A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

I bought one!  I gots me a shiny new camera!

Look…

Not my hands, not my camera.  My nails are prettier and slightly more feminininine looking.

However, my 50D should be with me next Tuesday.  I’m counting down the hours, minutes and seconds.

I know…. who cares right?

But I wanted to say thanks for all the lovely melodramatic hand-wringing you did with me on Monday.  It was much appreciated mi amigos!

When my hair was long, I craved for hair that could carry off a distinct style… a sharp bob or an angled, chiseled look that would accentuate my non-existent facial bone structure.

Or maybe a pixie cut… channel my inner Jean Seberg, coax her out from inside me kicking and screaming…

Once I opted for a basic razored bob, I was in heaven.  For about 3 weeks.

And then it started to grow out and I never really fell in love with it again.

A year and many, many trims later… I’m at that awkward teenage hair stage.  It’s almost on my shoulders.  It’s unruly and it’s disobedient.

I’m completely jonesing these:

I want waves… soft, fluffy bedhead hair.  It’s getting cold and I want hair that keeps the back of my neck toasty warm.

What haircuts are you ladies desiring?  Link me up to some pics – I wanna be inspired!

It’s 2.30am and I was just about to head to bed when I quickly logged onto ASOS to check out the ankle boots (as you do).  When horror upon horrors, my eyes alighted upon these.  I can’t call anyone at this indecent hour… so you’re gonna have to humour me and nod your head in all the right places instead.

Skechers Hyperto Shape Up Boots, apparently.

It’s that wonky bouncy seesaw sole innit, the one where you either get buns of steel or need to take a Stugeron before you go for a walk round the park.

I’m pretty tolerant of fashion, I don’t give a chuff what you wear… I only get a bit ranty when I see larger ladies with it all hanging out at the midriff.   Tunic tops have been my wardrobe staple for the last 12years.  Get acquainted with them.

But these… these… moonboots.

Wait, let me show you…

Really?

I mean… really, really?  You’d pay £110 to look like you’ve been drawn by a 3 year old?

I hear on the grapevine that Skechers are planning on making some Hyperto Shape Up Gloves next.

I’m off to have nightmares of giant footwear.  Sleep tight!

I am bereft.

I scrimped, I saved and I ignored my student loan to save all my pennies for my baby Canon back in 2007.

And on Saturday it went to the great big Crumpler  in the sky.

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I’m moping.  The skies are grey and the birds aren’t singing.  My shoulders are struggling to support the weight of my big fat, miserable head and Winter feels closer now than it ever has before.  I could catch beach balls on the shelf that my bottom lip has become and I’ve discovered the wonder of the monosyllable.

And yanowot really pisses me off?  These bloody cameras cost MORE now than they did 4 years ago!

*kicks something* (not a small child incase you had your phonebook open at Social Services).

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Um… So uh, how was your weekend?  Don’t tell me it was ggggggreat, ‘cos I don’t give a flying fstop.

Who knew that you could quite literally spend ALL FREAKING NIGHT trying to decide whether to organise your makeup collection by:

* colour

* high end/high street

* current favourites

* recently used/long-forgotten

* daytime/night time

* formula

* alphabetically (ok, I joke… no really – don’t even think about it or I’m calling in psychiatric backup!)

I settled for high end/high street… I bet that reveals a disturbing indication of my shallowness or something.

I have 2 foundation drawers (they’re small drawers honest!) – 1 with all my high end ‘only wear this shit when you’re going somewhere nice’ and 1 with all my ‘you can go to the post office in this’ stuff.

Do you organise?  And more importantly… does it stay that way?!

What do YOU do at 11pm?  Normal people go to bed, weird semi-insomniac types start pissing about with makeup.  They challenge themselves to use all the right products in all the wrong places.

And then they hope for the best!

Clearly not the best, but it was fun!

What the hell am I talking about?

I lined up my products and decided to use them where they ought not be used…

My mascara ended up on my eyebrows (as did my eyeliner)

My cream eyeshadow?  On my lips…

My Blusher?  On my eyes!

And my lipstick?  On my cheeks of course!

I did add a little normality… I used a touch of vaseline to help the cream eyeshadow turned lipstick not look quite so cakey.  My NYX Rust eyeshadow made a nice eyeliner and I still used mascara where mascara should be placed.

So what did I learn?

Not much really… except that my No7 Brown eyeliner is in NO WAY a good match to fill in the gaps in my brows.  Oh, and lipstick as blusher is a dream to blend but a bugger for that ‘orrible sticky feeling afterwards.

I also realised that I should probably get a hobby that doesn’t involve makeup.

And no jokes about my face looking like an arse please.

Have a good weekend good people of the internet!

In celebration of the launch of Eye Prep FX, Cover FX will be hosting an International treasure hunt which will give you the chance to nab an Eye Prep FX before it hits stores in mid September!

[stextbox id=”custom” caption=”How it works…” ccolor=”ffffff” bcolor=”b0c4de” bgcolor=”e6e6fa” cbgcolor=”7b68ee”]From September 7th – 11th, Cover FX will be placing treasure boxes throughout selected cities across US, Canada and the UK. Fan Cover FX on Facebook to learn specific clues and locations on where you can find the hidden treasures in a city near you. All packages include the new Eye Prep FX, and some lucky winners may receive gift cards up to £100 in select treasure boxes redeemable at participating Cover FX retailers*! http://www.facebook.com/CoverFX[/stextbox]

As a geocaching nut, I freaking love a good treasure hunt… alas, I come back from London on the 7th so don’t think I’ll be able to join in 🙁

Londoners, will you be taking part?

Not the catchiest post title in the world, but it gets the message across… eventually.

If I’d had the same kind of beauty budget back then as I do now, perhaps I would have killed off my obsession at a younger age… but I didn’t.

I had £5 a week and 20 Sovereign Lights used to cost £2.56 – sorry Mum, Dad… I’ve quit now though right?

This left me with approximately £2.44 a week to spend on EVERYTHING else… my makeup came off a market stall.  If I was feeling flush, I would hot-foot it down the chemist to grab a pressed powder that bared a closer resemblance to a tub of Johnson’s finest than anything else, both in formula and colour!

The things I’d tell my 14 year old self that she NEEDS to own aren’t ‘dupes’ of well known products… they’re close.  They would certainly have been close enough to satisfy my teenage wants.  Hell, I’ve bought them at my age haven’t I?

ELF Studio Blush in Gotta Glow (£3.50) is a fair match to NARS Albatross… it’s chalkier and less smooth-textured with a lot of fall out, but ELF have captured that pale gold highlighter thing very nicely indeed.  And all for £3.50!

Barbara Daly Easy on the Eye Shadow pens (£5.62) would have me twirling these things about like I’d just stepped off the Ellis Faas counter at Liberty.  Who knows, I might have even spray painted ’em silver.

Ruby & Millie I-Writer Liquid Eyeliner (£10.50) far too pricey for my teenage budget, but within reach with the help of one of those lovely Boots £5 off No7 and Ruby & Millie vouchers!  No dupes… but I just wish I’d owned one of these when I was struggling to create lovely smooth eyeliner lines.  Ok, so I still can’t do the flick… but I’m blaming my hooded eyelid for that one.

ELF Mineral Eyeshadow Primer (£3.00) for the love of God, I would scream at my younger self to buy an eye primer.  This one would do nicely, it’s not *quite* as long lasting as UDPP… but it’s also not *quite* £11.50 either.

Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy (£4.50ish) my 14yr old self would never have been savvy enough to know of this little miracle.  Sad really.

Lanacane Anti Chafing Gel (£5.99) You may scoff, but have you ever compared the ingredients between this and Smashbox’s cult Photo Finish primer?  No?  U.S. girls have been savvy to the wonders of Monistat Chafing Gel for years… and this is basically the same thing.  Though, to be fair.. both are pretty ineffectual for me.

Yaby Cosmetics Pearl Paints pp040 Cappuccino Dream (£2.50) a tiny little pan, but how often do we get through a whole shadow?  Plus… it’s got a tiny little price to match!  I’m also quite impressed between the similarities of Cappuccino Dream and the now discontinued MAC Style Snob.

Silk Naturals Mineral Blush in Climax (£4ish) unsubtly named for it’s similarities to a certain NARS Blush which holds true makeup cult status.  Orgasm of course!  This look-a-like packs a bit too much shimmer for my 29yr old self, but my 14yr old alter-ego would be all over it like a rash.  Probably a genital one if today’s teenagers are anything to go by *tsk, tsk and all that I’m getting old stuff*

17 Cosmetics Solo Eyeshadow in Mardi Gras (£3.49) I’m sure this was about 20p back when I bought it a few years ago.  The packaging has now been much fancified, but hopefully the shade remains the same.  This is a pretty good budget alternative to MAC Satin Taupe that I would have been very pleased to own.

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What things would you insist your younger and less financially frivolous self go out and buy immediately?

I’m a poet…

Anyway… I thought this was a bit of fun for a Thursday afternoon!

Heathrow airport are currently conducting a BIG vote – they wanna know what makes your checklist on travel must-haves?

[stextbox id=”alert” bcolor=”b0c4de” bgcolor=”e6e6fa”]

iPods, digital cameras and other gadgets will go head to head with handbags, books and perfume in September, as Heathrow launches its annual search for the most popular travel accessories.

Launched to highlight the products that make passengers’ journey better and which are available at Heathrow, the annual awards feature more than 140 items shortlisted by a panel of senior industry experts.

People can vote for their travel must-haves at www.heathrowairport.com/vote.  Voting will take place during September, and the winners will be announced in early October.

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Every person who votes will automatically be entered into an exclusive prize draw with a chance to win a selection of the winning products up to the value of £5,000.

And of course there’s the Best Travel Beauty Product, category… be sure to pay particular attention to THAT one!

Your make up that is!

I have my makeup stored beside my computer… I never have to leave this desk if I don’t want.  L.A.Z.Y.

But… this comes at a price.  My mirror is too small and a bit far away, I’m forever squinting and grabbing the mirror from one of my NARS duos or blushes instead whilst trying to apply liner or blend my eyeshadow.

My bathroom has NO room for storage, so although the light is good… I’d have to drag each product in there piece by piece in the mornings.

I dream of something like this…

Seriously beautiful no?  *chin on hand*

Where do you apply your makeup?

As I look through my collection of cosmetics, I see the same names appear over and over…

and over again…

NARS, MAC, Shu Uemura for the high end stuff.

Bourjois, NYX and GOSH for the high street.

I’m a creature of habit it seems.  It’s not that I don’t love to expermient… a beauty blogger is nothing if not adventurous and as I’ve said from the very beginning… this has never been a quest to find my holy grail items.  If I stopped looking and being tempted by new products, the fun would be gone for me.

However, in a beauty world that promises you the Earth… I tend to fall back on brands that deliver time and time again.  Brands that perform well for my particular needs.

So I’ve started to think about the brands that I haven’t taken the time to explore and get a feel for…

For me, it would have to be:

Laura Mercier, Lancome, Bobbi Brown (though I’m just starting to) and Giorgio Armani (high end)

Max Factor, Milani, Too Faced and Prestige (high street)

I’m curious to see if we get much repetition in brand names…

Which brands remain relatively unexplored territory for you (both high end and high street)?

To all of you who commented on and contributed to my SLS-Free post.

I’ll be honest, my head is spinning a little from all the recommendations, advice and suggestions – but I’ve learnt more from you lot in one day than I had in a week of googling.

It just goes to show how much brands underestimate their consumers, ‘cos you lot are flippin’ savvy!

I’ve made a start and swapped my usual products for the new Body Shop Rainforest Moisture range and I’ve got many new suggestions in standby.  The wonderful Jessica from OutInaPout has convinced me to keep a ‘scalp diary’ (how glamourous!) so I can track the progress (if indeed I experience any!).

I’m going to go back through the comments over the weekend ‘cos there’s loads of things I want to reply to!  But you know I’m rubbish, so most importantly… I wanted to make sure that I expressed a big thanks on here.

You lot really are the best.