Many Mothers and daughters bond over doing each other's hair or having a facial, but with me and my Mum it tends to be a bottle of wine, a curry and rubbish TV. However, last week, she trusted me with her nails in preparation for her year 11 class's prom. Not just painting or filing them, no ... these were acrylic nails with instructions, an applicator and a tiny tube of glue: easy, right? After actually managing to physically glue her fingers together, it's safe to say we're abandoning that whole girly pampering thing.
This isn't our first mishap when it comes to beauty however...
The night before we flew to Florida three years ago, I got my Mum to do my eyebrows with an epilator. She did do a great job; not a single hair remained ... but neither did my skin. Equally, there is photographic evidence of various hair mishaps over the years. There were never any cute French plaits or bows, just a lot of pony tails (practicality was key). I most vividly remember my Grandad attempting to do my hair for school one morning when my parents were working early, and it was so bad that my teachers redid it for me when I got there. I didn't do myself any favours either. I have absolutely no nails and the ones that I do have are pretty mutilated as I've bitten them since I could chew, I once got a hairbrush stuck in my hair which consequently had to be cut out, and I spent a significant amount of my childhood looking like Ronald McDonald, with incredibly sensitive lips.
I'd like to say I've progressed since then but that would be a complete lie; I'm still a disaster. However, a low key image hasn't been easy to uphold when you go to school with girls plastered with makeup, hair extensions, and a tan that resembles Doritos and the 'perfect' image portrayed in the media. You only need to look at the front cover of a glossy magazine to feel inadequate; perfectly curled hair, blemish free skin tone, and a skinny size 8 waist.
We hear about the 'miracle' diets and the torturous 5 hour work outs every single day and look on with awe, but what I'm coming to realise is that 'beauty' comes from within and these celebrities often have the ugliest personalities.
My current photo journalism assignment has seen me finding my way around Photoshop, and I've been quite shocked at the endless ways in which to manipulate a photo. I've always heard about 'air brushing' but never really quite grasped the sheer impact it can have.
Here's just a few of the most shocking:
What kind of image is this giving out? These magazines target innocent, naive and insecure teenage girls who dream of looking like these stars, but it's truly damaging women's confidence everywhere.
We're lucky that Britain currently has beautiful and inspirational women in the spot light for all the right reasons...
Even Lady Gaga is inspiring girls to embrace their bodies with her Body Revolution Campaign, launched late last year after critics noticed she'd gained 25lbs. Gaga highlights that even the skinniest of women look in the mirror and see flaws, but she is asking women to 'be brave and celebrate with us your 'perceived flaws,' as society tells us. May we make our flaws famous, and thus redefine the heinous.'
Confidence and happiness shine through any amount of makeup, spots or cellulite and I for one hope Gaga's message is contagious.
We all have our insecurities and things we would like to change. I personally would like to look like Mila Kunis...
But if this futile dream ever depresses me, I take great pleasure in looking at pictures like this...
My hair's never perfect.
The potential possibility of blinding myself means I avoid eyeliner at all costs.
If deprived of due care and attention, my eyebrows move towards looking like Chewbacca.
But I'd never exchange my extra hour in bed every day, to rectify any of the above.
If ever in doubt, look at an ugly picture of a celebrity for reassurance that we are all the same.
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