It's been a long time since I did a big splurge on makeup, but as my exams have now finished I figured it was a good time to go out with my friends and buy some more. I had one of those situations where everything runs out at once, y'know how hard it is going into an exam with a weak eyeliner game because your holy grail ran out? Pretty damn hard I tell you, so it was time for a spree.
Makeup Revolution Vivid Baked Highlighter in Golden Lights - £3.00
Maybelline Fit Me Foundation in 220 - £7.99
Maybelline The Colossal Volume Express Mascara Cat Eye - £7.99
Revlon Colourstay Concealer in Medium Deep - £6.99
Collection Pressed Powder in Translucent - £1.99
Makeup Revolution The One Blush Stick in Matte Malibu - £5.00
Collection Fast Stroke Eyeliner in Black - £2.99
Maybelline Forever Strong Nail Polish in Mint for Life - £4.49
Collection Lasting Colour Lipstick in China Rose - £2.99
MUA Matte Perfect Loose Powder - £2.50
MUA Pro-Base Prime and Conceal in Peach - £2.00
Palmer's Cocoa Butter Lip Balm - £1.89
Simple Kind to Skin Moisturising Face Wash - £1.75
Simple Kind to Skin Soothing Facial Toner - £1.59
This post could also be called 'the haul that was supposed to be summery but resulted in all black clothes' but it doesn't have the same ring to it. Anyway, I hadn't been shopping in a couple of months so I decided to go out with my friends and pick up a few bits (big beauty haul coming soon), without further ado, let's see how I've been funding the capitalist system.
Maeve from Thrift o' Clock gave me a mention in her YouTubers I love video and I just wanted to share her blog which I've loved for ages, and her YouTube channel is pretty great too - go check her out she said nice things about me I like her a lot!!
two.
I found this video on DIY sugaring wax and it's so strange, I've never even heard of people doing that before, but I'm really tempted to give it a go - anyone else tried it before?
three.
Anna and Johnathan uploaded a video in 360 degrees and it's mind boggling oh my gosh, it's insane that technology has come this far (I'm sounding a bit like my parents but it is!!)
four.
I'm having a major Muse moment recently. It started when I decided to finally sit down and give their new album Drones a listen, which led to me giving Origin of Symmetry a revisit, and now all I'm really listening to is Muse on shuffle on Spotify - I find it really good to revise to, is that weird?
five.
My half-sister visited us as all her exams are finished (she's doing a foundation year in University) and that was really nice, we enlightened my parents on the forest nymph vines - have you seen them?
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I've decided to go vegan up until I go on holiday (on the 29th June) so I will have been doing it for about 3 and a half weeks by that time, so far so good - I feel generally so much healthier! I was considering doing a post on it (it's in my drafts) which I might post if you're interested, I wasn't sure whether people would give a rat's arse about how I found going vegan though so I haven't posted it yet.
seven.
ALL MY EXAMS ARE FINISHED - HALLELUJAH! I have to say I feel some of them could've gone better but I'm just glad they're over now!!
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I went round to my friend's house with a few other people and it was the first time in months that we were able to hang out without feeling like we should be revising, and we managed to prank one of our friends - yes we are all 18, but we're not past the point of pranking people.
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I went to the Anti-Austerity march in London (vlog coming soon on my YouTube channel) and it was such a great experience, I'm amazed that 250,000 people turned up and the speakers were amazing as well - Caroline Lucas, Charlotte Church, Jeremy Corbyn, Russell Brand, and many more. I was a bit disappointed I missed Owen Jones but he wasn't speaking at the same time or place as the other speakers (think he was speaking at Bank at the very beginning) so I suppose it was destined for me never to see him. I can't really feel my legs and I'm pretty certain I caught something while I was out because I feel a bit ill, but it was so worth it.
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My Uncle who lives in Germany is visiting for a few days, and he didn't know what Nandos was (I guess they don't have them in the part he lives in) and I said we should all go for a cheeky Nandos.. so that's a thing, but I don't think he recognised it as an internet meme, so I made myself just sound a little bit odd - thanks internet.
It's been a heck of a long time since I did a makeup tutorial (I already specified previously that when I say makeup tutorial, I'm not saying I'm a makeup artist or I have any idea what I'm doing, but for the sake of shorter post/YouTube video titles, I have called it a tutorial - #dealwithit) and I quite fancied doing the somewhat summery look I've been wearing recently. When I say summery, I mean as summery as it gets for me. I actually decided to do this tutorial different to my other makeup videos (which you may or may not have realised are now mostly unlisted) so this isn't a chatty one, let me know what you think! I really fancied shaking things up and I think I prefer these sorts of videos at the moment. Also, big change - the lighting is actually pretty good in this video and I actually look mixed race, amen!
Products Used:
Rimmel 25hr Nude Foundation in 400
Collection Cover Stick in Natural Beige
L'Oreal True Match Concealer in Sable/Sand 5
Collection Sheer Loose Powder in Translucent (Review here)
Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Transparent
Essence Brow and Lash Gel
Makeup Revolution Mono Eyeshadow in Delicious
Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation in 200 Soft Beige
Makeup Revolution Mono Eyeshadow in MMMM (Review here)
Colours by Technic Complete Makeup Palette
Rimmel Scandaleyes Kohl Kajal Pencil in Nude
Rimmel Scandaleyes Kohl Kajal Pencil in Black
Essence Lip Liner in Satin Mauve
Essence Long Lasting Lipstick in Natural Mauve
How do you shake up your makeup for summer? (If at all, I evidently don't change up mine that much!)
Pictured are the shades: Forever Glam, and Snow White
. . . then you need to try out the Max Factor Glossfinity nail polishes. I'm not very good with nail polish whatsoever, so I need a quick drying, opaque, long lasting kinda deal when it comes to nail polishes otherwise they tend to get on my nerves, I'm sure you can imagine the struggle. The Max Factor Glossfinity nail polishes fulfil all my requirements and are quite possibly some of the best nail polish formulas I have ever tried. They claim to take 10 minutes to dry, and I verified this as I was about to film a makeup tutorial but I realised I had forgotten to paint my nails, so I decided to paint them and it lived up to the claim and was properly dry within 10 minutes. Super glossy nails that last 5-7 days, dry quickly and to an even finish? It's a winner from me, and it's going to take a lot of restraint not to buy the rest of the collection.
As you may or may not have picked up on, I cannot wear makeup unless I have somewhat of a cat eye going on. I don't care whether it's liquid or gel liner, I just need something on my upper lids to make me look a little less terrible (it's the main factor that helps me go from a generous 2 to a solid 4 on a day to day basis) but recently I'm just finding myself a bit bored with the eyeliners that I currently have.
Don't get me wrong, I've found eyeliners that I love but being the beauty blogger that I am, I just want to try out some new stuff that could possibly rival my current collection. I know that I love the Collection Fast Stroke Liquid Eyeliner which is matte, really black, pretty cheap coming in at £2.99 and fairly easy to use, and it's one that I've repurchased a fair few times. I'm also pretty attached to the Essence Waterproof Liquid Liner, which is also very black, very matte, waterproof, easy to use and it's also inexpensive coming in at £2.50. The most expensive one in my collection but one I really like to use is Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner in Black Chrome, it comes in at £7.99 but it's really easy to use and pretty long lasting, but it fails in the being-black-enough department, not that that's necessarily a bad thing because it makes for a slightly more neutral day-to-day look. These are all safe eyeliner options for me and ones I can, and have, repurchased.
But that's just not good enough for your average beauty blogger, I would really like to try more, I'd like to venture the aisles of Boots and Superdrug to try and find something to top what I've got. . .
I reached 400 followers on this lil old blog and the thought confuses me a hell of a lot, that's nearly 4 times the amount of people in my year at school, what the heck (yeah I have a small sixth form but the point still stands!!)
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I've rediscovered the Is This It album by The Strokes - it's a consistently good album, and I'm glad I've rediscovered it because it's amazeballs.
three.
I went round to Isabella's to revise History with Ma'Suma and it was pretty cool, we watched The Other Boleyn Girl (relevant, it's the Tudors) and most of We Need to Talk About Kevin.. wow, we missed the beginning but talk about messed up (but also kinda great), we arranged how my ashes are going to be tattooed into them when I die, because you see, when I die I want my ashes tattooed into those closest to me in the form of a phallic doodle, hence the penis with my name under it.
four.
Bethan from the YouTube channel musicalbethan uploaded a video on dodgy sizing in shops (specifically in H&M) I've actually suffered an opposite problem and found that their sizing was far too big the last time I bought anything from them, but it's definitely something I've found in other stores and it's an issue that deserves a lot more attention because it makes shopping a lot harder and can affect people's body image in a really negative way, which obviously sucks.
five.
Rumbie from RumbieLove did a post about getting the right base for darker skin tones, and I just feel like this needs to be shared with the masses. If you watch my YouTube makeup videos, you'll have heard me complaining about my foundation shade a ridiculous amount of times, but posts like these are really helpful in knowing where to look - nice one Rumbie!
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I've recently discovered the app Dubsmash, and also wasted an immense amount of time on it - it's just so much fun recreating vines, totes #bantz.
seven.
Had a massive cringe because one of my Philosophy teachers from last year found my YouTube channel, and it was a really old video, and she didn't hesitate to tweet me about it from her school account. To be fair, she's a hella cool teacher so it's not too bad but I did spend a good long time cringing.
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Russell Brand uploaded an episode of the Trews talking about the Queen's speech and he essentially summarised my thoughts about it, definitely worth a watch (as are all of Russell Brand's Trews)
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Owen Jones has created a YouTube channel and he's just killing it, I already think Owen Jones is pretty fab journalistically and he's just generally so educated on political current affairs, but he's not at all pretentious or condescending. My brother described his YouTube channel as a better version of Russell Brand's, which is debatable as I love Russell's YouTube channel too, but my brother hates Russell Brand, and Owen Jones never told people not to vote so I guess he's marginally better. Anyway, I would definitely recommend giving his first video a watch about the direction Labour is headed in.
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I have shared a few Button Poetry videos on these posts before but I've found another one that I just have to share, it's called 'Black Privilege' and it's just really moving.
Another month has gone by, I feel we're a little older, a little wiser, a little closer to our inevitable deaths and all that malarkey, so here are my monthly favourites . . .
1. FaceTheory C1 Cleanser*
I've only got the sample size of this because it was a PR sample, but I really like it! It really evened out my skin and left it feeling soft. What I really like about the FaceTheory products in general (I've got a moisturiser and toner sample too) is that you do a quiz on their website to establish your skin type and what works best for that, then you can buy skincare to match that. I didn't think much of the moisturiser and toner but they definitely worth bad, and it's definitely worth looking on the website.
I actually tried this out ages ago and I remember really liking it but for some reason I hadn't really used it since then, but at the moment I've been in some what of a rut with my makeup, I just really want to shake everything up products wise and try new things (I think it's because I'm stuck inside revising so I can't go out and buy or swatch things, roll on 16th June when my exams end!) so I've been shopping my stash and rediscovering products, and I've been using this nearly everyday - it's waterproof, very black, easy to apply, and it only costs about £2.50, brilliant!
3. Rimmel Lasting Finish Nail Polish in Double Decker Red (review here)
As I said in the full review of this product, when I first tried it about a year ago I really didn't think it was anything special - this was due to my own mistakes, I thought it was so opaque it only needed one coat and obviously this meant it chipped really easily - my stupidity really. However, I've tried it again and I'm having somewhat of a love affair. It's a bright red colour that's really nice for summer (although all year round would work too, it's just for me the brighter colours come out in the summer) and it lasts me 3-5 days which for a pianist is pretty decent. I only paid £1 for this as well because I got it from a market near my house, basically you get an even finish, longevity, and a nice bright summery colour.
4. L'Oreal Colour Riche Lipstick in Bois De Rose
I bought this a while ago but I hadn't really mentioned it on here before because I hadn't majorly used it until this month. It's a sheer, mauve, moisturising lipstick that I hadn't really worn much since buying it because I was very into my matte Kylie Jenner-esque lip colours, but now it's coming up to Summer I am just so off matte makeup whether it be lipsticks or foundation, so I decided to try this out again and I have been loving it. It's such a lovely everyday lip colour, it doesn't last all that long on the lips and I have to top it up throughout the day but that's to be expected with sheer lip colours. The packaging is also super classy too.
5. All Ways Natural Instant Oil Moisturizer Leave-in Conditioner
Something I get asked about a lot (more so in YouTube comments) is my hair, and I have been requested to do a hair care video so if you want that please let me know, I'm a bit on the fence about it because I don't do much, but something I have been using a lot for the past month (even last month but I didn't put it in last month's favourites for some reason) is this leave-in conditioner. Going to say right now, this would only really be suited to people with dryer hair or hair on the afro hair spectrum. My hair is a mix of afro and caucasian hair so I can get away with using this but I have to be careful not to go overboard, basically this is just super moisturising and just leaves my hair feeling soft. If I use too much, the next day it might feel a bit greasy and weighed down, but if I put it on my hair over the weekend and don't go out (revision life, ugh) then by Monday it's super soft and feeling healthy generally.
I'm not sure if I've said anything or anything much on the whole gender identity situation going on with Caitlyn Jenner (if you haven't heard, she has now changed her name to Caitlyn) but I feel that there's a serious case of transphobia plaguing the internet (specifically my Twitter timeline) that needs to be addressed, yep you guessed it - you're in for a rambly social justice post.
To make this plain and simple, now that Caitlyn has changed her name from Bruce, there is no excuse for people to continue calling her Bruce. When she initially said to the world that she identified as a female, she did say that she wanted to be referred to as a him for that time, but now she has said she wanted to be referred to as she/her, and it's important to do that because failing to recognise someone's pronouns is abusive and disrespectful, essentially what you're doing is invalidating the gender identity that person identifies with and telling them you don't think that what they're feeling is real, and so you don't think it should be acknowledged. You are removing that person's right to be comfortable within themselves so that you feel more comfortable, because you're offended by them expressing how they feel.
By refusing to call Caitlyn Caitlyn, you're ignoring the person she has identified herself to be, and if you invalidate someone's own identity, you're basically saying you don't care about them as a person, and you find their existence to be an inconvenience for you. Doesn't sound very nice, does it?
And another thing, people who are criticising her for changing her name in order to feel more like a female on the grounds that 'gender is a social construct' and we shouldn't associate names with certain genders, stop trying to belittle the problems that transgender people face. Maybe gender is a social construct, but as it's a current, prevalent part of our society, people have a right to identify as one gender and if it helps them feel more comfortable with who they are to change their name to a stereotypically female or male name, why shouldn't they have the right to that? Plus, most of the systems in place at the moment are social constructs - different types of sexualities are social constructs, different races are social constructs, even our concept of right and wrong is a social construct.
Our ideas of gender are always changing, and I do agree that we should try and remove the stereotypes associated to certain genders because no person should feel confined to the stereotypes of their gender, but if it helps a person feel more comfortable with who they are by doing things that are stereotypically linked to one gender, why is that such a big deal? Furthermore, most of the people I've seen criticising Caitlyn for changing her name on the basis that 'gender is a social construct' are cisgender and funnily enough have stereotypically male or female names, by criticising a transgender person for changing their name so they can better identify with their gender, you're ignoring the problems faced by transgender people. It's easy for someone in a more privileged position to say 'she shouldn't have to change her name' because they haven't the faintest idea what it's like to question your gender identity, whether or not gender is a societal construct, it's something that's so prevalent in our society you can't ignore it so if changing your name makes you feel more comfortable because you associate with a gender that society has constructed, you absolutely have the right to do that.
All I'm getting at is that gender is a really confusing thing to come to terms with for a lot of people, and the amount of criticism I've seen for Caitlyn Jenner has just shown how alive transphobia is (not that I thought for a second it was dead, but it's just brought it to my attention again). If someone identifies with a certain gender, whether or not it be a societal construct, use the correct pronouns for that gender, use the name the person has for themselves whether it be the one they're born with or one they've assigned for themselves, and just be open and tolerant towards people in a less privileged position than you are. I know I have privilege in the sense that I'm cisgender, but I like to consider myself an ally to people who don't share that privilege and I think it's important to bring awareness to the issue so we can stop treating people who aren't cisgender like a taboo topic. For more information, I found this blog post really helpful so give it a read and this video from Kat Blaque who's a transgender WOC so what she says has a lot more depth than anything I could say on the issue.
I'm not sure whether it's just me, but I find when I'm stuck inside revising, online window shopping becomes a hobby I pour way too much time into, and it's for that reason that making this wishlist hasn't been too difficult...
First up is the MUA Prime & Conceal Correcting Cream Solo in Peach. Basically, I've been really wanting to buy a proper corrector for under my eyes (I usually use orange lipstick and it works, but there's something special about using a product for what it's intended for so I'd quite like to buy a proper corrector) and as this one only costs £2.00, I figure you can't go wrong.
I've not done a proper face mask in a long time, we're talking months. I've only done homemade ones and I read a review of the Squeeky Clean Pore Pow Wow Face Mask (it annoys me too that they've spelled Squeaky wrong, but I guess you can't have it all), I've been interested in this brand before because they're sold at the Pound shop so if they're decent then that's great, and after reading the good review I thought I'd give it a go.
A product that has been immensely hyped in the world of blogging/vlogging/general internet merriment is the Soap & Glory Archery 2-in-1 Brow Filling Pencil & Brush. It's an alleged dupe of the Anastasia Brow wiz, and generally a product I've wanted to try for a while because when I see other people use it in tutorials it looks really quick and easy to use. I usually find pencils a lot quicker to use on my brows, and when I go on holiday with my friends at the end of the month (which I feel I've mentioned countless times in the past month, sorry) I don't want to be spending ages and ages on my makeup because I know they take less time than I do, so time effective products are a must have!!
Blush. A product that I have never really tried, call me a coward but I am terrified of blush. Really scared of going overboard and looking like Tracy Beaker in that episode where she borrows Adele's makeup.. you know what I'm talking about. However, after hearing about the Collection cream blush sticks, I've been thinking this might be a nice easy way to start using blush. Cream products are quite easy to use and can be majorly blended in, so I think the Collection Speedy Blush Stick in Tickled Pink might be a good starter for me, plus it's pretty inexpensive at £2.99.
I've only owned one highlighter and whilst I love it, I feel like the colour isn't the best for my skin tone, which is why I really want to try the MUA Highlighting Powder in Gold. It's a mere £3.00 and probably a much better match for my skin tone, furthermore I've read some really good reviews on it and I think MUA is such a great brand, and probably one that I don't give enough credit on the blog.
