Subdued Winter
Posted by ilyana | Filed under Make-Up & Beauty
Went to the city today to check out the European paintings exhibit at the National Gallery of Victoria but I didn’t go in the end because I wasn’t feeling too well. Picasso and Monet will have to wait another day. I found out a couple of days ago that I wouldn’t be able to take Art History next year which is such a shame really because I love that subject (and not because my tutor happens to have one fine ass). It’s the only subject that bears the slightest resemblance to design- something I’m familiar with, having dabbled with it for the past 4 years. I’m kinda gutted about it but well, it’s not the end of the world so I’ll just stick to my random visits to the gallery for my art history fix (what a pity tho, my tutor was a total hunk and has a PhD in Art History which I find SO sexy).
I’ve been keeping my make-up really light the past month, I know make-up trends for fall and winter in the world of ~FASHIN~ often lean towards the intense but something about the dreary weather we’ve been having here just makes me want to rebel against the conventional sooty smokey eyes and dark lipstick. I love a good smokey eye but I love the warm brilliance of the sun more. Pink lips and soft hues of taupe & gold in the middle of a somber winter? I am so there.
Face:
MAC Studio Fix foundation in NC25
MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC25
Cheeks:
Rock & Republic’s Contrived Pressed blush in Kinky
Eyes:
MAC paintpot in Rubenesque as a base
MAC eyeshadow in Woodwinked
MAC pigment in Blonde’s Gold
MAC eyeshadow in Shroom as highlight
Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in Honey
Maybelline gel liner in Black
MAC Browset in Girl Boy
Majolica Majorca Lash Expander NEO
Lips:
Lancome L’absolu Rouge in Rose Rhapsodie
I’m loving the gold eyeliner in this one, I think it’s a nice bright change from the smudgy black lined eyes I tend to go for. Finally got to try out the Rock & Republic blush Cat sent me for my birthday and as I suspected, this baby has enough pigment to fill 5 MAC lipstick vials. I had to be very careful with this blush because it’s easy to OD on blush when you’re pale like me. I swiped my brush over the blush with the lightest pressure possible and it was enough to create a delicate flush of pink. I love the blush, Cat! Thank you so much <3
Btw, you only see one side of my face here because I have a pimple on the other cheek LOL. I know it's become socially acceptable to pretend that you have the body of a porn star with perfect skin but I just don't like the idea of retouching my photos to death. You can still see I have pores in my photos and my forehead has tiny marks - battle scars from previous hand to hand combat experiences with pimples (those bastards!).
I have a couple of beauty reviews coming up this week and in true tea noir style, they're going to be squashed together in one single entry lol. I'm also thinking of doing a photography/camera entry too because I've been getting so many questions pertaining to the camera I use for this blog etc - is there anything you would like to know about photography? If you're too shy to ask in the comments, ask on my formspring where your identity and soul remains safe from me. Even if you don’t have a photography related question, ask me anything anyway!
Tags: beauty: maybelline, beauty: rock & republic, fotd: neutral, lancome, MAC, make-up: urban decay
Birthday gifts from Catherine~
Posted by ilyana | Filed under Make-Up & Beauty
I received a birthday parcel from Cat about 3 weeks prior to my birthday and while opening the parcel (you gotta give it to the American postal service for their extremely durable boxes), I accidentally hacked off 0.5cm of skin from my left thumb with a knife I normally reserve for the delicate procedure of turning salmon into thin wispy slices of sashimi i.e. there is no room for blatant stupidity when using this knife. I didn’t feel any pain thankfully but oh the blood - My thumb was bleeding on/off for the next couple of days. The wound’s healed but it’s left a slight reddish ‘blood mark’ which serves as a constant reminder of my fail moment. *cough* Anyway, back to the parcel lol - I ignored my bleeding thumb for a good minute (I mean no one’s going to die from a teeny wound right?) because in my line of vision was a huge ass black box which looked familiar so I dug it out and-
This is Rock & Republic’s Contrived Pressed blush! Cat did a haul a couple of months/weeks (you gotta help me here, my sense of time has been warped since school started) and I was just amazed at the packaging - so stunning. Cat, you shouldn’t have!
Oh my god, I’m going to repeat myself here: what. a. STUNNER. I am whipping this baby out every chance I get LOL, it makes me feel special just by its presence in my make-up collection.
The shade Cat got me is called Kinky lol- no bdsm sex jokes plz, people. Let’s try to keep this PG-13 lmao. It’s a very bright doll pink, I suppose it’s to be worn with a light hand. I actually read reviews of this and everyone seems to agree it’s a nice cool toned pink flush that’s very flattering to the skin. It kinda reminds me of a matte version of my NARS Angelika blush. I don’t know if you can tell but this blush is HUGE, it’s almost the size of a compact powder?
She got me some nail polishes as well! They’re colors I don’t tend to go for which is good because I should stay away from my usual vampy reds, purples and blues! L to R: Sinful Colors in Let’s Talk, China Glaze in Strawberry Fields (I wanted this since FOREVERRR thanks hun!), Sinful Colors in Nail Junkie. Let’s Talk is a bold chrome-like purple, Strawberry Fields is one sweet pink nail polish with gold shimmer and Nail Junkie is just nothing short of INSANE green hued glitter in a clear base - perfect for layering over other colors!
L to R: OPI’s Go on Green (beautiful light duochrome blue/green) and Sally Hansen’s Grape Going! (purple/blue duochrome - this is sooo pretty!)
So I can finally reveal the nail polishes I had on the other day yay! L to R: China Glaze Stella + Sinful Colors Nail Junkie (just so we’re clear, this means I brushed on Stella first, waited for it to dry and then applied Nail Junkie), Sally Hansen’s Grape Going + Sinful Colors Nail Junkie (isn’t Grape Going just beautiful?), Sinful Colors in Let’s Talk + Sinful Colors Nail Junkie, OPI Russian Navy + OPI Go On Green + Sinful Colors Nail Junkie (who knew Russian Navy would turn into a beautiful emerald green with this combo?) Yes a lot of sparkling went down that day. Sry Edward Cullen, you gotta wait in line - my nails are sparkling first boy.
I actually painted my nails with Strawberry Fields today, I don’t have a camera photo to show you but I did post an iphone photo on twitter so check it out here!
And knowing how much I love Shu Uemura’s cleansing oil, she gave me two mini bottles which will have a special place in my holiday toiletries kit.
We were discussing lipbalm on msn a couple of months ago and Cat mentioned that she uses a green tea lipbalm she got off from Etsy so she sent me one to try! I am a sucker for green tea so imma be biased and say THIS LIPBALM IS AWESOME! This is Soapalaya’s Green Tea Lip Butter - it’s got a faint matcha scent, is moisturizing and I like using this as my night lipbalm (I use another lipbalm with spf in the day)
My birthday card! Isn’t it pretty? The ribbons have tiny beads in them, I love details like these (I’m such a girl lol).
Thank you so much Cat! Despite having to bleed for the damn parcel, I love everything! ;p I can’t wait to send you yours so I hope you find a new apartment soon :3 It’s been great knowing you too and yay I’m glad you’re back from Greece so we can talk again (looking forward to the holiday entries btw) CONGRATS ON YOUR GRADUATION! It’s my turn to stay up writing essays and reports lol. Talk soon ♥ ♥ ♥
Tags: beauty: rock & republic, beauty: shu uemura, birthdays, nails: China Glaze, nails: OPI, nails: Sally Hansen, nails: Sinful Colors
