no 7 'vital brights' spring collection 2012.

i did it. i caved. i strolled right into boots and did the very thing i said i wouldn't do: i bought things i technically didn't need. 

... i feel so dirty and ashamed! this is indeed the limited edition spring collection for no 7, and combined with the 3 for 2 offer, i was helpless. i was vulnerable. now i'm not one for 'haul' posts (this is a baby haul) where there are just photos of the products, but isn't the packaging so fresh and pretty? 'vital brights' seems to be all about dewy, natural skin and bright colours that pop. the collection - off the top of my head - consists of a palette, highlighter powder, two cream blushers & two lipsticks. i skipped the palettes as i never use them, and the two cream blushes, as gorgeous as they were, were almost identical to the cream blushers i have from topshop in 'neon rose' and 'high five'  (which i have). i swatched them though, and they are creamy, highly pigmented and easy to blend - so if you missed out on the topshop blushers, then this is another option. unless you missed out on these too. whoops.

first of all, the highlighting powder. i have never used a powder which has pink/peach undertones and this was so lovely that i almost didn't want to use it! the inside (plus the shade) reminds me of laura mercier's face illuminator powder, which is great for those of us who can't afford it. i found it really easy to use and really light on the skin, despite how very shimmery it is (note: use sparingly!). it really does feel like a high-end product and i'm very happy with it.

i definitely see this becoming a daily staple... especially seeing as my beloved no 7 illuminator has to have the crappiest packaging of all time and is giving me grief.

i also picked up this lipstick, called 'blossoming pink'. what can i say, i'm a sucker for pink lipstick. it was met with a rolling of the eyes from my dear mother though. truth be told i am a little bit disappointed that no 7 didn't put the floral print on the tube, but it still looks clean and crisp in gold and white. don't be fooled by how pink it is though, because the finish is supposed to be a sheer balm formulation. now i knew this from the start so i wasn't surprised there, but i'm just warning those who might have not known and think that this is the pink lipstick of their dreams. i really do like no 7's sheer lipsticks, because they're creamy and have decent lasting power - so for what it's worth, i do recommend them. as i didn't have a sheer lipstick with a pink tint, i was really keen to have this.

i'm not sure if the colour is for me though. it's very light and pink! i applied my make-up in a rush (i am ill and therefore a shell of my former self) otherwise i would've built up the colour to fit with my complexion a bit better.

face: 17 primer, bourjois healthy mix foundation (52), collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer (#2), clinique airbrush concealer (03 light).
eyes: urban decay 24/7 eye pencil (lust), mac studio fix lash (black), mac eyebrow pencil (stud).
cheeks: topshop (high five).
lips: no 7 (blossoming pink).

finish everything off with my beloved emilio pucci wellies and off i go!

no 7's 'beautiful skin' day cream.

recently i've been needing something that provides more moisture for my skin because it's become so dry (due to the cold freezing weather and constant central heating) - and i was always keen on trying out this cream. no 7 have brought out a new 'beautiful skin' range with all sorts of products, so much so that i don't think i'd have the time to list them. what marks this out from other high-street brands is that they seem to have gone down the clinique route where for every product (e.g. a cleanser), there are four or five variations depending on skin type. i think that's a pretty nice touch, and i'm glad to see it entering the high street domain - even if no 7 is on the more expensive side.

i went for the day cream designed for normal-dry skin, and i've really liked it so far. it's quite expensive at £12.50, but you get a lot of product which is really good quality, and it's encased in beautiful packaging. a problem i've had with other day creams that i've tried is that they can sometimes feel sticky, turn gloopy or make my skin look and feel really greasy. they also sometimes make the centre of my face itch for some bizarre reason. with this, i haven't had any of that. it absorbs into the skin quickly, smells nice, has spf and leaves my skin feeling smoother and softer for hours. for that alone, i would totally repurchase.

it's a shame that it's priced at £12.50 though, because i am a student bum. i'd recommend waiting until boots dishes out those £5 off vouchers before stocking up - it's what i intend on doing at least!

a post about brows.

bleurgh. that is how i feel in a nutshell. just pure BLEURGH. i've been feeling so tired recently, and feel like i'm going through one of those weeks i'm just bloated and gross... not to mention with a load of stress thrown on top... and a horrible cold. sexy, right? ha. i have so many deadlines and the pressure is really getting to me but i'm hoping to make real progress this weekend.

for that reason, i've been keeping my make-up simple. now i usually just line my eyes with kohl and pencil in my brows so that they look thicker and more arched - but nothing beyond that i'm afraid. talk about boring! unfortunately i'm not much of an expert when it comes to brow products, as i have never attempted using powder or eyeshadow in my brows (they are already dark and thick, and i'm worried it would just be brow overload). instead i use my beloved brow pencil from mac, which has great staying power and a thin tip so that you can draw on individual hairs for a natural look. it's this tip which sets it apart from other eyebrow pencils i've used from other brands (e.g. estée lauder). if i've altered the shape of my brows and want it to stay on for even longer, i use a brow gel from the body shop to seal it in place.

the way i make it more arched is really simple. using an eyebrow brush (everyone must have one, surely), i brush my eyebrows down. then, i begin by filling in any obvious gaps. i then slowly draw on the arch - where it would be if i had one, that is - and keep going back and forth to make sure my brows look the same. then, brush your brows back up and voila! done. it really is that simple. if your brows are naturally quite identical, it will take a matter of seconds.

one thing i miss about the middle east (probably the only thing i miss) is how amazing their girls are at threading. they know how to thread and shape brows without making them look thin or awkward on the face. now my brows just look a state and i'm far too apathetic to do anything about it. my eyebrows are naturally a weird round shape, and only those girls know what to do with them - weep. if anyone knows any middle-eastern salons in london, do let me know!

face: 17 primer, mac studio fix fluid (nw30), collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer (#2), clinique airbrush concealer (03 light), mac mineralize skin finish (medium plus).
eyes: bourjois bronzing powder, illamasqua fine pencil (eerie), maybelline gel liner, mac studio fix lash (black), mac eyebrow pencil (stud), the body shop brow & lash gel.
cheeks: bourjois bronzing powder, no 7 illuminator (peach), nars blush (orgasm).
lips: mac (see sheer).

sorry for such a miserable post. i feel like i'm becoming the unluckiest person on the planet, 2012 is letting me down man!

kung hei fat choi!

yesterday was chinese new year. happy new year if you were celebrating! i went out to chinatown with a few chinese friends and we had a meal. it was nice even if i ate about 50kg of pure carb. i've recently just been eating a lot of far-eastern food actually, and would love to learn how to make it. dim sum. sushi. kare lomen from wagamam's. raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar food porn.

to channel my inner china/dragon/communist fan, i went for a block of red shadow on the eyes. red eyeshadow is one of those things which can easily tread that fine line between 2005 emo and looking like your lenses have given you hell. i probably tick both boxes but i don't care, because thie pure pigment i used ('berber' by illamasqua) is absolutely beautiful and is definitely one of my all-time favourite purchases. i think it photographs beautifully and is so unique! i've honestly never seen any pigment like it still.

i could've easily toned it down by applying it with a mac 217 and blending out a lot of the shimmer but i thought that i'd go all out. i patted the colour on my lid using a no 7 eyeshadow brush, and then used the 217 to blend it. i didn't line my lashes with black eyeliner as usual, just so the red could do the talkin'.

this dress is also unbuttoned because, to put it bluntly, cos forgot that girls below a size 10 may also need breathing space around their boobs. i felt that if i had buttoned it up, the buttons would pop and go flying into someone's dim sum. i paired it with a tiger brooch from kenneth jay lane. 

face: no 7 lift and luminate day cream, sephora base sublimatrice, mac studio fix fluid (nw30), collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer (#2), clinique airbrush concealer (03 light), mac mineralize skin finish (medium plus).
eyes: urban decay primer potion, urban decay 24/7 eye pencil (lucky), illamasqua pure pigment (berber), maybelline gel liner, mac studio fix lash (black), mac eyebrow pencil (stud).
cheeks: no 7 illuminator (peach), nars highlighter (albatross), mac blush (ladyblush).
lips: tiny bit of revlon (peach), clinique superbalm moisturising gloss (grapefruit).

grr.

how annoying! i hate it when you do your make-up and the sun sets. means i can't take proper pictures! nevertheless, here is what i wore (on my face that is) today. big lashes and dark lips.

face: clarins beauty flash balm, sephora base sublimatrice, mac studio fix fluid (nw30), collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer (#2), no 7 illuminator (peach), mac mineralize skinfinish (medium plus).
eyes: urban decay primer potion, urban decay eyeshadows (naked, buck, virgin), rimmel exaggerate liquid liner (black), illamasqua fine pencil (eerie), nars highlighter (albatross), mac studio fix lash (black), eyelure girls aloud false lashes (nicola), mac eyebrow pencil (stud).
cheeks: illamasqua cream pigment (hollow), duwop blush (peach).
lips: illamasqua (poison), sephora gloss (08).

my brooch still hasn't turned up. i've eliminated the taxi as a line of enquiry (wasn't there) so i only have two feasible explanations left: that it is at someone's house, or that it's simply awol in my own home. my friend is going to call the house for me on monday. keep praying!

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.

things i am looking forward to.

seeing as i'm so busy/stressed to talk about make-up (my face resembles 'the scream'), i thought i'd talk about a few things i'm excited for in 2012 instead.

 1. buying more books i lust over. i absolutely love books, but unfortunately my first degree (which i detested) put me off them completely. i'm still recovering from that (!) but really hope that i can find a job or the money to buy more photobooks instead. i'm absolutely obsessed with them and have a fair few as it is, but you can never have too much of a good thing. i'm especially obsessed with the bookstore in liberty but as the books start at around £50+, i have some saving up to do.

2. investing in good accessories. sorting out my jewellery has amazed me as i was blissfully unaware of how much crap i owned. mind you, it's crap which has been accumulated for 6 years but still. i want to sell a lot of it, and should i need to, invest in better jewellery. buy less, but buy great quality instead. if you constantly drop £3 there and £5 there at h&m for instance, it does actually add up!

3. get my bare legs out the moment it stops being so freezing. i hardly get my legs out due to the beautiful bruises and cuts i sport - i mean, i just don't think people are ready for it. my scarred knees? tremendous. however, i feel as if it's just been cold for too long (what with last summer being full of rain and miserable) and i just cannot wait to enjoy summer as it's supposed to be! terrible legs and all.