FOTD: Christmas Party Time!

 It's nearly Christmas and that means I get to go to parties and parties mean I get to wear a lot of make up and that makes me excited.

I discovered this one spot in front of the mirror in the hallway of my house where the lighting is super flattering and makes my skin look glowy and flawless. And I am never moving again.

Lipstick hero. Eyebrow hero. Earrings hero. 

This party face is brought to you by MAC, and my makeupspiration, Liz Taylor. It's pretty simple, but classic and festive.

I'm wearing MAC Paint Pot in Bare Study, a kind of nudey glimmery gold cream, on my eyes. I'm not super keen on creams but this is a nice one, that goes on smoothly and doesn't really crease. No 7 black liquid liner in a very slightly thicker than everyday line - I just started using this, and it's a very decent liquid liner. Star of the show is MAC Russian Red lipstick. True story: I was torn between Russian Red and Ruby Woo at the MAC store in Times Square, and when I flung myself at the sales guy for advice, he looked at me and said "Russian Red will make you look like Liz Taylor!". SOLD. I can pretend he doesn't say that to all the girls.

My earrings make me excited. They're from the 50s, and I got them at the vintage fair, and they have a matching necklace and unf sparkles. Fact: I need more occasions to wear inappropriately sparkly costume jewellery. Liz would never stand for this. 

Max Factor Lipfinity Lasting Lip Tint 01 Pink Petal - and, What I'm Wearing

Double post! Product review and an outfit selfie today. What lucky bunnies we are.

I picked up this Max Factor felt tip-style lipstain on a 3 for 2. The marketing promises that it "permeates the upper layers of the lips" (umm...!?) to create "kissproof" colour.

Fancy Christmas Face and Hands: The Big Day...s

I like really love Christmas.

Christmas Eve: went out to see The Hobbit. Definitely wasn't overdressed. Definitely. 

Wore a lilac dress with a cute little perfume bottle print and a long knotted strand of pearls. I'm thinking I really need to keep better track of what make up I wear because this was two days ago and I have no idea, except that the lipstick was Bourjois Sweet Kiss 54 Rouge Glamour. I have an inkling my eyeshadow was two blended shades from my Soap & Glory Tricks of the Shade palette, which I've been meaning to review since I bought it nearly two months ago. I'm a terrible blogger. Le sigh. I also gave myself a Christmas haircut (chopped an inch or two off my "fringe", which had ceased to be a fringe and become just a slightly shorter section of hair. It's back to about cheekbone length now.)

Fancy Christmas Weekend Face and Hands

Friday 21st: fun little last minute shopping trip with my sister. Topshop gold suede look dress, my mama's Accessorize scarf, a ribbon chain necklace, purple cardigan, peachy earrings. I'm wearing a MAC Paint Pot in Bare Study on my eyes. It's glorious. And I didn't have to pay for it, because it was given to me by my lovely friend The Moroccan Shopaholic.

It's Raining Again, I Wore Sparkly Stuff

Saturday I went to visit a friend and dressed up pretty.

F&F Eye crayon in Starry Night - a metallic charcoal chunky pencil that goes on thick and dark and a tiny bit sparkly and lasts all day.

Modcloth An Educated Guest earrings. So sparkly and pretty and vintagey! And they were half price!

Vintage silver, crystal and pearl (look) brooch.

Scarf by Mary Katrantzou at Topshop. This was also half price! £30 instead of £60. Designer collaboration stuff NEVER usually makes it to sale. Win!

Doom and Gloom and Cartoon Jumpers

It's super near the end of the semester and my brain is just constantly doing this now:

So let's have a nice quiet photo and gif filled kind of a post. Here is a bunch of stuff I've been wearing:

It Was A Red Dress Kinda Day, or, How To Cure Winter Blues

Ugh, winter is taking its toll on me. I am sick of being cold and tired and lethargic all the time. And I'm living in a north-facing ground floor room in Manchester in November. I miss daylight.

Best cure for winter blues? Dress all in red! Match your dress and earrings and lipstick! Go wild!

My umbrella is greeny-blue and fuschia pink. I was so happy it didn't rain today. I don't think I could have brought myself to carry it wearing red. I'd have had to just be rained on.

Jacket from Miss Selfridge, dress from Closet at Dorothy Perkins. Earrings from Dorothy Perkins. Pearl & gold necklace belonged to my grandmother. Lancome Le Crayon Kohl Noir eyeliner. GOSH Velvet Touch lipstick in 60 Lambada.

A Week in Sheep's Clothing

So, I had a busyish week and a run of semi-interesting outfits. Who wants to look at them?! Oh right, you do. ...

...

...

... Well anyway here they are. Please to excuse my super crappy photos.

On Monday, I wore a black sheer asymmetric shirt dress that I will forever think of as my funeral dress (I don't wear a lot of black), a silk scarf I got in Paris for like 15 euros, and a giant man's tweed suit jacket that I found on top of a wardrobe in my house with all the tags still attached, and no one in my family recognises it at all or remembers buying it, so I just brought it with me.

 Tuesday I insisted that because the sun was shining it must still be summertime. I went to Nandos and ate my weight in chicken, and then we went to Spoons and had puddings and two pitchers of cocktails and then I exploded. Dress is from Dorothy Perkins. Sunglasses are NEW (protip: buy sunglasses in the autumn, they're all on sale. £4 from Urban Outfitters.)

Wednesday I went shopping and made believe that I live in a sepia tone photograph and can pull off a trench coat. The black sleeves are dated already but I like them. I'm not fancy enough to have black leather sleeves.

Thursday I sat on a train for four hours, and I wore a new shirt because Urban Outfitters are infuriating but I can't stop giving them my money. Don't worry, it was in the sale. Everything I buy was in the sale. Including this jacket, which was from Miss Selfridge and cost me £20. In the background of the left shot you can see the horrible fuchsia holdall I use (it was a prize or something). Carrying it and wearing orange, I was like a walking neon sign. This was my least favourite outfit of the week, I felt like it was awkward.

Friday I went out for dinner and discovered that it's really hard to take photos without a full length mirror. Another new Urban Outfitters shirt. Oops.

Saturday I went to see The Perks of Being a Wallflower (liked it!) and started to work out the picture thing. Um, sort of.

Sunday I went for brunch (smoked salmon bagels, hello!) and sat on a train for four hours AGAIN. But it was sunshiney and pretty and I didn't really mind even though I finished my book in the first forty five minutes. I wore a green dress with flowers on from ASOS that I bought 65% because Anna Kendrick wore it (she is a famous person and how often do you get to wear the same clothes as famous people?), and I added a cable knit jumper when I got chilly, which was immediately. Plus I bought a new lipstick and added that (why yes that is a selfie on the train), but I'm not sure about it because it's like, REALLY pink.

BONUS: Here's today's outfit!

And another shot of my new lipstick (sorry, "lip butter" - it's Revlon in 075 Lollipop. I thought it'd be a lot more sheer but, it's SO PINK.) 

HAVE A GOOD WEEK I LOVE YOU.

Sunglass Slut, Episode 5: Evil Bizarro McCrazypants

I am a fan of sunglasses that make me look like an Evil McCrazypants, as loyal readers (hahahahahahaha) might remember. I got these after a tip from Dodai over on Jezebel about where to find lookalikes for these Prada Baroque sunglasses (more on those later. LE SIGH <3). They were like $5.99 on a slightly dodgy looking website in LA.

Bizarro Ailsa (Aslia?) is pretty much in love with these. THEY'RE LIKE THE SIZE OF MY WHOLE FACE. AND WAIT TIL YOU SEE THE ARMS.

Bizarro Aslia is also totally cool with not wearing any make up. In photos on the internet. Totally cool. Definitely no nervous panicking here. Totally. Yep.

The weather's patchy today but it was beeautiful on Saturday and so I wore these with some (fake, alas) pearl earrings and a white dress to the farmers' market at my primary school and got lavender shortbread and plum and cinnamon jam. Good trip. (Oh man do I love food.)

This is Katherine, the other famous Hepburn sister. She is also a head, but she actually has a nose, even if it is a bit squashed. These sunglasses make her feel stylish and sassy.

These are their amay-zing arms. Metallic copper. Swirly. Literally pinned into her head. (It's not the first time.) (They're just kind of wide, even for me, and I have a normal person head, not a tiny polystyrene doll head.)

Okay. So, if you'll excuse me, I have to go plot some evil deeds.

Truthfully? I have to write a letter, read some poems (if I can persuade Katherine off the top of the book), send some stern emails, make some salmon and roasted new potatoes. The letter will include Charlie & Lola stickers. Wild life. Wild.

Sunglass Slut, Episode 4: Tyger, Tyger, Burning Free

Hey, you. You know what's even better than £1 Primark sunglasses?

Ignore my stupid arm. Buy a tripod, Ailsa.
Yes, that is real sunshine.

FREEEEEEE sunglasses. These cool tiger stripy ones came free with Elle one issue, something like four years ago. Why is it that the amount of money you pay for sunglasses is in inverse proportion to the length of time they last before they break or get lost (or someone sits on them)? By that logic, this pair will be hanging around literally forever. Ace.

The stripy-ness and the amber-ness means they actually kind of don't go with a lot of things, which is not a problem you usually have with sunglasses. But I can cope with that. By dressing in traffic cone orange, apparently. Go me?

Audrey has got her sunglasses on, and she is GOING to the beach!

(This is Audrey. I have no imagination. She is a head.)

Maybelline Master Precise Liquid Eyeliner

I needed a new liquid eyeliner. So I bought one! Yaayy! It was 3 for 2 on Maybelline at Boots, so I got this one. It's £5.99-ish in the online shopping results.

It's a felt-tippy-style brush, which I like because it minimises wobbly hand issues. It goes on deep black and it's pretty easy to make thin lines and thick ones because it has the ultra-fine 0.4mm (!) tip, so good for versatility. It doesn't claim to be waterproof or long-lasting (boo) but I can live without that.

You want to see how it coped with my Exciting Day Out today? Of course you do. I hope you like eyeballs, because there's a lot of pictures of them coming right up.

Hello, world.

Me, today. Other make up:

Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse foundation, 004 Light Porcelain
Rimmel London Stay Matte Pressed Powder, 003 Peach Glow
A splooge of YSL Touche Eclat. Not sure what shade. Might be 1? Might be 2.5? Je ne sais pas.
The white colour from a Bourjois Smoky Eyes eyeshadow trio, 05 Rose Vintage
Maybelline Colossal Volum' Express Waterproof black mascara
Tiny smudge of Bourjois pencil liner in 06 Violet Artiste on my lower lash line
Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick, 160 Rose Passion

Yes, my hair is still wet. Don't judge me. I am anti-blow drying except in emergencies.

NO JUDGING!

So this is how it looked when I first put it on. This is about 10.30 am, before I went out:

A giant close up of my eye! It's soooooo artistic!

So far, so good. Here we are 6-ish hours later, after I got home:

Derp.

SO MANY EYES STARING BACK AT ME

It's seriously good. Barely a smudge, except that patch on the inside left, and that is where I rubbed it really hard because it was itchy, right before I remembered I had to take another picture.

Bonus: It did not rub up onto the top of my eyelid at all, which is something I am constantly battling with, so extra points for that.

Even better: Right now, over twelve hours after I put it on, it's still holding up pretty well. No pictures though, you don't need to see me right now, no you do not.

EXTRA SUPER BONUS: I squirted some water on my eyelids to simulate crying or being caught in a light rainstorm. Even rubbing it gently while it was soaking wet, it barely smudged at all. Certainly no dripping down face issues. Miracle liner.

Final Verdict: It's the first time I've tried it but so far it's hitting 8/10. -2 for coming off where I rubbed at it, but then I wouldn't really expect a non-waterproof eyeliner to stand up to dry-contact-lens-eye itch.

Sunglass Slut, Episode 3: Double Action Minty Freshness

Today's sunglasses (there was actual sun to wear them in, yesss) are a pretty mint green colour. They are cuuute. Guess how much they cost me. Go on, guess. Say a number. Got a number? Okay. I'll tell you.

£1.

Yep, £1. No, they weren't even on sale. Thank you, Primark!

True story about these sunglasses:

So, I'm on holiday in Italy. I'm getting off a train at Pisa rail station. These sunglasses are sitting on top of my head. The train pulls off and suddenly... SLIP! BANG! They slide out of my hair and off the back of my head and fall down, down, down onto the train tracks, where they lie, forlorn and alone like a single piece of fruit on a tree in autumn.

It was a bit of a tragedy. I had to take a couple of minutes to compose myself and say goodbye.

But! Don't despair! This story has a happy ending!

Because when I got home I went right back to Primark and bought another pair, the pair that you see adorning my face today. Yayyyy! Sunglasses! My broken heart was healed.

SUNSHINE IN MY SOUL

Sunglass Slut, Episode 2: Like Taking Candy From A Baby

The adventures of a chirpy gal with more pairs of sunglasses than there are sunny days in an English summer.

Yes, these sunglasses are supposed to be for children. No, I don't really care. They are kitschy and delicious, like a 1970s sweetshop.

I like the way the pink and purple look against my minty green earrings. I'm Betty Draper-ing it up today, with a white shirtwaist dress, a vintage scarf and some pearls. I'm also wearing Chanel No 5, because I am a laydee. I went shopping, but I pretended I was going to a country club, and that my entire outfit cost more than like £25 altogether. 

Thanks, doll.

One Dress, Four Outfits

Top of my ermahgerd-I-want-this-so-badly list for summer is this pretty, pretty blue floral dress from Topshop (£60).  It’s basically my dream outfit. Buuut living life as an unemployed undergrad student whose next loan instalment doesn’t come until mid-September, I have to justify it to myself. And I’m doing that the way I always do: by telling myself I can wear this dress for everything. But you know what? This time it’s actually true. This is the perfect dress for wearing to lots of different occasions in different ways. That makes it a brilliant investment and therefore a totally justifiable purchase, right? Right? Exactly.

Let me show you how.

You will need:

1. A dress sort of like this dress. It should probably fall somewhere between mid-thigh and mid-calf, in a colour or cute print. A top and pretty skirt would also work.

2. Some places to wear it to. This is actually the hard part for me.

To a scary work meeting

Office, £60

Whistles, now £9

            You CAN wear adorable dresses and still look professional, you just have to accessorise them well, and probably also wear tights. Smart, understated earrings will draw attention to your competent, reassuring and beautiful face (yes, you have one of those). These silver and blue drops from Whistles will make you look tremendously grown up; matching tones (but not colours) between your outfit and jewellery is a fast way to seem put together (bonus: sale!).  Choose a blazer or suit jacket and a sensible but pretty mid-height heel like these from Office for a simple, stylish work look. Try either in a pinkish-nude or cream for a summery, slightly more casual look, or pick both in black to show you mean srs bsns.

To your cousin’s garden wedding

Nine West, £110

            This is a perfect summer wedding dress, because it sits neatly on the line between fancy and casual. To avoid heel sinking into grass issues, wear shoes with thicker heels. The cute yellow of this peeptoe pair will complement the blue dress (because I know you know your colour wheel) as well as holding up on damp grass. A set of pearl earrings, necklace and bracelet (real or fake) will say that you are classy and sophisticated. Take a cream or buttercup yellow cardigan or light jacket with you in case it gets cool. If you’re a nail painter, a contrasting shade like Lancome Vernis in Love Midnight Rose (a rich purple) or Rose Boudoir (a deep fuchsia) will add visual interest and keep the look young, while a fascinator or hat will make you look appropriately fancy. I love this one from Philip Treacy, and its colour picks up the secondary colour in the print perfectly, but I won’t even bother telling you how much it costs.

Oh, alright. It's £2,250 from Harrods. Perhaps you could make your own?

On a romantic picnic

Whimsy! ASOS, £20

Zara, £25.99

 A pretty floral dress is perfect for skipping merrily through a park in the sunshine, hand in hand with your best guy or gal. Go for a fun, whimsical look with a pair of eye-catching sunglasses and some studded flats like these Zara slippers. These brilliant, unique earrings from Asos will give you all the eccentric Manic Pixie Dream Girl charm you could wish for. Carry a holdall big enough for a blanket and a bottle of prosecco. Go light on make up; just wear enough mascara that you can bat your eyelashes at your lover effectively as you ask if you can have the last of the smoked salmon.

Bar crawl for your best friend's birthday

             Because the shape of this dress is pretty demure and the print is so light and pretty, you can sex it up infinitely and still look like a classy gal. A fitted little black leather (or leather-look) biker jacket will get you feeling like a Bad Grrrl and play off the good-girliness of the dress. Pick a bold contrasting shade like berry red for your accessories. Using only a few strong colours will keep your outfit looking clean and striking, not overdone. 

Topshop, £55

Mango, £59.99

           

Target, $29.99

ASOS, now £10.50

These Target heels have all the sexiness of red shoes, but the darker shade, curved heel shape and thin strap keep them sophisticated, not trashy. (Seriously, people of America, how do you not spend ALL your money in Target?) This Mango envelope clutch picks up the deep red;  if you hate carrying a bag in your hand and you’re crafty,


 you could MacGyver a strap from a long, sturdy necklace chain. Wear a dramatic cocktail ring and another pair of exciting jewelled Asos earrings, which pick up the colours of the outfit perfectly (on sale, too!). Finish with a vampy make up look of false eyelashes and an attention grabbing berry red lipstick like Too Faced Sex Kitten or Rimmel Diva Red, because you know, it’s not only ‘50s secretaries and housewives who get to match their lipstick to their accessories.