Tag: skincare

I Require A Dress

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Hi readers,
So for me, one of the best parts of my week is waiting for the order to arrive that I ‘accidentally’ placed at some point during the week.  I have a little bit of an obsession with shopping if you see some of my other posts or know me personally.
‘Oh, Joel I didn’t mean to add my entire wish list to my basket. Oh well… may as well wait until it arrives.’
There is something borderline orgasmic about opening a package from somewhere like Missguided or ASOS and bursting through that cellophane to feel the fabric lying within. Feeling it to see if it’s how I imagined it would be when I fell in love with it through my phone screen.

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The sad part is that more often that not – the items are disgusting. Like actually U.G.L.Y.  It’s a different kind of stress when you don’t need the clothing or are just buying things willy nilly but, I have a rugby dinner ball to go to this Saturday and I have actually nothing to wear.  I know in my last post I talked about going shopping in charity shops and not wasting money on things I don’t need but – EXCUSE ME I NEED A DRESS.  I ordered what looked like a beautiful mint green dress from ASOS and I was so confident about it.  When it arrived and I ripped apart that cellophane, my soul fell through the floor.  Never in my 26 years of life have I never had a more horrendous item of clothing come across my door.  Even those God awful satin pink trousers my mother used to force me to wear were better.  Ugh.  I wonder if I could fit into them…

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So I’m in dire straights,  I have no idea what I am looking for and at this point I will wear ANYTHING.  I have no time off before the ball so I am relying on shopping online.  I am currently browsing websites looking for something fabulous to pop out – like, what is it that’s so hard about online shopping when you need something and so easy when you don’t?

It’s not like I am refusing to wear dresses that I already have it’s just that I have found that I really like eating, anyone else this way?  I can’t fit into the dresses I have as I’m a little rounder than I was when I got the others.  I broke my ankle a year ago and i’ve gotten so lazy from that having to sit down all the time.

I know, I know… First world problems.  Anyway, if any of you see a dress send me it ok thanks.

Au Revoir,

Amy xo

@cosmeticsjunkiee

Life As An MUA

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As a ‘mooah’ I constantly get asked – when i’m so close to people I can smell what they had for dinner last night – ‘Oh you’re so lucky to play with all this make up all day long’ and ‘Aw, you have such a great job, so easy I wish I could do it.’

EXCUSE ME PEOPLE?  I have dabbled in many a job type from retail to office work, from a gym to a law office and while what I do is by NO means the hardest job in the world, it’s certainly not the easiest (that’s taste testing Domino’s pizza…)

I absolutely love my job and really wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.  While I have my ups and my downs I know that this is what i’ll be doing until my sweet retirement (or until I win the lottery and buy Ibiza).

I currently work on a beauty counter in Debenhams and I can list for you hour by hour what I do but the main thing is I try to make women feel good about themselves.   If anyone is one of those ‘You don’t need make up to be beautiful, you’re beautiful on the inside, fuck mascara’ types then I would just leave now.  You give any woman a highlighter and watch as her eyes light up and go OOOH as she pops her cheekbone with it, I guarantee success.  Highlighters are like pizza (obsessed), even if it’s bad it is still a highlighter.

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Anyway, I am miles off the point.  I serve people all day for. a. living.  Shouldn’t all people who work in retail receive a high honour or a medal?  It can be so difficult to break some customers into relaxing around beauty counters as they have an automatic instinct that I am going to be some snobby bitch who will make her feel bad if she doesn’t know what an eyelash curler is.  We are SO the opposite, seriously.  All we want to do is sit you down and teach you things.  To be honest, more often than not it’s customers who teach me things – there are some inspirational people out there.  We’re women (and men) and we all love a good gossip.  It’s amazing what total strangers will confide in you after only knowing you 10 minutes just because you’re doing her eye makeup for a night out.  Seriously, I found out that a lady’s husband was cheating on her with his assistant and she was laughing about it because of how much of a cliche it is.  Another woman told me about how she can’t have children and is scared to tell her husband.  A guy was in getting his makeup done because he didn’t want his parents seeing him do it in the house.  This is personal shit.  I tell you, people on beauty counters and in this industry are part time mooahs, part time psychiatrists.

It’s not all smooth sailing don’t get me wrong.  If one more person comes in to get their makeup done and shows me a picture of Kim Kardashian or Kylie fucking Jenner I may stand and scream.  You’re lips are never going to look like that because if I overdraw them anymore you’re lip line will touch your nose.

Personal pet peeve is when a customer is browsing the lipstick station and has close to 1000 colours up her arm, and when I ask what she is looking for the answer is ‘I’m looking for a sort of brownish, reddish nude that isn’t too pinky and has a blue tone through it.’  LADY, unless you have recently come from p3 art class I genuinely doubt you understand what a blue tone is or does or will actually do for you.  Furthermore, pick one. One.  I beg you.

As well as working on the counter I do work freelance too.  With working full time I can’t do many however, there is nothing I love more than doing wedding makeups.  It’s the hardest, easiest job I’ve ever had.  I never feel as much happiness as when I am in a hotel room with the bridal party, or in the family home.  I find it amazing that someone can bring me into one of the most special days of their lives and trust me with their bridal beauty.  The flowers smell amazing, there is champagne flowing with strawberries, mini frys or sausage baguettes being passed around mere hours before squeezing into bridal and bridesmaid dresses and family everywhere.

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In the middle of all this love and adoration is ME.  I have a kit the size of the kitchen, I only have 20 minutes per face, I can’t remember what eye shadow I used in the trials, praying I have eyelash glue and this god damn bridesmaid is lecturing on how she does her contour?! Shut. UP.  The bride hired me to do your face the way she wanted, not the way that you read how it should be done in Heat Magazine 3 weeks ago.   Take a seat and drink your champagne while I do my job.

 

I have no idea where this blog post was headed but I’ve ranted enough about what I do for a living, this is a tiny portion of what I do.  Any other make up artists out there, get in touch and share your stories, what you love and what you absolutely hate!

As always, thank you for reading

Amy

@cosmeticsjunkiee xo

Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Lips Review

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Buonjiorno Bellas!

I was recently very lucky to be sent out a lovely package by Rimmel London as shown on my Instagram @cosmeticsjunkiee and wanted to share with you lovely people what was inside it.

As previously stated, I am a Make Up Artist and with that role comes an awful lot of makeup and knowing what products are good and what quite simply, suck.  The benefits are I am used to all kinds of skin types and skin colouring and so will be able to recommend things for everyone!  Which might be nice for a change because as much as I love Nikki Tutorials in all her glory, not everyone wants that blinding ass highlight on skin the colour of snow.  Don’t get me wrong, I love her but c’mon – where are the products for normal people?!

Anyway, moving swiftly onwards.  In my pretty, little black Rimmel box parceled up with black tissue lay 5 glorious Stay Matte Liquid Lipsticks from their new line.  I immediately got very excited because visions of Kate Moss came flashing by and I adopted an English accent while saying ‘Get the London look.’

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Upon first swatch, I can see that the pigment is intense along with a really soft applicator.  I let them sit on my arm for a few minutes to see how dry they went and/or if the cracked and after an hour they hadn’t smudged or moved in the slightest – no cracks!  I was so excited to actually get them on my lips.  Naturally, I floated towards the nude as I have a love hate relationship with pinks – I just can’t pull pinks off 😐

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So, first up we have the shade ‘Mocha 720’ which for me, it is the most perfect shade of nude to suit my skin tone.  I do like a slightly darker shade of nude so that’s why I liked this one so much however, they have another shade called ‘Latte To Go 710’ which is just a fraction lighter for those who are paler or prefer lighter lipsticks.  I didn’t feel the need to use a lip liner with the liquid lip as it didn’t bleed or move much at all.  I wore this the first time applying it at around 7am and I didn’t take it off until around 10pm – I not ONCE reapplied.  I don’t have bionic lips, people this is just a damn good nude.  Don’t get me wrong, they were feeling dry around the time of 7pm but that’s a whole 12 hours after I applied it and I had been out for lunch, out for dinner and scoffed my way through a box of popcorn and slugged down several cocktails (That’s not all I do – it was my birthday!) I am in love with this nude, all I can say is Rimmel you have outdone yourself and I haven’t even moved onto the other 4 shades!

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Don’t worry I am not going to drone on about how great each and every lip shade is as every point I have on each colour is much the same as Mocha 720.  This shade is ‘Pink Blink 200’ and is so so pretty.  It is slightly deeper than the average pink lippy which is why I can get on board with it.  Surprisingly pigmented for being a pink!

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‘Mightnight 800.’  Need I say more?  To those familiar with a dark toned liquid lip like this, I know how hard it can be to find a dark shade that doesn’t break up on your lips into little bits.  I’m no scientist but I guess it’s down to the formulas for darker tones.  Anyway, this is beaut and I love it.

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This is ‘Blush 110’ and probably my least favourite from the 5 shades sent out but again, probably only because I am not a pink lover.  The colour pay off was a little harder to get with this shade and I would definitely recommend a lip liner for this one unlike any of the others just to add a little more definition.  If you want to stay within the Rimmel family then the East End Snob is a perfect match.

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Last but not least, this is ‘Fire Starter 500.’  I love a good strong red as much as the next person but I never would have thought to go for a liquid lipstick let alone trust a drug store brand for my go to.  I have been proved a little wrong here… Rimmel you take the cake above my others including Mac Ruby Woo and So Chaud.  There is however, only one red within the range and some may prefer a more orange tone red but this is still a beauty and make my teeth look really white!

On Rimmel’s website, they claim that the lipsticks give a  bold matte colour in one stroke, kiss proof, touch proof and waterproof!  I can agree with all of these points and I am so thankful to have been sent these lipsticks as if I was in Boots, Superdrug, etc I would have completely walked past them!

10/10 would recommend – as drug store liquid lipsticks go these are the best (even better than some premium brands!)

 

As always, thanks for reading 🙂

@cosmetics.junkiee

Ciao xo

PS. I was curious, and showered with Fire Starter on – My mind is blown it didn’t move AT ALL.

PPS.  This is not a paid post, Rimmel kindly sent me products for free allowing me to try out their lipsticks however, all opinions are my own.

Mooah

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Greetings,

First of all, thanks for reading or at least skimming this as I believe there are hundreds of thousands, millions even of blogs on wordpress.com and lucky you – you’re here!

Who knows where this blog will lead, or if it will lead anywhere.  I did try to start a blog once after having watched Bridget Jones’ Diary and got myself all worked up with a journalistic approach.  I had 3 posts.  That was around 2 years ago and no body would have wanted to read about what I was doing then, it wasn’t overly interesting.  It still isn’t, don’t get any ideas but I like to think that someone will read this and go ‘ooOOoo’.

I’ll introduce myself – I am Amy, a self taught make up artist specialising in nothing.  You want your make up done? I’m your gal!  I have been working for make up companies in department stores since 2012 and been working freelance about the same length of time.  I have never been happier in my work than what I am now.  As my domain name suggests, I am a self confessed makeup and cosmetics junkie (I had to add an extra e when I started my Instagram which I actually like now, it made me realise I am not the only cosmetics junkie out there so i’ll have to offer something different than the average beauty guru).

In my spare time I tend to lock myself away in my beauty room and play with makeup and try to push myself out of my nudes loving comfort zone.  It’s starting to work!  I think i’ll aim this blog at women/men who are looking for the newest beauty trends because let’s be real, there aren’t enough trend blogs out there 😐

I will however, try not to become a typical make up artist who drones on about the same make up looks and same God damn Kardashian make up style.  As much as I can’t stand when someone asks to have their make up done like one of the K Clan, I can’t help but think ‘Dammit, this does look good.’

Anyway, here’s a picture of me – a MUA (pronounced. mooah), which also stands for Made Up Acronym.

 

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Til next time,

@cosmeticsjunkiee x