Ponderings...from a boy! Views of a Beauty Bloggers Boyfriend #2

Once again, Steph has asked me to contribute my opinion on a subject that's important to her. In this case, it's something a little less trivial than a supposed talent contest for models, it's something pretty close to home. The thing is, Steph wants to undergo a cosmetic procedure to alter something about herself and this generates a number of issues.


As I'm sure all of the blog ladies may have already noticed, Steph's beautiful. I know that as the BF, I have to say it, but the thing is, its totally true. Every time I tell her this, I mean it, its never said lightly or without conviction.

So maintaining that this is the case, what could she possibly want to change about herself? She's convinced that she has a "double chin" which makes her look massively fat around the face. I say this with no fear of reprisal as she would doubtless tell you herself. In order to correct this "flaw," her mother has offered to pay for a surgical treatment to bring in her jawline a bit and make her face look thinner (Steph: in layman's terms, its lipo under the chin).


The subject of fairly constant debate, the procedure now looks likely to go ahead in the near future and it still has us divided. On the one hand, I'm supposed to support her in whatever she chooses to do (and in fairness, i pretty much do) but upon the other, why should somebody so pretty have to change? I look at her and see a beautiful person (not some idealised version of her mind you, i see her in her jammies at 8 at night eating nasty rustler burgers and the occasional belch also makes an appearance! Steph: Cant believe you wrote that Fras!The only reason I'm not taking that out is because i told you i wouldn't censor anything you wrote. swine! ) who shouldn't for a second think she has to change. I can't fathom why she would want to change yet she has her heart set on it.


This to me is a sad indictment of the values i discussed in the last guest post i did. Everybody today seems to strive for some unattainable ideal that is constantly forced upon them by a media based around selling things to an unwitting public. We strive to look perfect but more than likely never will. Some of us are unfortunate enough to have people in our lives who reinforce negative views of ourselves either to make themselves feel better or to assert their superiority. Sadly for Steph, the person who seems to fit this role most readily is her mum. Though I'm certain she loves her daughter and that is not in question here, I frequently see her failing to show the appropriate support a parent should. Rather than the unconditional support one might expect, steph's mum frequently undermines her confidence and fails to see just how fantastic a daughter she's lucky enough to have (Steph: Id partly agree with this. Lets just say my Mum and I don't have the most straight forward relationship)


Unfortunately, many people are all too quick to buy into the opinions of others, no matter how damaging they may be and this can lead to an unhealthy desire for change or "self improvement." Glossy style magazines and media images of "perfection" are only reinforcing this and moulding the minds of malleable young women the length of the country. Why aren't people quicker to embrace diversity and learn to love things about themselves that others do? And why do we so readily fixate on our flaws, discounting the excellent qualities we doubtless possess that outweigh them?


Is that what is happening here? A media enforced desire for change? Or a deeper insecurity being nourished over time to the point where its unmanageable?

Personally, I see no reason for my girlfriend to change. I think she's just awesome the way she is, and wouldn't change her for the world. I find it difficult to reconcile this idea with how she feels about herself and can only hope that something so radical will bring her the peace of mind she seeks. So long as the television and magazines keep telling us not to have that peace of mind, it only becomes more difficult and really only a matter of time until something else is wrong...

Midnight Mussel Madness!

How do you usually spend your evenings out? If you're like me, the answer will more than likely be at a bar drinking cocktails or sipping on pints of cider (+ black, natch) while watching one friend or other's band rocking the kasbah. I'm not usually one for clubbing. My days of dancing in an area the size of a postage stamp, being elbowed by an uber keen Beyonce-a-like and taking my number in the meat market ended a good few years ago (gay bar dancing is however, ok with me). But last night Fras and I decided to do something a bit different and headed down to The Stand in Edinburgh for some - as the name suggests - stand up comedy. Twas a great night indeed and at times my sides were aching from laughing so hard. It always helps when there's a heckling willy who gets ripped to shreds by the comedian. Ah entertainment.

Anyway, enough of the amusing retrobutionary karma - here's what i wore on the old noggin:


- Lily Lolo mineral foundation (porcelain) + cover up (blondie)as ever
- Touche Eclat under the eyes
- Mac Shroom e/s
- Mac Carbon e/s blended into upper lashline
- Boots 17 liquid liner in black
- MaxFactor False Lash effect mascara
- Revlon 'Wink' corner lashes (review coming soon)
- Mac Well Dressed blush
- Mac Perfect Topping as highlight
- Mac Up the Amp l/s (looks a lot brighter in real life!) - any suggestions for a liner to go with this?

Ill be the first to admit that after a few cocktails and walking home, metaphorically swinging from the lampposts like a spidermonkey, I'm quite often tempted by a big old burger from the local takeaway dude (note: if its not a kebab its not so bad - that nearly rhymes!), however having consumed by share of the Rose wine, i felt like a burger just would not suffice. So this is me enjoying my midnight snack of...Mussels. Call me a domestic visionary if you like, i wont mind.

Whats your midnight snack of choice?

TAG! Diamond Bloggers!

There are most definitely some very talented bloggers who create some humdingin' beauty blogs currently floating around out there in blogland - there are those that bring us the best information and the newest products, those that write passionately and articulately, those that have insane make up skills and most importantly, those who really go above and beyond the call of duty to bring us all these things at once. One of those most awesome bloggers is Natalia of http://www.iwouldgoouttonightbut.blogspot.com/ who, if you haven't already, i would suggest you check out! No doubt Bruv!

Natalia created the Diamond Blogger Tag (see, i told you he was a bit good!) to let everyone shout about their favourite blogs so others can join in on the fun. I was one of Natalia's 6 tagees (Thank you hun!) so I'm more than stoked to name and shame (not so much shame though) 6 of my own Diamond Bloggers.

As Marie said, everyone that Natalia tagged are pretty awesome and you'd do no wrong by checking out each and every one of these lovelies: Marie of http://marie-loves.blogspot.com/, Saskia of http://saskiathesalsafairy.blogspot.com/, Lamiats of http://www.lamiats.blogspot.com/, Caroline of http://www.makeupbycaroline.blogspot.com/ and Jen of http://mizzworthy.blogspot.com/ .

And here are my suggestions, my very own Diamond Bloggers!

In no particular order:

1) Nicola http://nicolaarthur99.blogspot.com/ - Nicola has such a way of making you feel like you know her...and she's a complete stunner to boot!

2) Alexis aka faffaholic http://faffaholic.blogspot.com/ - currently rocking the 80's look, alexis's blog is always a great read!

3) Camilla http://eclecticbeauty-killacam.blogspot.com/ - I found Camilla's stateside blog recently and am seriously stunned at how awesome it is! As an ex-MAC employee and current freelance MA she always brings something great to each post.

4) Daisy http://cupcakeswithcherries.blogspot.com/ - Daisy is such a sweetie. She balances her love of make up with a love of baking...sounds like a good combo to me!

5) Jane http://vintage-tea.blogspot.com/ - Jane is a Fashion Business student from Scotland (Oi Oi!) and rocks an incredible style. She also customises clothes and has her own jewellery line. Oh, and id kill a kitten for her figure!

6) Zoffe http://zoffe.blogspot.com/ - As a MAC employee let me just say this: She is not afraid of colour!

There are soo many more blogs i could easily have put on this list. Love to ALL the bloggers!

Mac Haul + FOTD

Monday is as good a day for hauling as any. Its a mantra i live by...well not quite, but certainly today i kept it in mind. I have had £50 burning a hole in my pocket since Saturday night when i was given the money for singing in a wee pub in edinburgh as an impromptu gig. As i hadn't counted on having the money i figured i could spend it guilt free. So where did i go? Mac of course! By the time i was finished i had a supreme swatch mitt! Happy happy happy!

Here's the haul - 3 eyeshadows and 3 lippies. Huzzah!

I'm always one to save the best for last. As a child i would always eat my food one thing at a time , starting with whatever i didn't like so much and saving the mashed potato for the end. So in line with this idiosyncrasy, first up, the eyeshadows. I picked up Stars 'n' Rockets because its widely regarded as a must have...and i didn't have it! Cant wait to see what all the hype is about! Next i repurchased Carbon - I had this before in a pallate but it seemed to crumble and coat everything in my make up bag with black powder which is not so cool (has it done this to anyone else or was i maybe a bit rough with mine) but i do find this invaluable. Finally i had a wee mooch around for the third one and decided on Amber Lights which is described as a 'golden peachy brown with golden shimmer (Frost) but i would describe as a goldy copper. Its jammed full of sparkle and even in the pan is quite breathtaking (yes, i may be prone to a wee bit of drama!).I cant wait to try it out!

I'm not going to swatch them as I'm sure you've all seen them hundreds of times! But now the lipsticks! Ooooooooh!I love pink lips and i love Saint Germain but sometimes, on occasion, i wish it wasn't quite so light - so i was looking for something that would be a slightly darker SG and i found it in...Pink Nouveau! A 'Bright Pink (Satin)', this really does tick all my boxes.

I love my Mattes and although they can be drying i think that Matte is a really modern way to do colour on the lips. In keeping with the pink theme, Please Me is a really pretty dulled ballet pink...but if my description doesn't do it for you, Mac say its a muted rosy tinted pink which id say is about right.And finally, my favourite of the three, Up The Amp. This is the one my boy decided he wanted to treat me to. On further probing i discovered that this was largely due to the fact that he plays guitar hence 'Amp' is musically appropriate and also Up The Amp, and i quote "sounds a bit dirty, gaffaw gaffaw." Men!...although I'm not complaining!This is an amplified creme so should be bright and rich and is described as an 'electrically charged lavender violet' and i LOVE it!!!And lastly, here's what i wore to do the haul:

Eyes: Mac Ricepaper all over the lid, Boots 17 liquid eye liner, Primed with Touche Eclat

Face: Lily Lolo Mineral foundation, Prestige Skin Loving Mineral Blush in 001 Pink

Lips: Vaseline Rosy Lips + Saint Germain (although it does need a bit of touching up in this photo)

I'm definitely finding that with the warm weather I'm becoming shiny a lot quicker...maybe its time to invest in a good mattifyer?

Make Up: My History

Haven't we all been prive to our own little catalogue of trials and tribulations, of disasters and triumphs and of complete downright delusions when it comes to makeup over the years? In my maturity of 23 years (nearly 24 i tell you! eee!) I stand from a perch looking back over my make up life and I can categorically say that i for one, have not been immune to a bad make up past... and i mean BAD! But i guess that in make up terms too, you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find a foundation charming.

So when I read a post from one of my favourite bloggers Rocaille of rocaille-writes.blogspot.com (go check her out!) taking a retrospective view at her make up journey, i knew that i would carry on the nostalgia.

The prequel to my make up journey began as a child on holiday. I remember being roughly 6ish and getting ready to go out for dinner. The sun in Majorca was shining and i had just taken the kind of amazing holiday shower where you literally go in feeling a bit sunned and come out looking way browner that you went in, the extent of which, for a paley like me, was a few freckles dusted across my cheeks. I remember having on a coral crop top/cycling short combo (not too out of fashion for now!) and my mum handing me a coral lipstick. I remember feeling sooo grown up at the process of pouting and blotting in preparation of a night out that the next night i wore the lipstick again and asked my mum to add a coat of mascara. And there it began.

By 11/12ish i was wearing make up every day. While i certainly didn't need it, i think the whole process made me feel more grown up and therefor better, at that age. Usually it was just mascara and the requisite Heather Shimmer lipstick from Rimmel (boke spew boke!) but the key to my special occasion make up was to pile on the glitter in the form of glitter body spray, glitter nail polishes (of which i collected over 150) , topped off with glitter hair spray. Ah the naivety.

The next stage was foundation. At around 14 i collected the usual smattering of teenage spots and from this point on i caked myself religiously in foundations way too thick for my immature skin. Now i am pale - way too pale for even Mac NW15 but at that stage colour wasn't the biggest concern and so foundations were picked and purchased on the merit of a)can i afford it and b)will it cover my spots. Thus copious amounts of thick orange foundations was sponged onto my skin leaving me with tide marks that would be wiped at by my friend Nikki on the way to school. No doubt it exacerbated my teenage acne and made it far worse. Oh the joy of hindsight!
Around this time i discovered liquid eyeliner and became addicted. I alternated between black for the day and silver for any evening events (read, sitting in the park with the boys drinking cider). Unfortunately i had none of the skill to apply a tricky little flick and often ended up looking like id been punched. For some reason i LOVED it and it became my 'thing'.

Being a self conscious teenager i got more and more obsessed with 'the routine' and got to the point, like many teenagers do, that i would not leave the house without a full face of make up. Make up stayed the same for the next few years, buying the same brown eye shadow again and again (i think it was Rimmel and i believe it was applied with the only brush i owned, a short handled silver eyeshadow brush) while trying every foundation i could afford and get my hands on. The only change happened when i got 'Hazel' coloured contacts for my 15th birthday and i bought a green eyeshadow to 'compliment' them. Actually looking back on photos the contacts were orange but oh well!

I left home shortly after i turned 16 and moved to Surrey for boarding school on a scholarship (which was lucky as we never could have afforded it without!). It was a performing arts boarding school and alumni were the sons and daughters of England's richest elite i.e Leah Wood, Emily Blunt, Camilla Al Fayed, Richard Bronson's nephews etc. The Times Rich List became a competition to see who's family was higher ranked and material possessions were status. While I loved it there and really grew as a person, I remember feeling that not only were most people far richer that i could ever be, they were also so much more mature than i was. I had no form of skincare whatsoever beyond eye make up remover and a good shower and i remember watching one of my friends unpack an extensive Clarins collection, her telling me that i should really moisturise and that she could not live without a good toner. I'm not sure if i had been hiding under a stone but i guess i really just hadnt thought about skincare.

It was being surrounded by beautiful people with massive disposable incomes that forced me to get a bit more savvy with make up. With a desire to fit in, I picked up a MAC foundation (still too dark for me but nowhere near as bad!) bought Touche Eclat, no Clarins skincare but Olay did me just fine, and a whole bunch of eyeshadow palettes and began to experiment.

Fast forward a whole bunch of years and that experimentation has been trialed, tested and honed (to an extent that gets me by! I am in no means an expert!) and i am now in the middle of a fully blown make up obsession.

Looking back, there have been a lot of mistakes, most of which make me cringe at the thought of ever having walked out the door. It seems though that bad make up is almost a rite of passage and a learning curve, just something that most girl do when finding their feet. However, I will never again entertain the thought of Heather Shimmer, but i guess it makes looking back on photos a LOT more entertaining.

Aye [Eye Brow] Captain

In true high school essay style (cos who doesnt love high school essays!), let me start of with a definition. The Eyebrow: "The eyebrow is an area of thick, delicate hairs above the eye that follows the shape of the lower margin of the brow ridges. Their main function is to protect the eye, but they are also important to human communication and facial expression. It is not uncommon for people to modify their eyebrows by means of hair addition or removal, make up, or piercings. - Simple enough concept no?

Surprisingly you need to look no further than a Disney film to see the role of eyebrows.

Baddies like Snow White's Wicked Queen or Ursula the Sea Witch are drawn with thin, highly arched brows because they look harsh and unnatural in comparison to the comparatively thicker and straighter browed heroines.

Pixar also realise that even where there are no eyebrows, for filmic needs, they had to add them.

Adam Summer, the fish expert on Finding Nemo says "The biggest issue I dealt with was balancing anthropomorphism with anatomy, like the day the animators called and asked, "Where are the eyebrows on fish?". Well, fish don't have eyebrows but eyebrows are good for facial expressions, so we started to look for fish that had ocular ridges."

I realised at a very early age that as a pale person with very dark hair, there was no hiding when it came to my eyebrows. At the tender age of 12 i went for my first eyebrow wax and the difference was incredible! I felt like my face had suddenly bloomed. My eyes looked bigger, my face more balanced and i instantly felt 10 times more beautiful than i ever had before. I remember going out to buy bindi's (Gwen Stefani you have a LOT to answer for!) just to draw attention to them.

Seeing the difference and knowing her daughters penchant for taking things to extremes, my mum decided to spare me a lifetime of over plucked brows and offered to pay for electrolysis (where a needle sends a electric pulse to the root of the hair, which after a few treatments kills the follicle resulting in permanent hair removal)for my 13th birthday. It may sound a bit drastic for a 13 year old but a whole decade later i truly believe it was a great thing. I pluck a few random stray hairs once every couple of months and never have to worry about scary Groucho Marx caterpillars taking over my face.

But with all this said, why do some people get it sooooo wrong? Cough Madonna Cough.

Eeek! These ones are actually TATTOOED on!!!

There are no words...!

Posey's Contest

Some days you feel creative, some days its more of an effort just to make it out of bed never mind actually get round to putting on a wee drop of slap. Today was just one of those days that i felt like playing around with makeup to see what i could come up with. Ive been meaning to enter the lovely Posey's contest (http://www.poseysbeautyreviews.blogspot.com/) for a while now so i figured this was as good a day as any. The premise of this competition is fairly similar to MizzWorthy's recent Illamasqua contest, both creating an alter ego look. Posey however wants to really see the contrast between your 'normal' look and that of the alter ego.

EVERYDAY LOOK
My fail safe daytime look is so easy to throw on and involves a very simple, very little, very subtle concept. Clean, fresh looking skin, rosy cheeks, vaseline rosy lips and a 50's style winged eyeliner. Overall its a look i would call 'Easy Breezy 50's'. Now I'm not saying that i wouldn't frequently add a bright pink or red lip with this to add an extra bit of spice for evening, but as far as 'normal' goes, this is it for me.

So once this look had been created and photographed i set about thinking how i could create a complete contrast. This was the list i drew up:

1) Completely unsubtle

2) A bit dark

3) Harsh and androgynous

and finally this was the real stimulus for the overall 'alter ego look... 4) Futuristic.

So here's what i came up with:

ALTER EGO LOOK

Its certainly not something i would pop to the shops in! In fact my boyfriend walked in while i was doing this and looked decidedly horrified. Only once id explained to him that it was 100% not fr leaving the house in did he relax and then start laughing at me. Swine.

So here's what i used for both looks:

EVERYDAY

FACE: Lily Lolo Mineral Foundation/Cover up, Prestige Skin Loving Mineral Blush in 001 Pink

EYES: Boots 17 Liquid Liner, Max Factor False Lash Mascara

LIPS: Vaseline Rosy Lips

ALTER EGO LOOK

FACE: Lily Lolo Mineral Foundation/Cover up, Illamasqua Liquid Metal in Solstice for the cheeks (white line underneath - Barry M white kohl pencil)

EYES: Brows filled in with GOSH velvet touch pencil in carbon, Barry M white kohl pencil, Boots 17 Liquid Liner Liner and because i wanted to keep it fairly androgynous i didn't use any mascara

LIPS: GOSH velvet touch pencil in carbon, Illamasqua Solstice

Carry On Camping!

I woke up this morning gasping for a cold drink and some serious bacon roll action. I then looked in the mirror to find that i clearly didn't take my eye make up off very well because most of it was now streaking 'emo-style' down my cheeks. But what a night it was!

Isn't it always the nights that are completely last minute and unplanned that turn into the best, most raucous events!? Last night was certainly one of those! I hit the gay clubs with my gay friends for camp karaoke, cheesy songs and some pretty risque dancing.

But answer me this question: Why is it that the second i step into a gay club i immediately start camping it up and posing for every picture with either a massive pout or my finger seductively (!) resting on my bottom lip?! I just don't know what comes over me! EVIDENCE:

'Hello Sailor' from Rick, my offering is the classic arm in the air 'im a diva, me!' pose, additional pout from Chelle!

Windswept! I know this was intentional but i cant remember why....?

POUT!
There it is! Fingers in the mouth! Why, oh why do we do this!?
Aw, group photo!
Luckily i didnt get quite as bad as Greta-hen (in the white) and Dionne! Simmer down boys!!

Yay or Nay, Hot or Not, Worth the Cash or Gash #4

YAYS

1)Nail Polish! I cant believe its taken me 23 years and 10 months to 'get' colourful nails, but now that i do i predict there will be no stopping me! At the moment I'm turquoise Barry M True Turquoise. LOVE!) on the fingers and bright Nickelodeon-slime-green on my toes. Seriously every time i catch a glimpse of my digits i catch myself smiling. Small things for small minds and all that! :0)

2)Having a personal chef (in the form my my beautiful friend Claudia) come to my flat to cook for me last night. I swear it was soo good i considered keeping her in my wardrobe Avid Merrion style.

3) Mac Angel Lipstick. Its an oldie but a goodie!

4) Oasis boy fit jeans. I am literally living in mine at the moment. So slouchy and easy to throw on. LOVE!NAYS

1) VooDoo Pickle. I placed an order with VooDoo Pickle, a site that sell cheap, fun and very kitsch jewellery...on the 4th of April! Its taken a little longer than a 6 weeks for me to receive my order. The first issue was that shortly after i placed my order the company, which is UK based btw, so no excuses for slow delivery, moved premises so my order didn't dispatch until 2 weeks later (I had to email for this info). I was still waiting 3 weeks after i had initially placed my order so i started emailing them to let them know and to ask if it had actually been dispatched at all. I was cordially ignored for no less than 3 weeks until two days ago when i finally received my order. And after all that, the quality is pretty poor. The eyelets on some of the earrings are broken or missing. Overall not impressed.

2) My skin breaking out with any product that isn't powder! I bought Touche Eclat last week purely to brighten up under my eyes (it also acts as a pretty good eyeshadow base) and around my nose. I figures it was pretty lightweight so i shouldn't have any problems. Unluckily for me, while its pretty awesome on the eyes, around my nose has completely broken out. Grrr.

3) Not going to the Barry M Event. I don't know if its cos I'm Scottish or just cos I'm not worthy but when you re all having fun meeting all the lovely bloggers think of me! Ill be the one at home. :0(

Cant Cook Wont Cook v Masterchef

Hands up all the foodies?!

Yes that's right, i do indeed have 2 hands (and a foot) raised pretty damn high. I LOVE food so much that i think that life is what happens between meals. Unfortunately I am one of life's unfortunately talentless cooks (ie i need to be supervised to attempt an omlette) so this evening when my lovely friend Claudia offered to come round to my flat for a few drinks and some tasty food i couldn't say 'yes' loud enough! Oh...and did i mention that she's a chef!?

Here's what Big C rustled up for us this evening:

Cod wrapped in prosciutto ham

Sauteed Lettuce and bacon with scallops (tasty alternative to the classic cabbage and bacon)

Put together with green beans...

Accompanied with some Rose Vino. Claud and Steph = Happy Campers!

UPDATE: Boots 17 Fast Finish Nail Polish

Following on from my last post, I've spent the evening happily buffing, polishing and pampering myself. My nails are now a gorgeous shade of turquoise courtesy of Mr Bazza M (LOVE this polish!) so i decided to clash with my toenails and go for the bright acid green, Boots 17 in Twist.

I have a few Boots 17 polishes and i love them. I'm not sure if its the Fast Finish formula or just this specific colour but it is truly awful! Its supposed to be a 'single coat, high shine colour' but as the first coat left me streakier than bacon in stripes and only moderately green, I've ended up adding two more coats and its still a mess. Its a good job I'm not planning to get my feet out tomorrow as this is really quite dire and shall certainly never make it onto my nails. Shame.

Nail Polish Haul and FOTD

I'll be the first to admit that nails have never really been my forte. I have decidedly rubbish looking index fingers (is that your pointing finger??). Yes, i am aware that index fingers are a pretty trivial thing to dislike in the grand scheme of things but all finger laughs aside, i actually have never gotten into nail polish as a result of my gimpy looking hands.

Today however i decided that i have indeed been foolish. Nail polish is just another way to colour up an outfit and express yourself. I had a think and decided that if my fingers were to do just that and express themselves, they would probably be quite loud and obnoxiously bright. Cue trip to Boots for a few wee bottles of fun!

From L- R

First on my list was a 'For Audrey' style turquoise. Tiffany's blue has been one of my favourite colours long before i knew of Tiffany's and the excitement that is evoked by the gorgeous boxes. Its an unexpected but stunning choice for nails so this was an obvious first choice. Living nowhere near a Sally's i found what i think is a pretty good dupe (if a little brighter) for the China Glaze version in Barry M's Nail Paint in 295 Pure Turquoise.

Next on the wish list was something to a little girlier and to cover the purple/pink side of the spectrum. I already have Miami by Boots17 which is a gorgeous true barbie pink that i LOVE so i decided to go for Boots17 High Gloss Nail polish in Love.

Finally i just had a look around to see what i fancied. I ended up going for a neon green (I'm not sure why...it just spoke to me!) by Boots17 fast Finish Nail Polish in Twist. Its bright!

On the nails i found the Barry M polish was the easiest to apply. The colour looked pretty vibrant after just 1 coat while both the Boots 17 polishes looked quite wishy washy despite the green one being a 'single coat high shine colour'. A second coat did wonders for the intensity of all the polishes but if i was to wear these out id say the green needs a third coat to get rid of the streaks.

I think I'm going to go with the turquoise for today and will definitely be investing in some more Barry M Nail paints!

As for the old noggin, here's what i wore: This is a fairly standard look for me and is definitely nothing groundbreaking - just winged liner, glowy skin with rosy cheeks and a pale lip.

I used:

FACE - Lily Lolo foundation in Porcelain (I'm never going to turn my back on it!) Touche Eclat under the eyes and on the eyelid, Prestige Mineral Blush in 001 Pink, Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in gold as a highlight.

EYES - Boots17 Liquid Liner in Black, Max Factor False Lash Effect mascara. That's all!

LIPS - Mac Angel. nothing else.

Probably the quickest and easiest look there is with very few products.

UPDATE: Here's the NOTD, Barry M Nail Paint in Pure Turquoise. Im definitely going to have to work on getting a neater finish! Any tips?

Rose Romance (little) Haul

Howdy Partners, Mac's Rose Romance Collection did indeed come out today so i did what any make up blogger would and hoofed it down to Harvey Nicks to check it out. Now, let it be known that i am not a pink and subtle type of gal. I'm rolling around in bright colours but own barely any natural, pinky day shades. So i figured (if there ever needed to be justification) that while this collection was definitely not made with me in mind, there were a few things in RoseRomance that i could definitely benefit from.

From American online swatches and reviews i thought i could use one of the beauty powders (which with MacIntosh-esque embossed rose seems to be the stand out product in the collection) and i figured Blush of Youth would be the more wearable of the two, and A Rose Romance lipstick...but having swatched at my Mac counter i changed my mind on both accounts.

Blush of Youth was definitely a really pretty warm pink but i felt that it was just a bit too sheer so i decided to go with Summer Rose with a more violet hint to the pink. While its still sheer i think this will be gorgeous dusted over the cheekbones and the great thing is, because its so sheer its impossible to do the over done clown look.

I had thought A Rose Romance would be my choice of the two lipsticks but (as a girls perogative allows) I changed my mind. In the flesh i felt like it was just a wee bit too sugar pink for me. Way to Love however was a gorgeous pale nudey pink with gold reflects and is definitely a 'my lips but better' product.

I also picked up Well Dressed blush which everyone has already but is still the most gorgeous pale pink which gives a really subtle flush.So here are the swatches: Am soooo looking forward to trying some subtle looks with these! huzzah!Are you getting anything from this collection or is it just a bit dull?
Oooh and have you noticed that ive learnt to watermark my photos? Note: this took many hours as i am a complete technophobe. What do you think? (slight smug at my own skills face)