Wednesday 2 August 2017

Feminism


Feminism: an organised movement for the attainment of equal rights for women.
A feminist is anyone who supports the feminist movement. You don't have to be female to be a feminist, but you need to believe that women are worthy of having equal rights and opportunities as men. Many feminists support the feminist movement if it benefits them, forgetting about the majority of people who are oppressed in other ways then gender, such as race and religion. Being a feminist means supporting the idea that all women should have equal rights, and these rights should also be equal to men's rights.

I'm proud to be a feminist at 16, and I think that no matter who you are you should be proud if you are also a feminist. Many people are opposed to or afraid of feminism, but it is important to support feminism within society to show young women that their rights are important and they shouldn't grow up believing they aren't worthy of having equal rights to men. People shouldn't be afraid to admit that they are a feminist; they should be proud that they are working for change.

People have always been opposed to feminism. An early feminist group were the Suffragettes, who campaigned for women to have the right to vote - a right that men had already had. Many people (both men and women) didn't support the suffragettes even though they campaigned for a change that would change the voting system for the better. Many men thought that they were irrational and thought women were incapable of voting, and so were against the Suffragettes and the idea of feminism. This mentality is still present in many men (and women) today, believing that women don't need equal rights as they are inferior to men.

The government also plays a vital role in deciding women's rights. Even though in the UK we have a female Prime Minister, the majority of parliament past and present is made up of men, who have a large role in deciding women's rights. A female leader should empower women and help them achieve equal status, but this doesn't happen. In the USA women are having their rights snatched away with each passing day, due to the decisions of those in power. Women need to be taught from a young age that they are valuable and deserve equal rights to men.

I believe that feminism shouldn't exist. There shouldn't have to be a political movement campaigning for women to have equal rights, we should automatically have them. We should all be seen as equals and we all deserve rights that will protect us and help us grow within society. This not only applies to women, but also people of colour and members of the LGBT community, as they are the people who are most vulnerable in society; but are the least protected and have the fewest rights.

It is important that young teenage girls are taught about feminism and learn that it's not a bad thing to be a feminist. They should learn about the works of early feminists who campaigned for women to have a right that men already had, and how this led to women obtaining that right. They should learn that they are worthy of respect and to speak up in what they believe in. They should also be taught that they can do anything they set their mind to, even if it's something only men have done previously. Most importantly, it is important to teach young girls that no one can take away their rights.

Even though the feminist movement gains supporters every day, no changes are being made to women's rights to make the world a safer place for them. And as it becomes a wide-spread movement, it gains opponents too. More people need to learn that wanting equal rights for both men and women isn't negative and shouldn't be frowned upon.
Do you want your future daughter growing up in a world where women aren't safe?
Do you want your daughter growing up in a world where a lot of women don't have basic rights?
And finally, why do men deserve more rights than women?






Much love, Cara xxx

Friday 6 January 2017

High End Holy Fail

Hey everyone, welcome to my blog. I hope you're having a wonderful day. Today I am going to be sharing some disappointing makeup items (all high end) that aren't worth the money. Some people may love these products, but they didn't work for me, and this is just my opinion.

1 - Benefit Hello Flawless Foundation, £26.50

This was the first high end foundation I bought (back in February in New York) and I bought it because I generally liked Benefit as a brand and thought it would be a good choice when rushed for time in Macy's. However, after a few uses I discovered that I didn't like it. Overall, I think that the colour of the foundation is wrong for my skin, as it is far too yellow-toned (which I find with a lot of high end foundations) and it seems to be a bit dark, even though I bought the lightest shade. This is also the wrong foundation for my skin type (as it is meant for dry skin) and I find that it separates and goes patchy on my oily skin. This has the potential to be a great foundation, just not for me, and I wish that I did some research into other high end foundations before the trip, so that I could've picked one up that is better suited to my skin type.

2 - Pixi Colour Correcting Powder Foundation, £18

I picked this up from Marks & Spencer using a £15 voucher because I wanted to buy a new high end foundation, and I thought that a powder foundation might work better with my oily skin. I've only used this twice, once as foundation and once as a setting powder, and both times I disliked it. As a foundation I found that it didn't provide much coverage and didn't seem to colour-correct my skin (but maybe I expected a little bit too much, as I have really rosy cheeks). I also found that it settled into my pores around my nose area even after using a pore filling primer. I then saw Zoella use it in a video to set her makeup, so I thought that I would try the same, but again I found that it settled into my pores and made my makeup look cakey. There are so many better powders available that are much cheaper.

3 - MAC Retro Matte Liquid Lipsticks, £17.50

I remember when MAC first launched these liquid lipsticks, and every youtuber raved about them and seemed to have them in every single colour. They were one of the most wanted products at the time, but at £21 they were a bit too expensive. However, when the price of them was lowered to £17.50 I couldn't resist, and I bought the shade lady be good (a warm nude) and then got the shade bing bang boom in a sweet nutcracker Christmas set (I would never normally choose a pink shade). Overall, I find these liquid lipsticks to be quite thick in formula, which results in them being very drying, but I also find that when they are applied directly over a lip balm they don't dry fully matte, and there are other high end liquid lipsticks for similar prices that appear to have a lightweight formula that aren't too drying.

4 - Benefit They're Real Mascara, £19.50

The they're real mascara is just like marmite, you either love it or hate it. I know a few people that love it, however most people seem to hate it. I really dislike this mascara, as I find that it makes my eyelashes feel really hard and crispy, and it does seem quite clumpy if you apply a generous amount, which also makes it hard to layer up. The main issue with this mascara is trying to remove it. I find that during the day it flakes off, and when it comes to removing it at night it doesn't seem to come off. I know that there is a special they're real remover that benefit makes, however that costs £14.50 for only 50ml of product, which also seems like a waste of money considering I hardly ever wear the mascara.

5 - Urban Decay De-Slick Setting Spray, £9 for 30ml, £22 for 118ml

I picked up the 30ml travel size version of this product because it was under £10 and I wanted to try it before I splurged on a full-size, and I'm glad I did because I really don't like this product. It claims to control oil, but I found that it had no effect at all, and I had to touch up with powder later on in the day. I also found that it didn't prolong the wear of my makeup and it didn't last throughout the day. I'm glad that I only bought the travel sized product because I didn't waste as much money compared to if I bought the full size. Since buying this I have bought two full size all-nighter setting sprays and the vitamin B6 spray from Urban Decay, and I love both of these products as they work really well with my skin. I find Urban Decay products to be very hit or miss, so I would recommend buying the travel-size options when possible to test a product out before splurging on the full-size, and potentially wasting a lot of money.

6 - Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion Original, £16

This is another Urban Decay product that I decided to pick up a travel-sized version of, and again this was a good choice. There are four different primer potions available in the UK, two of which also come in the travel-size, so I decided to pick up the original. I find that this eyeshadow primer makes my eyelids quite oily, and my eyeshadow seems to crease and rub off when I use this. Many people say that they dislike the original primer potion as they find that it doesn't work as well as they hoped, but have nothing but positive reviews about the tinted primers, so I hope to try one of those soon and see if they are better than the original.



7 - Bare Minerals Mineral Veil Touch Up, £22

I bought this product on sale for around £10 and it is one of my biggest makeup regrets, as I haven't used this powder for a while. When I first bought it I used it all the time, but after a while I realised that it made my under eye area look really dry and cakey, even when I used my regular concealer. I also found that using it to set my whole face made it look quite orange, although the powder is in the shade translucent. However, I found that it did set my makeup quite nicely, so I might have to try using it again.

That's it for today's post, I hope you enjoyed it.
Much love, Cara xxx

Saturday 8 October 2016

Halloween Makeup Look 2

Hey everyone, welcome to my blog. I hope you're having a wonderful day. Today's post is the second of my Halloween makeup looks, and this week I have chosen to do a Harley Quinn makeup look, as I feel that Harley Quinn will be a very popular costume this year.

                       

To create this look, I started by priming my face, and applying a small amount of concealer on the areas of my face that needed extra coverage. I then mixed some white face paint in with the lightest foundation that I own, to make a pale base for the look. I then set this with a translucent powder, before moving onto the eyes.
I chose to start with the red eye, which was the right side of my face. I realised that I didn't have any red eyeshadow, so I applied a red lipstick as an eyeshadow base, then I used a red liquid lipstick in the crease to try and add some definition. After this, I used a black gel eyeliner to create a wing.
Moving onto the blue eye, I used a dark blue eyeshadow in the crease to define my eye, and then added a paler blue over my eyelid, before blending the two together to ensure there was no harsh lines. I then applied the same black gel eyeliner and created another wing (let's overlook the fact they were completely uneven, it is a Halloween look after all).
After this, I filled in my eyebrows and moved onto the eyeshadow under my eye. For the red side, I used a pink eyeshadow, and applied it in downward strokes with a thin eyeshadow brush, and blending out the edges. I then did the same with the blue, but this side looked a lot harsher where the eyeshadow was darker.
To finish the look, I took a red lipstick and applied it to my lips, and smudged out the right side of my lip. Then I took a black kohl eyeliner, and drew the heart underneath the red eye, and wrote the word 'rotten' on the same side of my face, under the cheekbone. This turned out much bigger than it was meant to, but that doesn't matter.

So that's it for today's post, I hope you enjoyed it. I plan to upload a new makeup look every week until Halloween.
Much love, Cara xxx