A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

So, here’s £150 (around $245)…

…it’s burning a hole in your pocket, what would you be rushing out to spend it on?

I love a bit of virtual shopping me!

Cargo – Catalina Blush (lovely ballerina matte pink) – £16

Dior – Capture Totale Foundation (I have half a bottle left, the best liquid foundation I’ve used) – £59

Nars – Angelika Blush (I’m over Orgasm since I’ve discovered that peaches and warm pinks are never gonna look as good as cool toned blushes on me) – £18.50

Ruby & Millie – I-Writer in Purple. (read my HG Liquid Liner) – £10.50 (ea)

MAC – Creme d’Nude Cremesheen Lipstick (gorgeous creamy nude I’ve been wanting for a while) – £12.00

MAC – Mineralize Blush in Gentle (love this cool toned raspberry shade) – £16.50

Korres – Cherry Gloss in Beige Pink – £11.00

Jurlique – Lemon Body Oil (I adore anything lemon scented in body products, so I’ve been lusting after this for a little while!) – £21.00

Total: £153.50

*scrabbles around the back of the sofa for the extra £3.50!*

Anything you’re craving at the moment?  Please feel free to carry this idea onto your blog, would love to hear what you’re getting excited about!

…my prizes from Tali’s awesome contest!

Thank you SO much Tali!  Your generosity blew me away and I spent the rest of the day lovingly stroking the goodies, completely neglecting my family so that I could ooh and ahh over all these pretty things instead.  I’m completely in love with everything and can’t wait to try it all out!

Apologies for this post, it’s random, pic heavy and barely touches on makeup at all *shock horror*

I’m sharing this pseudo-post ‘cos I still can’t be arsed to formulate a proper review on ANYTHING.  My recent hauls are scattered around the house and I’m too lazy to get off my fat bum and round them up for a group photo and I keep forgetting to write down what I used when I do a FOTD which makes it about as useful as a chocolate teapot to anyone but me.

Without further ado…

Look!  Gratuitous pics of my baby girl!

She’s 10 weeks old now and learnt how to grasp and hold onto things this weekend – Einstein I’m telling ya.  Still not giggling though.  I suspect she thinks her parents aren’t very funny, well not ha-ha funny anyway…

Ooh, I’ve also turned into Fanny Cradock and can’t stop baking – maybe it’s a long repressed maternal thing.   Here’s my latest success:

Apple and Cinnamon Cake (with a little bit of ginger thrown in aswell!) – I’m planning on doing a Banana and Baileys one tomorrow (a chopped up Mars bar might fall in to the mixture too!).

What else have I been up to?  A random makeup tidbit, I wore a red lipstick today for the first time ever, well… not the first time ever, but the first time I’ve ever worn it outside the house.

Revlon’s new Colorstay liquid last forever thingamibob in Top Tomato (incase you’re interested) which may be a bit warm for my skintone.

That’s all folks, hope you’re still awake and indeed haven’t died of boredom after reading the post of random capriciousness*

‘Till next time xxxx

*attn. grammar police – Do those two words make sense together? I just wanted an excuse to say ‘capricious’ really…

I’ve never understood cleansing in the traditional cotton wool pad and white cream sense…

I just don’t feel like my face is clean unless it has come into contact with water at some point during my getting up/going to bed routine.

Being a confirmed ‘washer’ doesn’t stop me from being tempted by lovely smelling cleansing lotions and equally fresh smelling bottles of toner – but in general, I just don’t get it?

It seems to me that ‘cleansing’:

a) takes longer
b) involves wiping chemicals on your face and then not washing them off
c) is more expensive
d) involves more waste (cotton wool pads)
e) is less ‘portable’ when travelling

I don’t even own a bottle of make-up remover… although, wait… does cleansing oil count? No, I’m discounting it because it doesn’t involve cotton wool pads and you still need water to use it.

Any of you ‘cleansers’? If so, tell me why! Has no-one let me in on the big secret? I know it’s a personal preference thing and that there are no right or wrong choices, but I would love to undrstand the motivation behind it!

I had a go at entering Tali’s fantastic contest over at The Gloss Goss which closes tonight, so get your entries in quick!

I was inspired by the sweetie house in Hansel and Gretel and I’m representing the wicked witch portraying herself as innocent, enticing and friendly – just before revealing her true identity (and intentions) to the 2 hapless children.

Erm, I hope that 3rd one isn’t porno lolly – it was supposed to suggest a hint of the witch’s true intentions!

Products I used:

Good luck if you’re entering!

Anyone else looking forward to the UK ELF Studio launch as much as me?  When it comes to cosmetic shopping and looking after the pennies I often (shamefully) fail in the attempt to beat down the quantity over quality urge.

After the initial “Look how much makeup I got for £20” excitement fades, I inevitably conclude it’s all a load of crap.  I look in my collection and see that I’ve already got 30 cheap eyeliners that pull and scratch so how stupid must I be to waste my hard earned money on more?

I must shop with an innocent but ultimately futile optimism that I’m going to uncover the next high end dupe for under a fiver – pfft!

Now with this, you can understand my skepticism with regards to ELF’s new Studio range.  Oh. My. God, I so want it to be as good as the hype.  I know it won’t be.  I will be more than satisfied though if I can find a couple of pieces to become make up bag staples until the next big (cheap) thing comes along.

In particular, I’ve got my eye on: (all photos nicked from the ELF website):

Eyebrow Treat & Tame:

They say: <snip>…Treat your eyebrows with a hair re-growth, vitamin infused gel formula to help stimulate hair follicules so your once thin and sparse brows become thicker.</end snip>

I say: Wha?  Hair Regrowth?!  Really?  Really really?  You’re not exagerrating or overstating are you ELF?  Will this really be the solution to overplucked eyebrows everywhere?  Sign me up!

Complexion Perfection:

Some of the forums I read have this down as a bit of a miracle product – I’m ultimately dubious, but that of course isn’t going to stop me from buying it anyway.

Blush/Bronzer compact:

*eternally optimistic inner el-cheapo ego* Oooh look, it’s just like Nars…

*slightly more realistic alter ego* Don’t be so fucking stupid.

Under Eye Concealer & Highlighter:

I’d love this one to be the business.  Oh, to be able to conceal and highlight under the eyes effectively with one portable little wand.

Anyway, I’m practically peeing myself in anticipation of  the ELF Studio release.  I know it’s pathetic and my little optimistic self is probably going to be cruely crushed and bruised come mid august when the dust settles… but I can’t help it.

What are you looking forward to trying most from the line?

So, I’ve been thinking…

My latest FOTD was quite bright (for me), it’s my 28th birthday today and I’m someone’s Mum.

Should I start being more aware of my age when it comes to cosmetics?

I currently don’t give it much thought.  It’s just not something that inhabits my radar when shopping. 

Perhaps it should be?  I mean, loads of factors influence my purchasing decisions: skintone, seasonal trends, cost, if something is work appropriate/occasion appropriate etc…  But I have never questioned myself on whether I might perhaps be a little too mature to wear that sparkle infused lip gloss.

I’m not the kind of person to bathe myself in glitter, but I do find myself more drawn to shimmer than matte.  It might not have the sophistication of matte, but ooh look! pretty!…

I also spent most of my childhood rubbing my eyes.  Why my eyes always itched and why no-one took me to a doctor to get drops I’ll never know but anyway, I digress, where was I?  Oh yes, Consequently, my eyelids aren’t particularly smooth.  They’re quite creased, which probably isn’t going to look good combined with increasing wrinkles.   Throw in some shimmer eyeshadows and it’s probably not the best look past the age of 30.  That’s not to say it’ll look THAT bad, but it’s just not going to be the best way to draw attention to my features.

I have a confession.  I own a rather pretty NYX dark red glitter polish.  When it came in the post, I ooh’ed and ahh’ed over it, twirling the bottle between my fingers and making my husband agree with me at least 5 times a day that it was the sparkliest, prettiest polish he had ever seen…

I wore it once, and honestly… it made me feel massively self-conscious.  I took Leila to the surgery to get weighed and I hid my nails convinced they’d snatch my daughter off me citing the reason that I obviously wasn’t emotionally mature enough to care for a baby if at the age of 28, I was still painting my nails with red glitter.

Please tell me that I’m not the only one who occasionally thinks this when indulging in a bit of sparkle or a lovely bright colour?

The whole thought of having to consider age as a factor when shopping for cosmetics is quite frankly, depressing.

Youth, as they say – is most definitely wasted on the young.

Now please excuse me, I’m off to play with my Dazzle Dusts and Opi Brights.

I’m off ‘oop North’ for a week to introduce my lovely daughter to her paternal grandparents.  Hope the weather follows me!

I don’t have any posts lined up, I’ve been incredibly slack this week, I even let my next NOTD post slide and am now sporting chipped nails with no photos taken of them back when they were fresh (and thus no blog post) *sigh*

To make up for it, I’ll leave you with a current Benefit discount code celebrating Wimbledon…

Enter code: BENETNNI at the checkout for 10% off all orders valid ’till 5th July.  Click the Benefit logo above to be taken to the Benefit (UK) website.

If you happen to make good use of the code, let me know what you bought!  Since I’m now spending every penny I earn on Pampers and Gripe Water… I’m living vicariously through your hauls however big or little they may be!

Cheerio for now fellow beauty addicts xx

…how cute are these socks?  I HAVE to make them mine!  Well ok, Leila’s… but same difference ’till she’s old enough to wipe her own bum right?

A bargainous £3.00 from Debenhams (currently in their sale @ £1.80 a pair!)

Well, I’m up to my elbows in baby sick, poo, nappies, leaky boob milk and lots of other bodily fluids that you really don’t want to be up to your elbows in.

I have to say though, I’m loving every minute of it!

I make sure that I find the time to apply a full face of makeup every day even if I’m not leaving the house.  It’s so worth making the effort as it keeps me feeling more normal and grounded in a world that feels like everything I know has been turned upside down and inside out in a huge whirlwind of change.  I can barely remember what day of the week it is, but these silly little routines help me more than I can describe.  Who’da thunk it?

I don’t have any reviews or FOTD’s to share today.  I’m currently sporting a lovely mani with China Glaze’s “Ruby Pumps” and I shall try and do a NOTD pic tomorrow before it starts chipping.  Having a month old baby is the ultimate mani endurance test by the way!

I’ve made a couple of hauls of mineral makeup recently (Silk Naturals, Earthen Glow Minerals, Cory Cosmetics (again) and ELF) which I’ll be sharing and reviewing shortly.  Leila is (hopefully) starting to settle into some kind of routine so perhaps I’ll have a little more time to myself soon.

I’ll leave you with another picture of my little girl who has just started to give her Mummy proper smiles…

…till next time xxx

Any kind of bronzer scares me, the thought of it leaves me feeling a little shakey, damp palmed and out of my depth.

I’m pretty pale.  Not in a beautiful Anne Hathaway delicate porcelain doll way unfortunately.  I’m her ruddier, blotchier capillaried sister.

Either way, I have never learnt how to DO bronzer successfully.  I know how it’s supposed to work and be applied.  In theory it’s easy.  I am just so far from achieving that gently sunkissed, delicately contoured natural look that it’s untrue.

Although thankfully, not as far as him:

So, when I saw the Eyeko tinted cream, I was both interested and horrified in equal measure…

Is it just me or does that look very, very brown…

I love the original Eyeko cream and add a small amount to my foundation every morning.  As long as I’m light handed, it leaves an incredibly beautiful slightly soft focus brightening glow to my complexion, without being shimmery or glittery.  As an aside, if I attempt to use the cream as a highlighter alone, it sinks into my pores rendering them insanely noticeable – weird.

The question is, would the tinted cream have the same lovely effect as the original cream if I mix a little with my moisturiser and apply sparingly to areas that I would ‘bronze’… or would I look like an Oompah Loompah with enlarged pores…

A quandry indeed.  If anyone fancies trying this out for themselves, it’s available from Eyeko for a meagre £5 with free shipping, and feel free to use my ambassador code (E3208) for a free gift.

My beautiful little girl Leila.  I’m in love!

She arrived on Saturday 16th May at 6.22am weighing a lovely 7lb 6oz.  She entered the world through the sunroof thanks to an emergency c-section after the induction went a bit wrong.  As you can see it appears that I have given birth to a little redhead, I didn’t see that one coming – hope it doesn’t change though… I adore it!   Her Daddy and I are massively in love with her and think we might just keep her.

As for me, my stitches itch and pull but I’m one for looking on the bright side – so at least my foof is intact!  I’ve only got about a weeks worth of posts lined up, so I need to get back into the swing of things!  I’ve got loads of lovely goodies to review and play with, I would do a FOTD except I’ve broken out in lovely hormonal spots – so, not a chance!

Forgive me if it goes a bit quiet round here at the end of the week.  You’ll probably find me crazy eyed, covered in a mix of vomit and shit, gently rocking myself in the dark corner over there K?