for them apples (of ur cheeks)

inglot amc face blush in 55 // £11

confession: never really got on with blusher. i always used it to bring back colour to my face after removing it with foundation (counter productive?) but i've never applied it and gone WOW SWEETIE THAT IS REALLY WORKING FOR U HOT DAMN, which honestly should be the response when applying any sort of makeup or y'all should get an immediate refund (which is totally reasonable and is the first rule of law school*).

so turns out, i'd just never used a shade that really, really, worked with my skin tone. enter the inglot amc blush in 55 (by the way, inglot, i'd be really good at coming up with shade names if you're hiring), which is best described by these adjectives: dusty rose. soft. pink. matte. mauve. beautiful. the pigmentation is at that perfect level where it's definitely visible but not over-the-top after sweeping it onto the cheeks with a fluffy brush, and it has a lovely velvet texture to it that reminds you that sometimes it's okay to spend more than a fiver to look good.

guess this is what they mean then they go on about that whole "natural flush" deal.

*i have never been to law school but if that isn't the first rule then they really need to get their shit together

the capsule nail polish collection

at one point i think i owned over 300 nail polishes. now i have under 30.

the reasoning behind this is that i do my nails about once every two months, and i pretty much only ever reach for the same four colours - navy, burgundy, nude or black. so i chucked/sold/gave away almost everything in my excessive collection, and now that all that's left are the bare necessities.
note: that's a bit of a lie, this isn't my entire collection cause i have a few shades that i don't use very often or only use for my toes etc, but these are my faves & ones i'm likely to use more than once a year ok thnx

the nudes: butter london yummy mummy, essence hazelnut cream pie (let's not imagine what definition urban dictionary would come up with for that shade name), opi my vampire is buff (favourite) and l'oreal rose bagatelle. i also think i have a white nail polish floating about somewhere but don't hold me to that.

the metallics/glitters: opi lights of emerald city, opi happy anniversary, color club gold struck. i used to be such a huge fan of glitter nail polishes, but it was entirely how they looked in the bottle that drew me to them so i've cut down to just the one opi nail polish which i couldn't bear to part with - and look how beautiful it is.

there's three options for red nails - essie carry on, nails inc piccadilly circus (more of a raspberry pink but i love it anyway) and orly ruby. i have a very strong belief that the orly nail polish is without a doubt the best shade of red ever created, and it's like £2 here just sayin

the darks: sally hansen thinking of blue, nails inc motcomb street, sephora charcoal grey, orly liquid vinyl and essie power clutch.

there's also a few pastels in there bc i guess i have to lighten up sometimes, and the four that have made the cut are essie's bangle jangle, sally hansen green tea, opi steady as she rose and leighton denny babydoll. babydoll is my favourite of the lot, it's the perfect pastel pink for my skin tone (as pale as a jar of mayonnaise, if you were wondering) and - on the occasion that i acknowledge that i haven't painted my toenails in six months - is often the bottle i reach for to make my feet slightly more tolerable to look at.

for top and base coats (not pictured) i use the opi top coat and nails inc a&e base coat respectively. honestly i don't rate the opi top coat much, for the sole reason that it takes an age to dry which almost always results in smudged nails. when my bottle has finally run its course (which will probs be in approximately a decade) then i will be purchasing the sally hansen insta dri, which is one of the best affordable top coats i've come across.

metallic temporary tattoos (they're all the rage apparently)

temporary tattoos // £1.98 (for one sheet but currently on 3 for 2. i am wearing sheets G, H and I)

rings // 99p

what do you do when you're broke and want to stay in the loop? ebay. duh

temporary tattoos are probably my favourite fashion fad in a while, mainly because my level of laziness is so high that i can never be bothered to wear jewellery (also rings get really annoying when i'm trying to wash my hands, just me?). so tattoos are a convenient replacement, not only do they give my outfits an extra layer of cute but you also get the novelty of applying them and for a few brief seconds you can pretend you're nine years old again and not in crippling student debt. perfect

one little complaint tho: some brands think that it's okay to charge a tenner for a sheet of images printed on water-permeable paper?? like what's the deal with that??

i bought a set from regal rose, which was £6 for one sheet the size of the palm of my hand like great do i have couture temporary tattoos now or what? it doesn't make much difference if they're all going to wash off within a few days however much you pay for them so overall i'm just a lil confused.

the top is from brandy melville and the nail polish is opi's my vampire is buff (sloppy application is my own).

blog sale

makeup hoarder turned minimalist sells her unwanted shit for cold hard cash. everything is brand spankin new unless stated otherwise

if someone catches ur eye, email me at eyebrowsinc@yahoo.co.uk with your paypal email address and the address you want it sent to, & i'll invoice you and confirm it via email. postage to the uk is £2.80 for second class unless you buy something small enough to fit in an envelope (then it's free)

 makeup revolution vivid blush lacquer in desire £1.50 (RRP £3) // collection lasting colour gel eyeliner in black £2.50 (RRP £5) // stila eyeshadow in twig £2 // mini 2.8ml estee lauder double wear zero-smudge lengthening mascara in black £2.50 // sample fyrinae loose eyeshadow in koala (i'll throw this in free with your order if you want it) // stila cheek color in bud £2 // topshop cream blush in head over heels £4.50 (RRP £7) // makeup revolution lipstick in immoral 50p // mua out there plumping lip gloss in shocking pink £1 // 1.5ml trial size fyrinnae lip lustre in visual kei £1

 essie sleek stick nail stickers in so haute! £2 // orly nail polish in macabre masquerade £6.50 // orly nail polish in lavish bash £6.50 // barry m gelly nail polish in blue grape (this has been used once) £1 // collection nail polish in tropical pink £1 // topshop nail polish in middle child £3.50 (RRP £5)

 makebelieve enhance sunbeam bronzer and brush £7 (RRP £15) SOLD // bys lipstick in chocolate sparkle 50p // eyeko fat balm in cherry (discontinued) £4 // sleek true colour lipstick in amped £3 (RRP £5) // nyx round lipstick in spell bound £3 // l'oreal super liner perfect slim felt tip liner in intense black £4.50 (RRP £7)

 sheercover eye palette in smokey eyes £10

diego dalla palma snow white and the huntsman palette (includes six eyeshadows. black pencil eyeliner and red lipstick) £10 (RRP £17)

nailbox // may 2015

nailbox* // £15

yet another monthly subscription box to add to your list to choose from - and i'll give you three guesses as to what the this one's speciality is (clue: heavily acetone based).

inside the box: essie status symbol, rimmel lucky lilac, nicole by opi alex by the books, orly fiery orange and an elegant touch cuticle pusher and nail cleaner. the retail value of the box adds up to an impressive £38, but i'd bear in mind that it's very easy to find nail polish at a heavily discounted price. despite me not being the biggest fan of most nail polish colours that aren't black, nude or burgundy, i'm quite drawn to the Essie shade and it'd look lovely on my feet with sandals (that is, if anything can ever look lovely on a pair of feet ever), maybe if it plays its cards right then it'll end up on my fingernails too.

there's no fancy outer packaging to show you, instead the polishes come securely packaged in a plain brown box. each month's box contains five products, at least three of which are nail polishes. also if you shimmy on over to their website, they're hinting that june's box will contain the legendary seche vite top coat which is like a tenner on its own - not bad.

*pr sample

boys may come and go but lingerie is forever

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9

nothing like covering your boobs in £50 worth of black lace to make you feel good.

also the see through ones would look so good with pierced nipples (!!!)

idk i'm a fan

the perfect falsies?

red cherry lashes #605 // £1.30

fake eyelashes achieve something that mascara can only dream of, but at the price of being ridiculously fiddly - not only to apply, but i find that almost all styles of lashes look so unnatural on me that i'd feel uncomfortable wearing them out. usually i settle for a very natural pair that i amp up with mascara, or some demi lashes, but recently i've found The Ones.

the #605s by red cherry do everything; they're volumising, slightly lengthening (but not to the point where they sit on your eyebrows when you look up), affordable, and mimic what natural lashes would look like if eyelash growth serums actually worked the way they're advertised. here i'm wearing them without any mascara to maintain some degree of subtlety, but with a few coats of mascara they still somehow manage to look as though they could be your natural eyelashes. i won't tell if you don't. 

i googled "kylie jenner lipstick"

mac brave lipstick // £15.50

mac soar lip pencil // £12.50 (bit cheaper than lip fillers)

i've always been wary of any sort of remotely neutral lip colour. having very naturally pigmented lips - we're talking dark here - any attempt to dull them down makes me look so unhealthy that a quiet *yikes* escapes when i glance at my reflection.

but anyways that philosophy went out the window when i was stalking kylie jenner's instagram at 2 4 in the morning and was in the mood to lower my bank balance slightly (one of my favourite hobbies).

the shade combination is actually far more flattering than i'd expected, as the lip liner is quite a dark brownish pink (keywords such as "90s" spring to mind) so it's not too much of a change. i like to line the outside of my lips and fill in the outer corners with soar, and then use brave in the centre and to blend everything together. brave is a lighter, more neutral pink than soar is, so as a duo they create this gorgeous plumping, two-toned, don't-you-just-want-to-kiss-me effect which i am all about.

so if you're thinking about joining the legions of full-lipped kylie wannabes, i'd give you a double thumbs up and an attitude of go for it.