update

I'm calling this month 'frivolous February' as I really need to get my finances in order. I've been a bit naughty with the spending in the last month and the last year so its time to become a responsible adult - clear my overdraft and build up some savings. I'm planning on going somewhere and doing something in the summer so I'm going to have to get myself sorted.

However, I have been a bit naughty, again, and purchased a Kindle. My Grandma gave my Dad one for Christmas and I've been toying with the idea of getting one - finally took the plunge and it might be the best decision I've ever made.

I'm a massive reader. I adore books - the smell, the feel of them, the look of them when they're well loved and falling apart because they've been read so many times. I did dislike the idea of e-readers and the idea that they would ruin printed books. But then again anything that gets people to read is fantastic. Any book I adore after reading it on my Kindle I'm 100% sure I'll buy a physical version to stare at on my shelf.

I've also been trying to work my way through my 2012 To Do List. Thought I'd do a wee summary of how I'm getting on.

I'm doing really well at some things but not so brilliantly at others. My caffiene intake has dramatically decreased but I haven't managed to completely give up caffeine after 6pm. I'm drinking a lot less diet coke and I'm planning on giving it up for lent (I'm not religious, but I try to give up something each year just to see if I can do it). I've been going swimming a lot but I need to start going more and getting myself in decent shape for Swimathon which is at the end of April.

I'm doing really, really well at the diary keeping. I'm finding it really therapeutic and its going to lovely to have something to look back on when I'm older and see the inner workings of my brain on a daily basis. Also, I'm doing quite well at the matching underwear thing. As a very single person its not for someone else but for me. I've always scoffed when people say that wearing matching underwear makes them feel better. It doesn't make me feel better but I do feel like I won't be judged if I end up having to rip my clothes off and jump into a lake to save someone from drowning.

The 'reading a classic book a month' is going quite well. I'm nearly finished reading both Madame Bovary and Dracula. I might do a post on them when I'm finished. I've been a bit lazy with the cooking but I fully plan on cooking more this month - Mumma Fifi is going to be chuffed.

I'm doing horribly with the make-up. I was very naughty as you can see by my previous Mac haul. I haven't purchased anything since then and this month I'm not buying any new beauty products as I have a ridiculous amount and its all just a bit silly.

I haven't really had any excuse to doing anything exciting with my make-up as I've just been working. I recreated a Pixiwoo look the other day just out of sheer boredom. Its this one if you're interested.

:) x

Clinique Lash Power Review

This is the 3rd time (the third!) I've purchased this mascara. I really don't think I've ever purchased the same mascara when one runs out; I usually just buy something new. 

Guess this one has a special power (heh! Geddit??!). Its a tubing mascara which means that it doesn't come off unless you use warm water. I suffer from smudgey eye syndrome and every single mascara I've ever used flakes like a flakey thing so I end up looking like a panda. 

This bad boy doesn't do any of that. It lengthens, adds volume and stays put. I've cried like a baby and its not budged. I've been out in torrential Aberdeen rains and we've been grand. It gives a very natural lash look which I think is perfect for everyday. You can build it up but you have to be quick about it as it dries very quickly. Oh another plus is you don't get that horrible spikey hard lash feeling. The mascara feels really natural and its just so easy to wear. 


Clinique says; "[Its] a revolutionary formula provides extreme 24-hour wear without smudging or flaking. It resists sweat, humidity and tears, yet washes off easily with warm water...beautifully lengthens and curls your lashes."

not the best photo, my camera wasn't behaving itself. so this is from my phone. i'll get a better one, promise.

For nights out etc, I tend to use Bourjois' Volumiser Mascara but I put a layer of this on over the top. I don't know if it actually does anything but I like to think it stops the mascara underneath flaking off. 


The brush is an average shaped brush - nothing fancy. Its just smaller! I find it really easy to use and since its wee it coats all those pesky little lashes. 

Think I'll be re purchasing it for a long time - definitely a firm favourite! 


x

Naughty Becca! MAC haul

I went through to Glasgow on Friday to see my best friend, who you might know... Jenn aka the wonderful Beauty Bloggings. Its been forever since with seen each other properly with uni and life getting in the way.   We went for lunch in the gorgeous shabby chic, The Tearooms. I didn't get a photo of it, but its lovely and you should take a peek if you're ever in Glasgow and fancy some cake.

I did get a photo of our cake. It was so good. Jenn has the coffee cake while I had a plum and red wine one with raspberry cream. Sounds weird but it was b-e-a-u-tiful! After sandwiches and cake we went for a wander around the shops - Boots, The Body Shop and then House of Fraser. Jenn was very well behaved and I was extremely naughty.

Harmony Matte Powder Blush - a "muted rose-beige brown" £17.50 (I bought mine in a co-buy for £11 and got it delivered to Jenn's) and Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in 'Light' £20.50.

Studio Fix Fluid in NC15 £19.50 and Foundation Pump £3.

Creamesheen Lipstick in 'Crosswires' a "clean pinky orange" £13.50 - the new love of my life.

And my face with it all on! The other products I'm wearing are Clinique Superfine Liner for Brows, Soap and Glory 'What's Nude' palette, Clinique Gel Liner, Clinique Lash Power Mascara and a No7 blush in 'Soft Damson'.

Hope you're well :) x

nails 11.1.12

I own a lot of nail varnish but most of its in my flat at uni so over the last couple of weeks I've been really lazy when it comes to painting my nails. But this morning I suddenly remembered I'd brought home this little beauty...

I bought this after seeing it on FleurdeForce and I wore this a lot in October/ November but often with the Rimmel Matte Top Coat. I'm not really a big user of glitter polishes not because I don't like them but because I find them a faff. 

Revlon Facets of Fuchsia

Its such a beautiful black colour with purple glitter and very small sequins. From a distance it looks either black or purple but in the right light you can see the sparkles. 

Think it might be one of my favourites, evaaa. 

x

everyday make-up

When I'm at home I don't have my make-up drawers so I don't have easy access to all of my 'collection'. So I dump the stuff I continually reach for into a make-up bag and keep it in my bathroom (don't worry, the shower isn't used in that bathroom). So this is the contents of said bag. 

I try to keep my everyday make-up mostly high street products as I'm a bit skint and I prefer to use my nice make-up when I have somewhere nice to go as on a day-to-day basis I'm either working behind a bar or reading books. Obviously you'll see some high end products in there but they're my holy grail products. 

Primer: Bare Minerals Prime Time

Foundation: Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum (51)

Concealer: Bourjois Healthy Mix Correcting Concealer (51)

Concealer 2: Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection (Fair 1)

Powder: MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural (Light Medium)

Highlight: MAC Cream Colour Base (Shell) - I don't always wear highlight, sometimes I can't be bothered

Blush: Pixi Energy Blush (No. 3 Naturally Sunny) - I just swirl my brush around this and it makes a lovely flush on the cheek. I bought it in TK Maxx

Eyeshadow Quad: Soap & Glory Lid Stuff (What's Nude) - I mostly use the shades Pink T and Mudhoney

Mascara: Clinique Lash Power (Black Onyx)

Eyeliner: Clinique Brush on Cream Liner (True Black) - I forgot to take a photo of it, silly Becca!

Eyebrow pencil: Clinique Superfine Liner for Brows

Lipstick: Bourjois: Sweet Kiss Naturel (06 Rose Tendre)

cream colour base, lipstick, eyeshadows

I've only been using the Bourjois products for a few days but I'm absolutely loving them. I really think the lipstick might be my perfect 'my lips but better' shade. Its really moisturising and lasts really well. The foundation and concealer are both lovely as well - good coverage, brightening and they wear well too. And the best thing... pale enough. 

My face is not co-operating with me today as I have a disgustingly bad head cold. I was going to include a photo of the make-up on but my streamy eyes and snotty nose isn't attractive and I don't want to scare you. 

call this the drowning of the past...

I've always thought of myself as someone who doesn't have much motivation. I've always struggled with finding solid reasons to do things, even when i know that they have to be done, and have relied on getting the 'fear' to push me through. I always get there in the end - only academically though. With 'life choices', shall we call them, I struggle more. I've been talking about dieting and being healthy since I started puberty yet I never seem to actually do anything about it. I'm a sucker for a routine but I've never been able to get into one when it comes to eating right and exercising.

Is this being weak willed? "I just can't do it."  Or is it being stubborn? "I shouldn't have to change my body to like who I am - so I'm not going to." I'm not going to write that I WILL do this or I WILL do that. No matter how many times I write it in my diary and angrily underline it, I just don't.

Sometimes I think I cling to being overweight as a type of security blanket - I don't know any different. I was a chubby child, a chubby teenager and now I'm a chubby adult. Will I always feel like a fat girl even if by some miracle I become thin? Perhaps I've put far too much thought into the matter. I became vegetarian basically on a whim 4 years ago and I don't think I'll ever eat meat again. Maybe doing things on a whim is the way forward. Oh, what a paradox.


On the subject of 'getting fit' (I'm basically a New Year cliché) I signed up for Swimathon. I don't know if its the idea of getting fit and actually exercising that's making me excited to do it and all the training or if its the fact I'm going to be doing something for charity. Either way its a good thing. Its in April so I have time to get ready for it and hopefully I'll become better at remembering to shave my legs. Its a win-win situation all round!


(image is from this lovely flickr)

to do list for 2012

image from withdecorum

• finish wrecking my journal
• keep a diary for the whole year
• only buy new make-up when i've completed a project x pan
• handwrite letters to my grandma
• drink less diet coke
• take part in swimathon
• clear my overdraft
• try to read at least one classic book a month
• stop drinking caffeine after 6pm
• be vegan for a month - see what happens/ how i feel
• cook one new recipe a week
• get on a train by myself and visit a new city for a few days
• wear matching underwear more often
• and a cliché - stop wallowing in self pity