Its no secret that I like to wear A LOT of makeup...

A LOT of the time!!

And wearing so much makeup, so often, can create HAVOC with my skin, So here, for your information is my tried and true routine for clear, healthy, glowing skin for perfect make up application every time!

What you put IN your body is always far more important than what you put ON your body. All the lotions and potions in the world will do no good if your insides are not hydrated and nourished. Amp up the H2o intake every single day,  and incorporate green juice into your diet, at least once a week for a nutrient boost, that will have your insides (and your outsides) sparkling. I like to throw a bit of green apple, celery, cucumber, zucchini, kale, and lemon into the juicer and then add that juice to a high powered blender with some spinach and fresh mint and blitz until smooth. This can be stored in air tight mason jars in the fridge for up to a week or frozen in ice cube trays to put into smoothies.

Now I like to party like the best of them, and I know there are times when after a big night out the LAST thing you can be bothered with is washing your face...but believe me...IT IS SO IMPORTANT and SO WORTH IT!! If you can't stand the thought of a full cleanse, tone and moisturize, that's fine, but PLEASE!! Get that gunk off you face before you slumber, you, your face (and your pillowcases) will be glad you did! It is as simple as rubbing a small amount of coconut oil (food grade and organic is best, if you can't put it IN you, don't put it ON you) all over your face, your eyes, lips, brows, EVERYWHERE!! Massage this wonderful stuff into all the little crevices of your face for about a minute. Then wet a face washer (flannel or wash cloth, depending on what you call it where you are from!) with water as hot as you can stand from the tap.  Wring out as much water as you can and cover your face with the hot, steamy cloth. This really is like heaven! A steam bath for your face!! Leave it there for 30 seconds or so, and then wipe away all of the coconut oil, you will see that all of your make up comes with it! Rinse and repeat this process at least once, the warmth of the cloth will draw out the oil from your face, which will have attached itself to any dirt squatting in your pores, clearing your skin of any unwelcome critters.

After this step you are welcome to proceed with the tone and moisturizing steps, but if you are just to spent from dancing the night away, you will be fine to jump fresh faced, into bed now! The difference in the way you feel getting into bed, as well as how you wake up is HUGE with a freshly cleansed face.

Over the years, I have tried MANY different skincare products. Some cheap, some expensive, but none as effective as the one I'm about to share with you now...APPLE CIDER VINEGAR!!!!! Not neat!!!! Please don't put that stuff undiluted on your face!! But a dilution of 1 part ACV to 4 parts water will do the trick nicely. You will need the organic kind (found at your local health food shop) with the 'MOTHER' still in it (this will be clearly marked on the label) I like to use BRAGGS Organic Apple Cider Vinegar. Make up a bottle (glass is best) of the 1:4 part dilution, and with a cotton pad, swipe this miracle potion all over your freshly cleansed face, avoiding your eyes. Concentrate on any problem areas (blackheads/acne) as this will help clear away any nasty bacteria playing house in your pores. Feel free to swipe it right down your neck and across your décolletage and over any pesky ingrown hairs you may have from waxing, since using this potion on ingrown's, I now have NONE!!

The imperative ingredient to radiant skin is MOISTURE!! I've already covered the importance of moisture from the inside (up that H2o intake PRONTO!!) and moisture from the outside is equally important. Over the years I have tried a myriad of different moisturizers and spent plenty of money in the process. My favourite for a long time was Clinique's dramatically different Moisturizing Lotion, in fact I used their entire 3 step program for many years, but in the last couple of years I noticed my skin not responding to the way I was treating it anymore, so I LISTENED to my body and made the change.

I found with age, my skin has become much dryer than I was used to (having suffered terrible acne in my teens and early twenties) and even quite flaky in areas. With a bit of thought I made the connection that treating my skin with products that cleared out my overly oily acne prone skin in my 20's was too astringent for my now relatively normal skin type in my 30's. Over clearing this skin led to dryness, which I, in turn, over moisturized, this then resulted in pesky milia around my eyes.

After researching different options and trying and LOVING the methods I have shared with you today, I was still in need of a replacement moisturizer, which honestly, was the trickiest thing to find. I have always recommended Moo Goo products to my clients that suffer with sensitive scalps and psoriasis, and decided to take my own advice and try their moisturizer........BOY, am I GLAD I DID!! I use their FULL CREAM face and body lotion as a daily moisturizer on my face, as well as all over my body. I just adore it!! Not only does it give me the result I'm after, which I would happily part with the big bucks for, it comes in a huge pump pack that lasts for AGES and is ridiculously affordable! At less than a quarter of the price of my previous moisturizer, I can't help but feel like I have won the skincare lottery with this wonderful product. I have also found it to be a godsend for treating sunburn and my husband even finds relief from chafe and heat rash. I get mine from my local health food shop, check out their website for stockists near you www.moogoo.com.au

Seems like a bit of a no brainer right?? I honestly can't place enough importance on this issue though! Your skin is not a robot, it cannot produce miracles, all the fancy lotions and potions in the world won't work if you aren't properly rested, the same way the best, most expensive concealers and foundations in the world wont cover up over tired eyes. I get that we live in a busy society, I understand it is a normal thing for one to over commit. I guess I'm just posing the question of what is more important to you? If the answer is perfect skin, then get your tush into bed at a reasonable hour (make up free of course!) and enjoy some well deserved zzzzzzz's.

Obviously, like everything in life, we are all different and what works for me, won't necessarily work for you, some skin is oilier or dryer than others and we all have different areas of concern. The best way to find the perfect skin care regimen for YOU is through trial and error, and don't expect the same routine to work forever. As you age, so does your skin, and it requires different things, you can't expect to treat your 35 year old skin with the same routine and products that you used on your 20 year old skin, my point? LISTEN to your body, it will tell you when something needs to change.

Further to that, try not to stress about your skin. I know its hard, believe me, but one of the biggest contributing factors to troubled skin is stress levels. If you are experiencing a high stress situation and your skin is suffering from it, be kind to yourself and rest assured that with time, this will pass. Stressing over your skin in a time when you are already stressed out will only exacerbate the problem and then its just a vicious cycle.

As a human being, I am often made aware of other peoples opinion of my body.

We ALL are.

It seems it is socially acceptable to make comment on one another's physical fluctuations as though it is our business to do so.

What's worse, is that as human beings, we are programmed to feel flattered, complimented, even delighted at the mention that we may have lost weight.
The idea that we have changed in physical mass since the last time we were in someone's company, should be a gigantically rewarding statement. Weather we have been trying to change that mass or not.
It seems that above appearing healthy, radiant, happy or strong, we place the most importance on the size of a persons body.
Without knowing whether or not the person has been trying to loose weight, we openly comment on their bodies with the intent that this observation will be a welcome one.

You have no business to make comment on my weight.

I have no business to make comment on your weight.

Yet, from young children we are taught that loosing weight is desirable to putting on weight. That slim is better than fat. That telling someone they have lost weight is a compliment, but telling someone they have put on weight is a put down and something we must never say. When really, both are just observations of physical mass.

Why is it that one is so celebrated, whilst the other is taboo?

Making comment on someone else's weight above any other defining feature , lessens the importance of those features.

Is loosing weight more important than appearing happy? Is it more important than exuding confidence? Is the size of a persons body more important than the size of their heart or the knowledge in their brain?

NO!!! Yet we are more inclined to make comment on a persons body than to compliment them on their wisdom, happiness courage or confidence.

The truth is, the majority of the time, we have no idea how one another feels about our bodies, so don't be too quick to assume that a weight loss observation will be a welcome one. For me, hearing that I look like I have lost weight is equal to hearing I have curly hair......It is a physical observation of my appearance that I have neutral feelings about, it may be the truth, however I have no positive nor negative feelings attached to that truth. Weight loss is no great achievement for me, as I am happy and proud of my body regardless of its physical mass.

Next time you go to compliment someone's weight loss, stop to think for a second...is their weight really the best thing about them?

Questions or Comments? Post your feelings below!! Don't forget to SHARE on social media!

Has it ever!! For a few reasons.

Work, ( my day job; I own a hair salon) has been HECTIC, its THAT time of year with my teaching job, preparing for our end of year concert, which means SEWING!! But if I'm completely honest the lack of blog posts is more to do with a little stumble personally, a dip in confidence if you will. Really I just questioned wether all of this was worth it?

The hours and hours of admin I put in updating Instagram and Facebook pages and then finding something to say in my Blog that is worth reading. Making sure I am on top of deleting all the trashy images and videos posted on my wall daily, so that my followers don't have to see things that I'm not about. Reading comments and messages from countless people trying to pull me, and what I stand for down.

It gets tiring.

The other day I noticed a post from a friend of mine (who I thought was a friend anyway!) that was body shaming people for wearing outfits that he believed they did not have the body for. Without malice, without attitude and without anger, I simply posted the words 'Every body is a beautiful body' to which I received a barrage of private messages. At first they started out friendly as he tried to justify his words by serving me backhanded compliments along the lines of;

'you're quite large...BUT, you rock every inch of it...so this wasn't directed at you, sorry if you were offended'

to which I politely replied that I wasn't just commenting as an offended fat person, I was expressing my belief that EVERYONE should be able to express themselves through fashion, in any way they see fit, regardless of their size.

This was a concept this person obviously didn't understand, and further justified his comments to me by explaining that the people he was talking about were in a different social culture to me and that he wasn't referring to 'people like me'....so in his mind, it was OK.

I continued to remain calm, and polite and re-affirmed my stance that I didn't believe there was any difference between the community he was talking about to myself, and that I was just a person, standing up for other people, to which he got really quite angry and proceeded to unload what seemed to be a long time distaste in me and my opinions. Claiming that 'I always think people are having a go at me' and 'I shouldn't comment on things I know nothing about'

I finished the conversation as politely as I had begun it, and then I thought about it...for a LONG time.

I thought about the claims he had made. I thought about the amount of truth within them. I thought about the fact that others may feel the same way about me and my opinions, as he does. I thought about all of that.

Am I just a loud mouthed, over opinionated fatty? Do I just stick my un-warranted nose in to matters I have no idea about? Do I come across as someone who thinks the world is against me?

Probably!! To a lot of people, that is probably EXACTLY what I am!

And then I thought about what that means to me, and how it effects my life.

The truth is....IT DOESN"T

I don't fight fire with fire. I don't get on the offensive at any opportunity I get. I don't feel the need to get into arguments with people who's opinions differ to mine.

I DO practice self love. I DO believe that all bodies are beautiful. I DO encourage others to find confidence and peace within themselves. I DO encourage everyone to STOP judging others.

If this offends you, ask yourself WHY? If this encourages you to question your own belief's and judgement GREAT!!! Questions lead to change, change leads to growth, and lets face it, if we don't grow then we are dead!

So back to the initial question...Is it worth it??

ABSOLUTELY!

No doubt, the constant negativity is tiring. Absolutely, the amount of people that disagree with me is huge. But the amount of people that AGREE with me is growing, and that is so important.

So, I will continue to be me, and believe what I believe, and yes I will voice opinions and challenge beliefs and even ruffle a few feathers from time to time.

I will continue to do that because I owe it to myself, I am WORTH IT. And so are you xx

The next couple of Lyrics Flashbacks are personal. So personal, I've been wondering whether or not to post them at all. They are what they are, and people will read them or they won't, but I have decided to post them to validate the way I was feeling at the time I wrote them.

Sometimes in life, things happen to us that maybe we don't deserve. Some people are inclined to confront those situations head on and stand up for themselves. Others will shrink down and let the situation overtake them. For me, it depends on the situation, but this particular time I wasn't in a place to be able to stand up for myself, for some time I guess it did overtake me, and then a few years later I found the words I needed to gain back my power.

I never did anything with these words, for fear of hurting peoples feelings, or having my words misunderstood, and if I'm honest, that's why I have been conflicted about posting them here. The truth of the situation is though, that these words are my truth. They explain a lot about me as a person, and make sense of why I am the way that I am.

This one never ended up with a title......but was written on the 10th of January 2006, five years after the event they were written about.

Flashback to the 3rd November, 2001. I was 19. This song was another one I tried writing away from my natural style. I'm quite mathematical even though I never particularly liked maths. I like things to be even, and symmetrical, so the most natural form of writing for me is measured rhyming. It's balanced, it's even, and it all wraps up neatly. For this song I was experimenting with intentionally making things NOT rhyme, it was a challenge for me, as even reading back over it now, it doesn't sit as well with me as something that follows a clever rhyme. It's not symmetrical and is uneven, something that aggravates my balanced way of thinking. 

I wrote this song after a particularly lovely experience. To the other people involved, it probably wasn't even a blip on their radar, and they certainly wouldn't remember it now, but to me it was one of those times in life where you realise that you deserve better.


Enjoy.........

This will be the first in a series of posts.

In my former life I used to sing. I used to sing LOUD and wildly, with unashamed passion. Singing was always an incredible release for me, nothing would have me at utter peace more, than turning the stereo up as loud as it would go and sing along with whatever was playing.

Sometimes It was show tunes, and I would imagine myself as Mama Rose in Gypsy or Fantine in Les Miserables. Other times it was Bette Midler. Through my early teens it was Alanis Morriset, and it seemed that every song was written with me in mind, I would wail and moan the lyrics as I wept and poured my heart out to an empty house, but always while I was alone.

 Through my late teens it was Lauryn Hill, I loved how intelligent her lyrics were, and how utterly enveloping her voice is. I remember laying on the hardwood floor of my home, with a speaker pressed against each side of my head, listening to The Fugees self titled album, and then The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill over, and over, and over again, while I sang along, letting all my troubles pour over my vocal chords and out of my mouth.

Through my twenties it was the Divinyls. I would obsess over the way Chrissy Amphlett used her voice to tell a story, even without the lyrics you could understand the story, due to the light and shade and the wail of her voice. I practiced this meticulously, but still only when I was alone.

I had tried many times to sing in public, but it seemed that unless I was in a show and had a character to play, I just couldn't manage to sing to a crowd the way I could sing by myself. With time, age, and experience, I managed to move past whatever blocks were holding me back and sang with various bands all through my twenties and into my thirties.

I LOVED to be a rockstar!!! I loved to sing dirty rock balads of the 1980's, I loved shredding with my bandmates and the reaction of a crowd that loved the music we played together. I developed quite an onstage persona, that allowed me to wail in front of a crowd, the same way I could at home when no one was listening....I LOVED THAT GIRL!!!!

I also began to write lyrics. Writing lyrics for me was good for emptying my heart of worry and putting it away. I would write about lots of things; how I felt about someone, things that had had great impact on my life, things that bothered me, even relationships I had and how I felt about the dynamic of them. Writing lyrics gave me great relief, and it seemed that writing them was enough, I never had the desire for anyone to read them, or to further develop any of them into songs that I could sing. At the time they were private, just like my singing had been when I was young.

I haven't written for a long time, and most recently, I think its because I started this blog and it serves a similar purpose. I have decided however, to dig up some of those old lyrics and share them with you all as part of a series of blog posts, I hope to be able to share the stories behind them and maybe even the people that they are about? We'll see.......

Check back over the next couple of days for my first lyrics post......for now, here is some old footage of me doing what I love most xx

This little baby right here........isn't she just darling???? What's that I hear you say???............she looks very familiar??? Well you'd be absolutely right if you said she looks a little similar to ME!! This little poppet is the beautiful character I had created by the super talented Miss Cherry Martini to be the face of my brand MISS KISS VINTAGE.

And what is Miss Kiss Vintage?? Well the answer to that is growing and changing every day, but right now, Miss Kiss Vintage is an accessories label. We also have offshoots in Cosmetics and Haircare, but I'll start where it all began.....with accessories.


The first ever product to be launched as Miss Kiss Vintage, was our 'Bow-tique'; handmade bow's in an array of different fabric's that can be used to accessorise your hair, pretty up a plain dress, clip on to your shoes to complete an outfit, I've even had gentleman purchase them to wear as fun, festive bow-tie's!!!

The next addition to our collection was our 'Bloom-tique'........clip on accessories, just like the Bow's, but of a floral nature!! whether it be perfect traditional roses, pretty peonies, tropical calla lilly's or a day of the dead flower crown you are after, we have you covered at MKV.......everything is hand made with a sprinkle of love, so you will often find 'one-off's' in our collection....our pieces are as individual as you!!

After the addition of 'Bloom-tique' came my personal favourite.....'Bake-tique'!!! My personal love of baking inspired this collection. Baking is a very messy business, and why shouldn't we look our best while doing what we love?? I hunted down some vintage replica paper patterns from the 40's and 50's and got to work, creating the cutest kitchen accessory sets, including aprons, oven gloves and matching, reversible hair wraps, so that even during the messiest of jobs, one can still look SUPER CUTE!! All 'Bake-tique' accessories are designed and hand made by me, giving me the opportunity to practice on of my other loves.....sewing!!

This brand is something that has just organically grown legs of its own, through hobbies of mine. I have always been more inclined to hand create my own hair accessories, rather than buy them, and after many lovely complements on things I had created just for myself, I decided to create more to sell to others who appreciate hand crafted treasures.

One thing lead to another as it generally does, and eventually, through Miss Kiss Vintage, I have been lucky enough to launch my own line of cosmetics and most recently a line of styling products, that are handmade by me using 100% all natural ingredients!!! Introducing GREASER, and ROCKSTAR........a slick pomade and a messy matte clay to help you create the most individual do for you!!

So that was the long answer..........the short answer is.........ME!!

Miss Kiss Vintage.............quite simply.........is ME!!!!! Another part of the Jessi Leigh puzzle, and another peek into my personal life.

All my MKV products are available for purchase at any of the festivals I trade at, which are always listed in my Gig Guide, and from my brand new Etsy store launching this month........check back for details!!!!!

So it's time to talk about the obvious.............BOOBS.........in fact......HUGE BOOBS!! I have em, that's NO secret, but I know that I'm not the only one and I also know that getting cute, sexy, YOUNG bras and undies for em is the bain of many ladies existence!


I know nowadays, the search for pretty, big boobie bras is not as hard as it once was. Once upon a time (like when I was a teenager) if you were bigger than a D cup (which of course I was), your choices were black, white or nude (yippee for 17 year old me!!!! ANOTHER nude bra..........sing with me ladies...."I feel pretty, oh so pretty......NOT!!!!!), and fuller cup bra fashion has come a long way since then, BUT. along with choice has come a pretty hefty price tag!! I still drool over the super cute pieces a more petite bosomed lass can buy for under $20, while for us with an ample endowment. have to choke upwards of $80 just to break free of the Black/white/nude club.


I will admit places like kmart have included a cuter, affordable range to their full cup selection, but if I'm honest I like to call those bras "made for taking off" in the sense that they might look sexy and cute but in the way of support and being comfortable to wear all day, not so much.....so they are better put to use in situations where the aim of the game is to not be wearing them for very long (if ya know what I'm sayin???)

And then, one day in Big W, I stumbled across a range by KAYSER called Curve It Up, firstly it caught my attention with its super cute prints and colour palette, but to my delight, the discovery that it ranged up to a G cup made my heart (and my boobies) sing!! Assuming that it would be another "made for taking off" scenario, I toddled off to the fitting rooms anyway, and what I discovered SHOCKED me!!!

I tried on a 16F (if I'm honest I would prefer a 16G but the G cups only go to a 14 band for some reason?) and not only did it fit, it felt GREAT! It looked awesome as well so things were looking good.....now for the test, try a top on over it......you know when they can look super cute nude, but under clothes suddenly you look a bit deformed??......Top on.......PERFECT!! Was I dreaming this?????? Now for the matching undies..........MATCHING UNDIES!!!!! Can you believe it???!!! I tried a 16 and an 18 and I really think it depends on the fabric they are made out of as to what will fit, some of the mesh type ones aren't as stretchy as the silky ones and cut in a bit unless you upsize, but the fact is THEY HAVE THE NEXT SIZE UP AVAILABLE!!!!!! So for me, who cares what number is on the tag, providing that I can get a pair to fit I'm happy!

Now for the nitty gritty's.....

I buy this brand whenever I see a new print or design in Big W. With that said they don't always have my size, so I have played around a bit with "sister sizing" which, if I'm honest never really cuts it. If they don't have a 16F I've tried a 14G, which I can't close at the back and have to use a band extender until the band stretches enough to close, or I buy a 18F which is only good for the first couple of months and then the band is too loose to hold me up. The 16F is good....but a 16G would be GREAT!! So the answer is, yes, I tend to make do with a less than perfect fit, but for the super affordable price (around $20!!!), I'm cool with that!

The band is nice and wide, so makes for a lovely smooth back area, the cups are moulded, not padded, so create a lovely shape without making big boobs bigger. The underwire is strong and broad, giving great support and if the bra falls down anywhere it's the straps, they over stretch easily which encourages you to tighten them, which in turn can really cut in to your shoulders, BUT, they are dainty enough to wear under a strappy singlet without an obvious strap flash so pros vs cons ya know?

On the whole, are they the best quality bra on the market?.......no, but would you expect it to be for $20 bucks?? I know I don't! For the price, they are a great bra, that enables a gal like me to have a different bra for every outfit, without costing the national debt. They are comfortable to wear every day and look super cute, the matching undies are great size wise, but some of them have really sheer backs, which for me is a no no........ain't nobody wanna see my butt crack unless I'm naked!! But that is more to do with personal preference than anything else!

Try em out.........you won't be disappointed......and if you are, the worst thing that has happened is that you spent $20 bucks.......worth the gamble I say!! Check out their website

Another piece of the Jessi Leigh puzzle is that I teach. I LOVE to teach!!! I teach a class called ‘Glee’ to students aged 6-22 (split into different age groups of course!) and although primarily I teach singing and dancing, I like to think that below the surface, at the heart of what I do, I teach them how to be great people.

In an age where technology is un-escapable, I notice a great hole in the art of communication. In adults as well as children, we no longer pick up the phone to TALK to our friends and family, instead we TEXT. Now don’t get me wrong, texting is handy from time to time if you’re on the way home and need to check if we need milk, or want to send a quick I love you to someone special to let them know you are thinking of them, but as a primary form of communication, texting can be dangerous and also makes us lazy when it comes to human interaction.

I deal with all ages of children in many different aspects of my career, and it shocks and saddens me when a 17 year old young adult is not equipped with the skills to have a conversation with me about how they would like their hair cut. They grunt at their mothers from underneath their overgrown hair and expect mummy to speak to the scary hairdresser lady……….at 17!!!!!

The art of conversation is one that needs to be developed and nurtured from a young age, and in an age where the majority of our communication involves texts, pm’s, dm’s and emails, kids just aren’t learning how to TALK to one another.

In my classes, I teach CONFIDENCE. With confidence comes the ability to communicate, with communication comes HONESTY and with honesty comes a happy, healthy lifestyle.

Above a melodic singing voice, above great physical flexibility, perfect technique, or flashy acrobatic skills, my priority in my students is that they feel confident in their own skin. I strive to instil a feeling of pride within themselves in every class, and create an environment where students feel safe to ask questions, have conversation, not only with each other but with me.

This teaching gig is not just a one way street though……..I get just as much from them as they get from me. You see, a room full of 23, 6-12 year olds, don’t really care if you’ve had a bad day, nor should they, and I have found great strength in being able to put on a happy face in times of sadness in order to teach a great class. 45 minutes later, what seemed so devastating I couldn’t quite get out of bed, suddenly seems much less important when I am staring in the faces of 23 kids that have worked hard, sung their hearts out, and achieved new goals……more than that, feel proud of themselves and confident to take on new challenges.

I have SO MUCH LOVE for my students and what they have taught me about myself. I danced for most of my childhood and gave it away as an adult, for plenty of reasons, but mainly due to a dip in confidence…….through teaching them, I have rekindled my love affair with dance…….and the biggest thing I have learned, that I try to drill into them, is that to be a great performer, we don’t have to be THE BEST at EVERYTHING!! My weak spot was always elevation….I’m not a great jumper, which in turn meant a lot of the steps and turns and jumps that were focussed on when I danced, were really difficult for me……..BUT I was super flexible and animated and oozed personality when I danced, and these things are skills that other people struggle with…..we all have something DIFFERENT to be proud of, and I try to encourage my students to focus on the things they are GREAT at and not beat themselves up about the areas that still need work.

This method of teaching, has delivered me WONDERFUL results!!! I am met with determined, hardworking, excited students that are bursting with pride each week to show me the new hurdle they have overcome. Students that practice tirelessly outside of class in the playground at school, students that show up early for class every week to go over last week’s lesson, and students that stretch and practice every night at home to be able to increase their skills before their next class.

Although their ability to constantly improve their skills makes my heart sing, it’s their ability to approach me and SPEAK to me about what they have achieved that I am most thrilled with. Their lack of inhibition to TALK to me about how much they have practiced during the week, and eagerness to SHOW me their progress…….those are the moments when I know I’m doing my job!!