The Poison Which Fascinates

Glittery Brows

2012-01-10T21:49:00.001Z

I've been loving the glittery eyebrow look for quite a while, so I thought I'd give it a go. There are a few different tutorials on youtube but the version I prefer is this one: http://youtu.be/5uM8SPJ8fLk

Review: GOSH Nail Polish in Gasoline

2012-01-02T23:15:00.000Z

GOSH Nail Lacquer in Gasoline (£4.99, currently part of a 3 for 2 offer) from Superdrug.

After the Ciaté disappointment I was a bit put off of nail polishes, however, on a quick browse in Superdrug I came across this gorgeous looking polish which I felt I had to try and I am glad I did. It is a gorgeous purple-y colour with little bits of glitter through it although it is not an overly sparkly polish. It does require 2 coats as just one is too sheer for my taste but most polishes require 2 or 3 coats. One they have dried it retains a glossy finish and it lasts without chipping for at least 18 hours (I removed it to mess around with nail glitters but that is a different post). The price was good and this is more the effect I had expected from Ciaté, if I had been as happy with that one as I was with this I would have been quite happy even if it did cost an extra £4.

Recent EOTD Dump

2012-01-02T22:52:00.001Z

In celebration of the fact that I can wear makeup again, I've been having fun with my collection. These are looks that i've done over the Christmas period, in the second look my brows look really strange, which they didn't in person. I did have them threaded and tinted last week for the first time, it was a strange experience as it was done in the middle of Superdrug and it hurt (unsurprisingly) but it does look tidier and I prefer them a bit darker than they usually are.

Christmas:

Boxing Day:

27th:

New Years Day:

2nd January:

Hogmanay Inspired Look

2011-12-31T17:55:00.000Z

Last night I was extremely bored and decided to do a makeup look inspired by Hogmanay (New Years Eve in Scotland). Although Hogmanay takes place at night during the cold, dark Scottish winter, I always associate it with both warmth and light as a lot of the coverage of the various events across the country involve fire (like Up Helly Aa, the Fire Twirling at Stonehaven and the fires and lighting in Edinburgh Castle) and of course everyones homes are warm and lit up as everyone welcomes in the New Year plus the skies are always full of fireworks. Like most Scots, I love Hogmanay and consider it to be the main event of the year (my Mother never really got to celebrate Christmas as a child and all emphasis was on Hogmanay, so the traditions in her family were kept as we were growing up- although we got Christmas as well). So this look tries to capture the warmth and sparkle of Hogmanay (although the photographs don't show it too well, it is much more vibrant, the colours better defined and sparkly in reality).

Anyway, hope the New Year is good to everyone and you everyone stays safe if they are out celebrating.

Happy New Year!

TFSI
Sleek Molten Metal in Gold- Lid
Sugarpill Goldilux- lid and middle 1/3 on lower lashline
Barry M Orange (77) Dazzle dust- inner 1/3 of crease
Barry M White Gold-y (15) Fine Glitter Dust- over 77 and inner 1/3 lower lashline.
GOSH loose eyeshadow in Fox- outer 2/3 of crease
MAC Black Tied-Crease and outer 1/3 of lower lashline
MAC Gold Dusk-Highlight
Collection 2000 Glitterliner in Funk (it is gold)- over Goldilux
Bourjois Glittery liquidliner- Upper lashline
Bourjois Clubbing mascara- Black
GOSH Velvet Touch Liner in Black- Waterline

Review: Ciaté Nail Polish

2011-12-29T15:45:00.000Z

Ciaté Nail Polish in Regatta (£9.00).

I had been keen to try this brand for quite some time but had never got round to ordering anything until a local department store started stocking it. The presentation of the nail polishes is fantastic with lots of bright colours, cute but stylish bottles and at £9.00 were not extortionate. As the selection was quite good I had considered buying 2 or 3 but managed to restrain myself and only buy Regatta, a navy blue with specks of silver shimmer in it. I'm glad I only bought one as I was seriously disappointed. The polish applied smoothly and even with one coat it went on opaque and did not look streaky and I was delighted. However, my delight did not last long. Once the polish had dried it looked very dull and almost powdery, I was quite disappointed but even then it wasn't too bad as once I had applied a top coat as it took away a lot of the dullness although I would have expected it to be a bit better. The worst thing has got to be how badly and quickly it chips. I have tried everything I can think of to make it last longer but to no avail. Within two hours of application (when all I had been doing is watching tv) it was chipping, I was a bit irritated by this as no other nail polish I have used in about 10 years has chipped so quickly and under so little stress. If it had been a new company or a cheap polish I wouldn't have been so annoyed but Ciaté have been around for a few years and £9.00 isn't really that cheap (especially in comparison to the fantastic Barry M polishes which cost about £3.00). I had considered that it could just have been the Regatta colour/formula which was the problem but I spoke to one of my friends who had used them and she had the same problem with different colours and formulations. By time I had had it on for about 5 hours, I had to buy some nail polish remover as it looked really untidy, more in line with having worn it for 2 or 3 days (and having cleaned the house, typed and bathed/showered with hot water- the usual day to day stuff). The 'long lasting' comment on the bottle is a bit of a joke.

In short, I wouldn't buy this again and I was disappointed as I had expected something wonderful and got something I would have thought should cost £3 or £4. The dullness without a top coat I could deal with but the ease with which it chips is harder to overlook and it is a pity.

2 coats over an OPI base coat and under an OPI top coat.

EOTD: Golden Gothic

2011-12-05T02:11:00.001Z

Sorry, I haven't posted for a while as I've been a bit busy. Last week I started a new job- it is only temporary but I'm hoping to get something more permanent after Christmas. Sadly, due to the nature of my job makeup is strictly forbidden as is perfume, nail polish, strong smelling cosmetics, products containing nuts and jewellery, we must also wear some rather unattractive hair nets and overalls. In short, it is well outside of my comfort zone, although that had nothing on the horror of standing for 8 hours (which is going to be 12 as of tonight for the next 2 and a half to three weeks, although the pay should be quite good provided the shifts don't kill me, lol). So, in order to get back into the swing of blogging again, here is a look I did a couple of weeks ago:

MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack-tightline
TFSI- Prime
Sleek Molten Metal in Gold- Lid
Sugarpill Chromalust in Goldilux- Lid
Body Shop Glitter in Gold- Over Goldilux
Sugarpill Chromalust in Stella- Outer 1/3 and crease
MAC e/s in Black Tied- to blend out Stella
MAC e/s in Dazzlelight- Highlight
MAC Blacktrack- Upper Lashline and Waterline
Benefit Badgal e/l- Lower lashline
T.F. Lash Injection Mascara
Brown e/s on brows.

This is quite a nice look for this time of year, I paired this up with a Black Barry M lipstick. I would use and even lighter Foundation (I find it difficult to get the Stargazer stuff to work on me, so I was stuck with my usual NC15) to make the look much more gothic.

New Blog

2011-10-19T21:33:00.001+01:00

I have noticed that I've been increasingly blogging about things unrelated to makeup so I have started a new blog which I hope to get lots of readers of. It is much more general than this one with baking, photography and just a variety of different posts which are not makeup related. I hope that you check it out and subscribe (if you like it of course).

Blog Sale

2011-10-15T12:34:00.001+01:00

I have been forced to look at my makeup collection recently and have come to the conclusion that I have far too much that I don't use, much of which has only been swatched and that I know I won't ever use. I have therefore decided to start selling it off in order to make more room and to make some money for something which, if it works out, I won't be able to take it with me or will have to try to get rid of it next year.

I will be putting prices on these but am willing to sell some of these items for a bit less. If there is anything you want email me at makeupaddict77@gmail.com or leave a comment.

Prices do not include delivery which is £2 in the UK, I can send them outside of the UK but contact me for a price. All Items will be sent as recorded delivery (non negotiable). For multiple items add 50p.

Sleek pallets £4.50: Chaos; ~~Graphite~~; ~~Sunset~~; The Original; Bad Girl; ~~Safari~~; Storm; Good Girl (not pictured)

Collection 2000 Dazzledusts £2: Fairy Dust; Heavenly; Illusion; Jaffa; Rose Coloured

Hard Candy eyeshadows £5: Popsicle; Buttered Popcorn

Sleek eyeshadow dust £2.50: Jet Set

Nyx chrome shadows £3: Platinum; Baby Pink

MAC lipsticks £9 (£10 for style curve): Speak Louder; Pervette; Style Curve; New York Apple; Lustering; Sandy B; Ever Embellish; Most Popular; Kanga Rouge.

Nyx round lipsticks £2.50: ~~Strawberry Milk~~; ~~Fig~~; Louisiana; ~~Spellbound~~; Orange Soda; ~~Power~~; ~~Pandora~~.

Sleek Lipsticks £2.50: Pink Freeze; ~~Mystic~~; ~~Amped; Cherry~~

Maybelline diamonds lipstick £2.50: Iridescent Rose Diamonds

Stargazer lipsticks £1.50: 104; ~~114~~

~~MAC Select Sheer Pressed Powder £10: NC20~~

Too Faced Lip of Luxury £7: Pink Flamingo

Too Faced Glamour Dust £8: Glampire

Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Gel £5: Bootleg

Nars eyeshadows £10: Night Porter; Night Flight

Nyx Diamond Gloss £2: Red Sparkle

High Voltage Lip Whips £3: Hot Head; Synth Pop; Tainted Love; Midnite Desire

Too Faced Lip plumper £4

Ciate lipgloss £4

RMK Irresistible lipstick £8: Holographic Cherry Red

Sleek kohl £2.50: Noctournal

Too Faced Wrinkle Injection £6

Benefit IT stick £5

L'oreal Glam shine Crystals £3: Amethyst Stars

Bourjois Clubbing liquidliner £3: Black

GOSH liquidliner £2.50: 2;12

Barry M £2.50black glitter, bliue, champagne

Nyx £2: Oyster: Cherry Red

Nyx Lipgloss £3: ~~Wild Orchid~~

GOSH shadesticks £3: Purple; Brown

Barry M Glitterlashes £3: Purple

MAC Technakohl £6: Uniform

MAC Shadesticks £ 7: Red Velvet; Cakeshop

MAC Solarbits £6.50: Scatterrays; ~~Bronzescape~~

Pigment £6.50: ~~viz-a-violet~~

Lipgloss £7: Dreamy

Liquidlast £7: point blank

Lipgelee £7: valentines

Blusher £10: springsheen

Rainbow Cake

2011-09-25T13:52:00.002+01:00

New Neighbours...

2011-09-05T20:20:00.002+01:00

Slightly Depressing Illamasqua Post

2011-07-06T20:01:00.005+01:00

This is my third attempt at writing this post, not because I messed up the last two but because I find this post difficult to write as it requires me to draw upon the worst time in my life.

Yesterday Illamasqua announced their "Final Act of Self-Expression" collaboration with a London Funeral directors to provide makeup artistry services for the recently deceased's funerals. The intention I'm sure is to offer a service which would allow those for whom makeup played an important in their identity to be made up in a way which they would have had done whilst alive. However, I am not convinced that this is coming across in a way in which they intended, it does seem in poor taste, namely because many of the people who would want this service are young or at least much younger than the average life expectancy. It is not 'natural' in Western society for young people to die, it is not common place to expect to lose a loved one so early on in life, so such deaths will ordinarily be extremely traumatic and targeting a product like this in this medium is in poor taste, if it had been a service offered through funeral directors, it would be fine or if this scenario were really commonplace it wouldn't seem as bad.

My primary objection comes from the fact that this could create an unrealistic expectation as to how the dead person will look. The model in the images advertising this is obviously alive and looks fantastic, much more like a sleeping character out of a fairytale than a corpse. Despite the common misconception, it is difficult to make the dead look alive, when my Mum died I was present and the change was instantaneous, the body she had once lived in looked like that of a stranger and no amount of make up would have been able to change that. As a result we decided that the coffin lid should be shut and no viewing allowed, although viewings are fairly common where we come from in Scotland (there were viewings at my Grans funeral, at my great-Grans twenty years ago and at all but one (out of necessity, rather than disapproval) of my families funerals in Scotland). Opinions varied as to the success of this but my Mother had said that my great Gran "looked like a vampire-it was horrific", she had said that it wasn't down to the make up or and lack of skill on the part of the funeral parlour. I think this could be selling an unrealistic expectation to someone who is dying and to relatives who have just been bereaved.

Birthday EOTD

2011-06-21T23:48:00.002+01:00

I am now inescapably in my late 20's which is a slightly depressing thought. Had a reasonably good day, My Dad and brother had bought this massive chocolate cake meant to feed 20 people and as a result we're going to be eating a lot of cake to get rid of it and I got to but a load of books without having to pay for them myself.

Makeup was a 1980's inspired but fairly simple look.

TFSI

NYX jumbo e/s pencil in oyster- lid

Sugarpill chromalust in birthday girl- lid

Medusa's e/s in electro purple- crease

Medusa's e/s in electro green-lower lashline

MAC p/m in pink opal- highlight

Barry M white eyeliner-waterline

Collection 2000 glittery liner in disco queen- upper lashline

Benefit bad gal lashes

Margarita: Love and Destroy

2011-06-17T23:54:00.001+01:00

I was really bored earlier today so I decided to try a look inspired by a scene in my favourite book, The Master and Margarita. This is kinda how I think of her makeup during her flight over Moscow (not at Wolands Ball where I imagine her face to be even paler, more sharply contoured and the eyes darker- a bit like how they did Illamasquas Dystopia collection a couple of years ago).

I initially thought of trying to replicate the look in the video at the bottom (the song is Love and Destroy by Franz Ferdinand and the video is a scene from a Russian tv adaptation of the book). I had remembered the eyeshadow wrong so it is quite different.

Swatches: Ben Nye Green and Purple Eyeshadows

2011-06-16T00:55:00.002+01:00

Royal Purple, Amethyst, Cosmic Violet
Mermaid Green, Jade, Chartreus

Ben Nye Eyeshadows-Size

2011-06-15T22:54:00.003+01:00

I recently bought 2 Ben Nye Grand Lumiere eyeshadows and was surprised at the difference in size between the individual ones, the palette ones and a MAC eyeshadow. Considering that a Ben nye shadow costs about £11 it is amazing to see just how much you get compared to MAC.

Miscellaneous Non-makeup Post

2011-06-11T18:48:00.002+01:00

This makes me wish I lived in London, a feeling I have been getting quite a lot over the past 6 months. I have been looking into moving there and it is probable that I would need to move there anyway as most of the jobs in the field I want to work in are based there, as well as 2 of the Universities I would want to do a PhD at.

There seems to be a lot to do in London, plenty of shops and a chance to reinvent myself as something other than a shy, slightly reclusive nerd who never goes out. I have decided to try save up when I get a job and try to move there once I finish my Masters next summer. Not really sure why I'm posting this here but I suppose it is since I'm trying to find a starting point for moving. I have been to London twice and one those time was to get the Eurostar, so doesn't really count. I have no idea what areas are good but not too expensive and not too far away from the city centre.

Old EOTDS

2011-06-11T18:00:00.002+01:00

I had intended doing a post on pressing pigments and a look with the ones I have pressed today, however, my mishap with the pigments yesterday has ruled that one out and as I don't want to aggravate my eyes any more than they have been, I won't be doing an EOTD today. So, here are some of my older ones that I haven't posted:

Not sure of these colours but I think the lighter one is Bitter (MAC) and the darker one is Sassy Grass (MAC- LE).

This one was done using all of the colours in the Sugarpill Burning Heart and Sweetheart Quads.
This was done with the 88 colour shimmer palette.
I think this was Juxt and Atlantic blue by MAC, with my favourite false lashes.

Pressing Pigments/ Ordering Fail

2011-06-11T06:58:00.002+01:00

I made my first attempt at pressing pigments the other day and they looked pretty good, so I ordered eyeshadow pans, a pallet and a couple of other things off the internet yesterday afternoon and I was quite happy until last night. The pigments had been dry for more than 24 hours, so I decided to try them out and I felt as if my eyes were going to melt out of their sockets, it was really sore and they are feeling a bit sensitive just now. All thoughts of pressing any more pigments have gone out of the window, the alcohol clearly does not agree with me and I have no desire to re-test the pigments. The pallet can easily and cheaply be sent back to the seller as it was from in the UK; the empty pans, dropper and the presser were cheap but there are 50 pans on their way here and everything will just be left in a box doing nothing but getting in the way. I was going to contact the seller but I checked the account which said that it has been sent so there is nothing I or the seller can do about it until it arrives.

If there is anyone out there who wants 50 empty tin 26mm eyeshadow pans, the presser and a dropper can email me at: makeupaddict77@googlemail.com.

I shouldn't have ordered until I tried the pigments on my eyes. Lesson (painfully) learnt.

EOTD's: Purples

2011-06-09T20:33:00.004+01:00

Was a bit bored and have been playing with makeup this is what I did tonight:

TFSI

MUFE 92-Lid and 2/3 lower lashline

MAC Lucky Tom- over 92

MAC Romping- Crease and inner 1/3 lower lashline

Sugarpill Dollypop- above crease

MAC Yoghurt- to blend out Romping

Sugarpill Tako- Highlight

MAC Stately Black- outer 1/3 lower lashline

Maybelline black kohl liner- waterline

Barry M- Purple glittery liner

Too Faced lash injection

MAC Pink Reflects glitter-over Romping

A nice simple look for nipping out to Tesco:

TFSI

MAC Vibrant Grape inner 2/3 of lid and lower lashline

Ben Nye Royal Purple- outer 1/3 lid and lower lashline

MAC Vellum- Highlight

Maybelline black kohl- waterline

Too Faced lash injection

Too Faced lash injection pinpoint

EOTD: Too Christmassy for June?

2011-06-08T20:38:00.002+01:00

I really like this look but I think that it might be a bit too Christmassy for June.

TFSI

NYX Rocky Mountain Green e/s pencil- Lid

Sugarpill Chromalust in Tipsy-Lid

Sugarpill e/s in Love+ - Outer Crease

Sugarpill e/s in Flamepoint- Inner Crease

Sugarpill e/s in Dollypop- Blended into top of Love+

Ben Nye e/s in Mermaid Green- In crease

Sugarpill e/s in Tako- Highlight

Sugarpill e/s in Buttercupcake- Inner Corner

Sugarpill e/s in Love +-Inner 1/2 Lower lashline

Sugarpill e/s in Poison Plum- Outer 1/2 Lower Lashline

Maybelline gel liner

Maybelline black eye kohl

Benefit Bad Gal lash'es

EOTD: Purples

2011-06-08T17:54:00.003+01:00

TFSI

Medusa's Makeup loose e/s in Purple Rain- Lid

Sugarpill chromalust in Hysteric- over Purple Rain

Ben Nye e/s in Royal Purple- above crease

Medusa's makeup e/s in Electro Purple- over Royal Purple

Sugarpill chromalust in Weekender-inner crease

Sugarpill e/s in Afterparty- lower lashline

Sugarpill chromalust in Royal Sugar- over Afterparty

MAC e/s in Black Tied- crease

Sugarpill e/s in Tako- Highlighter

Maybelline eye Kohl in Black- waterline

Bourjois glittery liquid liner- upper lashline

Benefit Gad Gal lashes

Alien by Thierry Mugler

2011-06-02T00:09:00.002+01:00

Have you ever loved the smell of the perfume you've been wearing so much you were reluctant to shower it off*? This is how I felt this evening with this perfume.

For years I have loved Angel by Thierry Mugler which I still count as my favourite; I love Alien almost as much although I don't have the same sentimental attachment to it that I have with Angel (yet).

The bottle for Alien is lovely and it looks like an artifact you'd find in an alien craft, like a precious, purple gemstone engraved with hieroglyphics carrying ancient secrets. I have read comments where people don't think too highly of the bottles (someone said they looked like penguins); they aren't necessarily to everyones taste as with everything but I think they're fun and the 'penguin' comment amuses me.

The perfume itself was lovely, it has been described as smelling of Amber, Jasmine and Cashmeran, I'll be honest on this I cannot really say too much as I have no idea what cashmeran is, but the jasmine was ever present; if you don't like jasmine, then you probably won't like Alien. Much like the bottle opinion seems to be divided on the fragrance with some saying it is a real 'scrubber' (a feeling I have only had with a perfume once before) and claiming they could smell a chemical element to it, I couldn't smell that and I love this perfume which works well with my personal chemistry.

*I did, however, wash it off.

Dishonest Advertising

2011-05-31T01:39:00.004+01:00

This has got to be the single most annoying thing in beauty advertising. If companies are going to use false eyelashes when advertising eyelash products, then they should be advertising false lashes, not the mascara hidden underneath it. I (and I suspect, most people) are aware that there is a fair bit of photoshopping and trickery going on in ads; whitening toothpaste advertised on people with whitened teeth or by use of ps; skin enhanced digitally for foundation and various other things, which if being used when another thing is being advertised e.g. whitened teeth when they are selling lipstick etc is absolutely fine but it isn't when the product being advertised is being linked to these effects, especially where the disclaimer does not make it clear* that you will not get these effects from that product.

This is seriously one of the reasons I don't tend to buy anything I can't test or find reviewed and swatched on an independent blog, I reason that if someone has had to put their hand in their pockets and paid for a product they didn't like they will be honest about it, not something you will ever expect get from the big companies who will of course tell you their product is amazing and you need it in order to ensure the continuing advertising revenue. Magazines are usually not much better. Makeup Forever released an unretouched ad this year and the models foundation looked amazing and whilst she was probably chosen for having amazing, flawless skin it was hers and not courtesy of post-production. I don't think anyone could claim that this has harmed their business.

I am not anti-photoshop, I do use it myself but not to change the product or how it looks (I will cover up spots when swatching lipstick but not foundation or face products).

*Meaning the disclaimer is either non existent or hidden down at the bottom or in a corner.

Now What?

2011-05-31T00:56:00.002+01:00

I have just finished University (as long as I have passed- which I should have a better idea of in 2 weeks) and in between job hunting, I am at a loss for things to do. I am supposed to start a Masters in September (depending on grades and a job to pay for it) but until then I won't have much to occupy myself with as I am now just unemployed ( and will not be going on jobseekers) rather than a student so I won't be able to buy much in the way of makeup until this changes.

I have started writing (not sure whether it will be a novel or a collection of stories) my own stuff (rather than the fanfic's I used to write) and I am intending to start learning Russian and possibly improving my Standard Grade German (possibly a strange choice of activities for a dyslexic).

Trying to decide on a look for graduation; the colours are terracotta, gold and light blue, not a combination I normally wear and not one I am too keen on. I don't know whether or not I could get away with a bolder look (goldilux on lid/a shimmery terracotta in the crease/ light blue on the lower lashline), a more classic look (like the one Adele is wearing in the top photo) or a 'barely there' look.

More Jess (taken a while ago):

In my brothers chest of drawers.

Random Post (Contains a Cat)

2011-05-27T22:41:00.006+01:00

Was really bored last night after tidying my room so I decided to do something with the various pamphlets from various cosmetics companies, this is what I ended up with:

Just blu-taked onto the back of an old £3 whiteboard, these are just too pretty to leave in a drawer.

Jess was at the vet about 2 weeks ago as I didn't like the look of one of her teeth, which it turned out was infected and had to be removed under anesthetic. According to the vet about 80% of cats and dogs will have tooth disease and in a cat Jess's age (15 1/2) they will usually remove all of their teeth rather than just the one; it must be in part due owners not usually checking their teeth (a difficult task with Jess, usually she'll get annoyed and run away but this time she sat still so I got a good look, so it must have been hurting her and she hadn't been eating right). She is much better and she immediately started to eat better and has put on weight so she is doing well and is a nice, healthy cat. She does have a shaved front leg.

EOTD: Browns

2011-05-26T02:00:00.003+01:00

Not posted one of these in ages.

TFSI

MAC Soft Force e/s- all over lid

MAC Tempting e/s- Crease and blended up

MAC Night Manoevers e/s-Crease

High Voltage Cosmetics Loki e/s- Inner Crease

Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner in Black

Too Faced Lash Injection Mascara

Barry M White eyeliner

Swatches: Lip Whips from High Voltage Cosmetics

2011-05-26T01:47:00.005+01:00

Lip Whips $6.25 from High Voltage Cosmetics

Tainted Love, Hot Head, Synth Pop, Midnite Desire

Tainted Love

Hot Head

Synth Pop

Midnite Desire ( sadly it made my teeth look incredibly yellow)

Swatches: Lip Candies from High Voltage Cosmetics

2011-05-26T01:34:00.004+01:00

Lip Candies $6.50 (approx. £ 3.98)

Just A Girl, Ultra Violet, Beth, Fashionably Late and Orestea.

Just A Girl

Ultra Violet

Beth

Fashionably Late

Orestea

Obligatory Sugarpill Post

2011-05-24T20:34:00.006+01:00

This is possibly one of my all time favourite brands as I can't praise it more highly. Every review of Sugarpill I have read has been positive and when I first bought the first quad I was really impressed but held off writing any sort of review until now for a couple of reasons: i) There is nothing in this review that hasn't been said in more or less every other review and as result there is no great need to rush to put it out; ii) I wanted to get a good selection of the products and get a good usage out of them; and iii) I normally order from UK based retailers (love-makeup and cocktail cosmetics) and wanted to order stuff in from Sugarpill in the US.Quads in Burning Heart and Sweetheart

False Lashes

Chromalusts in Goldilux, Absinthe, Royal Sugar, Tipsy, Hysteric and Weekender; sample chromalust in Birthday Girl

Burning Heart Quad: Flamepoint, Buttercupcake, Love+ and Poison Plum. Top row is on bare skin, bottom on TFSI

Sweetheart Quad: Dollypop, Afterparty, Midori and Tako.

The colours are very bold and are much the same on the skin as they are in the pallette. As can be seen from the swatches they don't need primer to make them any stronger but it is still a good idea as they can sometimes stain the eye (esp. Love+ and Poison Plum) as well as helping to eradicate the dreaded creasage (how we lived pre-primer I have no idea). If you love bright colours and don't already have this then I can't recommend this highly enough.

Left to Right: Absinthe, Tipsy, Goldilux, hysteric, Weekender, Royal Sugar, and Birthday Girl (all over TFSI).

I have mentioned in the past that I am not a big fan of loose shadows except for these. The chromalusts are just amazing; they're vibrant, shimmery, some are really glittery and they are all really gorgeous and unique. I will definitely be buying more once I have a job (really want Stella next).

You can't really talk about Sugarpill without mentioning the packaging which is sturdy and functional, the quads have mirrors and feel reasonably heavily (which to me implies quality). It is just really, really pretty and it is really obvious that the owner has put a lot of thought into her product and invested a lot of her time and energy into the whole product rather than just parts of it. Even the samples are very well designed:

I received an email on the first working day after I ordered to say it was sent and it arrived about 2 weeks later (left at the front door, in full view of a very busy main road despite everyone being in at the time, which led to the box (which has the cute Sugarpill kitty on it) nearly being stood on by my brother- I really hate Royal Mail.)

This is a company that deserves to do well: the product is great, unique and has been really well thought out.

Sun Protection

2011-05-21T00:04:00.002+01:00

As a pale skinned Scot, I have learned the importance of good sun protection through some very painful experiences: one of which resulted in my back and shoulders blistering and the skin eventually splitting (it was really painful and really disgusting) and the other resulted in being in a lot of pain from the actual burn and in an excruciating headache, vomiting and dizziness, both of which happened in the UK and I didn’t even tan (although I wasn’t trying to).

In light of the abnormally hot weather we have had in the UK and we are being told to expect this summer (although we are often told it will be a barbeque summer to get rained on from June to September), I have invested in some sunscreen. In choosing this I have considered a couple of factors, namely: my skin colour/type, the SPF, UVA/UVB and do I want to tan.

As I have very light ‘Celtic’ type skin, which always burns and never tans, I always choose the highest factor I can lay my hands on (usually SPF 30 or 50).

Sunscreen tends to irritate my face but I have found on that doesn’t seem to cause any problems (Soltan Once Face SPF 30, £9.99 from Boots) and I also got the Soltan Invisible Spray (SPF 50, £ 11.99 from Boots) for my neck, chest and arms (I don’t sunbathe and I keep well covered). Soltan has been the stuff I have used the longest (first started buying it after watching Dude, Where’s My Car? as the name was like Zoltan and it was amusing to do the Z hand signal and ask for it when out with my friends-sad I know) and most consistently and this is the brand which I find to be least sticky and most effective (I tend to stick to the mid-price range- not usually sunny enough to justify more here).

Boots are also selling solar sports dry sunscreen for “scalp and skin” (£5.10) which is apparently very good for spraying on hair partings to avoid burning (as happens every single year). I am really keen to see how effective this one is, as it is the part of the body which gets the least protection (unless you wear a hat) and if you are outside walking around it gets the most direct sun.

Also bought the Nivea Sun Protect lipbalm (£3.16), which I’m not too keen on as it turns lips whitish and doesn’t feel especially nice but if in a hot environment it might be better.

Swatches: Barry M Lip Paints (Part 3)

2011-05-20T17:54:00.001+01:00

lp146- Dolly pink
lp62- Vibrant Pink
lp121- Pillar Box Red
lp54- Peach

Black Vetyver Café Cologne by Jo Malone

2011-05-17T19:28:00.003+01:00

Black Vetyver Café Cologne by Jo Malone, £34.00 (30 mls), £68.00(100mls)

I hesitated before writing this review as I was convinced that I must be wrong in my intense dislike of it due to the overwhelmingly positive

reviews of it elsewhere.

For a long time I had been desperate to try Jo Malone products as they look lovely and the descriptions sound gorgeous, but as I don’t live near a store I had to buy online. I finally caved and bought a bottle last week. The description sounded lovely and I had the thought of a nice smoke-y coffee scent.

When it arrived I was really excited by the packaging, which is quite simple but sophisticated looking and I received 2 free samples which were nice; when I first smelled the perfumes I was really disappointed that I had paid for the one I had and if I’m honest, I still am.

I applied it as I normally would and within 15 minutes I had to shower it off as it seemed to get progressively stronger to the point where it was offensive and I felt nauseous. I have tried wearing it by spraying it once in to the air and walking through the mist; this did seem to work and it was much more wearable, however, every time I even think about it I feel a bit sick and don’t think I will ever wear it again.

According to the website the main smells are;

Top Note: Coffee Bean

Heart Note: Coriander Leaf

Base Note: Temple Incense

To be honest I can’t smell any coffee and it doesn’t smell anything like what I was expecting. It doesn’t smell too bad, in fact if it hadn’t smelled so strongly the first time I wore it I might have really liked it. The two samples were really nice (Nectarine Blossom and Honey and White Jasmine and Mint) and I might buy one of those in the future or if I can get to a store I might try one of the others but I don’t think I’ll go for this one again.

If anyone wants this one (only been spritzed 5 times) contact me and I might sell it as I don’t see the point in keeping something I know I won't wear again.

Lime Crime Airborne Unicorn on Lips

2011-05-08T21:10:00.001+01:00

DSCF0079, a photo by mist_avenger on Flickr.

Lime Crime Airborne Unicorn

2011-05-08T21:09:00.001+01:00

DSCF0076, a photo by mist_avenger on Flickr.

Lime Crime Airborne Unicorn Lipstick

2011-05-08T19:10:00.006+01:00

For a long time I have debated about whether or not I should try this lipstick/brand. It would be fair to say that there has been very mixed reviews about the lipsticks and that brand as a whole; I did not buy from the Lime Crime site, so I cannot say whether or not the service is good, bad or indifferent and in light of this I feel that it would be unfair to go into it or the controveries surrounding the brand or its owner. I bought from Cocktail Cosmetics (also available from love-makeup) and it arrived in 2 days and cost £14 (cheaper than Space NK, much dearer than the equivalent cost from Lime Crime where it would amount to less than £10, but the UK is a rip off for everything). It is slightly dearer than a MAC lipstick and it as it is not sold in any stores near me, it could not swatched or tested before hand, which made me more cautious about purchasing.

The packaging is one of the most obvious features of the product being a bright purple-y pink with a holographic unicorn. It looks similar to the shape of a MAC lipstick until you see them together and it is apparent that the MAC is narrower and the top is more tapered (although the actual lipstick it not any narrower) and the plastic of the MAC is thicker and feels sturdier. Whilst I quite like the packaging, it is much more dressing table pretty than handbag friendly; as I am going to be working in quite a serious environment and I am 25, not 15, I would look and feel a bit ridiculous if I pulled this out in front of people I know through work/uni and I don't think the casing could stand up to being in my handbag on a regular basis. That said it does look nice in my collection, especially when it is sunny.

As to the actual product itself there are a few things I can say about it, both positive and negative. The colour is a nice medium purple in the tube (looks a bit like Up the Amp by MAC), which applies quite smoothly and evenly on me and it is quite opaque, I haven't tried wearing it in one coat, unblotted straight from the tube as I very rarely do that anyway and it was long lasting and survived 2 cups of coffee without fading too much, it did seem to stain my hand a little but when I removed it with an oily remover it wasn't a problem . The main criticisms people seem to have is that it is drying and that it settles in to the lines of their lips. My experience has been that neither of these hold true from me although it is definitely advisable to exfoliate well before use as it does show up imperfections really clearly. Some of the problem with other reviews could be that the lipsticks when they were first released needed some adjustment to the formula. Some of the earlier swatches I have seen did not inspire me to part with my cash (this is in both positive and negative reviews), in fact some of them looked horrific and deeply unflattering. The lip swatch I have taken is fairly true to life and is an accurate representation of how it looked on me. This leads me to my biggest criticism of all and the one I have difficulty overlooking: the swatch on the Lime Crime website is quite different from the real life colour and texture. The LC swatch makes it looks really thick and luxurious and it looks bolder than it is IRL, of course I do recognise and expect a certain amount of photoshopping but it may prove to be a bit counter productive as there is intially a degree of disappointment when first using it. I have gotten over this but I think by using these swatches and for those expecting that (or at least close to that) effect and boldness it could be really disappointing and could put people off buying another lipstick from LC.

On the whole I do like the lipstick and will buy more LC lipsticks; it is a certainty that I will not be buying the eyeshadows due both the repackaging allegations, which appear to be valid due to the comparisons between LC and TKB colours in that they look identical, plus I really am not a fan of loose shadows, with the exception of Sugarpill Chromalusts (which I absolutely LOVE).

Since the cost of the lipsticks in the UK is so high it might be beneficial to order 3 from the US (approx. £30) instead of 2 from the UK (£30 from Space NK), if you can wait and want to take your chances with the taxman (I have heard everything from £17 to £27).

EDIT: The photos are not showing up as the usually do so I have had to upload the separately.

Swatches: Illamasqua Atomic and Flare Lipsticks

2011-05-04T17:46:00.003+01:00

Brand: Illamasqua

Atomic (Pink)

Flare (Orange)

Collection: Toxic Nature S/S 2011

Price: £15.50 each

100th Post and Meadowhall Haul

2011-05-04T12:57:00.005+01:00

I'm back after quite a long absence brought about due to excessive coursework, which will be over soon as the exams are next week and then it will all be over and done with (hopefully).

Went to Meadowhall in Sheffield to get a break from the revision yesterday; didn't spend as much as I thought I would but picked up a few nice things while I was there. Unfortunately, I also ended up eating a quarter of a seriously undercooked burger (a combination of low lighting and thinking it was just a bit pink until it started to ooze pink liquid and my Dad and I had to send our stuff back although my brothers chicken was fine) and I haven't felt right since, in fairness as soon as they were told everything was replaced and we were give two more massive bowls of chips, onion rings and drinks for free (more than we could manage- very depressing for my Dad who loves free stuff)

Too Faced Lash Injection

Too Faced Glitter Glue

Too Faced Glitter Pigment in Glampire (These were part of a 3 for 2 offer in Boots)

Sleek Lipsticks in Mystic, Amped Fuchsia and Cherry (2 for £6 in Superdrug).

Barry M nail paint in Indigo

Barry M Nail effects in pink, white and blue

MAC lipstick in Faux

Admittedly, I have done some more shopping online and have stuff due in the next day or so including one of the Lime Crime lipsticks which I have debated over buying since they came out; I have heard mixed reviews over the quality and the alleged practices of the Xenia, the owner have made me think twice, so I bought it from Cocktail Cosmetics and I hope it was worth the £14 I spent there but will review it when I have it.

Hair Dye

2011-02-09T23:00:00.004Z

Got my hair dyed for the first time last weekend and I absolutely love it! I was quite apprehensive initially and worried when the hairdresser washed out the dye and my roots were ginger but once it had dried it looked amazing.

Not sure what brand it was but it is a semi-permanant dye in the colour 'Cherry". At £25 per application, if it fades quickly I will have to look at doing it myself as that every few weeks (on top of getting it cut) would be a bit much for an unemployed student.

Rant

2011-01-27T16:20:00.003Z

I ordered a pair of gorgeous red, glittery high heels for a special event I am going to next week over a fortnight go, which still haven't arrived. I have sent 2 emails in the past week, both of which have gone unanswered and telephone three times today and been put on to the answering machine. I also noticed that when you call the company they do not identify who you are phoning and they give a very general response about talking to other customers and dispatching products.

I am not really annoyed, I ordered these shoes 3 weeks in advance so that, if the shoes were too big or too small I could exchange them or return them for a refund in plenty of time to get something else. To add insult to injury I paid for quick delivery, they are situated in Norfolk so it isn't as if the package has to cross any national borders, in fact it is about 100 miles away and inefficient as Royal Mail can be, even they can manage that with little trouble. I ordered stuff from Morgana Cryptoria in Arizona, 5,000 miles away which was sent out in a couple of days had to cross an Ocean, pass Customs before being delivered which took a little over a week.

Not sending a product you have received payment for is not exactly good business practice, especially if the buyer has paid for it to be delivered quickly. My Dad has suggested that she may be selling products she does not have in her possession, then ordering them up to send them out, this is plausible, if rather misleading (i.e. undertaking that goods will be in the customers possession within 2 working days, when you know you cannot fulfil it) or you could claim a deliberate attempt to mislead people. This still does not explain why she has not replied to emails (1 sent on Friday, the other on Wednesday) and why the phone is not being answered . This is really suspect to me, the bad business practice suddenly looks like fraud and this really gets on my nerves. I made my situation clear on Friday that I have to go to Scotland for a funeral and have the event just after I come back but if they don't fit I need to know to buy something else in time for it. So, I lost my patience this after noon and went into town and bought a nice pair which I paid for less than half the price of the first pair. So I am filing a dispute with paypal to get my money back.

Not only has this shoddy customer service cost them the £62 on those shoes but also the money I was going to spend on shoes for my birthday and graduation night outs ( so possibly another £150-200) plus for any other event I go to but now, I'll just order the shoes from a store in the US knowing I will have to wait up to about 2 weeks.

Not impressed.

EDIT: Paypal sorted it, despite numerous attempts over the past week to sort it to no avail, paypal fixed it in an hour.

EOTD: La Fee Vert

2011-01-25T19:11:00.006Z

TFSI

Nyx Jumbo e/s pencil- Rocky Mountain Green (lid)

Sugarpill chromalust- Absinthe (inner 1/3)

MAC e/s-Wondergrass (middle 2/3)

Sugarpill e/s- Midori (outer 3/3)

UD e/s- Vert (outer 1/2 above crease)

MAC e/s- Bio Green (inner 1/2 above crease)

MAC e/s- Juxt (inner 1/3 lower lashline)

UD e/s- Vert (middle 2/3 lower l/l)

Medusa's Makeup e/s- Electro Green (outer 3/3 lower l/l)

Sugarpill e/s- Tako (highlight)

UD 24/7 liner- Covet (waterline)

Too Faced glitterliner- Obsessed Fan (upper l/l)

Bourjois clubbing mascara black

Morgana Cryptoria Vegan l/s- Absinthe♥

Have edited the swatches for the Stargazer Turquoise l/s and the Medusa's Purple Rain, which are now a truer representation of what they look like.

Which Lip?

2011-01-21T15:32:00.004Z

I am going to a Masquerade Ball in about a fortnight but cannot decide upon what lips to do.

The dress is purple and accessories are red, the mask is red and gold.

Eyes

Bold in Gold?: Goldilux and lipgloss

Red and Gold?

Nude?

Classic Red?

Swatches: Stargazer Metallic Blue Lipstick

2011-01-20T09:16:00.000Z

Swatches: Medusas Makeup 3

2011-01-19T00:44:00.003Z

Purple Rain Eye Dust

Left: On dry skin, Right: Over Stick It primer

Swatches: Medusas Makeup 2

2011-01-19T00:36:00.003Z

Electro Green eyeshadow

Not over primer. the colours are (top down): Steamy, Swimming, One Off and Sassy Grass. Electro green is at the side.

Swatches: Medusas Makeup

2011-01-19T00:26:00.003Z

Antoinette Glitter

Left: Dry, Right: over The Fix

Swatches: Stargazer Turquoise Lipstick

2011-01-19T00:21:00.003Z

Stargazer lipstick over un-conditioned or primed lips.

Bad news and a Haul...

2011-01-18T22:35:00.002Z

First off here is the nicer stuff, not everything I have bought recently but the stuff I still had out/that have arrived.

Benefit BadGal lashes, Bourjois felt tip liner, Stargazer turquoise lipstick, MAC e/s in Juxt and Atlantic Blue, Barry M 'Bright Red' nailpaint, Medusas makeup eye dust 'Purple Rain', stick it primer, the fix glitter adhesive, eyeliner sealer, glitter in 'Antoinette' and 'Electro Green' e/s. I ordered the Medusas stuff last Monday and it arrived this morning, everything costing less than £27 (excl. shipping and to remain under the customs and excise limit). So I'm impressed, so far.

Some US and UK sweet stuff and the most expensive can of Pepsi (diet with lime-much nicer than ordinary diet but not nice enough for me to spend £1.79 on a regular basis for it) I've ever tasted out of an American Sweet shop in town.

Now the horrible news, my Gran died this morning. She was 88 and had had a stroke at Christmas, so the depressing prospect of the first Christmas without my Mum was a lot worse and since it is close to the 1st anniversary of her death (2 weeks away). So I will be travelling back to Scotland tomorrow to help out and attend her funeral and as a result blogging might be off the agenda for a little while but hopefully, I will have some reviews of the Medusas stuff and some stuff I ordered will have arrived when I get back.

Will try to post some swatches tonight.

Swatches: Orange and Purple Lipstcks

2011-01-14T16:58:00.005Z

L-R: Barry M 117, MAC Meltdown, Morange And Neon Orange
L-R: Barry M 129, 143, MAC Purple Rite, Up the Amp, Illamasqua Fetish, MAC Violetta and Style Curve.

Violetta (Perm, PRO) and Style Curve (LE) are both very similar, SC is slightly more red toned and is a cremesheen rather than an Amplified Creme.

Morange (Perm) and Neon Orange (LE and Perm PRO) are also similar both are AC but NO is slightly more red toned.

If you have Violetta, you probably won't need to get SC. If you have Morange or NO you won't really need the other.

Review: Ped-Egg

2011-01-13T00:31:00.002Z

£9.99 from many retailers, £6.66 from Sainsburys.

This has got to be my favourite product of 2011 so far. The Ped-egg has got to be one of those items, where you wonder why no-one thought of it sooner. Essentially, it is like a cheese grater for the hard skin on your feet (perhaps, thinking of it in those terms contributed to it not being created sooner). It is easy to use, painless, quick and easy to clean. there are 4 elements to the Ped-egg; the rounded top, the grater (which slots into the lid), the bottom half and an exfoliating piece of sandpapery stuff (attaches to the bottom half).

All you need to do is rub the grater over the hard skin to remove it, exfoliate and dump the contents of the lid in the bin.

EOTD: Sugarpill

2011-01-12T22:49:00.003Z

UDPP

MAC- Moss scape paint pot

Sugarpill- Midori e/s

Sugarpill- Dollipop

Sugarpill- Poison Plum

Sugarpill- Afterparty

Sugarpill- Tako

Maybelline- great lash mascara

MAC- Minted eyekohl

Bourjois- glitter liner

Got my hair cut today and got a bit of a surprise about the colour of my hair, I have always believed it was an auburn colour, as a child I got HELL for having red hair and although it has darkened, it has quite red look to it, some people say auburn, some say red and others brown . My hairdresser told me it is golden honey BLONDE!!!!, If she hadn't showed me the charts and explained about base colours and stuff I doubt I would have believed her. So basically I have ninja hair (i.e. it looks like everything but what it apparently is). When I was 12 this would have been the best news ever, now I feel a bit sad as I have grown to love my "red" hair, however, I probably will continue to say it is auburn as I don't really see any blonde.

My hair colour

LOTD: Gradient Experiment

2011-01-07T21:57:00.004Z

After a fairly substantial hiatus, I am trying to get back into blogging, however, as I am in my final year at Uni and on a fairly demanding course as well as dealing with some sad family circumstances, posting may not be as regular as I would like.

I got Photoshop Elements 9 for my Christmas and have been having some fun with that. PSE9 is helpful for isolating elements of my look and concealing other part such as here, where I have covered the skin but left the lips unchanged (aside from trying to lessen the impact of the gloss which made it look patchy- the colour and application were done using makeup)

Anyway, here is my attempt at a Gradient/rainbow look.

Base : Lip balm

Purple: MAC Violet pigment

Pink: Barry M dazzledust- 64

Orange: Barry M dazzledust- 77

Red: Barry M dazzledust- 84

Gold: MAC pigment- Golden Lemon

Blue: Urban Decay pigment- Shattered

Green: Barry M dazzledust- 95

Lipgloss: MAC lipgloss-clear

Swatches: MeMeMe Baked e/s quad- Goddess Eyes

2010-11-18T07:30:00.002Z

£6.50 from Superdrug

Swatches: MeMeMe Baked e/s quad- Fire Eyes

2010-11-18T07:26:00.000Z

£6.50 from Superdrug

Swatches: MeMeMe Baked e/s quad- Ocean Eyes

2010-11-04T18:31:00.001Z

Available from Superdrug £6.50

Haul: October

2010-11-02T21:12:00.002Z

Swatches: Barry M Lip Paints Part 2

2010-11-01T15:33:00.003Z

lp152: Vintage Rose

lp129: Palest Lavender

althought not a lip paint an Barry M lip lacquer in llc1: Scarlet Red

Swatches: Barry M Lip Paints Part 1

2010-11-01T15:23:00.002Z

All lip paints are available from barrym.com for £4.49

lp37: Black

lp149: Green

lp148: Robot Blue

lp145: Punky Pink (not a brilliant likeness- much brighter IRL)

A Fabulous Feline, Belgium and an EOTD

2010-09-23T16:42:00.003+01:00

The above cat is my cute cat Jess.
Just back from a weekend break in Brussels with some friends, which was excellent brought back some delicious chocolate, lots of photos and a knee injury (must remember to wear trainers if I ever go back there). Didn't buy any makeup but in less than a fortnight I will have my student loan in and will hopefully have some good stuff to review then.
Took this a little while ago.

TFSI

MAC Sharkskin

MAC Hepcat (over sharkskin)

MAC Nocturnelle

MAC Black Tied

MAC Crystal Avelanche

MAC Smolder

MAC Blackened Red reflects

TF Lash Injection

EOTD: Autumnal

2010-08-28T20:54:00.003+01:00

TFSI

UD Half Baked

MAC Amber Lights

MAC Bronze

UD YDK

UD Sellout

UD Bourbon e/l

Too Faced Lash Injection

EOTD's: Petrol and more Greens...

2010-08-22T13:38:00.002+01:00

MAC Tilt

MAC Satellite Dreams

MAC Steamy

MAC Stars n Rockets

MAC Black Tied

MAC Gesso

GOSH Velvet touch e/l Black ink

Benefit Bad Gal lashes

BN Chartreus

BN Jade

MAC Sassy Grass

BN Ice

Bourjois glittery liquid liner

TF Lash injection

Gosh Black ink

EOTD: Autumn

2010-07-28T21:34:00.005+01:00

I am one of those people who dislikes summer, it is usually too humid, rainy or sunny (I burn very easily and very badly) so autumn always comes as a relief. Plus the colours tend to suit me better and the light is just gorgeous.

TFSI

MAC Bare study

Ben Nye Aztec Gold

BN Tangerine

BN Iced Gold

UD Twice Baked

UD Midnight Cowboy Rides Again

MAC e/l Costa Riche

Maybelline Great lash mascara brownish black

EOTD: Sizzling Green

2010-07-17T19:55:00.003+01:00

Had totally forgot about my Ben Nye pallette until last night. I can't believe how bright the greens are and look nice on pale skin but I think would be gorgeous with a tan (which I never do, I burn and freckle).

TFSI

MAC Gorgeous Gold

Ben Nye Chartreus

Ben Nye Jade

Urban Decay Graffitti

Urban Decay Vert

MAC Swimming

MAC One Off

MAC Humid

Ben Nye Ice

Too Faced glitter liner in Obsessed Fan

MAC e/l Minted

Benefit Bad Gal Lashes

EOTD: Funky Rocket

2010-07-13T19:48:00.003+01:00

UDPP

MAC Bare Study p/p

MUFE 92

UD Ransom

MAC Stars n Rockets

MAC White Frost

MAC Gesso

MAC Crystal Avalanche

MAC Black Funk e/l

MAC Blacktrack f/l

Benefit Bad gal mascara

Illamasqua intense lipgloss Fierce

Classic eyes and Glittery lips

2010-07-10T19:26:00.005+01:00

TFSI

MAC Lucky Tom quad gold and the brown

MAC Blacktrack f/l

Benefit bad gal mascara and e/l

Nyx l/l hot pink coloured

OCC lip tar pageant

Miners glitter

The lips sparkle like crazy-sadly my camera didn't pick it up

Swatches: MUA-purple

2010-07-08T21:03:00.003+01:00

£1 from Superdrug

Top: UD Flash (swiped x3), MAC Parfait Amour (x3), MUFE 92 (x1)

Bottom: MUA 9 (x1)

EOTD: Earthy

2010-07-08T19:05:00.003+01:00

TFSI

MAC Bare Study

Barry M DD 24

Collection 2000 lustrous

Barry M FGD 25

Barry M DD 91

Barry M DD 72

MAC Shroom

MAC Goldmine

MAC Amber Lights

MAC Club

Bloom Ebony Brown e/l

Maybelline Great lash mascara brownish black

EOTD: Butterfly wings

2010-07-08T01:17:00.003+01:00

The quality of the photo's is not brilliant (1 am) but in the flesh the colours are gorgeous and shimmery.

UD Shattered

Sleek Jet Set

Barry M 72

Barry M 25

MUA 5

MUA 6

MUA 9

UD Yeyo

Birthday EOTD

2010-06-22T00:39:00.003+01:00

Too tired to list the products used but will do it later if anyone wants to know. I have no idea why people say my eyeshadow looks like something a drag queen would ware as though it is an insult...

EOTN: Steampunk inspired

2010-06-11T03:22:00.003+01:00

I have taken quite a liking to the Steampunk imagery recently and decided to have a go at a makeup look. This is probably a bit heavier than most would say fits the look but I like it.

UDPP

MAC Bare Study- all over

GOSH Brown e/s stick-lid and just above crease

Collection 2000 Dazzle Me Dust 'Bedazzle'-inner corner (1/5)

UD loose e/s 'Baked' -lid (2/5)

Barry M Dazzle Dust 44- lid (3/5)

C. 2000 Enchanted- lid (4/5)

UD loose e/s Smog-lid (5/5)

Clinique Pink tweed duo (the brown e/s)- crease to blend the browns and bronzes

MAC Tempting- crease

C. 2000 Lustrous- above crease

Sleek Sunset pallet the Red (R:1, 2)- inner crease (into tempting)

Winey red (under the red)-inner crease (into lustrous)

Benefit Big beautiful Eyes contour colour -lightly to blend out edges of lustrous

88 shimmer pallet champagne colour (R10,1)- Highlight

MAC f/l Blitz & Glitz- upper lashline

UD 24/7 e/l Bourbon- lower lashline and waterline

Bourjois black glittery e/l- outer corner of lower lashline (blend gently into bourbon)

Pout gold eyeliner- inner corner of water line

Maybelline Great lash brownish black mascara

In Love...

2010-05-08T00:09:00.003+01:00

Below £50 from burlesque-shoes.co.uk

I should really be studying for a very boring exam but yeah...

Swatch: RMK Lipstick Holographic Red Cherry

2010-04-21T15:47:00.003+01:00

This is a nice pinky-red colour, with subtle violet-blue glitter through it (does not look glittery). Has good coverage but feels like one of MAC's lustre lipsticks. Costs £15 from lookfantastic.com (order on Monday afternoon arrived Tuesday morning)

Haul

2010-04-20T17:32:00.003+01:00

Most of the stuff I ordered yesterday has arrived.

2x simple face wipesHei poa monoi oil (coconut)

Daniel Galvin Jr Organic shampoo and conditioner (for red hair)

Dr Bronner Liquid castile soap (peppermint, 2 sizes)

Lush Advobath bathbomb

Lush Jasmine scented Bathbomb (can't remember the name, it's a new one)

Moa the green balm

Lucas' papaw ointment

RMK Holographic Red Cherry lipstick

Barry M Dazzledust Lime, Orange and a glittery silver one

OCC Lip tars Pageant, Katricia and Anime

Bourjois black glittery liquid liner

Not Pictured:

Lush Vanilla Fountain bath bomb (used last night)

Too Faced Candlelight powder

Miss Wax leg waxing strips (not arrived yet)

As predicted...

2010-04-19T14:39:00.003+01:00

... I came off my no buy this morning and now have to go back on it. Didn't go too crazy but need to be careful as I need to pay my tuition fees (last instalment-yay!) and the rest of the money for my trips abroad this summer (fingers crossed there will be no repeat of the volcano dust problem when I go to Sweden, Brussels is less of a problem since it will be by eurostar). I'm desperately trying to find a job (not going too well). Will do a big post when my lovely stuff arrives.

EOTDs: Spring Greens

2010-03-31T03:31:00.003+01:00

MAC Bare Study p/p (all over)

88 pallet R:3, No.4 (all over lid)

88 shimmer pallet R:3, No.3 (inner 1/3-upper & lower)

R:3, No.4 (middle- upper& lower)

R:3, No.5 (outer middle & lower)

R:11, No.8(crease)

R:3, No.3 (over 11;8)

R:1, No.3 (highlight)

MAC Blacktrack (upper lashline)

Barry M white e/k (waterline)

Too Faced mascara

Vintage inspired EOTD

2010-03-30T22:08:00.005+01:00

UDPP

MAC e/s Dazzlelight (all over)

MAC e/s Woodwinked (crease and blended above slightly)

MAC Liquidliner Boot Black (upper lashline)

MAC e/l Smolder (waterline and lower lashline)

MAC e/s Cork (brows)

Had forgot to apply mascara

Worn with Ruby Woo l/s

Review: Neal's Yard Remedies Frankincense Hydrating Cream

2010-03-28T03:27:00.004+01:00

Frankincense Hydrating Cream by Neal's Yard Remedies (£23) 91% Organic
If my feelings towards this product could be summed up in one word it would be: Love. That would not make for a very interesting review but it gets the point across.

NYR is a company I am very fond of for a couple of reasons 1) I have loved the products I have used, 2) they do a fantastic range of 'organic' products and 3) they seem to be a very ethical company, they do not test on animals, they do not contain parabens, synthetic fragrances or colours, phthalates or mineral oils etc, the list goes on quite a bit (can be found under "About Us" on their website).

I first tried this product last year when Marie Claire magazine were giving away samples and I fell for it immediately. I have had a problem with skin care products for a long time in that my skin would become irritated and feel as if it were burning almost as soon as I applied them, this problem has gone from the cheaper products to the better quality ones (the worst being the Clinique 3 steps-for some mad reason the sales assistant analysed my then 18 year old, slightly greasy but quite sensitive skin as being the same as my mothers almost 50, very dry, mature and sensitive skin as being exactly the same. It did nothing for either of us except cause a great deal of discomfort and annoyance at spending so much money). I haven't had the slightest bit of bother with this one after using it for about a year twice a day, every day.

The cream is quite thick (the website states it is light which once applied to the face is true) and is more like a body butter than a liquid but it does not feel like this on your face and it absorbs easily without feeling sticky or unpleasant. The smell of the frankincense is lovely and makes it feel luxurious. It is designed for all skin types with the aim of reducing the appearance of fine lines, I have felt that when I use this my skin looks much better on the whole, a bit brighter, smoother and glowier. My only problem is that it is in a jar and I have long finger nails which I dislike putting into products (have been using a clean knife to take some out) but I do like the look of the glass jar rather than plastic.

I will continue to use this product for the forseeable future and think it is worth every penny.

(That said Marie Claire April issue has 20% off on NYR products both instore and online)

No Buy= No Fun

2010-03-24T16:28:00.003Z

Am currently on a no buy (will have been 4 months when it ends in April) , which I'm finding very difficult (hence all the FOTDs and reviews of products that have been out for a while). OCC lip tars are now available in the UK (and I like all of them), Too Faced and Urban Decay also have products I want to try out and there are a load of other things I want to try and it is becoming very hard to resist. I suspect that denial makes the compulsion to spend much, much worse and that I will end up spending a fortune when I allow myself to buy again. The worst part is that I am going abroad twice this summer (Sweden and Belgium- trips to the Makeup Store and MUFE are unavoidable) and since I am a full time student, pay my own tuition fees and haven't got a job I need to be careful.

Is it actually possible to stick to a no buy or does everyone break them?

Review: MAC Ruby Woo lipstick

2010-03-24T01:25:00.006Z

Ruby Woo Lipstick by MAC (£12.50- the joys of UK pricing means it has gone up again)

(the other swatches weren't very good and did not represent the colour well.)

I bought this lipstick a few years ago and if I'm honest, I wasn't very impressed. However, I have been wearing it quite a lot recently and I now really like it and can't imagine NOT having it. I suspect that the problem was the texture which, if my memory is correct, is described as Retro Matte (on its box- the site now calls it matte). I found that it was quite dry and difficult to wear, in order to combat that I would try to wear it with lip balm which would inevitably cause it to feather. I think the problem was that I wasn't 'old enough' to pull it off in the sense that it could look a little bit harsh on a 20 year old but an extra few years made a difference (that's not to say that others can't pull it off at that age or even younger), as has the way I now apply it.

The colour is a bright bluish red and would suit most colourings and is quite similar to Russian Red. Ruby Woo has just this year made it into the Instyle Hall of Fame (has been voted best in its category for 3 consecutive years) and reasons cited included the whitening effect the blue tones have on teeth and that it does not feather. I agree with these points (the problem I had with feathering was due to the lip balm being applied just before and not blotted) and I have found that the colour is quite dense and long lasting. This is not a forgiving lipstick if you have very dry, unexfoliated lips.

I mentioned application earlier; basically I have found that it is easier to apply lip balm just after applying foundation and powder, blotting it before applying prep and prime, lipliner (MAC's Cherry goes well), filling the lips in with a brush, blotting lightly, re-applying it and going round the outside with concealer.

LOTD: Amped Up Poodle

2010-03-21T02:03:00.002Z

MAC Cranapple l/l

MAC Up The Amp l/s

MAC Pink Poodle l/g

EOTN: Dark Lagoon

2010-03-04T08:35:00.004Z

The product of boredom last night, the distinction between the green and blue is not as obvious on the camera as it was in person.

(took the false lashes off before this one)

UDPP

MAC Sharkskin s/s

Body Shop Shimmer palette 19 "sparkling sky" inner 2/3 of the eye over sharkskin

" " "emerald sea" outer 3/3 and lower lash line

" " "seashell" as highlight

MAC minted e/k Lower lashline and waterline

Eyelure false lashes

MAC Blue Reflects glitter

Swatch: Barry M Lipstick 117 (orange)

2010-03-03T15:07:00.005Z

Barry M lipstick 117 (orange) £4.25

(Left: 117, Right: MAC's Morange, which has much more red in it)

Mascara "better than false lash'es" effect

2010-03-03T14:51:00.003Z

This is how I do my mascara instead of wearing false lashes on a daily basis and to be honest, I prefer this way no glue, no mess and it lasts all day.

STEP 1: Curl lashes

STEP 2: Apply Too Faced Lash Injection, Comb out any clumps and reapply.
STEP 3: Apply Too Faced Lash Injection Pinpoint from half way up lash to the tips (x2 if you prefer) and on the lower lashes.
STEP4: Add more of the pinpoint to lower lashes.
END RESULT: Looks better in real life.
(last picture has white e/l on waterline, MAC e/s in soft force and a brow powder, good for neutral daytime eyes and with a bright lipstick)

EOTD: Bold

2010-03-03T14:37:00.004Z

This is todays look, which I really like.

UDPP

MAC Luna CCB (all over)

MAC Electric Eel (inner 2/3)

MUFE 92 e/s (outer 2/3 and crease)

MAC Minted e/k (lower lashline and waterline)

MAC Vellume/s (highlight)

Collection 2000 Va Va Voom Glitterliner

Bourjois Clubbing mascara

EOTD: Greens and Blue (2 days ago)

2010-02-27T01:14:00.003Z

TFSI

UD Flipside e/s (Inner corner)

UD Homegrown e/s (rest of lid)

UD Misdemeanor e/s (outer corner and crease)

UD Jinx e/s (lower lashline)

UD Sellout e/s (highlight)

Too Faced Lash Injection mascara

MAC Blacktrack f/l

UD Zero e/l

EOTD: Dark Blue

2010-02-27T00:58:00.005Z

TFSI

MAC Bare Study p/p

MAC Tilt e/s (inner corner)

MAC Deep Truth e/s (2/3 of the lid)

UD Goddess e/s (outer corner and blend up over crease)

MAC Crystal Avalanche e/s (highlight)

MAC Rapidblack Penultimate liner (upper lashline)

Barry M navy blue e/e (lower lashline)

GOSH Black Ink e/l (waterline)

Too Faced Lash injection and Lash injection pinpoint

TIP: when going out at night Mac Blue Reflects glitter looks really nice over this

EOTN: Cheshire Cat Inspired (from the 1951 film)

2010-02-25T21:28:00.008Z

An EOTD based on the cheshire cat in the 1950's version of the film- for some reason I had it in my mind that he was purple and a brighter pink than he is, but here are the pictures:

MAC Bare Study p/p

Sleek Acid palette (neon pink and the purple- on lid and lower lashline)

MAC Vellum e/s (highlight)

MAC Blacktrack f/l (upper lash and waterline)

Too Faced Lash Injection mascara

MAC Reflects pink glitter

Review:Too Faced Kabuki Brush

2010-02-24T06:42:00.002Z

Too Faced Kabuki Brush approx. £20

Okay I have had this brush for a long time and I don't understand why I haven't done a review on it already. As one of Too Faced's "Teddy Bear hair" brush'es, the kabuki brush is unbelievably soft and gentle (it honestly does feel a bit like a teddy bear) but it is firm enough to be effective. I mainly use it for applying powder or powdered foundation but I suspect that it could be used to apply liquid foundation. It is fantastic for buffing product into the skin and making it look flawless and does not shed like many of the other brushes I have tried and I don't tend to use other powder brushes any more as I have yet to find one which compares with it.

Aside from feeling nice and (most importantly) making powder products look amazing, it is synthetic and quite compact (cruelty free and doesn't take up a lot of space, making it very travel friendly) It also has a lid which protects the brush from damage and dirt and means that it can be carried around without causing any problems. It also looks very pretty.

Not cheap but is definitely a good investment.

Review: OPI 'Mad as a Hatter' nail polish

2010-02-21T20:34:00.005Z

OPI Nail Polish in Mad as a Hatter £8.50,

A gorgeous multi-coloured glittery nail polish. Part of OPI's Alice in Wonderland collection, it is a very thick nail polish, you only need two coats to cover the nails without any need for a coloured coat or two underneath. Lasts reasonably well (without the base and top coats) and when it does come off it is fairly easy to peel the whole lot off without lots of patchy bits. £8.50 is quite a lot to spend if you're not really a nail fanatic but it is worth it in this instance (in my opinion). I wore it out to a friends house last week and it sparkled like crazy under the lights and when the fire light caught it. If you like subtle, then this might not be for you but otherwise definitely worth a try.

Dressing table and storage

2010-02-21T20:19:00.002Z

Some photos of my dressing table and storage- nothing spectacular or interesting (love the butterflies!) but have been in bed for a few days with the flu and my skin has been very red, dry and disgusting and I haven't felt like doing much. Have a nail polish review in the works and may do a skincare routine/review and a FOTD (if I can get my skin looking okay tomorrow morning)

Absence/ Bad News

2010-02-13T01:00:00.002Z

Just a quick post for tonight.

I haven't been able to post for a while for a variety of reasons, primarily it has been that for the past 2 years (almost) my Mum has been battling cancer. In September we were told it was terminal (despite the tumour having been found early and being operable, the doctor waited 5 MONTHS to set the operation date by which time it was too late) and after being sick for a very long time, My lovely Mum died at midnight on 30 January 2010.

Unsurprisingly, I haven't much felt like doing anything far less blogging but I have resolved to get back on track as after Uni (I missed 2 classes in her last 2 days and was off on the day of her funeral) I have found myself at a loose end without her to talk to and need to distract myself from being upset. It doesn't help that Since August I have put on more than 2 stone in weight and have felt bad about posting pictures of my makeup.

Hope to have some reviews up in the next few days.

Possible blog sale..

2009-12-26T23:53:00.002Z

Due to having a great deal of makeup I never use and never will, tutition fees needing paid and 2 trips planned I have decided to sell off some of my makeup, shoes and handbags. Having never done anything like this before, I am not sure how to go about it, whether or not to restrict it to this blog, ebay or livejournal etc.
If anyone can offer a bit of advice it would be appreciated.

Swatches: Urban Decay Book of Shadows Vol.2

2009-09-28T02:21:00.003+01:00

As promised here are the swatches from the UD Book of Shadows.

L-R: Perversion, Gunmetal, Ecstasy, AC/DC*
L-R: Nylon*(G),Sellout, Mushroom*, Sphynx*(G)L-R: Half Baked,Twice Baked (G), Midnight Cowboy Rides Again (G), YDK

L-R: Jinx*, Flipside, Homegrown*, Misdemeanor*(G)

Review: Urban Decay Book of Shadows Vol.2

2009-09-28T01:49:00.007+01:00

Urban Decay Book of Shadows Vol. 2 (£27 Boots)

As mentioned in my last post I have wanted to get my hands on this product since I heard about it, so on Monday I was delighted to discover that my local Boots had some in stock and bought it on the spot (missed out last year due to assuming that there would be some left closer to Christmas - I learn lessons). I can now see what all the hype is about, it is amazing.

The set has 16 eyeshadows, 2 eyeliners and a primer. 7 of the shadows are limited to the set and the other 9 are available in the full size version from the regular line. Most of the eyeshadows are shimmery and 5 of them are glittery (Midnight Cowboy Rides Again is extremely glittery whereas Misdemeanor has a very subtle glitter to it, the rest fall between these two). In keeping with the rest of the UD eyeshadow range, they are highly pigmented. Most colours are represented in the set (purples, greens etc.) and since it has the eyeliner and primer it is excellent as a gift or to take on trips/holiday etc.

I noticed that one of the Limited Edition colours is called AC/DC, UD used to have an eyeshadow of this name about 8 years ago but it was more like MAC's Beauty Marked in terms of colour and glitter. This AC/DC is a shimmery purple and bears no resemblance to the old one (incase anyone remembers the old one and thinks it'll be the same).

The eyeliners are mini versions of the 24/7 liners in Zero (black) and Bourbon (brown). The primer is a mini version of the famous UDPP and there is also a mirror and a booklet in the box.

It might be obvious but I am kinda in love with this product, Great for anyone who has few eyeshadows or has some of the bigger sizes and wants the limited edition ones .

Swatches to follow.

Update

2009-09-12T21:11:00.003+01:00

Another update, since I have not done or bought much recently but it will be the start of term in the next few weeks and hopefully I will be able to buy some of the amazing stuff I've had my eye on recently.

Seen a lot of posts about the new Illamasqua collection (Dystopia). I'd like almost all of the products in the collection, which is in contrast to Sirens where I was fairly indifferent to much of it. Urban Decay has also got quite a few things that caught my attention, the new primers look good and I would kill for the new Book of Shadows, which I missed out on last year due to the delay in my funding. From looking at the official US website there are a number of great products due out but, sadly, it does not always follow that what is released in the USA will be released in the UK but fingers crossed. The same goes for the Too Faced site, they are advertising the Teddy Bear hair bristles on a variety of brushes aside from the kabuki and flatbuki both of which I have and love. I wish that even if these products weren't sold in UK stores or on a UK based site, you could buy them off the US site and pay for the shipping to the UK.

I have also noticed that Lime Crime are bringing out a range of lipsticks on the 1st October. I have fallen in love. I have wanted to try the eye dusts but felt that $12 + shipping was a bit steep for 0.07 oz of product but for a gorgeous bright lipstick ($16) I think it would be worth it and I could buy a dust to try it and not feel as bad about it. The range of bright and bold colours is quite impressive, it has pinks, purples, oranges and red, as well as a black and a blue lipstick,which for a collection of 10 colours is quite good, as not even MAC carries black or blue as permanent colours and Illamasqua doesn't carry a blue (I wouldn't be surprised if this changed one day). The other thing that stands out is the packaging: a bright pink tube with a holographic unicorn, what isn't to love about that? I only hope that it is as good as it seems otherwise I am going to be very disappointed...

I am keen to try the OCC lip tars especially Anime, Pageant and Katricia. I recently did the makeup for one of my friends and her two sisters for her wedding, which got me thinking about freelancing. I do have a lot of good makeup and brushes and as lipstick and eyeshadow etc go, I could do some nice looks for people of different races and skin tones but when it comes down foundation and powders etc, I only have NC and NW 15 and 20's. Clearly, that is not very helpful, in the town I grew up I suspect it would have been perfectly possible to work with such a limited range but where I live now, it would be difficult to do much with just those. Foundation costs a lot when you have to buy several different colours, so when I was on OCC's site I noticed that they have small sizes but that was for the airbrush system. I have been wondering if it is possible to use these without an airbrush machine and just apply with brushes. But don't want to waste money to find out if it looks okay or not.

I am overjoyed that it is almost time for the Boots Christmas catalogue to be released. Every year I race down to my nearest Boots to grab one and look at all of the stuff they have got in. It has been like this for years, the only decent places to buy anything in my hometown and the neighbouring towns was Boots and Superdrug (and even then the range was quite restricted), so when the catalogue came out I would give my parents a long list with just about everything from the 17 and Natural Collection ranges on it and hope that on Christmas morning I would have lots of bright and smelly goodies under the Christmas tree. They would sometimes buy a couple of the things on the list as well as "proper" presents, i.e. things I would be able to keep and wouldn't be used up by New Year. It is much better now that I can buy my own things and don't have to wait until 25th December. Especially now that I'm a bit too old for lists and they would have no idea what to buy, what I've already got and my Dad would have a heart attack at the tills at the price of a singular lipstick, so best done myself.

I love autumn and winter more than summer and spring. You can really go for drama in your makeup and wear lovely deep spicy perfumes and wear gorgeous deep purples and other jewel colours. It is also easier to wear foundation without it being too hot or humid and ruining the look. Autumn and winter tend to (or at least they seem to) last quite a long time in the UK, so I suspect I'm in the right place in that respect.

Review: Illamasqua Fetish Lipstick

2009-08-23T00:54:00.003+01:00

Illamasqua Lipstick 'Fetish' £14

Haven't been out much so I have not been wearing much makeup recently, so it has taken a while for me to roadtest it and then life turned a bit hectic, meaning I didn't have time to write it up.

Anyway, when the product was applied the colour was gorgeous and vivid- exactly as I had hoped it would be. I found that it had quite a dry, matte texture (as I think most illamasqua lipsticks have) which coupled with the colour, meant that it really was not very forgiving on dry lips. I think to get it to look decent you really need to exfoliate and moisturise your lips better than with MAC (generally speaking). It would probably be a good idea to use a good lip primer to help with this.

Otherwise there is not too much else to say except that this colour is amazing under the "Fierce" lipgloss.

Review: Illamasqua Intense Lipgloss

2009-07-24T22:48:00.005+01:00

Illamasqua Intense Lipgloss in "Fierce" (£12.50)

This just arrived in the post this morning and I immediately fell

in love with the colour. It is a gorgeous opaque purple both in the tube and once it has been applied. This was something that I had hoped for but did not fully expect to happen, as quite often lipgloss'es apply thinly and do not offer the coverage I had hoped for and as a result I do not often buy them as I am less inclined to wear them alone rendering them a waste of money.

The other (main) reason I rarely buy lipgloss is the texture. They have this tendency to be very sticky and gunky and end up gluing hair to your lips or dragging lots of sticky product across your face and glasses and it drives me insane. The illamasqua lipgloss was different it was a lot less sticky than any other glosses I have tried and despite having been outside I did not have a purple mess all over my face. The texture is not like a lipstick or a gloss, it is hard to accurately describe what it felt like but, it was sort of like a half way between a gloss and a lipstick.

The scent was also quite nice something which my Mum agreed on (she hated the colour). There is only really one thing that I think some people would dislike about this product and that is the applicator and the tube. The tube is quite stiff when conside

ring that it is a squeeze out product, which I think for some may be a bit of an issue and the top of the applicator is fairly small and I don't imagine that too many people who like to apply straight from the tube would find it very convenient, however, Personally this isn't a problem as I use a brush and appreciate that the tube tends to draw the excess back into the tube, meaning that less is spoiled on the applicators tip or in the lid.

I will most definitely be buying this again.

Swatches

2009-07-24T13:16:00.003+01:00

Just received my stuff from Illamasqua this morning and decided to put up the swatches. Will probably put up the review later.2 coats of the nail varnish in 'Baptiste'

top: Lipstick in 'Fetish'

Bottom: Intense Lipgloss in 'Fierce'

Update

2009-07-16T01:48:00.002+01:00

Not updated for a while,but haven't done very much to write about.

My hair has settled down, I think it could have been made worse by the fact that she used hair straighteners, which I tended only to use before I had my hair cut thinner at the bottom and it used to look bushy, with it both cut thinner and straightened the effect was too much (I still prefer the way my usual hairdresser does it) and whilst I'm not overly keen on my fringe it looks better than it did. All it need was to be washed and for some of the Kerastase Volumaktiv (not sure how it's spelled) to be sprayed and blow dried. Although I should never be happier with what I can do with my hair than what a hairdresser can do, same goes with makeup, brows and nails (hence why I tend to do my own makeup and brows- I usually only get a polish on my nails and can do it well on my left hand but then other can be a bit messy, I wonder if they'd charge half price for one hand?).

Went on a massive depotting rampage last night and depotted everything but my style warriors stuff, I managed to do it without breaking any shadows and without ruining my straighteners or setting anything on fire so I call it a success. That said I didn't have any magnets and need another 2 or 3 pallets to accommodate them (about 30 of them now live in in CD cases so until I get the pallets and magnets I will be anxious for them, so a trip up to B&Q tomorrow for magnets and a rush order at mac.co.uk). I also hope that they still do B2M and that my local counter will accept panless e/s pots and that they allow you to buy from limited edition stuff (Trimming Talk and Most Popular are crying out to me).

Considering putting an order in for some Illamasqua stuff, my main problem is that I can't see the stuff first (killing my plan for Rich Liquid Foundation- I have been told that anything from RF120 to RF145 is comparable to NW15 I don't want to spend £20 on foundation that is too dark or far too light nor can I afford or want one in each shade). The other problem is, it all looks so good to me, I am trying to constrain myself over the summer but would end up with 7 lipsticks, a dozen eyeshadows, most of the intense Lipglosses and medium pencils and a load of other stuff. I have been tempted to buy the lip pallet but sadly they don't seem to have Fetish or Perilous and those are the two I really want with Box and Ignite. So I'm trying to keep to a £50 limit for the time being (the day my student loan comes in I'm going to go crazy- roll on October. I will justify it as helping the economy by buying British- I may end up walking to Uni everyday- 6 miles and having no books except the crap out of date ones in the library, but I will have amazing makeup). I'm quite keen to see how pigmented they are and the range of colours, I think I may be 'forced' to buy Daemon and Vulgar as I don't really have any red or orange eyeshadows and obviously that is just plain wrong and upsets the karma of my collection (I hope that that works on my Mum if she gets to the post before me- I really doubt it will though).

I may have to kill the hairdresser

2009-07-08T21:48:00.003+01:00

She used a razor on it, it is FAR too thin at the bottom and to short at the top as a result I look like a combination of a 15 year old emo, a 1970's glam rocker and just a complete prat. I really hate it, my Mum is like "Oh, it will grow back" yes, unless I have the misfortune to be like my Dad it will, in the meantime I have got to walk around with what looks like a cheap wig. I hate it more that the mess they made of it for the prom at least it was thick enough and long enough to tie back into a ponytail or bun for a couple of weeks. I told her I do not want it short. She has cut it so that it is short at the top and long-ish and thin at the bottom, like horrible growing out mullet. I can't believe I actually paid for it far less tipped them. It didn't look quite as hideous in the salon. Thing is I don't usually go to that salon, I usually go to the more expensive one across town and get it done by the head stylist for this very reason aside from the guy I used to see up in Scotland for the year or two before we moved, every haircut was shit. I went to other salons down here they were not very nice either. I paid £40 thinking " I know what I want and can articulate clearly, what can go wrong?" Yeah wont be making that mistake again. Next time I'm going to wait for the appointment even if it takes an extra couple of weeks, hair that is too long can be styled in a way that looks okay this shit can not look anything other than shit. the sooner I can tie my hair back in a pony the better as I can go back to my usual place and have nice hair once more. And I really wanted it to be nice, not anything special just nice.

To make matters worse my skin is really sore and I was hoping to avoid wearing makeup for a couple of days, not going to happen I look like a fat teenaged boy with this.

I have never been so upset about hair before.

FOTD:Pink and Green

2009-07-05T19:07:00.004+01:00

Out of boredom asked my friend Lauren to given me two different colours to use for my eyeshadow, she suggested green and pink, stating that her sister had used the same colours on her and it was "mermaid-y". I wouldn't say that this turned out mermaid-y but I did kinda like the effect, it kinda reminded me of watermelon which I usually have on holiday so giving that it was hot yesterday, it was nice for a change.

TFSI

Romping-lid

Swimming- above crease

Stately Black- in crease

Too Faced Jealous?- to blend out swimming

Crystal Avalanche- highlight

GOSH e/l Alligator- Lower Lashline

UD e/l Covet- waterline

Bourjois mascara Coup De Theatre

Collection 2000 glitterliner Dancing Queen- upper lashline

Too Faced Obsessed Fan- over Alligator

Dazzleglass- Date Night