benefit's 'they're real!' mascara.

yesterday was my best friend's birthday celebrations and so i am feeling a tad "delicate" as i type this...

her birthday was an excuse for me to try out my latest mascara, called 'they're real!' by benefit. it was always sold out in shops (undoubtedly due to the hype, grumble grumble) so i bought it online around christmas time. my immediate impression was a good one, as i think that the packaging is really sleek and glamourous. 

nails - no 7 (totally teal).

however, when it came to application, i was a little let down. it's a good mascara, but not as great as people make out. i felt as if i had to apply it sparingly else it'd clump, and there isn't anything revolutionary about it which would make me want to re-buy. the wand is made out of plastic but i don't sense any sort of difference there, and i didn't feel that this product was that much better than a drugstore brand to warrant paying almost double the price. however, the only good part about this mascara is that it doesn't flake, which usually can be the bane of my life as a lens-wearer - so if that is an issue for anyone then this may be a good option to check out. i do think i'll keep it, but it definitely isn't the best mascara i've ever tried. perhaps it's because i already have long eyelashes, and therefore the change just isn't as drastic as it would be on those who haven't.

face: no 7 lift and luminate day cream, sephora base subliminatrice, illamasqua skin base foundation (10), collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer (#2), clinique airbrush concealer (03 light), mac mineralise skinfinish (medium plus).
eyes: urban decay primer potion, revlon colourstay quad (in the buff, second colour), benefit 'they're real!' mascara (top lashes), lancome hypnose mascara (lower lashes), maybelline gel liner, mac superslick liquid liner (black), mac eyebrow pencil (stud).
cheeks: mac (fleur power).
lips: urban decay (buzzkill).

and here is what i wore! i don't really do outfit posts because i'm not interested in my own outfits and i don't think i'm dedicated enough to the cause to get a remote control/tripod/photographer boyfriend...

dress - whistles, belt - chanel.

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.

basic red.

my skin feels and looks awful. i think it's due to the fact that i'm back at university (certainly a jolt to the system), drinking less water (oh dear) and just feel lethargic even though i do next to nothing. my skin is therefore feeling quite dull and so i'll be sorting that out... probably the prime opportunity to do a review on something, right? my ebay jaunt is going okay, so far i've only sold a ps3 game (red dead redemption, 100% game completion, yessssssss) and i've still got 22 items on sale. unfortunately i wish i could say i've made money but i sold my game for almost £9, and had in fact purchased ANOTHER game off ebay the day before for the same amount. this brings my funds to... oh wait. £0.

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: maybelline gel liner, revlon grow luscious mascara (black), mac eyebrow pencil (stud).
cheeks: mac (ladyblush).
lips: mac (mac red).

nails - 17 (forever). ring - asos.

i've been going down the snoozefest nude route when it comes to nails. 'forever' is actually a pretty decent shade though. when i first saw it, i thought it might be a dupe of  model's own's 'nude beige', but 'forever' is a lot more pink and more suited to lighter complexions. it's very grown-up and classy, neither of which i can relate to right now. i do feel quite sorry for 17 because i forget how great their polishes are until i use them - which, considering i own two, is not very often. it has a fantastic quick-drying formula, is high shine, and after two days, shows no intention of chipping. i do really love it and think that their polishes are underrated. particularly by yours truly. whoops.

the great big jewellery sort of 2012 is still ongoing. i have made minimal progress. see this panda ring? this was my favourite ring in the whole wide world, but unfortunately isn't the original of the favourite-ring-in-whole-wide-world ring. i bought the original (rip) on holiday whilst in tehran in 2009, and loved it to death. hallowe'en 2010, some dumb ass fool steals my oyster (also commonly referred to as "MY LIFE") AND my ring, which i had left in my bag. i was absolutely, inexplicably devastated. i searched high and low for this ring, but it was nowhere to be found. not in the bar, not abroad, not anywhere. 

six months passed and i was perusing a few blogs when i stumbled across a blog which had a lot of rings in its banner. ONE OF THE RINGS WAS MY PANDA. besides initially deciding that i had nabbed my panda thief, i instead got my massive creep on and messaged her asking where she bought it from. she said she got it from river island the year before, and once again, my heart sank. nevertheless, a quick ebay search led to ONE seller who had ONE ring left and HERE IT IS!!!!!!!! 

so, um... yes. i am making progress.

in other news, i am very excited to be attending the #zomgbloggersbash! i think it's extremely unlikely that anyone going will know of this blog (i barely do) so if you do see someone and suspect them to be a gatecrasher, it is probably me...

2012 spring clean: jewellery.

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!

review: clinique superbalm moisturizing gloss.

excuse my miserable mug. i am shattered - i went out yesterday afternoon, went out again in the evening, came home, edited a draft of something rather important until 1.30am, and then i cleaned a bit (whoops). point is, i am feeling it today. my skin is in bad condition because ahem, it is that time of the month (i pride myself on my ability to delve into tmi territory at all times) and so i wasn't in the mood to play around with my make-up. i just wanted to keep it simple and look as if i was barely wearing anything, when really i was. pure stealth.

in an old post of mine, i praised the body shop's lip balms for providing the perfect amount of gloss and hydration. i still do like them, but a new kid is on the block. i actually forgot i even bought this (the cardinal sin, buying something and then losing it in your vortex of a make-up box) and so it was a very pleasant surprise. FYI, still haven't bought any make-up. i'm doing well. i'm chill. chiller than cold turkey.

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: maybelline gel liner, mac studio fix lash (black), mac eyebrow pencil (stud).
cheeks: sleek (rose gold).
lips: clinique superbalm moisturizing gloss (grapefruit) (WHAT A MOUTHFUL!)

to me, this is a really exciting product. i never would've thought that anything could top the aforementioned body shop balms but this does. you see, i'm not a massive fan of glosses. i find them too sticky, or lacking in lasting-power. this gloss/balm/beautiful creation is the perfect mix of the two, with none of that going on. i found it to be really wonderful, and my lips felt oddly hydrated whilst staying uber glossy for hours - and as this gloss does not contain glitter, it makes for a fantastic wet look. moreover, i have it in the shade "grapefruit" but as this product isn't scented or flavoured the shade names are literally just based on shade only. i really cannot wait to layer this on my lipsticks!

that gurl is poisoooon....

such a tune. it also shares the name of my lipstick today! anyway, my make-up for today was probably subconsciously influenced by my desire to watch this film. it is indeed 'the artist' and i'm absolutely dying to see it! no one else is interested so i may have to go it alone. i love musicals to death you see (i grew up watching all of them, thinking that one day i'd meet fred astaire and we'd be bff), but as the vast majority of my friends are boys, i have a hard time getting people to go with me. i once threatened to make them come with me to see priscilla: queen of the desert for my birthday i'll have you know. because i am that cruel.

back to make-up. oddly enough, i purchased this lipstick thinking it would be my staple for autumn 2011. however, when it came to it, i barely used it. not because i didn't like it, but because i had some kind of cold-induced breakdown where i needed the reds and pinks and oranges to lift my spirits. i love the colour as it is a very peculiar sort of purple, unlike nothing i've found elsewhere - and so i gave it another whirl today. illamasqua's lipsticks are definitely unique in terms of colour which is why i like them (when i can't find a particular colour stocked in mac etc., i know where to go!) and they are long-lasting, but i do wish that they were a touch more creamy. this particular shade has quite a matte finish so i'm assuming that's why it's lacking on the hydration front.

earrings - forever 21.

very film noire, non? i teamed it up with a grey smokey eye and the result is a soft take on what would otherwise be a very evening look. truth be told, i can't think of nothing worse than doing a smokey eye, because a) it gets messy, b) i don't think it suits me as much as it suits others and c) all that blending does my wrist in. 

face: no 7 lift and luminate day cream, 17 primer, mac studio fix fluid (nc35), collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer (#2), clinique airbrush concealer (03 light), mac mineralize skinfinish (medium plus).

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

cheeks: nars (orgasm).

lips: illamasqua (poison).

i'm also loving this shade by gosh, called 'purple heart'. unfortunately the sloppy application is due to the fact that there's barely any of it left! :( and the penmarks on my hands are also naughty, i'm sorry. it's a dark purple which, in some lights, also looks green. i love it, and think it's a classic shade which will never go out of style.

back to work.

that day. that one day, post-christmas, where you have to return to society. whether it be work, school, university or a grocery shop, the 3am bedtimes and lie-ins are over and you have to become reacquainted with your worst enemy: the tube. unfortunately i am still recovering from the traumatic ordeal that is the central line, and so this will be a simple fotd post.

face: l'oreal studio secrets primer, mac studio fix fluid (nw30), collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer (#2), mac mineralize skinfinish (medium plus).
eyes: illamasqua cream pigment (hollow), rimmel exaggerate liquid liner, maybelline gel liner, mac studio fix lash (black), mac eyebrow pencil (stud).
cheeks: topshop (pop).
lips: collection 2000 creampuff lip cream (fairy cake).