Blog Silence

Apologies that it's all quiet here at the moment... life is, quite honestly, a bit poo and blogging has taken a bit of a back seat.

As I think it's important to try and focus on the positives when you can, I thought I'd share with you some things that are inspiring me at the moment or making this stupidness seem a little more enjoyable:

- Watching the Great British Bake Off, discovering Edd and Jane's blogs and remembering that I do actually enjoy baking (it's just not being able to use wheat flour that makes it feel like a pain)

- Spending time with some wonderful friends

- The textiles course I'm taking with a group of lovely girly friends. It's so nice to have 2 hours to just be creative and have fun.

- Reading - my brain has been so overloaded that when I do get a bit of spare time, all I seem to want to do is escape into a book

What's nice in your life at the moment?

Papermania Wheelable Tote Review (aka Zuca Pro Alternative)

If you read this post, you'll know that I'm currently starting to build my kit to set up shop as a freelance MUA. For me, one of the most important things wasn't having all the most spectacular make up or the most expensive brushes, but having things that do their job extremely well, regardless of the label. This Papermania Wheelable Tote has become a staple part of my kit

I'd been eyeing up the Zuca Sport for a while, but in all honesty, I'm not in a position to be spending £200ish on a bag. I thought about a suitcase (popular with a lot of MUAs on Model Mayhem), but I love compartments and I know I'd just end up getting confused and frustrated. After a lot of searching and contemplation, I decided that the best way forward was a scrapbooking/crafters wheely tote, and after a bit more deliberation (and lots of encouragement from Mizz Worthy) I finally settled on the Papermania Wheelable Tote.

I'm not going to post lots about it, because I go into a fair bit of detail in the video, but essentially - I love it! I would strongly recommend this for anyone who's starting to build their kit and is looking for reasonably priced and professional looking storage.

One thing I will post though is the dimension comparison that I mention in the video:

Zuca Sport:

Height: 18"

Width: 12.25"

Depth: 14"

Papermania Wheelable Tote

Height: 18"

Width: 16.5"

Depth: 11"

Not identical, but really not that far off either.

Obviously there are other things to consider too - the wheels are probably a little more hardcore on the Zuca and the frame is a little lighter. The Papermania doesn't come with a built in seat, but then again neither does a suitcase.

I got mine from amazon.co.uk for £41.00 (I think the seller was Craftsuperstore) but you can find them other places as well. What do you think? Freelance MUAs - what do you use?

Free Delivery at Debenhams!

Hello lovelies!

Just thought I'd give you a heads up and let you know that there's free delivery at Debenhams at the mo!

Not a clue when it ends, so I suggest that those of you wanting lovely treats like the Urban Decay BOS III get in there fast :) Every little counts and all that....

Something very exciting (for me anyway!)

Hello lovelies!

I just want to share something very exciting with you.... as some of you will know from this post, I've decided to act on my little tiny dream of becoming a make up artist. Who knows what will happen, but at the moment it feels like doors are opening left right and centre, with everything from random, unexpected bits of money for building kit, to having tonnes of friends offer to let me practice on them/be photographed for my portfolio (include a male friend of mine who I acted alongside at university - I bumped into him randomly yesterday and he offered without me even asking).

Anyway, I know that I'm a long way from being able to charge etc but I wanted somewhere to use as an online portfolio and also somewhere to be able to direct people to when I do start getting business. So, I took the plunge and I've made a website.

It's very very new, and needs a lot of changing around I'm sure (for starters, it's all in flash so I need to figure out how to put a html splash page in and things like that), but I thought I'd share it with you lovely blog followers.

emilybmakeup.com

Taaa-daaaaaaa!

What do you think? Do please give me feedback re the layout/usability/ any general thoughts you might have (be kind though, it is still a work in progress). Also, if anyone fancies trying to send me a message through the contact form, that'd be great as well (that way I can check that it definitely works!)

What's exciting you at the moment lovely ladies?