So this month has been my birthday month! I have basically bee celebrating for about 4 weeks now and it's time to take a rest! Lol.
It started out with @zakludick gifting me a manicure for my birthday that was SO beautiful. I went for falsies with acrylic and a French glitter overlay. My bestie was down from the UK so we got to have a real girl's morning, shoe shopping, going for breakfast and of course, having my nails done!
The previous day, we decided to dye my hair to cover that regrowth. I always go for a much lighter colour than my original, most of the time opting for Lady Gaga/ Madonna/ Marilyn Monroe blonde, but they didn't have the ultimate blonde that I normally go for. It was a blessing in disguise though because the new shade actually blended my already coloured hair with my natural regrowth, extremely well. I was born with ginger undertones, so I normally have to go with ultimate blonde because it comes with a powerful anti-brassing toner, but this time we bought a bottle of toning conditioner which has done a really great job. It was lovely to have my hair done by my bestie. I was gong to do it myself but opted to take advantage of her, while she spent a weekend with us, visiting from the UK.
and a Rooibos infused moisturizer
which works really well and feels light on the skin.Since it was @aimeludick 's birthday as well, I went and bought us some self-care items to make ourselves feel loved, from the inside out! I bought us a decent (and large) bottle of proper cleanser
I also bought us each a more intense moisturizer for blemishes and oil control. 
This moisturizer also contains SPF protection which is really important here in SA. It is very dense in the container though, and needs to be applied onto freshly washed, warm skin so that it can "melt." I must say it has made a massive difference to extremely almost untreatable and deep blackheads on my face.
Since I had limited cash for the nail pamper, I put it all into my fingernails, not giving any attention to my poor feet! They are calloused and hard due to decades in the service industry and so badly deserve some love! 
I was so excited to find this heel balm at home! I don't even know where it comes from, but my feet are feeling and looking SO much better, even after just one month. Look at my amazing man, @zakludick going above the call of duty and pampering my feet!
The rest of my skin also needs pampering and this moisturizer
makes you feel oh so pretty! It smells divine and gives you the most gentle shimmer. Not too much, but just enough!
I do have a question though, for those of you who know anything about nails, I have had falsies/ acyriic nails before. Infact exactly the same manicure. For that round, I could not for the life of me, get them off. I used regular nail varnish remover to soak (and ended up using two bottles!) and I used a nail file to scrape off the rest. The result was EXTREMELY thin remaining natural nails that were EXTREMELY sensitive to the touch. I did not know that you needed a proper, pure acetone soak to get them off. The new set however, showed signs of water damage (I don't really know... I Googled it) with my middle finger on the right hand side showing discoloration and it felt loose and eventually fell off a few days later.
My other nails started coming loose after 3 or four weeks and I lost anther one while trying to get in and out of outfits, deciding what to wear for my gig. On Saturday evening, I was able to just peel the remaining nails off. Sigh. I mean, a least I can play guitar now, but after spending ZAR700 on them, I was disappointed to say the least. And I was just about to go in and get the regrowth filled etc. Sigh again... they were so pretty! ow I am left with icky coloured natural nails that don't look very healthy. I'll have to give them some extra love. But the question is, is this normal or do I have a leg to stand on to complain?
Anyway, I have had so many awesome opportunities to dress up and remember that I am still me, even though I've got a few more wrinkles! 
Now if only I can find my damn makeup bag! We had a gig on Saturday evening. I always go the extra mile and try to look as gorgeous and camera ready as I can. Getting ready was a disaster though! I really realized how much @zakludick does for me, from helping me get into fat squishing undies and tightening bra straps, to straitening my hair, helping me with clasps and so much more. I discovered only wen my face was full of base that my WHOLE makeup bag was missing: including all my eyebrow pencils and eyeliners, eyeshadow, lipsticks and assorted mascaras and lipsticks. thank goodness, kept my base separate and had some backup / emergency makeup in my bag, but with no eyebrow pencil, It was a disaster! I tried using my mascara brush and then eventually a thin paint brush but I just kept ending up with uneven looking fuzzy caterpillars! I have very light eyebrows so when I out base on my face, they disappear completely. Thank goodness someone leant me an eyebrow pencil when we arrived at the venue, but I was completely flustered! What a palava! At least we had a lovey evening, and you know what? o one even noticed!
Please wish me luck on finding that bag though! XOXOXO
β€οΈπβππ
ππ
View or trade
LOHtokens.@clairemobey, You have received 1.0000 LOH for posting to Ladies of Hive.
We believe that you should be rewarded for the time and effort spent in creating articles. The goal is to encourage token holders to accumulate and hodl LOH tokens over a long period of time.