Review- More cheap treats

I haven't bought any make up in an age, and today I caved - however I can at least hold my head up high as I kept it cheap. One cult(ish) item and one 'it's so cheap why the hell not give it a go' item.

I'm desperate to find an eyeliner that will stay on my waterline and won't just melt away 20 minutes after application so I got GOSH Velvet Tough Eyeliner in Hypnotic Grey. It's very dark grey, nothing half-hearted.

These eyeliners come in 27 colours, and even the teeny little Superdrug I bought mine in had a good 16 or so. GOSH claims they are very highly pigmented and extremely waterproof and durable. Makeupalley members would seem to agree. It certainly goes on beautifully smoothly and doesn't drag your skin so we'll see now how well it lasts.

My super cheapo why-not buy was a 2True lipstick in no.8:


Now, I don't 'do' nude lips - they just look awful on me, unlike so many people on here who I see looking beautiful with them. Perhaps because my lips are pretty higly pigmented naturally so it just looks very wrong? I don't know. Anyway, this is more my cup of tea, perhaps more than my normal cup of tea: It's a blueish-fuscia pink - bit 'more' than I'd usually go for, but surprisingly, I like it. I'm not going to be reaching for it every day by any means, but at this price why not have it for the occasions you do.

Swatches:

What are your favourite cheapo treats in the make up world?

Homemade birthday presents

One of my best friends emailed me a few days ago about her daughter Isla's first birthday which is coming up in a month or so. Would I be offended, she wondered, if she suggested some things I might like to make for Isla instead of buying something. There are things she needs, and she knows I love to (try and) be creative and she knows that I don't have many spare pennies at the moment.

And so this is how Project Pyjama Case started. Good haberdasheries are hard to find in London, and I'm really missing living in New York and having all the wonderful fashion district walking distance away. Steinlauf & Stoller, how I miss you.

I'm not sure what form the overall finished product is going to take but it's going to have an embroidered panel somewhere as I've been wanting to have a crack at some some embroidery for a while now. I'm a huge Miami Ink and LA Ink fan, so I tried some tattoo inspiration - ha ha - weird? Seriously, I love so many of the graphics used in tattooing and thought I could cute-ify it enough to make it appropriate for a little girl.

It's very much a work in progress, but here's what we have so far...


What else do you think it needs? Any embroidery experts out there?

Perfecting the blank canvas

I read with horror that MAC's Select Tint SPF15 tinter moisturiser/foundation has been discontinued. Why? Is it really selling that poorly? It seems to be they don't have anything comparable in their range so it's strange to remove the only tinted moisturiser they do. But perhaps there's more to it than that.

After the initial feeling of disappointment however, it got me thinking how it's not been the best product for me as it doesn't give me the perfect blank canvas that I'm after. I want perfect airbrushed skin dammit!

I've stuck with it, because I have temperamental skin that's easily annoyed and Selet Tint doesn't bother it at all. In all honesty though I want a little more coverage so this is a good opportunity to start the hunt. I thought I was happy with YSL's Perfect Touch for something a little heavier but again I'm finding myself increasingly not thrilled with it.

I wondered about trying Studio Fix or Select SPF, but I've heard scary things from a lot of people about both causing major breakouts and I'm loathe to find out the hard way. Plus, times are tough and due to some financial belt-tightening I'd like to try and find a drugstore foundation to do the job. The two I've heard reasonably good things about are:

Revlon ColorStay

and Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse


Have you tried either of these? How did you find them? Did they break you out? Was the coverage good? Or any other budget reccomendations?

Friday - In and Out

It's Friday so let's do this

Air-conditioned limos:
- being able to carry my beautiful Rebecca Minkoff bag every day this week without fearing rain ruining her
- andremo a Firenze la settimana prossima (my Italian is a little rusty...)
- having a daily street market right on my doorstep now we've moved
- no longer living above a noisy pub
- catching up on Gossip Girl and The Hills online


Crowded tube trains:
- Being broke
- having a freezer the size of a shoebox now we've moved. Enough space for icecube tray and peas (..and perhaps nail varnish, having read Hele's latest post..)!
- having to wait ages for Ikea to deliver
- needing to purge the contents of my wardrobe still further. Why amI so sentimental about clothes I no longer wear?

Transatlantic Swapsies anyone?

Help!
I am desperately in need of some more moisturiser as I've nearly run out. In the past I've flirted with a few others, but I like this one I've got now, it likes me and if it ain't broke I'm reluctant to fix it.

So, it's a Sephora brand one. No amount of pleading with Sephora can convince them to ship to the UK, so I'm wondering if any of my US based friends here (who I 'know' a little) fancy doing a transatlantic swap for some UK stuff of a similar value? I'm just trying to think what we love over here that you can't get in the US....some Barry M perhaps? Any other brands? Come to that, it doesn't have to be makeup - I'm open to suggestions.

Let me know if you might be interested.

Fake Baking

It's weird being back in London after the Easter break back home. I'm a country girl at heart and it always takes me a while to adjust back to city ways when I've been back home for a visit. However, weirdly, I seem to like extremes - as I said I'm a country girl, but I loved the ultra city-ness of New York...I just find myself uncomfortable and twitchy in the suburbs. We've just moved from a more quiet residential area back into Zone 1 again, near where I first lived when I moved to London. I'm finding I'm much happier being back in the thick of things. Plus I can walk everywhere which I love. Anything to avoid the tube.

I'm setting off today for the wedding this weekend that I'm bridesmaid-ing for. I haven't done the honours since I was 5, which was....let's say a very long time ago. I did a mad dash to Boots today realising that my glow-in-the-dark white legs might be in danger of stealing the bride's thunder, such is their luminous glow. I was after Sally Hansen airbrush legs spray which I used before, loved ten typically lost the can. So - I've had to pick up instead Rimmel's Sun Shimmer Instant Tan:

which I'm hoping will do the same thing - basically just take the edge off. I daren't risk something that doesn't wash off in case it all goes horribly streaky and wrong. Anybody used this one before?

Connected

Finally back online after an excruciating couple of weeks without internet post-move. I have a lot of catching up to do!

The hard work and stress of moving is all rewarded by the fun of unpacking and making your new nest a home. Managed to shed a lot of rubbish along the way and rediscovered lots of forgotten treasures - books, shoes, clothes and odds and ends, like these coasters. I'm being mocked mercilessly by Mr C for my love of them, inherited from my grandmother, but I'm really fond of them.


Also, glad to finally be putting some of the wine crates I can't resist accumulating to good use at last, so my makeup is now a bit more organised. Just need to get hold of some of those flower arranging beads now so I can turn that vase into a Sephora style brush holder.


Now I need to go start making the rounds and see what everyone else has been up to