The Chronicles of "trying to be more woman" - Episode 11 - Weekly, what have I used.

Going to try a new direction with the weekly "what have i used". I feel like I'm posting the same things every week because being realistic, it takes a while to get through a shower gel/Soap/shampoo/conditioner. Its not so exciting to show you the same thing over and over again. Instead let me show you new things, old favourites and used items.



So in with the new:



Above are three of the new products I've been trying out this week.

On the left we have Simple hydrating light moisturiser  which is something which I've Incorporated into my daily routine. This is such a light cream that it soaks in quickly and remains lightly on the skin (until your natural oils replace it). The only thing which could improve this would be if they could do something with the scent or lack there of. I'm a massive fan of the clean Nivea cream scent and have come to expect a fresh smell on a moisturiser.

In the middle is the Avon Sweet Vanilla bubble bath. It was our (oh the Mr do love a bubble bath) first time trying this out tonight and the scent is strong in the bottle but weak out of the bottle (and in the bath.... obviously). Would i recommend this? I wouldn't recommend anything from Avon as i did not enjoy their website experience nor their customer services (see my rage page article for further information regarding my customer service experience). This was however super cheap so get it while it lasts if you want some cheap bubble bath....

Lastly on the right is the L'occitane Supple skin oil. I've been using this in the morning and at night on and around my nails. I've been using this less than a week but can really see an improvement on the skin around my nails. I've even convinced the Mr to let me use this on him. I'm hoping if his skin around his nails is less rough, it may stop him chewing his nails. We'll see........

To the left is a new Shampoo to the Mr but an old friend to me. This the Aldi's Hydration Shampoo. Another super bargain. This shampoo has a sumptuous scent (so great I'd love to eat it). Hydration is in the name and hydration  is what it does. I tried this out previously when i was regularly showering at the gym (I haven't stopped showering, I've stopped going to the gym instead) but for me this was TOO hydrating. After a month of use i found it was leaving too much of a residue on my hair meaning that my hair was greasy even after washing. I do have super soft hair and when the Mr asked for a shampoo conditioner combo I thought this could do the job for him. He seems to like it and I'm using it once or twice a week which is agreeable with the delicate fine hair i have.

On the right is the Crabtree & Evelyn moroccan myrrh hair and body wash. This is another newbie for my mister. I bought this in the January sales from T K Maxx for a steal at only £3 (you can see I've poorly attempted to peel the labels off which is why i know the price still). I was unsure that he would like the scent but he seems pleased. Although it can be used on the hair and scalp, he is using this only as a body wash. I find it quite an old fashioned scent which is why I'm shocked that the other half likes it. He does surprise me still even after 7 years....








That ends the new stuff. Sad but true......


Onto the empties. 

Looking around online, empties seem to be a big thing among beauty bloggers. I'm not sure if its a sign of  "I've used the whole product so can review this fully" or a mark of pride almost like a trophy to say "i told you i had this and was trying it out".  Well here are my empties from this week:

My empties are the Shay & Blue perfume which i received in my Tili box recently. It was a small size so didn't last me very long. When i saw that the scent was blood orange i was worried as I'm not a fruity perfume person usually. Again when i sprayed a small amount in the lid i wasn't blown away. Perfume will always smell differently on each individual and once on my skin i really loved this!


The second empty is the The body shop seaweed deep cleansing facial wash. As mentioned before in my blogs this came from the Ashford retail outlet. I really loved this and it left my skin feeling really refreshed. I'd be tempted to get this again!







Lastly for this article i really wanted to share my hand wash. I know strange thing to want to share....

The handwash bottle is from Debenhams but it was some time ago so i couldn't say what make and price it was. Sorry too long ago and that really wasn't the point of me including this. I was running low on handwash and my other half had invited a friend over. I added my new handwash to the top of the old and its created this awesome mix effect which you can see a little in the picture but trust me when i say, its much better in person.

This mix is a mix of Aldi's Bubblegum handwash and Detol antibacterial handwash. The bubblegum wash was super awesome smelling and the scent stayed on your skin for some time. I worry about going cheap on a handwash as you want it to do its job....clean. The detol wash i cannot say anything about as its mixed with the old wash.....





Well that's all folks. Hope you enjoyed and if you did please do follow me!

Peace out 🕊☮ 

Rage page - national what day?

Is everyday of the year now a national day of some sort. Yesterday was national mental health day and although it's worthwhile highlighting that mental illness is a plight that noone should be ashamed of I'm unsure why it has a day? Just like today which according to my Facebook homepage is national girls day. This is girls day, not woman's day which is March but what's the difference and why does EVERYTHING have a day.

Surely if we naming days it should be for something monumental or world changing? There are national squirrel appreciation days, national talk like Yoda days, take your pants for a walk day (according to www.timeanddate.com this dates back to before 10 BC in China) and all other random days. How many days commemorate the real moments in history? On the 9th November 1989 the Berlin wall was torn down. There is no day to commemorate that and whether you know the significance of this event or not everyone is aware this is one of the many big moments in history.

The reformation was another big change in history which from my brief research (this morning on the train on Google) only Germany commemorates? This event changed the world as we know it, taking power away from the Catholic church who back then reigned supreme over all countries and gave religion to the masses. I'd happily commemorate this day.

Don't get me wrong... I don't hate all these holidays as some are fun like bring your 🐕 to work day and national talk like a pirate day (which when I was a teen a friend of mine tired to do all day). These days a light hearted and silly but I still can't fathom why they exist and why we know about them.

If you google national days you'll see there are so many that they are almost everyday with there being numerous national days which clash! Facebook is always trying to tell me what I should be celebrating but it's so often now I ignore the reminders which is a pity as I may miss some of the more worthwhile ones like  world cancer Day, Holocaust memorial day, world book Day and many more.

Well rage over for now. Hope you enjoyed and do tell me your thoughts on all these national days.

Peace out ☮️✌️🕊️🏳️

Rage page - customer service - "manners maketh man"

The motto "manners maketh man" is from a family hierloom of mine (a decorative cheeseboard) which have always struck a chord with me. Manners are for free but certainly working in London has taught me that these values haven't been installed in everyone.

London is a tough environment where it is hard to keep up a positive demeanor. For starters, try smiling at someone on a tube/train. The resting bitch face (RBF) response is almost comedic... Almost but more than anything it's disheartening. I'm not sure how this London standard have become the normal but it took moving out to Kent to realise that this isn't a nationwide standard. Hold a door open in London and you could well be standing there for sometime without perhaps a single thanks (I have experienced this on a number of occasions). In London, especially when I'm on the move I take on another persona these days and it's not particularly one I like. My response to rudeness in the face of my manner is not usually loud "you're welcome" (one day this knee jerk reaction may get me injured so I would not recommend others to take on this stance) which in itself makes me ill mannered. If I held true to my manners I would silently take rude ignorance and move on... But how can I when it's a daily occurance? Come on london! Bring back manners.

I've got off topic. On a personal level individuals without manners is bad enough but when you experience a lack of manners from a customer service representative for a business it's most certainly unacceptable on so many levels. I am the worse twitterer in that I use it mainly for two things being complaining (about trains, product issues and rubbish customer service) and complimenting (for great customer service or if I love some new product or range or song/artist). I've added to my tweets recently with the addition of this blog but really I signed up with twitter to complain. There! I said it...  I have twitter to moan. On the past two weeks I've contacted four companies on twitter and another smaller company on email. From this I've had three good customer service experiences, one unsatisfied experience and one which angered me further.

Primark I contacted over a product which could potentially harm others. Thier immediate response to my tweet was to ask me to direct message with my email address they then emailed soon after asking for more detail. They have asked for a receipt copy which I can only assume is for a refund which really wasn't the point of my tweet. Point being from this experience is that they took note, responded quickly and professionally ensuring company image is represented in a polite (well mannered) fashion. As a customer it's nice to know that they take note of my negative experience without becoming defensive and are looking into my issue. This is something we expect from a company this size but it's still nice as a customer to know they are listening. Good experience no.1.

Good experience no.2 was with new look. I bought a product, wore it once and then it broke. They were extremely quick to apologise and offer a refund. This was really impressive as I didn't expect a refund considering the product was bought some time ago (even if it wasn't worn til August of this year) and I no longer had a receipt. I was very impressed with their twitter team and messaged them to thanks them. The store customer service (Oxford Street branch) wasn't as impressive when stood in front of  a sales assistant with RBF while the store manager looked up the product. Overall this was still a positive experience.

Good experience no 3 and the most recent was today with a smaller company called sample beauty. I ordered some samples from them and when they arrived one of the pots had smashed and was covering the other items ordered but of course most importantly I had less of that samples than I wanted. I emailed in this instance as being a smaller company I wasn't sure which company was them. They responded within 10 MINUTES of my email! Super impressive. Thier email tone was friendly but professional and they offered to send a replacement. Job done in few words really.

Onto the not so good but not so bad..as noted in my yesterday blog, I wasn't chuffed with my latest in beauty box. I still stand by them and their product as it's great to be able to choose your product for a month box. What sucks is that first order i received on addition to the choices I made a fair amount of samples. With my most current order I received one other sample. This was disappointing but I was far more disappointed when i queried this with latest in beauty on twitter they admitted that you only get so many samples with the first order. This is misleading and upsetting. I'm not alone in this as I can see other bloggers on twitter are saying they same. So although they answered my tweet quickly and fully the response didn't seem to take note of their customers disappointment and so the query is resolved by a abrupt oh well in a sense.

Now for the negative customer service experience. I emailed and tweeted these folks. I placed my first Avon order on Sunday. I'll be honest that I couldn't remember what delivery I chose (naughty me) but when I emailed to ask when i can expect it the response was a reminder not to chase until I've exceeded the delivery window and a delivery code to search on Hermes. Now I got my required question answered and that isn't up for dispute however if I had been given this Hermes reference earlier o could have checked this myself. Secondly I'm sure it is annoying to be queried over orders which are enroute to the customer and within the delivery window, however if you are working in customer services I'm sure this is a common question and you should have a better prepared and politer response. I tweeted to say as much and have heard nothing back. This is just as disappointing considering the size of the business.

As a customer I want to know that my opinions and queries and respected and noted. Do I expect an apology for all my complaints and questions? NO. I expect a response which shows respect however as a paying customer and that even if there isn't a resolution they will note this for the future.

An acquaintance i once knew in customer services once said it's always "arsehole Friday" as for some reason returns and complaints often come in a friday. I hope I'm not one of those as I always try and phrase my queries and complaints in a polite but factual manner HOWEVER if you are rude to me you better expect a snappy response.

Reader (or readers if there are more of you out there) always remember that behind a computer or phone is an individual. Don't hold them accountable entirely responsible for issues you are having. However customer service folks out there, remember you represent a business (even if it's your own) so anything you say will make a business look good or bad. EVERYONE please remember manners are noted when used and it's a free kindness which isn't as used as much as they once were/should be.

PEACE OUT ☮️🕊️

Rage page - Did someone say the "V" word?

Firstly let me say there will be NO pictures on article for the obviously reasons.....

So the "V" word... Of course being vagina *cue a certain proportion of the audience cringing*. It's strange that in this modern day in age men and women seem to be able to talk dick, dick, dick til the cows come home but for some (me included in the past) vagina's have always been a huge embarrassment. The question is why?

Some feminists would have you believe that we are embarrassed of and manicure our lady parts all because of men. I can't say I entirely agree. Partly yes. Ladies of that past (as in during Victorian times) were expected to fulfil womanly duties but otherwise remain seen but not heard. We were expected to look, act and sound a certain way. In this day and age woman can look as we want to, do what we want, speak how we want to but there are still some hangovers from the previous century mindset which still haven't worked their ways out of peoples systems/lifestyles. So why firstly do some women (me in the past included) dread speaking about something that is very much a part of themselves?

Well I totally agree there is a time and a place for everything. I was brought up that it was a private part that was to be kept private until you get married (whoops... Sorry mum) and as such don't need to discuss it with the world. Saying that everyone should feel at ease to talk about it should they want to and others should have no need to feel uncomfortable hearing about it. Ladies this is not me encouraging you to discuss this with random strangers or in inappropriate places like the work place (unless you work on gynaecology). If however, you are amongst friends or at some kind of ladies gathering why shouldn't you talk about it? There's nothing to be ashamed of ladies. It's part of you and there's nothing there to be ashamed of.

Talking of lady parts, what do you call it? These days there are so many words for it. Personally it's the lady garden, privates, lady bits, vagina or the V but I think that's the prude in me that cringe away from the others... Shall I name them? OK here goes; pussy (ugh I hate this), clunge (oh it gets worse), cunt (worst surely), clam, fanny and mini (childhood word I think most are taught) just to name a few of the other horrors out there. There is no wrong name for your own parts really. I would however suggest whatever you call it just keep in mind what others may think of your bits as a reflection of the name you give it (wouldn't suggest you call it Dave or bob).

The next thing I'd like to address is how to manicure your lady garden? Is there a right or a wrong? Sex in the city, taught me bikini lines for the WIN and that hollywoods are scary and unpleasant. Who dictates right and wrong? Feminists (some, not all - take note from Caitlin Moran who although a feminist isn't a militant man hater like some) would have us believe that again its those evil Men who dictate how we should trim/wax/epilate ourselves. In truth, I think its us ladies who are most critical of each other. Magazines like cosmopolitan inform us ladies what trends are in the lady garden design departments and more of less make anyone outside of their norm feel wrong or out of fashion. SINCE WHEN DOES YOUR HAIR TRIMMING BECOME FASHION?!?!?! 

What do I say? I say, do as you damn well please. Although I like to please my Mr I know that he'll love me whatever I call my own parts and however i present them. At the end of the day its part of me so I'll talk about it as much or as little as I want and I'll make it look, whatever way I want it to look! This attitude has only really come to me since being with him. Partly this is due to the confidence he instils in me as he knows how self conscious I can be and I think truly thinks I'm beautiful (even if I can't see it). Another reason for the change and most importantly how I have broken out of my prudish nature and am able to talk about these things, is his family. His mum and sister are really outspoken and their family believe there should be no taboos amongst them that they cannot talk about. In the six plus years I've known them, they have finally got me talking on their level and it really does feel freeing.

I hope noone feels uncomfortable reading this blog, or find it offensive. However if you do, "sorry, not sorry". My blog, my rules.

Peace out ☮

Rage page - why me?

Why is it that after a night out the drunks, druggies, weirdos and generally the mentally unstable want to chat to me?

Since a young age, wherever I go and however I reach that destination I attract the person who whether you like it or not, want to have a chin wag with me. Generally it's on a later night bus or train but I am also sometimes approached in daylight hours..... daylight. ... for goodness sake i thought I could be sage in daylight (when you can see me in my full glory minus any beer goggles or dark lighting).

So why me? Is my round face and bright clothing (ironic that as I write this I am for the first time in a long while in all black) perceived as friendly and approachable? Am I lacking a resting bitch face (RBF) factor?

This approachability factor which I must possess also affects those which accompany me. Often on a journey home I am approached by these strangers who want to discuss everything from world politics to just repeatedly asking me my name.....unfortunately if you accompany me, you are also subject o these ear batterings. ..

Last night was prime example however this time I must blame (yes blame) my colleague.... When boarding our train we heard "hold the train" I'm an Irish (ish) accent. The train wasn't due to leave for 15 minutes therefore we both shot this stranger a filthy (in the negative sense, not in the kinky sense) look and carried on. Unfortunately this drunken stranger caught up and decided to sit and chat with us.  This stranger which I shall name "drunken older fella" was not alone but still chose to chat away to us rather than his own friend.... As mentioned I blame my colleague for this instance and you may ask why. Well up to this point you could say either of us attracted the drunken old fella. Unfortunately though she encouraged his behaviour and responded to his questions and singing...... worse thing she could of done. Encouraged by her replies he continued to sing songs and chat away at us. Eventually we moved seats because he was weirdly flirting with us both and it made us both uncomfortable. In this instance he didn't follow... thank the Lord,  praise jesus.

This instance is one of many however so again I ask with dismay. ... why me?

As a teenager I would encourage these strangers by chatting back, like a polite lady does. As an older version of that person (creeping up on 30) I'm more hardened to these encounters and generally if I'm on my own, ignore them (like any good Londoner should). If drunk.... I probably talk back (bad self!). 9 times out of 10 now I ignore the approacher and they bore themselves and find another victim for their questions and opinions.

The question is, how do I stop them approaching in the first place? Can one learn RBF? Is there a polite way to say "bugger off"? Is there a way to hide, to avoid the approach in the first place?

I don't know, so if you have advice please do comment.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed.  If you did enjoy please read my other blogs.

Peace out! ✌