General Life Update #4

HOLIDAY!!!!! CELEBRATE!!!!

Excuse me folks.  Just a little happy to not be at work and recuperate from....well everything.  

It's usually around this time of year post the end of financial year insanity, competition and exam pressures that I take a break from work.

Saturday was my exams.  I did.  I did great in fact.  Scraped into honours category for my silver Latin and Ballroom exams.

Since last exams I've moved up a grade and still managed to keep myself in the honours rank.  Not too shabby if I do say so myself.  (Above pic was taken by the head of my studio just before I commenced my first exam dance - The Waltz).

The most surprising part of the whole thing was the examiner commenting that I had a natural flair for Latin.  And why was this surprising?

Well firstly I used to hate Latin.  More to the point I hated the way I danced my latin.  When I came to my current studio I wanted to start with ballroom.  But my coach made me do latin first.  And when my first comp came I had barely practiced, was struggling and two dress sizes heavier.  I resented the fuck out of my coach and was barely tolerable by pretty much everyone around me.

But something magical happened on the day of my first comp.  I won.  I disproved my own beliefs about myself.  I began to see things differently.  I started to believe that maybe what I thought was impossible could actually be done

So to go from that starting point to achieving an honours grade and being told that I had a natural talent for the style is as surprising to me as it is to anyone....even my coaches.

So where does that leave me?

Well I'm taking time off dancing.  Not too much.  We have a comp in September after all.  But to be fair I'm taking time off a lot of things.  I am tired.  I am burned out and I want a little time to be selfish.  And how am I filling that time?

Sleeping, rewatching the first season of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., editing and uploading videos, catching up with my flatmates (which sounds weird because we live together...but rarely get a chance to talk) and just enjoying myself.

Speaking of S.H.I.E.L.D. I finished rewatching it this morning.  It's amazing the little things I'm picking up from watching it post finale and seeing Captain America 2.  What started as a fairly formulaic show turned into so much more (SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT ONWARDS).  The best parts were the relationships between the characters.

Coulson is clearly the father figure but watching him come undone after the collapse of the agency was heartbreaking.  My other favourite scene is in episode 20 where as we watch Simmons find the body of Koenig, Coulson is coming to a realisation that his team has had someone spying and manipulating them from within the whole time.  This comes to a climax as Simmons lets out a terrified scream.

The dynamic between May and Skye which started out as advsersarial and by the end the two women becoming something more like sisters.

FitzSimmons.  Those two stole every scene they were in.  They were almost inseparable, even in the most dire of situations.  And Fitz saying he didn't have the courage to tell Simmons that he was in love with her but he could show her how he felt...I have no words to describe how I was feeling during the above scene.

Ward was an interesting character.  At the start of the season I imagine my feelings toward him were pretty much the same as everyone elses.  "Oh great I bet he's got a story that results in him being the tough guy who just can't let anyone in."

And I was right.  To a degree.  And then you get to the end of episode 17 where you realise that Ward has been trolling us the entire season.  So in about five seconds he went from being vanilla good guy to the most interesting character on the show.  And it doesn't hurt that Brett Dalton knows how to rock stubble and hair gel.  Seriously would bang.  Add in the drama of the love story between him and Skye and I'm hooked.

Definitely looking forward to season 2.  September 24 can't come soon enough.

What else?  Well given that the above rambling about a tv show made this a pretty long blog entry I don't have much else to say other than lying around in my pyjamas is pretty awesome.  I have other tv shows I'm watching but I'll leave that for my next blog post.

As always much love
Lauren

Beauty Update #1

Hello lovely people.  It's a relative chilly (although not quite so horrible) evening in Sydney's inner west.  Sole Signal's new album Coming Up Aces is playing and I am trying to type as my nail polish dries.  Yes you heard me.  I have dived into another corner of the beauty blogger/vlogger lifestyle.  Nail polish.

My Aunty got me come clear sparkly nail polish as a part of a birthday bundle (I always ask for one thing and herself and my Nanna always spoil me).  A few months earlier a friend of mine had gotten some free revlon nail polish and not being interested in beauty things gave it to me.

Ah yes Revlon Brilliant Strength in the colour Enchant.  At the time it looked a little goopy and weird so into my random box of makeup and other crap it went.

Then on the weekend not only did my Aunty and Grandmother give me a giftcard for a store I liked they also bundled in this little beauty.

We have here Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Extreme Wear in Disco Ball.  It's sparkly and pretty and I'm wearing it on my toes right now.

I decided to build a collection and since Priceline was having a sale on all Sally Hansen nail polishes I went and picked up these four lovely bottles.

From Left to right Complete Manicure in Shell We Dance (which is pretty but a little sheer) and Red Zin (nice vampy red) plus Triple Shine in Pool Party and Sparks Fly (for layering fun).

Looking forward to trying out all of these plus maybe picking up a few more colours.  My Priceline also stocks Essie so I'll raid that counter too.

For the rest of my beauty stuff I will finally have time to edit some videos I filmed over a month ago and I also picked up another mascara:

 Bourjois Volume 1 Seconde is the newest mascarar from Bourjois and after just one coat I am in love.  This unfortunately is not the waterproof version and that one does not seem to be available here in Australia.  I'll be giving this one a proper road test this week and hopefully filming a review.

I've also ordered Nyx Doll Eye which is another fibre mascara (dirt cheap and shipping was free). 

My verdict is in on the Revlon Lash Potion.  I hate it.  I hate everything about it.  The brush is huge, the formula is too wet and the formula clumps.  If I had not gotten it for free I would not have ever tried it.

Well that's all from me and my usual ranting
Much love
Lauren

General Life Update #3

Hello everyone.  As I write this I'm about to go to sleep after being sent home from work with a throat infection....and nearly passing out.

While that doesn't sound too out of the ordinary for me it is.  About two years ago I changed my life.  I dropped 15 kilos by diet and exercise.  Not only were there positive effects for my dancing and body image my immune was greatly strengthened.

Previous to this I used to get constantly sick.  I would pass out due to dizzyness caused by low blood pressure which for both my professional and dancing life was quite a hindrance.

This is the second time in six months I've been ill.  It tells me a few things:

1.  I have greatly neglected my nutrition and hydration
2.  I'm not sleeping enough

I know this can't continue.  I want to get back on the path I was on two years ago and continue to decrease my body fat and become stronger again.  And how am I doing this?

Starting with my diet I am researching meal options.  Breakfast is my first meal that I want to get right.  I want to return to my gym regime which at the time was not just great for my body.  It was also therapy.  I used to be a very angry person.  I had a lot of issues.  I had trouble coping with stress at work which made me fly into a rage.  I am glad I have evolved past that and I like the person I am today.

Dancing wise I am taking my grading exams in one week and one day.  How am I feeling?  Well ballroom will be fine.  I know those dances better than I know myself at this point.  Latin....well samba isn't finished.  So that's the goal for tomorrow.  Samba must be finished or I will not take the exam.

Beauty wise....well I have a few items that I'm wanting to talk more about on my channel (assuming I get time to film and edit everything this weekend).  I've gone a little mascara crazy this month.

The Lash Potion was admittedly a freebie from a friend.  The Great Lash was on sale and I was keen to get a black/brown mascara that looked a little more natural for work.  The Illegal Lash was half price and just begging to be bought.

My fav is definitely Illegal Lash.  It does was it says.  My lashes are now long enough to nearly reach my eyebrows.  Great Lash is the most waterproof mascara I've ever worn.  It's impossible to get off.  It doesn't really do anything special.  Just a good natural looking mascara that I can wear to work.  As for Lash Potion the jury is still out.  I'm having days where I love it and days where I hate it.

Garnier seems to have three key liquid makeup removers.  This is the third I've tried (the first being Micellar Water which is amazing and Clean Sensitive 2-in-1 which is still pretty good).  It's the cheapest and not my favourite.  It is moisturizing but I feel like I have to use more of it to get my foundation off.  Not to mention that I can't get any in my eyes which can accidentally happen when I'm trying to get my eye makeup off (This issue does not occur with Micellar Water or Clean Sensitive 2-in-1).

For my hair I have finished my David Babaii shampoo & conditioner and moving onto something new.  I loved the formula of the DB but getting the product out of the bottle essentially meant giving myself a bicep workout everytime I wanted to wash my hair (due to the shape of the bottle).

Alchemy is a brand I've been wanting to try for a while.  For shampoo I have the Rice Aminos & Wheat Protein blend.  For conditioner I have the Macadamia & Wheat Protein blend.  Both promise to enhance and nourish dry damaged hair.  We will see.

Well that's all for today.  I'm off to politely ask my Peruvian flatmate if she wouldn't just turning down her music a pinch while I have a nap to heal.  Then later finally watching the second season of Hemlock grove.

Much love
Lauren

Dancing Blog #1

Hello everyone. As I write this on my smartphone it's a cold afternoon in Sydney and I'm on my way to meet my bff for coffee before my lesson.

Today's blog post was inspired by a slight lecture I got from my coach last night during my lesson.

Well maybe lecture is too harsh a word but what happened was that I apparently was showing off too much during my studios dance party

It's common in Australian dance studios to have a social party on a regular basis. This is a great opportunity for students of social dance (which I haven't been for a long time) to test out their skills.

Most of the studios I've been to usually just let the music run and the people have at it. Our studio party was a little different. We had mini group lessons, performances and of course general dancing. I had been asked to perform a Viennese Waltz.

That performance alone made people gasp but that wasn't what got me into trouble.

During the group lessons I was having so much fun that I decided to strut my stuff. It wasn't intended to be showing off (okay maybe just a little) but all in all I was having a great time.

But apparently that scared some people and might have made them feel a little inadequate.

I'm two minds about this. On one hand I am embarrassed that I made someone feel like that.

On the flip side I am annoyed. I never complained about watching someone who clearly was more practiced and more skilled than I and it never made me feel small. It made me feel pride that I am a dancer and I know there is so much I can accomplish if I work for it.

When I see a masterful performance I want to get into a studio and start training so I can one day be as amazing as my dancing heroes (Mirko Gozzoli, Edita Danube and Joanne Clifton just to name a few).

I know that not everyone is like me. I am not condoning nor condemning my reaction. I am reminding myself and anyone reading this that we are human, we make mistakes, we can royally fuck things up and most importantly we are capable of such beauty if we only try.

A friend of mine posted on her face book a quote that is my new motto

General Life Update #2

Hello everyone. I've been quiet on the blogging and vlogging front for a few weeks.

In 2.5 weeks I take my ballroom exams so I'm hard at work practicing, hitting the gym or at my office doing a lot of work.

This Thursday evening is always a rest day for me however the last few Thursday evenings have been spent catching up with friends.

Tonight is a rare night. Just the grocery shopping and straight home to edit videos and catch up on TV.

To be honest I'm glad. After a mild anxiety attack of how much work is in front of me I've had to take a step back, realize that I need some professional help to cope with everything and find a way forward.

Looking forward to uploading some reviews and other vids. I want to film more reviews and try more products. NYX in particular has some amazing eye shadow palettes that I am dying to try.

Well that's me for today
Much love

Lauren

General Life Update #1

So it's Tuesday here in Oz.  Cold yet sunny winter day.  This will be my first general/what's going on in my day kind of post.

Dancing wise I'm working with my coach to create a showcase routine to perform in front of whoever the hell will watch us.

There are three types of routines I do in ballroom.  The first are my competition routines.  Mostly my coaches can teach me whatever choreography they want from any grade of ballroom dancing (bronze, silver, gold etc).  Most competition choreography is open level so this is a great chance for me to expland my horizons.

The second are my routines for medal or grading exams.  These exams have very specific rules about what school figures or steps I am allowed to do based on the grade.  This time I will be taking my silver ballroom and silver latin exams.

The third is showcase.  Showcase routines are a great opportunity to do things you are not allowed to do in competion or medal.  For example in competition and medal exams dancers are prohitibed from breaking frame or lifts.

I've had some input to the choreography.  We started with tango then expanded from there.  It's been an interesting experience so far.  I haven't choregraphed anything since I was 18 and working on comteporary ballet.

Makeup wise I'm about to edit my TMI video after being tagged by the lovely Jyukimi.  I have a few other vids that I have filmed weeks ago but never uploaded.

I'm noticing now that I'm able to garner followers of my own without jumping into facebook groups like I was before.  Having said that I would still like to have that kind of exposure.

Well that's it for today

Much love

Lauren

I have a blog....wtf?

Hello my lovelies.  Those of you reading this anyway.  Here's the obligatory intro post.

I want to use this blog to expand on what I'm already doing on my Youtube Channel DumbfForBeauty.  I'm hoping to share this wonderful and exciting part of my life that I decided to do because of my ballroom dancing.

This blog will probably be part dancing related bs, complaints, developments etc and part makeup.  Mostly because I have a lot say and also because my time to film videos is quite limited.

Hope you all enjoy reading this.

Much love

Lauren