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Plenty of Parentheses
 
This post comes in association with my earlier Great Grad Ball post, where I featured the beautiful blue dress I squeezed my body into for my university graduation ball. Although not technically festival-themed, much of the night involved outside entertainment and with the Great Gatsby theme, it was all about grandeur.
 
As I stated in my first post, the dress itself was so much of a statement that I wanted to keep my make up mostly minimal. But I also like adding a little bit of quirk to my outfits, to really separate social events from one another. I had already acquired some synthetic hair extensions to change my visual appearance slightly but it was grad ball - no holding back! It was however quite by accident that I happened upon the glittery eyes idea. Two nights prior to my graduation ball, I attended a local dance show and took an issue of Company Magazine along with me because I had been told the auditorium got very, very hot. (What I had not been told was how much my legs would stick to the chairs. Tasty.)
 
When it came to the interval, I had a quick flick through even though I'd already read it cover to cover and the page on festival make up quite literally caught my eye. I spotted the Aztec eye make up, the cogs started whirring and I was suddenly racking my brains trying to remember if I still owned enough glitter to make an Aztec-style adaptation work. Thankfully, I did.

Eyelash curlers | Black kohl eyeliner pencil | Eyebrow pencil | Maybelline Mega Plush Mascara
Blue Glitter
 
I prepped by just gently curling my eyelashes. I don't tend to do this normally but because it was a big event, I wanted long, full lashes. I then applied my Maybelline Mega Plush mascara which I absolutely love - best mascara I have owned in a while. I do tend to top of up with one or two older mascaras but this one by Maybelline made up most of the impact.
 
After that I used a handful of cotton buds to gently apply the glitter beneath my lower lashes. Take care not to let the glitter touch your eye ball, which is why I found the cotton buds gave a more accurate application than say using my fingers. I  originally thought I was going to need to use Vaseline or some sort of serum to get the glitter to stick, but it took to my face fine without it. I tried to get the glitter as level as possible, ensuring no gaps could be seen. I opted not to take the glitter right to the corner of my eye but there are plenty of possibilities in how you apply it.
 
I finally added a flick of liquid eyeliner - the one used here is very near its end so isn't as smooth as I would have liked, but the effect of the flicked liner meeting the blue gives a really nice contrast of colours. And there you have it, super quick glittery eye look
 
What are your favourite festival faces?
 
Jade x

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This exxxtremely lovely lipstick will be making an appearance later in the week, in association with the second instalment of my Disney Villain posts. I have been after a purple lipstick for a good few months now, always finding pastel lilacs which I cannot pull off with my skin tone at all. I've learnt the hard way (so many bad decisions and consequently very bad photos!) that I suit darker lipsticks more, which I really embrace now. Gotta love the vampy look! The Kate Moss 107 lipstick from Rimmel is my ultimate favourite but this little gem is fast fighting its way to the top.
 
Sleek Make Up is a brand I hadn't previously used or bought, but after browsing almost every other brand in store, decided that Sleek's range of dark, vampy, purple lipsticks was the best. It's easy to apply, the colour is long lasting and though like most dark lipsticks it does stain your lips a tad, it's not impossible to remove with face wipes or cleanser. It's another colour that I'm sure can straddle the summer months as well as the winter, and adds just a pop of colour to my often dark ensembles.

What other lipstick colours are you loving at the moment?

Jade x

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mixed race foundation, OFF beauty

Yes the title of this post has taken a little inspiration from Dreamgirls. (Musical theatre is definitely my guilty pleasure. I ain't even sorry bro). Anyyyway, this very whimsical buy has actually turned out to be a little bit of a dream, hence the title. I don't usually blog about beauty (mostly because I don't really feel like I'm qualified to!) but I was so impressed with this that I felt I needed to feature it. I haven't been wearing foundation for probably close to a year now. I've been relying on a few different BB creams as coverage but I've recently found myself wanting a slightly more long-lasting base. I really didn't want to spend a lot of money though so the super saving specs were on. Figuratively speaking.
 
Seeing as I have already tried and tested the Maybelline BB cream, I stuck with the same brand which turned out to be the best decision. For a pretty reasonable £7.99, I bought the Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid foundation in Sun Beige. It was weirdly the first tester I tried, completely on impulse so imagine my surprise to discover that it matched my skin tone more or less perfectly! Being mixed race means I often struggle to find a suitable foundation, hence the reason I haven't purchased any in months. I never have high hopes that a foundation will be a perfect match but would have been content with at least a workable match, in my price range. I had tried numerous testers of various foundations, all of which were such poor matches that I was getting a little disheartened. I obviously just wasn't looking the right places though because Sun Beige has turned out to be my little dream in a bottle!

It is so easy to apply and projects a really smooth coverage which is what I really wanted above anything else. Awkwardly my (massively oversized) forehead has a slightly different tone to the rest of my face so it's nice to finally look a little less blotchy! It doesn't look too heavy once it's applied either which is good - I'm definitely a fan of minimal make up, but it's nice to know you've got a subtle base that lasts more or less all day. With it being a liquid foundation, I don't even need to use too much each time either so it looks like this dreamy (sorry, the puns will stop soon) bargain buy will last a pretty long time. That's the dream! (Sorry, I really will stop now.)

Jade x
To say it's been a busy week since moving back to uni would be an understatement! Even though lectures haven't started yet, it's definitely been a challenge to get everything sorted in preparation. I don't think being in final year has really hit me yet! Nevertheless, I thought since September is nearly over I would blog about a few beauty products I purchased during the month. I don't ever really blog about beauty products because in reality I don't use a wide variety at all. I'm very much a stickler to change so the products I use I have been doing so for years! It's rare for me to try anything new in the beauty department so I thought I'd give them a quick mention on here.

First up is Frizz-Ease's Intensive Masque. I use a lot of Frizz-Ease already - my hair naturally forms ringlets but when I relax and/or straighten it, it needs a bit of taming and Frizz-Ease products definitely hit the spot. I am so glad I gave this a go - I've only used it a few times but I already love the smell and the texture and though it's probably too early to tell 100%, my hair does feel healthier already. I apply it after shampooing and conditioning my hair and I'm looking forward to hopefully seeing even more improvement in my hair's condition from future uses.

I've seen this product making the rounds on the blogosphere and I wasn't going to buy into the hype until I saw it on offer in Wilkinson. I did need to buy a new moisturiser anyway and Nivea's In-Shower Moisturiser was cheaper than the one I was planning to buy. I have to admit that I'm now glad I did! It definitely makes my skin feel soft and it makes it so much easier to remember to moisturise every day. Perfect for someone like me, who has a tendency to forget!
Last but not least, I bought this Rimmel Lipstick on a whim for my first night out back at uni. I love bright colours on a night out and I have a few items that are of an orangey/coral colour. Since my 4 lipsticks are mostly varying shades of red and pink, I decided to break my mould and go for a lipstick to match my outfit. Enter this little guy, Rimmel's Coral in Gold. It actually looks much brighter in real life and it smells divine! It's supposed to be a lasting finish lipstick and whilst it does stay on for a while, it's no match for drinking (a few too many) alcoholic drinks - but I have yet to find a product that is! I am so glad I bought this and at only 4:98 from Savers, it was a bit of bargain considering how often I plan on wearing it!

Jade :)
 
 
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