makeup posts

Christmas Lust-List

December 4, 2017

Also known as the things I – as a 24-year-old woman – have shamelessly begged various members of my family for, until they have now stopped replying to my texts.

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Gabrielle by Chanel

They say you should change your scent with each new man you date, which is something I forgot to do with my fella and we nearly murdered the other recently – so I thought I’d give the poor lad a break and invest for superstition’s sake.

After riding the Estée Lauder Modern Muse train all the way from 2015, the natural progression from ‘pretending-I’ve-got-my-shit-together’ to ‘oh-fuck-I-might-actually-have-my-shit-together’ scent came in the guise of Chanel’s latest offering: Gabrielle. Inspired by the leading lady herself, this youthful take on the timeless Chanel family will hopefully let me convey some semblance of togetherness – on the premise that you can only smell me; not see me smearing lipstick all over my chin on the tram.

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EVE Memory Foam Pillow

Given that a good’s night sleep is about as fabled as Father Christmas himself these days, I’ve somehow convinced myself that spending over £50 on one pillow is wholly justifiable. Whether it’s the cat pissing in the corner of the room (I wish I was joking), or waking up early to hairdry my knickers clean (should really put a new washing machine on this list); getting more than 6 hours zzz is a nightly struggle.

At this price, I’m still hoping it’s going to give me a lap dance too.  

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Zoeva Makeup Brush Set

I had one of those day-crushing moments last week, where the world instantly slams to a halt and you have to swallow a scream on the packed bus: I only went and dropped my trusty makeup sponge on public transport. Given I merely have to think about being 15 to sprout a new chin spot, there was no way the ‘5 second rule’ was coming into play here.

What was a girl to do? Stop being a greb who uses artful finger blending teamed with a circa 2012 Mac blusher brush, of course – enter the Zoeva *insert whatever the hell it’s called*.

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Kiehl’s Haul

On the note of dodgy skin, the haunting calls of true womanhood (hi finelines, hello dull complexion) led to me scouring the Kiehl’s website (with a handy 20% off Black Friday code clutched firmly in my Ctrl+C, that is). I’m not going to tell you what I ordered just yet – a) in case it’s shite and I’m a lost cause b) I’ll review it in the New Year. Although I did order that Midnight Recovery stuff and – swear down – if Karlie Kloss herself doesn’t emerge out of my pores, shit is going to hit the fan.

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Oral B 3D White Whitening Strips

Shout out 2 my ex for introducing me to these badboys (lol jk, you’re an absolute weapon). Given my sister and I haven’t a well-functioning maternal bone between us, we have opted to thoughtfully split a pack of these dodgy af imported whitening strips for our respective Christmas presents this year. Any excuse to FaceTime her at 3am with just me teeth out.

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What’re you hoping to find under the Christmas tree? Peace, love and an unlimited Wagamamas card aside, that is… Drop me a comment, you never know: might buy it for ya.

Okay, that’s a lie – but worth a try, no?

 

Illamasqua Favourites

November 8, 2014

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It’s been precisely three months and twenty-six whole days since I wrote about my favourite topic: make-up. So, with the wonderful Reading rain preventing me from wandering out to the gym/shops/every takeaway in the land, I shall instead bestow upon you my recent obsessive purchases from cult brand Illamasqua.

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the brand at present, Illamasqua’s ethos revolves around a complete freedom of expression, which culminates in its cult following from drag queens and make-up artists worldwide – oh, and their pigmentation is definitely something to call home about. Whilst I’m also a sucker for fancy packaging, this brand really takes the biscuit and offers a jaffa cake. Have a gander at my picks:

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EMPTIES: July

July 13, 2014

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So, last week I graduated with a 2:1 BA Hons English Literature with Creative Writing (and a cheeky first in my dissertation), no biggie – and now I’m on the sad pursuit of the graduate gravy train: population 357485792849347598370187349875. If you know of any copywriting or social media marketing vacancies going (quite literally anywhere, I’m game for a change of scenery), hit me up if you’d be so kind. If you provide me with a successful link, I’ll provide you with a lifetime supply of Jaffa Cakes (or “insert favourite cake/biscuit” – but you’re a lemon, ’cause Jaffa Cakes are the edible bee’s knees). Until I manage to secure a job and shake the dole-y shroud that’s currently drowning me, I’ll be well and truly in your faces through the medium of the ol’blog – apologies in advance if you get sick of my overly verbose ramblings and shoddy iPhone snaps.

Today I have my second ever empties post, primarily because I am almost professionally naff at keeping hold of products until their cessation, mainly because I a) lose them b) have commitment issues and discard everything to the back of a drawer within a week. However, a year after my last empties post, we have something of a breakthrough – and this is only because I’ve just moved out of my flat and unearthed a wealth of sad, abandoned empty products, huddled together in the nooks and crannies of my old dorm room.

MAC Lipstick in ‘Russian Red’ – £15

I’ve just about lost count of how many of these I have collated and finished/snapped/had stolen from my younger sister – but this will be an eternal repurchase for me. I mean, when is pillar-box red going to go out of style?  I’ve actually somehow managed to time it so I’ve ran out of two of these, so I’m currently using Viva Glam 1, which is a surprisingly nice red despite its pink tone in the tube. 10/10

MAC Sheertone Blush in ‘Peaches’ – £18

Another must-have in the empties pile is this delightfully summery shade, again from MAC. For anyone else in the paler-than-pale club, you’ll be with me on the importance of finding that perfect medium between a subtle injection of life into the cheeks, and the ultimate fail of clown cheeks (which are disturbingly easy to achieve in bad lighting). I’m on my second one of these now and will be tempted to find a pinkier shade next. 9/10

Benefit Porefessional – Sample 

If you’ve ever picked up a magazine or basically, if you have a vagina and a reasonable interest in beauty, you’re probably as inundated with these samples as I am: does anyone ever actually invest in Porefessional? Once my decent stash has disintegrated (still got at least one more brand new one), I’ll still be very tempted to buy the fullsize of this product, despite it being a rather pricey £24.50 bank-drainer. Its non-oil formula is great for temperamental skin like my own, although I have been prone to the occasional major breakout whilst using this product, but I don’t think it’s solely to blame. It really does help with base application and I like the little protective layer between my skin and my rather thick slap. 8/10

MAC Prep & Prime Transparent Powder – £20

For probably the first time with a MAC product, I’m going to say it: this isn’t much to write home about, guys. Granted, it definitely does some favours with regards to its truly transparent pigmentation – practically every powder (Rimmel’s Stay Matte aside, surprisingly) I’ve ever used leaves me looking a strange shade of Wotsit, but it didn’t exactly do much for the overall effect. Minimal mattefying occurred and it gave a slightly more polished finish, yet I was never convinced. Then it went and disintegrated on me, so I don’t think I’ll be after this one again. 6/10

CK Shock – Prize

I won this alongside a bunch of other Beauty Cupboard treasures from Cosmopolitan last year, and decided to give it a whirl once I’d ran out of my trusty Gucci Guilty – it’s pretty nice! I’m usually one for musky floral scents, so this was a light change for the summer and saw me through until I finally got my paws on Viktor + Rolf’s Flowerbomb, which has to be one of the most moreish scents going – although I’m getting mildly bewildered by the amount of people thinking it smells like Palma Violets. 8.5/10

Benefit They’re Real Mascara – £19.50 

I did a review of this mascara a while back, go have a gander! 9/10

Beauty Haul Review.

June 10, 2014

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Greetings from unemployed beauty blogger bum land. Sounded slightly weirder than intended, but we’ll roll with it… I’m currently in the midst of emailing half of the entire Internet in the grand endeavour of a Fashion Copywriting job. I’ve been to two interviews; didn’t get the first as someone else had more ‘outdoor-wear experience’; the second I’m due to hear back about this week – and now I have another one coming up in the Big Smoke – MegaBus here I come. I’ve also been inhaling the latest series of Orange Is The New Black: if you haven’t seen it, you need to – and I’m not even a big TV fan. Anywaaaay, back to the point – today I’ve got a little review for you guys from that ridiculous £91 haul I did last month.

Bourjois Paris – ‘Happy Light’ Base Serum Matte – £7.99 (usually £10.99 at Boots)

My skin has a serious case of amnesia. One day it thinks it’s dry, the next it thinks it’s oily: it never really knows what’s going on. However, my eye bags are consistently, religiously and without fail, always a little on the shiny-shiny side irrespective of the amount of powder I drown them under, hence my purchase of this unique little primer. The product itself comes out as a peachy tone which blends into any skin without any visible pigmentation (trust me, I’m a ghost – I’d know) and offers a reasonably easy foundation application process – but the primer aspect itself isn’t really much to call home about. Whilst it does do a admirable job on the shiny bits, I’ve already found myself reaching back for my Benefit Porefessional. 7/10.

L’Oréal Paris – Super Liner Perfect Slim – £6.99

I’ve been sporting the cat eye look nearly everyday for the past 7 years, and I’ve yet to settle on an unbeatable liquid liner – but this one might just be close. After the absolute let down that was the Alexa Eyeko collection (how was that so crap – how?), and a brief affair with a Ted Baker liner from a Christmas set, I finally decided to go back to my high street roots and pick up a new product. Save your finicky gel liners, paintbrush styles and wacky colour pots – I wanted something thin, versatile and ultimately: blacker than black. L’Oréal delivered. The applicator is thin (0.4mm thin, to be precise) and sturdy, something that I’d long missed after the days of Rimmel’s weird little paintbrush applicator. Precision is practically signed, sealed, delivered to even the shakiest of hands (trust me – I have days where I question the possibility of an early Parkinson’s onset, it’s bad), and the colour is consistently dark after extensive usage. One bugbear I do have is that it’s a printer: you need to factor in some sexy daydreaming or a spot of meditation after applying this stuff, as it takes a good while to properly dry. 9/10.

Revlon – Colour Stay Foundation in 150 Buff – £9.49 (usually £12.49 at Boots)

I’m going to whinge a little at this one, but it’s through no fault of the product itself (particularly, anyway). After no less than THREE trips to Boots before purchasing, during which I sampled the product extensively on my hand, I decided to take the plunge and opt for this slightly olive-toned shade in a vain bid to cover up my pinkish/red tones which I thoroughly despise: thanks Irish/Scottish heritage, thanks. I took it home and applied it for an evening out and was wonderfully impressed with the coverage, especially after discovering my Illamasqua foundation can seemingly no longer keep up with my third-year degree skin. However, the next morning, in my mildly hungover haze, I made the horrendously predictable, but ever-saddening discovery that it was too dark for my ghost skin. So ever since, I’d been applying a mix of the Illamasqua and the Revlon, but now I’m out of Illamasqua and have about a third of the bottle’s price to my name. Here’s to being tangoed! 8.5/10.

MAC Kohl Liner in Smolder GIVEAWAY.

January 28, 2014

I mentioned this a week or so ago on Twitter but: here’s my next giveaway. This time, it’s out of my own pocket – you lucky so ‘n’ sos. I joke, I’m really appreciative of all the lovely feedback I’ve had of late, so I thought I’d treat you guys to a little MAC number – namely, their kohl liner in Smolder, which usually retails at £14. What’re you waiting for? Get entering:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation in SB02.

January 15, 2014

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I’ve had this foundation for quite some time now – the second anyone mentions it on Twitter, I can’t help but swoop in with adulation and pale-girl solidarity. It’s a gem. As a ridiculously pink-toned pale lady (I know, awful combination), finding a foundation that manages to get me from one season to another has been a huge strain on both my patience and bank account over the years. However, at least six months on; I’m still very much infatuated with this little beauty. A couple of bloggers were interested in trying out the shade and suggested I did some swatches and a post – so here you go – hope it helps!

illamasqua-skin-base-foundation-swatch-02As you can see, the foundation is super pale, with a more yellowy undertone than my skin really deserves (does a great job of toning down my pinkness!). It goes on reasonably smoothly, though I’d suggest applying in light splodges with a brush at first, then smoothing in with fingers – it doesn’t take too well to my MAC foundation brush. To be honest, I think it looks best when applied with fingers alone, but that’s often more time consuming. The only flaw I can note with this product is that, undoubtedly due to its insanely pale pigment, it isn’t the best of foundations for covering up pesky spots. You’re still going to need to rely on your good pals Mr Concealer and Miss Powder with this one. It is definitely best for general consistent coverage on pale skin. Below is a picture of me wearing just the foundation as a base, without concealer/powder/blush (without flash too):

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OOTD: Day 3 of LCM.

January 8, 2014

I might be typing, but I have a sneaking suspicion that my eyes may still be in bed. London Collections: Men is drawing to a close today and, trust me – I’ve had a blast. I’m not going to go into the details here, as an update will be posted later on, but here’s my last outfit of LCM (all that matters is that the mouse at the tube station yesterday didn’t get me).

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Outfit

Urban Outfitters Kimchi + Blue Blouse – £20 | Primark Pleated Skirt – £?

Urban Outfitters Urban Renewal Tartan Scarf – £9

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Make Up

Face: Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation in SB 02 | MAC Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder | Revlon PhotoReady Concealer in Light | MAC Powder Blush in Peaches | Benefit Hervana Blush

Eyes: L’oreal Brow Pencil in Dark Brunette | Rimmel GlamEyes Liquid Eyeliner in Black | MAC Kohl Liner in Smolder | Benefit They’re Real Mascara | Smashbox Smokebox | Illamasqua Neutral Palette

Lips: MAC Matte Lipstick in Lady Danger

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Not particularly sure why/how I’m accidentally flipping off the camera here – but I like it…

OOTD: Supermarket Goth.

January 1, 2014

I did promise myself, and everyone in the Twittersphere, that one of my New Year’s Resolutions would be to incorporate more OOTD posts into my site – as it’s been getting a little clinical and  far less personal of late. And, given that I discovered I actually own a tripod today – I found myself running quickly out of excuses. However, this was a spur of the minute jaunt (wearing a run-to-Sainsbury’s outfit), so let’s smooth over my hangover hair…

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Make Up

Face: Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation in SB 02 | MAC Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder | Revlon PhotoReady Concealer in Light | MAC Powder Blush in Peaches

Eyes: L’oreal Brow Pencil in Dark Brunette | Rimmel GlamEyes Liquid Eyeliner in Black | Rimmel Soft Kohl Liner in Jet Black | Benefit They’re Real Mascara

Lips: MAC Matte Lipstick in Lady Danger

Processed with VSCOcam with t1 presetOutfit

Topshop Fluffy Jumper – £38 | Forever 21 Leopard Print Skirt – £12

Primark Black Shirt – £4 | Empty Casket Amethyst Pentagram Cord Necklace – £16

An Ode To Lush Cosmetics.

December 31, 2013

Recently, I was on my way to work, getting ready to put my face on in the car last-minute, as always – when I opened my bag to absolute shock and horror. My Lush lip-scrub had yet again managed to open itself and explode its entire sticky contents all over my make-up – my MAC brushes looked like they had STDs. So, after sulking away about it and having to rely on good ol’nature to sort the brushes out (wildly shaking them out of the window on the motorway to get the sugar off, that is), I posted a pissy tweet to Lush about my debacle.

Almost instantaneously, I received a response from Nicolas at their customer care team, who asked me for my number (wheey). I obliged and within five minutes, received a phone call which has reassured me of Lush’s wonderful customer service and ensured my custom for life. Nicolas was lovely: helpful and truly informative (listed all the ingredients in the scrub to put my mind at ease about the reversibility of any damage to my make-up). He also insisted on sending me a replacement for my scrub and, as it was Christmas, a few little bits and bobs to make up for the inconvenience, which I thought was lovely.

The parcel arrived on Christmas Eve, giving me one more present to unwrap on Christmas Day. Instead of sending me one lip-scrub, I received two – which was nice, as I could give one to my friend who was visiting at the time. I didn’t receive the same lip-scrub that I’d originally had and disposed of, but this time I got the ‘Mint Julips’ which I have since fallen in love with. Alongside these, I also received some seasonal gifts: a ‘Santa Sugar Scrub’ which I’m excited to try out, a Santa Baby lip tint and two ‘Shimmy Shimmy Glitter Bars’ – one of which my friend pilfered. The glitter bar is brilliant, but it looks miles better on tanned skin than my pasty shade – I popped some on my nan and she looked like she was made out of gold dust. Party on, nan.

To summarise: thank you Lush for being a genuine company, who genuinely cares about customer service.

A New Spin on New Year’s Resolutions.

December 29, 2013

Every single year we torture ourselves with endless lists of things we find particularly shitty about ourselves, that we find need to be changed. ‘I’m too fat’ – New Year’s Resolution to lose 15lbs/join a gym/eat less awesome things. ‘I don’t try hard enough’ – New Year’s Resolution to strive more, and then beat the mental living crap out of yourself when it transpires that you can’t always give 100% because, hey: you’re only human. My point is, every damn year we turn New Year into this self-deprecating spiral, subjecting ourselves to inescapable impending self-hatred – of our own making! So, this year – given I’m usually renowned for being a negative nancy (my boyfriend was disgusted that out of 13 Snapchats he received on Christmas morning, 12 were of happy smiling friends saying ‘Happy Christmas’, then there was one off me with a santa hat over my face with ‘My eyes are bleeding’ – you get my drift) – I’d opt for a happier tone this year.

And how better to achieve this, than for us all to rally together, and each create a post in which we celebrate the things we actually do like about ourselves, instead of focusing on the stuff we hate? If you want to be part of this tag, write a blog post listing 5 – 10 things you love about yourself and link it on here, or to me on my Twitter (@Ebzo) for me to promote. It would be so amazing if, by New Year, we could have a collection of these to look through – great for those days when you forget just how un-shit you actually are. Who’s with me?

Here’s 10 things that I don’t think are completely bloody awful about myself:

  1. My eyeliner skills are nearly unparalleled. Come rain, come tears, come shine – I will be religiously sporting slick cats eyes wherever I am. I even do it for 9am seminars… Come on, where’s the medal?
  2. For a weedy white girl, I am a pretty big fan of my bum – it’s dayumn perky.
  3. I am extraordinarily talented at writing absolute bullshit – perks of being a copywriter. I can write about anything: semen-increasing drugs, car wheels, Miley Cyrus – you name it, I’m your girl.
  4. I am also reasonably talented at writing stuff that isn’t absolute bullshit – and I’m really quite proud of myself for maintaining my own persona and voice in everything I write. Allll the love to other bloggers who do this, too.
  5. Despite having dodgy eyebags and chubby cheeks, I can use this to my advantage to scare off creepers: I can lift my cheekbones up to make my irises disappear. This probably isn’t a perk, but it makes for a damn good Snapchat…
  6. I might be part cat – my meows have been mistaken for their real counterparts on many an occasion. Again, we’re verging away from perks to the plain weird, now…
  7. My lips are boss. Getting used to having two fat orange segments for lips has taken some time, but I’m finally embracing their awesome factor. They don’t call me BJ-lips for nothing… urrr.
  8. I might be a walking synthesizer: my sister and I can emulate men when we sing – it’s quite impressive. I can also sing like a normal person, but I think that’s cooler.
  9.  Back to the cats – I can 9 times out of 10 tell you exactly what breed any cat is that you place in front of me. This is due to a very severe chronic onset of cat-obsession that began to bloom when I was around 9 years old. Apparently I’ll never recover.
  10. My feet are cute. Feet are often long stubs of ming, but mine are teensy tiny size 3s and therefore, reasonably cute – so I’ve been told. However, they’re a little bitch for wearing heels – carrying my bodyweight on such a pathetic surface area is torture.

So there you have it – that’s my list. I’ve heard from a few bloggers on Twitter who are going to get involved, let’s try and make this big. Down with the resolutions, hear hear to celebrating who we actually are!


Ebony. 25. Manchester.
Marketing Manager who likes to mouth off on here about stuff she cares about. Expect mental health, Borderline Personality Disorder, and reviews - from restaurants, to books, to fashion. Talks to cats more than people, but seemingly has a lot to say.
ebonylaurenn@gmail.com