The Closest I'll Ever Come to Being Kelly Rowland

The X Factor. Girlllll put it dowwwwwn.

*tumbleweed...awkward cough* ...excuse me. I am not cool enough to pull of the Kelly Rowland. But what i HAVE been lusting over is her ability to pull off a colour pop lip. Did anyone see the matt red on Saturday night? I went out to dinner after the show but my mind kept wandering....how, HOW would I ever be able to do 'The Kelly'??? All my reds have too much of a sheen....sure there's the Sleek Pout, but even that looks too heavy duty.

Turns out I had the anwer RIGHT THERE in my over-flowing  make up box and I didn't even realise!

To achieve this look,  don't use a lipstick.....just go in your underwear (not literally your underwear, I mean your lipstick underwear)....use your lip liner.

I've had this for a while now, so I'm cursing myself for not using it sooner. Fool, normalface, fool!

Barry M Lip Liner in Red....

At first when I put it on I thought...this might be a mistake. You have to be really careful with a strong colour like this, it has to be applied pretty evenly and precisely or you look like a bit of a fool (been there, done that. *Said in Kelly voice* Heyll, girlfriend ain't goin' back THERE again.)

So anywat, lip liner applied and looking matt just the way I wanted. Bravo to me. Then I take a casual trip to Tesco, and I get stopped by a glamourous older lady in the car park. Conversation as follows:

Her: Excuse me, can you help me?

Me: *Thinking if her cat is stuck up a tree I am NOT climbing* Errr....yes?

Her: *Sighing* I have been everywhere today- Debenhams, John Lewis, looking for a matt red lip that doesn't get on your teeth, that stays on, that's old fashioned....I just want what I used to have when I was in my twenties, you know?

Me: Yes. I totally know.

Her: I can not find it anywhere. None of the expensive brands. Nothing. But You....You my dear, are wearing the exact thing I want. Where did you get it from?

Me: *Pointing to lips which are still looking good despite a Costa medium skinny latte* This?! It's Barry M Lip Liner.

Her: *Looking confused- this is clearly a woman of PREMIUM glamour* Barry M?! I've never heard of it!

Me: It's in Boots or Superdrug. It's like £4.

Her: *Looking gobsmacked* £4?! Is that it?

Me: *Wishing I had the kind of money where £4 could just be pissed on, too* Yes, £4.

Her: Thank you my dear! *Starts off with trolley somewhere...I assume Tesco.*

I didn't ask- but I bet she too, had been inspired to do 'The Kelly'.

So me and my mouth are pretty proud of ourselves today. Which is odd because usually we're runnin' ourselves in to trouble.

I have this in Pink too and I'l definitely be investing in some other colours from the range. Generally Barry M lipstick can be a little too matt to work with, but these liners are great and an absolute STEAL! (Not literally steal....it's not cool to be chased by an ageing security guard who is probably a mate of your dad's, kid...)

I know, this is an awful picture, so go and buy the product and see it on a face that isn't currently a dot-to-dot of acne.

ON THE NEWS FRONT- AND REASONS TO BE PROUD OF OURSELVES- Me and my mouth have a new job! We're proper journalists now :) That's right, I'm working on a great daily paper and I can not WAIT to get to work. I'll be moving as well *excited/ very nervous quiver* so I shall be posting you updates on how the style of my new town fares....I hope there are Kelly lovers there, too.

Still My Favourite Number

Okay so I have totally been sucked in to the demon cycle that is the Boots No 7 £5 vouchers. You get one, you think 'oooh, just a lipstick...'.

You take said lipstick to the till.

Congrats, your purchase qualifies you for ANOTHER voucher.

You put voucher in your bag. Before walking past the No 7 counter on your way out...

except you never make it.

Because you end up buying the other shade you wanted but couldn't get because you only had one voucher and you had to make a choice.

So you take THAT to the till. Congrats, your purchase qualifies you for another voucher.

Hands up if you've recently found yourself spending the day in your local store?!

ANYWAY, this is not to moan, because I just wanted to say if you DO get yourself a voucher (and all make up is 3 for 2 in there right now....damn them. DAMN THEM.) then the lipsticks really are worth some consideration.

At first, I was a bit 'meh.' But then, a while back, I got the Wild Volume lipstick in Forever Cherry. I hadn't really worn it until today when I thought I'd give it a proper whirl. I applied it once. ONCE, gals.

And then I went about my day. I was chatting, working, having a trip to Costa (which obviously involved drinking AND eating).

And so it was with massive surprise when I looked in the mirror literally almost four hours later to find it was still intact!

Without the voucher, I do consider £10 to be quite a big purchase when you can get a MAC for only a few squid more. This is also my thought on the fact these babies only contain 3g of product.
But then I guess with hold like this, it's going to last for ages. Probably longer than my love for lipstick. JOKES. They can never break this bond! We're the modern day Romeo and Juilet.

I also have Sheer Temptation in Showy. Very sheer bright pink. Love it.

And Stay Perfect in Tangerine Dream. I WAS tempted by the bright coral of Gay Geranium, but then I worried I might look a little, well...Gay Geranium.

At least this one has the word 'dream' in it, so I can at least pretend to myself I look lovely and not like some washed out old prune.

The three together. 'The Triplets', if you will.

Damn You, Boots!

So. They're doing it again.

Don't pretend like you have no idea what I'm talking about- we all love it.

That's right, Boots. And their bloody 3 for 2. MUST they do this to me?! 'We love Autumn' signs all around the store, all of these new ranges of seasonal make up and hair care. Oh! It's a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions. I knew my money was a gone-r before I even stepped inside.

But boy, did I step inside.

So what did I get in this fest of mine? Well first up is this-

Collection 2000's Shimmer and Shades in 'Blushalicious'

Ya'll know I got the bronze-y/ coppery version of this a while ago and it's good for everything- shimmering, shading.....basically shimmering and shading like what it's called. DUH!
But I was having a play with this and I was like 'hmmm.....I seem to have overlooked your potential pretty little palette....come with me.'
On a nice base, colours like these can really lift your face. And LORD KNOWS mine needs lifting right now.

In spite of my love of Autumn (hello, finally an excuse to hide the whale flesh), I'm mourning summer a little.

Mainly because in this country we didn't really have one. And also because I'm so poor and my career has basically gone down the pan before it's even started that all hope of a holiday anytime in the next....150 years....is gone.

So the closest I can get to sun, sea and seistas is on my face. Whilst the rest of me feels truly neglected, my noggin looks like a five year old's birthday party right now.

 Laugh, but you know it's a party you want an invite to. Sorry, only losers allowed.

I'm so disappointed my camera doesn't show the true colour in the top picture. But hey, there are more disappointing things in life. Like being only 22 and having the crows feet of a 45 year old because you are so disillusioned with life you WISH YOU NEVER BOTHERED WITH WORKING HARD IT WASN'T WORTH IT.....sorry- I let personal feelings get in to my blogging then and Lord knows I am a professional *pah* I should never have let that happen....

This is 17 Mirror Shine lipstick in Peace. I have this is in Hollywood but I don't really wear it that often, mainly because my natural instinct is to go for a matt lip.

But every now and then a gloss is nice. In a kind of 'Oh I'm being casual and yes I have bed hair and natural skin but all I had to do was slick a bit of this high shine gloss on and voila! I'm captivating.'

They dont need to know how much foundation and highlighter you had to slap on for that dewy skin glow! Or how long it took you to perfect the 'bed head.' VO5 made a small fortune from you for that.

But, if you want to go for a 'notice me. NOW. Or I WILL stand on you' style, look no further than this.....

17 Lasting Fix Lipstick in Pink Power. And the best part is, it was free! Gloriously free.

At least Boots loves me.....and my overdraft.

I Take It Back

A few months ago I....basically berated lilac nail polish. I was all 'meh, I prefer deeper colours. I'm so cool.' This came in a beauty UK review of the Glam Nails polish in Candyfloss. And I stick by my review, but....

Well, gals....I was wrong about lilac nail polishes. I shouldn't have tarred them all with the same, polish covered brush.

I'm was like a woman who has been soured by love and cheating men and is sitting at the bar after one too many martinis on your hen night telling you not to do it because "all men are the same. RATS!" Before downing another shot and getting off with the barman.

Like with men, you just have to find the right one.

And ladies. I have.

This is Barry M nail polish in Berry Lilac. And I LOVE it.

Firstly, I love the formulation.

Next, I love the shine.

After this, I love how flattering it is for my ol' sausage fingers.

And mostly, I love how it has restored my faith in the muted nail. Bravo Barry M. Now take me down the aisle!

KISS ME!

Don't panic, I haven't got drunk and alone and started feeling desperate for affection again! I know, disappointing.

'Kiss Me' happens to be the name of one of my new fave lipsticks, courtesy of Rimmel Colour Show Off.

Basically, I'm quite pleased with myself because I really wanted Clarins in Rosy Coral. But that was well dilusional, as if I can afford that. I was looking for a similar brightening colour and I think this one matches fairly well. It's a bit more corall-y but I like. I think it would be quite nice for a pared down look, go neutral on the eyes and glowy on the skin.

I would recommend Rimmel Colour Show Off to anyone. But maybes not my worst enemy as I don't want them to look nice, obvs. I have previously written about the Be Bold shade before, if you care to remember.

And if you don't, WELL!.....then fair play. I do tend to go on and on. Half the time I'm not even listening to myself.

TBF, the main thing I love about this line of lippies is the smell. Seriously, if I hadn't have had that bad experience with eating lipstick last year, I'd totes be munching on this baby.