Barry M Lipgloss

After seeing this plastered in Boots http://www.oliviasobsession.com/DoutzenKroesLorealColorRiche2.jpg , I was suddenly left wondering how I could get the same look in time for the festive season - it's not just red lipstick, but summin' else entirely. Turns out it's a red-plum lipstick with a golden one over it. But before I knew that, I spotted this in the Barry M section and pretty much had to buy it.

It's basically glitter! On it's own it's not that amazing, as the glitter density is never quite as good as it looks like in the tube. It also smells very strongly of bubblegum and kinda stings when on.

However, with red lipstick (I swear it wasn't orange, the camera is 4.1 megapixel and pretty shoddy):

It's a bit better (apart from the skewed pout which makes me look like I've fallen asleep/broken my jaw). This would probably work more with a dark red. Also, picked up some bargains from the bargain box: 

As Borat would say, great success! Half of that will be going on my face for NYE and then up on this blog as the first and last tutorial of 2011. Despite now owning 4 pairs of them, I've never actually used fake eyelashes... This has the potential to be dreadful, but I'm now settled on doing a heavy black eye (not that kind of black eye) for the 31st - black glitter, eyelashes, nothing on the bottom half of the eye. Got that to look forward to - though our New Year's party might in fact be a Midsomer Murders marathon, thanks to our slight lack of concrete plans :D Happy days.

False Lash Effect - or is it?

One of my Christmas presents was the Max Factor False Lash Effect mascara, in limited edition gold. Now I do get scammed rather easily, but when choosing which mascara to ask for, the words "false lash" just stood out at me. Isn't that the goal of all mascaras after all, to get that look but without the glue and the faff of pulling out half your eyelashes after 10 shots at the end of the night.

Upon opening the tube, the first thing I thought was that the brush was a bit ridiculous, and I might have nice eyelashes but end up having poked my eyes out. Applying it is fine apart from Max Factor have cleverly removed the bristles at the end of the brush, so reaching the corners of your lashes becomes a bit of a challenge. Anyways, here is a before and after:

It's pretty decent, though I'd say it fares much better at "defining" and curling rather than actually volumising. Now compare with 1 coat of the Maybelline Cat Eyes one (bear in mind this is my left eye, which always looks worse, probably because I apply it with my left hand)(also, photo is slightly out of focus):

 Difference? Well, the False Lash one is definitely neater, and the lashes are all generally pointing in the right angle. It also holds the curl much better by the end of the day. 2 coats of the Maybelline one was in the previous post, and it was a pretty clumpy affair. But as the Max Factor one is £11....really, I would have expected a bit better. The point is, I've come to the conclusion that they're all the bloody same - no matter what they call it, or how neon the packaging is, there doesn't seem to be a mascara out there that will multiply your eyelashes and make them reach your eyebrows. Sadtimes.

Hi everyone (and a mascara review)

So...hi! Just thought I'd introduce this whole shabang. Why start a beauty blog? I mean, there's 1000s out there, a lot more decent and by people whose advice is more trustworthy. Well firstly, I lead a boring unfulfilling life and will probably end up sitting in an office running stats programs (whoopee), so thought this would be a fun thing to do, and can fill up hours that probably should be spent on maths homework. Unlike DJing (lol), it doesn't require hundreds of pounds - though I probably have racked up that much even in the £3 eyeshadows I buy. Secondly, I do love cosmetics and even plan my face for a night out in advance. To me it's like art but on your face, which you can wipe clean every evening and do something different the next day. Some people find a look that suits them and stick with them, but I think the fun is in the experimentation. And thirdly, a selling point; being a student, I can't afford Chanel/Estee Lauder etc, so if you're in the same boat of being limited to only buying drugstore brands, that's mainly what I'll be writing about! And general reviews of things like perfume ofc. So here we go.

This is what I picked up in a recently failed attempt at Christmas shopping. The eyeliner and light-up lipgloss are from Collection 2000, while the eyeshadows were half-price (yay) from Gosh. The silver is a really nice glittery one, while the greens are very matte and could almost be grey in some lighting. I love the black-n-glitter liquid eyeliner, but the only problem is it ends up crumbling over your face and in your eyes if you're not careful. Anyways, this is what these products look like on: (sorry about the quality of the photos, will improve in future)

The mascara in this photo is the Colossal Cat Eyes from Maybelline, which I actually really like.

The brush is a natural bristle one, slightly curved. It's a normal size, which is getting rarer now that every brand seems to boast "our biggest brush ever" (what do they want, that eventually we'll be putting our mascara on with a shoebrush?). It's a pretty good one for applying, though I find I have to use the end bit for the very corner lashes which can be a pain - literally. I don't get too much of the stuff all over my eyelids.
As for how my lashes look - well, see for yourself. I think this does a pretty good job or curling/volumising/lengthening, especially on the first coat. However on subsequent coats it does start clumping, so you have to use a lash comb.
Any other unimportant details? In reviews I've watched on YouTube, EVERYONE complains about the smell. I can honestly say, I love it. It smells of honey, maybe "roses" to some and "nasty chemicals" to a few mad others....whatever, I think it's lovely, so I didn't mind that in the first week after buying this, I could smell my eyelashes. It's £8 in Boots/Superdrug, though I got it for £6. They do occasionally have some deals on. Though I won't be repurchasing as I want to try something new, I would definitely recommend this! :)