Love the look

She may not be breaking down fashion boundaries, but lovely Lauren turns it out every time. I love the make-up, hair and fab frock.
Anyone interested in Lauren's make-up looks should check out Amy Nadine's blog. It hasn't been updated in a while, but has great breakdowns of her work with Lauren, Whitney and others, including the products she uses.I love a bit of backstage goss.
Also, is this dress Kate Moss for Topshop, or have I gone mad?
Pic courtesy of GFY

And the winner is...

Hello! I'm back from my fabulous holiday and here to announce the winner of my competition....

Indah, from Indahlovesmakeup!

I used random.org to choose, but accidentally lost the page so can't post the screen grab here... sorry peeps, you'll just have to trust me.

Indah will be pleased to hear I've also thrown in ANOTHER Barry M polish - Mint Green, which I picked up last night in Topshop, and there might be a few cheeky surprises in there too...

Well done Mrs! Thanks to everyone who eneterd, and everyone who follows me... I really do appreciate you stopping by to hear my ramblings.

Thanks also to the lovely Beth for looking after curveintemode while I was away. I'm sure you'll agree her posts were awesome, and she should ger her own blog pronto.

Things have been crazy with work since I got back from Greece so I'll update everyone on my movements, purchases and holiday fun ASAP. Stay tuned!

M and Yes!

I'm sure most of you, like me, have long been on the quest for that perfect liquid eyeliner, one that will achieve a Chungian/Conradian flick with the greatest of ease and last all day and night. My personal stipulations are that it has to have a strong pigment and it HAS to be a felt tip type, I am rubbish with a brush which I find difficult to control. I think I've found the holy grail, in Nana's favourite M&S, of all places. M&S have steadily been gathering respect in the style stakes for a while, and their make-up range is no slouch either. This product is from the slightly more expensive Perfection range, but comes in at a pretty reasonable £7.50. It has all the characteristics I've been searching for, its ridiculously easy to apply, black as night and stays put for hours. Go forth and catify!

Code red

Last night I swooped by Topshop for one thing, and came out with three. Thankfully they were all make-up, otherwise I would have seriously destroyed my July clothing embargo.

Regular readers will remember my quest for a red lipstick, and I thought, before diving headfirst into an expensive Mac purchase, I'd try something more thrifty and see if I wear it often enough to warrant the big investment.
So I picked up Topshop Lip Stick in Flame.

Here's the rather embarassing picture of me wearing it...

(pic by David Cotter)
You see, whenever I've tried to take lippy pictures myself in the past they are blurry, or washed out, or a totally different colour to real life, so I asked my photographer colleague to lend a hand. I asked him to just crop the lips but he wouldn't play ball.
No, I haven't had a stroke, I just appear to have a rather droopy eye... who knew! Anyway, the stick is very pigmented, to the point that it's actually quite nervewracking to apply without a brush. It's quite versatile; nice and shiny, matte if you blot. I did somewhere in between here.
It lasted around two hours before I needed to reapply, and surprisingly for a pencil it isn't drying - it's more of a regular lipstick in pencil form. Altogether, this product is really impressive for £7.
The only problem is, I just realised I now also need a big fat pencil sharpener.

PS I didn't take a 'swatch' hand photo, because I'm never sure how useful it is to know what a lipstick looks like on your hand, unless you are comparing a few? Please do let me know though if you find these helpful though!

UPDATE: This lasted about 5 hours, including a strenuous aerobics class! It's amazing! 

Does he brush up?

Why, when I already have all these brushes, do I want this so much?

Gah!

Money's too tight to mention

So what started life as a fashion blog has become a bit beauty heavy, mostly due to a clothing embargo until July. You see, I have the other half's birthday, nephew's christening, sister's birthday and father's day this month, so all available funds are being benevolently spent elsewhere... but there's always a few coins for a new product.


Actually, this discovery came because, and not in spite of, my penny-pinching ways, because my beloved Touche Eclat ran out this month, and as we all know, that's not cheap to replace. 


I decided to try the often-recommended and much cheaper No.7 version - Instant Radiance Concealer.





So, at £11.50 it's less than half the price of the Yves Saint Laurent gold wand, and the amazing thing is, I actually like it more! The consistency's creamier, the colour matches my skin better (it comes in three shades, I, II and III -- I went for II) and it just covers my terribly dark circles really well.



(Left - No. 7 Instant Radiance Concealer. Right - no make up, a tiny bit of eye goo and a wayward eyebrow... oh, and please excuse the shiny forehead - it's been a long day!)


So these products never totally conceal my dark circles - I can sleep for 12 hours a week and will still have panda eyes. Must be genetic. But check out the difference... speaks for itself really!