my spring beauty fix (overhaul) at centrale croydon

last week i was invited along to the spring beauty fix event that was being held at centrale croydon over this last weekend. with make up demos, one-to-one make overs with industry experts and a ridiculous amount of offers and discounts on beauty and fashion - i could hardly say no. well, except for the fact it was in croydon, which is hardly my local shopping centre, or an ideal day out for me. but, in a bid to 'try new things' and 'see more places', i thought that i had nothing to lose, and may as well.

except... train disruption, so what should have been a half an hour train journey suddenly became a fifty minute rail replacement bus ride. which actually wasn't so bad, except i always panic that i won't know where to get off when i get on new bus routes. at least with rail replacement services, they only stop at the train stations, and i knew where i was going once i got to west croydon. (cool story, bro...)

i made my way over to the spring beauty fix event which was being held outside of debenhams on the ground floor, and said my hellos to the staff helping out for the day. with reps from the body shop, benefit, origins and lancome on hand for quick make overs, brow classes, and mini hand massages, there was loads going on already, so i grabbed my gift card and headed off to do some beauty fixing of my own.


first stop was getting a hair cut. it's been a couple of months since the last, and now that i'm trying to grow my fringe out, i thought that getting a trim would a) help bridge the gap, and b) at least encourage my hair to grow a bit faster. sitting in the hairdressers chair, under bright halogen lighting, i got so caught up with my reflection that i barely paid any attention to the questions to stylist was asking me.

i do my make up in natural lighting, and that's generally how i take my reflection; imperfect, but ultimately, natural. i recently bought the absolute lightest shade of foundation i could find in my usual brand (rimmell) after trying to colour match my foundation the best i can so i don't have a hideous orange line around my jaw, i don't ever use bronzers or peachy blushers, and i always use a really translucent loose powder - i keep my face as pale as possible, with rosey blush, and a pink lip. lately, i've been cutting back on the eye make up too - i think the older (and tireder) i get, the old (and tireder) this makes me look. i leave the house in the morning with a full face, but not a lot of make up, and yet, sitting in that chair, under horrible lighting, i hated what i was looking at.

i could see every flaw, every line, every scar. it made me feel horrible, and i hated the thought that this could be how i really look outside of my bedroom's natural lighting. in that chair and in that moment, i knew how i was going to spend my time at the beauty fix event: at the benefit counter, with an open mind. i needed a magical, youth-inducing fix for the haggard, tired face i was looking at.

isn't it funny what you don't know about things you think you know about. wait, what? like, i have been wearing make up daily since i was eighteen years old, and yet... i have no idea how you're supposed to wear make up; so. many. layers. she took my face off and carefully reapplied it, one layer at a time. moisturiser, primer, foundation, blush, primer, other gunk, more other gunk... so many layers of gunk, but on my face, it felt like nothing. and in the mirror, i was flipping glowing.

half an hour with emily was an eye opening experience. in between her laughing at my hilarity (natch), she educated me on the how and why of each product she was using, and in no way pressured me to buy anything. the thing i was most impressed by on my face was the colouring. even though the foundation shade she'd used was technically still the lightest of the shades available, it was a warm tone rather than a cool one, which meant it matched perfectly to my pinky skin tone. looking at my face, it was like i was make up free, but even and flawless. flawless.

naturally, i bought the foundation. and the mascara,  because i kind of didn't believe the hype of "they're real", until she put it on my eyelashes. and then i wanted to hug dear emily, because she made all of my long-lash dreams come true. i couldn't stop looking in all of the mirrors after that, because all i wanted to do was look at my fresh, dewy face, and see how all the gunk she'd applied had literally changed the look of my face. miracles do happen!

bonus points to emily for telling me i had great brow and liner game, too.

nice to know this old lady can still master a pencil.