Monday 30 May 2016

TABLE MOUNTAIN, CAPE TOWN - A Lifelong Love Affair

My friends

I found these this morning ... 3 little lover's notes I had penned to iconic
Table Mountain, more than 10 years ago



(photo credit Brendon Wainwright)

Made me wonder how I ever thought I could stay away, make my home elsewhere when every time I raise my eyes, I always hope to lay them on the world's most beautiful table, when with every breath its slopes tell me I'm home.... my lifelong love affair. 

I hope you enjoy!

Love love love
Amiena xxx

(photo credit koosrossouw)

Obscured in mist
So dense I would loose myself were I to navigate.
Unearthly beauty beckons.
As with all things most dangerous
you whisper coldly for me to follow, invite me within.
And I am drawn as upon weightless clouds to enter
into your midst, knowing well that despair must follow.

And you are temptation, ethereal whispers, snatches
of long ago songs, half glimpsed shadows, …surreal

(penned on a cold winter's morning as Table Mountain lay hidden, shrouded in mist. Utterly, seduced)

 

(photo credit Kate Goss)
 
To God’s door
Above the clouds where angels sigh
Sunlight strokes our faces, is captured in light
And we alone wander amidst aching beauty
Almost undone by the otherworldliness of this place
Till our souls, transcendent, are awash with closeness.
And beyond welcoming waters, obscured by earths hold
Yet clear to the unchained, eternity beckons.
Here is where questing has led us, to Gods door.

Awash with reverence, wondered sighs to the Cherisher,
And all I am capable of, all I am made of, is this moment.

(a hike up to the dams after a week of heavy rains and the landscape so beautiful and transformed, it felt as if we had been transported to a different plane)


 

Table Mountain
I saw you burn, go up in flames
Wild winds raged, stoking your fires
Angry and immortal like the battles above great Olympus.
And no opposing force could stand in their path to diverge your destiny.

Nights and mornings untold rained down your black tears
Into hair, homes, dreams, into every crevice
clogging all thought and slowing our steps.

And you in your palanquin of mist, lay hidden while we watched scared,
waiting to see how you would end, dreading, dying for
the charred husk, all that remained of your ravishment.

(thoughts and fears as I watched Table Mountain burn, its ashes carried by the wind darkening the sky, making us choke, breaking my heart)

Thursday 26 May 2016

TUTORIAL - HOW TO MAKE YOUR EYES LOOK BIGGER IN 7 SIMPLE STEPS




I've always wanted bigger eyes. Always. I've thought about it loads, and I've decided that we've got Disney to blame for it. Think about it ... can you mention a single Disney princess (except for Mulan, that is) who doesn't have huge sparkling languid eyes? … Exactly!

Anyhow, that's what today's tutorial is all about, I'm going to show you 7 foolproof tips for creating BIG Beautiful Bambi Eyes.


STEP 1 - CONCEAL DARK CIRCLES
Dark circles make your eyes look tired and small. Gently apply concealer, I use LA Covergirl HD Pro Concealer or NYX full coverage HD concealer, in a triangular shape into your undereye area. Set with translucent powder. 


STEP 2 - CREATE A CHAMPAGNE PALETTE
Apply a champagne-coloured eyeshadow into the inner corner of your eyes - next to your tear duct, and entire eyelid.


STEP 3 - CONTOUR ABOVE CREASE
Grab a small fluffy brush and using a back and forth windscreen wiper motion, lightly sweep a medium brown matte eyeshadow just above the crease of your eyelid, and blend well. By blending it slightly above your crease (instead of in the crease) you're creating the illusion of a bigger, rounder eye.




STEP 4 - NUDE EYE PENCIL INCREASES THE SIZE OF YOUR EYE
Do not line your waterline with black eye khol (see right eye) - it'll shrink the size of your eye faster than you can say eek! Use a nude eye pencil instead and it'll double the size of your eyes (left eye) by making the whites of your eyes appear bigger. I swear swear swear by NYX Wonder Pencil. Absolute miracle.




STEP 5 - LINE OUTSIDE LASHES
Grab a dark brown eyeliner or dip a small flat brush into a matte dark brown eye shadow and apply it just above your top lashes. Starting from the outside edge and working your way to the middle, do the same beneath your lower lashline to make your eyes look rounder. Blend to soften.




STEP 6 - WING IT
Use a liquid or gel liner to line your lop lid and create a wing. This'll make your eye's look a lot wider.




STEP 7 - OPEN YOUR EYES
Apply mascara to both your top and bottom lashes. Mascara opens up your eyes, creating the impression of a rounder eye, giving you a wide eyed look. 



.... And helloooooo big bambi eyes!

Try it out and let me know if it works for you. Have I forgotten anything? Drop me a line if I have, and don't forget to like, comment and subscribe.


Love ya!

XXX
Amiena