Why Knackeredat40

I thought it would be a good idea to formally introduce myself. I have been writing blog posts for almost a year now, giving skincare tips, recommendations, and advice. Who am I though, and why on earth should you listen to me? Hopefully, the following may help …

There are countless beauty blogs out there now. The market is absolutely saturated, so it may seem pretty crazy, to make the decision to start a beauty blog of my own. I had wanted to do it for years. I dreamed of having my own little space on the internet to write, share my thoughts and knowledge, and hopefully help. I did the same thing we always do though, I doubted myself. Who would want to listen to little old me? Who would care what I thought about the latest skincare products and ingredients? I would be a laughing stock, surely!?

Yet, after years of saying I would, I finally did. Smack bang before a bloody pandemic, when our whole lives were turned upside down. Not the best timing, but you know, we live and learn.

Who am I?

I am a knackered mother, that’s who I am. With three kids, a selection of animals, and a poor bloody husband, I am exhausted most of the time (aka all of the time.)

I am the ripe old age of 40, aging like a fine wine (insert laughing here!) I have a tiny frame. An old boyfriend described my figure as that of an 8-year-old boy. Now whilst this was not only offensive, but it was also a rather concerning comment, as he said it as if it was a good thing!? Needless to say, that boyfriend didn’t last much longer after that.

I have absolutely no idea what my natural hair colour is as I have dyed it 8 million times since I was 16. If I had to guess, it is probably part brown/part grey.

I have a horrifically sarcastic sense of humor and am honest to a fault. I learned quickly that these traits are not a great mix, and boy does my mouth get me into trouble.

I am the eldest of three girls, and I love my sisters more than life. I literally do not know what I would do without them. They are my best friends.

I have been married twice. The only good thing to come out of my first marriage was my eldest son, who I am unbelievably proud of. I often question how such a great kid could come out of such a disastrous coupling.

My hobbies include complaining about the weather, getting stressed for absolutely no reason, over analysing anything and everything, and crying over my regular hormone imbalance.

What Is My Background?

I do not come from a beauty industry background. I worked as a PA and engagement professional in a marketing department, for a large corporate firm, for the best part of a decade.

My job was everything to me, I loved it. I thrived in the social environment and genuinely looked forward to going to work.

However, I worked a lot! Around 800 hours a week (ok I am exaggerating slightly) and I forgot what my family even looked like.

In November 2019 I was given an opportunity to change that. I was offered redundancy. It was the most frightening decision I ever made. Leave a job that I loved, that provided me with financial security. To embrace my foolish idea that I could make it as a blogger, and get to spend some quality time with my children?

Any sensible person would have taken the alternative role offered to them, however, I am unfortunately not very sensible, and Christ I missed watching my kids grow up.

Therefore I took redundancy and started to research how the hell one becomes a blogger. I had all these visions of flouncing around my home in a kaftan, growing my own vegetables, being that mum who always baked and had her shit together. I would have all this extra time you see. All I had to do was write a few blog posts a week and I would be rolling in cash. I would have the best of both worlds. The perfect mum with the perfect career.

Reality check.

What actually happened was I launched my blog in February after months of saying things like “what the hell is SEO”, “what exactly is wrong with my back end”, “why don’t people just automatically want to follow me”, you get the picture, and walked into a bloody pandemic.

A pandemic that required I home school my THREE children.

There was no extra time. Instead of flouncing around my home in a chuffing kaftan, I was crawling down the stairs every morning in last nights pj’s. I wasn’t growing vegetables, I was buying them from Tesco and throwing them at my husband, and I quite clearly did not have my shit together!

What I was doing was working. From 7 am to 11 pm, every single day. Either home Schooling or writing, and there was no bloody cash to be rolling in, let me tell you.

Did I regret making that decision? Every single bloody day. However, I still knew it was the right decision.

My Credentials.

As stated above, I do not work in the beauty industry, nor have I ever. So why launch a beauty blog and expect people to listen to my recommendations?

Firstly, because I am you. I am a consumer. I am a woman that just wants to look after herself for two bloody minutes of peace in the bathroom each night. I know just how much of a difference that can make not only to our appearance but also to our mindset.

Secondly, because I am a human guinea pig. I have road-tested hundreds and hundreds of skincare products over the last two decades. Not because I was getting paid for the pleasure, but because I had this obsession. (some people call it an addiction). Whatever.

Thirdly, the fact that I haven’t worked in the beauty industry is a good thing. I haven’t been brainwashed by brands. ( I am not claiming that everyone in the beauty industry is brainwashed, so don’t get your knickers in a twist.) My opinions are based on my own opinions, not someone else’s.

Finally, you know babies and children are supposed to have brains like a sponge? They just soak up knowledge and information? I seem to have saved it for later in life, which would explain why it took me so long to learn how to walk and instead spent years dragging myself around the house on my backside (I am still known to adopt this form of travel from time to time.)

Instead, my brain sponge kicked in, in my late 20’s/ early 30’s. However, it didn’t soak up knowledge that would help me figure out if the latest guy I was dating was quite clearly a dickhead. It did however soak in all the information I devoured on skincare, ingredients, studies, and research. All that stuff soaked straight in. I am like a walking encyclopedia of skincare facts.

So that’s my credentials. I should pop them on my CV!

To Summarise.

As you can see, I am not your usual beauty blogger.

I don’t sleep in crisp white sheets (er hello, kids and animals!?), I don’t drink that funny looking green drink either, and I am a far cry from the heavily filtered pristine images you see all over social media.

What I am is a slightly unhinged 40 year old woman offering honest advice and recommendations on all your beauty needs.

I will even throw in a bit of lifestyle from time to time, because who wouldn’t want to read about the life of a harassed 40-year-old woman who loses her shit on the daily?

If all that sounds like your cup of tea, I hope to see you again.