In which Demi plays with her new beauty buys

I've been meaning to do a new beauty post for ages now, since I've collected what seems like a huge amount of goodies over the last few months. I do love cosmetics ♥

Manicure Monday! Today's choice is Peacock Green by Model's Own, which I love but rarely wear. I'm not sure why; every time I wear it, I think 'why has it taken me this long?!' I think it probably looks better on shorter nails, but that's never stopped me. I love Model's Own polishes - they have great coverage, a huge selection of colours, and they stay intact longer than some more expensive brands. But they can be a pain to take off, so always use a base coat.

Today's haul from Boots: No.7's Exquisite Curl mascara, L'Oreal Colour Riche Nail Polish in Wild Purple, No.17 Make Your Mark liquid eyeliner.

How stunning is this colour?! I am so excited to try it out, but not until Peacock Green chips. L'Oreal Colour Riche polishes are brilliant as well; their brushes are pretty much perfect, and their formula, while a little thick sometimes, is super glossy and doesn't chip easily. I'm starting to build up a nice little collection! *cough* nail obsessed...

I've been meaning to try out a marker-style eyeliner for a while, after my usual thin-brush one gave me a whole bunch of smudged blackeyes in a row... It had a terrible habit of flicking half-way through my carefully-drawn line, ruining everything. I'm looking forward to trying this out, I love a classic cat eye.

Exquisite Curl is my go-to, daily mascara. I have it in the black/brown shade for regular daily use, as it's softer and more natural, then use a Collection 2000 thickening one in black for nights out (the name escapes me right now).

I love this. Nice consistency, excellent brush, and easily removed with Gatineau's Floracil. Mascara perfection in my opinion.

L'Oreal's Rouge Caresse lipstick in 401 Rebel Red. Again, I adore this product - I specially requested it for my birthday from a housemate. I'd been searching for the perfect 'almost lipstick' look for a while. Unwilling to part with the cash for Clinique's chubby balms, I ran through a bunch of those lip stain pens (Max Factor's are the worst by a long way. Within a couple of days, it had completely dried up) with little success. I was torn between the Rouge Caresse lipsticks and the Revlon Lip Butters. The only thing that tipped it was that I preferred the texture of the L'Oreal. It layers up beautifully, from a hint of pink to a shiny raspberry-ish red. Love, love, love.

I got this compact in a freebie box I received after a make-over and splurge at the L'Oreal counter a while ago (I am a fairly recent convert from Maxfactor). Although I am no blonde, I'm still pretty pale, so these shades suit me fairly well anyway! The middle golden shade makes a brilliant eyeshadow, especially when paired with the darker copper shade (with gold flecks) in the crease. Over summer, I would swirl this with my large powder brush and dust over my face to give me the healthy glow I was lacking, due to the lack of sun here in the UK...

Finally, L'Oreal's Nude Magique BB Cream and Matte Magique Foundation. I am a dedicated foundation fan, as I have large pores and uneven skin tone, so foundation was one of the first make-up products I tried. I'm never fully happy with my foundation; for some reason, I always think that a better alternative might exist on the market, and I just haven't found it yet. Every couple of years I get itchy fingers and do some research, swap about and settle for a good alternative. Although I have to say, Matte Magique is the closest thing I've found to my perfect foundation so far. It's the first time I've broken away from liquids, and I find that the light, souffle-like mousse is much better suited for my combination skin. While mattifying, it's never completely matte, it leaves me with a nice amount of humanity left in the skin!

I wish I could say the same for the BB cream. Insert massive sad face here! I'd been reading all about BB creams, done my research, had a look at a bunch of them, and decided that this sounded and looked the best. The liquid comes out white, speckled with tiny grey capsule-like blobs which burst as you rub it into the skin, releasing the colour. I'd bought it for summer, in the hope that it would give me a lighter coverage - more dewy, and with SPF. Excellent, right? However, while the Fair sample seemed to match me in the light of Boots, when applied to my whole face it took on a distinctly orange tint. 'Alright, so I'll just look a little faux-tanned,' I figured. But within 24 hours I'd sprung up in break-outs. As the only new product I'd added to my skincare mix, I instantly pinned the blame, and it's been retired to my make-up box ever since. Maybe I'll try it out again another day, just to double check...

Time to dream of more beauty products. Addicted and proud. Please share any recommendations you might have! xo.

In which Demi has had the lurgy. Ick.

Apologies for the delay, I've been moping about with an awful flu-y cold, which I subsequently passed onto my housemates, to their extreme joy. Sorry guys!

SO, the main news is that I've arrived back at Nottingham, and started up at my final (proper) term at University. It's so bizarre. I'm frantically compiling lists of companies to apply to, thinking of final essays and worrying about 21st birthdays. Third year is more exhausting than the other two years combined, but it's hard to pinpoint why - I have less hours, and fewer modules. But everything means an awful lot more. Even time spent socializing is precious, as I'm becoming more and more aware that my life here is reaching its end. Every day spent in the company of my friends and housemates may be something I take for granted now, but I know that come September I will be feeling like I'm missing a piece of myself.

Cheery!

Anywho, my modules are all interesting (hurrah! That's all six this year, I knew it would happen eventually that I'd at least be interested in everything I'm studying!), even if my tutor in Cognitive Poetics enjoyed making me the subject of all of his examples today when I got cornered into the only free seat at the desk, next to him. Lets face it, it's not every day that an eminent professor of Cognitive Poetics uses you to highlight and discuss his own theories.

The university magazine arrived yesterday, and my head is filled with deadlines, appointments and schedules of distribution. Everything's fallen apart a little bit, as my co-manager seems to have decided that the job's just too much hassle in her already busy third year. Hopefully we'll still manage to get the issue out by the end of the week, and plan the next social. By popular demand (and slight fear of what would happen to me if I object against it...) we're doing lazerquest, which should actually be really fun now that the committee is much closer, with real friendships forming parallel to our working relationships.

I've been trying to reign in my sudden and inexplicable desire to splurge on new make-up. I know I don't need anything. Not really. Especcially after my Christmas haul.

The best make-up remover EVER (Gatineau Floracil) and my gorgeous hat-box of Bare Escentuals make-up (blush, Mineral Veil, 2x eye shadows, eyeliner, lip colour and brush).

Stunning Vogue calender, which I think I will be saving for my room redecoration; the photos are so pretty I think I'll cut it up and frame them.

Mother of Pearl jewellery hanger, again for impending redecoration.

This term's reading for Post 1950's Literature, and the novel at the bottom was one I used for my essay. I went through an entire stack of post-its on the two novels I wrote about. Ridiculous!

L-R: a-England's Tristam and Perceval, Boots base coat, Nail's Inc magnetic polishes in Trafalger Square, Big Ben and Houses of Parliament.

I treated myself to Tristam and Perceval, as post-exam treats, and I'm sooooo happy. They're both stunningly pigmented colours, and the formula was silky smooth.

Excuse the quality of my cuticles! I cite essay stress!Tristam is flecked with iridescent holographic particles, and adds a touch of mystery to this lovely denim-y blue.

[Sorry about the photo quality, I need practice clearly.]

And in other news, I went on my first date in almost three years the other day. It was... bizarre. It was such a normal set-up (met a guy in a bar, chatted, kissed, exchanged numbers, then he actually got in touch to arrange a date) that I was almost confused. I've never had a 'normal' set-up when it comes to meeting guys; it tends to be me developing a massive crush on a friend suddenly, or meeting someone in a somewhat bizarre fashion. As sweet as he was, I simply wasn't feeling the chemistry, but it was a lovely evening nonetheless (and gave my friends something to enjoy vicariously. I'm pretty sure a few of them were more excited than I was about it!)

On the plus side, it's made me realise that I do really like a guy I've had a vague crush on, and as a result I've decided to try and do something about it! Wish me luck... xo.

In which Demi says, very simply...

I don't want to write this essay. I don't want to write this essay.I don't want to write this essay.I don't want to write this essay.I don't want to write this essay.I don't want to write this essay.I don't want to write this essay.I don't want to write this essay.I don't want to write this essay.I don't want to write this essay.I don't want to write this essay.I don't want to write this essay.I don't want to write this essay.I don't want to write this essay.I don't want to write this essay.I don't want to write this essay.I don't want to write this essay.

I really really don't. Sorry Arthur, I don't think you're the best king in the world. End of. Unfortunately, my tutor wants 3500 words on the subject.

To distract myself, I keep staring at my fingertips (yes I am that easily distracted), which are currently covered in my lovely Nails Inc.'s Magnetic Nail Polish from Christmas. I'm currently sporting Trafalgar Square, a deep chrome, but my favourite has to be Houses of Parliament, a lovely deep purple. Unfortunately Big Ben, a bright brassy gold, didn't work very well, but that's okay because the other two are gorgeous, and came with a super glossy top coat in a big bundle. If you haven't seen or heard of the magnetic nail polish trend, feast your eyes on its coolness:

Sorry it's so messy. I was so excited to try it that all technique went out the window.

People who know me know that I'm big on nails, so my mum apparently bagged these months ago in excitement for Christmas. And with good reason, look how cool it is! The magnet in the cap of the polish pulls all of these microscopic metal particles in the polish into this awesome pattern, which shifts as the light changes. Depending on how you position the magnet, the pattern changes. LOVE IT.

And to motivate myself through these essays, I also bought two polishes from the indie brand a-England, which arrived the other day and are GORGEOUS. But I'm giving Trafalgar Square it's outing before I try them out. Once it chips, it's switcheroo time.

I can't wait to see my housemates on Wednesday, even if it is only for about 24hrs while I hand in my essays. It's been a long, stressful holiday, and I can't wait until we're all vegging out in companionable banter (there's never silence) and watching trash on the TV. Thank God for Take Me Out etc.

Back to the grindstone. 4 days. Then freedom, filled with films, tea, food which I am no longer able to stomach due to stress, and restful sleep. I had an irritating waking dream last night, which involved me searching desperately for some sort of technological gadget (which most certainly does not exist but I seemed to think did) at 5am, resulting in me ripping all of my bedding off in a harried attempt to find it. And then realise I was being stupid, and re-making my bed.

I'm turning into a fruit loop. Trying to motivate myself with my new kick-ass playlist, which features a lot of Hurts, which I know my dear Elf is happy about. I find the singer, Theo, to be strangely sexy... not quite sure what it is about him. He looks like someone my mum would have fancied in the 80's. Like mother, like daughter I guess. Half of it's probably his voice tbh. And the fact he's called Theo, which is one of my favourite boy's name. Happy weekend everyone xo.

I think it's the eyebrows. And the cheekbones. Maybe. (Source)