'm light-sensitive, have a perpetual headache and am constantly anxious. I even have episodes of sensory overload. Words, when reading, also move on the page. Now, with my Irlen lenses these things will be easier to cope with, I shouldn't get as many episodes of sensory overload and even after just a day of wearing them, my headache has improved. They're awesome and I'm so happy!! Woo! I can be a normal human being!!

My frames, if you're wondering, are from Heritage.

(Also I got a new haircut - here's a pic of me just after it'd been done at the hairdresser).

So to celebrate my new look, I did an outfit of the day in my local library, because what can be better than books and clothes, eh? The lighting could be better, but it's worth it for the backdrop.

SHIRT - Charity Shop (brand Lucia) //TROUSERS - Zara // SHOES - Dr Marten (vintage)

I feel like I'm finally looking like myself! Also I was in town today and there appears to be a massive (and by massive I mean, there were like seven) influx of alternative teens around and about. It was cool to see. Back in my day (all those *cough* 5 *cough* years ago) there were practically no people my age that dressed with an edge. But now there are a fair few - it was refreshing.

I've also been doing a lot of illustration recently, because I've decided I'd like to illustrate what I write. You can see my stuff on my art instagram @lou.viv.drawz .


So it's nice to be back. I'll be writing more soon, and I hope you were all happy to hear from me.

INSTA: @janu.art and @lou.viv.drawz // TUMBLR: www.januart.tumblr.com

Lou

<3

VEGAN: recipe for delicious miso mushroom stew with baked potato and greens!

Hi there everyone! 

So I'm back with a recipe - a vegan one, since I've been vegan for nearly 10 months now. So if you want to learn how to cook this super simple and delicious dish, please read on. 

You will need: 

FOR VEG:

A head of broccoli 

As many mushrooms as you like - I used a pack of closed cup

Half a bag of baby spinach

As many spears of asparagus as you'd like - I used around six. 

FOR STEW:

Half a bag of vegan quorn pieces (optional but I added it)

One vegan stock cube

Several splashes of dark soy sauce

A good splash of sriracha 

Salt to taste

A teaspoonful of brown miso paste (which silly me forgot to photograph!)

FOR CARBS:

One medium baking potato 

HOW TO: 

1. Cut a cross into your potato and bake in the oven at 200 degrees celsius for an hour or just over. (Preheat for 20 mins or so, and soften the potato in the microwave for 2 minutes)

2. Boil the kettle, pour around 300ml water into a pan and add your vegan quorn pieces, stock cube, miso paste and soy sauce. Stir in a splash of sriracha as it cooks. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 mins. Salt to taste. 

3. Meanwhile, steam your greens for around 5-6 mins. I prefer not to salt my greens, but if you like, add some salt. 

TO PRESENT: 

When everything is all cooked (I try to time it so it's all ready at the same time!) present as so. 

Add a bit of soy margarine to the potato if you like and pour over the stew. Maybe even add a splash more sriracha? 

And enjoy! 

 

I hope you enjoyed this vegan recipe! I certainly did. 

Let me know if you'd like to see any more recipes on this blog? 

And if you make this dish, be sure to tag me in a pic on Instagram @janu.art

(Also my blog name will be changing soon - this blog is not really fashion anymore, is it? It'll be JANUART so look out for me in your feeds!)

Lou xx