I am human and I need to make [wish]lists!

Wishlist
with Rimmel London, Urban Decay, Benefit

1.I'm big into bold lip colours, and matte effect is even better. £4.99 @ Boots / Superdrug.

2.What is in the picture is actually Urban Decay Dangerous Palette. Can't be an eyeshadow fanatic without an Urban Decay palette. £25 at Debenhams Click

3. A GODDAMN MORRISSEY FESTIVE JUMPER.£44.99 I would wear it all year round. VIVA MOZ! 

4. Benefit Hervana Box Powder £23.50. 'A good karma face powder'. I live and die by Benefit box powders but I haven't got this one...yet. (Click)

5.Benefit Gina Goes Glam £19.67. Gina is my favourite Crescent Row scent. So lusty and powerful but glam? I can't begin to imagine that! Currently on offer here!

6. Apple iPod Touch with iOS 6. To listen to Morrissey on OBVS! http://www.apple.com/uk/ipod-touch/

7. Too-Faced Shadow Insurance. I'll need a primer for all the lovely shadows I'm going to be trying ut in the colourful New Year!

What is on your festive wishlish? Is anyone else getting sick of the word festive yet? 

#NOTD As festive as I'm going to get. Barry M Magnetic Nail Polish

What could be more festive than nail polish the colour of a glittering Christmas Tree? I'm not very good at detail so on my quest for ultimate nail art nirvana I am testing out magnetic nail polishes.

348 Magnetic Green Sparkle£4.99 from BarryM.com

 I think it is a fairly festive colour. (I really am not one for precision and detail, I have neither the time or the patience).

ALWAYS USE A BASE.

I had a nightmare once with green nail varnish. It stained my nails and made me look as if I was moldy. The horrors of getting it off will scar me for life.

I always opt for Nails Inc Hyde Park Base Coat. £12. (Buy it here).

The next step is to layer a thick coat of the varnish and allow it to dry completely.

One thick coat allowed to dry completely.

If you don't let it dry properly then air bubbles start to form and the effect won't work properly. 

Then coat the nail with another thick layer of varnish. IMMEDIATELY hold the magnet over the polish for at least 10 seconds. The lid has a nifty little groove to place your finger in, but be careful not to press to hard as the polish smudges all over the lid. Yes, I am that clumsy.

I have left this photo unfiltered to see how evergreen the colour actually is.I am impressed with the polish, it is fairly thick and dries quickly so I didn't have to wait for too long. 

Set the pattern with a layer of your favourite topcoat and the end result is very effective, I am tempted to get the other colours to mix and match the magnetic pattern, but first I shall wow a lot at the thriftiness of this boutique effect.

How festive are your nails?

Sachet Training #3 Doctor Duve Anti-ageing Skin Cream

I sit and I stare at the packaging. Is it 'aging' or 'ageing'? My mind naturally flickers to the latter spelling. By this point I am convinced it is the latter and I head to my friend Google, just to be on the safe side. You can see for yourself the whole debacle here. As I live outside of North America I'll continue using anti-ageing and be done with it.

£129 for 50ml Jar of Clarifying Face Cream

£115 for 30ml Tube of Eye Cream

Doctor Stefan Duve, pronounced exactly like the bedspread, claims this is perfect for priming skin before and after aesthetic surgery. Lovely. Hefty price tag to match, growth factors must be expensive whatever they may be.

I don't know how keen I am on layering acid on to my clear skin, even if it is hyaluronic. An extensive search as to what this meant left me flustered but I think it aids cell reproduction.  The plus side to this cream is the fact that it is totally fragrance and colour free. Still, this type of sample just does not appeal to me.

The eye cream was suitable for my sensitive skin, it eliminated puffiness but my tender skin was left feeling dry and nothing really differentiates it from the face cream.

The same thing in two stingy packages. 

I won't be heading out to buy this. In actual fact I'm quite glad it is such a small sample, I can swiftly move on to the next.

Which spelling do you prefer? Aging just looks wholly strange to me!

Any anti-ageing eye creams you can recommend? Feel free to leave me links below.

My final She Said Beauty Box

So I arrived home from my invalid holiday to the final beauty box from She Said Beauty. I had been hearing disappointing things. I was kind of used to it at this point; being asked if my tonsillectomy included the removal of both of my infected useless tonsils was just the start of it.

Next thing; Norovirus. (December did indeed spawn a horrible monster).

 THE LESS SAID ABOUT THAT THE BETTER!

It took all my energy, but wowsers, I've photographed my beauty box to share with you all.

I'm certainly intrigued by the Doctor Duve products, they come with a pretty hefty price tag.

 £115.00 for the anti-ageing firming eye cream 30ml

£129.00 for the Skin Boosting Cream 50ml.

This cream is marketed as a wonder cream for mature or demanding skin. One trick I learned from Mizz magazine? The earlier you use anti-ageing products the more benefits you get. Prevention is better than cure. I'm not sure that I'm fond of the word acid on the packaging when it claims to be natural yet innovative. Hmmm. We shall see.

Luxuriating in festive bliss will be fun with 24K Gold Under Eye Masks by Jamela. I could look like a festive Lady Gaga! Imagine that! I am so looking forward to that post!

They look fairly yellow in this picture, but they are gold in colour and vacuum packed with a liquid in a pack with no instructions. I'm guessing it's fairly straight forward, the name gives it away, but you never know!

So I found their website and I think I'll be haunted for life.

Cleopatra does luxury, now where is my bottle of asp's milk?

Here is the rest of the goodies included in the box. I won't bore you with the trivial details but technics? Reeaaaallly? 

I don't know which beauty box to try next now that SSB aren't doing anymore. Glossybox? I am up for ultimate luxury. You can find me on She Said Beauty here.

Which beauty boxes do you like? 

For all the trouble of making it paraben free they can't get the packaging right.
£25.00 for 100ml

Xmas treat: Spring Clean Cooling Clay Mask - hardly seasonal.
Retail price £1.50

technic - Tawny Port nail varnish
Retail price of £1.25

£5.40 for 15 whole leaf bags of tea.

Lastly luxury tea to have while I bathe in asps milk with gold eye masks under my eyes. 

Oh the glamour!

Thursday's travel-sized tresses: ORGANIX Moroccan Argan Oil Shampoo & Conditioner

You may, or may not be aware that I am trying to pace myself on the products by doing some serious sachet training. We can all go rushing out to the shops and spend on the latest development in the hair care and cosmetics industries. No not me. I'm using samples from beauty boxes and travel sized products to sample and review.

This week the shampoo and conditioner trying to tame my unruly, dry, fine and brittle hair is the renewing Moroccan Argan Oil Shampoo & Conditioner by Organix.

Travel sized Organix Moroccan Argan Oil Shampoo & Conditioner 88.7ml £1.99

Oils are a big thing now, right? Argan oil, mythic oil, macadamia oil? Oils feel so much more luxurious, especially in this cold weather where central heating blasts is and frost dampens it. Short of putting honey on my hair I tried the next best thing.

At £1.99 you get a fairly large sample, worth pretty much a whole week on my shoulder length hair. The only way I can think to describe the product is like the Royal Jelly talc and body lotion sets, slightly peach in hue with a rich exotic scent.

You can buy the full size shampoo & conditioner at Boots for £6.99 a piece. 

They claim the formula is hundreds of centuries old. I am sure they mean the oil and not the shampoo, did they use shampoo hundreds of centuries ago? The shampoo lathers into an indulgent foam but the conditioner merely coats my fine hair with protective sheen. My hair is left feeling soft and shiny but still quite brittle.

I'm sure Morrissey would approve of this highly environmentally friendly product using post consumer resin, whatever the hell that is!

Healthy ends. What more could you ask for? 

Thursday is obvs the day to talk about hair. Click here to see more Thursday Tresses.

#NOTD Get the Manchester look.

I get that London is in the name of the cosmetics company I am getting at; yes, it is Rimmel London. I think the adverts convey a British look and feel to their marketing. I guess everyone is on the London 2012 bandwagon and playing up to the consumer, but why not just pick any city in our lovely isles. I'm choosing ~Manchester as it is where my beloved Morrissey is from.

Here is a picture, my favourite picture. Just in case you're not too sure who he is.

We could speculate for days as to whether he is sporting a touch of guyliner here, but let me get on with my NOTD post.

I have had my eyes on the Precious Stones collection by Rimmel London. Disappointed as I was to find only a three different shades I opted for Ruby Crush. It lays claim to have high coverage; I usually use a base colour the glitter on top as I find them to be just too darn fine and they need a good few coats to get a full glitter effect. 

 This is not the case with Rimmel's Precious Stone range. NO WAY!

As you can see in the picutre it is not a runny polish. It has the consistency of glitter glue, that way it doesn't streak and run like other polishes.    

The fist coat gave high coverage indeed with the added blessing f a quick drying time.

I was glitterbombed by a Lego artist! This photo was taken after only one coat.

The colour set quickly on my nails, so I wasted no time in getting the second coat over and done with.

 It proved quite an effective look without the high-end price tag. It could certainly be described as festive or seasonal, but it is not Christmas yet (I'm not ready).

I'll let you into a little secret of mine. I had my nails done once at the beauty college. The girl used Nail Life Demon Speed Polish Dryer; I have never looked back.

Sadly, I can only find an american link to buy it. I know that you can go into a Sally's beauty shop; a merchant retailer and buy it just like I did.

The one and only wonder product makes the manicure last so much longer and minimises the drying time to next to nothing. I have also never come across a topcoat so chip proof.

 Glitter bombed!

I'd love to see how other polishes stand up to this bold statement. Leave me links to yours, I'd love to find a pink or purple high coverage glitter polish, or is that just asking too much?

Sachet Training #2 Liz Earle Sheer Skin Tint Beige 02

Today I decided to give my face a bit of a breather. I soaked it in the last of my Night in Shining Armour by Soap & Glory overnight. It has such a truly sumptuous and luxurious scent to it. (Again with the witty name; always a sucker for a witty name!) I mentioned it in my first ever blog. You can't go without a night cream; it provides an ultimate base, before you even mention primers and BB creams.

Well it just wouldn't be Soap & Glory without its trademark wit and retro packaging.I'm considering a change for my next skincare staple, it feels as if my skin is getting used to this one, and sometimes my face can feel rather oily in the morning.

Liz Earle's Sheer Skin Tint 02 Beige

I haven't tried Liz Earle before but I was lucky enough to get a few samples from a friend. I feel I am making a more informed choice about products since joining the blogosphere and people RAVE ABOUT THIS STUFF! Well lots of people are posting stuff as she appears to have an advent calendar, I've been distracted by TattooedTeaLady's Liz Earle's Advent Calendar. (You can click here to see her post of the first week's goodies!)

I always opt for the warmer shade to my skintone. I can be drastically pale but I prefer to have a honeyed glow. In this case it was beige 02 as it said it would suit most caucasian skin tones. I'm not sure the inside of my wrist is the closest colour to my face but here is a swatch!

I was surprised at the amount of coverage it gave from such a frugal droplet. I found it quite difficult to spread as the formula is quite thick. I loved the feel of it on my skin, it was refreshing, but nowhere near light weight. Disappointed slightly, I dabbed dots all over my face and tried to stretch them together. I found it difficult to blend, it took a whole lot longer than usual. 

After it had settled in I felt it gave long lasting coverage as this photo was taken after several hours wear, and the thick balmy consistency tricked my mind into believing my skin, albeit briefly, could face the cold wind for a few hours. 

It was nice for a day off foundation, but I'm sure I'd end up using too much product if I bought a whole tube. The sachet training has paid off.

What tinted moisturisers do you love? 

Thrifty Beauty Haul

So, I won ten pounds on a Christmas scratchcard. Nope I'm not feeling festive either, not yet anyway. I thought how I could spend this free ten pounds, and I chose to make good of the offers forced upon us because it is December, not Christmas just December. 

Organix Renewing Morrocan Argan Oil Shampoo £1.99

Barry M Bold Gold Waterproof Eyeliner £3.99

Barry M Nail Paint 352 Pink Sapphire Glitter £3.99

Barry M Nail Paint Boots Xmas Special

Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl 012-Bronze  £3.99

Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl 001 Black £3.99

Rimmel Precious Stones High Coverage Nail Polish 002 Ruby Crush

HAUL ON! 

Hopefully this will soothe my unruly hair. I have read lots about the Organix range and their packaging is a staple for shampoo shelves. I thought I would take the plunge, and in keeping with my  strict sachet training I am going to make this travel sized bottle last. I can't be doing with drowning my hair in product, it's just far too fine.

It's so darn dry, the cold isn't helping.

See how dry my fringe is? That is the healthiest part of my hair, it gets a trim EVERY DAMN MONTH. Perhaps I am asking a lot, but we shall see.

My headphones were firmly in my ears. Beethoven Was Deaf being the album du jour I marched in to Superdrug to reap the rewards of their 3 for 2 offer and bought these for a scandalous seven pounds and ninety eight pence. Waterproof eyeliners are a winner in this weather with my eyes running from the cold. The red polish will do for the Christmas season nicely thank you very much!

Well we shall talk about the Bold Gold later but I cannot wait to try these eyeliners. They feel so luxurious and are heavy in pigment so you get a lovely bold colour. I have swatched them for you. 

I think the black will take a bit of colouring in, luckily I have plenty of Rimmel's waterproof gel eyeliner to hand in case it does not fit the job.

Scandaleyes : always a sucker for a witty name.

Rimmel London Precious Stones 002 Ruby Crush.

Now I am not generally a fan of silverish glitter shades, I much prefer gold flecks. Anyhow I was intrigued by this polish, quite pleased with the coverage it gives. THIS IS NOT GLITTER SUSPENDED IN CLEAR POLISH. It is the other way around or something?

What do Barry M do best? Nail Paint. Look at this lovely high glitter count that I got free after spending six pounds on Barry M cosmetics.

It is all about the high glitter/holographic look this season I figure, so I am right in there!

[Obligatory arty splash]

So what did I spend my six pounds on to benefit from such a lovely offer? I only went and got a Barry M Bold Gold waterproof eyeliner to match my party dress. That way I can sob all the way through the Queen's speech and no one will notice.

Not really. What a vulgar picture I painted for you there. Crying over a speech. No way.

IT IS LIKE TINSEL IN A BOTTLE, 'NUFF SAID.

To top the whole lot off I went back to Superdrug and spent one hundred pennies on a MUA eyeshadow. 

Personally I think it will suit my ultimate Christmas dress. I have seen such a beauty and one day, oh one day it will be mine. Let's see this eyeshowdow in its glory...

These have been recommended, as long as a good primer or base is used it gives a heavy and silky coverage. I can't wait to try all these products and see how they fare. 

Have you got your party look sorted? I'd love to see your party look preparation so feel free to leave me links and comments! 

So I spent a whole £15 and got my haul on. Lets see yours!

Thursday Tresses: REDKEN Smooth Lock Shampoo & Conditioner

Having a vibrant hair colour is hard to maintain. I'm caught in a trap. Red looks good. Being naturally fair is the bane of my life. My hair goes blonde.

 I am also burdened with really dry and fragile hair with a tendency to tangle. It will tangle in the wind. I am always seeking that imaginary rescuing elixir that will boost or clarify my hair. Or a magical brush! I must admit my trusty Kent brush does work wonders but it needs a little encouragement with a good shampoo.

To no great surprise my hair falls victim to product overkill. I have a mountain of 'build-up' or product pinning my fine hair down.  So I have been using sachets of hair goodies to tame my shampoo/conditioner extravagance.

One such sachet I've had the opportunity to try is Redken's Smooth Lock Thermal Care for dry/unruly hair. It has some silly science on the front 'Interlock Protein Network'.I mean seriously, that means absolutely nothing, nada, nil. (There is some serious creative writing gone into thinking up ridiculous names for an imaginary elixir. Here is my window).

Less conditioner is more. Who knew?

 I managed to get two fully lathered washes from the shampoo and one us from the conditioner. I'm not fond of heavily scented shampoos they rather focus on the scent rather than the actual washing of the hair. Not in this case. The conditioner detangled my hair and made it a whole lot stronger after the first and only use. A little bit went a long way. Thick foam that saturated the hair and revived it. Whatever the interlock protein network actually does who knows? My hair did feel silky and free of build up albeit heavily scented.

I've found it online for &9.95 shampoo & £10.90 for the conditioner. Perhaps I need to get my measuring cups from the kitchen and keep them in the bathroom.

Here's my 'science' bit: 
10ml = 5ml per wash = WIN!

Tempted to try a full size, but pace myself on the use. The sachets have trained me well. What products do you use? Have you tried this one?

Sometimes I am easily distracted

I thought a lot today. I thought too much about how many salt and pepper shakers would be a reasonable amount to own. I narrowed it down to seven, and thought I'd share them with you, you lucky sausages!

Salt and Pepper shakers!
with Urban Outfitters

Do you have any good ones? Which one is your favourite? My inner princess is having a tantrum about having the wand salt sprinklers, but the pragmatist in me is sternly saying no you already have some cat shakers and a pepper mill. (Think of the space, darling!)

If in doubt. Pout.

What can I say? My sore sore fingers from tap-tap-tapping out a critical evaluation and other such bibliographical formats has left me bereft of words. Well that's a lie; I am NEVER lost for words until I see Morrissey far across the other side of the room. Then, and only then, do I stand and stare with patient distant admiration, but what I really want to talk about is Kate Moss for Rimmel London.

You can't move for matte effect in AW12. Matte black nails look very sleek and even chic. Does this mean a matte block colour will look oh so chic? A look that everyone can pull off? Well maybe!

 It is a look that I love but can be quite difficult to achieve. To create the effect the make up must be heavily pigmented and this can make the texture of the lipstick very thick and dry.

Can anyone pull off matte burgundy lipstick?
I paired it with a smokey eye and I just could not resist adding a blush. When in doubt I always err on the side of drag queen; at least I look alive.

For handing in my university work I treated myself to Lasting Finish by Kate Moss Matte Effect Lipstick shade 107. You can buy it here.

WHAT I ALSO SHOULD HAVE INVESTED IN WAS A LIP LINER, BUT THERE WE GO.

The lipstick felt silky on application but I found I kept applying more as if I was craving some kind of lip moisture.

It held well and stained my lips for a whole portion of a night out although I did finally cave in and dab a tiny spot of Nivea's original lip butter over the top so my lips didn't dry out entirely while keeping with the flat matte effect.

It slowly began to bleed, but that really was my own fault; I hadn't used a lip liner.

I hadn't really tried a dark lipstick before. Lip colour is something new for me but I can see I've started something I just couldn't finish.

Are there any lip liners you can recommend? Any good lip tips?

There are a whole host of other products that used to create this look such as; a sparkly flapper dress from Asda; Rimmel Gel eyeliner in aubergine; and a nifty little fringe trim.

That one shade braver? I went 107 shades braver.

Remember: If in doubt. Pout.

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/4328573/?claim=r9nzazn52r4">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>