My Goth Maintenance

This post was inspired by Sary's post that she finished a few months ago. While I won't be listing my whole routine (of course I wash my hair regularly and face daily!), but these choices are my 'musts'. Not all are particularly spooky, mind you; The title in my opinion refers more to me rather than the routine. =)

Each morning, plus before I shower, even if I'm wearing a shower cap, and before I sleep I brush out all my hair. My hair gets very tangled and knotted during the day from general wind and if I didn't brush it regularly I would be left with a natural dreadlock. Yup, just the one. Not a nice look.

I file, and trim if needed, my nails almost every day becuase I naturaly have awful nails! They feather, tear and split constantly so I cannot ever grow nice long nails. Keeping them smooth helps to avoid any snags and keep them neat. I don't file away much! Just enough to keep them smooth. Lately I've been shaping my nails into claw-like points. However, this hasn't been working as I had planned as my nail points seem to snag on everything!

Each day before going outside I'll apply sunscreen to any exposed skin. Being as pale as I am, I tend to burn easily. Also, I hate tans and want to avoid one as much as possible. I prefer to use a light, oil free moisturiser with added sunscreen on my face and general sunscreen on my body and neck. I tend to choose products with high SPF, and sometimes I choose formulas for sensitive skin, and sweating and rubbing irritate my skin easilly.

I wear eyeliner daily. I've managed to perfect basic liquid eyeliner application to under a minute per eye, so lately I've been choosing a simple flick or winged liner with some simple shadow for uni and everyday. Mascara also is a regular staple for me, but I was blessed with naturally thick doe lashes (Moi? Vain? Perish the thought!) so this sometimes gets skipped entirely.

(Just FYI, I put this post on hold for a few days while I finished up my last exams. Just a few hours ago I finished my last exam for the year, meaning now I am 1/3 of the way through my Bachelor of Music! I really can't believe how tough this year has been, but I have learnt so much and met so many new talanted people. I can't wait for next year. XD)

Lip balms are always on hand for me. I tend to lick my lips a lot, not to mention all of the flute playing I do each day, plus the unpredictable weather we have been experiencing lately, really dries them out. I only really wear lipstick or heavier pigments when going to special ocassions or out clubbing. My favourites currently are by Burts Bees and Palmers. They are just so yummy and mosturising!

Daily I'll groom my brows. This may seem slightly daft, but naturally my eyebrows grow very dark, almost black, and rather full. The darkness makes them seem fuller, so I actually remove most of them by hand using tweezers. They also grow in odd, rather asymetrical shapes so I really have to think about how to pretend that they are slightly controlled. XD I used to be really self concious about how think and noticable they are, but keeping my hair dyed nice and black helps to really balance them out.

I also regularly dye my hair. I have a penchant for all black, but sadly due to the sheer thickness and length of my hair I always need two bottle of dye just to cover it all, and that really makes it a lot more expensive. =( Subsequently, I can only afford it the luxury ocassionally.

 Now I'll go back to my vodka and artifically-sweetened cranberry juice drink for end of year celebrations! XD

xxx Lilly