blending 4 n00bz.

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.

bestival.

this isn't a post to do with make-up, just personal.

i came back from bestival over the weekend. i had so much fun, even if i did look a right state throughout (luckily i don't fancy anyone on my facebook friends or i would be mortified). i was ill and felt like death for the first two days, but then slowly began to feel better because i got my voice back temporarily. however, since i've come back i have gone back a few steps! and so i feel pretty rubbish as a result. also find it hilarious how i look bored/angry/miserable in 99.99% of the photos when i was laughing all the time. really was a sweet weekend.

also feeling up and down for several other reasons. one of which is work. i've been given an amazing project which is short-term and well-paid (the best combination!), but one of my colleagues has completely and utterly hated on me over it even though it's not my decision. how horrible is that?! totally ruined the good news (most of my projects are long-term). i don't even like her, and think she's incompetent, desperate and insane amongst other things. handling criticism is something i find harder to do when it's coming from someone much older than me because i assume that they are wiser. but that is not the case here. i refuse to give any validity to her complaints and i am going to blow anything she ever did out of the water. just dirt off my shoulder.

bad week.

over the past week i had dizzy spells on and off, but assumed that it might be because i had just returned from another country. then, over the weekend, my throat butchered itself and i assumed that i had a throat infection (which was confirmed on monday). last night, i woke up in a cold sweat and felt as if my head was going to explode. went back to the doctor again, and it turns out that i am shitty mcshit. i am seriously hoping that this is the worst of it and that the antibiotics make me feel better very quickly (as i am going to bestival). the initial plan was to go this thursday but i am just not well enough and so i've had to land my poor friend (and fellow tent-sharer) in it by leaving her with a bloody heavy tent. now, i am going on friday morning instead. one of my other friends has been an absolute lifesaver, sorting it out for me at the last minute. :3

but anyway, i feel awful about it, but i can't leave her tentless and expect spooning when i am like this. good timing is a rarity in the grand scheme of my life. BUT, no matter how ill i am, i am NOT calling off going. na uh. i am going to go and i will not give a shit if i cough up my own intestines. i am DETERMINED. in other news, my home internet has been down despite promises of fixing it (thanks virgin, you da man) and one of the pipe things in our house couldn't handle the amount of rain and broke. today i also burnt my hand. worst week ever.

in the meantime:

srs ill face. SO NON-COMFORMIST~*~*

hat - urban outfitters, jumper - vivienne westwood.

face: 17 primer, bourjois healthy mix foundation (52), collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer (02 light), nars highlighter (albatross), mac mineralize skinfinish (medium plus).

eyes: urban decay primer potion, urban decay eyeshadows (creep and gunmetal), l'oreal stylo eyeliner (grey obsession), maybelline gel liner, max factor false lash effect mascara, mac eyebrow pencil (stud).

lips: illamasqua (poison).

i really like illamasqua's lipsticks. slightly less hydrating than mac but the colour stays put which is all i could ask for. i also love their colour selection and would probably wear every single product with glee. 'poison' is an extremely deep purple which i think would be weirdly flattering on any skin tone, and perfect for autumn (let's face it, this is certainly no summer we're having in england!).

the hat stayed on for an hour and then i unleashed the beast underneath. boom.

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).

review: illamasqua skin base foundation. all aboard the hype train!

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.

holiday!

i had a fabulous time on holiday and enjoyed eight days of 30+ degree weather - most of the time i was either in monaco or venice. here is a very, very small snippet (believe it or not!) of what went down. i'm surprised my face hadn't melted into pure gloop from the sheer heat.

i felt very humbled to be able to go! i'm so lucky.