I’ve always loved makeup, but have never really been obsessed with it. I remember when I started Beauty College I ‘got in trouble’ for NOT wearing ENOUGH makeup! And while I say I’m not obsessed with it, I do prefer to put on some powder and a bit of mascara before I leave the house.

I’ve thought about analysing why we feel the need to do this, but really I don’t think for me there are any deep psychological reasons behind it! My face is quite pale and I look better, healthier with a bit of colour. Really it’s that plain and simple!

Anyway enough of my ramblings, here I am bare faced sitting on train somewhere in France, I think travelling from Paris to Bordeaux a few weeks ago! Actually that was at the beginning of our trip so a couple of months ago!

Bloggers Without Makeup

Congratulations Jodie on a fantastic idea that turned into a great day and no doubt liberated women everywhere! Next year (and I hope there’s a next year) I hope to participate on the proper day!

You can read the full Blogger’s Without Makeup stories and follow the journey on Jodie’s website:

Bloggers Without Makeup

Bloggers Without Makeup Day

BWM Day 2010 Thanks

BWM 2010 Video

I'm a brunette!

As you well know I’m a little obsessed with getting my hair done. And I’m not afraid of a change. Except after growing my hair for nearly a year for our wedding, I have become quite attached to my long locks, and wasn’t ready to cut them off, but still felt like I needed a change.

Couple that with our upcoming 8 week trip to Europe and not wanting horrible regrowth half way through our trip and voila, my change would be darker locks!

So that’s what I did last week! I managed to freak myself out twice in the mirror after forgetting the following morning that for now, I was no longer a blonde!

Do you experiment with your hair? How many hair colours have you had over the years? Or do you prefer to keep it simple?!

Oh, and as always all my hair posts are dedicated to Kylie! xx

As Hubby and I flicked through the weekend papers yesterday and I saw the Jen pics, my first thought was: flaws and all my arse. Good for her for stripping down and good for marie claire for putting her on the cover un-re-touched. But hello people, if I had Jen’s body, I’d do the groceries with no bloody clothes on.

There has been criticism of ‘Jen bashing’ and saying she’s not real, and I think it’s a shame that when it comes to body image we get off track and sometimes don’t maybe express our opinions the way we should. All women of all shapes and sizes are real women. Some body types provide a more positive image than others, yes, and is Jen’s one of those bodies? Well that is the million dollar question.

Do I like looking at Jen’s body, and admire her hard work and/or freaking good genes? Yes, I do, and I can appreciate her as a lingerie model and her job that requires her to look a certain way. But out of all the women in the whole entire country, was she the right one for the magazine to make a stand? Probably not. Maybe the right person to make a little bit of ripple, but to try and cause a tidle wave of support for body image, for the AVERAGE Australian women, no.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have my head stuck in the sand, and I think that someone like me or fellow potential covergirl Kerri Sackville would outsell Miss Universe herself in the magazine stakes, (although I’m sure we’d give her a good run for her money), but it still saddens me that at the end of the day whether it was a close second or still the top priority, magazines, like marie claire have a duty to their advertisers to sell magazines. And shitloads of them.

And so here I am flaws, creases, cellulite and all. Why? Well why the hell not? I know I’ve put on weight, about 10kg over the past couple of years. And yes sometimes I have extremely unhappy and p*@$ed off days with my body. I hate my thighs and tummy every single day. But I also know that this is the only body I’ve got, and while I whinge and moan about clothes that don’t fit anymore, I know I’m not fat, but sometimes it still sucks.

But would you catch me like this standing next to Jen. Um, let me think about that. HELL NO!

UPDATE: So after pondering all this for a few hours I felt the need to add something else. Someone wrote on Twitter last night about how they felt when they saw Jen naked on the cover of marie claire. And basically it wasn’t good. I felt the same. I thought if that’s a flawed body then what hope do the rest of us ‘normal’ non-supermodel people have. Um, how about zero. Yes we are all very different shapes and sizes and we should all learn to love the skin we’re in, but comparing ourselves to Jen, which we would all naturally instantly do, is not going to help.

Lastly bravo to Madison Magazine who unfortunately didn’t seem to drum up the same publicity as Jen, but their spread on Aussie’s baring all was a little more comforting in that you could look at women of all sizes and relate. And that’s what we want. To see people who are just like us.

Not on the models in the magazines, the plus sized models on the catwalk, or lack there of, or the way photoshop is used to make even the tiniest of people look even tinier.

No, none of that. I’d like to talk about my own thoughts on MY body. Risky, selfish, whatever you want to call it, here’s what I think about me, myself and I.

My story isn’t one for the dramatics. I don’t have an eating disorder, and I don’t go to extremes with my food or exercise. Well I don’t really go anywhere with my exercise because I don’t really do any.

Growing up I never had a weight issue. I was naturally normal. I don’t like to say the word thin, because a) I don’t like it and b) you wouldn’t look at me and think wow she’s thin, I was you know, just a size 10. I never had to worry about bits poking out here and there, and was easily able to where usually whatever I wanted quite comfortably. God I sound up myself, but I promise you I’m not!!

So there I was plodding along not worried about my weight until a couple of years ago. Gradually I noticed that no more could I just eat whatever I wanted without consequence. And slowly the kilo’s crept on. So about 2 years ago I gradually put on about 8-10 kilos, it hovers depending on what I’ve eaten that day!

I have pants that I can juuust do up, and would ok to wear if you know I didn’t need to breathe or anything important like that. I have dresses that fit, if you call fitting, being able to do them up, but then not being able to walk for fear the side of it might split in half!

Any you know what, I’m ok with that. I’m ok with the fact that my body has changed, and I haven’t even got bloody kids to blame it on! Essentially my weight gain has been evenly distributed! So I’m just a little more padded all over! My butt pokes out more than it used to. On a bad day, I could pass my tummy off for at least 4 months preggers. My arms have that slight tuckshop lady flab going on, and don’t even get me started on my thighs!

I guess in some respect I do worry about gaining weight, enough for me to think about writing this post anyway. But not in a ‘oh my god I’m fat’ kinda way. And not in a I HAVE to look like that model in the magazine kinda way either. More that I know I’d probably feel a little better about myself if I exercised more and got my body moving. I’d be healthier and feel better phyically, and with that comes feeling better about how you look.

So I guess in a nutshell, while I grief for the clothes that I used to feel fantastic in, I’m also ok with the fact that I prefer and feel more comfortable in a maxi-dress as opposed to a mini-skirt. (Not that I ever got round in mini-skirts, but you get my point!). And for those that know me, no I haven’t lost my mind, yes most of my clothes are 10-12, but I still thought I’d share my body changing experience anyhow.

So there you have it, Ami’s Body Image according to moi! Alright, your turn now!