This is long overdue and for that I’m sorry but things have just gotten out of hand as of late… I was surprised and pleased to read that Jessica from beyoutifulbeauty  had nominated my blog here for the Liebster Award, you know that award for those with less than two hundred followers. I was flattered for the nomination, let me assure you and it’s comforting to hear that people are enjoying your blog.

The award has six basic rules/principles: (1) you acknowledge the blogger who nominated you (2) you answer the 11 questions that the blogger gave you (3) you give 11 random facts about yourself (4) you nominate 11 blogs that you think are worthy of the award but have less than 200 followers (5) you let the bloggers know that you nominated them (6) you leave 11 questions for them to answer. And here are the ones Jessica asked me:

 

1. What is your favourite food?

Ahh, this is a tough one, as despite being a rather small female, I am a major foodie. Nothing beats the taste of homemade macaroni and cheese and I must say myself that my mother’s is delicious and I salivate whenever she decides to make it.

2. What is your favourite piece in your makeup collection and why?

This is an agonizingly painful one for one of those overly analytical thinkers such as myself. At the moment I’m tempted to say that my MAC Coquette eyeshadow is deserving of the honour; it’s a matte (but creamy and pigmented) ashy grey-taupe shade that is a godsend for my brows (for once it doesn’t make them look weirdly red) and is also a great multitasking shade for the crease.

 

3. What’s one quote you turn to when you need inspiration?

One of my many quirks is that I cannot stand inspirational quotes or anything cheesy of that kind. They kind of sort of make me want to puke, but with my strange and slightly problematic sense of humour, I quite enjoy these two Sylvia Plath ones. I do enjoy some good Sylvia Plath.

The strangely true one: “There’s nothing like puking with somebody to make you into old friends”

The more philosophical option: “If neurotic is wanting two mutually exclusive things at one and the same time, then I’m as neurotic as hell. I’ll be flying back and forth between one mutually exclusive thing and another for the rest of my days”

Not inspirational, I’m afraid.

4. What’s one quirk about you that not many people know?

I’m attention-deficit and the strangest thing is that I wasn’t diagnosed until my first year of University. When I tell friend this, they’re always shocked but focus has always been a major difficulty for me.

5. If you could only watch five movies for the rest of your life, what would they be?

(1) Never Let Me Go (2) On The Road (3) Atlantis (yes, the animated film) (4) Zero Dark Thirty (5) Remember Me

6. What’s your dream job or career?

I’ve always wanted to be a writer but I’m not naive enough and far too cynical to believe that this will happen in reality. I’ve thought about either becoming a lawyer or even maybe doing this school thing for a while longer and becoming a professor.

7. What’s the one thing you’re most proud of on your blog so far?

Uhmmmmm, I’d have to say I’m proud that I’ve been able to figure out an attractive layout and how to take nicely done pictures with learning about lighting and all that jazz despite having no knowledge for that kind of thing or indulging in an expensive camera for the task. It’s definitely not perfect but I’ve made leaps and bounds of progress on this front. And prior to this post, I’ve reached 100 total posts in the 10 months I’ve been writing here!

8. What’s your favourite thing to do to help you relax?

Being a high-strung personality who does struggle with anxiety constantly, relaxation is a necessity for me. As cliched as it sounds, I’m a big fan of putting on some music or watching some youtube, put on a face mask and paint my nails. It sounds so simple but it’s one of those rare things that can give me some piece of mind and keep my thoughts from spiraling out of control. But reading as an escape is equally as important.

9. What piece of advice do you wish someone had told you when you first started your blog?

Don’t try to take yourself out of your blog. When I started writing and sometimes I do still feel this way, I thought that blogging was just supposed to be about the subject – beauty in this case – and I was terrified of putting too much of myself into it because of that whole insecurity thing. I’ve come to realize that the best blogs tend to represent the blogger with different aspects thrown in there and they are certainly the kinds I enjoy reading the most. As cliched as it sounds, remember that your blog should represent you.

10. What’s your favourite board or party game?

I can go ages without playing it but Rock Band has to be one of the most entertaining games to play in large groups of people. It’s an hysterical time in general and this only multiplies when there is alcohol involved.

11. Who or what inspires you?

This is actually a tough one. It’s everyday life, quite possibly the most ordinary and uninteresting things that inspire me but I’m heavily inspired by what I read, let it be books or glancing through magazines.

11 Facts About Me

1. Until grade 12, I used to suffer from agonizing anxiety attacks whenever I slept anywhere else than home. No, I was not homesick.

2. I’m frighteningly emotionally detached.

3. I have a dry sense of humor that has a tendency to be misunderstood by others.

4. I have a disturbing capacity to function under sleep deprivation.

5. I’ve never used an eyelash curler or even thought about buying false lashes.

6. I suffer from anxiety. There’s no other way to put it but I’ve had to live with it.

7. I have strangely large eyes, like they’re generally the first thing someone notices about me, I hear.

8. I analyze every aspect of my life and the what-ifs to pieces.

9. I really hate getting water in my eyes. This is hardly surprising considering how sensitive my eyes are.

10. I’m allergic to dander and I feel like I can’t breathe slash am dying in the presence of animals as a general rule.

11. I am quite possibly the clumsiest person alive.

I Nominate…

1. Gill from makeupintrovert

2. Annaliese and Caitlyn from myflatmateswardrobe

3. Sheekglam from sheekworld

4. Nikita from HighonBeautee

5. Stephanie from beautyblogging

6. Julia from juliasallure

7. Miss Miint from missmiint

8. N from justabeautyaddict

9. Makeuphacks from makeuphacks

10. Nina from ninarossbeauty

11. Lipglossandleather from lipglossandleather

 

My questions…

(1) What was the first blog that you could remember reading?

(2) What precisely was the reason why you decided to start your blog when you did?

(3) What’s your current favourite bargain find?

(4) What’s your current favourite worthwhile splurge item?

(5) What element of blogging do you find most fulfilling?

(6) Do those around you know about your blog? If so, when did you start telling them?

(7) What has been your biggest hurdle in the whole blogging adventure?

(8) What are three things you love as much (or at least close enough to) makeup?

(9) You only have three minutes to get ready in the morning, what do you chose to do with that time and what do you choose to skip?

(10) What is your greatest blogging cliche?

(11) Are you an early-riser, a night owl or somewhere in between the two?

Maggie, x.

P.S. I don’t know what was wrong with my computer but yesterday it decided that it didn’t want to allow me to post the picture despite my hours of attempts. Grr.