Friday, 29 April 2011

What Colour is Your Parachute

I am looking at this book at the moment, just to reassess if i am in the right kind of work area.  Here is the flower from this book:


I did this about 6 years ago, and made the decision to change careers.  Now i am in this new career, I am having a look at it again.  I am finding it more difficult to do this second time round, and not finding it very interesting....

I suppose this is because i am coming to the age where I may start having a family, and this is making me look at my career differently.... i find that this book is not really very good at looking at this bigger picture... other than looking at where you want to live, and your ultimate purpose in life (to achieve via your career), there isnt much there to think about the rest of your life, and i suppose i need something more holistic at this stage in my life.... hum...

Makeup Storage & Care

I have been looking into makeup storeage for awhile (along with the dressing-table search in the previous blog), and have foudn some things i like.... i actually dont have that much makeup, so i dont need that much space, but i liked this idea of using a cutlery organiser for makeup:
There are heaps of other storage containers you can use - i like the acrylic stuff for inside drawers, and then pretty things for display....

Another thing with nakeup that I found when i was looking around, was how to care for your makeup, and how long you can keep it before it is unhygenic!  You can keep makeup for the following lengths of time:

Makeup
How Long
Mascara
4-6 months
Foundation (oil based)
18 months
Foundation (water based)
12 months
Blusher (powder)
2-3 years
Blusher (cream)
18 months
Nail polish  
12 months (longer if kept in the fridge)
Lipsticks & glosses
a couple of years (away from heat sources)
Eyeshadow and face powder  
2 years
(cream formulas)
18 months (with lid shut tight)
Pencils
2-3 years (away from the sun and sharpen regularly


And remember - clean your brushes regularly!!!

Choosing a Dressing Table

I have been looking for a dressing table for some time now, and think i may have to get one made as i can't find a nice one anywhere in NZ!  From doing some googling, it seems that for many people a dressing-table is like a dream - how funny!  I actually got the idea for this blog from this article about organising your makeup (something i was looking into), and the person had this beautiful dressing table below:



So in keeping with the idea of a dream dressing table, here are the key criteria for my dream dressing table:

Drawers
My dream dressing table must have at least 5 drawers for:

MAKEUP
NAILS
HAIR
SKINCARE
SMELLIES
Eyeshadows
Mascara
Eye pencils
Brushes
Lipstick
Lip balm
Blush
Concealer
Tweezers
Nail Varnish
Varnish Remover
Nail Files
Nail Scissors
Hair straighteners
Hairdryer
Hair ties
Hairbrush
Hair products
Clenser
Toner
Moisturiser
Pore clenser
Cotton pads
Deodorant
Body Spray
Perfume

(Ideally it might even have a jewellry area, but that is a whole other conversation.....)

I could possibly get away without a drawer for the smellie, or a drawer for the hair stuff, so 3 would be the minimum! (makeup, nails, skincare)
The rest...
  1. It should be able to fit a stool (and ideally a comfy chair) underneath it, without banging your knees on the bottom of the table and also be at the correct height to sit comfortably and relax - and definatly no drawer in the middle - that is just silly!
  2. It should have great light, preferably natural, and from all angles
  3. It should have a large mirror for general work, but also a small mirror that can do extreme closeups
  4. The worksurface should be generally clear - maybe some flowers, or a framed picture, and possibly have a pretty box for holding makeup removal pads, but nothing more than that, so it can be cleaned easily.....
  5. And it should be made of a light colour i think - the tradition is white, but the mirrored type is currently in fashion..... i think that white would work best for our apartment and our minimalist style, but most white ones seem to be quite "french" looking and ornate, and i think i want something more modern with clean lines......

I have done some google searching, and found some dressing tables that i like elements of and pasted them below here - if someone could combine all the best elements, it would be most appreciated!! :)

The traditional white dressing table - just need an extra drawer (maybe a bigger one), and maybe a slightly more modern design.... like the comfy matching chair too..... i like the symmetry too....

I like the jewellry holder aspect of this one.... not sure if it would work for me, but i like the idea of having everything in one place....


I like the nice design on the chair here and its a bit more of a modern design, but its a bit dull... like the idea of maybe going up with the drawers rather than down.....

This is pretty...

I dont like these ones that open up - i think they are silly, as you cant put anything on top of them

Too modern is boring....

Quite like this glass top idea...

This one is quite good as it combined the jewellry as well.... and there i also a great article attached it to (which says you can have your hairdryer hanging a pretty bagt o the side, which i like)

And now, I have just found soemthing interesting.... its a little bit smaller than i imagined i would go for (146cmh x 50cmw x 35cmd), but it is growing on me:
sigh.... i will get what i want one day!! :)

Oh, I think i have just found what i am after...


When i went to look at the above though, it was ike make for a kid!  I was bummed out, and had practically decided to go with the following dressing table, even though it was nearly $1,500....
BUT THEN i saw the following on Trademe for $250 and decided to go with it:
Gorgeous Dressing Table
Hope its ok!!!!  Its a bit plainer but so much cheaper - i thought i would try it first, see how my dressing table experience worked out, and if i want to go with plush, i can always sell this and upgrade later.... but i think this will be great :)