Charity Challenge

Hello all,

I have a question for you today.  I have promoted charities on this blog before such as Ugly Mugs and Capes for Heroes and would like it to become a monthly feature.  I have a passion for promoting smaller charities, the kind that people generally do not know about but also sharing people's stories on how they cope with potentially life threatening illnesses.

What I was wondering was whether anyone else would like to join me in this monthly feature.  The idea would be to each month promote a different charity, either one which is close to your heart, a smaller one that does amazing work or promoting a blog/website that aids, supports or provides help to people.

If you are promoting a charity, the idea would be to provide at the end of your blog the ways in which people can donate.

If anyone wishes to do this monthly challenge. please comment with your blog address and email or alternatively email me on vicky@thecurvedopinion.com and I will get in touch with the date for posting and everyone's details.

Vicky xx

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MayBeauty Incredible Face Mask Review

I have said it once and I will say it again.  I am not a beauty blogger.

My make up skills are adequate rather than expert, my nail painting skills are the "hope for the best" method (seriously though, how do they draw pictures on their nails with varnish, I'm convinced it's witchcraft) and my product applying skills are none existent.

I recently talked about my Lazy Girl Face Mask routine and after this, I was offered the opportunity to try out the Maybeauty Incredible Face Mask starter kit which includes 5 face masks and a brush as pictured below.

The face mask promises to:

The Mask removes dirt from your face while the guide prevents your skin to produce excess fat and dead skin cells, which are the cause of acne, blackheads and inflamed skin.

Given the approaching summer months and the need to give my skin a good overhaul I decided to give it a go.  The mask is black in colour and goes on easily with the brush.  You apply, leave it on for 30-45 minutes and then peel off.

Now, this is how the mask is supposed to look when applied:

This is how it actually turns out the clumsy girl way:

As it suggests in the guide they provide to you, ensure that you do not get the mask anywhere near your eyebrows or eyelashes as the mask will stick to them (note how I did not read the instructions properly from the picture above.)

One tip that I would definately recommend when removing the face mask is to have a damp cloth to hand.  You can peel the mask off however there is a definate sting to it, proof that it does actually remove everything that it promises, but water to the edges helps.

After removing the mask my face felt wonderfully soft, the few blackheads that had appeared on my nose had been removed and my skin felt refreshed and rejuvenated.  I intend to use the mask once a week in order to keep on top on it maintaining a healthy look.

The face mask is not tested on animals and is safe to use when pregnant.

You can buy the starter kit from Maybeauty for 19 pounds and if you use my code VickyFace30 you will save a huge 30%.

I would recommend the face mask to others and will continue to use it myself.

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*This item was gifted to me, however all views, as you can probably tell, are my own!

Your Work Life Balance

I love blogging.  It is the best thing that I have ever done.  It has brought my love of writing to the forefront, I have met amazing people; grown in confidence and had fantastic opportunities and experiences.

Having a blog however takes a lot of juggling.  We all know this.  Whether you have a full time job, are a stay at home mum or do a combination of both; I think we all end in the same position. Squeezing what we want to do in when we have the time and writing blog posts, as I am now, at 11.00pm.

So when you have a busy work/home life, a blog and a need to do the ordinary day to day things as well as having a semblance of a social life, the question is: how do we balance it all?

I recently completed a work life balance quiz which asks you 10 questions in order to find out if to find out whether you are a separator (distinct boundaries between work and life), an integrator (blurred lines where you do a bit of everything everywhere) or a volleyer (good at prioritizing).

I am an integrator.  My bus journeys to work are filled with research and scheduling blog posts, my lunch hours are note writing and my late evenings are usually reading, as well as thinking about what I need to get done in my job the next day.  This system works well for me, although sometimes you feel like you never leave the merry go round.

However we choose to balance our work and life should be the way which works best for each of us. I think that the hard and fast rules have to be:

• Do not take on more than you can handle.
• Organise, organise and organise again.
• Free time is not a myth, you need it.
• If the system falls apart for one day, chicken licken, the sky will not fall in.

How do you juggle your work life balance?

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*In collaboration with Joes Bloggers