It ain't necessarily so

While I know that it's perfectly normal for bloggers to post photos of themselves on their blogs (indeed, a lot of blogs are made up solely of photos of the blogger), those of you who are regular readers may have noticed that I very rarely do this. This isn't because I'm particularly self-conscious; I just feel that there's more interesting things for me to write about than 'what I wore today'. That's not to say that I don't like seeing what other people wore (those of you who do post photos of yourselves, please don't see this as a criticism, because it's really not!) - there are loads of bloggers whose outfit posts I love reading - Gem, Fritha, Emma plus tons more, but, quite frankly, I just don't think that inundating you all with photos of me would make this blog a more interesting read.

I do think though, that outfit photos can be a big contributing factor to blogs becoming successful. I guess what it comes down to is that we're all a bit nosey - we like to see what other girls our age are wearing and where they shop etc. Plus, personal style blogs can be great inspiration; I can't tell you how many times I've seen items on other blogs and then gone out and bought them myself. I can't help but wonder if my blog would be more popular if I posted outfit photos? I'd be interested to know what other people thought about this; those of you who do write blogs, how do you feel about outfit or 'face of the day' photos? Do you do it? And when you're reading other blogs, do you like seeing lots of outfit/FOTD posts? Let's get a discussion going on this one!

The reason I've been thinking about all this is because today, shock HORROR, I am posting a photo of myself! Foundation-free-February is coming to an end, and while Dani has done quite a few posts on how it's going and what she's been doing to makeup-wise to combat the lack of foundation, I feel like I've not really embraced the challenge as much as she has. So, without further ado, here is my foundation-free face;

(still in my pyjamas)

This is the makeup I wear daily - lots of mascara and eyeliner, some concealer and highlighter under my eyes, a bit of blusher and bronzer and (I think) Rose Vaseline. I've never really had particularly problematic skin; I do get the occasional blemish and have a big patch of blocked pores around my chin that I just can't shift (grrr), but apart from that, the main reason why I'd choose to wear foundation is to even out my skin tone - as you can see from the photo, I have quite a few freckles and a bit of sun damage here and there (probably from being a naughty sunbed user when I was a teenager). To be perfectly honest, I can't say I've noticed a great deal of difference in my skin since starting the challenge; the blocked pores are still there and I've currently got a spot on my cheek, so maybe this suggests that foundation isn't actually guilty of causing skin problems? Even so, I'm sure my skin has appreciated going without a daily layer of foundation for the past few weeks. Also, I haven't missed foundation much and I've kind of gotten used to not wearing it now, so I think I'll probably just stick with my new routine and not bother with it unless I really feel I need it. All in all, a positive outcome I'd say! Do you wear foundation daily? Reckon you could go without it? Try it, I dare you!

Slightly weird photo I know, but I completely forgot to photograph this nail art so this is the only image I have. You can't really see, but some of the leopard spots are actually different coloured rhinestones! I got really inspired by Selina's fabulous nails and bought some rhinestones, bows and flowers on eBay a little while back. They were from Hong Kong, so took over two weeks to arrive, but they're here now and I'm very excited! Expect lots more crazy nail art in the future, both here and on my nail art page!