Things I Said I Would Do But Didn't | Another Procrastination Post

I said I would post weekly about yachting and I haven't. I have half written the post but it is long and needs editing. Instead of editing it I have been watching things on YouTube. The Internet tried to intervene by slowing itself down but I am waaaaay smarter than the internet, I loaded up a whole bunch of blogs and read those instead.

I said I would make oats this morning when I got up (at 10am - it is Saturday it is fine, I spend my life waking up at times I do not want to) but instead I checked Pinterest for a full hour and then decided it was too late for breakfast, my husband walked to the Deli to get us BLTs.

I said I would clean up my make up table but I haven't. I started and then realized that my brushes were all dirty and needed cleaning. An obviously unsurmountable task.

Oh, here is a good one. I might be moving out this apartment forever on Tuesday because I might have a job, instead of packing and organising all my things I am writing half blog posts (writing one to avoid writing the other), putting off cleaning my make up table and considering a nap.

What a wreck. A lovable one though.

Essie Ladylike

All my nail polishes had a little competition, like a mini Oscars but for nail polishes. Essie's Ladylike came first in the category "Best Spring 2013 Colour that isn't Emerald because say what you like Pantone People I will NEVER wear green nails"

I don’t have a bad word to say about Essie’s new shade, Ladylike. It is a very soft, heather-like, purple shade. It is incredibly wearable and looks beautiful glossy and matte. I always apply a base and top coat, today I used Essie Ridge Filling Base Coat and Matte About You Top Coat.

Ladylike, calming and intimidating at the same time. It is me in a nail polish bottle.

I wear this colour when I want people to think they are in the presence of an adult with their head screwed on the right way. Like if there were to be a crisis people would rally around me because my nail polish is both calming and assertive, they would say, “Wow, her nail polish is so soothing to look at but I am mildly intimidated because she is obviously on trend, she will know how to put this fire out.”

I talk rubbish sometimes, this is a good one. Buy it.

Yes To Grapefruit Dark Circle Correcting Eye Cream | Review and Pictures

Would I say that my under eye area is a problem? No not really. I have slightly dark circles and have started noticing some fine lines but nothing I can’t live with. Still. I am all about taking care of my skin and I like using an eye cream. I have been pretty loyal to my Clinique All About Eyes cream in the past but stopped using it about a year ago when I fell out of love with the whole brand in general. It happens, I suddenly wake up and decide I am not brand loyal anymore.

Since then I have been in the eye cream wilderness, I used the Bobbi Brown one for a while and it was fine but not a perfect match. I want that holy grail product, one that I can definitely see and feel working. I know how my skin responds when it likes something, it goes very supple and I feel all healthy, like I have been eating avocados and drinking lots of water for a month.

I also tried two Estee Lauder samples, one of the Resilience Lift and another of the Idealist Cooling Eye Illuminator. You can buy them here. I found them a bit ‘meh’ to be honest, certainly not worthy of the Estee Lauder price tag. I wonder sometimes about these cooling eye treatments, I have the Garnier one for when I need a quick eye wake up. I really want them to work, I feel like they do for all of 10 seconds and then they just stop.

Anyway, the cream I really wanted to talk about is the Yes To Grapefruit Dark Circle Correcting Eye Cream. I was in CVS the other day and saw it, I like grapefruits, it was $16 so I thought why not? Maybe I will be surprised, maybe I need to climb down from my department store high horse (granted Garnier is drugstore, I bought into the gimmick though) and try something new. Well that was a poor decision on my part, I’m not saying that drugstore eye creams are bad but I think this one is.

Yes To Grapefruit Dark Circle Correcting Eye Cream. Click here to read the full write up.

The packaging is fine, it is a little tube with a precision nozzle on the end of it, I must admit I squished too much product out the first few times but I am used to tubs at the end of the day. I don’t know why I was expecting a fragrance free product, I don’t think I necessarily was actually, it’s just when I opened the tube the scent hit me immediately. I was sad. I don’t like it when things have too much fragrance in them (read my Caldrea article here) and I felt like this may overpower any perfume I was wearing. I wasn’t at all excited to start plastering it around my eyes.

That being said, I gave this Yes To product a good old shot, I used it for three and a half weeks. Hmm, nothing good to say unfortunately, the fragrance made my eyes water, the product broke down my concealer (no matter how much I set the stuff), I started breaking out in these tiny weird whiteheads which all cleared up last week after I placed the tube in the box of products that I am none too pleased with. The worst part is I can’t say that my little lines look any less liney and I still have darkness under my eyes. My skin doesn’t feel supple or smooth, in fact I feel like my eye area is letting the rest of my face down at the moment.

I am back to wondering the wilderness, I may go pick up a sample from Kiehls they are pleasing me at the moment. Until then it’s teabags and cucumber I suppose.

Pedicures at Home | Pretty Feet for ALL!

If you work on a yacht you will understand the term “Yachtie Feet”. If you do not work on a yacht I will elaborate slightly for you benefit, perhaps you will be able to relate and then we can all work to solve the problem.

There is a blanket ‘no shoes on boats’ rule, some captains do relax it and some owners prefer the crew to wear deck shoes, but for the most part we go barefoot. Now in my experience the wealthier you are the colder you like to be, consequently, the poor stews run around all day in the freezing, dehydrating AC. If that isn’t the case then we are running Margaritas up and down the unforgiving teak decks. As a result our feet get very dry and sore quickly. We can’t have horrible looking feet particularly if they are on display all the time, it is a big problem.

Most stews jump at the chance to rush off the boat as soon as the guests have boarded their flight home to get pedicures and rectify this. I cannot think of anything worse. I have really tried hard to like them but the thought of putting my feet into a bath where other people have had their feet is none to appealing. I also cannot abide other people clipping my toenails and cuticles. I am fussy that way. Also I feel I can do a better job. I will tell you how.

Now, due to a lack of time and space I usually do several beauty processes at the same time. Face masks and foot soaking will generally happen at the same time. It is magical. I lock myself in the bathroom with my iPod and book and when I come out I am just a ball of glorious.

Epsom Salts, Apple Cider Vinegar and Tea Tree Oil. Can't beat them.

Anyway, ignore the face stuff for now. Here is what you will need:

-       Tub / basin / bucket big enough for you to immerse both your feet in water

-       Apple cider vinegar

-       Epsom salts

-       Tea tree oil

-       Sugar scrub (make your own or use a store bought one)

-       Pumice stone / Foot file

-       Cuticle pushing back thing

-       Nail brush

-       Nail clippers

-       Towel and paper towel

-       Some sort of lotion

Nivea Creme is my current favourite moisturizer. You can apply it to any dry areas , like elbows and knees

Fill the tub with hot water, not too hot but it will cool rapidly so try start out with it being as hot as you can handle. Add a cup of apple cider vinegar (you can use white distilled vinegar too), half a cup of Epsom salts and a couple of drops of tea tree oil. The vinegar will work at breaking down rough skin, the Epsom salts are great for soothing aches and pains and also assist in drawing nasty toxins out of your system and the tea tree is a natural anti bacterial oil that smells really refreshing too.

Soak your feet for 15 minutes and then use a pumice stone or foot file to gently removed any dry skin you may have, you shouldn’t need to scrub too hard because the vinegar will have loosened the skin. Finish off by scrubbing your feet with a sugar scrub. I will usually go all the way up my calves to help out my circulation a bit. Then push your cuticles back, I am not a fan of cutting my cuticles at all, they are there for a reason, don’t hack them off.

Dry your feet thoroughly, use the paper towel to get in between your toes. Once your feet are nice and dry apply a nice thick cream or lotion, in the past I have used body butter but at the moment I am loving Nivea Crème, my mom (and her mom) swear by Ingrams Camphor Cream, treat yourself to an extra long foot rub, you deserve it. If you need to clip your nails then do so, once you have done that put a pair of thick socks on and relax. Your feet will be softer than ever.

I will usually apply polish (a nude shade mind you, unless your guests are off for a while) the next day to give my feet an extra dose of moisture, if you need to apply sooner though wipe the nails with a little rubbing alcohol to get rid of the oils and moisturizer so you have a lovely fresh, dry surface to apply the polish to.

Enjoy it

xxx

Skincare for Seafarers

Skincare tips for yachties / lazy people / people who don’t have all that much time

I don’t want to say I have always been very rigorous with my skincare routine because I haven’t to be honest. I always wash my face and moisturize, sometimes I tone and sometimes I exfoliate. I had a small problem with acne when I was growing up but it calmed down once I got older and now I get the occasional blemish / break out patch. I have never felt like I had problem skin though, I had never felt the need to pour luxurious products all over my face. I thought those things were for old people. Until I realized that I was maybe getting on in years and that I should perhaps amend my routine accordingly.

Also, working on boats means that you are at sea most of the time, or at least exposed to sea air and lots of sun. If that is not the case you are probably in a shipyard and that is even worse. My skin is at it’s poorest in shipyards, so much dirt flying about.  I wiped my face down the other day after going out for a quick cycle and the little cotton pad came out black. I was horrified and ever since then I have become rather pedantic with my routine.

Now, being on a boat also means that you have little time for lengthy routines and little space for all sorts of different face potions so I have been forced to choose rather wisely. I do tend to change up products, but I am very strict not to buy too many different ones that do the same thing at the same time.

So here it is:

Morning

Sleep is very important, if I can maximize sleeping in time I have won. So my morning routine is very basic.

-       Cleanse

-       Tone

-       Apply eye cream

-       Moisturize (making sure the moisturizer has a high SPF – if I know I will be outside for a lot of the day I apply sunscreen on top of that – and wear a hat and sunglasses, people will make fun of me now but I will always be the one with the fewest wrinkles)

Evening

I tend to have slightly more time in the evenings and also the appeal of ‘washing the day off’ tends to make me more inclined to lengthen my routine slightly.

-       Pre Cleanse

-       Cleanse

-       Tone

-       Exfoliate

-       Apply eye cream

-       Moisturize

-       Apply serum

Weekly

I use ‘weekly’ loosely, sometimes I can achieve it but I mainly do these things when I have a good old chance.

-       Apply face mask

-       Steam and essential oil massage

-       Apply teabags to my eyes

Now, the tips I have are mainly for yachties but I’m pretty sure they are universally applicable. As I mentioned before we do live in small spaces and share bathrooms with other crew, if we are chartering then there is barely time for anything other than sleep and we do subject our skin to very harsh elements. There is a reason for those fishermen looking the way they do. I don’t want you girls (and boys mind you) looking like old fishermen.

-       When choosing new products always get a sample. Try it for a few days before you commit to buying the big bottle, that way you will not be cluttering your cabin with something that you may not like and be too lazy to return.

-       If you have found something you like (and you are in a major port – I usually do this in America) order enough of it online to last you a season. The last thing you want is to run out of something and have to pay to have it shipped to the Caribbean, only for it to be lost / seized by customs.

-       Often online stores will offer discounts, free samples and free shipping so keep that in mind too.

-       If you are in a shipyard pre cleansing is very important and you should be washing your face three or four times a day. I know it is harsh but during these times I use a very gentle, fragrance and alcohol free cleanser and just keep moisturizing. At night wash your face after taking a shower.

-       If you are going to be outside, especially when you are underway, layer your sunscreen. Choose a moisturizer with a high SPF, layer a sunscreen on top of that. If I have guests on board and I am wearing make up I will use a foundation with an SPF and a loose powder with an SPF. Lots of layers but I don’t look burnt or weather beaten ever.

-       Do your own facials, unless you have a therapist you know and love it is better to treat your own skin. If you share your cabin with other girls then make a night of it. Exchange tips, it will strengthen the group dynamic and give you something else to do besides rushing off to the nearest bar.

-       Wash your pillowcase often. Wash your sheets often too, but you don’t want to be putting your face onto a germy old pillow each night.

-       Obviously going to the beach is a big part of being a yachty. Your boat is probably in a prime location, you have no guests, go ahead go and take photos of you and your mates frolicking about in the turquoise water but keep applying sunscreen. Once every 30 minutes at least. When you get back to the boat make sure to properly remove all the build up and give your skin a treat.

-       DRINK WATER. ALL. THE. TIME.

-       Try get enough sleep, sometimes it is hard but if I ever need a rest at a difficult time where people may be in and out of the cabin I always wear eyeshades and put my iPod on.

Ok, I hope this helped J

Have good ones.

Lennon and Maisy

It is such a beautiful day in Florida, I went for a walk earlier because I had literally spent the whole morning on YouTube and needed to get out. I complain when it is raining because I get ‘trapped’ inside but when it is sunny I sit online. Go figure.

My husband and I watch Nashville and we are completely in love with it. I was so excited for it last fall and now it is here and lovely. The only sad part is they take frequent mid season breaks and we have to wait until April for the next episode. Woe is us.

So we sat around this morning YouTubing Nashville things just to get our fix and stumbled across these two.

They are Lennon and Maisy Stella. Wow. I knew they could sing because they performed a little on the show but I did not know they were that talented. Very impressed.