A Very Good Christmas.

I'm not about to take pictures of every single thing i got, but i am going to show some of my favourite presents - or the most relevant anyway...
I've loved seeing what everyone else got, and really wish that i had given into Soap & Glory temptation when i saw the £20 hatbox i thought i didn't need. Sigh.
Expect reviews on a few of the things below, the Lush stuff in particular - it. is. mega.

Here are my lovelies :)

Every Christmas needs a little David and Goliath, that tshirt had me laughing for a substantial amount of time.The dress fits like an absolute dream. It'll be getting its first outing tomorrow, it's beautiful.

The beauty side;
The Benefit Celebutante palette, I never knew how good their eye shadows were, definitely want to try more. A couple of the Lush items aren't pictured, but i managed to get one of the goody bags for spending £20, well £10 since me and a friend split it then spilt the goodies. I think we were left with the lesser of the bags though.
There isn't any MAC, no. Not that i am a huge MAC fan as so many others seem to be, but the main reason is because my mother went to numerous MAC counters and was offered no help in any, but she moseyed over to the Benefit counter she was spoken to immediately. I personally don't see the over obsession with MAC, Benefit is much higher on my list of joys - but I'm going to get a couple of things I wanted when i manage to get to a counter.


Then, my brother conveniently was bringing an almost empty suitcase home from America with him this year, so he can take more stuff over, and obviously, i offered to fill it for him. It would just look suspicious otherwise...
Some of my lovely American finds;

Sephora by O.P.I - Metro Chic, China Glaze - Mr & Mrs, CG - Garter Belt, CG - OMG, CG - Matte Magic top coat, Seche Vite top coat.

Sephora by O.P.I - Metro Chic Matte.
I wasn't initially a fan of the finish, but it really grows on you, i tried it shiny too, and it does look a little better. The matte formula also seems to contribute to chipping, this only lasted 3 days before i had to take it off.

China Glaze - OMG.
This is my favourite. Again, not so much with staying power, but surprisingly longer than i expected. I honestly can't stop looking at it when it catches the light.

Stila Eye Kajal - Topaz.
I have wanted this for ages. It worked out at just over £8, which is a bargain. Plus, I couldn't find it anywhere in the UK. It has the same effect as a white liner, but is much less stark, so much less harsh, it just makes a great contrast to the white of your eye.

And finally,

These shoes are another that seem to be catching my eye while remaining on display in my room. To make it even better, they are stupidly comfy and were only $25. Mmmm.

I realise this wasn't the most exciting of posts for most, but i wanted to share what i got with you all, as I've loved looking at the posts filling up my little box of what everyone else received!
I'm still working my way through the hoards of chocolate i got, but I'm getting back into blogging!

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EOTN

Everything was from the Sleek Graphite palette, bar the all over lid colour, which was Maybelline's Eye Colour Express in Rose Vintage, finished with Colossal Lash Mascara.

This was meant to be for a Christmas meal out with friends, but the snow got so bad i wouldn't have been able to get to the place without tremendous effort.
Not that I'm complaining. Really. I could watch the snow all day - seriously, i must have spend about 15 minutes just watching it fall.

The chums are all back from Uni, and I'm just hoping we can squeeze a lot out of their time at home. The Christmas film night can be ticked off, but I'll be working New Years Eve, so I'm not going to be having any major celebrations there. I see the silver lining that i don't have the hassle of deciding where to go, what to wear, plus, i think i get double pay. So the January sales will just be great this year!

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EOTN

The inspiration for this was actually from my boss' wife at our Christmas outing yesterday. I wasn't about to ask what she used, but i recreated the best way i could.
It's very Christmassy, icy, beautiful!


I used;

• Sleek Chaos Palette, turquoise, bottom right corner - on the outer half
  
• Clinique Victorian Pink patted over the top of the turquoise and on inner corner
• Sleek Graphite Palette second from the bottom right along lower lash line
• Sleek Graphite Palette third from top left along inner half of lower lash line
• Rimmel Jungle Green liner on water line
• Rimmel liquid liner on upper lash line
• Maybelline Colossal mascara
  

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Aussie Contest Winner

Sorry I haven't put this up earlier, I said i'd put this up over a week ago, but for some reason never did. I have no excuses to provide.

The original details of the contest can be found here, but Aussie were a bit vague with the details.
The whole competition was a little confusing, we didn't get any proper details from Aussie until they announced the winners. Basically, there is only one winner from each 'community' (Make up, fashion etc.) and i'm afraid none of the entries I received have won.
If you want to see all the winners and more details, you can go to Uncover Aussie - which is the official Project Angel blog.

I sort of had a feeling this was the way in which Aussie were going. They never stated that every single Angel would have a winning entrant.
But, as stated in my original post - i will provide my own prize to thank the effort that you went to.

I've chosen Lauren as my winner!
CONGRATULATIONS!!

This was her winning look;

I loved the detail around the eye, and admired her effort, instead of just sticking some purple on her eyes like i did!
So Lauren, please could you contact me by email (in the side bit) with your address and i'll get your prize sent out.
It isn't much, but just a thankyou for the effort!

Sorry to the others - but once i reach 200 followers there will be another contest to have a go at!

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Aussie Girl's Night Out; The Manchester Edition.

Last night saw another event courtesy of Aussie, it was titled 'Girl's Night Out' which is exactly what it was!
I got all dolled up on my own, and made the journey up to Manchester. This was the day the Internet at my house chose to die, so i panicked about not knowing where to go and turning up on my own. But with half an hour to spare it came back, I quickly jotted the address down, only to find i had previously wrote it in my diary... And agreed to meet with Briony and Sinead pre-event to avoid the lonely nerves.

We attended Hula Bar, a cute little Hawaiian themed cocktail bar in the Northern Quarter. Now, I don't know if it was the one way systems or what.. But, the taxi driver dropped is off about 10 minutes away from the place, so we were left roaming the streets of Manchester. I saw a Hawaiian looking bar and got my hopes up, only to find it was the wrong place. Anyway, we found it in the end, from one lucky find of someone who actually knew where it was.
The night was everything you could want, we were topped up with cocktails throughout the night - by throughout i literally mean that i never had an empty glass to worry about - teamed with shots of i don't even know what. There was also a volcano cocktail and finally, a barrel to finish the evening off! The bar was on the outskirts of China town, which we had to go through to get to, I was craving a Chinese so much - so i was delighted when the bowls of Chinese nibbles came out just after we arrived, perfect!

We mingled the night away, with breaks for magic by the mind boggling magician and the Illamasqua make up artist. I sat down with a full face of make up, but she just topped me up and also gave me some false lashes which i loved. No longer a falsie virgin! She said hers had lasted since April, so I'm hoping for the same results... I loved the look, but couldn't help but feel a little overdone next to the other girls' more 'subdued' eye looks.

I loved the feel of falsies though - must practise my own technique.
The night went all too fast, with me having to get a train back at midnight - Cinderella anyone? - but, at that point, i think enough alcohol had gone through my lips to last me! I flopped into bed as soon as i got back!
Just before i was due to leave, the people at Aussie brought out cute little train cases full of more goodies for us to play with. It was such a nice gesture! Brilliant end to a brilliant night. I couldn't help but feel like a little make up artist traipsing through the train station with my case in tow.


Another thank you (a very, very large one) must go out to everyone at 1000 Heads for organising this event. My favourite by far, I really enjoyed meeting everyone and chatting the night away!
I'll leave you with some pics of the night - I hope to relive it soon!

Me, Amy from Aussie (& Australia!) and Kelly with our fruity shots!

Me and Kelly.

Sinead, Briony and Me.
:)

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Santa's Rice Porridge Face Mask - Review

You know those posts you read, where it says - I was lusting after this item but couldn't afford so left it. I later found out my boyfriend had snuck back and picked it up for me - I do. And I love to hate them. See, it's all very nice for them, but why has my boy never done this??

Well - as you might have guessed, my dream came true. See, I put this item on my Xmas list, to find he had already randomly bought it, but because it only lasts 3 weeks, he gave it me now. May only be a face mask, but in between the lines, is so much more :) Plus, you are meant to keep it in your fridge, which he graciously did until he could give it me, to me, this is cute.

This is one of their many Christmas items, which i may be receiving a duplicate of from my Mum... woops.
Like any face mask, I applied it to my face - aha - with my fingers and left it on for just over 10 minutes.
I found it a little hard to work with because of it's unusual consistency. It's very thick, with a lot of bits in it, generally bits of cranberries, but because of the lumps it makes it difficult to spread it over your skin without dropping stuff all over the floor. It's kind of a thin paste, with (from the product title) what i assume is porridge pieces blended in.

The base of the mask can be spread evenly, but i found myself wanting a thicker layer, which wasn't easily achieved.
While applying I didn't enjoy using it. It doesn't have that nice of a scent either, I can't place what it is, there's hints of porridge oats and a slightly wood like scent. But to me, for some reason, all it smells of is the Chicken & Bacon sandwiches you get from Boots. I'm assuming this is the bread I'm smelling and not the meat... The boy described it as Marzipan, but i couldn't get that.

So after ten minutes of looking lovely;
I see a resemblance to some kind of skin problem? But, in the name of beauty...
I washed it off with warm water. I just repeatedly splashed on my face and continuously used circular motions until there was no residue left. This proved a little difficult as well, because you end up rubbing the cranberry pieces all over...
There I was waiting for the plug hole to become clogged, but no! It all went down fine! Just for those interested in cleanliness out there...

After patting my face dry with a towel, I have to admit i enjoyed the affect it had. My skin was gorgeously smooth, smoother than the Neutrogena Wave, which was my height of smoothness!
I didn't feel like I had to moisturise straight after, which is great in this kind of product. I wasn't aware it had that intense moisturising quality, which should be advertised more!
However, I did moisturise, which only intensified the softness of my skin.
In terms of pores and blemishes, I didn't see any noticeable difference here. It may have slightly reduced the appearance of a breakout on my chin, but that was already on its way out!

It retails for £6.45, which is pretty typical to Lush's pricing, it may be a little expensive for the experience, but you're going to get a good few face masks out of the 75g tub.

In my opinion, this should be used for a relaxing session rather than an actual skincare product. I would recommend it just for the soft skin it leaves - but maybe use over the sink instead of the carpet.

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Polish by Sleek - Review

This was one of my prizes from Nefertari's contest and up until then, I'd never tried anything from Sleek other than their eyeshadow palettes.
This one is 'Oxford 10', a metallic navy blue - and just like their palettes, it gives amazing pigmentation.

The first thing i found was that it's very thick. As in almost gloopy, and for a first time use this struck me as a little odd. It was initially hard to work with, but i got there in the end.
The good thing about this polish is that you only really need one coat. This was the first time that i can actually recall where i left it at one coat on most nails, with a couple getting two coats just to be consistent in colour.


It gave quite a matte finish. I have yet to jump on board the 'matte trend', but to me this was matte, especially when compared with other polishes. I didn't apply a top coat in order to keep that finish. I think this is what keeps it on the nail. Sleek states it achieves a 'wet look' which is definitely not what i found, it might not be matte, but by no means is it wet look. By day three there were a few chips beginning to appear, but only to the very edges of the nail - and to me, that's impressive, especially without a top coat.
I think this retails for just over £2, meaning another winner from Sleek in my opinion.
I've had a look at all their shades on their website, and don't see anything revolutionary - but I'm definitely going to try other colours out.

Have you tried these polishes?

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Late - Comer of a Monday Poll

1. Mood:
Not bad, not bad - up there with the happys.

2. Do you make your bed?
Generally no, i do if the boy comes over just because he makes his & mine the next day...

3. Have you started holiday shopping?
Just my brother to buy for, i know what i'm getting, just waiting for Abbey to tell me i have the money!

4. Favorite fruit?
Apple or pineapple.

5. Eyes/lips/cheeks:
Rimmel liquid liner, Maybelline Collossal & Rimmel white liner.
Bare lips.
Maybelline Dream Mousse Blush & Elf bronzer as highlight.

6. In what ways are you like your mom?
Pretty much every way, we're both crazily laid back - which i am so glad i got from her... I only have a few tendancys similar to my dad.

7. Do you like to dance?
Love, Love, LOVE to dance - especially when i haven't been out in ages and the song of the moment comes on.
If i could do it all again i would take dance lessons.

8. Long or short nails?
Short, I like false nails to be longer but natural nails always look better just over the top of the finger to me.

9. Outfit:
UGGs, H&M grey (I call them cloud) leggings, H&M (I call it tribal) top and H&M wooly cardi. Apparently i'm a H&M Junky.

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