sleek eyeshadow palette in 'sunset'.

i can't be alone in believing that make-up can be great - especially when it's free. i won this 'sunset' eyeshadow palette by sleek simply by retweeting something on twitter (such arduous effort, right?) and figured i'd review it anyway. up until now, i have only owned one product by sleek and that is their 'rose gold' blush, which is one of my all-time favourites. i absolutely love it, and bought it way before i realised that it was ~kind of a big deal~ amongst a lot of bloggers. seeing as i've never tried any of sleek's eyeshadows at all, i was obviously very curious to see if they would be just as good.

first things first: admittedly, i don't think i'd buy this palette if i was in a shop. eyeshadow in general just terrifies me and the bright yellows and blues and reds in this look pretty intimidating at first sight. eyeliner and lipstick is what suits my features the most. however, i was really intrigued by some of the colours too, which resemble terracotta but with hints of red and pink which i haven't really seen anywhere else. i should have really gone all out (i'm looking at you, oh crazy trio of orange, yellow and blue) but i just felt massively boring today and stuck to the more sensible shades. in reality, the hint of yellow in the inner corners of my eyes is about as wild as i could get today. (brb, putting down my heroin.)

i look so tired, ugh.

face: 17 primer, mac studio fix fluid (nw30), collection lasting perfection concealer (#2), clinique airbrush concealer (03 light), mac mineralize skinfinish (medium plus).
eyes: urban decay primer potion, sleek eyeshadow palette (sunset), rimmel kohl pencil, mac studio fix lash (black), ruby & millie eyeliner pencil (brown/black), mac eyebrow pencil (stud), the body shop brow & lash gel.
cheeks: sleek (rose gold).
lips: no 7 (attract).

what i like about this palette is how pleasantly surprised i am by it! although i was initially shaking/crying over the colours (which are way out of my comfort zone), they are surprisingly nice and wearable on the eyes, with great pigmentation. they're also easy to blend, and by no means chalky. additionally, each shade also has a gorgeous shimmery finish to it without looking glittery and tacky, which can sometimes be a bother with cheaper brands - and that is what impressed me the most.

so yeah, i really didn't feel as if i was wearing anything 'cheap' and preferred how the colours looked on the lid to how they appear in the palette. i'm especially a fan of the black shade, as it is matte and i've been meaning to get a shade like that for a while now.

however, there are a few points i must make. despite wearing primer on my eyes, the eyeshadow creased ever so slightly after a few hours. this usually doesn't happen with eyeshadows from other high-street brands which i love (such as rimmel and revlon), and so i was somewhat saddened by that. don't be put off by this if you're one of the lucky ones whose eyeshadow magically stays put without any primer though, because a) you are extremely lucky and b) this probably will do better on your lids than mine. i also feel that, as gorgeous as these shades truly are, they don't work for my complexion or my features in terms of wearing them all over the lid. BUT don't assume that i will be getting rid of this! instead, i think i could make these work by investing in a sealing gel and using them as liners instead which i think would look gorgeous for summer - especially with the gold and copper shades!

it's not you eyeliner, it's me.

A LATE MERRY CHRISTMAS!

right. for the first time in my life... well, no. okay, let's start again. for the first time in approximately 6-7 years, i have tired of black eyeliner. that's right. anyone who knows me knows that the thick black eyeliner is pretty much a staple. yet, i guess i just grew tired of it - so much so that i haven't worn any for over a week. GASP! maybe it's because i love my new mac eyelash curler so much and want to show off my eyelashes as much as possible? or maybe it's because i'm lazy... 

the plus point is that in person, i feel as if i look a lot more fresh. in reality though, it photographs badly and i end up looking tired and lifeless. you win some, you lose some.

face: 17 primer, bourjois healthy mix foundation (52), collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer (#2), mac mineralize skinfinish (medium plus).

eyes: mac studio fix lash, mac eyebrow pencil (stud), the body shop brow & lash gel.

cheeks: sleek (rose gold).

lips: no 7 (classic rose).

'classic rose' is definitely my favourite lipstick (OF ALL TIME! imma let u finish). it's long-lasting, highly pigmented, and the colour is just perfect for me - especially when i want to add some colour without going down the hot pink route. it's photographed quite pink here but if you see it in person, it isn't loud at all and still looks natural. i actually have two of these because i am a mong and thought i lost it in a fit of despair when really, it was in my bag pocket. WHOOPS.

ps - i got some fabulous presents which i can't wait to try out!

pps - my skin is awful right now.

summer make-up & winter weather.

... i have written over 1000 words... i played a part in raising just under £10,000... i also got hit on by a 70 (MINIMUM) year-old man... i also met the very lovely vanesa guallar of 17 cosmetics... suffice to say, this weekend was productive. and now it is december! december will be full of applications and writing. applications do involve typing though, so basically just a buttload of words. my fingers will grow abs no doubt. bye bye christmas.

i haven't really bought any new make-up as of late, but have once again gravitated towards my usual pinks/reds/oranges. summer make-up is always more fun.

one of my all-time favourite make-up lines is revlon's matte lipstick range. just as pigmented as the ones at mac, but much cheaper and nowhere near as drying! i honestly don't know how they do it. it feels expensive, stays on for quite a while - i mean, how?!? i'm telling you, if they ever discontinue these bad boys i may well just wilt and die. unfortunately this particular shade has been discontinued in the uk, but i think it is still being sold in the states. ebay is probably the answer.

vanesa also kindly gave me the one colour i didn't have out of 17's magnetic nail polish range - what a sweetheart. it's supposed to be green, but has photographed as blue for some bizarre reason. super fun and easy to do - i get a lot of compliments on my nails.

nails - 17 (magnetic nail polish: green).

(see this vest in the background? it's a bad ass vest. that's right, i'm resorting to vests. it's one of those uni-qlo techy ones that is supposed to conserve heat. that's the good stuff right there...)

face: 17 primer, bourjois healthy mix foundation (52), collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer (#2), clinique airbrush concealer (03 light), mac mineralize skinfinish (medium plus).
eyes: maybelline gel liner, max factor false lash effect mascara, mac eyebrow pencil (stud).
cheeks: sleek blush (rose gold), benefit highlighter pencil (tangerine gold).
lips: revlon (strawberry suede).

in other news: i am hoping to put up my christmas tree(s) (that's right, PLURAL), and am staying indoors as the icy cold is causing havoc with my body. i have bad circulation problems so it causes me pain being in the cold so often. taking it easy for tomorrow.

food overhaul!

since my last post, i am officially a graduate. this september is going to be really manic as i am a) going to bestival, b) winding up working full-time, and c) beginning a new degree. gulp. i need to figure out what my new timetable will be and what my general weekly routines will be like, as i am also going to join a gym and need to figure out when i can fit that in, because having an office job has made me fat. they're pretty slow most of the time when it comes to paying me so i've been in agony as of late as there has been SO many things my heart has pined for (HELLO NEW ILLAMASQUA COLLECTION? THAT RUBBER NAIL POLISH? GIVE.TO.ME.)

i've been watching what i eat and begun a food overhaul since yesterday morning, although i still somehow think i eat too much. yesterday i had bran flakes (which tastes like cardboard), a handful of rice, chickpeas and watermelon. oh, and some pimms (i may/may not be hungover as i type this). so that's my general sort of routine going. start the day with cereal, have a vaguely carby lunch, and then spend the rest of the day snacking on watermelon, water, or green tea. for some reason i've been feeling dizzy and lethargic all week and so i haven't been exercising, but i think i will do an hour today. i shall report any signs of weight loss on here!

yesterday it was my friend's birthday. i am elusive but showed my face briefly. i haven't changed my make-up much recently but i'm really enjoying being silly with it and mixing blushers with lipsticks, using lipsticks on my cheeks and basically just putting things where they shouldn't be. could be the early markings of a breakdown really.

for some reason the lighting in my house is completely off - you'll just have to take my word for it, but there are a lot of gold tones on my face and my cheeks were a nice apricot colour. i'm not really liking my face much at the moment either.

face: no 7 lift and luminate day cream, sephora base sublimatrice, illamasqua skin base foundation (no 10), clinique airbrush concealer (03 light), no 7 illuminator (peach), nars highlighter (albatross), mac mineralize skinfinish (medium plus).
eyes: urban decay primer potion, urban decay eyeshadows (virgin, naked, buck, hustle), rimmel exaggerate liquid liner, maybelline gel liner, max factor false lash effect mascara, mac eyebrow pencil (stud).
cheeks: nars bronzer (laguna), illamasqua blush (lover) and a touch of sleek blush on the cheekbone (rose gold).
lips: urban decay primer potion, sleek blush (rose gold), tiny bit of old no 7 gloss (smile).

brush out those curls and ta dah! a result channelling something between a marcel wave and a cavewoman.

review: maybelline dream touch blush.

recently i've been venturing out of my usual pink and coral blushers (hot pink, baby pink, deep pink, you name it) and going for different, more subtle shades - more towards peach and apricot. i still prefer the pinks but shades such as these are more universally flattering. i have a very yellowy olive skin tone (i'm not pale by any means, as you can tell) and so i think that because of that, i can get away with the crazy pinks. peach tones lift my complexion but in a different way which looks more natural.

my newest shade is maybelline's dream touch blush in peach. it has recently been reformulated and i have heard echoes of dismay but this is the first time i'm trying the product and so i can't comment on whether it has been improved or not. i never used to notice maybelline, but they are really impressing me this year - their gel liner has definitely been my all-time favourite make-up purchase... quite the claim.

pros? i like its texture. i absolutely hate applying cream blusher with my fingers because it just doesn't feel right and looks very blotchy half the time because the product will be so pigmented. this is so smooth and lightweight that it's really soft, and therefore feels nice to touch. it's also very easy to build up! i also like the shade, but feel that it's perhaps a little *too* natural for my liking and gets lost within my complexion - on paler skin (such as the underside of my arm), it would look absolutely delicious. (excuse how blotchy i am, i have bad circulation and bad skin).

best hairstyle.

there is only one con, and it is a bloody massive con: its lasting power. i usually have a combination skin type and this just won't last nowhere near as long as i would like. i can't even dismiss it due to the fact that it's a high-street brand - blushes by sleek and topshop actually cost less and still do the job. i like the colour/texture to much to say that i regret buying this product completely, but i do think that i will mainly use it if i'm having guests over or popping out for an hour or two and don't want to use any of my expensive stuff. suffice to say i'm still disappointed by it though... alongside the fact that my eye make-up is a lot crazier and more 80s than the photo above depicts, with my camera refusing to take a proper photo of it.

face: 17 primer, mac studio fix fluid (nc30), clinique airbrush concealer (03 light), collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer, mac mineralize skinfinish (medium plus).

eyes: urban decay primer potion, benefit creaseless cream eyeshadow (get figgy), urban decay eyeshadows (twice baked and oil slick), illamasqua cream eyeshadow (hollow), max factor false lash effect mascara, mac eyebrow pencil (stud). 

cheeks: bourjois bronzing powder, maybelline dream touch blush (peach).

lips: sephora (no 72).