National Eating Disorder Awareness Week

Hey beauties, today's post will be a little off topic, well very off topic to be honest. But, this is something close to me and, especially this week, something I'd really like to help raise awareness of.

Now, most of you probably aren't aware (or you might be, sorry for presuming!) that this week is National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, a week devoted to raising awareness of the various Eating Disorders that occur all over the world, affecting many boys and girls of all ages, and to challenge the stereotypes and the stigma that goes with the label "Eating Disorder".

Eating Disorders are serious mental illnesses that effect 1.6million people in the UK, and claim more lives than any other mental illness. Even so, they are treatable and recovery is definitely possible. Unfortunately there is little awareness of these illnesses other than what the media can portray which, most of the time, isn't the reality, so this week is in pursuit of changing the awful stereotypes that can come with having an Eating Disorder.

Types of Eating Disorders

There are various types of Eating Disorders, all equally dangerous and life-threatening.

• Anorexia Nervosa
• Bulimia Nervosa
• EDNOS (Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified)
• Binge Eating Disorder
• Special Eating Issues (more specific issues, such as Diabulimia the act of a Type 1 Diabetics intentionally restricting their insulin intake to aid weight loss)

Eating Disorder Stereotypes

Having battled various Eating Disorders over the past year, and currently, I have had many unfortunate incidents regarding stereotypes and ignorance towards Eating Disorders, this is another reason why I wanted to make this post to help NEDA and their cause.

• "All People With Eating Disorders Are Skinny"

Completely 100% FALSE. Statistics show that 1/3 of people with an Eating Disorder are underweight, 1/3 are of a normal weight range, and 1/3 are overweight. A quote I think describes this situation perfectly is "you can not judge a persons health based on their size" this is appropriate in this sense, and otherwise as well.

• "All People With Eating Disorders Are Vain"

I have never heard a more ridiculous statement, it is a mental illness that sufferers cannot help, it barely has anything to do with being vain and how they look, I cannot speak for all sufferers but it can be to do with having a need for control, in an ever changing and uncontrollable world, the only thing one can control is their food intake and their weight, and that's what they can lean to. It's highly insensitive and very ignorant to believe in the comment above. But there are various different triggers for an Eating Disorders and effect people in different ways.

• "All People With Eating Disorders Are Girls"

Erroneous, 10-15% of Eating Disorder cases are males, this is simply a stereotype because the media aren't as interested in the male Eating Disorder cases. Again, connecting to the 'vanity' stereotype, it is seen as a girl's disease for this reason. Which makes it harder for boys suffering to seek the help and treatment that they desperately need, which is why this stereotype needs to be addressed and corrected.

• "All Bulimics Throw Up"

False, Bulimia is characterised by binge eating episodes followed by purging, and there are different types of purging, there is self-induced vomiting, but there is also laxative abuse, and compulsive, over-exercise.

• "Binge Eating Disorder Isn't Serious Like Anorexia/Bulimia"

Ridiculous, it is a recognised mental illness and carries the same health issues and dangers as the more publicised Eating Disorders. Sufferers can experience heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and depression.

Another point to make, I feel, is that because it's a mental illness it carries a lot of stigma, especially for people who don't fully understand the condition. I know I'm guilty of this before I became ill, how many times have you heard of someone being sectioned/having psychiatric treatment and thinking to yourself, or gossiping, "nutjob" "mental case" "crazy", and that is due to nothing more than ignorance. And that is why the awareness week is set up, to make sure people are getting fully educated on the matter. The picture above does not mean I feel psychiatric illness need more awareness and more funding than other life-threatening conditions, but they at least deserve the same, that's what I find unfair to be honest.

I really could go on and on, but I literally would be typing for days. These stereotypes are very damaging to sufferers and their self-esteem, and they are adding to an already deteriorating knowledge of what an Eating Disorder really is. 

I fully support NEDA's week to raise awareness for Eating Disorders, and if you would like to learn more about the various types of Eating Disorders and any associated disorders please visit the following websites as they are a great learning resource, or if you are suffering and would like to know how and where to get help and support

National Eating Disorders Association

B-EAT: Beating Eating Disorders

Many thanks to those who have read this, it's a subject close to me and my life and it's an important issue that needs to be publicised.

minion nail art

Yes, this is what I spent my afternoon off doing! I have to say it was actually a hell of a lot of fun, I did enjoy myself. When it all came together it was really satisfying to be honest, I was really proud! 

I didn't want to do the entirety of my nails as I thought it would be too much, a bit over the top and would just be for novelty effect, and I wanted a set I could wear and would go with outfits etc.

Here were the steps as to how I completed this set.

(l-r) cover entire base with a yellow, then paint the tip with a blue, add the black detail with a nail art pen or use an acrylic black paint with a small brush, then add a grey/brown between the black detail, a smaller white circle on top of the grey/brown, then add final facial accents with a black nail art pen or acrylic paint.

I joked to my boyfriend that I would give this design a shot, but after he said how awesome I would be (I think he was being sarcastic to be fair) and how much I love taking on new designs, I went for it! 

What do you guys think? And if you have any cool novelty nail art designs link me, I'd love to check them out!

marshmallow peeps

Got an outfit post for you guys today! I wore this outfit to an SU event the other night and some guy asked me why I'd come out in my pyjamas, which I found funny and took as a lovely compliment to be honest!

crop top: new look petite, trousers: zara (sale), necklace: claires

I am in love with these trousers! I have been since the moment I picked them up, my parents came up to visit me back mid-January and we went to Oxford street and had afternoon tea in Hyde Park, such a quaint and posh afternoon, it was rather cute I must say! But honestly, they are the comfiest things I've ever worn and yet felt confident enough to wear them formal and/or casual, they are the most versatile trousers I've ever owned if I'm honest. 

Now, the necklace, I went to Clarkes Shopping Village with my parents around the same time, they brought me back to Plymouth for my inter-semester break so we stopped there for the day on the way back down, and I hadn't been here since I was about 7 so obviously I barely remembered a thing, but basically it's a massive outlet shopping village, every shop has their stock discounted by anywhere from 10% to 75%, and I found some absolute bargains in this place, I bought 5 nail pens from Accessorize for around £3.90, 2 beautiful Gap jumpers for £10 each, and the Claire's within the village had 10 items for £10 which included the entire store's stock, which was brilliant, and I have picked up some lovely things which I'm sure will feature in future outfit posts!

Now I have to confess something here, I've acquired a little addiction over the past few months, and I wanted to share it with you guys in the hopes that I will come to find that I am not alone in this battle.

I, Emily Rose Perrin, am addicted to... frilly socks.

Now, this doesn't look like a large collection, but this is only about 1/4 of the frilly socks I actually own, a few pairs are in the wash, and there are definitely at least 5 pairs at home in Plymouth. I find whenever I step in to Primark/Topshop/River Island and there stands before me a pair of frilly socks which I don't own, I find myself needing, not wanting, to pick them up and buy them, I wear them everyday without fail, especially in this kind of weather, I wear them with brogues, wedges, converse, tennis pumps, like everything! And they definitely make the entire ensemble of any outfit a lot more cute, and I love that look at the moment!

Hope everyone's having a lovely Sunday!

maroon with vintage floral

I have to say, I am very in to this tapestry floral print that is going on at the moment! I have shoes in the print, trousers, even big hair grips! So I obviously needed to make my nails match all of this lovely print going on, obviously! 

I've also had yet to try out lots of new polishes and nail pens I'd picked up recently, so I was eager to try new and quirky things out, and if it matches my outfit then even better, eh?!

So these were the lovely polishes and pens I used to create the look. 

• Matte Nail Paint in Crush 350 by Barry M
• Peach Puff by Models Own
• Slate Grey by Models Own
• Accessorize Glitter Green Nail Art Pen
• Barry M Nail Art Pen in Pink

Now I wear SO MUCH of the Matte Nail Paint by Barry M, I have a jumper, various shoes, shirts and t-shirts, so this was a godsend! I've also always loved matte finishes on nails, it looks classy and effective with minimal effort or skill.

Also I just have to say about the Accessorize Nail Pen, I bought it as part of a pack of four, I also got pink, blue and orange, I picked them up at Clarks Shopping Village (a massive discount village filled with various shops with all their stock at dirt cheap prices) and this pack was only £4, so a mere pound per nail pen, and being that cheap I obviously expected little from it, and didn't expect I'd want to use them for more than little accents on elaborate designs, but I've really changed my opinion to be quite honest, they are textured well, with a lovely, pigmented colour and the glitter really is a sweet effect on nails, so I do recommend them if they are still in stock anywhere. I obviously only used a small amount for this design in particular, but for the future, they will come in very handy for making bigger and better designs (yay!)

This was how I started, the matte paint on all nails bar the ring finger, and then the slate grey on that remaining ring finger, as that was where I wanted the design to be. Whilst I definitely love the matte finish on this polish, I didn't feel it would quite go with the designed nail, so (as I'll show in the next step) I applied a top coat so it would match with the accented nail, as I wanted that to have a glossy finish to compliment the design. 

So the design on the accented nail was fairly simple, to my surprise indeed, I started with a large blob of the pink nail pen colour and added a smaller blob of the Peach Puff colour before the previous pen colour had dried, and then gently swirled them together slightly with the end of a cotton bud, to mix the colours to provide the effect of the flower.

And after a small leaf accents with the Accessorize nail art pen and a lick of top coat on all nails, this is the finished result, I have to say I do love it. I've been organising my wardrobe to make sure the deep red is always present! I've been getting a lot of colours and asked for tips on how I do it, so I'm quite proud of my work here haha! 

Hope you enjoy! If you give it a try or anything, send me the picture I'd love to have a look!