you will have to excuse my forthcoming silence based on the fact that i am very much in the midst of a spring clean (and a crazy workload). a lot of my stuff is on ebay, and a lot more is to follow! so, i'd like for the next few posts to focus on ideas for storage (as well as the usual make-up looks). i want to de-clutter my life completely and i'm sure others do too.
one thing i've definitely needed is a new jewellery box. my old one is sort of broken (pictured above) so it does count as a necessary purchase (take THAT new year's resolution). right now all of my jewellery - excluding the finer stuff - is just lumped in the corner of my room. i'm keeping the old one to place my larger jewellery in as the new one is a little bit small, and ebaying a lot of it off. here is my first stepping stone into a de-cluttered jewellery collection. i would take a lot of pictures as i go along but progress is a slow process...
my jewellery in all of its messy glory.
my new, far classier box!
the beginning of a new and beautiful relationship, starting with clip-on earrings (words which strike fear into the heart of many females excluding myself and pat butcher).
in other news, i'm totally loving grey nail polish. it goes with absolutely everything in my view, and is more fun than the boring beiges/pinks/nude shades which do the same thing. this particular one has great shine and hasn't chipped so far, despite my de-cluttering mission.
nails - rimmel (grey obsession).
i intend on organising a little bit of jewellery a day (there is a lot of it) and then i'll move on to clothes i reckon. if anyone has any ideas let me know!
recently i've been wearing patterns on my nails. i find the process oddly therapeutic. the easiest (by far) is a simple polka dot. this is a totally botched job as i rushed it, but i do love the nail polishes i used.
i really can't be bothered to have seperate nail polishes for the base and top coat. personally i think it is a little frivolous if you're a regular joe like me who changes nail polishes daily and have a terrible habit of peeling them off. for that reason, i've always used 3-in-1 polishes from barry m or model's own. both do the job. i wear nail polish every single day but my nails are hardly stained when in reality, they should be. just sayin'.
i then applied rimmel's 'ethereal', a light pearly pink. following that, i then used a dotter. i'm surprised that many people i know haven't heard of these, but then again, i can't even remember the first time i stumbled across them. i got mine off ebay and it was dirt cheap.
using the larger end of the dotter, i then dipped it in model's own 'denim' (a mid-tone blue) and lightly applied it to my nails. and then ta-da! polka dot nails. it really is that simple. apply a top coat and you're done.
it's my reading week this week. i have a LOT of work to do, a panic room to sort out, and a final pay cheque to chase up. i haven't got a lot of money right now and it's stressing me out, because my travel costs me approximately £100 per month and i would have enough if work would actually pay me when they're meant to! >< i'd give anything for another week off though. i have a stack of reading and just looking at it sends me off to sleep. the cold weather is also wreaking total havoc with my skin, leaving it uncomfortably dry and dull. for all of the reasons above, i've been pretty stressed to say the least!
earrings - asos
this is my newest budget-friendly dress though, from vero moda. i saw it on asos whilst it was on sale, but couldn't justify it. i then saw it again in their sunday sale (which was vilified on facebook for having "disgusting dresses", WHATEVER SUCKAZ) for £10. £10. that is basically the same price as my sessions of happiness at wagamamas. i had to have it! it's very 60s and i usually avoid short shift dresses but this just about works on my figure.
in terms of make-up, i decided to get all matchy and go for blues. if i'm honest, i actually do hate blue make-up. i hate it on 99.999% of people and i don't know why, it's just an irrational hatred of mine. it makes my eyes look really dead and for some reason, the lighter the blue, the more i hate it. i was therefore hideously unhappy when i got an extra pot of rimmel's colour mousse ages ago with a purple one i bought against my own will. admittedly, at the time i thought i'd sell it or give it to someone.
however, i decided to give it a whirl - and it was not as traumatising as i anticipated. this shade, called "mermaid", is a really intense metallic shade. it's so vivid that if i saw it on someone else, i would basically never guess that it's from a high street brand. it's really easy to build up or tone down, by virtue of being really blendable. if you want it to look really bright, you can just put the mousse on and it won't dull at all after a few hours. so yeah, i don't LOVE this shade, but am surprisingly neutral towards it. i would've put on some false lashes too, but i was only going for drinks round a girlfriend's place.
damn eye shape always causing creases...
face: no 7 lift and luminate day cream, 17 primer, bourjois healthy mix foundation (52), collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer (#2), mac mineralize skinfinish (medium plus).
eyes: urban decay primer potion, rimmel kohl pencil, rimmel colour mousse (mermaid), urban decay eyeshadow (oil slick), benefit gilded highlighter (tangerine gold), maybelline gel liner, max factor false lash effect mascara, mac eyebrow pencil (stud), the body shop brow & lash gel.
cheeks: no 7 skin illuminator, bourjois blush (rose ambré).
(today sucks, my dad is going and i won't see him until november at the earliest. if he doesn't come in november, it will be until after christmas.)
i'm sure everyone has several things in life which they love but forget about constantly. in a make-up context, rimmel's glam'eyes eyeshadow in 'spicy bronze' is definitely my #1. i always go long periods without even looking at it but when i do, i'm confused as to why i don't wear it every day. considering that it's not even that expensive, the eyeshadow feels a lot more luxurious that you would assume and is highly pigmented and easy to blend. i find it really hard to explain its colour as it seems to photograph differently depending on light, but it is not strictly bronze at all - more of a mix between bronze and coffee, i'd say. it warms up my complexion without being too 'in your face', and so for olive skintones it's definitely a must. trust me when i say this - there is a very, very small range of eyeshadows which i actually believe suit and look nice on me, and this is one of them. excluuuusive~
i decided to add a lot of gold tones in my face today. i usually hardly do this around this time of year (it's more of a spring thing to me) but felt lazy and fancied effortless make-up. i'm also pretty sure that everything listed here adds some form of luminosity or has gold shimmer added to it. if that's your sort of thing then just buy anything i say. BUY NOW.
face: no 7 lift and luminate day cream, sephora illuminating primer, mac studio fix fluid (nc35), clinique airbrush concealer (03 light), mac mineralize skinfinish (medium plus). eyes: urban decay primer potion, rimmel glam'eyes eyeshadow (spicy bronze), maybelline gel liner, revlon grow luscious mascara, no 7 lash adapt mascara, body shop brow and lash gel. cheeks: bourjois bronzing powder, sleek blush (rose gold). lips: paula dorf (mermaid).
past few days have been SO rubbish. christ, my negativity this week is something to behold i know, but it's not unfounded. i'm ill, spotty, bloated and on my period even though i'm on the pill. i don't care if that is tmi but basically my body is b-r-o-k-e-n.
i digress. so. i rarely wear bright colours on my eyes. i don't feel as if i have the complexion for it, nor eyes that are pretty enough! seeing nicki minaj (who has darker skin) work amazing shades did give me a scrap of hope but then i remembered that she wears coloured contacts and that is why they look nice. the idea of putting in coloured contacts just to wear a bright eyeshadow seems like too much effort though. when i saw this however, i simply had to have it. rimmel's colour mousse in 'galaxy' is such an amazing shade of purple and easy to work with. with primer, it doesn't budge at all.
didn't feel like doing anything which involved blending either, so i went for solid panda eyes. bit of a 60s feel. couldn't possibly tell you what it's like once you smudge it up!
as it's metallic, it has this really cool (how sad do i sound, "its reeeeely kewl guize") effect on the eyelid, a bit like molten metal.
face: l'oreal studio secrets primer, illamasqua skin base foundation (10), collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer (02), mac mineralize skinfinish (medium plus). eyes: urban decay primer potion, urban decay 24/7 pencil (lust), rimmel colour mousse eyeshadow (galaxy), mac eyeshadow (boycrazy), maybelline gel liner, max factor false lash effect mascara, mac eyebrow pencil (stud). cheeks: nars bronzer (laguna), nars blush (orgasm), no 7 illuminator (peach). lips: vaseline.
MEGA POST FOR A MEGA PRODUCT. i love gimmicks. i love it when brands promise that you will look amazing/stunning/perfect, and i suppose i also love how they lie (i'm like, SO rihanna~). have you ever walked past a new product and wondered which mug would fall for that? nine times out of ten, i am that mug - but i am not ashamed. my latest gimmick of choice is illamasqua's skin base foundation. i like to think i escaped the immediate hype (there seems to be many tales of the foundation being sold out everywhere) and in my own defence, i am genuinely in need of a new foundation and so i figured i'd give it a go.
nails - model's own (nude beige).
i went to selfridges, and was just in luck. at the time when i went, illamasqua was offering 10% off the foundation. the girl applied it on my face and admittedly it looked beautiful, given that as of late my skin has been completely and utterly shit. after much ooh-ing i happily bought it, and trotted off on my merry way. went to exit the building, and in true typical british fashion, it was POURING down. i'm not a wuss when it comes to rain, but this was monsoon-standard downpour. having stood outside for twenty minutes hoping that the rain would at least calm down, it didn't, and so i had to brave it whilst wearing crochet shoes and the world's biggest frown. i had pretty much assumed that my beautifully applied foundation had basically been washed off, after 25 minutes of walking in the rain...
WAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2.10 ONWARDS WA
... but - nope! later that evening when i went home resembling a soaked cat, i went to cleanse my face and lo and behold, most of it was still on my face. how brilliant is that?! i therefore love it.
application-wise, i don't think it's something i could apply with fingers or my usual brush without blotching it up. i don't know if this is just down to my own incompetency or whether it's to do with the formulation of the foundation. i don't see that as a bad thing though, i'm just sayin'. when i use this, i apply it with a kabuki brush (£16, the body shop, money-grabbing or what). that way you can buff it into the skin and get the natural finish the product aims to achieve. as dumb as the prices are for body shop brushes, i absolutely swear by them and think they are hands-down the best brushes on the high street - so whatever you pay, you're safe in the knowledge in that these brushes will last you years without shedding a single hair.
here is my make-up whilst on holiday (taken with flash). my hair is wet from a shower five minutes beforehand, i'm probably melting*, and i'm wearing a buttload of new products i'd like to review when i get the chance. i'll also wear it and post a photo whilst in natural light at some point, i'm sure.
skin: sephora smoothing primer, illamasqua skin base foundation (no 10), clinique airbrush concealer (03 light). eyes: collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer, rimmel exaggerate liquid liner, no 7 lash adapt mascara, nars highlighter (albatross). cheeks: nars bronzer (laguna), sleek blush (rose gold). lips: max factor (bewitching coral).
and lastly, i'd like to respond and give my take on recurring criticisms i've seen in other reviews, as i'm sure anyone reading this will have probably googled and read a variety of reviews.
- it is not longlasting - gurl, u trippin.
- there is little connection between this and bb creams - i wholeheartedly agree. i am by no means a user of bb creams anyway, but this is such a strong product that it should be praised on its own merits. i am not sure why illamasqua tried to push the bb cream connection in the first place. maybe to branch out into azn markets? who knows. - it made someone's skin oily - i don't understand how this is possible unless your skin is massively oily. it sinks and sets into the skin without feeling heavy, and i wore it in the craziest hot weather. - it highlights dry patches on the skin - i think this is a lazy criticism. it takes less than a minute to moisturise before you put on your make-up. if your skin is still dry after moisturising, then it's the cream you're using which needs to be looked into. - the comparison chart on the illamasqua website is inaccurate - according to the chart, i am supposed to go for shades 9 or 10. i deliberately kept this to myself as i was curious to see if the mua would match me up correctly herself, and sure enough, she did. maybe i was lucky, maybe the chart works better for olive skin tones, who knows.
all in all, i bloody love this foundation. i think i've found the one.
* if you live in a country where the heat is very strong and very humid, i would recommend mac studio fix fluid over this as it will stay in place for longer.
LONDON HEAR ME ROAR. WHAT IS WITH THE CONSTANT RAIN AND COLD TEMPERATURES?! i am feeling remarkably confused when it comes to appearance. my brain is telling me that it is august and that i should opt for summery clothes and bright make-up, but i just don't feel like it when it's absolutely freezing and raining constantly. so, i've sort of developed some kind of mish-mash way of dressing. note: mish-mash is not attractive. it just makes you look retarded. can't wait to leave this place tomorrow, although i'm gutted it's not for a very long time.
my current looks (crimped hair anyone? christ) is semi-inspired by a late night gaze at one of my (many) large photobooks about style in the 80s, as i am planning on selling it. i'll be upfront and confess that i don't even like the 80s unless i'm looking for a giggle. i like the music, but i think it was absolutely awful in terms of style, so why i am drawing anything from it i just don't know. however, there are two exceptions to my "everything 80s is gross" stance. i do like boy george and think that he was exceptionally pretty (there is no other word)... and i also like the look of MADONNA. i do not care for 99.9999% of her music, and i think she is borderline insane. but, no one even comes close to how amazing she looked in her video for "justify my love". that was her PEAK. the marilyn hair, the thick brows, the bold lips... absolutely fabulous. definitely something i'd like to try out for myself! i do wish someone would tell rihanna et al that that video is how you do something risque (even more so considering that it was over twenty years ago in a more conservative society) - as current efforts just seem relatively pathetic by comparison.
U GO GURL
unfortunately, i have about as much sex appeal as a slice of lettuce. i think this still is more me...
nevertheless, that single video is very inspiring (in terms of style, not sex with transgender people) and is one of my favourite things in the entire world.
face: sephora base subliminatrice, mac studio fix fluid (nw30), clinique airbrush concealer (03 light), mac mineralize skinfinish (medium plus). eyes: urban decay primer potion, rubie and millie perfect eyes pallette, rimmel exaggerate liquid liner, urban decay 24/7 eye pencil (zero), urban decay eyeshadow (creep), max factor false lash effect mascara, mac eyebrow pencil (stud). cheeks: nars bronzer (laguna), duwop blush (peach). lips: revlon (mauve it over).
in other news: i've recently been feeling less of a need to see friends. not in a horrible way at all. i'm just tired and want to live a quiet existence. it's official: i've become old.
