Pampas and Pearls

"Makeup is not a mask that covers up your beauty; it's a weapon that helps you express who you are from the inside." - Michelle Phan I am a woman that loves doing makeup, I love the process of waking up in the morning, washing my face and brushing my teeth, then slowly applying my skincare and then starting my makeup. It honestly feels very therapeutic to me. It feels like I've been sucked into a 'Vogue's Beauty Secrets' video and I feel confident.  Here are some of the reasons that I love doing my makeup, some have been briefly touched on in my introduction. Therapeutic: The process of doing makeup can be relaxing. I personally like to do mine slowly which makes it feel like I'm doing an ASMR video. Starting my day with makeup helps me to relax and process everything I need to get done in my day. It's one of the things that helps me with my anxiety when I know I'll be heading to work soon. Enhancement: Makeup is so versatile which is why I lo

 "Love yourself first, and everything else falls in line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world". - Lucille Ball Self care is something at the core of us here at Pampas and Pearls and creating an impactful self care routine is very important. Taking time for yourself is very important but often life gets in the way so creating a self care routine is something that will help you to feel better in yourself.  Where to start I hear you ask, well I am very glad you asked. First you need to determine what you think is self care and when the best time is to take time out for you.  There are different kinds of self care routines:  A selfcare moment: A short amount of time taken at any point in the day where you take it for yourself. I often make myself a luxury hot chocolate, get into some comfy pyjamas and pop on a film  A selfcare morning: This is often when I take a Sunday morning to myself. I have a long hot shower, out on a cute and/or comfortable

"All stress, anxiety, depression, is caused when we ignore who we are, and start living to please others."  - Paul Coelho, 2014 Last week I needed a mental health break because I was feeling overwhelmed, which Katie was supportive of and kindly took over. Now I'm back and feeling much better and ready to share things I do to keep my anxiety in check.    Having Control is something I need to feel I have in order for my anxiety to subside. When I feel like I don't have control my mental health begins to deteriorate.I know that most things in life I cannot be controlled, so there are little things in my life that I do to take back some control. Even the smallest things make me feel strong enough to control my anxiety.  •  Controlling my sleep : I like to be asleep by 11:30pm, choosing when to sleep is really important to me, it helps me know that I can stay awake if I wanted to but I’m making the active decision to rest. This goes hand in hand with me choosing to wake up

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” – Maya Angelou So this is a long one, grab a drink and snack then get comfy! I first consciously began pushing my anxiety boundaries when I was looking at where to apply for university.  I had the idea and intention of moving away to university, not too far from home but what I felt was far enough (from Birmingham to Worcester). Keep in mind I have never lived outside of my family home nor had I travelled alone either.  I began buying and packing what I thought I needed for university and felt absolutely fine, not an anxious thought anywhere near me. But as the time got closer and I was accepted into university I felt the anxiety flooding in and I did not want to go, in fact I cried the entire time I was packing the car with my things.  Setting off I felt better myself. The nerves were kind of settled and I was looking forward to getting there finding out where I was staying and unpacking and beginn

 "If you're going through hell, keep going"- Winston Churchill  May is mental health month and this week it is mental health week and sometimes we need to take a break from life to refocus on ourselves and that is okay.  Mental Health is just as important as your physical health and even though you cannot see it you can feel it. Your mental health impact so much more than you think. The ability to communicate and take in information, emotions, your energy levels are all things impacted by your mental health.  A good nights sleep and eating healthy is the foundation to maintaining a good mental health.  This post is a little mental health check in, look at the questions below and take 10 minutes to reflect on yourself and your mental health:    Taking a step back from your life is something we need to do more often. But it is also something we find the hardest to do. I have began taking time for myself using Calm! This app has really helped with my sleep and feeling less a

“What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candour, and more unashamed conversation.”— Glenn Close This upcoming week (15th-21st May) is mental health awareness week and to highlight mental health each day we will be sharing a new charity and/website where you can get mental health help.  Mental health has been present in my world for my entire life, having a dad who works in the mental health field means I am quiet lucky when it comes to being open and honest about mental health, which I understand is not the case for everyone.  Being open and honest is always best but I know sometimes, form personal experience, you want to keep it in and bottled up, you think it will go away. So this is me saying to you, it won't go away. it won't disappear but that is okay, it is apart of who you are and it is okay.  I bet you're thinking, so what is the point of this post, well quiet simply put it is to tell you mental health is just as important as your physical health. You need

 “Sleep is the golden chain that ties health and our bodies together.” – Thomas Dekker   People are often shocked to find out that in order to wake up early you also need to sleep early, or at least have 7-8 hours of sleep. Without sleep one simply cannot function, I know I can't. Here is an insight to my night time routine and things I do to ensure I have a good quality of sleep.   • Drinking herbal tea : my personal favourite is peppermint but you could drink whichever herbal tea you enjoy. Drinking an herbal tea helps food to digest thus allowing relaxation to come quicker. I drink herbal tea an hour after dinner and it really helps me to feel light.  •  Doing my skincare and brushing my teeth : I think it's important to maintain health in teeth by brushing my teeth twice a day and flossing. Washing your face is also important to rid of all the germs you've collected throughout the day, but even at the end of the day skincare is vital. Not only does doing skincare at ni

No need to hurry. No need to sparkle. No need to be anybody but oneself.” – Virginia Woolf Anxiety can hit you at any point in any place for any number of reasons, being able to understand what triggers you and how you can calm yourself or ease your anxiety.  Over the years I have attempted to get myself to a place where I understand what causes anxiety for myself and try my very best to avoid them.  Below are a few things I try to avoid as much as possible: All of these cause my anxiety to be worse and cannot always be helped but are things a try hard to avoid.  The one I am the worst at avoiding it bottling it up, I do this often and keep things to myself. This is not something that is good for me, it is the worse trait in myself. I keep things to myself and bottle it up. I can keep it bottled up for weeks or months and suddenly it will over take me and I will be unable to leave my home, communicate with people, breathe. Honestly it is horrendous and is something I am trying very har

 “To make a great film you need three things – the script, the script and the script.” – Alfred Hitchcock  Don’t you just love a good comfort film? You could be having a horrible day and a visit to another universe will make you forget about your problems. Here are some films that I find comforting, they are not in any particular order, just remembering some of my favourite films as I write.   1. The Goonies : A true classic that I’ve grown up watching. Every time I watch I feel like I’m on a treasure hunt with Mikey, Mouth, Data and Chunk. The first time I watched it I felt like I was part of a friendship group and whenever I watch it now, I feel nostalgic. It takes me back to my simple childhood when I could be swept off my feet to another world.   2. Spirited Away : Another childhood classic, the world that Hayao Miyazaki has created is so captivating. This film was an integral part of my childhood and it made it to my adulthood. The animation is simply beautiful, I remember wanti