Repost - I spoke to Girl Got Faith!

My friend Emma has created a great site which is an incredible resource for teen girls and she asked me to film a video with her on becoming a freelance writer. In it I speak about school, uni and how I get pitches commissioned. I hope you enjoy the video/find some useful advice in it.

Also check out Girl Got Faith - It really is an awesome site.

Warehouse Revival

Jumper - Warehouse (out of stock but more here)

You know what, I've never been one for Warehouse. It was always a shop I kind of didn't think was "my style" despite not ever really knowing what "my style" was. 

I just felt it never had any place in my dysfunctional little wardrobe - it was too... neat. Too mumsy. But recently something shifted. The brand was popping up more and more in my Instagram feed looking resolutely cooler. And it wasn't just the way the girls had style the pieces, the garms looked fresher, *shudders* ...trendier. I had to check it out for myself. 

So I jaunted into the little Warehouse off of Oxford Street (it's much quieter than the one between John Lewis and H&M FYI) and everything felt different. The window, the selects in store, even the music booming through the stereo - the shop has had a total rebrand. I looked it up and recently there has been major changes behind the scenes with Emma Cook taking the reigns as the brand's new design director and so it all makes sense. From what I've seen, some pieces have kept their functional neatness, but now there are more daring prints and unexpected detail - more Londoner, ed. I've particularly taken to their knitwear and people are shocked when I say a jumper is from Warehouse, much like I used to be. Now it's one of my first stops when I'm on the hunt for something, not somewhere I whizz past. 

How to make use of your expensive candle now it's finished.

Your candle's finished. 

You're sad. 

You spend £40 on that just for it to LITERALLY burn away. It's ok though, you'll survive because there's life after death of the expensive candle. 

If you've been able to avoid the instragammable, Pinterest-worthy expensive candle afterlife then let me brighten your day - there's life after the wick has burnt out. Whether you want it to house, pens, brushes or cotton buds, the choice is yours and it's a lot easier that you think. 

 Once you've burnt the last remains of your candle wait for it to completely harden, I can't stress this enough, don't mess with hot wax. Don't pour it out anywhere or rinse it... nothing. Simply wait for the remaining wax to completely harden (this is best overnight, but if you want, once it's cooled, you can pop it in the freezer for a few hours to speed things up). 

Then, take a butterknife and scrape around the edges of the hard wax to loosen and pop out. If it's not coming out so easily try scoring an X through the middle and then prise out each quarter. 

To clean the waxy film once the majority has been removed, take a brilo pad/scourer and dose it in warm water and washing up liquid and scrub the inside of the jar gently to remove. 

Et voila! Simple as.

Oh and one last thing, make sure you don't allow the warm water to run too much around the out side if your want to keep the sticker on!

Hyperpigmentation - Prevent, Treat and Cover

Back.

Hello hello!

So it’s been an age and a half since I last posted, hasn’t it? 

A lot, a lot has changed since my last consistently posted (two babies I know have been born!) so let’s try and break this thing down.

I stopped blogging because my heart really wasn’t in it anymore and I feel like towards the time I took my break, I was blogging out of what felt like necessity rather than a real want to do it. It was a ‘I’ve had my blog for 5 years up to this point, so I can’t stop now’, kinda thing. But if you look at the content, you can see that it stagnated. Where I would take the time before to properly review things and take pride in my pictures with my DSLR camera, it was reduced to only pics when I remembered with my shoddy iPhone 5 and barely reviewing anything at all. Writing up a blog post used to be a fun hobby, but it started to feel like unpaid work.

That’s because at the same time as writing for my blog I was writing a ton for my work at the magazine and editing it and writing online for both the mag’s website and other websites. There’s only so much writing a person can do before some things start to fall by the wayside, and as this was the only thing I really didn’t *have to do*, it fell. 

I read recently that people that think more creatively and work in creative fields are more likely to suffer from depression and other mental illnesses as your craft is tied to your emotions. While I don’t suffer from a mental illness and I’m not depressed, my creativity and my emotions are so intrinsically linked that if I’m having a bad day, I can’t write well and if I can’t write well I’m going to have a bad day. It’s frustrating, it’s numbing, it’s annoying. I get stuck in a rut. I hate my face, my body, my clothes. There’s no time, then there’s time but no ideas. It was a never ever ending cycle. It’s something I’m sure all creative bods go through. 

My blog was my thing, my little project, and when I first started and got invited to “blogger events” it was this little secret community that I was a part of. But I think as I got my career going and it kind of took off, I was kidding myself that my blog could continue in the same way it was when I was putting up posts at uni, when I was writing full-time. So before it got any worse I decided to step back from it. I knew it wouldn’t be forever, just until I felt I could rejig my content and get back to it properly with some fresh ideas - and boy have I got some ideas. 

With the dominant force that is blogging and the raise of the superbloggers, blogging as I knew it, has changed. I hate change in most capacities. I'm a creature of habit and pushing myself to branch out of my comfort-zone is something I have to do daily to get the best out of myself, but it's something that I neglected with this blog. I wasn't being innovative or challenging myself with things. 

While beauty is at the core of what I love writing about, as I've matured, my interests have too. I love looking at interiors, reading opinion pieces on cultural events and delving into the human condition, as well as talking beauty, watching a video on the perfect twist out and finding memes about More Life. These are all things that make me, me, and it's this kind of mix of content that I think will make keeksreid.com a truer, better, more interesting reflection of me. 

As well as starting back the blog I have also picked up making videos again so please subscribe *here* and whilst on blogging hiatus I have been newslettering so you can sign up for that here and read my archive here!  

Ok, I'm going to stop talking now. 

The Real Techniques Multi Tech Collection

The Real Techniques Multi Tech Collection - From £9.99

I’m a huge fan of Real Techniques brushes, having bought into the Youtube hype of them when they first launched. I would actually say they are the best blog/vlog-influenced purchase I have ever made. These brushes are just as soft to touch as the rest of the range and are still made of completely synthetic fibres but that’s where the similarities end. 

The multi tech brushes are unique in the fact that they are designed to be used in anyway you want. Now, if you’re like me this won’t be a particular draw to them - brushes are just brushes, right? You can use them how you wish if if that means a setting brush is actually your favourite to apply highlighter. The best part about the range is that they are all the same brush. Literally. Each of the seven brushes and even the point are the same rounded shape with a slight point, meaning that you’ll never have to say “this brush would be perfect for [insert makeup stage] if only it were bigger/smaller”. 

The range consists of XXXS, XXS, XS, S, L, XL, XXXL and a makeup sponge which is like a cross between the beautyblender pro and the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge. Also the sponge and the range of small brushes come with a sponge/brush holder which is a nice touch. My favourite is the XL, it’s a dream for applying bronzer, it picks up the right amount of product and distributes it perfectly on the high points of your face. 

The Real Techniques Multi Tech Brush Collection is available from superdrug.com 

Everyday Makeup Essentials

I read so many blogs and watch so many makeup videos talking about girl’s ‘everyday makeup bags’ and I’m always a lil skeptical. How is it so neat and how do you use SO many things EVERYDAY? I switch and swap the contents of my face all the flipping time and so there are very few things that I use everyday. When I get new products to try out for work I still get excited and want to put them on my face immediately and so these are currently the things that have stuck. 

Hourglass Vanish Seamless Foundation Stick, £42 

I promise you, you will not regret forking out the money for this foundation. Yes, it’s bloody expensive (Like the equivalent of looking at Whistles prices when you’re used to H&M) but boy, is it worth it. The beauty is not only in it’s formula - which stays put and doesn’t shine on throughout the day -  it’s in the applicator. So. Handy. The chic twist-up stick means that it’s great to apply and retouch when you’re out and about and the triangular shape means it’s excellent at using as a concealer too (just be careful around the eyes as it’s a full coverage formula and therefore subject to creasing). Also this has a fab shade range for us Black girls. 

bareMinerals Lash Domination Volumizing Petit Precision Mascara, £19 

I don’t tend to do my full makeup on my commute - usually just my mascara. I don’t know how or why this came about but as soon as I get on the bus I’ll whip it out, carefully applying on the straight and usually bump free route to the train station. I love this particular mascara because the wand is so tiny that you can apply it right to the root of the lash and to the smallest hairs with minimal chance of mess. It gives excellent length, volume and separation with no clumping. 

M.A.C Lip Liner in Chestnut, £13 

Ahh the allure of the brown lip still pulls me right in and this is my favourite liner out there. In fact this old gal hadn’t ever finished a lip liner until this came along and changed the game. Even if I’m just popping on a regular lip balm I’ll still put this on to give my cupid’s bow extra definition - it just makes my lips the perfect nude-y brown. Just remember to fill in your entire lip and not just the outline otherwise you’ll be harking back to a trend in makeup we all just want to forget tbh.

Benefit Precisely My Brow Pencil, £18.50 

This newbie makes creating a solid brow shape unbelievably easy. It comes with a spooli on one end and the waxy pencil on the other. It’s amazing for filling in gaps with light feather-like strokes and doesn’t budge, I recently wore it in 37 degree heat in Vegas and still had on point brows come nightfall. Impressive. 

Maybelline New York Master Ink Matte Eyeliner, £4.99

I don’t think this will be everybody’s cup of tea but I love it. After reverting to eyeliner pens for a little bit and getting frustrated but how quickly they all dried up, I gave this a try. I love how wet and inky it is, it’s so smooth to apply and the tip is great for creating a cat eye. It’s going to work better for people that are seasoned in eyeliner application (I wear it everyday) as it’s easy to make a mistake with due to the wetness. 

Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze and Glow - Medium to Dark, £49

This used to be a “special occasions” product but I enjoyed the highlight so much I upgraded it to everyday status. Using a Real Techniques Bronzing Brush and a very light touch this gives a perma-sun-kissed glow. It’s been a consisted fixture in these parts for over a year now and it’s still going strong. God bless you, Charlotte.