grey strawberrys

2012-01-26T07:14:00.001-08:00

Be part of it! | we need YOU to reVIEW!

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It has only just begun, but it needs your help. When you send the email, you'll be added onto the contributor list, for the duration which you want, and you can post reviews when you want. You'll recieve a 'how to' word document, which details on how to make it appear in the labels and you can put as much pictures of the item your reviewing in the post too.

Review anything!!

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Please follow me on my active blog miaou-miaou.blogspot.com

2011-08-17T08:22:00.000-07:00

My active blog is

http://miaou-miaou.blogspot.com/

click the link and follow me there! I look forward to seeing you! :DD

x

Greystrawberrys has moved!

2010-10-28T05:15:00.001-07:00

September favourites

2010-10-24T04:32:00.000-07:00

My favourite products in September included a little bit of an overhaul of my skincare regime, and some makeup. My skin has been crazy this month, crazy bad. I was looking for a moisturiser which didn't break me out terribly [Hello Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturising lotion :@] and I'm really liking peachy and corals, they seem to go with my pale skin and dark hair quite well.

So, this is Vichy Normaderm Anti-imperfection moisturiser. This is my favourite moisturiser, ever. I've probabley said that about loads of things and changed my mind, but this cleared up my breakout and has made my skin so smooth. I've been using this for 2 months now, (September, October) and I'm very pleased with it. It smells gorgeous, and its 50ml, so theres plenty. I must say though, the first one I got was not, I believe, the reforumulated one which uses hydra-peel technology as per adverts in many glossys at the moment. I now have two of these and they are different, one is pictured, [the old one], and the new one has got 3 overlapping coloured circles in the top left corner on the bottle, as well as different packaging. The bottle on www.boots.co.uk is the correct one, however I bought my first bottle [the old one] early September, so I can imagine I got old stock. It still cleared up my breakouts, but I can definatley tell a difference between the old and new. The old one is not moisturising enough for my semi-dry skin. Nearly so I couldn't wear foundation as it looked stupid. But the new one is so hydrating it actually makes a great base. Overall, will keep repuchasing, and have bought nearly the whole normaderm range and loving them all. Will review them all soon. :)

This looks a mess, I know. My lipstick tube seems to have an allignment problem, and the lipstick gets scraped everytime it gets twisted up and down. Shame as its my FAVOURITE colour at the moment. MAC Jazzed lipstick. Beautiful colour, between coral, nude and peach. Its around that Ravishing is similar, so I will be picking that up soon and can imagine I will like it. This is the closest i've gotten to 'out there' colours. Even though its not even that vibrant or different, I'm a nude/pick lipstick girl, so this is very different for my comfort zone. Its that nice, i'm even considering buying a more range of colours, especially Viva Glam Cyndi!

Palmers Coco Butter lip balm This is a fairly obvious choice, its a stick lip balm = no messy fingers, and its a beautiful balm, my lips are in top condition and I owe a lot of that to this balm. Its reasonably priced at around £2, and I like it as much as my burts bees lip balm. Both are cheap and easy staples.

Nails Inc nail varnish in Elizibeth St. Is a beautiful, slightly sheen/sparkle, baby pink, not glitter just a very very slight sparkle you can only seen up close. Its my work nail varnish and my everyday varnish. Its gorgeous. I bought the Griege collection of asos which consisted of this polish, a mauve brown, grey and black, and these are all colours I love to wear on my fingers or toes. It barely chips, and takes ages to, and two coats is perfect.

I've had Neutrogena Wave for ages. Its the old type without the two controls, so it cleans really deep down all the time. I love this, you clean your face and wonder how much dirt you can't actually see comes off. I use this everyday followed by Vichy normaderm cleansing wash morning and night and my skin is so smooth and hardly ever dry. Its normal. The pads are around £4 for a months supply and you get a new head for the cleanser in the pack too. This isn't too bad for once a month imo, especially as it does a very good job at cleaning your face.

MAC Tinted Lip Conditioner in Feelin' Good is the perfect peachy lipbalm, the only downside is its finger messy. But apart from that, I love it. I used to think this was too dark, as I was all about pinks/nudes, however this gives a beautiful sheen and colour, similar to Jazzed lipstick, and is quite good at keeping my lips moisturised, while smelling gorgeous.

The last item in my September favourites is Coco Mademoiselle perfume. This is my favourite perfume, its so sophisticated and beautiful, its well worth the spend while lasting for ages! My clothes always smell of this.

What products have been your favourite this month?

Autumn's coming....

2010-10-23T04:06:00.000-07:00

When leaves start dropping, and the floor is an array of colour, you know autumn is near. I love Autumn, especially the beginning, as the colours are so calming and the crunch when you walk across the leaves is awakening. Its starting to get colder, but not too cold, thick cardigan weather. The rain hasn't come yet...

Do you like Autumn? Whats your favourite season & why?

About a boy

2010-10-11T06:44:00.000-07:00

I was tagged by the lovely Laura for this post, (check out her blog - its amazing!) thank you!! and I love doing stuff like this, it really gives readers a little more knowledge about the blogger :) and its really cute.

I'm not sure about how many people I can tag, but those people are; Dinosaur Toes, Di Tikte, Details in the Fabric, and Fawn and Flower abd anyone else who wants to! :)

>
>
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How long have you been together?
3 years and and 1 month

How old is he?
23

Who said I love you first?
Me

Who eats more?
Me :/

Who is taller?
We're both the same. Exactly the same, also the same shoe size, AND ring size.

Whose temper is worse?
We both have an equally bad temper.

Who does the laundry?
We both did it at university - and his mum does it atm as we're staying at his parents.

Who sings better?
Him! I'm TERRIBLE.

Who is smarter?
We're both smarter in different ways. Hes more imaginative, whereas I'm the reader and writer.

Who does the dishes?
The dishwasher!! :) :)

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?
I sleep near the wall, heehee

Who pays the bills?
We share our money, so both of us.

Who mows the lawn?
We don't have a lawn...yet!

Who cooks dinner?
His mum mostly for the same reason above...but we both cooked at university :)

Who drives when you are together?
He does as I failed three times ='(

Who is more stubborn?
Definatley me.

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong?
Him!

Whose parents do you see the most?
His, as we're living at his parents. I see mine about once a month/two months.

Who has more friends?
Him!

Who has more siblings?
He has a brother and a sister, and I have one brother, so him!

Was it love at first sight?
Definatley :) Hes the best!

Tell me a little bit more about yourself ♥

Photoswap 2010

2010-10-08T07:50:00.001-07:00

This year I participated in Photoswap 2010 and my partner was Julia. She lives in Florida, and so we both swapped photos (film - not digital) of where we lived and sent them over to eachother to get developed. So she got some shots of England, and I got beautiful ones of Florida!

I loved taking part, and I thank Rhianne for hosting this. Its been such a nice experience and I'm definatley planning on keeping in contact with Julia and Rhianne. There both so sweet and friendly, while also having amazing blogs, check them out! I can't wait for next years photoswap, nor for anything else Rhianne has planned! :)

Below are just a few of the photos Julia set me, and are my favourites, however there are plenty of more beautiful photos which she sent me on my Photostream

Did you participate in Photoswap 2010? If not, would you like to next time? What do you think of it? ♥

More gifts from singapore!! :)

2010-09-24T13:26:00.000-07:00

Lynn has once again been generous and sent me such an amazing gift, this time for my birthday!! :) i LOVE bags and especially satchel's, isn't this gorgeous? <3 <3

It has the perfect amount of space to fit my current reading material, moleskine, purse and a few other bits and pieces!

Thank you Lynn! <3

What are you obsessing over at the moment?

August Favourites

2010-09-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

These are my favourite products/things in the past month (and half!) :) I will hopefully be doing a seperate review on each of the cosmetic/skincare items, but if you would like one soon please email me!

Clinique anti-blemish solutions gel

This is a tube of wonderfullness. I have had terrible break out this months, and this got rid of all of them just before my graduation. One layer doesn't feel dry, however if you put more on if does tend to feel dry, so go for one layer in daytime and more at night - more layers can also tend to leave a white peely film. It has a slight tingle also which shows it is working!

Clinique dramatically different moisturiser

I thought this moisturiser broke me out to start with, however finding it didn't, this has been the best moisturiser ever. Its a good priced moisturiser which doesn't leave me with dry patches and a perfect base for make up. Doesn't leave my skin greasy either.

MAC Mineralize skinfinish By Candlelight

I have had this a couple of months and have been using this non-stop. It gives a perfect, slightly peachy warm sheen.Its not as glittery as Soaft & Gentle, which makes it perfectly suitable for daytime.

MAX Factor False Lash Effect Mascara

This is my favourite mascara ever! Gives me amazing lashes, and at £7.99, for a good price too.

Iphone 4

I love my new phone. It can do everything I want from a phone, and I don't have any signal problems. Bonus! <3 :)

Slimline Diary

I got this cute slimline diary from WHsmith and its just really small and handy to fit in any size bag to take around with me, so the filofax can stay at home. :)

YSL Rouge Volupte in 001

This is my HG nude lipstick. My lips are very pigmented, but this lipstick is SUPER pigmented, I need just ONE swipe on top and bottom, (just one could even do) and then I get smooth texture, beautiful colour and quite decent lasting power. Beautiful colour and it effortless. It is expensive, however I've used this so much and can imagine there are around 4-5months left at least of use.

Clarins moisture replenish balm with rose wax

I love lip balms. This is beautiful. I've found this actually to repair my lips slightly, they are definatley not as dry anymore, and having used this in conjunction with Burts Bees lipbalm, I've found the HG of lipcare in both of these products.

Garnier eye roll on

I found this quite gimikkey when it was released, but having got this in a 3 for 2 offer when I got some other skincare products, I've been fairly pleased with it's results. Its very soothing and the serum does seem do help moisturise my eye area. I'm not sure if its worth its £10 price tag, but if you can get this any cheaper than that, it sure is worth it imo.

Larsson - The Girl Who Played with Fire

This series is amazing. I've read the first one and it's such a brilliant book and written so well. I really recommend this series!

and something which isn't pictured - Moleskine!! :) I've been using my moleskine a lot recently, which has morphed into a journal type notebook which I jot down everything, from wishlists to to-do lists. Its also pretty small enough to lug around with me, and so any ideas I can just jot down! <3

What products or activities have you been enjoying the past month? :)

MAC Cham Pale for 2010/11

2010-09-17T15:34:00.000-07:00

One of MAC Cosmetic's 2010/11 New Year collections is being called Cham Pale. It is described by MAC as;

Cham Pale is a cuvée colour collection that’s cause for celebration – a Champagne smash, shimmering with all the bubbly optimism and golden glow of the best that’s yet to be, in eye shadow from Brule to Et Tu, Bouquet?; Paint pots in Chilled on Ice and Let Me Pop; Lipstick in four shades, especially Quiet Please and Flustered; Lipgelée from Bubble Lounge to Straight to the Head; two Chromographic Pencils (NC15/NW20 and NW25/NC30); Eye Kohl in I Get No Kick; Kohl Power in Feline; Nail Lacquer we call Very Important Platinum!; Studio Fix mascara and new Special Reserve Highlight Powder in four shades ending perfectly elegantly in everyone’s favorite: Rosé Olé. All, for every skin tone. To us!

My thoughts
This collection looks interesting. I love nudes and neutrals and find they are the most often colours used in my collection, albiet small collection, they are still the most used! They go with everything, they go on their own, whats more to say? Its also another chance to pick up the Chromographic pencils in either NC15/NW20 or NW25/NC30 as they are handy nude concealer like pencils used for a multi-tude of jobs such as making eyes appear wider, liping and filling lips, dabbing on imperfections and are handy to transport with no mess required. It also looks like some new powders are being released along with some paint pots. All in all, it looks similar to the All ages, all sexes, all races collection MAC released around the same time last year, which I LOVED. :)

Do you like nude colours, mixed with brights or brights on their own? and how do you like wearing them? :D

5min make up tutorial &.MAC Pro longwear foundation in action!! :)

2010-09-14T09:05:00.001-07:00

In picture;

Face

Clinique dramatically different moisturising lotion
MAC Prep and Prime Skin
MAC Pro longwear foundation NC15
MAC Mineralize skinfinish natural (Light)
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish By Candlelight

Lips

Clinique moisture lip balm with rose wax
YSL Rouge Volupt in 001

Quick eyes tutorial

Place Urban Decay primer potion on the eyelids and just above. Apply MAC Vanilla eyeshadow (or any creamy light yellow beige with soft satin, no shimmer) to both lids and above the crease. Then apply MAC Patina eyeshadow (This eyeshadow is really hard to describe, its a soft light brown with golden flecks, but its so beautiful.) all over the lids liberally and take it above the crease. With a blending brush (I use no7 blending brush) blend the eyeshadows out. Apply Sable eyeshadow (This is a shimmery brown with a slight reddish tone) to the crease and blend outwards. Then apply MAC Amber lights eyeshadow (which is a beautiful golden, rustic amber colour) into the corders of the eyesockets before applying a blend of Patina and Sable eyeshadows just below the lower lashline.

Then take a black pencil eyeliner and line the upper and lower lashline, I used Dior waterproof kohl eye pencil in Trinidad Black in the photo, but any black eyeliner will do.

Then apply lots of your current mascara on both the top and lower lashline. I used MAX Factor False Lash effect mascara. (Which is great!!)

I love this look, and have been using this routine for the past few weeks. Its a beautiful rustic autumn look, and can be deepened with a matte black in the crease with a precision brush (pencil brush.

I do my eye make up last, but it is really up to personal preference. I don't get a lot of fall out from these eyeshadows, so my foundation remains untouched from brown bits!!

This is just a quick 5min tutorial with beautiful autumn browns and can suite all eye colours! :)

MAC Pro longwear foundation SPF10 Review

2010-09-07T13:18:00.001-07:00

NEW MAC PRO LONGWEAR! ♥

This foundation is love. The foundation itself feels very creamy but not thick, you can see below in the swatch it actually could be considered to be more thinner consistency, but I wouldn't say it's thin either, just right.

There is a balance of providing great colour, which covers my redness and acne scars, without making it feel heavy, it feels invisible on my skin. When you touch your face, it does feel like there is some cream on your face, but thats to be expected.

At the moment i've not tried this with my primer (MAC Prep and prime face) or powder on the top, so this is just the bare foundation, which I like to do first and then move forward in adding products as necessary.

I really really like this foundation. MAC have either a good or bad reputation with foundations and this has really made a positive impact on me, which I'm not sure whether I've been lucky, or if I'm just a matching shade.

I have acne scars, blemishes, and my skin is very bad at the time of the photograph below, which I guess it a good thing as the foundation managed to blend away all the redness on my cheeks and the majority of redness from the blemishes on my chin.

Overall, I recommend trying this foundation if your not sure about it. Its on the UK MAC website at the moment, however if your not sure about spending £22 on it without checking first, it should be in the shops soon if the website already has it? I'm not sure about that one as I don't have a MAC near me. Its out on 16th September in the US.

I hope this review and pictures have helped, and let me know how you get on if you get new MAC Pro longwear foundation! :) What foundation are you using at the moment and how you liking it?

MAC Lust List inc NEW MAC Pro longwear foundation ♥

2010-09-04T15:20:00.000-07:00

Released recently in the UK was MAC's launch of their Pro longwear collection, which included a foundation, concealer and lipstick, all boasting their staying long staying power and non-transferable ability. This collection came as a shock for me, as I was so preoccupied in thought of wondering what to buy from their also recently released Fabulous Felines collection, didn't even know this exsisted.

Its proven quite interesting, the whole collection for Pro Longwear, as I was in the market for a new foundation, it's adequately priced, considering MAC is a leading cosmetic company, and other brands of foundation for up in the £30's, Pro Longwear foundation SP10 is £22 in the UK. Which is why I've ordered this foundation and will be recieving this probably Tuesday, maybe Wednesday, and will do a review the same day I recieve it!

Other things which I'm lusting for include;

MAC Pro Longwear concealer

I don't wear concealer, but a tiny bit could help cover up some deep pigmented acne scars which don't look too good with my pale complexion. This one retailsat around £12 and will be hopefully investing in at the end of the month, so expect a review soon.

MAC Paint pot in Painterly

I have quite pigmented viens on and around my eye area, and this can be used as a base for eyeshadows but also neutralise all the red vien areas. MAC Paintpots are so smooth and feel gorgeous too.

Source

MAC Ricepaper eyeshadow

This is a sandy, slightly golden, highlighter shade and is quite popular. I'm using lots of brown eyeshadows recently, inc Patina and Sable and love the effect, as they really bring out the colour in my eyes, so this beautiful golden highlighter would suit the browns nicely.

Whats new out this season which you've got your eyes on?

Urban Outfitters, Dior and lots more ;D [pic heavy]

2010-08-28T05:13:00.001-07:00

Lets start with the clothes first;

I actually can't pick just one favourite - everything is so well fitting and beautiful. My two joint favourites however are the rasberry and cream top, and the blue and flower print top, both UO and both gorgeous. I wear them with full black leggins and boots or plain black pumps, with the addition of a chunky knit if the weather makes it so.

Secondly is this beautiful bird house necklace, and there is really a cute bird inside!

It was my birthday a few weeks ago, and here is what I recieved from my fiancee;

HOW beautiful is the charm bracelet? Joe got me the 21 and the Cherub charm, and His Mum & Dad got me the Cat charm. The heart necklace was a 21st brithday present from my Mum and Dad <3 I love the crystal effect on the side of the heart, it looks like frosted ice.

Below are my recent beauty, skincare and bodycare purchases and presents. Joe got the Dior Airflash (HG, expensive, don't buy often when broke for this reason), Chanel coco mademoiselle EDP (favourite ever perfume, even joe missed this when I finished my first bottle) MAC Petticoat, MAC Jazzed lipstick (SO happpy got this, I missed Ever Hip, so I was lucky) for my birthday.

I'm loving clarins skincare at the moment. Dont get me wrong, Clinique is amazing, however after trying Clarins pure melt cleanser, and a sample of Hydraquench mask and lotion, I'm in love. Its a gel which turns into an oil on contact with your skin, rub it in and take in the calming fragrance, and then add water to turn into a calming cleansing milk.. beautiful!

MAC By Candlelight; I'm SO glad I picked this up. Its beautiful, the main reason it took me so long was because I have Soft & Gentle I thought it was going to be similar, however its so different. Less glitter, more satin sheen and beautiful warmth, looking great in the summer while giving a beautiful glow in winter.

DIOR Waterproof eyeliner: This comes with a seperate sharpner too, which is really nice rather than paying for a seperate one or using a cheap one which detroys the pencil. One of the best eyeliners ever used, its so smooth and pigmented, and on one end there is also a smudger. Its always on at the end of my 10 hour day too.

Soap and Glory: Flake away! This is a beautiful body exfoliator; the last photo from my previous post was this.. and its heavenly. It smells divine and for £6 in a 3 for 2 offer, its perfect. The righteous butter I'm kinda lazy when it comes to body moisturisation, however this smells amazing and it sinks in very quickly. The Fab Pore face mask This is a rebuy, it's that good, for £6 you get about 2 months use out of it, and it does help reduce pore size and give a little R & R.

YSL Rouge Volupte lipstick is DIVINE. Its the softest, smoothest lipstick ever, and my lips are bright red, and it's pigmentation is so incredible they dispear in one swipe.

MAX Factor false lash effect mascara; Ahhh Max factor, this is my FAVOURITE mascara ever. I know YSL and Dior will probabley top this, but considering their £22 and this was £7.99, this mascara is the best. It gives me new lashes, my eyes look amazing, wide and open and perfec. NEVER getting another mascara than this one.

Other products are schwarzkopf dust it, santuary spa charcol 5 minute face mask, new hair brush, garnier roll on eye serum with concealer, soap and glory make youself youthful serum and MAC 16 pan palette inc Sable, Amber lights and Patina eyeshadows.
Regarding the beauty etc, I will be doing a review on all of them seperately, however if you want to hear about something in particular ASAP, let me know in the comments and I'll do that first :)

and last by not least, the KIGU! This is my favourite.. Its a hamster kigu, and its amazing. I love hampsters and you can't buy this anymore! Joe got this for my birthday and I had no idea. Its SO cute! Maybe I should go to work in it?

Also Lynn got me an amazing bag for my birthday! (more details in the next post! :) )

I had the best birthday ever, and bought some amazing things with my first pay check while being at university for three years. Its great!

What things have you beeb lusting after for a long time?

Are you brand loyal? & other notes;

2010-08-10T12:40:00.000-07:00

Do you just buy from a specific brand? There are self-confessed MAC addicts out there, as well as other cult beauty brands such as NARS, YSL and Laura Mercier who would remain loyal to their favourite brands and buy 100% of such products from them. But is really sticking to one brand a wise decision, and can you still be loyal while buying from other suppliers?

Beauty skincare and cosmetic brands are in the thousands in today's society, and while we have a lot of choice to choose from, consumers are increasingly being more aware of what they buy, and seek the internet for reviews of certain products, to be able to see them up close and other people's opinion on them, pushing the boundaries of saving money and holding cash back in 'sprees', often leaving consumers with products which don't do what they want them to. However is it a good decision that once found that brand which delivers for you on one product, or maybe two, to stick with them because you receive quality and assurance you’re going to get a good, solid product which is worth your hard-earned cash?

Not really. Brands are well known to either 'specialise' in products, are known specifically for certain products, or simply are terrible as some products and ridiculously fantastic at others. For example, MAC is known for their gloriously pigmented and smooth eye shadows, and while there are odd ones in the selection which are grainy and un-pigmented, they're excellent. While their foundation's and skincare ranges are notorious for either being GREAT or TERRIBLE, often causing acne and terrible skin tone colours. So surely being loyal is buying something you know is going to be good, however sticking to what you know best and while you have bought from a brand before, eye shadows are completely different to foundations.

By buying from a selection of brands, your ensuring you are staying brand loyal in regards to sticking by something you love and know is going to deliver for you, but aimlessly having faith in something you haven’t tried before as a different formulation is not so good, and should shop around for excellence in that field as a fresh start.

Other notes; I have been paid and bought some FANTASTIC new clothes!!! :D I shall do a massive photo post with all the new things. Huge savings at Urban Outfitters where I've spent £90 and have around 9-10 new tops, and cute jewellery, Amazing Freya underwear at Figleaves, Soap and Glory goodness, and of course MAC cosmetics. One of my favourites... YSL Rouge Volupte Lipstick! <3 <3 LOVEEE. Here is a sneak peak of some things... reviews to follow of course ;D

What do you think about being brand loyal? Do you only buy from one brand or more than one? What have you bought recently?

Understated drugstore product: Bourjois so delicate lip cream

2010-08-02T12:41:00.001-07:00

Bourjois is a brand I discovered in my early teens but never really looked a lot into, and while the brand has changed a lot since then, it still has some really cute products like the little round pot eyeshadows and blushes which I find really cute and appealing while offering good pigmentation. However Bourjois really stood out to me when I was looking for a cheap, but good, foundation. I then discovered Healthy Mix foundation which is a beautiful lightweight foundation which I wouldn't hesitate in buying again if looking for a foundation which is not too expensive but still get a really good product. There was an offer at Boots for 3 for 2 off selected make up, and so also bought some nail polish and the aforementioned lip cream.

The lip cream is a lipstick, but it's marketed as a lipstick with the application of a lipgloss. It is a matte finish and the colour I have is rose powdre, a light-mid pink which is really opaque on the lips, and very very creamy. It does not come with the dryness of matte, and while promising 8hours of moisturiser, I'm not sure if it's that much but it does keep them hydrated and doesn't dry them out whatsoever. Like every lip product, apply a balm first then this. It comes in a rang of colours and the next one I'm interested in picking up is the dark red one <3 (and i'm normally a wuss at dark coloured lipsticks!)

Understated drugstore product: Soap and Glory Solar Powder

2010-07-27T13:38:00.003-07:00

This little beauty, in my opinion, is not raved about enough. Soap and Glory are indeed perfection when it comes to affordable bodycare and skincare...however their beauty products are also pretty good. I recieved a Sexy Mother Pucker plumping lipgloss in Candy Floss which is a beautiful peachy pink with gold flecks, and while it is stickier than MAC glosses, still a beautiful colour with plump! The main product I recieved was their Solar Powder. This is a bronzer with half matte brown and half shimmer brown and I find it to be quite beautiful! Its not too heavy, so if your looking for a lot of bronze, it's not here, instead for those who find bronzers too heavy, this is yours. It disposits just enough colour for you to glow and look slightly sunkissed, but not in an unnatural bronzer way. (even though it is an unnatural bronzer way >_<) I sometimes use the matte side for a light contour too ;D I definatley recommend this for lighter skintones, especially those who find bronzers too much.

(L-R Lighter shimmer side, Darker matte side)

What do you think? Do you use bronzer?

Clinique 3 Step System; JOIN ME ;D & Video review!

2010-07-25T07:44:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! This is a review (with a quick video review!) of Clinique's three step system including the Liquid Facial Soap in Extra-mild, Clarifying Lotion in 1, and Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion. I recieved these samples as part of the Cinique Ambassador Program and while being tasked with three steps to become an ambassader, one being write a review and post a video review on the site, and thirdly, which is where I need your help. I need to invite at least 10 friends to join the Clinique 3 things before your 30 site, and the first 200 Clinique Ambassadors to do so recieves a free gift! So if you follow this link;

3 Things Before 30

and sign up using the Ambassador code FR21608591 ASAP (once the site goes live on the 26th July)

Not only those who sign up have access to special offers on the Clinique website (above) but also I will send you out a handmade card as a thank you to those who do! <3 (Drop me an email at sarahemily97@gmail.com)

Liquid Facial Soap

--> The soap is a nice texture, quite runny but not too much.

--> Feels like it cleans your face

--> Slightly fragranced

--> Don't need to use a lot

Clarifying Lotion 1

--> Is a liquid and only need a tiny bit on cotton wool or tissue

--> Feels like it cleans deep down

--> Skin feels refreshed after use

--> Is mild and light, the other numbers may be too strong for sensitive skin.

Dramatically different moisturising lotion

--> Yellow moisturiser is very very moisturising

--> Wouldn't recommend for oily or normal - could make it oiler, go for the gel type instead

--> Considered expensive however I love it!

--> My skin feels really moisturised and never feels dry, tight or oily.

Overall I feel my skin is cleansed and feels good. I can also see the effects in my make up looking smoother and more clearer, the blemishes I get are small and go in approximatly a day. The full prices for the Cleanser is approximatley £13, the Clarifying lotion around £13-5 and the Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion/Gel is £15 for 50ml in a tube or approximatley £27 for 100ml in a pump bottle. As soon as I finish these, or when I get paid I'm going to get the full sizes of each of these as I feel by using these my skin has been amazing. :) Below is a video review! :)

What do you think? Do you like Clinique?

Please please sign up! Let me know if you have and i'll email you to find out your address! <3 <3

The clinique 3 step system was a free gift from Clinique, however does not influence my opinions or views in any way.

Weather forcast: Cloudy

2010-07-22T13:04:00.001-07:00

So things are on a go-slow at the moment, work is so long, that Joe and I get in and just try and relax! I'm currently trialing the Clinique 3-step system which is part of the clinique ambassodor program, so they'll be a video-review up soon linked here and on youtube! ;D However expect to see some reviews coming soon!

Also, I'm lusting for this hair colour - beautiful dark brown and honey highlights;

What have you been lusting after? Have you been trying out a new product recently?

♥

Scrapbooking & July Favourites

2010-07-17T13:36:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos on some Autumn inspirations and also my favourite July products so far.. ;D

The Clinique 3 step is a free gift from Clinique as part of the Cliniqe ambassador program, (another post on this soon..) however I LOVE how soft Clinique products make my skin, its so clean, smooth and well, my skin is great right now.

MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack is one of my used products for the past months and months, it gives the best flick ever, and it's so easy to use with just any eyeliner brush, slanted or not. I use slanted for a nice high flick, and sometimes both to get it perfect.

MAC Paint pot in Bare Study is a cream eyeshadow that gives a lovely silver sheen and blends really well with eyeshadow. Easy to apply and there is so much product.

Maybelline The Falsies Volum' Express is a great mascara, as it's got a curved brush it also gives a lot of lift which is great if you don't want to use an eyelash curler or your in a hurry. Its not badly priced at around £7, and gives a good amount of volume and length without looking too clumpy.

Garnier Eye Roll on is a great eye cream and has the added benefit of cooling the eye area down with it's ball. (lol). At around £10, not bad, considering most eye creams are around that.

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in 'Soft and Gentle' Beautiful shimmery sheen to skin, it adds to my skins luminance and is great for summer. Used with a light had doesn't look too glitzy.

MAC Fix+ This is an essential for me. It softens my make up and makes it look flawless and natural, gets rid of any powdery look at all and is so refreshing.

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation A brilliant budget foundation, normally not a huge fan of the matte look, but this gives me a matte with added luminance, and does not feel heavy at all, even after wearing it for 10+hrs.

Whats been your make-up essential this past month? Anything inspired you?

MAC Jazzed lipstick review

2010-07-10T07:55:00.000-07:00

To my surprise, MAC's In The Groove collection was released at the start of July on the UK Online store. I was like noooooooooooooooooo, as I have just started a new job & don't get paid until the end of the month, and was totally looking forward to this collection. I guess it was collection hype, as I don't want most of the stuff, however there was a few items Joe got me for my birthday, and recently just gave me one - MAC's Jazzed Lipstick - as an early birthday present. I know the other one is Mineralize Skinifish in Petticoat, which from the photos (havn't seen it in RL yet) looks BEAUTIFUL. Once I get paid I'm hoping a few products are still there like Love to Love Mineralize eyeshadow, Hang Loose Mineralize Blush

This lipstick is soooo gorgeous. Its beautiful. I'm by no means completely experimental in my lipstick colour, as I love baby pinks and always trying to lighten my lips to a light pink colour, so it was a complete shock to me how much I love this lipstick.

These are my lips with nothing on. (above)

Jazzed lipstick straight on lips.

Lips with nothing on but MAC Equality lipstick (a nude)

Lips with MAC Equality on bottom and MAC Jazzed on top.

Overall look.(above)

So what do you think? I think Jazzed is sold out on the MAC UK Online store already, but maybe you could catch it in MAC Stores?

Lush delivery & more stationary! ;D

2010-07-04T03:16:00.000-07:00

First and foremost....Joe and I have now been employed!!:D :D W've waited about a month sending CV's and Application forms out but we've finally got a job (together!) in a nice little company in such a nice place! eee :D In a month when we get paid Joe and I are definatly going to go out for a hugeeee meal and we can finally buy some new clothes!! :D

Secondly...we took a trip to a place called Braintree yesterday, and had a walk around the shopping centre and went for an amazing meal at Aroma, which is a chinese buffet and very tasty <3 We both ended up going mad in a craft store and buying loads of paper and knick-knacks. We picked up a nice book for scrapbooking too!

Thirdly, my Lush order came through! <3 I recieved Lemony Flutter cuticle butter (which cleared by store cuticles up so quickly) Honey Trap lipbalm, and Flying Fox temple balm. I wasn't going to get the temple balm and get something else instead, but as it's being discontinued apparantly, I wanted to try it. I hated the scent at first and now I'm in love, it puts me in such a good mood!! Then how nice was this? They included a free bath balistic! :D I know its worth only around £3...but I love free unexpected gifts and this is such a nice touch. Also the lady who packed it, called Irene, put cute little hearts on the reciept! <3 Thank you so much!

(T-B Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter, Honey Trap Lip Balm, Flying Fox Temple Butter, Supernova Bath Balistic)

Here is the stationary we got! :) LOVE the Space Raiders Ribbon and the sheep & owl shapes, and also going to start scrapbooking! Everything was such a bargain, you can see how much card we got just for £4!

What kind of crafts do you enjoy? Or if not, would you ever want to start any up? :)

Blog award, Lush lust lish ;D and cute stationary!

2010-06-26T15:15:00.000-07:00

Firstly, Thank you for the magnificent Rosie for awarding me with her beautiful bloggers award! <3

Thank you!! ;D Awards are amazing and I've added the ones I'ved recieved in the side of my blog <---

If you havn't already, you should check out Rosie's blog, shes such a sweet person, produces the most amazing photos and posts, and shes so so beautiful.

I mentioned in the last post I'm really loving Lush at the moment. Ahhh. I get obsessed with brands so much. Last one was MAC and now it's Lush. Why can't I get obsessed with a cheaper brand huh? Saying that, the make up brand which I'm really loving is Bourjois, and it's actually quite cheap. (Will chat about this in an upcoming post) So, here is my Lush Lust List!

The Hair Doctor This is a hair treatment for both the hair and scalp. I have such a terrible scalp, while my hair is in pretty good condition considering I home dye it every other month. I am too lazy to straighten it which I should really do, it makes it look like I've made a bit more of an effort. >_<. Anyway, lovely goodness for the hair and scalp!

Honey Trap Lip Balm This is an amazing lip balm. I'm not sure how it holds up next to Burts Bee's stick one, which is my current and best ever, as I tried this so long ago. It smells heavenly though, and the only grip I would have with it is the whole sticking the fingers in thing, which is not a gripe for hyigene but for not knowing what to do with the residue left on my finger >_< Its well worth it though.

Brazened Honey Fresh Face Mask This looks delicious! Honey is amazing for the skin and the fact it's fresh makes it all the more good. Face masks are amazing and such a nice beauty treat while de-stressing at the same time.

Fresh Farmacy Solid Cleanser This is a cleanser for stressed faces and blemishes, which I often have >_< However it can also be used on non-stressed or blemished faces, plus it looks good enough to eat.

Lemony Flutter Cuticle Cream Something else which looks good enough to eat. This apparantly smells really lemony, and can also be used on elbows, knees etc as well as cuticles. I have quite sore cuticles =( My hands are sooooooo dry even after using mega-treatments like elizibeth arden, the body shop hemp hand, and soap and glory hand food.

Heres some beautiful things I picked up at my local supermarket for cheap cheap! I seriously needed a pencil case, as I'd buy pens and pencils and loose them as I had no where to put them. >_< The braclets and earings were £1.50 each! bargain? <3

Finally an addition I'm glad to be adding the 'Tutorial 000' series to my blog. From where I'll be making a series of step-buy-step tutorials and various guides to make-up/beauty/skincare :) If there is anything you'd like to see in this series, please leavce a comment or drop me an email! ;D

Gifts from Singapore ;D and a lush cat...hah

2010-06-24T07:04:00.000-07:00

WOHOO! ;D I finally had the chance to open Lynn's amazing gifts from Singapore! Anyone who hasn't already should really check her blog out, as shes so nice and beautiful, as well as taking the best photographs ever <3 (Including of food! yumyum...)

She sent me the coolest magazine ever! It has so much interesting stuff in and the models are beautiful! I've noticed it actually has so much more shots of make up and techniques than magazines over England which tend to be fashion heavy rather than more balanced of everything. She also sent some amazing nibbles too! Don't they look tasty? The strawberry pots look interesting, we have chocolate but i've never seen strawberry before!

A few weeks ago I also recieved a post card from Lynn from seattle! I LOVE flowers and the card is so nice :) I'm currently working on sending an amazing package back and will let you know once it's finished!

While I was in town I picked up a few things!

I love moleskines. They're so smart and of such good quality, and have been wanting a sketchbook I can carry round to develop ideas or sketch rough ones to develop later, generally organising all my designs and drawings. This is perfect!

Then some Lush goodies ;D I'm currently obsessed with Lush. Some people like it, some people hate it. I Love it! It smells amazing. I have super dry scalp and wanted to try a shampoo bar and scalp massage bar which has been recommended, so I grabbed those and also a small sample pot of Charity Pot hand and body moisturiser, which smells a lot like Palmers Coco butter formula! It is really nice to try for a small price and it's a generous sample, however it's quite expensive normally £12.50 for 250g of product, however it does go for a good cause.

The reason I couldn't open Lynn's package was because I was at Joe's and was waiting until I visited my mum for her birthday yesterday :) (And Fathers Day) So this also gave me a chance to take some photos of my lovely cat Hannah with the Joe's new Nikon D3000!

Don't you think she looks like a tiger? She likes to think shes one when shes prowling around in the grass!

Have you recieved any gifts in the mail recently? Or anything else really good? It would be cool to host an exchange or swap, so if you have any ideas please let me know! :)

The difference between ethical, natural and organic skincare, and the question of the commodification of nature and ethics

2010-06-20T05:55:00.001-07:00

'Ethical', 'Natural' and 'Organic' are all words which are surrounding the beauty industry and consumers everyday now, however what do these actually mean, and is there a difference? If a product is 'ethical' do we somehow think its 'natural' as well? If something is 'natural' must it be 'Organic'? Below I'll explain what each of these words mean, brands that seem to use them, and ask the question whether or not these terms are merely commodified to be used in the market capital today.

Ethical means being conscious about the recognition of individuals all over the world, and their effort and position it took to get the ingredients which are in the products your using. It is often linked with Community Trade Programs such as FairTrade and The Body Shop sourcing ingredients from countries such as Africa and South America. The reasons for this is because there have been lots of controversy about the conditions and pay that individuals who source ingredients receive, for example recently there has been questions raised as to the conditions of workers in Katie Prices branded perfumes. Also under the ethical standpoint is the adherence to not test on animals. Most beauty and skincare products do not test on animals, however always check the label, as this is another area of controversy.

Natural is another term that often gets confused with upon what it means for beauty products. Brands which use this term are Lush, The Body Shop, Naked Shampoo & Conditioners, Origins and many more. Natural generally means nature and the state in which we are to begin with (i.e. no makeup or enhancements) However there is also the viewpoint of 'naturally enhancing' these natural features in simple steps.
Natural beauty, figuratively speaking, made from nature, so if I go get some sugar and honey and mix them together for an exfoliating face mask, it would be natural, and the ingredients would be 100% natural. But would they? More viewpoints come into the fray when questions start to get asked on where was that sugar produced? Has it got more ingredients than sugar? Is that honey 100% honey? There’s two issues which have been raised here, and that is the issue of Organic sourced products, which I'll discuss after this, and then the issue of that more often than not products are not 100% natural, for example the brand 'Naked' Shampoo & Conditioner use 97% natural products and Lush, while try to make their products 100% natural there are still some of their products which are only partially natural; "we go for lovely natural ingredients and use as few synthetics as possible. In fact, we have an incredible range of natural products with no synthetics at all. Over 70% of our range is totally unpreserved and we will aim to improve on that." (Lush 2010)

Organic is another term that seems to be related to natural skincare, Organic skincare focuses on the sourcing and products of the ingredients, often meaning that no parabens or synthetic emollients, synthetic humectants, synthetic emulsifiers, synthetic surfactants; synthetic preservatives, artificial dyes, no colourings, flavourings or additives are included. Brands which are focusing on organic skincare are Lush, Neals Yard, L'Occataine, Organic Surge and Liz Earle. As you can see organic skincare is looking more at the ingredients on the back of a product and often overlaps into natural skincare and ingredients because of the adherence to none synthetic additions.

There is the question as to whether or not ethical, natural and organic skincare has been turned into another commodity for the consumers to be transfixed with and proceed to buy considering its 'natural' goodness. The promise of natural ingredients often mesmerises us into thinking it will do better than all the other products we have bought, natural or not, as it's natural! It’s made for us! And it's trying to signal the move away from chemically enhanced products as perhaps that doesn't sound too appealing. The same goes for ethical sourcing of ingredients, this is a great way for other countries to get fair pay and conditions, however is this a way of the market to ease our conscious of buying more and more products? There has without a doubt been a significant rise in brands specialising and advertising their ethical, natural and organic sourced products, when I only remember when I was younger The Body Shop and their adherence to stop animal testing, therefore there is defiantly the question to ask whether this shift in market focus was because of research into natural and organic skincare working, ethical trade programs for those individuals who do pick and harvest the ingredients first, as opposed to a money making scheme, or is this yet another fad which is aimed at enticing us into a guilt free spend? (Which ultimately takes more money from consumers).

Sources: Lush 2010 Organic Facts Ethical Beauty Natural Skincare Authority

What is your stance on ethical, natural and organic beauty products?

Inspiration & loves

2010-06-16T14:19:00.000-07:00

I havn't done one of these posts in a while, which is wierd as I love reading these kind of posts as I then get inspired >_< does that make sence, or is it just wierd gobledgoook?

Anyway, I sometimes go through phases of being strongly influenced by aspects of life, and other times none, then things can inspire for a very very long time and morph into my own interpretation and use of them. This is why I love these kind of posts, as even though they seem generic things, they are used so individually. You do one too! :]

Bloggers

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I love blogging. Its one of the most inspiring things I've experienced, which can probably make me really shallow >_< but the aspects I find inspiring are getting to know people who are like-minded and interested in the same things and enjoy the same hobbies, while reading loads and loads of what peoples daily activities. I've found some amazing blogs and talk to amazing people, which make blogging so worthwhile.

Nature

I love the colours of nature, and get a lot of colour inspiation from it, especially in jewellery making and drawing. I find the enviroment so colour rich, and also quite calm. I love the freshness and love rain, and can't wait to settle down in this beautiful countryside ;D

Gaming

I love games. I think theres something cool about being able to chill out with a controller and have some fun. There has recently been the E3 conference for consoles and the future gaming looks pretty cool, with controller-less games and more motion-control, as well as more and more games which appeal to more people. I'm currently playing a rpg game called demon's souls which is out in the US but not the UK, however the PS3 are region-free games, so I get to play this pretty early. Its nice to be able to chill out with out any damn work!

Cat-eye flicks

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I havn't been wearing that much make up recently, I've been having too much sleep-ins. >_< However I've simplfied my make up not just for this, but also because cats eye flicks with gel eyeliner is a lovely toned down look which I love for most things. Its really easy to do, even if your a liquid eyeliner novice, believe me, I have no steady hand but I manage to do it! All you need is a cheap angled brush like Rubie and Mille 'I' Brush (I think) which is around £5 and a gel eyeliner, I use MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack. Pen/Brush liquid eyeliners are okaaay, I'm just terrible at them, so easy to their own. Maybe I should do a tutorial?

Jewellery making

I love making jewellery. I also love seeing what other people make and their styles. I love just all the information and different things you can do with jewellery. It is time consuming to make things like the one I did for my mum (above) however I think it's worth it, not just to be able to gift something completely unique or to their specifications, but when making for people specifically to see what their style is and compliment it. I'm hoping to go into steampunk, ditsy and boho styles, which I find are my own, and to start an etsy shop as well as get my designs published in magazines, this would be amazing for me and even just working towards this goal makes me happy.

Books

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I havn't been able to read at all, for nearly three years. For me it was too much, I had so much reading to do for university that I didn't get as much pleasure reading fiction as I just wanted to have a rest. But now I have time, I'm loving reading so so so much. I have so many books waiting to be read and having a mental book list. Currently I'm reading The girl with the dragon tattoo which is amazing! Love love books! <3 I'm going to have a massive bookshelf in my house >_<

What are your inspirations and ♥'s at the moment? ;D

Beautiful beads :D

2010-06-12T03:58:00.001-07:00

I recieved some beads in the post today for which I ordered to make a necklace for my mum's birthday soon, how beautiful do they look? ;D

Lilac fimo rose bead

Swarovski rose butterfly

Japanese seed beads in differing sizes

Gold flecked japanese seed beads

The finished product <3 This is one of my mum's birthday presents ;D

Do you make jewelery? Whats your favourite bead type?

MAC To the Beach review

2010-06-09T06:24:00.000-07:00

MAC released their summer/beach collection about a month ago, called 'To the Beach'. It featured very colourful eyeshadows, really nice lipsticks, a lot of bronzers including cream bronzers and powder bronzers. Its already released in the US, and I believe it'll be coming soon to other shores. I bought three items; Lazy Day lipstick, Beachbound Lipstick and Easy Lounger Lipglass.

The two lipsticks are beautiful. I think I'm half outta Lazy Day already. Its a beautiful pink lipstick with an ever so slight blue/dirty hue. I'm not sure if this is so unique, as it can be compared to a lot of lipsticks from A Rose Romance collection and also permanants such as Hue and Angel, nevertheless if you don't own any of those and are looking for a cute, and fairly pigmented pink lipstick, this is great.

Beachbound it a strange one. Its really nice, however since I have utterly pigmented lips, it doesn't work on it's own so much in the sence it doesn't mute the pigment, but adds a shiney golden finish to my lips, with the natural red pigment still being quite prominant, leaving it quite discoesque imo. This is excellent however over a nuder lipstick such as GOSH darling, MAC Equality, or even just lined with a nude liner, so once the red pigment is gone, this actually looks quite a summery golden nude lipstick. Those without pigmented lips will find this whole process less of a hassle >_<.

The packaging on the lipsticks is beautiful. When I first saw promo pictures of this collection I utterly hated all the packaging. Its so bright and in your face, however I have changed my mind about the lipsticks & glosses, and find their seashell and seahorse patterns quite cute, and the orange grows on me ;D

Easy Lounger Lipglass is a really nice staple lipglass. Before this I only had one 'sparkly' lipglass which was Soap and Glory's sexy motherpucker, which is really really really sticky (still nice), and all the rest are creams. This is a very very light pink with sparkles which is quite cute over Lazy Day lipstick or other cute pinks out there, also nudes!.

Did you get anything from MAC's summer collection? Or any new make up at all for summer?

Huge MAC Review inc. MSF's, eyeshadows and blushes

2010-06-08T05:34:00.000-07:00

Joe bought me some MAC products a while back and I never got chance to do a proper review of them and show you some beautiful pictures and swatches! :) These are some of my most used products, especially the eyeshadows and have endless uses.

The eyeshadow palletes come in either 4 pan, which is shown here, and 15 pan which is much bigger but looks so sleek! In this 4 pan I have four great eyeshadows which I use everyday, Vanilla (A satiny uh vanilla), Phloof (a slightly frosty white), Swiss Chocolate (Matte brown) and Carbon (Matte Black). All of these eyeshadows spead evenly and are so pigmented, great for neutrals or adding to colour.

This is one of my favourite eyeshadows, Nanogold. Its LE, but you might be able to pick it up on the website still or a CCO, or even in a swap. The picture slightly shows off the beautiful blue and purple sparkles in this eyeshadow which make it really unique. A close off in the permanant line would I guess be Seedy Pearl, as this has a smilar effect, however I havn't seen it in person so I can't be sure. Nanogold, Vanilla and Phloof were a bit of a pain to swatch, as my skintone is nearly pure white, it was a hard time showing up, so if you maximise the swatch pictures you might be able to see Nanogold on the top left, Vanilla then Phloof.

This is MAC Paint Pot in Bare Study. Its a beautiful frosty light beige colour perfect for bases, or just apply to your lids or upper lids, and thats it. It brighens up the eyes too, alternatively can be used as a base for other eyeshadows. It really complimented eyeshadows such as Vanilla and Phloof.

This is MAC's Gel Liner; Fluidline in colour 'Blacktrack' which is a flat black. (no sparkles etc) Its the best liquid/gel eyeliner i've ever used, I'm terrible with liquid eyeliner pens and it never ever looks right, however with this I can great such great lines. The only downside is you have to buy your own brush, or just get a cheaper brush. I had a liner brush in a Mac Holiday Pallette I bought, however I also have a few slanted brushes such as Ruby and Mille and Eco Tools which are also brilliant for doing cat's eye flicks.

Mineralise Skinfinish Natural in 'Light' Beautiful sheer foundation or can be used as a setting powder, or buffed to layer with liquid foundation. Really really soft powder, however doesn't come with a brush/puff.

Ripe Peach Blush Ombre. This is utterly beautiful to look at, however the colours are indeed, gorgeous, if you missed out on this don't worry, there are plenty of colours which are just like either the peach and coral on their own, or both swirled together. Saying that, it does give a beautiful effect with amazing mac quality, and the colours are perfect, especially the lighter peach shade.

Mineralise Skinfinish in 'Soft & Gentle'. This is very simple to a few other MSF's, with only a slight shade difference. This is a beautiful highlight or used over other blushes to give them a soft glow. Too much can look a little too glittery though, which might look like a disco ball in the daytime, a few touches of this is perfect.

Springsheen blush is a dupe of NARS Orgasm Blush shade, and it really is beautiful. It's the perfect mix or coral, peach and pink, with just the right amount of shimmer. (not too much, or too little!). It's great in summer as it really brighens the face.

Well Dressed Blush is the cutest baby pink ever, it's my favourite powder blush of all time, and you can put so much of this on and it never looks too much. It gives a cute flush to the cheeks with the ever so slight shimmmer in it, which is actually quite hard to notice.

Hope you enjoyed the picture heavy (sorry! ;() review of these gorgeous MAC products, which was your favourite and why? ;D

Happy Birthday Joe! & Sketch Book Peek ;D

2010-06-07T15:56:00.001-07:00

THIS is the beauty of Joe's birthday present! :) He's wanted a DSLR camera for ages, and since we're both newbs when it comes to DSLR's, then we decieded on a Nikon D3000 and it has it's bonuses of now being used for this blog ;D Here are some photos from today and some sketches I made months ago but never had this fantastic camera to photograph them with ;D

I hope you enjoy them! >_< Do you use a DSLR? Are you lusting after one? Alternatively do you perfer a different method of photography? Also do you draw? :D

Under Construction...again...

2010-06-07T13:52:00.001-07:00

The blog should be looking good soon! <3

So..I was wrong about drugstore foundation; Bourjois Healthy Mix VS MUFE HD.

2010-05-26T12:09:00.000-07:00

In England, the weather this week has just been super super hot, summer hot, and so with this and stupid amounts of sweat, it's nice not to wear any base make up, or any make up at all. However, as much as I want to do this, people, me included, still feel self-conscous about their face, especially if they suffer from acne, pigmentation, roesea, etc, and so the hunt begins for a foundation which is light, offers good coverage, doesn't shine, WHILST staying on in cupoeus amounts of heat. ENTER Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation....

T-B MUFE HD Foundation vs Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation, Both have pump bottles, FOTD wearing Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation all over

This foundation is my new HG, not to say that MUFE HD (previous HG foundation) is completely out of the window, but considering the price and the difficulity of finding it in the UK, I'm saving this for special occasions...even though I still find myself reaching for Bourjois Healthy Mix....

T-B One pump of each foundation MUFE 115 on the LEFT, and Bourjois 51 on the RIGHT. (You can clearly see a difference in their colours, even though they are v.light shades.)NO make up on face AT ALL, then MUFE HD on your right cheek, and Bourjois on your left cheek, none on nose.

I have pigmented cheeks, and moderate acne scaring, so I'm not looking for sheer coverage, but Bourjois Healthy mix is just enough coverage and lasts and lasts throughout the day without concealer. Another plus point of this foundation is is doesn't feel heavy at all. MUFE for me, felt a little heavy at the end of the day and couldn't feel comfortable until I took it off, however this just stays perfect, natural and so light.

I'm normally a firm believer of you get what you pay for, and to it's best advised to go to a high end brand and get matched for your money for a foundation to achieve the skin you want, however Bourjois has changed my mind, and from now on, will look a lot more at drugstore foundations, as this is definatly worth £10.99! I could buy around three bottles of this for one Make Up Forever HD Foundation.

If your looking for a summer foundation, something you can literally just apply in under 30seconds after moisturiser, then look no further...This is your inexpensive summer foundation, which is STUNNING!. Not to mention it is an amazing colour match for my super pale skin, however the only down side is their is not much scope for darker skin, 5 shades I think? This is definatly where it could be improved, as the formula is perfect.

What do you wear in summer?

Revlon Spring/Summer 2010: Daydreamer

2010-05-25T03:58:00.000-07:00

Its really nice when drugstore make up brands do seasonal collections, as I believe it makes them appear more like the higher end brands who do this too, such as dior, mac etc.

Revlon has released their Spring/Summer 2010 collection, called daydreamer, and it has some amazing products in!

I have the Lilac Pastille nail polish, which you can see above, and I love it, I have it on my toes at the moment, however with most nail polish in general it takes a bit of effort to get it looking smooth and steak-free, for which I normally stick with Rimmel (they have this cute fan brush which really helps).

I swatched the lipglosses in store, and the lilac one it quite pigmented and compares to nothing i've seen before, the peach one looks very much like florabundance by MAC, and the coral one (coral reef) looks magical, and really vibrant.

The eyeshadow, in my opinion, it the least interesting part as I normally don't wear corals or blues on my eyes, however it's quite different and makes the whole thing a set, which is really good for an inexpensive make-up brand.

Concluding, this is a great collection is you want to try pastiles and colours out of your comfort zone for a relatively inexpensive price, and for UK bloggers BOOTS have a 3 for 2 offer on, so you can pick up 3 items from this collection for around £14 (the price of 2 with one free!) ;D

What do you think of drugstore brands doing seasonal collections? Would you buy anything from this one? :D

car! ;D

2010-05-23T08:28:00.000-07:00

THIS is my (and joes) new car! :D :D It is an early 21st birthday present from my Parents, and my brother (who is a mechanic) spruced it up and gave it new insides!;D

I thought i'd show you a beautiful picture of Lincoln Cathedral, which is stunning;

BTW; I can't drive, I've failed my test 3 times now, I CAN drive, just not offically. Need to keep at it! Meanwhile, Joe is taxi. <3 <3

Do you drive?

REVIEW-Illamasqua; for your alter ego

2010-04-30T18:54:00.002-07:00

Illamasqua (Ill-a-mask-a) is a UK make up brand which has been out a while now. Although it is still quite new, they have started quite a disturbance (albiet, good) in the beauty blogging world, due to their out-of-the-box tactics and colours (such as a galatic silver opaque lipgloss) While it sounds completely out-there and non-approproachable, and also while i'm a self-confessed MAC addict, I felt drawn to their cool glossy compacts and innotave colours, and after reading excellent reviews on their lipsticks and blushes for their pigmentation and lasting power, I really wanted to give them a try, as well as step out of the MAC addiction for a moment.

Now, I'm not really a night time person. I don't go out to bars and rarely go out at night, unless it's for a meal, cinema etc. I'm much more of a day time person and day make up, so you might be thinking why i'm interested in a brand that has specific marketing techniques to night time make-up? Because I believe thats not all they cater for. Yes they do completely different colours, and stretch a little more than MAC, but they also do some really nice subtle colours which can be easily used for day time and built for more intensity if you want. Another plus side to this is you use less product because their so pigmented and you get more for your money, with their pricing around the same as MAC.

I got two cream blushes, 'lies' which is an irrdecent pearl pink, and 'sob' which is a lilac-blue toned pink. Both are completely gorgeous and pigmented.

[Clockwise from left - swatches (T-B Sob, Lies, Obey), 'Sob' Cream blush, 'Lies' cream blush]

Secondly I got a lipstick in 'obey'. Temptallia reviewed this with an excellent review and so did a few others, so after really liking the pictures and their comments about it's long lasting pigmentation, I was sold. My lips are super-pigmented, and are always on a constant battle to tone them down.

They also have amazing customer service when I emailed them about a problem I did on my order, and the lady whom I spoke with was so so so kind and understanding, especially when it was my mistake >_< and got it sorted really quickly, so this just makes it even better that if their is a problem I know it's nothing to worry about.

As you can see, I used a normal drugstore duo fibre brush for the application of the cream blush. I'm pretty obsessed with duo fibres as they give a really natural beautiful finish and it's easy to blend well into the skin. This one cost me around £7 from superdrug, I would have liked to find the GOSH one but I was unfortunate.

Before blush - I was just wearing MUFE HD Foundation mixed in with my moisturiser (Garnier skin naturals youthful radiance day)

After cream blush in 'Sob'. You can clearly see the insane pigmentation on just one swipe of this blush, and its so creamy. SO creamy. I put my finger in the palette and it just slides everywhere, in an extremely good way, not a sticky or gooey way, but in a beautiful softness way.

I blended the cream blush 'Sob' more into my skin, and added cream blush 'lies' intop. This is a beautriful irridecent pink, and I find it has multiple uses, today I put it on top of the other cream blush to create a beautiful pink pearlecent effect, other times it can be put on the outer 'C' of the eye to highlight your eyes, under cheekbones or on lips.

This is obey lipstick, and it's a really beautiful light pink with hints of light coral. Its a beautiful colour and I've seen nothing like it before. On the illamasqua site it says it's a matte finish, but I feel its not as drying as tradional mattes, and it does have a satiny glowy sheen to it and not just DRY DRY DRY, as usual for mattes, on the contrary, this is not drying whatsoever, I put lipbalm on before as I do for all lip products (Burts Bees) and apply and blend, sorted! (also, this lipstick has insane lasting power, I fell asleep with this for about half a day and it was still there)

Wearing Illamasqua 'Obey' lipstick, flash, and natural light.

Just to show you the finished products;

Here I am wearing; MUFE HD and moisturiser combo, Illamasqua cream blush in 'Sob' (bottom) and 'Lies' (Ontop), Illamasqua lipstick in 'Obey' with Illamasqua cream blush in 'Sob' ontop (yup, they can be used on lips too!)

Concluding, Illamasqua is a brand to watch out for, it's expanding so fast and I believe it is being sold in the US and coming to Australia too now. I think its a serious contender to MAC on the blush stakes without a doubt, due to their amazing colours and pigmentation, while they only do matte eyeshadows (correction - actually they do do some shimmery ones such as 'synth' and their pure pigments are beautifully shimmery, which btw have started a following not only due to their colours but their nifty stopper pots) I've also heard a lot about them. Illamasqua have just released their Body Electrics collection which is on sale now at ASOS.com, Debanhams and Illamasqua.com which is about body movement and energy, with really cool stuff like liquid metals and illumine oil. I definatly want to try the white irridecent illumine oil in 'volt' as this would look so neat in the summer! A few others I'm definatly going to be grabbing in the next few months are some powder blushes (which have also got some rave reviews - just google them!) in 'Lover' (a beautiful peach apricot) 'Tremble' (A lilac pink, I love these colours obviously!) and another cream blush in 'Rude' which is a really beautiful apricot colour. Their intense lipglosses also interest me, especially 'Absorb' which is a nude shade, their intense lipglosses are INTENSE and this completely wipes out any pigmentation in lips, sounds yummy :P

What do you think of Illamasqua? Would you buy anything from this brand? If you have, what and what do you think of it? :D

Note: I purchased all the three items reviewed in this post with my own moneys!

Shironeko Holga

2010-04-23T19:11:00.000-07:00

Behold, the Shironiko Holga Cat Camera! :)) This is my new toy - literally. Its a toy camera, and Holga is often and (apparantly wrongly) associated with lomography, however it's sold on the lomography website and goes by the similar ethic - Old pictures! :) The cat camera takes 35mm film, however I believe normal Holga cameras and Diana cameras take 120film, and I didn't want to have to get the 35mm back for the Diana at the moment, as 120film is hard to develop, so I got the beloved Shironiko Holga! :)

These are some of the photos which I took last week, and feature my favourite people in life, Joe, Mum & Dad and Hannah and Mitzi <3 Unfortunatly Mitzi (the black one) died this week, so this weeks been really shit. =( =(.

R.I.P Mitzi <3 <3

2010-04-23T18:23:00.000-07:00

"If we are wasting time and enjoying ourselves, we are not wasting time."Paulo Coelho

A little absent

2010-04-14T16:10:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! :) I'm really sorry I havn't updated properly in such a long time apart from announcing projects, and will get back to posting in the next week or so, and update you all on activities :) I will catch up with all your posts too <3 <3

Love Actually

2010-04-10T14:04:00.001-07:00
Hey guys :) I know this must be weird to be posting so many projects when i've barely posted, but please please check out theblurbproject for me :) and then there is this project, LOVEACTUALLY :)

This may sound a little bla, but this project is all about showing your love and appreciation for your fellow bloggers. This is how it will work;

1. You want to show your appreciation to a blog, click here for www.formspring.me/l0veactually

2. You type the blogname: then what you love about their blog

3. You click 'send'

4. I will get your formspring, and will then post it in weekly Love Actually posts :)

5. Horrible Annonomous comments will not be displayed, instead ignored, so there really is not much point in harsh comments.

6. You will be spreading the love and happiness, which is just a click away :)

Ta-dah! what do you think?

The Blurb Project

2010-04-07T14:28:00.000-07:00
Sorry for not posting in such a long time! :( :(, I'm on a 2 week easter holiday from university, however I've been half resting, half doing work, and have been meaning to do a blog post, and I was thinking about an idea, and wanting to see what you guys thought about it.

Through blogging, I have met amazing people, people who are so caring and kind, and have so much creativity and inspiration. People organise book and stationary swaps, and people get really nice things. And so I was thinking about doing something similar, well kind of. Let me introduce,

The Blurb Project is in it's Alpha stages, and would like to see what you guys thought about it.

The Blurb Project takes advantage of modern computer technology to use Blurb, a service which lets anyone make their own books, advertising them on their own shop where they can be bought. This project involves any blogger (there are T & C's) to be able to include a 'profile' of sought, about them, their inspiration, what they do, why they blog and their job is to do what they do everyday - inspire, whether you review make up, have done book swaps, the notebook journey! (this sounds amazing) or you make your own jewellery, cards or toys, this is the place where I want you to showcase your stuff, and so you send me the stuff you want on your page, and any preferences of design, or i'll design it for you, and I'll make your page to put in the big blogger book. (How about that for a title?) It could work on an interview basis, such as I ask you questions etc, and also I include images of you/your works/your inspirations etc. I have made a blurb book before, and they come out beautiful, hi-res pictures and excellent binding, it is like a real book. It would be cool if we could get everybody who wants to be in on this included, I guess some will vary in length too, if not we could do a 'big book of bloggers number2' ;)

Terms and Conditions (Alpha phase; subject to change)

♥ You must be a blogger and have been blogging over a year

♥ If you are interested in taking part, make a post about this; this is to generate interest, I know i'm a small blog, so part of the fun is for me to enlist your help to assist in getting the word out! :)

♥ Can put the sidebar button (to the right of this post) in your sidebar to with it linked :) (Again to generate interest and feedback, also I can send you the html for this)

♥ Let me know in the comments section is your interested, any ideas and include your email, and and thank you, thank you, thank you! :) This is an idea and would welcome any ideas etc. This might take off, or it might not, so help is appreciated so much <3 (and will be acknowledged)

♥ Finally, if you know and believe someone deserves to be recognised for their excellent blogging, please recommend! :)

This is in it's Alpha stages, an idea, and will hopefully morphe into something completely amazing, and so far-reaching, lets try to get the word out everywhere! :) (obviously if your interested LOL)

Another project is also being launched this week and hosted by GreyStrawberrys; A quick and simple one, which shares the love.

Mid-March-Monthly-Recap; Awards and Inspiration ♥

2010-03-11T16:19:00.000-08:00
So, I hope you like the new layout!! :) I had so many ideas I thought it was going to take much longer than a night to re-configure everything. I need to change a few colours and add my favourite blogs, and then it should be good! This week has been fairly busy, lots of hand in dates for our work, and syphoning inspiration from everything in life. I wouldn't say i'm easily inspired, but you know when one thing after another just keeps on giving you new ideas?

Awards

Lynn at Details in the fabric
Kateigh at Poprocks
Shilka at Angmogirl
Chelsea at Triumphs and blunders of a kooky gal
Danielle at Dinosaur Toes

Katherine at Setsumei dekinai
Farah at Ramblings of an Inane Mind
Micaela at Dolce Vita
Marisa at Marisa Cherie
Jackie at Exposed brick

Thank you so much to Chelsea and Kateigh for giving me with such amazing awards, I appreciate it so much and it makes me feel like my blog is so worthwhile! <3 Thank you girls :D

The people I've nominated are my favorite blogs and most often visted <3 ♥

Obsessions

Final Fantasy 13 I'm a pretty big fan of games, and own a ps3. There is a famous series on playstation called final fantasy, and its my favourite ever game series. The newest one was released last week, so have been obsessing about it pretty much :)

MAC Mineralize SkinfinishI recently bought a MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in 'soft and gentle' which looks quite strong, but its so light, and on my pale skin it's really a lovely highlighter and adds a wonderful glow to my face. I use this everyday and on days I'm not wearing foundation.

Hair AccessoriesI never used to make a big deal of my hair. I like it in a style which isn't that complicated, and can look nice if styled etc too. So i've been looking at hair accessories a lot as there quick and easy ways to jazz up your hair without spending fortunes on a new cut or colour, time, and styling products.

Layered NecklacesI love wearing lots of necklaces at the same time, at different lengths, I like to think it adds a bit of erm, 'edge'? LOL.

Inspirational PeopleEvery time I visit blogs new and old, I feel energised with creativity!

Being HealthyI generally perfer that nice 'happy' feeling when I can fit in all (most) my clothes and I'm comfortable in them too, as well as avoiding the horrid feeling after a McDonalds. :/ (it's nice though, at the time)

Spontaneous Decisions Normally I love to plan. I have to know what I'm doing in a day, but recently i've been just doing things on a spare of the moment decision and not worrying about things such as lists and just buying whatever I see e.g. at the supermarket. Its been pretty fun! :) (the bank hasn't >_< lol!)

Making People Happy I love making people happy and it gives me a feel good high. This doesn't just stop at the people you know, but in supermarkets or boots, saying 'thank you' and 'hope you have a nice day' really brightens up someones day, especially when you see them smile and appreciate it.

Semi-Dark Eye Makeup I normally wear this kind of look everyday. I like darker eyes (whereas I also do like colourful and natural ones) which I find arn't too dark, and wearable for the daytime, compared with full on false lash super black eyes for nighttime (though do still look nice!)

New addition! 'Upcoming posts sidebar' -->

I've seen this sidebar on a few blogs recently, and I really like the idea of it, and I think it gives readers something to look forward to, however obviously the order I do it in is still spontaneous! ;D

What are you obsessed with at the moment? Hope you like the new layout! :)

Favourites

2010-03-09T09:59:00.000-08:00
This is just a quick post, as I love these type of things! I got the idea from Angmogirl's blog :) and just added TV/Series and Books!

Make-Up:
1. Make Up Forever HD Foundation
2. MAC Paint pot in Bare Study
3. Rimmel Nail Varnish in French Rose
4. Max Factor False Lash Effect Mascara
5. MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Soft & Gentle

Food:
1. Cheese
2. Cadbury's creme egg
3. Banana's and porridge
4. Melon's
5. Egg Custard

Drink
1. Water
2. Sugar Free Rockstar/Redbull
3. Vanilla Lattes
4. Bailey's with ice
5. Smoothies

Clothing stores:
1. Republic
2. River Island
3. ASOS
4. Dorothy Perkins
5. New Look

Places to eat out:
1. ChimiChangas
2. Nando's
3. YoYo's
4. The Harvester
5. Damon's

Places to party/drink out:
1. The Shed
2. Essence
3. Engine Shed
4. Glass House
5. Damon's

Movies:
1. Blade 1.
2. Underworld
3. Leon
4. Train-spotting
5. Under Siege movies with Steven Segal

TV/Series:
1.Lost
2.Friends
3.Misfits
4.Scrubs
5.The Simpsons

Books:
1.The Alchemist
2. The Lost Symbol
3. Veronika Decides to Die
4. Harry Potter
5. Velocity

I got some awards in the past week (Thank you!! <3), amongst other things I'll blog about in the next post! :)

What are your favourite things? Make a blog post and leave the link in the comment box below, or just comment them! :) :) Can't wait to hear yours! <3

Knick Knack Exhange Feb 2009 & MAC Spring Colour Forecast :

2010-03-03T08:14:00.000-08:00
Its beens such a brilliant week,
1. Mina's package for the Knickknack exchange came today with SUCH amazing stuff in (see below) and also

2. MAC released there Spring Colour Forecast collection this week which I have been waiting for!

3. Joe and I also had a presentation of some research we did last year, presented it and might be getting the work published in our student journal. :D

4. Final Fantasy 13 is coming out next week! (PS3)

5. Mother's day soon (14th March)

Mina's package on Monday was such a surprise, as I wasn't expecting anything at all, and wondered what it could be. I opened it and was just lifting SO much amazing stuff out the box, Joe and I was in shock! She also included a really beautiful card explaining some of the things in the box. Her daughter also made this cute little monster which is adorable;

I'm pretty much obsessed with MAC cosmetics at the moment, and they just released their Spring colour forecast collection in the UK. A product which was released in this collection was called blush ombre which is a gradiant of two/three different colour blush in one pan. I'm sure this concept isn't new, however it looks so so beautiful, and as it was released in the US about a month ago now, I had a chance to look at photos and reviews of them, and knew I wanted to get Ripe peach. This blush sold out within a day of being online. I knew it was popular, and sold out in the US quite fast, but a day?!. Its immense, but i'm so lucky I managed to order one! I was looking for a peach blush, and so this was perfect timing. I also picked up an eyeshadow in nanogold as I wanted a cute different highlighter colour, and this colour is really interesting; its a peachy gold highlight colour, but shines blue/plum/gold. Its really special, and i've found it mixes with an eyeshadow I've barely used; plumage (A matte peacock colour), and makes the result colour really reflective and has a lovely sheen. Pictures below. (The other blush is my other only blush, MAC Springsheen, its a peachy coloured pink, and its really really nice colour, which is good as I don't want my cheeks to me majority red!) Ahh.. only about 3 months ago I never actually wore blush....

Joe and I presented some research we did which was a kind of extra, last year, and It went really well. We're looking to get the work published in the student journal so that would be absolutely amazing considering research is the way I would love my career to go.! :)

Do you wear blush? What kind of colours do you normally go for/avoid? Did you enter the Knick Knack Exchange?

Natural Eye make up & Daily Happenings/Obsessions

2010-02-27T14:24:00.000-08:00
Lynn asked me last post if I could do some sort of tutorial on natural eye make up, as I know many of my readers don't use make up for various reasons, and are new to it. I am not a make up artist or expert, its just one passion of mine as I love to make different looks with different colours through the artistic side :) So these are my opinions/knowledge, and also please forgive the poor quality of the pictures, its my first time doing eye shots and it wasn't in good lighting! :)

Firstly here is a sketch;

It shows the eye, and different sections of eye lid. Don't be frightened if your eye lid is super big or super small, I did it roughly even sized to get a general idea, but you can see I've numbered certain sections for now, and these are the sections we'll be looking at.

You will need: 3-4 different shades of brown - a light, medium and dark, and a lighter highlight shade.

I'm using The body shop palette in shimmering brown, and it was £5 on sale, so you don't need anything expensive, if your just starting out, Rimmel, which is a drugstore brand, do 4 shadow quads for about 5 GBP, which arn't too bad. Mascara - this doesn't matter much, choose whats to your budget, but if you want more thought think about what you want, more volume, thicker, length? and go from there. Mascara really opens your eyes and makes them look bigger and more wide awake, if thats the look you want.

1. 1/3 lid. This is the start, and I normally use a lighter colour here, as it brings your eyes out, lifts them up. A good colour here could be something like a shimmery beige or sliver.

2. lid. I class this middle bit as the 'main' part, your wash of colour, however some people call it 2/3 of the lid etc. This is the main part, now even though those people without much eyelid when you have your eye open will be like welllll its not really the main part, because you can't see it on me!' This is kinda true, but kinda not. We blink all the time, look down, left and right, and when we do this, we close our eyes, even partially, so that lid colour is on your whole eyelid, and its seen a lot whichever way. Keeping with the neutral theme, say we'll have a light brown here.

3. The outer lid can be added with any other colour, but for now, we'll keep the light brown going down here. So the 2/3 or 'main part' of the lid, AND the outer lid are be brown.

4. Lower lash line. Its nice to put shadows of the same, varous, or eyeliner here, but for now we'll keep it simple and not put anything here, for now.

5. The crease. This is the crease where your eyelid merges with your eye socket. So the crease line normally involves a different colour, which we'll put a darker brown here and blend it with the mid-toned brown which is on the eyelid. The crease may not seem important, but it adds more dimension to your eyes, again, especially when you blink, there is a melange or colours intertwined with one another which adds depth.

6. This is were you can start blending a highlighter colour, which is just a lighter colour, which softens a look and puts the finishing touches to it. You can start here, or a little higher if you've stretched your crease colour (if you wanted).

Finished! This is something simple and easy, but don't be scared, just have some make up remover and start again. Its all about experimenting and finding out what works for you.

Obsessions

1. MAC Spring Colour Forcast: Coral. I'm really into peach at the moment. Its my favourite colour, so when I saw this beautiful blush and eyeshadows...

Source

After searching the web, MAC Spring Colour Forcast is coming out in the UK this coming Thursday (4th March). Its already been out a while in the US though! I am not 100% on this date, its just something I saw on a website, but i'm hoping so ♥

2. Books. I love curling up with a good book :) I'm going to read PS I Love You soon from the lovely Farah

3. Baileys Irish Cream. I don't drink that much alcohol, but when I go out for meals, or celebrating something, I've been drinking this over ice a lot and its such an enjoyable drink.

What did you think of the tutorial? and what are you obsessing about at the moment? :)

Weekly happenings

2010-02-23T06:56:00.001-08:00
I'm finding not buying anything surprisingly not too bad; I actually havn't bought anything at all this month, so 2 more weeks to go right? It's gonna start to get hard though, seeing as my primer and moisturiser is running out :/ Perhaps I should go au natural? :P I also won a secret giveaway over at Poprocks! :D :D I'm so excited! :D Thank you!!!!

I know this make up should really be a golden pink/plum look, but instead I wore lilac, I felt all spring/summer like, and found that lilac actually goes with quite a lot of things, and is pulled off really well with anything.

This look is really easy; you just need a lilac eyeshadow, and mascara. I used Urban Decays Primer Potion underneath (This is not necessary, it just keeps eyeshadow from creasing and lasts longer), and Dior's lilac eyeshadow in the Smokey Crystal quint, then Max Factor False Lash Effect Mascara. No eyeliner! :P Just brush your eyeshadow on, taking it quite high so you can see it on the top of your eyes too, and just a thin line on your lower lash line. :D ta-dah!

I've also been a but busy doing some scrapbook pages :) Joe wanted to do some as a memory to Lost having finished season 2 last night....

Do you scrapbook? What kind of make up you wearing for spring? :)

Obsessions and Expressions

2010-02-18T12:29:00.001-08:00
In the past month I've gone from being a nocturnal owl sleeping from 8am to 6pm, and now going to bed at 10pm and waking up at 7am. Its good to see sunlight again! Also I've been drinking ridiculous amounts of water, which is helping me look healthy and glowy!

Joe and I had a really nice valentines day! :) We got each other some bits and pieces. I got some MAC make up ;] My lips are super-pigmented, it looks like I'm wearing a dark mauve lipstick all the time, which I don't personally like that much, as with pale skin and dark hair and eyes its just not my thing (it seems to look good on everyone else). However, its nice to find that nude lipsticks, which wash those with pale lips out, just tone my lips down to the perfect cute milky pink. :)

I've been up to a few things;

1. Posting knick knack :)

2. Dissertation completion! A large piece of my work is due in April, (10,000 words), while I've wrote everything, its more perfecting it now.

3. Not buying anything for a month.

4. Bagels. Joe and I have gone crazy for them

5. Scrapbooking

6. Hair. I never seemed to care much about my hair, but I've taken to blow drying it more, and adding cute hair accessories which make my overall appearance much better :)

7. Thinking if I would like to do a PhD. I love my Honours Degree, and I love Research, and would love this as a job, however in reality i've been debating whether this could work, and if it would actually get me anywhere closer to a research job.

8. Health. Don't be scared of the doctors, go tell them if you've been having headaches, belly aches, and go for that annual smear test, it could save your life. <3

I'm so so sorry I havn't posted in such a long time, however I will be posting a tutorial on a pink/plum eyeshadow look, some pictures from my scrapbook, and more pictures of the great outside my house ;) (it snowed again yesterday)

Whats your obsession and expressions at the moment? Did you have a nice valentines day?

Images courtesy of Flickr

Bookswap surprise! :) ♥

2010-02-13T05:52:00.000-08:00
Look what I recieved today!....

This is all courtesy of Farah who wrote such a beautiful message in both the book and the beautiful handmade card she made ^^. Cookies to Poprocksfor setting this whole thing up also, because I've met two really amazing people out of this swap which I hope to keep in contact with. Its amazing how such a nice simple gesture can make people so happy :)

The book Farah sent is called P.S. I love you.. I've heard of this book, and I think I've heard of this film also, but I've never actually read it or knew what it was about. I read the back page and the front page, and got a little upset after reading it, as its about something which is my worst fear, losing a loved one.. But there is something about this book that gives hope and inspiration, and love in such huge quantities. She made the most beautiful inscription on the inside cover, something that will stay with me forever, so Thank You Farah for being such an inspiration, and taking your time to make such a positive impact on me <3.

Meeting amazing people, making friends, and exchanging gifts from all around the world, Lynn, Jackie, Farah, and Danielle, and all those people who I havn't swapped anything with, but just take the time to read this blog and smile, it's worth it.

Favourite things I love about my home & obsessions

2010-02-10T04:52:00.000-08:00

As you can see, I have my new camera cable, and can now take photos! :) Its all good, and I'm so happy I ordered the right one now! So I've seen these post around a lot, especially dolce vita, dinosawur toes, exp0sed brick and others, so I thought I could do one right? The only problem is I don't really have a home. ! The boy & I share with 4 other people with being at university, but I still wanted to do this, as we have two rooms in the house, and I have some favourite things :) (I should really rename it, "favourite things I love about my room?")

These are books. A mixture of books between course materials, scrapbooks, folders and reading books. I love books, my course requires me to read a lot, and well... I enjoy it :) I can't wait until these are a little more tidy in a bookcase in a nice house though ;)

This is on one of our walls, and its like a mini scrapboard of some photos we love. Theres some pictures of family and some of our favourite ones of us too. And a cute little bear ;)

As a note I would like to apoligise to Danielle of Dinosaur toes, as I bet shes waiting for her knick knack eagerly, however I've made her wait! Not because i'm nasty, but because I wanted to make her something a little more personal... :) I will be posting your knickknack and card this week, so you should be getting some nice mail next week! <3

Things i'm obsessed with at the moment......♥...

1.Mac. I do hate it when i get obsessed with a brand. It was urban decay a while ago, and now its mac. I'm wanting some nude lipgloss/plum eyeshadow/and some nice blush. As Angmogirl has noted, a smoky eye can get boring, so I thought plum and a nice golden pink would be a nice not so dark eye.

2. 24/Lost/Heros/Spartacus . These are the shows I'm obsessing over at the moment, and always get excited when there on. xD

3. Nude pink nail varnish. I think i've found my favourite colour varnish, I seem to never be able to pull of dark varnish, especially since I've got dreadful coordination so it just ends up a mess, least I can hide this with nudes. ;)

4. Scarves. I'm a scarf person, especially those fashion colourful ones. When I was younger I always looked at people who wore them with respect, wondering how they wore them in the triangle shape... :/

5. Handmade. I want to make an esty account and literally buy everything off there its so beautiful. I worry about import fees though. :'(

What are you're favourite things right now? :)

Best of 2009 & Weekly Happenings!

2010-01-29T10:13:00.001-08:00
Wow! <3 Thank you so much for all the comments, it's really nice to see new people coming to this blog too, I really appreciate you dropping buy! I apoligise for the lack of posting also, this is what I've been up to!;

Making Jewelery; I found a really nice wooden heart with leaf detail, it's so so pretty.

Working on my dissertation; 10,000 words! I've done about 7,000 which isn't too bad right? I'm working on culture.

Sleeping during the day; I've messed up my sleep patterns :-(

Reading; I never normally get too many oppurtunities to read fiction, as I'm doing so much reading from my course material!

Searching for jobs; I finish university in May, so i've been looking for some social research jobs.

Making a Valentines Day card for Joe; I love handmade stuff! <3

Of corse I've been catching up on all your blogs <3 You probably know the book swap has begun! Everyone got emailed their partners and I got the lovely Farah sending to me, and Jackie to send to! They are both really really nice people and so beautiful, their blogs are full of so many feelings and really nice pictures.

Best things to happen in 2009

Being asked to marry ♥

Professional Jobs = Work Outfits! From going to college and university I've only worked in retail, rather than a suitesque job, so this is a really nice part, as it looks so professional!

Soap and Glory love; I never found this brand until 2009, and when I did I got completely obsessed.

Urban Decay love; Again, I heard all the raves and after trying them, they're such a cool and edgy brand.

MAC love; I think most people are obsessed with MAC, theyre products are really nice and of such good quality.

Indie Fashion; I love the indie/grunge look, so I loved channelling this through long cardigans <3

Becoming Penpals with Lynn ♥

Making Jewelery; The market stalls around the meditarian really inspired me to make jewelery, and I was so happy when i found out its not too complicated!

Meeting all you wonderful bloggers <3

Becoming better at make up; I used to be terrible, I'd like to think I'm a lot better at covering blemishes :P

Best individual products of 2009

Dior 5 Colours Quint in Smokey Crystal <3<3 This pallette is so beautiful, It has the lots of greys ranging from dark to light, a lovly silver highlight and the most perfect lilac which takes it through to spring and summer too.

Soap and Glory Make Yourself Youthful Serum; Never been much of a serum person, especially as their really expensive, but this really makes my skin so so soft and I noticed a difference so fast.

Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner; I don't want to specify a colour, as their all so amazing and pigmented, Zero (Black) as an everyday liner is perfect, it stays on for ages!

Urban Decay Primer Potion; There is so much hype on this, and I know why! It keeps your eyeshadow on AGES.

MAC Tinted Lip Conditioner in Feelin' Good and Close for Comfort; Beautiful Colours

Credit to Flickr for photos.

I know it's a tad late, but its still January so never-mind :P I love posts like this, so I hope you enjoyed it.

What did you like best about 2009?

What is 2010 going to bring you?

Is there any products you found that you could now not part with?

Also coming soon is a new blogger award which I'm making, for amazing bloggers! <3

Getting to know...me?

2010-01-21T12:41:00.000-08:00
I really like stuff like this. It probably sounds a bit anal, but I love finding out just random things about people, because it can be completely inspiring and gives you new things to google. cool eh? Recently I came across a whole new bag of amazing blogs, seriously, I'm participating in a book swap! and also thinking about doing a knickknack swap too, I do love swaps, its so exciting and costs nothing (but love).

Poprocks nominated me for a kreative blogger award! :) eeeeeee. thank you so much, I was so happy when i read it. So I dont really know what to do, as this is my first award, so I've decided to do the same and post 7 random things about me.

1. I'm in love and going to get married.
2. I love to make jewelery
3. Love make up, and making different looks and the artisticness involved. Loves messing with make up too ala make up art.
4. Watching Comedy's with lover and laughing until my sides hurt ala micheal mcintyre.
5. Loves people who share the same interests, but its fun when they don't too.
6. FFFFFFOOOOOOOOD. i hate (love) it when people post pics of food on their blogs as I want to eat the screen.
7. I want to learn yoga, exercise, but never get round to it.

Recently learnt about another swap going down involving KnickKnacks. Dinosaur Toes is the host, and its about swapping something, from a photograph to something made, with another blogger, click the link to learn more. :). I've chosen to participate, so i'm excited for these swaps, its so much fun!

Did I mention I got MAC tinted lip conditioner in feelin good, which is a light pink, yesterday? Its so amazing, its probably the best lip balm I have ever owned, and considering its £10.50, I expected it to be pretty damn good! It gives really nice colour considering its sheer, it can be layered and the moisture and nice feeling stays on my lips even after its worn off. I was about to re-order a backup, as I have had a free delivery code (SHIPJAN - runs out Saturday) but it got sold out :( So i got close for comfort instead, which is a more pink peach colour, so hoping it has a nice colour payoff like this one! :)

So, I tag these people for Kreativ Blogger award;

Dinosaur Toes
PopRocks (right back at you! :D)
Details of the Fabric
Faye Cavania
Or False Glitter

Things which make you happy <3

2010-01-17T12:01:00.000-08:00

You know when you get that truly inspirational power when you start writing about things what make yourself happy, in a bid to hopefully share this feeling to make others happy. I blogged about two things which are making me happy in my last post, which is lynette's blog, and also an upcoming book swap (which I have the best book ever for. :). These two things, however different, are things which are about happiness, sharing and reasons to love life. I'm happy because I am going to get married to the man I love, we're going to get a house together and travel the world, having cosy winter nights in with vanilla coffee and carrot cake :), playing our new ps3 game, demon's souls, which is a US import, (Which I have recently discovered some of my favourite bloggers are gamers too!), a new found love for yogurt and honey and writing about life here. There are times when life just seems to be throwing so much crap at you, so it's nice to just take a step back and look at the things you do love in life. :)

My camera cable is currently around 60miles away from me at the moment :( So as I hate doing reviews without photos, I'll post some nice things which are inspiring from flickr.

After reading through this post, I thought those photos were really nice, but I haven't really explained them much.
1. Zooey Dechanel Isn't she beautiful? Shes definatly ones of my favourite famous persons. Shes so pretty, shes got nice style, and she sings.
2. Trees I have this obsession with trees. I think their beautiful every season, and thought this shot was really nice. Their going to start blossoming soon too.
3. Make up. I love the artistic side of make up, sometimes I believe its a bad thing, as its covering up flaws and experience, however it gives us confidence and the flaws&experience can still be found in a person's personality, as everybody has them.
4. Starbucks&CoffeeI love the smell of starbucks, I love coffee. I love all types of coffee, especially vanilla coffee or hot chocolate with different flavours. Especially in winter.

I have ordered MAC Tinted Lip Conditioner in Feelin' Good, which is a pale neutral pink, so I'm hoping its going to be nice, It's from their Warm and Cosy Collection, I was going to get the Close for Comfort which is a more warm, peach pink, but I thought I probabley shouldn't as £10 on a lipbalm is quite a lot. MAC also have their Love Lace which is a more cool collection and didn't really want anything from it as I'm more into warmer neutral coloured at the moment. If you have money, the shadesticks from the Warm and Cosy collection look beautiful!

What makes you happy at the moment?

2010-01-10T16:24:00.000-08:00
Happy Christmas and New year <3

I hope everybody had good days! I had an excellent Christmas and New years, I couldn't spend it with my fiance, as our familys live so far apart, but 2010 is the year when we finish university, and get to move into our first proper house! :)

I apologise for not blogging for ages, everyone gets those times when we're really busy and have way too much going on. I have got lots to look forward to though, and first and formost, there are two things I would like to bump:

Lynnette's blog, details of the fabric. This is such a cool blog, she blogs about everything, and has the best photos, including Tokyo and Hong Kong, and is such a fantastic person, she's my pen pal and lives in Singapore, and it makes me so happy opening stuff from her, as its always so thoughtful and theres always something refreshing and person about reading handwritten cards, <3

Secondly, blogger Kateigh from Poprocks also is starting a Bloggers Book Swap this month, (January 2010) so click the link and it will take you directly to the post as to what to do and where to do it. (not a lot - just email!) This is such a nice idea for those who enjoy reading, as it gives a chance to take that amazing ride through inspirational and enjoyable stories which can influence people for the good. I'm taking part, so hey, you might get me as a book swapper! :)

I hope to also do this in the next month, which is my to-do list, so I won't lose it, and also give me motivation to do them! :

1: get send my camera cable so i can post more photos, in the meantime, grab them from the net
2: do a "best of 2009" post, including beauty, skincare, and general life things, such as music, art, books, games.
3. do a "whats in my bag" post. I love these posts, its so nice to see other people's bags & their contents
4. catch up on university work.
5. do a review on the thousands of soap and glory items i bought last month.
6. take part in the above book swap ^^
7. stop spending so much money on beauty items.
8. do reviews on: Urban Decay 24/7 super stash, Ammo Palette, and Hall of Fame sets.
9. do a "spring 2010 beauty" post which entails making a whole post about Dior, MAC, Body Shop etc collections for spring, so you can drool all in one post.
10. Review the Neutrogenia Wave Cleanser.

Eeeeeep. I'll put them on my sidebar so i can cross them off as I go along! :)

Is there any your most looking forward to?
What did you get for Christmas?

<3

Beauty Blogs, Nica Jewellery, and Soap and Glory love.

2009-12-11T10:06:00.000-08:00
Hello Bloggers :) I've recently been searching reviews for some soap and glory products, and I found some amazing blogs, my favourite being Faye Cavania Beauty Blog <3. She did some really cool reviews and had a sidebar with a 'product of the month' and favourite products/in use, both of which I'm going to put my own in the sidebar! The blog is worth checking out, as are all my blog roll list -->

NICA is a brand I rave about. Its not that well known, but I have three bags from them, and a purse and they are perfect. I had a pop in their website yesterday to find out they have now branched out into JEWELERY! I was so excited I opened bracelets, necklaces and earings in new tabs so I didn't have to go back and try and find them. (ridiculous i know). The necklaces are on my wish list, they are so beautiful. They are around £20 which is quite expensive, but considering its a really unique brand, and some River Island necklaces can go up to that price, its quite reasonable if your into accessories. My favourites are a bird chain necklace, a rose and bumblebee necklace, and a cute bumblebee bracelet. See them here : Nica I'll edit and post some pictures of my favourites too!

I've been quite obsessed with soap and glory recently. Products I've tried include: supereyes supereyes, youthful serum, radiance balm, arch de triumph, catch a winkle in time moisturiser, greatest scrub of all, scrub of your life, clean mary, off your face cleansing cloths, and probably some more. These really have to be one of the best brands i've come across, and I'm looking to grab some more while Boots have a 3 for 2 offer on. Products i've got my eye on are: girligo moisturising mist, mist you madly/glam-a-lot/Dr spot invisible spot fighting gel/fab pore 15minute face mask/glad pitts/clean on me/the righteous butter/sugar crush scrub/heel genious (this is a definitely for summer!) and soap and glory's new EDT which smells amazing!

I think i'm verging on obsession....

The one i'm looking forward to most are the and the spray moisuriser, how much time will that save?!

Is anyone else obsessed about soap and glory?

Make Up Forever HD Foundation: Opinions/Thoughts

2009-12-09T08:57:00.000-08:00
It was coming up to Christmas, and I was looking for a nice concealer palette, especially one with a green concealer, as I have quite red cheeks and some blemishes that get a horrible nasty red which doesn't look good with my fair skin tone. I was interested in the Victoria's Secret Palette, which had a nice green and other conealers, but with the price, + shipping to the UK and any customs/VAT fees, this was something I couldn't do, or afford. So after more research on google I found Make Up Forever had a exact same palette but better, and had great reviews. I was even more thrilled when I found a London based shop sold them, and also post them via their website! (make up provisions) Which has the most excellent service.
I noticed they did the HD foundation also by MUFE. I've heard some excellent reviews upon this, and after finding swatches from Betterthangongshoppingyourself (see blog to the right) I ordered 110. Its risky ordering foundation online, especially high end brands, so do this at your own risk! Unfortunately they wasn't in stock, so I thought about getting the 115. I ended up ringing the shop and asking for their advice, which was brilliant and believed I had to be super pale for the 110 and believed 115 would be a better match. Oh and indeed it was. I have never, ever, come across a better foundation for the price. It is a Christmas present but i convinced my partner to let me try some earlier and even without primer, or my new radiance balm from soap and glory, this looks fantastic.
It looks really natural, evens out my skin tone and doesn't feel like anything at all is on. The glass pump bottle looks like it'll last ages too, and to be honest, I think I have found my HG Foundation. I usually wear clinique superfit, which is excellent, and have also wore Dior Airflash (excellent, but not a lot of product!) and Dior Eclat Satin, and some No7 brands. After trying high end foundations, I don't think I can go back to cheaper ones, as I believe they irritate my skin a lot more, and you really do get what you pay for with high end ones. (however if your on a budget I can see why!) However if i'm on a budget, an excellent foundation really sets the scene for cheaper eyeshadows. Nevertheless, palettes like Dior 5 coleurs turn out to be approx £7.50 for an eyeshadow, which is cheaper than MAC and Clinique.

Swatch and pictures will be coming soon!

Review: Soap and Glory Bright Here, Bright Now Instant Radiance Energy Balm

2009-11-27T13:33:00.000-08:00
Description:

(From front of the bottle) "Make that dull skin dazzle! just apply bright here, bright now instant-radiance energy balm and get beautifully luminous skin with moisturizing apricot kernal oil, aloe vera and our face firming active instanttight 2"

(From the back of the bottle) "Take the lift: Apply a generous measure of BRIGHT HERE, BRIGHT NOW onto clean skin, whenever your face is flagging. (Use it like a moisturizer or mix it into your makeup!)

Phew, what a mouthful for a name!? Boots have a 3 for 2 on Soap and Glory right now with a free gift bag too. I was looking for new moisturiser, so I got the catch a winkle in time day moisturiser, along with two other things, one being another super eyes super eyes and also Instant Radiance energy balm. This will review will only be for the energy balm, and i'll do other detailed reviews of the others soon.

Note: I did increase the shadows & highlights on the pictures of my hands, so you could get a better idea of what the cream looks like, especially the gold shimmer :)

I read a blog that said this was similar to strobe cream by MAC (if your that blogger, please let me know and i'll link you!) as this substance is very strange indeed. It says on the back you can use it as a moisturiser or mix it in with your foundation. I havn't mixed it in with my foundation yet, but i have indeed used it as a moisturiser, and both times i have its left my skin moisturised and glowing but also after I take my make up off at the end of the day, my skin looks and feels so soft too, which is similar to a lot of products by soap and glory, maybe there just amazing eh?

In my profile picture at the top of my site I'm wearing it underneath prep and prime and my foundation. I thought you couldn't see it that much but in my opinion its quite glowy, but not bronzer glowy, if that makes sence? Its a different kind of glow, it makes my skin look better and less like foundation, but not in a way that goes "hello! heres a spot! oooh look heres another!" kind of thing.

Today I used it as a simple moisturiser as I couldn't be bothered putting make up on, as I'd gotten up late. Wow, this made my skin all soft, that nice glowy, more noticeable, and look a lot more even, but didn't look at all like I was wearing a special cream.

I wish I could try strobe cream, as I've heard excellent things about it, and would love a pick me up in winter. I'll probabley hopefully grab some of those MAC gift packs after christmas and I might grab some, especially as the Soap and Glory version is quite small, which is only the bad thing really. If you have super-sensitive skin it might make you break out too, however I'm acne-prone and this has not broke me out as of yet. (I'll update if it does).

I really like this, even though I'm new to the highlighter world, I can imagine this is a product which can really help my foundation give me a glow. :) My verdict would be a 9/10 :)

Recycled Jewellery ★; Not as bad as it sounds.

2009-11-21T08:40:00.000-08:00

This is a piece I have made, which have got about 90% of the materials out of either broken jewellery, or pieces i just don't wear anymore. I used an old River Island chain necklace, with some earring charms i had, pieced together with just new jump rings and a platinum dragonfly clasp.

i have re-thought out my jewellery making, and have come up with a brand spanking new name, so i'm in the process of making a flash website for it, and then i will be accepting orders of you sending me any old jewellery (all pieces which are not used will be returned with the finished product) and I will using some new pieces, make you an entirely new piece. This is quite cool if something is out of date or broke, as a lot of the item can be salvaged. I will chat to you about your new piece to make sure you like it before it is made! Of corse because minimal new products are used, charging for this would just be about £5 or lower which covers the cost of postage + new pieces. Bargain? Salvaging items are normally chains, charms and beads, but i'm quite open to new things, just send me an email on : sarahemily.87@gmail.com

I will also be making bracelets and jewellery out of new pieces too, and all pieces will be solely unique, and will only be remade to order at extra cost. I can also make items to your specifications also :)

So if your looking for some dazzling new piece of jewellery, made how you like for £5 or lower, send me an email! :)

Website will be up and running in the next month.

Would you use this service? :) ★

14 Steps to darksmokey eyes+nudelips; Makeuptutorial ONE.

2009-10-22T13:30:00.001-07:00

Products used:

FACE/ soap and glory make yourself youthful serum-thebodyshop vitamin c moisturiser-mac prep and prime-clinique superfit foundation-mac mineralize skinfinish natural

EYES/ soap and glory supereyes supereyes-mac prep and prime eye-mac carbon eyeshadow-mac vanilla eyeshadow-Eyelure natural eyelashes-urban decay eyeliner in zero-max factor false lash effect mascara-rimmel 100% waterproof mascara-soap and glory arch de triumph-mac brow set.

LIPS/ - elizibetharden 8hour cream skin protectant-rimmel matte lipstick in nude attitude

TUTORIAL:

This is a tutorial of how to get your eyes looking like this ^^ close to, or even change it to your style, needs or make it your own with tips. I hope this helps :) I'm sorry if this sucks, this is my first tutorial, so feel free to give me tips too!

This is a look I wore in the nighttime, its a dark smart with a smoky finish, this can be toned down for the day by not wearing false eyelashes and not using as much black eyeshadow. This may be a bit too much for those who don't wear a lot of make up, so you can always tone it down a lot, although i will be doing more natural tutorials, so don't worry, it could still give you some tips and ideas. :) :)

note - you don't have to follow step by step, you can but you can make this your own :)

1. First of all, make sure your face is clean - cleanse then tone, and then if you use a serum, then a moisturiser. Leave it to settle for about 30sec-1minute and continue with primer. You don't need a lot of primer at all, i normally can do my whole face with 1 pump of mac's prep and prime. (BTW= primer makes your make up last longer, stay ON longer and lets you get an even finish with foundation. I would never wear foundation without it now, but this is my personal preference)

2. Leaving your primer to sink in for a moment, put some eye moisturiser on your eyes and then i normally quickly put mac prep and prime eye on my lids as it gives the eye primer more texture and goes on and lasts longer.

3. Now your face is primed, put your foundation on your face however way you want to.

4. I use soap and glory's arch de triumph to shape my eyebrows and the mac brow set to hold them in place & give them more colour.

5. Now the eyes. I use MAC vanilla first all over the eye and brow bone, build it up quite a lot

6. I placed Mac carbon on my eyes and built it up to a good intensity, not too much but quite dark.

7. Then blended the outline of my eyes outward with Mac vanilla which is a soft cream neutral shade and blended the edges of the dark eyeshadow outward, so no sharp eyes are left. This is best done with a brush but fingers are also possible.

8. Then i lined by lower lash with MAC carbon, being carful only to do a very thin line.

9. Then add your eyeliner. I put urban decay 24/7 eyeliner in zero on my bottom lash-line, and on my top.

10. Add mascara to lengthen and darken the eyelashes

11. I should have put this one after putting foundation on - use a setting powder to set your foundation! I used mac mineralize skinfinish natural

12. Add any false lashes your using, and bridge any gaps with a liquid eyeliner, so the effect is even.

13. At the end i used the highlighter end of soap and glory arch de triumph to highlight underneath my brows.

14. For the lips make sure you have no dry skin on your lips first by using a good lipbalm, or elizibeth ardens 8hour skin protectant is good as it gives a smooth finish; then dab on a little foundation + then add revlon matte lipstick in nude attitude.

FINISH! :)

And now you should have smart dark eye make up for whatever occasion you would like :)

Hope this helps!

shadow&light #one

2009-10-02T17:17:00.000-07:00

This is another go at some make-up art, what do you think? Hopefully more to come! :)

whats on your wishlist? & DP VIP sale event - 20% and off and BOOTS 3 FOR 2 on facial and make up!!

2009-09-17T06:49:00.001-07:00
So after my rant about l'oreal's new roll on foundation...(sorry!) I was thinking does everyone have a wishlist? This can include things which you want but could never afford, things your getting on your next payday maybe, or products your going to get soon. My wishlist isn't too big...

SOAP and GLORY range has started to really interest me. They're vintage packaging caught my eye in boots one day and wondered what they did. Boots have a massive 3 for 2 offer on their stores and online at www.boots.co.uk/com on facial skincare including mosturisers, toners, make up remover, and make up including brands such as urban decay, too faced, maybeline, l'oreal, rimmel and revlon. So if you need to stock up your make up bag this could be the time to do it without it breaking your purse in two. I need some make up remover, and was thinking about getting some eye cream and of corse would need a 3rd item free. I always try to get the three things included in an offer like this around the same price, because you always get the cheapest free, and rather than paying 10 GBP for two really expensive items and 2 GBP on a cheap on, your not saving too much when you can get something around the same price that has a chance of being better quality. The three products i'm interested in getting is the nose scrub, supereyes supereyes and the make up remover (liquid). Supereyes have had quite good reviews, so i kind of have high hopes for these as they are mid-range products that i expect some difference from compared to a brand like simple. I'll update you on how that goes.

A few other things on my wishlist was some cute new tops, although i didn't really want to get expensive ones, although i like tunics and long tops, and looser ones, so when Dorothy Perkins sent me an email with VIP 20% off sale with the code IMAVIP (at the checkout) you get 20% off anything, including sale items. The sale ends sunday, so get moving! I'll update this post with some nice pictures of the ones i got and how much they cost.

I've recently ordered from boots an Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in zero (black) as i've heard so many good things about this eyeliner, and how well it works on the waterline, and seen some good looks made with it. I've always put my eyeliner on the waterline, as i'm a not a steady handed person to put it on the lash line, and always found it easier. So i'm hoping the reviews are true when it comes! I'll do a review once it does, with a casual A/W make up look which is wearable everyday.

Has anyone tried urban decay's eyeliner or soap and glory products?

L'oreal Paris True Match Roll On Foundation - Rolling on your foundation? Rolling on Paint?

2009-09-16T07:24:00.000-07:00
http://www.boots.com/en/LOreal-Paris-True-Match-Minerals-Foundation_984362/?cm_re=lifestyle-_-090909_071009-_-c9095_rot1&cm_sp=3f2_selected_loreal_roll_on_foundation-_-090909_071009-_-c9095_rot1

^^ see link above

OKAY. SERIOUSLY? At first i was a little like okaaaaay...*rolls eyes* when i noticed this product, but I actually think its quite inventive. My first massive rant on this is whats the big deal?! There isn't that many reviews, but most of them consist of people actually trying the product, liking it and noticing its not that bad, but followed by outrageous people who seem insulted by the idea of ROLLERING on your foundation, although it's still perfectly fine to paint your face with BRUSH?! Hello?! You paint walls with not only a roller people, but a brush too. So this isn't a such massive a jump away from the norm as it seems. Also people are calling this lazy...So why not call Diorskin Airflash foundation, the SPRAY foundation, lazy? I think the reason a lot of people are outraged by this type of application is it really brings home what make up actually is - paint.

What do you think about this new foundation? Have you tried it? What do you think?

MAC graphic garden brush set: Define and Blend - review, NICA A/W 09 Rowan Bag, and some more MAC reviews....

2009-09-13T12:01:00.000-07:00
This is a review of the MAC limited edition graphic garden brush set.

I've never used brushes before, apart from the eyeshadow sponges and the foundation sponge, although i normally apply foundation with my fingers. Although i've been looking at a lot of make up tutorials on you tube and have noticed a lot of people use brushes. Do you? What brushes do you use and what do you think of them? I also noticed MAC brushes have got quite a good following, and after looking at reviews of these limited edition sets, i thought i'd give them a go, also seeing at they would cost way more than forty pounds if i bought them singularly. They are smaller sizes than the normal brushes, but they are perfectly fine and i don't find this a problem.

They come in such a beautiful make up bag, which is wipe clean proof, and also has a little pouch to put the brushes in, so you can always find them and don't get broke in your make up bag. I've used them for about two weeks now, and i can definatly say my make up is a lot better because of them. Also i'm quite sensitive to brushes, i have combination skin and some brushes break me out, although these work fine on my skin. (Yet this is individual - it may be different for you)

And theres more....

Overall i think i'll give this a 9/10 The only reason it didn't get full marks is because of the price, which can still be a bit steep.

Next up is the eyeshadow pallette, and brow set, both by MAC. I've heard some good things about MAC eyeshadows, and i wasn't dissapointed, they are really highly pigmented, and don't really lose their colour throughout the day, and although they are quite expensive at 11.00 pound a pot, its cheaper to buy the pro pallettes both 4.50 or 10.00 for the 4 and the 15 cases, as eyeshadow pans are only 8.50 i think. I got the smaller pallette, with eyeshadows swiss chocolate, vanilla, carbon, and plumage. Which are all really nice colours. 10/10 for eyeshadows and pallette!Swatches below:

http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/6467/eyeshadowswatch2.jpg" align="center" />

MAC brow set is quite dark (even though i got it in their darkest shade) and the brush is quite big for my eyebrows, so its a little tricky to not get any brow set on my skin around my eyebrows. Although after learning some good moving techniques around my eyebrows, it can be successful, and my brows remain in place for a good part of the day, giving them quite nice colour that doesn't budge either. 8/10

THIS is my new nica bag which i've been raving on about:

I know its an strange colour (its a bit darker, the flash makes it look alot brigher) although it fits everything i need for everyday and even an a5 notebook for lectures and seminars, and because nica is made from really good materials i know it won't break either! I recommend checking out other places which sell nica, such as asos and house of frasier, as some may have them cheaper and other lines than the nica site itself, but it does have fast delivery and its free!

I hope you've enjoyed the reviews, and they've helped. I'll be posting a look including the eyeshadows and brow set, and the next items being reviewed - MAC prep and prime, and MAC prep and prime eye.

I'm thinking about getting clarins instant smooth foundation tomorrow!

Upcoming Make up reviews, and NICA A/W 09

2009-09-01T13:14:00.000-07:00
I've been so busy lately and i apoligise for not posting. I have been thinking about the blog though, and i would like to thank all my readers and any comments, i really appreciate it :)

I've decieded i'm going to include a lot more make up reviews and pictures on here, as i always google reviews of make up before i buy most of the time, and i know its a great help, especially when buying expensive products. So here is a list of what i'm going to be reviewing soon:

MAC mineralize skinfinish natural
MAC pro pallette x 4 compact
MAC eyeshadow in plumage, carbon, vanilla, and swiss chocolate
MAC graphic garden brush set: Define and Blend
MAC prep and prime
MAC prep and prime eye
MAC brow set
CLINIQUE high impact mascara
CLINIQUE superfit foundation
THE BODY SHOP tea tree facial wash
THE BODY SHOP tea tree blemish fade night lotion
THE BODY SHOP pretty pearlecents new A/W collection - Blue/Green/Purple eyeshadow and Aqua eye pencil
THE BODY SHOP lipscuff
NO7 extravagant lashes mascara

and more....

Also i am going to be posting pictures of my new NICA A/W BAG in an amazing dark red colour and beautiful charm, and also pictures of other things in their collection, and to praise their brilliant fast and free delivery.

If there is any requests for make up and any reviews, please let me know

x

circlesquaretriangle© designs

2009-08-16T11:44:00.000-07:00
So here is an update on my jewelery making:

What do you guys think?

When these sell i'll be making a piece to go into a giveaway, which is going to be a very different kind of givaway :)

Back to BLACK!

2009-08-09T14:50:00.001-07:00

Was black hair the right decision?

You tell me ♥

(btw - that is revlons new MATTE collection which i have fallen for, the lipstick is nude attitude which gives a better texture than foundation [which i still dont know is right or not] and better colour. It makes me love a nude no make-up look. I'm going to invest in more lipsticks and some eyeshadows.)

BACK ON TRACK!. Beautiful murano style lampwork heart pendants, how to rewind when working those long hours...and the beautiful sights of culture.

2009-08-01T08:08:00.000-07:00
What a busy month it has been! Not only have Joe and I been busy doing researching work, we then had the best week ever being cruised around France, Itality and Spain, which was so magical. We woke up in a different place every day and once again that feeling of being a child at christmas comes back to you as you look out the window and try your hardest to soak up the most beautiful scenerys and culture ever. We then came back to England and are now working 37hours a week for the first time, luckly both at the same place, which is quite nice, they even recognise we're in a relationship! which we didn't expect at all. We're stressed, tired, and barely have time to do anything, which is why its been so hard to find the time to update etc. But we've sorted our time out and having Fridays off as well as weekends, i have time not only to update this regularly, but to also have time to make some of the most beautful pendants and bracelets ever. I will be making more and more, and making up a blogshop for them to be bought and shipped. If you have any requests for what you would like on a pendant or necklace, then give me a shout and we'll negeoatate! All payments will be made through paypal, and i was thinking about using sagepay so you can use debit cards. Hopefully it will all go well!

Purple vest top - Sainsburys £10
cardigan - New look £12
skirt - Envy 1£0 [sale]
leggings - Tescos £4 [they are so old! i really do need some more]
shoes - New look £12

TOTAL OUTFIT COST - £46

This is my first time doing an outfit post, so i apoligise if all things are not up to scratch. Some photos are low res as were taking off my phone. I wore the grey skirt on holiday so much, its so comfy.

Working long hours, and even stresses of other things, really brings the need for you to unwind at the end of the day, so take the time out for a bath which suits you. Have some papering of your own and really relax. If you don't have that much time, the body shop do some really nice lotions and shower gels, and if you do have time to have a bath, they also have some nice bath salts. There is a huge 50% sale on at the minute, so grab things while they last. What i think is worth note is the wellbeing range. What looks overpriced could actually be made to an advantage. I bought a lovely cleaner bar which was made with seaweed for 3 pounds in the sale, and [although its not worth eight pounds] was really nice and lets me relax after a long day. Having a good skincare regime really helps to, as it stops you getting stressed at breakouts you really dont need, and lets your face feel so relaxed.

This is the first project i made. Its made with leather thong, and a beautiful murano style lampwork heart which is the centerpiece, with a lovly antique spacer bead. The finding is easy to use and is a simple coil and s hook, so this can fit anybody. If requested, these can be made different lengths and the hearts of various different designs. It is handmade by me, and all findings are sterling silver. Approximate price these and similar necklaces are going to be sold for around 5pounds. The second is a bracelet made with memory wire. It can take a lot of different beads, in the one shown i've used seed beads with swarovski beads and a really nice metal flower bead at the end. These bracelets, because of the memory wire can fit anyone. Approx price being sold for is TBC. The shop will be up soon, meanwhile i am taking requests for beads so give me an email if you want anything custom made, for a limited period this feature is free. Also similar and new ones will be featuring in upcoming giveaways!

Even though we had a whole day in the ports, it was still really hard to take in all the culture. The sun was beautiful and the sea was so nice, the combination made my skin absolutly perfect for around a month, and to be honest with regular cleansing, it still is. [i havn't worn foundation in around a month!] The cultures and the really nice markets actually inspired me to make jewelery!

Where have you been on holiday, and how do you rewind from a long stressful day? Also what do you think of the necklace and bracelet? Also you can request any items here too! :) :)

Give me a day or two

2009-07-30T12:20:00.000-07:00
i know i've said i should have things up and running soon, but i am so sorry i'm lacking on the replies and the posts right now. Working full time is so tiring! We've just recently booked a long weekend so in the next day or two i'm going to catch up with blogging and also! i made my first necklace today and it is so beautiful. So please please keep checking back here for my new blogshop, new posts and also givaways! <3

Italy, Spain, France...

2009-07-17T03:14:00.001-07:00

i've just came back from holiday yesterday night, and it was so nice to come back to so many wonderful comments <3 thank you so much! i'll get back to each and every one of you, and i really appreciate you reading! :)
The holiday was amazing! It was a cruise round the Mediterranean and we got to see some amazing places, including the leaning tower of pisa, the vatican (where also joe proposed!! xD & i said yes!), the coliseum, an amazing sunset, and some beautiful beaches. The places were just so beautiful. I'm sorting out all the photos and will be posting them soon, so keep checking back! The cruise ship was actually quite old fashioned, which while some people might not like this, was quite nice, with some really nice artwork on the walls which i'll be posting too.

Walking round the markets have also gave me some inspiration to start some jewelry making, including bead and thread work and charms. We picked up some beautiful handmade bracelets which made us think of this, so if you have any ideas of what you would like on a handmade bracelet, please let me know and i can use it as more inspiration. When this starts working and being successful, I'm planning to start an Etsy shop up where these can be bought. (and a blogshop for unwanted clothes, new and old coming soon)

Thank you again! <3
I hope everyone else's holidays have been great too!

Stunning images of EMMA WATSON on the front cover of ELLE, and their RUNWAY EDIT for A/W '09

2009-07-03T07:10:00.001-07:00
I am an annual subscriber to ELLE magazine, which makes me recieve the official subscriber covers of the magazine. (i would never have dreamed of having a subscription, although a free elizibeth arden 3 piece set and £££'s off the cover price is a good deal! xD) So i was wondering who was on this months cover;

I though, whos that? shes quite pretty, looking at more photos i then thought, whoa she is really pretty and looks great, she must be a model or something (like a previous edition of elle a few months ago). It then occured to me, she looked slightly familar. Then i couldn't believe, that the beautiful woman on these pages, are the same girl. I've yet to read the article, but she does talk about harry potter, and getting out of the role which has defined who she is for her acting career. i'm shocked how different she can look, and i had seen the pictures of the BURBERRY photoshoot she had also done, so it's not as if i was unfamilar with how different she looks out of her steretotyped role. In my opinion, she looks amazing and so so sexy. Love the eyelyner look, but seeing as i'm not a night time person, i think it might be OTT for day...

Also with this months elle is their 'runway' edit, which gives pictures and tips on the looks used at the A/W '09 catwalk shows. Here is just whats on offer for the upcoming seasons...

Last but not least, here is a picture of this lovely bracelet, which although is abit discoloured, i think it gives a bit of a vintage feel to it, and not too shiny. Its an old piece of jewellery my mum used to wear, if going green is always this good, i think everyone will be doing it!

[i will be adding this v.soon! and more photos of the runway edit and new season trends. keep checking! :)]

Credit: All photos (but one - the one of the bracelet last) are from this months ELLE magazine, which features a free paul&joe sister vest top. (Next month is a free designer cover notebook! either made by v.westwood, j,galeno, or another)

Misha Barton and Nica A/W '09

2009-06-26T06:25:00.000-07:00

Misha Barton's new collection of bags, along with Nica's A/W 09 bags had their press release in May, so i can imagine they are going to be out in the very near future. Nica have already started to discount some bags on their website, including the willow pattern purse you can see in the picture. [Bottom left]. Nica still have some of A/W '08 bags on their site for discount prices. Although i can imagine that both line's are going to start a sale soon, so keep checking their websites.

Both brands can be considered quite similar, yet they are also quite different. I'm a massive fan of Nica bags, as they are so beautifully made, all with a soft printed lining, and made from really durable fabrics and materials, with the added touch of charms and bangles. I have two Nica bags and a purse and i'll post them in an outfit in the next few posts. Misha's bags i feel look quite similar, although i've never bought one so i can't comment on how well their made etc. However they do look so nice, and not that expensive for a really cool bag.

Watch this space for pictures of their new collections!

Colourful Dark - Rebel

2009-06-18T11:40:00.000-07:00

These are hopefully the first of many artbeauty photoshoots, Let me know what you think! x

Why NOT to switch skincare products, and why its so hard not to

2009-06-12T15:30:00.001-07:00
I recentley noticed it was clinique bonus time at house of fraser a few weeks ago, so after decieding i needed some new mascara and make up for holiday, i trotted off down there and went to the counter, and asked the lady what would be good for holiday as i wanted some long wear foundation. She proceeded to try some shades out on my face, and then noticed i had a few dry patches on my skin where i had not properly moisturised. She then asked what moisturiser i used.

Why did i find this such a hard question?

Because i actually didn't know. I fleet between so many different moisturisers i don't know which ones i'm using. I'm constantley on a different budget, and trying out free samples of this and that, so it tends to differ. Then i said i was using palmers coco butter as a moisturiser. Okay, apart from making me feel like a complete idiot, she then proceeded to tell me how i shouldn't be using that on my face, and how because its an emoilent, it just sticks to my face and thats why i've been getting clumpy like foundation patches. I'm grateful for the information though. She then tried to sell me some clinique three step system, and dramatically different moisturiser. I've been on the blemish solutions three-step system before and i think its amazing, so i can imagine all the others are great too, if you have the money. Although i completely don't at the minute. Although i have learn't something i'm going to try and stick to;

try and find a skincare routine which works and stick with it!

This is harder said than done though, and can take up much money and effort trying to find things that work, especially with combination and changing skin types. Most skin care types are either for dry, oily, blemished, combination, etc. But my skin is so intechangable i find it difficult to find the perfect fit. I get blemishes every now and again, so should i go for blemished? But then it does get a bit dry, but then anti-blemish moisturisers are quite drying, and also i find hard to put make up on after them, (while trying to avoid a make-up base) although moisturisers for dry skin are quite greasy and shiny, which can then lead to oily skin and more blemishes. Combination products are also a bit of pot-luck, as the lines of moisturisers are also quite drying and tend to not help that much. Because of this, its really hard to find the money and the products which really fit right with your skin. Its hard to tell if anythings wrong with your skincare, or if its some other problem with eating too much greasy food that week, or a problem with a make-up product. After thinking about all of this, i've been looking at the ranges which the body shop have of skincare products. They do lines which i have mentioned, combination, natural radience, whitening, blemish/oily, dry etc. So after reading many reviews, i deceided to go with a tea tree foaming facial wash, a seaweed combination toner, and a vitamin C natural radience moisturiser which is an apparant excellent make up base. These all contain natural ingredients, and have had quite good experience with the body shop products which seem to always help my skin and make it glow. I've started today, so i'll definatley keep an update, and i'm going to stick with these ones.

The advice i give though, is if a skincare regime works for you, stick with it. If it doesn't then try your hardest to ask for testers and trials of products to see if your skin matches, to find the right products for your skin, as no skin is ever the same, even if they are labelled as 'dry' 'combination' or 'oily'.

Whats your experience with skincare regimes?

How to wear foundation to powder/powder foundation and make up WITH dry skin and look radiant.

2009-06-04T05:23:00.000-07:00
There are many powder foundation on the market now, especially with the trend of 'natural but flawless' skin, and so mineral make up was established. Of corse there are many powder foundations which arn't mineral, and have been quite a while, although i can imagine it has shed new light on people taking more care of there skin with the promise of mineral make up doing just that. These kind of products include Nature's Mineral range from the bodyshop, L'oreal, Max Factor, and many other brands, including the premium brands such as Elizibeth Arden and Lacome.
We've established powder foundation doesn't have to be mineral, and nor does it have to be powder. There are many cream-to-powder foundations also out now, including ranges from the body shop. [add more] More products included here are other powder based make up, including many mineral blushes and eyeshadows, or even normal blushes and in light of summer, bronzers. All these have the potentential to dry out the skin, and make dry skin look even worse. But there is no reason to fear, if you treat your skin right, you can look just as radiant with a powder, as a liquid foundation and make up, with no grease and no shine, but look as natural as ever.

1. The key is to moisturise correctley. Moisturise moisturise moisturse! If you don't moisturise at all, then not only are you damaging your skin by not giving it the moisture it needs, and wearing make up can irrtate it.

2. The next step is to look at what moisturiser your using. Stay away from emolient moisturisers. These include palmers coco butter etc. This is because the moisturiser can stay on your skin and pores, and when powder make up is applyed, it tends to stick there and make your skin look more dry and pebbely. I am also a fan of Cliniques anti-blemish solutions, although i found the moisturiser isn't that moisturising. This is also another thing to look at. You need to assess how dry your skin is, and find a moisturiser to suit that, although be careful not to go so moisturising your skin looks greasy and becomes blemish prone. Good moisturisers for dry skin include No7 Moisture for Dry skin, which is really nice and lasts ages. I'm using Simple matte moisturiser which is quite cheap at approx £3, and works well with keeping my skin moisturised when using the body shop cream -to-powder foundation.

3. Apply your powder right. What ever foundation your using, don't continuatley apply it to a certain area, as you are likley to get dry patches throughout the day as your skin gets dryer and dryer and your powder evaporates, leaving dry scaley skin. Brush it lightley all over your face to get a nice even base. If you suffer from redness or blemishes, try putting a light concealer on beforehand. Try and remember mineral make up doesn't cure spots, it's much kinder to skin and tends not to cause as many blemishes, and contains less chemicals.

I hope these tips have helped! Please let me know how you get on with any powder foundations and make up you use! :)

Greystrawberrys asks bloggers, how would you wear a cardigan?

2009-05-25T09:38:00.000-07:00
A while ago, i asked 3 bloggers how would you wear a cardigan?. Having finally
found time to work on this blog and catch up with others, here are their answers;

And now the question goes out to you, how would you wear a cardigan? :)

note: The picture leah refers to can be found here : http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/8731/grandadcardis.jpg

Reviews, Reviews, Reviews!

2009-05-12T15:04:00.000-07:00
I apoligise for my long absence of posting, i've been busy writing essays and revising for my upcoming exams, so i've found it hard to get time to post. Although this has given me time to try new products, and so i present you with a review post. The things i am reviewing are:

Perfect 10 Hair colour

Simple Deep Cleansing Face Mask

No7 Duel Action Tinted Moisturiser

Also just a quick note, thank you for the reads and comments on the last post about elizibeth arden cream. It really is worth the buy. It could be good if you look for an elizibeth arden promotion at local drugstores or debanhams, and try and get free samples too.

I'm starting off this review with one with perfect 10 which is a new hair colourant out on the market.

I tryed this in medium brown, which was slightly lighter than my current colour, and it was coloured about a month ago.

Good:-

+ No Fade
+ Shines, Shines and Shines!
+ Amazing Applicator system (comb like)
+ Plenty of product
+ The most amazing smelling after conditioner
+ Takes only 10 (i did it for 15) minutes!
+ Amazing colours

Bad:-

- It can be abit pricy at about £7, although it is worth it!

I would actually buy the conditioner seperatley again if it was possible, it was that nice. My hair is so long, and there was enough product in there. (chest length). Also the conditioner got all cots out so brushing it afterwards was a breeze. The colour of the hair is amazing, it shines so beautifully, and really gives your hair added sexyness.Although it's a pain brushing your hair so theres so cotty bits in it, and its all smooth, i would recommend straightening your hair before any treatment, as it makes the whole process easier, and you can see which bits need more colour at the end.

I give this product 10/10, just for being the best at home-hair colourant on the market at the minute. Definatley recommend, and will definatley use again, as well as being one of the shortest leave in times (i normally do a little longer than suggested, even this was half the time!)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next review is about Simple deep cleansing face mask. This is a face mask which is put on and least for approx 3minutes, which you can leave longer to about 5, although it will start drying out, and then washed off with water and your face is left feeling so soft and cleansed.

Good:-

+ Leaves skin feeling soft and clean
+ Doesn't really have any smell
+ Can be used on sensitive skin
+ Cleans up skin - Spots dissapear and skin is clearer

Bad:-

- Can leave the skin feeling a little dry

This face mask leaves my skin feeling so soft and clean, and as if there is no dirt at all left in it. It does feel a little dry after a while, so it could help to dab a little moisturiser on your face a while afterward, especially if you've got dry skin. It cannot be used around the eye area so stay clear. This is also a good priced product at about £3-4 in drugstores, plus simple is a brand often in 3 for 2 offers, which makes it a good deal!

This gets an 8/10 because it is a great value face mask! It could be a little better by having a nice aroma and be more deeply relaxing, although that it my personal opinion, as some people perfer unscented things.

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No7 Dual protection tinted moisturiser is approx £10 from boots stores. I've been recentley on the hunt for a nice tinted moisturiser for holiday, as i don't want to wear a face full of foundation, especially when it is likely be really hot anyway. This product is advertised as for all skin types and it has a SPF of 15. Which i know isn't mega high, especially when my body shop flawless skin protecting foundation is SPF 25 although the fact that thats foundation and the other moisturiser probabley is the difference and the consistency. I was looking for an affordable product, and would have loved to been able to get the laura mercier stuff, although at around £32 its out of my price bracket. Although this actually turned out quite well.

Good:-
+ Light
+ Good coverage, can always build it up if you wish
+ Hides blemishes
+ Good colour, with some tint
+ Both SPF and coverage, but light at the same time
+ feels great
+ looks natural
+ doesn't shine too much

Bad:-
- Takes a little bit to settle, so can look like its made your skin look horrible, which it doesn't.
- The colours can be misleading
- More colours could be better, only light and medium.

I'm fair, and quite pale. I'm not planning to fake tan for holidays either, so i would have assumed i needed pale. But i already had a free sample of medium to try, so to test out the consistencey, i tested a little bit. It actually matches really well. I think fair would actually be too light. (I'm going to try some fair in the shop, although medium, looks nice, with a glow, and in natural light looks amazing and perfect.

This product gets a 9/10. This product really does do a great job for the price, could be a bit more colour range to improve it.

10 ways to use the fabulous Elizibeth Arden 8Hour Cream

2009-04-12T08:46:00.000-07:00

I used to read magazines wondering why people said their must have beauty product is Elizibeth Arden 8Hour Cream. I was even more baffled when i noticed it was for minor cuts/grazes and soothes minor skin irritations. I now understand, why this is probabley one of the best ever beauty products.

It can be used for;

Healing inperfections/spots
: Not just tiny spots, most spots. As soon as you can notice any sign of spot attack, dab a tiny bit on the area and let it do it's thing. It will be gone is probabley no more than 2 days. (in my experience.)
Fask Mask
: Although the consistency is a little oily, using this liberally all over the face would give it an intense moisture boost, while healing imperfections and smoothing out the face. This is great on dry skin, although i'm not sure the benefits on oily skin, but if you was to try, use a little less.
Healing under eye circles
: If you put a little bit udner each eye before sleeping, you wake up looking more refreshed and no dark circles.
Highlight
: You can use it to highlight cheekbones and other parts of the body. Although i havn't tried this yet, i have read models use it on catwalks often, although it might not feel terribley nice.
Helps heal cuts/grazes/plucking eyebrows
: This is its primary use, to help the healing process, although in regards to beauty, it really sooths the skin after plucking and the redness is reduced considerabily after a short period of time.
Moisture boost for nails
: I get really dry nails after a few days, so just putting a little bit on the cuitcles and even all over the nails can help them look more refreshed and not feeling horribley dry and flakey anymore. If you have the time, it can be used as a longer treatment by putting a bit more on and letting it soak in.
Keeps brows in place
: Rather than use a seperate brow gel, this really does hold brows in place for a long time, although not a lot is needed.
A wonderful lipbalm
: This gives lips a massive moisture boost and it feels amazing on them. It really heals any sore spots too, so this could be especially good in winter or even in summer when the sun drys them out. It can also be applied over a matte lipstick to add some shine and gloss.
Anti-frizz for hair
: It can help keep hair 'together' and smooth hair out, especially in frizzy areas, although i would say not a lot is needed.
A Moisture treat for dry heels
: If you have dry heels and wanting to show them off, especially in summer heels and flipflops, put some 8hour cream on them at night, quite a lot, and put some socks on them, and when you wake up you'll have soft heels!

There are even more ways to use this cream, so if you have any which arn't listed here, please post them and i'll add them!

Angeltreats tip is to mix a bit of elizibeth arden cream in with some powder eyeshadow and it turns it into a nice creamy one!

The price of this is £20 from most places, and although that seems expensive, i don't think it is for what it can do, plus it lasts around 6 months at least with everyday use. I was lucky and managed to get the skin protectant, handcream and body cream all free with my ELLE subscription! :)

Does anyone have any other uses for this cream?

Kate Moss 2009

2009-04-09T12:09:00.000-07:00

Kate Moss released her new topshop collection on April 2nd and although i've never been a massive fan of her collections in the past, i actually really like this seasons; the only bad thing being is the price :)

My absolute favourite is the scarf at the top of the page, unfortunatley its £40 :(

Other top picks are;

1. Leopard Print Top
2. Clover Print Dress
3. Orange Vest Top

I made a polyvore pagehere.

What do you think of it?

The struggle against eyeliner.

2009-04-09T06:18:00.000-07:00

original:flickr

I'm sure you've heard about the whole nude trend. It looks great, natural, beautiful; and hard to pull off, especially for someone who has unnatural dark hair, doesn't really leave the house without a slick of liquid eyeliner on her top lids and pencil on the bottom, and a face full of a mixture of foundations. why is it hard? because as soon as all those come off, i look like something off ghostbusters.

I look at myself in the mirror without make up and i just look washed out. So i spend around 4 hours annoying my boyfriend with pictures of highlighed hair and the phrase 'what about this one?'. Although i'm still debating it, i actually chose against it at the minute, because of the last night of success.

I was going to my boyfriend aunt's house for some roast dinner, and i thought, should i try it? try no eyeliner? I moisturised, and put some foundation on to cteate a flawless base, i also put some on my eye area, i don't know if theres any rule against it, but it gave my face an instant lift, i also tapped some light pink shadow on there too just to keep the brighening look going. The finishing touch was some mascara.

The finished look? i couldn't help noticing how fresh i looked, i admit i looked a bit pale, but that can be fixed with a bit more bronzer, or even so, embrase the paleness. (my lastest tanning phase has since ended). I look fresh, and nude. I've realised for once in a while, i dont need the eyeliner, i love the eyeliner look and will wear my smoky eyed look occasionally, but for this summer, i'm tempted to ditch it for once and go au natural. Plus it was quite a change looking in the mirror and not seeing eyeliner melting and smudged.

success! has anyone else got similar stories with a struggle against make up products?

summer plans

2009-04-03T20:47:00.000-07:00

original:flickr

wow! i've finally found some free time and i chose to make a brand new layout, although it was slightley stressful and the html is still a little messy, although i will fix the bits soon. I've missed some blogs on my list near the bottom of the page, to the right, so if you want to be on there please let me know. :)

Thank you for your lovely comments everyone left in my absence of posting, i really appreshiate them and i'll check all your blogs out in the near future.

Whats new? Exams are in a month, and a 3000 word essay due at the end of april. Although then its summer, and all the plans that are with it! My partner and I have hopefully got a placement with the civil service for a few months, which will give us valuable work experience! but also we're taking part in an undergraduate research oppurtunities scheme [uros] where were working with two of our lecturers on some social policy research! I'm really excited for both and i'm hoping both oppurtunities turn out to be a success as they will be so valuable on our cv's. We are also planning to go on a cruise! [don't worry, there will be photos!] either around the med, or around norway and sweden, i can't wait!

Regarding education, i'm even thinking about staying on an extra year to do a MA [masters] degree at my university. I used to think i hated education and couldn't wait to get a job, although with university fee's planned to rise in the new few years and a conservative government waiting to be elected, it may seem like the best time to actually do one, rather than work and go back.

On a more fashion note, i got this amazing dress from republic a few weeks ago...

I love it and now wear it so much, what do you think? republic have a lot of really nice things in at the minute, especially for summer.

Also i'll be posting on the new Kate Moss collection for topshop [which looks amazing, yet sadley expensive], and many more :)

Check out the 'blog of the week' link at the top of the site too! OrFalseGlitter is the blog of the week! x

Update...

2009-03-23T15:42:00.000-07:00
Heya, i'm sorry for no posts at the minute, i'm doing so much uni work and trying to get as less stressed as possible. I am working on a new layout which will be up soon! :]

Sarah x

♫ To Tan, or Not to Tan

2009-02-14T17:47:00.000-08:00

original:flickr

I'm ridiculously pale. Okay maybe not as pale as some people, but i have to choose the lightest of every foundation shade and i don't naturally tan. I have quite dark hair too, which makes me look quite pale and washed out too, and to make matters worse, can't pull off an 'au natural' look because i wear eyelyner most times when i go out, so when i don't, i look even more washed out. I don't want to go blonde, or light brown, it seems to look great on other people, just i don't want to right now. So my next option? it looks like i need to get the fake tan out.

I go through phases of absolutley hating fake tan, as its well, fake, too much of an effort, and i hate it when patches come off, and to heck, embrase the natural, pale, english rose skin. Now i'm thinking i want to be a beautifully sun kissed brunette, so pass me the gradual tan! I feel more confident when i'm slightley tanned, and i think i'll try and keep the upkeep to either once everyday, or once every two days. My current products are olay everyday sunshine in dark which i got my accident and i meant to get light, but its not too bad, it develops quite fast, although probabley gives a deeper tan, so i'm going to try and use it less as i don't want to go ott. And for my body garnier summer body in light sun-kissed look which is really good, its quite cheap, it does give some streakyness, but for the price i'm not that bothered, i'm not in a position where i can buy st.tropez so i'll take the slight streakyness.

I'm definatley going to renew my buy for olay everyday sunshine as that has no streaks and it fades out great when you don't want to use it anymore. And i will also be buying the garnier summer body again. For a nice tan when want one it will cost me under £15.

Nevertheless, one of the main things i've hated about fake tans is that you have to have a seperate foundation when you feel the tan urge coming on. Well not anymore, well kind of, but not as bad as a whole new foundation. Meet Maybelline Dream Sun Glow Bronzing Booster Make-Up which is a bottle of bronzed beauty in a 30ml pipette bottle, and you drop as many drops into your usual foundation [on the back of the hand i'm assuming, and would recommend] in a body cream, face cream, or even on its own to give a natural bronzed look, which washes off when you take your make up off. It sounds too good to be true, although i've read some good reviews, a only a few bad ones. I am so tempted to try this out, its not too expensive, although when trying to save, another £14 doesn't help. (£7 for olay, and £7 for bronzed goodness).

Maybeline actually have a whole new bronzed range out, and it seems to be keeping with the trend of wash-off tans which have some tans for both face and body, so you only have to buy one, which promises a nice bronzed finish which you can wash off, i think its definatley worth a look. Although i'm more for the gradual tans.

Has anyone else had any experience with tanning products and how have they been?

what goes with rain?

2009-02-11T13:26:00.000-08:00

original:flickr

I love coats, and i have actually seen some beautiful ones around. I would love to have a cadbury's purple coloured thick wooly coat, but then i have to take it off and what happens when i get hot? do i take it off and carry it about? what if its too wooly and gets itchy? I love so many coloured coats, blue, red, orange. I have a black asos coat, its more like a mac, but its nice and does its job, but i still have the same problem, i hate taking them off in lectures, i just want to sit down! Then i layer a lot of my clothes, most of the time wearing three layers. Today i wore a girly white and blue flower top from new look, a black lace shorter top which looked quite grunge, and then a long line grey cardigan. perfect? it was, until the rain.
Its not that i don't like the rain, i love the elements and the different weather, i just don't like being in them so much. A massive downpour is pretty, when watching it from a high window, or standing in looking to the sky being drenched when your not worried about the hour you spent getting ready and the so many lectures you have to walk in, no to mention the cold wind which mostley always accompanys english rain.
I wan't someone to invent a cardigan with a hood, which is waterproof. I have yet to find a nice mac with a hood which isn't too pricy. Has anyone seen any nice hooded coats? and what are your experiences with the rain? what do you wear? :)

snowsnowsnow!

2009-02-01T18:02:00.000-08:00

original:me!

I apoligise for not posting for ages, i have been so busy, with university work, finding time to relax, revising for exams bla bla! But on a quick note, has everyone seen the SNOW? :]

Forever Pieces

2009-01-17T15:24:00.000-08:00

original:flickr

For another quite update: the new skincare regime is working! My skin remains mostley blemish free, glowing, and looking healthy. The only downside is its getting quite dry, which i put down to the foundation is a cream to powder one, which doesn't really give my skin any mosture, so i just make sure i moisturise a lot before applying. The Davina dvd is brilliant, i've done it about 4 times this week and i can really feel the difference.

Regarding the topic, from consulting magazines, apparantley the new season trend, is no trend and focuses more on Forever pieces. Investment pieces. From the sounds of this, it sounds expensive, which is never good for a student. I can no way afford to buy a chanel jacket, or mui mui shoes, not on my current budget. Although i do perfer buying more expensive pieces than cheapter ones, that by no means is saying i don't buy cheap things! Its purely because they are better quality and last longer, but if i can't afford them, i go cheaper.
Instead of breaking my overdraft for new investment pieces this season, i have recentley gone through my entire wardrobe, boxing up those which i don't wear, going to take some things to the charity shop, and reorganised my wardrobe. I found clothes which i LOVE and havn't worn for ages. This is my new season. I don't care if the leather jacket was ages ago, i think it rocks with a black mini-pencil skirt, a monsoon olive silk blouse, black tights and sparkle flats. All for a grand total of £0. Everyone has their favourite pieces and i think they should continue wearing them, take care of them, and if you want a change, utilise them in a different outfit, or stick a waist belt in an old one.
For those with money, or want to buy new things this season, the idea of investment pieces sounds nice, as you can update your look. If i was well-off or had a job, i would love to have a blazer or a smart jacket, not only to wear at work, but to jazz up an old or boring outfit. That would be my investment piece.

What would be yours?

Hair, Lockets & Makeup

2009-01-09T12:47:00.000-08:00

This is my new make up! this picture doesn't do the red hair justice, its the kind of red that looks brown in some lights, although looks very red and shines red in others. The one below is better just my face got flashed in the process, i apoligise for that! Also i'm wearing the beautiful locket i've been on about so much.

This is kind of shows the red hair off alot more :)

Spa goodies came today! :D

This is my new bag which i'm in love with. I was never into big bags but i love this brand and it carries EVERYTHING.

Snug boots! these were £40 from barrats, i only got £5 off in the sale but its better than nothing. I normally wear pumps just in winter they always get ruined, so these are my winter saviours.

Update; Beauty Regime & Wish List

2009-01-08T14:53:00.000-08:00

original:flickr

Well a few weeks back i made a post about changing my current beauty regime into a much healthier one by using santuary spa skincare products and the body shop foundation, as well as eating healthier and exercising. Well i am pleased to report it has been working! i have still been using an anti-blemish foam cleanser, as my spa regime only arrived today and i'm picking it up tomorrow from my mum, although i have been using a mini version of their moisturiser which is so lush and moisturises my skin forever even when its started to flake a tad, and the body shop foundation, which i do occasionally wear undernealth no7 stay perfect foundation, has been perfect all day. My water intake has rocketed, and my boyfriend and i have been eating so healthy we've almost lost our christmas weight-put-on, even without starting our exercise regime, which is going swimming regularly, davina's workout dvd 2-3 times a week, bits on the exercise bike, and some yoga and pilates. (we are starting this next week). Considering this week has been so stressful with so many hand in dates, essays to be done, etc, i'm very surprised that our new healthy regime has started to pay off, and we do feel so great and energised.
Following on from the wish list i also posted about a month ago, a lot of the items came my way, which i am VERY pleased about :) The NICA nemo shopper came yesterday and it is so lush, i recommend everyone of these products to everyone as they have such nice lining and designs, and cute little charms. The shopper which i used as an everyday bag for my uni work so i can take folders and all work i need to lectures as well as any beauty and make up accessries needed, while feeling confident i have a great bag! The locket which my boyfriend got me for christmas is also so beautiful, he engraved it on both sides and it is perfect. Now we just want to put a photo in it which even for the most technical minded, baffles us how.
Other christmas gifts involved a ciate hat box of nail varnishes which are so cute and amazing, a cute me to you bear from my boyfriend, and a nice pair of snug brown boots which i now wear everyday. i got other bits and bobs, they were all amazing and i am very thankful.
I also have become a redhead over christmas and gone a lovley dark shade of red. Will post pictures soon!

Clothes for Day or Night?

2009-01-02T18:08:00.000-08:00

original:flickr

I personally perfer day clothes and dressing up for in the day because i think there is less pressure on clothes in the day as its so casual, laid back, who cares kind of atmosphere, whereas i feel there is more pressure at night to look amazing and more stress also.
I have more clothes for daytime as well, and actually perfer daytime all together, even if its all horrible and miserable, because its nice to lazy about in, even with the stress of uni and the amount of work involved i have to do, i still find it really relaxing the night before picking what i'm going to wear, and finding tops and dresses i havn't seen in a few months and wearing them.
I'm a kind of boring person when it comes to going out and would much perfer to stay in and relax and watch a movie with my boyfriend, play games, or just in general chill out, even to the point of doing work sometimes, so this could be why i'm not that obsessed with going out clothes!

what does everyone else perfer?

new year, new make up regime?

2009-01-01T12:02:00.000-08:00

original:flickr

i've wanted to go healthier with my make up for a while and be nicer to my skin, so when my boyfriend's family bought me the santuary spa overnight renewal bag, i was endulged. Their range smells so beautifully and really does care for your skin, it even has a amazing brush that sweeps all dead skins cells off your body for such a smooth result. With it came a £3 off voucher for their ranges, so i went searching for something lovely. Problem, their whole damn range is lovely and amazing. They did have a 3 for 2 offer on but its recentley finished, although i'm still thinking of swapping my clinique anti-blemish solutions pack (£30) for some santuary spa skincare, which would include a toner, cleanser and moisturiser coming to about £15 in total with discount. This skincare is lush, i bought a mini moisturiser i found in boots as they didn't sell the large one and its perfection in moisturiser. The only problem being would i get any breakouts? Well i use Elizibeth Arden eight hour skin protectant on any sign of breakout and even pesky ones which come through and it does the trick pretty fast, but i could always get a clinque anti-blemish stick which is about £10 if needed. Also if i stick to my new healthy eating and exercising regime i shouldn't be getting that many breakouts, hopefully!.

what do you think?

I have also changed slightly my foundation. I was going to get the dainty doll foundation and concealer from www.asos.com, but after reading way to many reviews, both good and bad, i decieded against it, and instead got The Body Shop Flawless Foundation which is a cream to power foundation which is so beautiful and perfect. i've worn it alone and with No7 stay perfect foundation underneath, and both times it's worn so well, covered blemishes, but also leaves my skin so flawless. It also cares for the skin as well, plus it takes about 20seconds to apply, so it is definatley recommended.
The new concealer i bought was urban decay surreal concealer in dream, and this is also so perfect and lights up my face! i was going to get the matching concealer from the body shop although i dont really like pencil-like concealers.

Overall i've had success with my new regime, and i hope when i get the toner and cleaser from santuary spa, they will be just the same! :)

any one else had a change in make up or beauty regime?

links a la mode ♥

2008-12-18T05:54:00.000-08:00

39thandbroadway.comWhat really happens to Project Runway alumni and why we are sick of hearing, “You should go on Project Runway”!
A Few Goody GumDropsA Few Goody Gumdrops gets Bright for the Holidays with her new Orange Louis Vuitton Tote!
All ChicChristmas Jewels
AlysiaMarieThis Month’s Celebrity Hair Trend; Ponytails!
Being High Maintenance, not BitchyHow to wear scarves without looking like an emo kid
Caged LiliesPretty and CHEAP gifts for friends. everything under .
Capitola Girl Jewelry BlogChasing the winter blues away by shopping handmade…
Clutch 22Stylish gift giving on a budget - there’s still time to do your holiday shopping!
Couture Allure Vintage FashionCouture Allure shows how to dress up your shoes for a touch of evening glamour.
Debutante ClothingA Tribute to Bettie Page: 5 Reasons We Loved Bettie Page
Decline DesignsPetticoat tutorial - so your vintage skirts can have the look they deserve!
Dirty LaundryHow-To: Boyfriend Jeans
dramatis personaeAlternative Uses For Fur
Dress Me Up DollieA little DIY chases the winter doldrums away.
Fashion BirdcageOf Cabbages & Kings Spring/Summer 09 Collection
fashion fille Fashion Fille spreads the cheer around through boosting fashionistas to enter the weardrobe contest.
fashion in my eyesBeauty&The Beast with Drew Barrymore
Fashion Pulse DailyFashion Pulse Daily gives tips on how to get the biker chic look without having to jump on a Harley
Fashion TherapistWhere to find the perfect ugly sweaters for all your holiday themed parties
FasshonaburuA shopping gift guide for the self-proclaimed “hipster” on your list this holiday season!
Going to Hell in a HandbagConsumed by Coats
greystrawberryswhats in your make up box?
Hot Beauty HealthThe Smurfs enters beauty world with a Smurfette Collection
In Life and In FashionEasy Holiday Dressing Tips
Independent Fashion BloggersWe Really Like Your Style
Iole in fashionRed (dress) fashion tree
IwanttowearitManicurist Yuna Park puts fashion in the fingers of the hottest models for the freshest magazines.
Logical HarmonyHow To Find Deals at Thrift Stores : Beyond The Basics
Mademoiselle RobotInterview with fashion photographer and club promoter Pavla Kopecna.
Nico AssatlyHot Holiday/Silver bells! cute look for the holidays !
noiretro // style deficit disorderLimi Yamamoto Spring 2009 collection & DIY Martin Margiela Sandal Booties
Or False GlitterGoing grunge with Sonic Youth
PONY RYDERexclusive interview with TOPMODEL Iris Strubegger!
Retro ChickComfy Christmas Glamour
Shopping and InfoShopping and Info loves what Jennifer Aniston wore to the Marley & Me Premiere.
Style AmorAlice In Wonderland Fashion + Movie Frenzy for 2010, Johnny Depp and Mad Hatter Fashion. Yes be ready
Style DiscoveryConfession of a jewellery addict and brining an order and clarity to a pile of necklaces.
Style SymmetryEyeliah finds inspiration in the Wardrobe Remix Pool!
Summershoes11 steps to a perfect homemade manicure
Sweety P Style FilesThe Wardrobe Recession Diaries: Stalkin Clerks in the Mall and a Houndstooth Dress
The Bare SkinnyThe Bare Skinny gives you the scoop on the unmentionables: Undergarments
THE COVETEDLast-Minute Gifts that Pamper and Relax

i'm sorry its taken so long peoples, i've been so busy over christmas and all uni work etc and this html was a nightmare! more posts coming soon :)

wish list ♥

2008-12-17T07:11:00.000-08:00

original:flickr

I've never really done wish lists, and never seen the point in them, although i've relised after doing one, they give inspiration and direction, rather than spending money on things you dont really want, it helps focus on the main things. Although i'm more than happy with what i have here is my Wish List;

The Locket which My lovely boyfriend Joe is getting me for Christmas :) He's got it enraved with something and i don't know what it is, but i'm sure its lovely. Will post pictures :)

Blackberry Pearl 8120 Titanium. I'm not actually going to buy it, but my upgrade is just after Christmas, and this is the phone i'm going to get :) i do actually perfer it in Black, but orange don't have this colour, and the other one they do have is pink, and i've never been a fan of pink phones. I was worried about the keyboard but i'm sure i'll get used to using a qwerty one on my phone too!

Nica nemo oversized bag in charcol. This is the bag that Nica advertise in their adverts. i've never had a massive bag like this before, i've always had over the shoulder ones, but this one is made from lush materials as well as all their bags have cute charms and a beautiful interiour. I will be able to keep all my uni work as well as accessories in this one!

Dainty Doll Foundation and Concealer. I hate shopping for foundations as i have quite pale skin, and i saw this on www.asos.com and thought it would be perfect. After reading reviews i would want to get both to give a good coverage, but this would help me to not have to rub foundation in so much.

Amelia's Magazine issue 10 - last issue :( This is Amelia's magazine last issue and if anyone doesn't know what it is, its a truely beautiful magazine about unknown music, art, it has crafty things in their as well as loads of other cool things. They always come with free things and this issue is a bag making kit.

Whats everyone else got on their wish list?

vintage

2008-12-15T14:15:00.000-08:00

original:flickr

Vintage is one of those things which i dare say, i'm not THAT bothered about. This may sound ohmygod coming from someone who loves fashion and art, but we all have our likes and dislikes. Although i've recentley been putting 'vintage' before things i google, and vintage necklaces and keys, like the ones in the pictures have been really catching my eye and inspiring me in designs and illustrations, and most probabley, my dress sence in the near future. Although vintage has recentley taken me in, i dont think i'll ever be an all out vintage girl, but i've recentley seen the beauty of it, the beauty of the old and how things can become timeless classics. I also hope to find some treasures when i visit charity shops in the new year :)
does anyone share the same view? or opposite even?

Whats in your make up box?

2008-12-10T11:46:00.001-08:00

original:flickr

I find these kind of blog posts really interesting, as it gives a kind of mini-review on things, so if theres anything in your make up box that is great and value for money then leave a comment about it! :)

no7 stay perfect foundation:
this is available in boots and is priced at around £11, and for the money i would give it a 9/10. it really does stay perfect all day, i wouldnt say all day AND night, but its not too much trouble to take off and re-apply for night time. It gives a quite nice coverage, need to rub in as its abit yellowy sometimes, covers over blemishes also.

make-believe bronzer:
£10 in most places. i LOVE this bronzer as not only can you use it as an night browny eyeshadow, but it gives about 10 colours and with a brush it gives a nice glow that isn't orange at all and defines cheeks without looking too overdone.

eyeko eyeshadows:
3 pots of dark, light and browns are available, i have all three as it gives me 15 colours to choose from and they are so lovely. They also last quite a long time.

dream-matte foundation:
This is not that expensive, it lasts for ages, and it easy to apply, although a little annoying. Nevertheless it's nice to put on top of foundation to great a matte finish that lasts quite long.

maybelline pen liquid eyelyner:
i thought this wasnt that good, as i was after the max factor pen eyelyner that came out [which i dont get on with at all] and this is a million times better. it has a much stronger tip which doesnt bend and provides a nice black precide line over the eyes, and easy to manouver to achieve flicks.

maybelline define-a-lash mascara:
the name sounds a bit silly, although this is also the best branded mascara i have used, i'm not normally a fan of maybelline, although this really does define lashes without clumps and makes them quite long without looking stupid, worth the money.

boujouis ultra-black eyelyner:
this is amazing, it lasts long, provides amazing darkness to eyes, and is definatley an essential to any make up kit!

revlon brown eyeshadow pencil:
mines is so old but works so well. the only thing is to make sure its sharp to provide a good definition of eyebrows, even comes with a nice handy brush on the end.

moisturiser: i got a free clinque one a few months ago, its called something like 'dramatically different moisturiser' and is amazing, i think its about £10 normally, and definatley worth the money. Another good moisturiser is a no7 one, which i have forgotton the name of, but its pink and i think its for dry skin, but i'm sure all skin types can use it, [perhaps not oily as it could cause more oil as its made for dry skin], and is about the same price as the clinque one. I have very dry skin in general, and cannot apply make up without it, so i rely on good moisturisers.

any one else got any good tips?

Are top brands worth it?

2008-12-03T13:36:00.000-08:00

original:flickr

I have always been keen to try expensive things because i am careless enough to assume that most things that are more expensive are better. This is the case with some things, as quality is something i perfer over quantity, but the question is is it worth it? i've always bought top branded shampoo such as john freda, mark hill, etc, (these might not seem expensive to some people, but they are for a student) and i've always had a good wash. Although i've had a batch of dry skin on my neck recentley and dared to try Head and Shoulders colour care shampoo and conditioner. I was very worried as i thought my hair was going to smell and look horrible from this cheap shampoo which was half the price as normal. I washed, and my hair turned out beautiful, verging on the extent of better than all the leading brands i've tired, as well as helping out my dry skin. This begged me to think about other expensive products i buy and ask if they are worth it, especially for a student with no part time job and living of grants and generous donations. Has anyone ever thought about this too?

note: i know i havn't blogged in a.g.e.s but i have had a lot of university work over the past month and wil continue to do so as the work is getting so difficult, but please keep reading and checking as i will blog as much as i can!

Cuteness

2008-11-05T17:40:00.000-08:00

how CUTE is this picture :) its so fantastic. i love finding random things like this!

Clinique 3 Stepsystem - Anti Blemish Solutions; Beautyreview

2008-10-26T14:56:00.000-07:00
Firstley a quick note to say, as i said in the post before this, i have been majorley busy with university work, and although i hate to say it, that comes first over most things, [not the boyfriend though :p]. But i'm back, so lets get on with this review!

Quick Review;

Name: Clinique 3stepsolutions anti-blemish
Price: i paid £30
Value for money: 9/10
Availability: Not available in boots, which is annoying, although available in debanhams and i think selfridges and house of fraiser

Long Review

First of all, for £30 you get the whole kid, three pots of the solutions, they are smaller than the full versions, which range from around £13 - £17 each, which was a bit pricey for me considering it was one of three, and has less chance of working. It has enough for a months worth in the box, if you use it twice a day, which i did for the first few days, but i cut back to once a day, at night, and its working fine, so its a good way to get more money's worth.
Yes, it is a bit pricey, but it does work for me, and i'm been using it for about a week and a half now. It takes a while to get rid of all the crap in your skin, so give it a few days to work, but it gets there.
The first step is a foaming wash, which is put on wet skin, and rubbed around your skin, need no more than two squirts as a little goes a long way.
The second step is a lotion which you have to shake very well as it's two parts. Put on a cotton wall ball, or a tissue works fine, and rubbed all over the face, again, a little goes a long way.
The third step is a moisturiser, where you don't need a lot, so i think its best to skimp a little bit on this and put it more in problem areas.

Overall after a week and half of using it, my skin, which can get quite terrible around the time of the month, when eating crappy food, not drinking water, and in general, is all even, clean and looks great. I'm happier with my skin than i have been in a long time, as i've always had acne when i was younger. It is best to make sure you do drink lots of water, even if its one thing you do, as it clears the skin up so much.

I'm not sure if the offer is still on, but when i bought this, clinique was doing a bonus, and the lady generiousley gave me one even though i hadn't bought two items. It contained loads of things; an eye cream, eye make up remover, small mascara, a small compact with a mirror, a blush, and two eyeshadows, a liquid soap, and a 7day scrub. This made it worthwile to me!

I'm very pleased with the product, i'm thinking about getting more when i run out, as its a small amount of money over a long period of time, but £30 is quite a lot. I was thinking of getting the blemish gel which is around £13, and you put that on the affected area and it's supposed to work quite well. It is worth getting again though.

Overall: 8/10
Advantages: Works for me, clears skin, evens out skin tone.
Disadvantages: Price, could not work for everyone, do have a few blemishes coming up still, but are quickley dealt with.

A quick note...

2008-10-24T07:46:00.000-07:00
just a quick note to say i am still active and i'm getting ideas for new posts which should be quite good, i have loads of work at the minute at university, which has ot come first, so thats why i havn't posted in a few weeks, will be back soon though! x

Links a la Mode ♥

2008-10-17T16:31:00.001-07:00
Links à la Mode : October 16th

A Few Goody GumDrops - How To Wear A “Love Quotes” Scarf!

Add Bubbles To Taste. - Interview with Society Of The Spectacle’s designer, Julianne Hoang.

Being High Maintenance, not Bitchy - Dishes on Hot Coats for Cold Winters

Clutch 22 - Avelle is the new Bag Borrow or Steal…So perfect for personal style bloggers who want to incorporate luxury bags, jewelry and sunglasses in their outfit photos without the high cost. Yay for variety!

Dirty Laundry - An exploration of the explosive effect that the Maison Martin Margiela shredded jeans had on the fashion world and the blogosphere.

dramatis personae - Such Great Heights…

fashion in my eyes - Equus, something nice for the girls with Chad White, hihihi

Fashion Pulse Daily - Fashion Pulse writes about its favorite music played during fashion shows this spring/summer 2009 season.

Fashion Therapist - Designer Denim for the Vertically Challenged…FINALLY!

Flights of Fab Fashion Fancy - reminds us to get our mammogram!

greystrawberrys - Style Inspiration; Fashion Scarves

Independent Fashion Bloggers - How to do good blog interviews

Little Black Book - Issue: Recycled Fashion and Global Warming What you can do to make a difference

Logical Harmony - Sarah Jessica Parker, Katie Holmes, Victoria Beckham, and Heidi Klum : Crazy For Boyfriend Cut Jeans

Mademoiselle Robot - Stylish Halloween costumes ideas, so you’ll never have to wear Sexy Bees costumes again.

Or False Glitter - Gran Fan: Taking fashion advice from the elderly

Retro Chick - Step by Step to Smoky Eyes

SwanDiamondRose - Maybe I should buy NEW SHOES! And buy less shoes.

Tainted & Sweet… - Everyone can use a little..Poison Ivy

THE COVETED - Age of Innocence, be unapologetically girly…

The Life and Times of a Problem Child - It’s about how in tough times, creativity goes a long way with how we dress up and how we consume fashion.

Your Style Star - Illustrated sketches of Spring trends

Hola, ¿Que tal estas?

2008-10-02T14:09:00.000-07:00

Learning about other countries is so facinating. Its amazing that we all get so wrapped up in our own lives to think that there is a whole world of people doing other things in other ways and other cultures and other ways of living life. I love learning about different countries and their habits and mannerisms, their traditions and their holidays. My boyfriend and I have started to learn spanish, we have only had one lesson, yet we have learnt general greetings, numbers 1-20, a bit about nouns & verbs and a few nationalities, also asking people's names. I not only find the language interesting in itself, but also what i mentioned above. Our spanish tutor always enlightens us [as she is spanish herself] with common customs in spanish, and one thing i found amazing was that spanish people are often late, and this is not insulting and people don't get pissed off either. Whereas in England if that ever happened, and someone turned up half an hour late, you can bet that they have gone already. Also different meal times and what times are afternoon and night etc. I recommend learning a language to anyone, i understand its hard, but to motivate you, learn about their culture and mannerisms, the beauty of their country.
Moving on from general language and culture of other countries, there is also the fashion of other countries, which is always quite fun and facinating to learn about. Like the spanish dancer above, clothes are so interesting, as style changes as well as trends.

Design; Fashion Illustration

2008-10-01T13:01:00.000-07:00
Ever since i started blogging around two months ago, i've discovered a recent interest in fashion illustration. After reading on someones blog about the artist mia marie, and later contacting her and doing an interview [ see archives ], i have been inspired to create fashion illustration and learn more about photoshop and illustrator. I think i have got better at it, due to looking at tutorials and i think its truely an amazing piece of software and recommend them both to anyone. Both photoshop & illustrator go hand in hand, so they are both great together, although workable seperatley. I have never been that great at art, although i have had a continued interest in it, and i feel that both these programs are just a matter of putting time and effort into learning how to use them to become good at them. I now have this as a new hobby, and i absolutley love it. I love relaxing and learning something new about something i love doing.

(source; www.miaomiao.co.uk)

This is an example of mia's work.

This is a book which gives tutorials, pictures, help & advice on how to create fashion illustration using photoshop & illustrator, and also its currentley on my to buy list.

Okay i know this picture isn't really fashion illustration, although it's my first illustration;

the image i used in these pictures i also incorperated into my new title! =)

make up remover; bottle or wipes?

2008-09-30T12:28:00.001-07:00
If you got asked, why do you use make up remover in a bottle and not wipes, what do you say? Because to start with i didn't know what to say, but then i replyed, 'because it lasts longer', and i believe overall it does. I use a make up remover cream/moisturiser, and then toner. I go through the cream more than the toner, so i only have to buy odd bottles, and it usually lasts me around a month or longer anyway, although if i had wipes, which normally come in packs of 20, and takes around 3/4 to get a whole face of make up off, i would go through them within maybe less than a week. The good points of wipes is that its hassle free, just a few wipes and all the make up has been removed, whereas with bottles, you need tissue etc etc. I would say bottled make up remover win's this battle, due to the fact it does a great job, although wipes are great if your in a rush or on holiday or going away.

styleinspiration; scarves

2008-09-28T13:14:00.000-07:00
i understand there are a lot of scarves about, but this one is about fashion scarves. I personally wear a lot of these, because i love the look that they give. They make an outfit look casual, but also quite indie-ish, but i feel they make it look quite polished and indvidual also. Its quite easy to pick these type of scarves up nowadays, from places like river island, to primark, and asos.com. I've picked up quite a few scarves, of different materials, lengthes, and styles. Saying this, it makes it easy for this seasons trend to add interest and textures into an outfit from a ruffly, lacy, starry scarf, immedientley add's interest. Before i started wearing them, i found it baffling how to put them on and searched the interest for hours trying to find out how, and one day i just realised how to put them on, and for those who don't know either, here is a few simple steps;

♥1. get your scarf, which should be a square shape, if not, make it into a square shape.

♥2. fold the square together with two diagonal corners together, so you now have a triangle.

♥3. grab both ends of the triange and pull the middle of the scarf [which you are not holding] and place it on top of your bust.

♥4. still holding both of the ends of the triange, fold them around your next, so the end in your left hand, is going round to the right side of your bust, and the one in your right hand is going on the left side of your bust.

♥ 5. Adust the scarf to suit yourself, and its all finished!