New Years Eve look.

Right, so I had the joys of spending NYE with my parents this year, so this is a special family dinner kind of a look.

I wore a navy blue Miss Selfridge dress with a cream collar and trim, so I decided to go for a navy eye.

Picture 1 - my 'before' face

The first thing I did was moisturise with my Neutrogena Multi-Defence Daily Moisturiser. I started using this in the summer and I love it. Then I put some Boots Natural Collection ShineAway Foundation (I use shade 'porcelain') on my cheeks, to de-pink them a bit.

Next was a thick line of Rimmel Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Pencil in shade 021, denim blue, along the top lash line and halfway along the lower lash line. This will smudge easily as I add the rest of the eye make up.

Then I swept No7 Stay Perfect Eyeshadow in shade 69, Starry Night, ( another freebie from the gift I mentioned in my lipgloss review) across the whole eyelid as a base and to blend with. Next was Boots 17 Eyeshadow in shade Regal, a lovely blue, which I put towards the outer edge of my eyelids and blended with my finger.

Last came mascara (Boots Natural Collection in Brown/Black), lipgloss (No7 High Shine in Whisper, reviewed below) and blusher (Natural Collection cream blusher in Rosy Pink).
Then I was done :)

Picture 2 - the products I used, in order from left to right

Picture 3 - the 'after' face

In hindsight, looking at the photo, I could probably have done with a tiny bit more blusher. I also made a duff choice with the lip gloss which, while it was great that it didn't leave marks on my drinks glasses, did get lots of hair stuck to it on the walk into town for dinner, when it was quite windy. I can report, though, that the lip gloss has quite good staying power - nearly four hours after I put it on, after eating and drinking, while it's not as glossy as it was, my lips still look fairly shiny and glossy with a faint bit of the shimmer. The rest of the look seems to have held up well, though, and the foundation has done as promised and kept shine at bay.

Picture 4 - the 'hours after' face.

NB: you may notice that these photos are better quality than up to this point - that's because I took them on my proper camera rather than webcam for once.

Review - No7 High Shine Lipgloss in shade Whisper

Before I start I shall disclose that I didn't have to pay for this - it was in a free gift that was given out when you spent £22 on the No7 range.
It's normally out of my price range, but my mum ended up with the free gift, so we split the contents between us.
Normally I'm an eye makeup girl rather than being into lippy, and I must admit that I initially picked this out of my makeup box to attempt a more negative review than my last two, but I think it's great.
Initially I was fazed by what is a bit of an odd colour in the tube: I couldn't think why anyone would want lips such a pale shade of pink - which was why I thought this would be a negative review. However, upon putting the gloss on (in the photo my top lip is bare and the lower lip has the gloss on) I found that really it just adds shine - and a bit of fairly subtle sparkle. I've also swatched it on my hand, to show the transparency of the gloss. I suppose I should have taken more notice of the product's name, it really does add shine.
It also has a great applicator (pictured) - something I think I will keep to use with other glosses after this tube is empty. Unlike some of the other wands, it's got a small unfluffy end which makes it easy to apply the gloss on the lips and not around them. Lily likey.
The only issue I can find with this gloss is that it is sticky. This may not be such an issue if you have less wayward hair than mine, but I have quite a lot which likes to go in my face, and this lip gloss seems almost to attract the hair, and it is sticky. Admittedly it's not the most sticky lip gloss I've ever tried, but it's certainly more sticky than, say, chapstick. (not capitalising that as I use Boots' own brand).
Then there's the price. I will enjoy using this tube, yes, but with a replacement cost of £9 I don't think I shall buy another or try any of the other colours. When I come to start spending that sort of money on makeup, or for Prom maybe, I'll come back to it, but for now it's out of my price range, and I'll go back to the lip salve and Vaseline when I run out of this.
http://www.boots.com/en/No7-High-Shine-Lip-Gloss_927422/

Picture 1: swatched on my hand

Picture 2: the fab wand

Picture 3: on my lower lip, with the top lip bare - you can see the shine

Picture 4: the tube, showing the oddness of the colour as I thought it would be

Something I have used up: Boots 17 Photo Flawless Eye Pencil

The main reason why I have used this pencil up already is that I love it, and I use it in conjunction with Boots 17 eyeshadow in shade Walnut Pearl for an easy everyday eye.
The other reason is that it's incredibly soft.
It comes in three slightly shimmery shades: blue, brown, and green. The idea is that you buy the same as your eye, and it draws the colour out. So, I have the brown one, but I might buy a green one to wear by itself or with green eyeshadow when I use up my green Rimmel Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Pencil, which I have in black, grey, green and blue, and which I'll be reviewing at some point.
That musing aside, this pencil really is good. The only caveat is that you have to not push too hard or it crumbles: my mum was doing my makeup the other day for some mother daughter bonding, and because she's used to slightly harder thicker pencils she pushed a little too hard. With a gentle hand, though, this is one of the best eye pencils I've ever used, and at £2.89 a pop, it doesn't matter that I go through the pencil fairly quickly. Once this pencil is one the eye, it stays on the eye, which is good - this pencil has great staying power.
I'm now on my second of these pencils, and after trying mine the other night, my mum's buying herself one too.
One thing I like about it is that it isn't too dark, so it helps to open the eye u, rather than making it look smaller, as lots of very dark liners can.
I would especially recommend this to anyone else with brown eyes/ brown hair/ fair-olivey skin, as I find it enriches my colouring. It's also one of the rare products that seems to look good whatever stage of tan I have.
Now, words over, let's have the pictures!
The first one is my eye without any makeup, then I've done one eye just with the pencil, and then done a 'full' eye make up with the pencil and the eyeshadow I mentioned above, along with Boots Natural Collection Mascara in Brown/Black
http://www.boots.com/en/17-Photo-Flawless-Eye-Pencil_1150614/

Review : Rimmel 60 Seconds Nail Polish - Shade 610, Pompous

This nail varnish is definitely my favourite, so I thought it would make a good first review.
I bought it on a whim to match a dress I was wearing for a Hallowe'en party, and have worn it almost constantly since. I used to be a Barry M nail paint devotee, but that's all changed.
As you can see in the swatch, it's sparkly, which is always fun for nails, especially during the holidays and for parties. The sparkles in this polish, though, are quite subtle, and just add to the catching-the-light effect.
So now we now that I love how it looks - is it actually any good?
Yes!
It doesn't fully dry in the 60 seconds suggested by the packaging and name, and nor can I get the full colour payoff in the one coat stated on the bottle, but it's darned good. It dries almost fully in a couple of minutes, and enough to put the necessary second coat on very quickly - usually, by the time I've put he first coat on my second hand, the first hand is ready for the second coat.
Durability is a key issue for nail varnish, and one I can report back on with a smile on my face with regards to this polish. I've had this polish last three or four days with only tiny nicks before, and since it dries so quickly, touch-ups aren't an issue. For some polishes, I've noticed that due to slight colour variations it's very obvious where I've 'mended' the polish, but for this polish it isn't. Presumably it would last even longer if I could be bothered to put a topcoat on it.
Also, and this is a big bonus for such a dark polish, it doesn't seem to stain my nails when it comes off.
This polish sells at £3.69, and in my opinion is definitely worth it.
http://www.boots.com/en/Rimmel-60-Seconds-Nail-Polish_867420/

Well, hello

I'd like to introduce myself, and this blog.

I'm Lily, from near-London, and I only really started using makeup this summer. I'm now in my last year of sixth form, and I guess to me make up is part of the whole 'being grown-up' thing, that I associated with being an adult.

So, now I'm nearly an adult, I've started using make-up.

And it's great :D