More Bourjois blushers

Boyfriend is leaving me alone tomorrow and going to Poland for the Easter. I'm going on Monday and still have a mixture of emotions when I think about seeing Mother. I have no idea how it's going to work out and I'm pretty scared about those 10 days I'm going to be there. Even though Boyfriend assures me that everything's going to be OK (he talks to her on the phone), I still have doubts. That's why I'm living in denial, and still don't want to realize that I'll leave on Monday morning at the brake of dawn.

Anyway, I have plans for tomorrow's afternoon (watching The Kennedys and reading The Slap), Friday (GTL and some shopping), Saturday (visiting Dom-dom) and Sunday (packing, mini-SPA, more packing and calling an early night). I'll keep myself busy - that's the best thing for me when I'm feeling sad or lonely.

Despite morning struggle - I was so sleepy! - I went to the gym, but I think I'll have a brake tomorrow, although I was supposed to go tanning. On Friday I have PT session, so I'll go on a sunbed for 10 minutes, instead of the usual 5. I know that sunbeds are bad for your skin (premature, wrinkles and dryness it up) and it's so easy to get a skin cancer, but I don't smoke or take drugs, so I should be allowed one bad habit. It's such a lame excuse I can't believe I actually wrote it, but it's true. I feel so much better after mere 5 minutes and my skin no longer looks like a ghostly pale with blue veins. And that's not a good look. I can't stand fake tans and even all these gradually-building-up-tan products - boring and smelly - although D. swears by it and applies them at least once a week. Over the last weekend I got a little sunburnt on my arms and décolleté and now, after few days, it looks really good. 

Oh, and I managed to buy today two more limited edition Bourjois blushers. A quick reminder: To celebrate its heritage, Bourjois teams up with a young Parisian artist, Juliette Buré, to create a new “collector’s” range of decorated pots, based on Parisian monuments!

My nearest Boots, situated next to the gym only has three versions, which I (obviously) already have, but when I went shopping today in Ealing, I discovered two more - with  the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur (Rose Coup De Foudre) and Arc de Triomphe (Lilas D'Or) on the cover. How can you resist this cute pots?! There's no way. Both blushers are more shimmery than the ones I already have, but it's perfect for achieving this summer glow (having a tan also helps!). The irresistible smell of perfume and little mirror is an added bonus.  Also, the baked formula lasts a very long time and I am sure I'll be using them for years! The pot is sturdy and can easily survive any hurdles along the way.

I've been using the blushers daily since I bought the first batch and the only negative comment I may have is the brush. I don't want to sound ungrateful, because in the first place I am happy that the brush actually is added to the pot, but it is quite scratchy. I read some reviews and people recommend using a different brush, but I'd rather have each brush for every pot, rather than use the same one for all of them - so I'd have to wash it every few days.

MAC lipsticks

When I saw Diana Vickers in 2008 edition of X Factor I've fallen in love with her nude lips. I was looking for a completely nude lipstick for a while and it was in vain. All of them were glittery or just lipglosses (like the one I have from Bourjois) and I wanted a matt finish, nothing glossy. I didn't want to follow the "advice" of some of my friends who were using simply concealer or foundation to get the effect. No thank you! 

Myth
So after searching the Internet and various forums I've finally found out that Diana was using MAC "Myth" lipstick. I went to Selfridges to get it and it was love from the first sight! I just totally loved it! The girls a the MAC counter are also so helpful and nice that it's like the added bonus. Over the time I also taught myself to apply it properly - I am simply patting the lipstick over my lips and sometimes finish with patting with my finger. Otherwise there's too much lipstick - at least for me.

Saint Germain
Shortly after I was obsessed with pink lips and - again - I had all the glossy stuff, but all the trends, catwalks and magazines were screaming MATT. Where to get it? MAC! I bought MAC "Saint Germain" and I am so pleased with it. I got so many compliments on the colour and I wore it to countless parties - it's also a great way to look cute and not too serious. 

The most recent purchases are Lady Gaga's MAC Viva Glam 1 and 2. Both of them are a product of collaboration of Lady Gaga and MAC (there are also lipglosses in the same colours). Every cent from the sale of MAC Viva Glam goes toward the M∙A∙C AIDS Fund. Both are a limited edition for a full 12 months and the packages come with Lady Gaga's signature on the red background. 

Viva Glam 1 
I wasn't particularly keen to buy MAC "Viva Glam 1", because I already had Saint Germain and the colours are extremely similar. But after looking at it at Selfridges I just couldn't resist. I was right to give in, because it is different and gives a nice lustre pink dimension. 

Viva Glam 2
MAC "Viva Glam 2" is still brand-new colour (launched in the middle of March in the UK) and I knew I wanted to get it as soon as I saw the poster of Lady Gaga wearing it! It is matt and nude, but darker than Myth. Perfect for day and night - especially with the smoky eye (on how to get smoky eye with Max Factor Smoky Eye Effect Eyeshadow check out my post here). 

Morange
As you can see from the above, I am not a huge risk taker and only play with pink-nude palette when it comes to my lips. These are the colours I feel safe with. I like to accentuate my lashes and put a nice glow to my cheeks, so my lips are usually in the background. But it all changed when I bought this season's hottest trend colour - orange. The orange is every magazine - the screaming block colours - full of energy. I read a nice article reviewing all the major orange lipsticks and when I saw that MAC has one, there was no other way - I had to have it. So there it is: MAC "Morange" with amplified finish. Dom-dom bought the same one and lost it few days after at AP's birthday party. I would be utterly devastated, because it's amazing. The colour just brings my whole face up and completely changes it. I feel powerful, better and just prettier. One small thing and it can change your whole attitude!

On the last note, I like to invest in a more expensive MAC lipstick rather than cheaper versions, because it:

• lasts forever and ever - in terms of time on the lips and being economical,
• smells divine,
• has nice compact package in a classic black,
• colour never fades and just simply lasts.

How to get Smoky Eyes? - Max Factor Smoky Eye Effect Eyeshadow

Over the years I have been unsuccessfully trying to create perfect smoky eyes. I have a pale complexion, so unless I'm tanned, when I put an eye liner I look like a freaking panda on steroids. I know that I can choose a grey/dark brown eye liner, but unfortunately it's not the same - I've tried. 

I have a collection of eye shadows, crayons, eye liners, etc., etc., which I don't use, because I simply don't now how. I've asked all of my girlfriends to teach me, I've watched insane number of YouTube tutorials and it turns out that everyone can do it except me - lines I draw are just like if one year old would draw!

Despite the fact that I have this collection of smoky eye make-up, I was keen to check out new product - why deny myself an opportunity to add something new, especially when there's promotion and you can buy it £3 cheaper. 

So I decided to try out Max Factor Smoky Eye Effect Eyeshadow and it's great! 

• there are two ends marked Step 1 and Step 2 and you simply put it on according to the indicators;
• it blends easily together, has a glittery feel and I could finally manage to create the look!
• it smudges perfectly and you can decide for yourself how dramatic your look can be;
• the wand is really easy to hold and you can always get the right amount with every application;
• it lasts on the eye for a long time and there are no smudges (huge bonus!); 
• I am yet to see how economically efficient it is, but my instinct tells me it's going to have a long lifespan;
• the only flaw is that when you apply both ends (white and black) you need to use a lot of black end to get a really strong colour. It's definitely easier with the black Bourjois eyeshadow, so I tried to also put Bourjois on and it worked - it's also good if you don't want your make-up to be all glittery. 

Bourjois blusher

My whole body is in pain. I had my PT session today in the morning and to be honest I didn't even know that my body can do the things it actually did! I fear what's going to happen tomorrow - if I'll be able to leave the bed in the morning. But it felt so good. So good to be so tired. I'm also sticking to the diet, but the vegetables I made today for lunch were not entirely cooked. Awful. 

On the way home from the gym I decided to go to Boots - just because I love make-up and cosmetics. Of course I had to buy some stuff! I saw that there is an offer on the Bourjois products - 3 for 2 plus you can get a precious travelcard holder with discount coupons! I was contemplating buying some eye shadows and maybe lip gloss, but then I saw limited edition Paris blushers. So cute and exactly what I've been looking for - I have one blusher which I am using almost every day, because it's so good - luminous glittery and peach-orange colour from The Body Shop. I decided I need to have them! And because there were three types of designs, I bought three of them at once. I am very excited to use them - they come with a little brush and there's a mirror inside. As a bonus feature - they SMELL nicely! It's not some cosmetics scent, but an actual smell of the flowers. So cute it's beyond words!

Trop mignon!

Today was a good day

It's been a good day. I went to the recruitment agency and the lady was very, very nice. She has already forwarded my CV to one job advertisement, so it's good and hopefully she won't forget me easily. It's all thanks to the job experience I'm (randomly) going to - I've put on my CV things which I'm not really doing every day, but they will give me a great reference and confirm everything I say when I need it. Also, I have to call my aunt's friend today, because she may have a contact in a law firm over here. I'm not keeping my hopes up or anything, but would be great to find a job in my area of interest. I need to keep dreaming for now.

Tomorrow I'm going to work experience office, on Thursday I have personal training session at the gym (8am so I actually NEED to get up and go there) and on Saturday I'm visiting Dom-dom. She's not feeling really great, her work makes her depressed and yesterday she deleted the entire content of her Ipod. 

On the way home I went to the Selfridges to visit MAC counter and buy newest Lady Gaga VIVA GLAM lipstick in a nude shade. Unfortunately this new collection comes to stores on 3rd of March and they only shade they had was from the last collection - pink, extremely similar to MAC Saint Germain, which I already have. So I left the store empty-handed.

Selfridges window display