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Recent Purchases

Hello! Prepare for a big’un…

I thought I’d share with you what I’ve bought recently, a few of which are repurchases and some are total game changers that I’ll DEFINITELY be buying again! Let’s do this!

Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner 24hr

I bought this from Boots for £7.99. I’m not the best at liquid liner – I can do it well enough, but it never looks perfect and my eyes NEVER look even which bugs the hell out of me! However…..! This gel eyeliner may well have solved those uneven woes. Using a brush is somehow much easier than a liquid liner tip so hopefully my winged liner will look much much better from now on! Love it so far!

Kallo Organic Belgian Chocolate Rice Cake Thins

These are £1.99 from Holland & Barratt and soooo tasty! I’ve only ever eaten dry rice cakes – like snackajacks or the ones that taste like marmite – so these chocolate coated rice thins were something I was intrigued by. They’re 56 calories and 2.6g of fat (if you’re interested in that kinda thing) per thin, which by Rosemary Conley standards is perfectly acceptable! I really like them for a tasty, healthier treat. They still have that delightful polystyrene texture that other rice cakes have, but the chocolate makes them pretty yummy. I probably won’t buy them again, but for this pack, they’ll do nicely.

Passion Peel Off and Very Berry Montagne Jeunesse Face Masks

These were on offer in Boots – 4 for £3 – and I loved the Passion Peel Off mask last time I tried it, so ideally just wanted 4 of those. Alas, there were only 3 left so I bought the Very Berry on a whim. I’ll see how it is, but I prefer face masks that do something witchy. By witchy I mean like a magic trick – peeling off, warming your face, changing colour – something interesting and fun. Yep, it’s definitely the little things with this chick.

The Porefessional and Stay Flawless by Benefit

These two are definite game changing products; my beauty prayers have been answered! I was getting so sick of visible pores which are probably an after effect of suffering from bad skin (post here) and I didn’t know what to do to get rid of them. Whilst I continue to find the cure, I’ve definite found the product to at least hide them and minimize their appearance – The Porefessional! It’s brilliant stuff. It’s very lightweight and leaves the area feel silky smooth. I bought it from Debenhams for £24.50 which IS expensive, but like with all Benefit cosmetics, they last a really long time so they’re great value for money in my humble opinion.

After using up a tube of face primer from 17, I was looking for something slightly more sophisticated and long lasting. I had tried this primer back in Spring after I was given a promotional sample before its release and I fell in love with it there and then. It’s not greasy and really does help my slap to stay put. Whether it lasts 15hrs or not is another matter – I’m rarely awake for 15hrs in a day so I wouldn’t know, haha! This was also £24.50 from Debenhams.

Botanics Essential 100% Tea Tree Oil and Studex After Piercing Lotion

So, I unfortunately got the dreaded nose piercing bump last week – NIGHTMARE. I needed something to get rid of it pronto and my sister recommended tea tree oil and the Studex solution. I ordered the Studex from amazon.co.uk for about £4.99 and then bought the tea tree from Boots for about £3 maybe… I can’t find it online so that’s a total guess, apologies for any misinformation. Cleaning the bump with these two consecutively twice a day has really done the trick. If you try this too, just be careful with the tea tree as it can irritate and dry out your skin.

OPI and Nails Inc Nail Polishes

After seeing Tanya Burr wearing OPI’s “A Grape Fit”, I HAD to buy it! Such a beautiful colour and only requires 2 coats for a really even finish. I got this on amazon.co.uk for £8.99.

I also got a Nails Inc polish free with Elle Magazine this month in the shade New York Noir which is part of the Kate Spade New York range. Haven’t tried it yet but it’s a great moody autumn/winter colour. It will be perfect for the days my inner Goth girl creeps out.

Eucerin Aquaphor, Benefit Hoola Lipgloss, Rimmel London Apocolips Lip Lacquer and Carmex Moisture Plus

Aquaphor is a GOD SEND for anyone who suffers from very dry or perhaps cracked skin. I use this mostly on chapped lips, but also on my hands at night if they start to crack during the colder months. It’s thicker than Vaseline, but much less greasy. I got this on amazon.co.uk for £8.20. A tube of this goes a reeeeeeeaaaaaaaaally long way though as you only need a tiny amount which lasts hours.

The Benefit Hoola Liplgoss was another magazine freebie, this time for Glamour. I get so excited when Glamour has their Benefit giveaways, being a really big fan. I chose Hoola because I don’t have it yet. It’s very balmy, not sticky like other lipglosses can be and it’s a really lovely coppery nude colour.

I’ve already reviewed the Rimmel Apocolips – you can find that post here.

I’m a big fan of Carmex lipbalms, especially at this time of year when my lips get really dry and flaky (such a sexy little image for you all!) so I tend to have one these in my bag whenever I go out. This is a new product I decided to try though as it has a sheer pink hue to it, which is very subtle but pretty. Same moisturising lipbalm, just a little bit more girly! This was £4.49 in Boots.

Garnier Eye Roll-On, No7 Calm Skin Balm and Rimmel London Hide the Blemish Concealer

Like visible pores, I had also had enough of dark circles and a red face! Being so fair, blemishes and redness seem to show up like beacons on my face. Last time I had my eyebrows waxed the technician kept asking if I was ok because it went so red, very embarrassing particularly as I was COMPLETELY FINE! A friend I met during my brief stint at uni bought a caffeine roll on for dark circles so I thought I give one a try. This Garnier one was around £10.99 and to be honest, I don’t think it was worth the money. I can’t notice much of a difference, but hey ho, I’ll persevere but probably won’t repurchase.

I was going to buy the No7 balm myself, but it was £18 and my wonderful mother had some she didn’t use so kindly gave it to me. Again, can’t see a huge difference so I’m glad I didn’t pay for it myself, haha.

I am happy with the concealer though - £3.99. It’s very creamy and blends really well, covering not only my dark circles but acne scarring also. Mine is in the shade Albino… Only kidding! It’s Soft Honey/103.

Thanks for reading – I know this one was hefty! But at least it’ll tide you over for the next 10 years until I remember to update this blog…

COTD – Anjelica Huston (I’ve been re-watching series 1 of Smash and this lady is just fabulous!)

SOTD – Light Me Up by Birdy

Autumn Update

Hello kind readers,

Have a standard "sorry-for-not-posting-enough" speech - as usual, life is hectic and busy.

As you may know from my last post, I moved to Brighton at the end of September to start a degree in History of Art and Design. I wish I was about to fill your beautiful minds with stories of a fantastic start to a new academic year. Alas, I'm not. I moved back home a week ago after withdrawing from the course and deciding to leave Brighton. My chosen course really didn't suit me, for reasons I will detail in a few short moments, and it seemed like the best option to move back to the safety and normal-ness of my family home and have a little (massive) re-think.

History of Art and Design is, as the title would suggest, an academically led degree - it's text based and requires mad brains and concentration, in my opinion anyway. For a very long time I've tried to be good and enjoy these kinds of subjects - English, history, sociology, psychology, you get the idea - and for an even longer time (it feels that way, anyway), I've hated them. I pushed myself above and beyond to like them and twice as hard to actually be any good at them. This made it really difficult for me to stay focused in lectures and seminars, motivate myself to do the assignments and enjoy my time outside of classes. I also found communal living difficult, simply because I'm not the most social of people and I tend to keep myself to myself until I really know somebody - I'm veering on the side of being a bit of a hermit!

Anyway, I gave it a month, tried really hard to like it, but it just didn't work out for me. I'm really disappointed because I was ready to move out and start my independence (uni was my escape from a pretty awful year) - it was simply the course that stood in my way, and with no options to transfer, I made this decision.

My mind works in a more creative way and I would much prefer to study something more artistic - perhaps photography or beauty therapy which could then lead on to something like make-up artistry.

So, that's the page turned on that short adventure - onto the next!

To keep this blog within it's very vague theme of beauty of fashion, I've got a lip gloss/stain/stick type fella to show you and vaguely review.

It's the "Rimmel London Apocalips Lip Lacquer" in the shade Eclipse which I bought in Boots for £6.49.

First impressions - DARK!!!!!

This lipstick, well, this shade in particular, is NOT subtle! It's only for those who want something that packs a punch! I love the colour for the colder weather, it's lovely and autumnal, although I'm still figuring out eye make-up to go with this.

It comes off really easily with a face wipe, which I love - can't stand stained lips after "removing" something dark, so this is great.

All in all, I'd probably give it a 7/10 - application is a little tricky because it's so pigmented, I definitely try to be steady and careful with it. There might a a lot of teeth licking with it also.

COTD - Clémence Poésy

SOTD - Heart of Gold by Birdy