MISSING: MY FAVOURITE BROOCH.

i haven't been posting about make-up purely due to the fact that i am overworked between now and early february. i have a million things on my plate and unfortunately a lot of grown-up troubles which i can't escape from. however, i am now in an elevated state of distress due to the fact that my favourite brooch (from dior) is MISSING. MISSING. MISS. ING. i hadn't realised until i worked on my jewellery collection a little bit (my 'to sell' pile is growing daily).

i am 90% sure it's somewhere within my house, but really baffled because i usually take really good care of my stuff and it isn't in it's box... i am praying that i've simply worn it one day and it's still on a dress somewhere in my wardrobe(s), so i'm emptying all of them tonight in order to find it. pleeeeeease cross your fingers for me!

where the GAPING EMPTY SPACE IS is where my brooch should be. WHERE ARE YOU? hmmm. the box is from where it was originally purchased from in the 1950s, which was a now-defunct american luxury department store. the earrings & brooch were designed by kramer, one of the most celebrated jewellery designers of his time.

here is some other stuff in the meantime to distract you all from the weeping mess that is me, on a thursday afternoon.

illamasqua lipstick in 'drench'.

i remember it like it was yesterday. i must have woken up absurdly early, and having just opened my emails, i heard a ping. there it was. that horrible, HORRIBLE email i dread... the email from illamasqua, saying that their sale is on. i was totally helpless. like a moth to the flame, i went on the website, and bought more things i simply did not need (except one). to be fair i didn't go really crazy, but you'd think that with 30+ lipsticks and 5+ pairs of lashes, i wouldn't be going and buying more. 

generally speaking, i really do like illamasqua lipsticks. i've played around with a few of them but only own their matte shades for some bizarre reason, even though i keep telling myself to not buy more and go for their glossier lipsticks. despite the the brilliant colour range, their matte lipsticks really could do with being more creamy. i mean, if revlon can manage it, then c'mon. or maybe i'm being harsh. you see, illamasqua's mattes are actually far more tolerable than those of mac - but because i absolutely adore illamasqua's products, i just wish they'd work on that so i could love it even more. they've also got decent lasting power, and i really like the packaging too - definitely the best shaped bullet i've ever seen, perfect for creating a perfectly defined cupid's bow.

this is the shade i ordered, in 'drench'. i expected a fuchsia pink but instead received a pink-red which was a pleasant surprise. i haven't got any other shade like it but it's definitely in the same family (colourwise) as revlon's 'cherries in the snow'. application-wise it was the same old - great colour, little bit dry. i'm quite baffled as to how it's photographed with a bit of shine despite being matte though!  

jumper - river island, earrings - asos, brooch - dior.

face: 17 primer, mac studio fix fluid (nw30), collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer (#2), clinique airbrush concealer (03 light), mac mineralize skinfinish (medium plus).
eyes: urban decay primer potion, revlon colourstay quad (in the buff, second colour), maybelline gel liner, max factor false lash effect mascara, mac eyebrow pencil (stud), the body shop brow & lash gel.
cheeks: illamasqua cream pigment (hollow), topshop blush (high five).
lips: illamasqua (drench).

all in all, i do like it. i received compliments on it and it's definitely really wearable. very decent for £7.50.

spring clean update: still in the fiery clutches of ebay hell. haven't made progress on jewellery.

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.