It's 2020!?

Happy New Year everyone!

First things first, where did 2019 go?! 

This year has had its fair share of ups and downs for me. At the start of the year, I created Frantasmagoria after months of debating the content I wanted to create. As a result, I’ve become part of an amazing community and have over 4,000 awesome followers on twitter! 💛

In September 2019 I married my best friend and love of my life. Everything was perfect! The sun was shining, everyone had a great time, and even though it flew by I had a fantastic day with my husband and loved ones. I don't think I have smiled so much in my life!

The confetti throw at our wedding!

For our honeymoon, we crossed Canada off of our bucket list! We visited Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper, Vancouver, and Whistler. We both loved seeing the epic mountains and National Parks, getting a rare glimpse of Canadian wildlife, and eating lots of food! After months of watching what I ate it was lovely just enjoy myself. (Maybe a bit too much mind you...)

This photo was taken by myself while we were traveling through Canada.

As happy as 2019 was for our family, we did have our fair share of bad news. My husband lost his uncle before our wedding day which shattered everyone. Then after our honeymoon, both my husband and I were told we were facing redundancy. It was overwhelming, to say the least.

Things got too overwhelming for me, which meant I had some time away from my blog to focus on organising my life.

Since then my husbands' job was saved, and I have found a new job in recruitment. So, each cloud has a silver lining. 😊I am still a little overwhelmed but 2020 is a new year, which means another year of opportunities!

My plan for 2020!

I told myself I was not going to give myself any resolutions going into 2020, as I never accomplish them! I put too much pressure on myself doing it, so I have a shortlist of things I want to achieve.

1. Start creating content again 
2. Try to read at least one book a month this year
3. Decorate our home
4. Become more active and go on more walks
5. Take more photographs
6. Learn to drive! (Already on it.)

I know I have been quiet for the last few months, but I am back now! I look forward to creating more content for you all this year! 

What do you hope to achieve this year? Do you have any specific goals or resolutions? Please share them with me in the comments! 😀

How did I feel on the day?

The day was finally here and I was freaking out. I was also tired because we had been at a party the night before, but back to the point... As I didn't know what the pain would be like I decided it was best to cover my eyebrows in numbing cream and hope that it worked! 

I had a mini panic attack while we were on the way there because I thought I was going to be late. I hate being late for stuff, and I didn't want to lose my appointment. However, my panicking was uncalled for as we got there just on time.

When I got there she wiped my makeup off, drew the shape I asked her for and then checked I was happy with the shape. She also told me that I had one eyebrow lower than the other! Which was a surprise to me! I knew one was thinner but I didn't know I was uneven. 😅After we got the shape down and we were happy, I laid on the bed and it was time to begin the procedure.

What did it feel like?

When she started I didn't feel it at all and was able to lay there without any pain. The one thing I noticed was the sound, and I heard that scraping sound every time she dragged the needles across my eyebrow. Honestly, it was awful at first but I got used to it eventually.

Between each step she would apply more numbing cream to make sure I was comfortable, but I have to admit it started to get raw. It was still bearable but when she went over one area 5-6 times I started to feel it. 

There were points when she was doing the inside of my brows that I wanted to sneeze, and that was because it was so close to my nose. I felt like I spent most of my time fighting them back!

Before and after shot! Ignore the lack of makeup and redness haha.

The aftercare information was given to me on an A4 sheet of paper, and it gave me in-depth instructions on how to care for them. I was also given an ointment to use daily to help the healing process. It has been awkward avoiding water in the shower and I haven't been able to exercise as sweating on them would affect the healing too.

How has the healing process been?

Day 1-3: The first few days were okay but they were very red. My eyebrows were a bit sore but it was manageable. They looked dark and exactly how they did when they were just done. I expected them to look dark, but that isn't a problem for me because I like that look a lot.

Day 3-7: One word: Itchy! For the whole 4 days, it was a constant battle to resist the urge to give them a good scratch. They also started to scab a fair bit and they became patchy as the scabs started to fall off naturally. They looked a lot lighter where the scab had come away, but I was reassured they do go darker when it heals further. (It still made me worry they were going to be too light.)

Day 7 -14: More of the scabs started to fall away after day 7 and the itching subsided. They started to get a bit darker where they faded before. I had to fight the urge to pluck them, as she told me not to do that while they healed. I guess I am so used to plucking I can't help myself, but that's what got me here in the first place! 😅

What happens next?

I have my touch up booked in April and I am kind of excited about it! I may go a bit darker this time because I like the way they look that way. I'm happy with the result so far and would recommend it to anyone that overplucked like me.

The next post I write about this will be after my touch up and about the final results! I hope you enjoyed this post, and if you have any questions let me know in the comments. 😊

You can find part one of this series here. Thank you for reading!

What is Microblading

Microblading is a popular beauty procedure that involves tattooing the eyebrows with semi-permanent ink to add more shape and create a natural look. The microblading is done using 10 - 12 small blades in a pen-shaped holder, and it creates natural looking hair strokes in the eyebrow. 

The microblading process is bespoke to each person that is undergoing the procedure, as the artist will make measurements to ensure they create the perfect brows for each face shape. 

Why am I having it done?

This is an old photograph but it shows my large and bold brows.

Back in the '90s when I was a young girl it was fashionable to over pluck your eyebrows and make them super thin. As a result, my eyebrows are thin, have little to no shape, and I despise filling them in. 

The reason why I hate filling them in is that I am garbage at it. That is literally it! I used to make them way too big. Seriously... It became a running joke at my previous job. I would laugh along because looking back I was just so terrible at it. However, as time went on I became lazy with them and don't bother too often. I always make them too dark and they never end up natural looking.

So, I figured since I am getting married in September I would like to have more shape and have natural looking brows that don't need much any work.

How am I feeling before I get it done?

If I am being completely honest I am a bit anxious about it. Naturally, I have been watching YouTube videos and reading articles online, which was both good and bad. A lot of people say it was a great experience with no pain, and others that it was awful and the results were disappointing. I also checked out how they looked after the healing process is complete, as it can be misleading when you see the before and after pictures online.

The things that I worry about the most after watching the videos are discolouration, infection, and them looking worse than they did before. If that's even possible! 😂I also have very oily skin so I am a bit worried about that, as it could make the healing process difficult. 😓

Even though I am scared and have read good and bad things about it I am still excited to have it done. I have been playing with the idea for ages, and I just bit the bullet eventually and booked in. I've been busy reading reviews and looking at the images on the artists' website I have chosen, which adds to the excitement!

Have any of you guys had this done? How did it go for you and were you happy with the results? Please let me know in the comments because I am really curious! I will update you guys after I've had it done. 😀

You can read part two of this series here. Thanks for reading!