illamasqua eyeshadow in 'taboo'.

recently i've been embracing a lot of colour... is this some sort of subconscious happy response to my new-found unemployed status?

i have always loved this look at dior's s/s show... what's not to like, with bright colour and 50s referencing? dreamy. i luv u dior.

unfortunately, blue and yellows (as pictured above) do NOT work with my face. i AM yellow, so no jaundice look will ever work for me. i'm not even saying this to be cute - there is honestly just something about my face which doesn't go with those colours at all.

however, i have found my saviour in illamasqua's eye shadow range. it's a pretty vast at that, and i wish i could afford all of the colours* because i fangirl so hard for them. so, so hord. buuuuut after much oohing and aahing i settled for 'taboo', a beautiful bright green. illamasqua's products are so highly pigmented that what you see is basically what you get (unlike YOU lancome, sit down). to make it easier, i apply my eye make-up backwards - i begin by blending in the socket line first to get a shape going (usually using urban decay's crease brush or a mac 217) and then patting the colour down until it is as intense as i want. i always apply primer beforehand, so i have had no trouble with the shadow fading or losing any of its colour by the end of the day.

(bad blending, whoops!)

so yeah... i've been wearing this sort of make-up an awful lot as of late. if i was truly elated i supposed i'd pair it with a horrifically hot pink (revlon's 'stormy pink') or a bright orange (no 7's 'gay geranium') but i've got lots of international environmental law to read on and so that won't be happening for a while.

face: 17 primer, mac face and body (C2), collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer (02), paula dorf magic stick (#3).
eyes: urban decay primer potion, illamasqua eyeshadow (taboo), rimmel exaggerate liquid liner, max factor false lash effect mascara, mac eyebrow pencil (stud).
cheeks: duwop (peach).
lips: vaseline.

i also have become really attached to mac's face and body despite me initially hating on it. this is basically a textual equivalent of me realising that i was wrong in an argument and begrugindly apologising. generally speaking, i hated the smell and how sheer it was - it couldn't cover my spots or any real blemishes on my face.

now... if i'm honest, the smell is still a bit of an issue (seriously, WHAT is it), but touch wood my skin has been better behaved than usual. so much so that i no longer use concealer on my face except under my eyes. i've probably jinxed myself right? because of this, it just evens out my skin tone and feels really silky and dewy, also being easy to build up. when your skin is clear the last thing you want is to wear 'heavy' make-up and lumping on more coverage than you need to, so it really has been perfect. i don't even know what's caused it as my diet is awful. maybe it's just the weather. i'm on my period soon so i can kiss good skin goodbye anyway... /tmi.



* apparently the shadows are greatly reduced in price at their launch parties and events but i am too terrified to go. i really need to a) re-learn social skills and b) get on that. 

fashionista magnestism nail laquer.

how cool is this?! i treated myself to fashionista's magnetism nail lacquer range yesterday. there's a 3 for 2 offer at superdrug, so i bought two shades and the magnet (the shades being 'notorious silver' and 'purple me up'). there isn't really any con here as it does precisely what it says on the tin.

you're meant to apply two coats (i get overexcited and whack on about 10), hold the magnet above it for 8 seconds, and voila! it's done. it honestly is that easy. so much so that i did my nails during my lecture break and felt like a sales lady doing a demonstration as everyone was ooh-ing and aah-ing. if anything, i actually found this much more straightforward and quicker to do than applying regular nail polish, as it also dries immensely quickly. the effect is holographic almost, with tonal waves - in silver, this gives your nails a great industrial look. i hope they expand this further and work on new patterns!

nails - fashionista (notorious silver).

i am alive.

i haven't blogged in so long! shocking behaviour, i know. i wish i could attribute this to having some form of life but unfortunately, that is not the reason. i have been working long hours, been settling into my masters degree, and was also ill for six weeks. i didn't have the time. BUT, i will be keeping it up.

my masters is definitely a peculiar step. sometimes i still sit there and think what on earth i am doing or why am i even there. this isn't to do with the place i'm going to at all - it's just that i still have zero clue of where i am heading career-wise. i haven't bothered making friends (is this bad of me? it probably is) but as an institution, i do prefer the university i am currently at. i did my undergraduate degree in one of the best universities in the country (and supposedly, THE WORLD~), but it just didn't feel like it at all because i hated my course. everything was so traditional and so rigid and very red-brick. however, in my new university, the atmosphere is a lot more chilled out and calming. the careers service is 1000x better. the department office plays billie holiday. in these last few weeks, i've seen a more diverse range of people than i ever had at the place i was previously at.

... although i must say, the friends i made during my llb degree are second to none. amazing, twisted, bunch of psychos (my favourite). i love them. :3