I feel very slack for not blogging but apart from the general business (busyness?) of life I have also been rehearsing my little(-ish.. ok fairly rotund!) buns off for my first belly dancing performance.
I was part of a student troupe (I take lessons with Zahira's Belly Dance Bazaar performing at the body n soul festival last weekend and I loved it! I am sure my performance wasn't polished but I had fun. My Saturday show was better than the Sunday one, I put part of that down to not having the great nervous energy but also I was disappointed when I got on Stage on Sunday and my little family hadn't been able to make it( naps are terrible for scheduling sometimes!).
I used to be a "drama weirdo" many years ago and my life revolved around theatre but I became jaded with the lack of maturity and well... dramatic behaviour so I hadn't performed in any capacity for ten years.
I must say though dressing up with a serious amount of slap and girly girly costume was a lot of fun as I don't get to be glamorous very often these days. even if I do dress up a little person will run up to me and smear unknown substances on me and then I need to go get changed.. or I go into the garden and absent mindedly pull up weeds with my bare hands...
Belly dancing is fun and make me feel very glam- I think it is a great celebration of femininity and great for getting rid of poor self perception. We ladies really need to give ourselves a break more often and stop trying to "blast" "nuke" and "banish" and other unpleasant war like words parts of our body as if they weren't wonderful and doing a great job. My thighs might be other than the ones I would have chosen from a catalogue but they are strong and do a great job keeping my bottom from sitting directly on my knees!
I don't have a lot of time or energy for beauty routines and I would love to share some secret girly tips but this is all I could come up with...not very many and not very secret sorry!
1. Oil cleansing... Google it- it is wonderful for the skin and takes a bit of tweaking to get the right proportions but very worthwhile doing. I found I didn't have to do it more than three times a week.
2. Microfibre cloths. Yes like the ones you use on the bench, or the car (not the same ones from the shed- new, clean ones- or ones from the facecloth aisle) no soap or cleanser needed. exfoliates and cleanses nicely.
3. Coconut oil- excellent moisturiser when you are using your natural sunscreen www.uvnatural.com.au I use extra virgin coconut oil on my face, arms etc.
4. Dry brushing. I will admit I don't shower extremely often but I do feel I don't need to as I dry brush every morning to get the lymph flowing and slough of the old dry skin. Google it and you will find heaps of information!
I think that is about all.
I would love to say that I get a good nights sleep, eat plenty of fresh fruit and veges and drink heaps of water but I can't state that with honesty. I do try though!
I would love to here from any of you out there so I could try some cheap, low maintenance environmentally friendly beauty tips!
