Swatch: RMK Lipstick Holographic Red Cherry

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)

Review: MAC Ruby Woo lipstick

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.

Eurovision EOTN

One of my favourite nights of the year (I am that sad)...Eurovision.

Have decided to take the easy way out and do a blue,red and white eyeshadow look.

Just posting eyes tonight as the universe has mocked me meaning that the night when my hair has been styled by myself and looks good (not clear from these photos)happens to be during the exam period and I have put on weight, making my lower face look terrible and I have a stress induced break out ( around my mouth and chin area).

There is not a great deal of blending in this picture (I dont find that this combination blends very well) and I tried to give it a slight 1960's feel (i.e. when we actually did well out of eurovision...I hope we do better this year as the woman were sending this year is actually very good).

Face

Mehron procoloring neutralizer

MAC mineralize satinfinish foundation NC15

Barbara Daly Concealer Fair

28 Blush pallet light pink (number 2 as i have labled it)

Nars highlight- Albatross

Eyes

UDPP

MAC e/s Gesso

UD Deluxe e/s Adore

NYX jumbo e/s pencil Cherry

88 pallet Red (number 72)

Nars e/s Night Flight

MAC e/s Crystal Avalanche

Barry M e/l No. 4 (royal blue)

Barry M e/l No. 30 (white)

Collection 2000 glitter liner Night fever

Diorshow mascara

Bourjois brow pencil

Lips

MAC slimshine in Bare

Update/Other stuff

I have set up a weightloss blog to avoid clogging up this one.

Student Loan is due in on Monday and I plan on getting some stuff and doing some reviews and possibily even a haul depending on what I get, possibily putting in an order to Nars and trying to stay calm for the week and a half until MACs Doubledazzle is released (7 May- we are always so far behind the US it is not even funny, they now have Rose Romance as well although there is only a couple of things I want from that, the two pigments and the blushers). Also considering getting the two 88 pallets and some stuff from Lime Crime but worry about the postage fees between the US and the UK (might just bite the bullet and buy anyway since it is the last loan until September/October and that needs to go on books, stationary and bus fair aka boring but necessary stuff).

This months Instyle magazine has an article with the impossibly glamourous Dita Von Teese. Although she appears to wear very little makeup, it apparently takes her up to 2 hours to do it which, to be honest I don't envy, I can do a full face well in under 30 minutes and walk out the door. It's a very good article and tells you some of the makeup she wears (i.e. MACs Russian Red lipstick, of which she has 30 tubes of, and false lashes, foundation etc) but then again Instyle is a brilliant magazine ( been buying it since I left school although I have read Glamour since it first came out, I tend to go straight to the beauty pages and not bother with the rest of it), I think I saw an Instyle from the US in Borders a few months ago dedicated to makeup but I haven't seen it since and am beginning to suspect that either I imagined it or it was the regular US version but it was special issue/one off which is starting to annoy me a bit.