Girl stuff (private and confidential)

I don’t do secrets (secrets are bad, surprises are cool) but there is some stuff that I keep personal. This is one of those personal posts, but, well,  Nunyaa tagged me and I hate love a dare! Like a red (my favorite colour) rag to a bull, I am a sucker for taking the bait so here I go with making my personal public.

I’m not a “girly girl.” I am a third wave feminist. Given that feminism is about the experiences of women, and beauty and make up is part of my experiences, then I figure its okay to share my answers (oh dear, Nunyaa is going to be disappointed in me);

My Foundation:

I wear a tinted moisturiser from The Body Shop. I don’t wear it daily, only when I know I’m going to be out and about – in and out of air conditioning.

My Mascara:

OMG – do they still make that stuff?

My Day Cream:

Eggs Benedict with Hollandaise Sauce or Cream Cheese on Smoked Salmon focaccia. Yum! Oh sorry, you mean face cream – ummm…nope…just sun screen because sun burn is sun damage.

My Essential Beauty Product:

Passion for life, child protection and my spirulina tablets.

My Favorite Makeup Product:

Lipstick (only ever from The Body Shop because ethics, fair trade and equality are my shining beauty).

My Perfume:

Ummm…too expensive and chemical ridden. I have been known to use essential oils (LOVE Rose) and even (*shame: she hangs her head and averts her eyes as she confesses), Vanilla Essence. When I did wear perfume, it was ArPege and always bought as a gift because I am too big a scab to buy for myself.

My Nails:

Short and never manicured. Have not painted my nails since I was 15 years old (I’m now 44). I hate the feel of nail polish on my fingers.

My Hands:

Tiny and beginning to look aged I sometimes use hand cream but not often.

My feet:

were bound as a child to stop me from running away! I have very small feet and can wear shoes that belong to 7 and 8-year-olds. My feet are free loving feet and hate women’s shoes. High heels make my feet faint and shoes and socks make my feet impotent. Flat sandals and leather thongs are what my feet are in love with. As for toe nail polish – who’s got time (or the eye site and flat stomach) to paint?! However, I did wear some flash princess shoes (and make up) for my wedding last year (pictured). My sister was gobsmacked and took a photo, just of my feet, to prove it.

Three Products to bring on a deserted island:

1. Hard hat (can double as a drinking container and weapon if needed)
2. Lap top and connectivity (I can do without most things but I cannot go without my computer)
3. Lipstick (I always wear lipstick – the redder the better).

Women I admire for their beauty:

• Winona Ryder (drop dead sexy)
• Nigella Lawson (I want to be her)
• Carrie Webb ( she gives a portion on her winnings to self determined community development – pretty attractive I say)

Women with the Best Sense of Style:

• African women appear to have it going on – their colours, their layers, their grace – those women look super stylish even though they are often surrounded by abject poverty.
• All women who wear ‘50 style dresses and suits. Love the simplicity and structure.
• Grace Kelly was pretty groovy. Shame she died.

My Ultimate Dream:

Personal: To work part time, travel part time (I still haven’t made it to the Seychelles yet – that has been a very long time dream of mine and I intended to spend my 40th birthday on the Seychelles – instead I was in London – miserable), love full time, grow organic veggies and feed my family and friends.

Political: To help develop locally owned communities of compassion that refuse to tolerate child abuse.

Business: To go on the Oprah Winfrey Show and represent a global movement of parents against child sexual abuse.

How Do I Define Womanhood:

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.

My Favorite Fashion Publication:

Do scrapbook magazines or Oxfam catalogues count? I’d buy a fashion magazine that used all clothes from second hand shops and encouraged sustainable and ethical fashion.

…and, I’m adding to this meme:

A beauty and make up post written by you:

Jay Jays is the Little Loser
Reuters Knife Dolce & Gabbana
Corporate Pedophilia
Pedophilia symbolism to be aware of
All for women, two sheilas and under cover BRAvery

Who am I tagging for the Girl Stuff meme:

Alison from Three Times Kewl, and Lin from Telling it like it is (PS: Birdwing, you’ve been tagged by Nunyaa too)