nowruz 2012: a vague attempt at a pin-up look.

NOWRUZ MOBARAK!

yesterday marked the beginning of the spring equinox - meaning that it was new year for many people including iranians, kurds, afghans and others. myself included! despite how positive i felt on new year's eve (that is, 31st december 2011), 2012 has proven to be massively shitty for a variety of reasons - with the only good thing being that i embraced frequent exercise. but i'm happy to have a second chance, and hope that 1391 brings good things. :)

this is our sofreh hafsin, which was arranged by my mother. she does it differently each year. there are seven items which are in each sofreh hafsin and begin with 's', supposedly bringing good luck and stuff. nevertheless, regardless of whether you celebrate it or not, i wish everyone a very good year.

make-up wise (i have to keep on topic, haven't i?) i went for a classic, retro, pin-up ish look. my skin is still not great, so i stuck to heavy coverage. although it doesn't show in the picture, i used illuminating products on my cheekbones so that my face wouldn't look too matte and one-dimensional - in particular, i'm actually really loving nars' highlighter in 'albatross' at the moment. it has hints of cream and gold in it which really suits my skin tone; it's a really buttery product and i totally think it's worth the high price.

face: sephora base lissante, mac studio fix fluid (nw30), collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer (#2), clinique airbrush concealer (03 light), paula dorf magic stick (#2), mac mineralize skinfinish (medium plus).

eyes: urban decay primer potion, revlon 12-hour colorstay eyeshadow palette (in the buff), maybelline gel liner, rimmel exaggerate liquid liner, revlon 'grow luscious' mascara, lancome l'extreme mascara, eylure girls aloud false eyelashes (nicola), mac eyebrow pencil (stud), ruby & millie eyeliner pencil (brown/black), the body shop brow & lash gel.

cheeks: nars bronzer (laguna), nars blush (orgasm), no 7 illuminator (peach), nars highlighter (albatross).

lips: mac (ruby woo), mac lip liner (cherry).

LOADS of products, i know! but that's how i roll. what can i say, i like using a little bit of everything to get what i want. i also wore these heels from reiss which i've had for a while but hadn't worn before. they're very high, and considering that my foot is injured, NO ONE must find out about this. especially not my doctor.

it's a bit of a funny post and i'm sure i've bored you, but that's what i've been up to recently!

rockalily lipstick.

a part of make-up which really excites me is discovering new brands. if you own as much lipstick as i do, you either a) own all the shades that one of the 'big brands' offer, b) feel uninspired by what is there, or c) simply yearn for something different. my 'something different' for today is lipstick by cult-favourite rockalily. i actually was introduced to the brand half because the owner follows me on twitter (who essentially has my dream job, she must tell me her secrets), and half because she knows one of my best friends who SWEARS by the stuff (note: said friend is the utterly gorgeous and extremely talented maxine who runs little miss delicious).

however, as i own about 4 or 5 red lip products (and god knows how many pinks), i just couldn't justify purchasing it there and then. but whaddyaknow. maxine went and got it for me for christmas! the gift of beautiful red lipstick. what a sweetheart. FYI, i also got a new plushie too, although it's not edible. don't ask how i found this out. 

nails - no 7 (pillarbox).

maxine had chosen 'rockette red' (£13.50). if you go on the website, the shade is described as "a creamy and luxurious matte lipstick [and] a classic blue-based lipstick".

i noticed an immediate difference when it came to applying the lipstick. i thought that it might have been due to the packaging being slightly bulkier than what i'm used to, but once i compared it with another lipstick, i realised that the bullet is different in shape.

see what i mean? apologies for the bad picture and everything - the sun was setting and my room has little light. the tip of rockalily's lipstick is a lot smaller than that of mac, which seems to be the more standard size. i think it will take some getting used to seeing as i haven't been blessed with much of a pout a la angelina jolie - but i can see how a smaller tip would make for more precise application. if i don't get used to it, i can always just use a lip brush instead anyway.

application over, my lipstick faced then face the ultimate test: dinner and cocktails. nachos grande, to be precise: chips, cheese fondue, guacamole, salsa, jalapenos, the works. poor rockette red... however, once my carbfest ended, i decided that i really liked the lipstick - it didn't lose any pigmentation as time went on, and even though it did fade after dinner, it still left a red stain on my lips. it felt creamy and soft and oh so good - performing just like any other high-end brand (warranting the price). however, i think it's more of a semi-matte finish rather than being fully matte, which is probably a great alternative for anyone who wants something inbetween the two. if you want something extremely matte as mac's ruby woo, this isn't it.

so yeah, long story short: i really love it. it's a sort of red i don't have, and i adore how creamy it is. i showed the website to another friend who was slightly intimidated by the fact that it's a brand adored by alternative girls - but please don't let this put you off (if it works for illamasqua...!). trust me when i say that it's a lovely product who would suit 99.999% of the population. possibly even obama.

face: no 7 lift and luminate day cream, 17 primer, bourjois healthy mix foundation (52), clinique airbrush concealer (03 light), mac mineralize skinfinish (medium plus).
eyes: urban decay primer potion, urban decay eyeshadows (naked, virgin), maybelline gel liner, little bit of rimmel kohl pencil and mac superslick liquid eyeliner (black), no 7 lash adapt mascara (black), eyebrow pencil (stud).
cheeks: illamasqua cream pigment (hollow), bourjois blush (rose ambré) and benefit gilded highlighter (tangerine gold).
lips: no 7 lip pencil (fire), rockalily lipstick (rockette red).

also, check out the new earrings. i was eyeing up these bad boys for the longest time and bought them on sale. they're by mawi x disney. i've been to disneyland three times but as i share my name with a disney princess, i think i'm going to excuse myself.