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Mellow cosmetics liquid precision pen eyeliner

7/10/2020

2 Comments

 
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I owe these guys a bit of an apology I have since discovered that if you use this pen to create a smokey eye: apply it like liner and then blend it out it, is the absolute tits and does stay very firmly put, its just not much good as a regular eyeliner.


So a little while ago in to combat the lockdown blues I started looking through some of my old work and putting up on instagram, a few people liked it and after a week or so I got contacted by a company called Mellow Cosmetics  a cruelty free brand from New Zealand, asking if I wanted to be a brand ambassador and advertise their products. 
I get to be an influencer How very exciting! obviously theres no such thing as a free lunch, you still have to pay for the products but theres a very nice 30% discount and I do need a new eyeliner so why the hell not, let's give this a try.  
I ordered the "Liquid precision pen eyeliner" (retail price $18+ $6 postage) It arrived a week or so later in a very stylish black and gold package and when I took it out the pen looked exactly as advertised - So far so good! 
However putting in on was different story, the pen was a little bit dry and as a result it didn't apply that smoothly, however the end result was decent enough so I decided before I gave it a write up I would wear it everyday for a week in order to give it a fair trial.
With a bit of further experimentation I discovered it blended well and could be used to create a nice smokey eye, however the fact it smudged so easily should have been a bit of red flag for my main issue with this product - It doesn't stay put!  

PictureVerdict: meh!

I first discovered this fact when I wore it on a day when it was raining heavily, so I figured maybe its just not very waterproof.  But then it also smudged on  on a day when it was beautifully sunny, another day that was kind of average and a day where I didn't leave the house, so I'm afraid its definately the eyeliner. 

Verdict: Sorry but there is no getting around the fact this is a decidedly average product, fine as a back up or if you're using it for something where it dosn't need to last that long or come under that close scrutiny, but as a day to day this just won't cut it.

Plus I know that all pen liners dry out over time but the fact this one was dry when it arrived makes me wonder how long of shelf these pens have.
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Good luck to the guys at Mellow cosmetics and thank you for the discount, but I probably won't be returning any time soon

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Guest writer: Jennifer McGregor on  healthy living

11/22/2019

1 Comment

 

I was recently contacted by a lady called Jennifer McGregor who asked if she could write a guest entry for my blog, (please be my guest Jennifer it will kick my arse into giving this website a much needed update!)
 Jennifer is a pre-med student and self confessed health improvement nerd. She and a friend are developing a website called PublicHealthLibrary.org  Jennifer’s goal is to turn it into a go-to resource for reliable health information on the Web, you can read her lovely and very informative article below....

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Everyday Habits to Keep You Healthy From Head-to-Toe

Staying on top of your health is an important part of leading a long, enjoyable life. Don’t neglect yourself physically or mentally. By making these habits part of your everyday life, you can stay in a healthy routine that enhances your overall well-being day in and day out.


Take Care of Your Skin
Skincare is an important part of self-care, beauty, and overall well-being. Take care of your skin by not smoking, reducing stress, wearing sunscreen, and eating healthy. For beautiful, healthy skin, it's also important to stay hydrated and avoid heavy alcohol consumption. Water helps clear toxins in your skin and transports oxygen and nutrients to your skin cells. Clean your skin morning and night with gentle products that are created for your skin type, and don't forget to moisturize every day, no matter your age. If possible, head to the spa or salon for a facial treatment periodically to deep clean and rejuvenate your skin. When your skin is healthy, it boosts your self-esteem and makes you glow beautifully.

Incorporate Exercise Into Your Daily Routine
Exercise is essential for both physical and mental health. According to the National Institutes of Health, regular physical activity can reduce your risk of a number of diseases, lower your body weight, increase muscle strength, improve flexibility and posture, and bolster your immune system. In terms of mental health, exercise can boost your mood, reduce your stress and tension levels, increase your cognitive function, and improve your sleep quality. Even if you don’t hit the gym every single day, you can incorporate physical activity into your daily life. Make it a habit to take the stairs instead of the elevator, park in the farthest spot in the lot, and walk or bike to nearby destinations instead of always using your car. Any daily activity that gets you moving and increases your need for oxygen can have a positive impact on your health.

Take Advantage of Preventive Services
Don't just go to the doctor when you're ill. Never miss your annual physical, and be sure to get preventive screenings if it makes sense for your age and your medical history. If you are based in the U.S  keep on top of your healthcare coverage. During Medicare's annual Open Enrollment Period, which runs from October 15th through December 7th, consider switching from Original Medicare to a Medicare Advantage plan. Advantage plans, such as those offered by Aetna, usually offer wellness programs, gym memberships, free preventive services, and other benefits to help keep you healthy, plus, these plans can grant you access to expanded coverage for dental, vision, hearing, and prescriptions.
(editors note:  If like myself  you live the UK thank god we have the NHS and don't have to worry about this kind of thing!)
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Sleep Well
According to the Sleep Foundation, when you get seven to nine hours of quality sleep each night, your body and mind have the time needed to heal and recover from the day's activities. Adequate sleep also allows your immune system to fight harmful substances and keep you as healthy as possible. To avoid sleep problems, skip caffeine late in the day and try to get into a consistent bedtime routine. Going to sleep and getting up around the same day will make you feel more refreshed and program your body to have more energy during the day. If you have trouble waking up in the morning, try taking a walk outside as soon as you wake up. The natural light will help your body’s clock get in rhythm with your routine.


Incorporate strategies and routines to keep yourself as healthy as possible. Don’t wait until you get injured or fall ill to start caring about your health. Practice healthy habits each and every day to reduce the risk of as healthy as possible. Don’t wait until you get injured or fall ill to start caring about your health. Practice healthy habits each and every day to reduce the risk of certain diseases, improve longevity, and boost your quality of life.

Thanks for this great advice Jennifer and I wish you all the best with your project.
​ For more info on healthy living you can visit Jennifers website http://publichealthlibrary.org/ 

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Extinction rebellion

5/10/2019

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,A couple of months ago I got a call from old school friend, it seemed another face from our school days (Isla Mcleod)  was going to be involved in some sort of protest at the houses of parliament. Apparently she was planning to get naked (as you do) and needed some body paint, would I be able to oblige?
well certainly I replied, 'please give her my number and tell her to come over'. 
Sadly as the days went by  I heard nothing, maybe they decide that the chilly March weather wasn't ideal for getting your bits out! 
Then one evening as I made my way home I picked up a copy of the evening standard and there on the front page I saw the news that a group of 6 protesters had walked into parliament stripped naked and glued themselves to a window  I looked closely at the picture and sure enough there was Isla centre stage, boobs out for the world to see. Great way to make a statement! However as looked at the group I couldn't help but think how substandard their body painting efforts had been 'Should've come to me'.
I thought smugly.

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extinction rebellion April 1st - note substandard body paint!
Fortunately it wasn't long before I had the chance to put my money where my mouth was 
when I was invited to do some make up for an Extinction Rebellion fashion show in Oxford Circus ​ The rebellions HQ was a surprisingly smart office building in central London, the office area could have belonged to any start company. Except for the clothes and make up piled on desks as people rushed about getting ready for the show.
I got chatting with quite a few people who came to me for make up and one thing that really struck me was how Extinction Rebellion had attracted people from so many different backgrounds, all of whom had come together 'To do something for a good cause'. Whatever you think of Extinction Rebellion and their tactics in the world we live in I think anything that can unite people towards a common goal has got to be good thing.
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NEW TOYS 3: Expensive moisturiser

12/4/2018

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I promised myself I wasn’t going to do this again…. about 6 months ago I decided to go for wander round liberties, their make up section is basically a tiny branch of Space NK shoehorned into a cupboard on the ground floor ‘Hmmmm….’ I thought, ‘Not much to see here’ I was about to leave, little did I realise I had fallen into a trap… because you are now in a small enclosed space the sales assistants have got you cornered THERE’S NO ESCAPE!!
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liberties - be afraid, be very afraid
What followed was one of those light headed sales experiences where the assistant demonstrates the product in such a way that buying it seems to be the only logical thing to do, and its only when your back on the high street clutching your super expensive new purchase that reality kicks in and you suddenly think what the hell  just happened there?
So that was me and my brand new Vanilla Chantecaille Anti Smog Tinted Moisturiser: A slim silver and purple tube that set me back a whopping £64.
Yes you read that right £64 for a tinted moisturiser, £64!!! It’s ridiculous that such a thing should exist, there are children starving in Africa for gods sake, no one needs this, and what do they even put in the Damn thing that would cost so much?? But hey I’ve brought it so I’d better bloody well use it right?

The problem I then discovered is its actually REALLY good, the level of coverage is much better that most similar products I’ve tried, it blends into your skin very nicely, not only that but the dodo tears and unicorn blood or whatever it is they put in it actually seems to work, over the last few months I’ve had complete strangers come up and compliment me on how clear my skin is (although the girl at the check out at M&S was visibly taken a back when I told her the price of my youthful radiance)
One other thing which is definitely worth a mention is that because its consistency is quite thick  you don’t need to use very much for each application, which is why even after buying it in May its only now in early December that the tube has finally run dry, so it lasted about 6 and a half months in total.
So if we say 30 days in a month 6x30+15=195  So 195 days, Then 195 divided by £64
It works out about 32p per day which is really not so bad right? 
​And
 so I find myself wandering sheepishly into a local branch of Space NK to pick up another tube.
Oh well its expensive but the quality is worth it and what is life with out a few luxuries right?
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Smooth You Town Spa

11/26/2018

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Picturestylishly white and spotlessly clean
A good friend of mine who is also in the beauty industry recently recommended me for a free facial at ‘Smooth You,’ skin care and anti ageing Spa London. Woohoo!! Happy days if theres one thing I love its a beauty treatment, especially if it has free in the title! So I wasted no time in getting myself booked in. The phone the service was great they even let me cancel and reschedule with no problem


The Smooth you spa is centrally located in in Great Portland Street, The decor was fairly standard stylishly white and spotlessly clean with lots of ‘before and after’ ads for the various treatments on offer, the staff were friendly and of course all looked absolutely stunning, you know that kind of lighting effect you get in the beauty sections of department stores where the staff all look fabulous and you look like withery old prune? yeah that. So of course you are completely taken in when they do a pre treatment diagnostic and tell you that oh dear god your skin is horribly dehydrated and in terrible condition. They asked if could describe my skin care routine and beauty routine. I explained what I do for a living and how as a result skin care is very important to me and when I told them this and mentioned some of the brands I use I’m pretty sure I saw little dollar signs flash before their eyes! Oh well then clearly I would be interested in their VIP non surgical anti aging treatment, an amazing, unique, organic, all natural, vitamin enriched, nano technology as used by Nasa (Now I know your probably reading that sentence thinking ‘alright love calm down’ however I shit you not that is pretty much exactly how they described it)

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All of these products are very expensive
But lets be real for a moment, if you are being offered a free facial in an expensive beauty clinic it is clearly going to be a sales pitch, and when it comes to beauty treatments I’m quite amenable to being sold to. So I had the treatment, and I have to say it was very good, the facial itself was relaxing rather like a massage and my therapist Kate was professional and friendly talking me through each part of the process, my skin felt great afterwards and the next day as I write this I can definitely notice a positive difference. 
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other people having facials
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portrait of the artist, glowing with un-natural radiance post facial
​So taking all this in consideration when the treatment was over I listened as Kate  described the various products and packages the spa was selling fully aware that she was most likely on commission and fully prepared to spend slightly over odds on a face cream or booking another facial maybe as a gift for my Aunt or Mother. However the quoted prices were EYE-WATERING, all the packages on offer were into the thousands. Sorry love but that ain't gonna happen, even with a monthly payment plan of 12 easy  instalments of £187 and free beauty case to go with it.. So at this point I’m afraid I suddenly noticed I was running late for a very important thing that I had to do and ran for the door!
Overall great treatment from Smooth You, you can find their website HERE, if you can get the free facial I would recommend taking advantage of this, just be aware that they do come on a little strong with the sales tactics,  I hope the staff are on a decent basic wage!


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New Toys Part 2: Liquid Eyeliner

11/20/2018

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Recently I was having lunch with a friend and of course the topic turned to make up. ‘Whats your favourite liquid eyeliner? she asked ‘Oh Chanel’ I said ‘I have been through pretty much every brand out there and their eyeliner pen is definitely the best one I’ve found’ ‘ Nah‘ she replied ‘ I think Lancome is better’.
‘Mmmm yeah the Lancome art liner is good I’ll give you that but it ain’t no  signature du Chanel’
‘No she said they have a new one now its called Grandiose its wayyy better, it even has a handle you can bend so you can get a better angle when your applying it’
‘ok’ I said  'well i’ll test it out next time I get the chance;

  Chanel V's Lancome 

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Anyway as it so happened my treasured Signature du Chanel eye pen was reaching the end of its life span and I was looking forward to a forth coming trip to Switzerland as an opportunity to take advantage of the duty free make up counters and restock. However it turned out the Chanel counter was extremely limited with not a liquid eyeliner in sight, however the neighbouring Lancôme counter seemed to be doing roaring trade, so I thought, ‘what better time to give it a go?’  The lady on the counter gave me a wonderful demonstration and what can I say I was converted. The adjustable handle is a genius idea and I love the long thin pen, ideal for outlining the curve of an eye lid, plus they have clearly changed to formula as the product applies much better than previous generations of Lancome eyeliners. Not only that but but it lasts all day!
Verdict: Lancome you have a new customer, Chanel you snooze you loose
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Above: how it should be done. Below: portrait of the artist attempting multitask, eyeliner application + selfie = urrgh! 
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1 Comment

New Toys part 1: Silicon Applicator

10/14/2018

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Why? Well we all know that if beauty blenders have a fault it’s that they do eat rather a lot of  your precious foundation. Silicon applicators are supposed to be the next step: giving you a flawless finish without wasting too much product, and given that I am currently using the excellent but ruinously expensive ‘Just Skin’ tinted moisturiser from  Chantecaille this definitely seemed like a good idea.
After receiving my silicon Applicator courtesy of  Alibaba.com  my first thought was that it had been packaged in a plastic wrapper although on closer inspection this didn’t peel off, but appeared to be part of the applicator, this plastic wrapping gave the applicator a weird baggy texture that really didn’t help with application, even if you stretch it tight, it just smears foundation onto your face but doesn’t really blend it in and leaves a lot of streaks.
Although the it has be said the edges of the plastic are very good for removing any foundation that gets trapped in your eye brows
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After various experiments cutting a section off a section of the applicator with a knife and bending the cut edge outwards to apply foundation did yield fairly decent results, but frankly it seemed like more hassle than its worth, when there are so many decent reasonably priced applicators out there you don’t need to go resorting to a Blue Peter DIY job for the sake of saving a few pennies.
Verdict: Nice idea but fall way short of the mark.  For best results with foundation stick to a brush sponge or finger
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March 05th, 2017

3/5/2017

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Does anyone else ever get it where suddenly they go from having nothing new to show for their efforts for months and then suddenly loads of things get released at once?
well thats just happened to me, so expect a few developments on the the website over the next couple of weeks!
But first of all I would just like to share with you these lovely images from a shoot I did all the way back in November.

Photography: Helen Sikk ​www.helenasikkphotography.co.uk/#0
Model: Ray Alexander @rayyalexportfolio
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Shibari part two

1/21/2017

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 After the success of the first Shibari shoot it seemed only right that there should be a sequel, but how and when where and what and why and who?? -  Oh gosh so many questions! I asked rigger Helen who of course was only to keen to grab some rope and spring into action. After a lot of asking around and putting up ads on various websites I was contacted by musician and model Jenny Maxwell who I have previously collaborated with on a few videos and shoot wanting to know if she could get involved - perfect! my long time friend and very talented hairstylist Sonya Park Howie was very intrigued by the concept and promptly volunteered to style Jenny's hair if only as a reason to be around to watch what was going on!
The search for willing photographers was tricky but whilst putting out feelers for willing participants I ended up getting two for the price of one Dario Srbic and Laura Marques  all 6 of crammed into my ridiculously tiny studio and much hilarity ensued especially when photographer alura decided she wanted to get in on the action and have a go at being a 'rope bunny' (see below right) turns out she looks pretty good on the other side of the camera as well!
Jenny and I have a long standing tradition of using a pomegranate as a prop when ever we work together and this shoot was no exception, I think it made addition to this shoot adding to the sexual undertones of shibari. The idea was to try and create some pre raphelite style imagery as this had captured my imagination following a visit to Tate Britain (painting with light exhibition may-sept 2016) And if the image below is anything to go by I would say we nailed it! Many thanks to everyone for giving up your time to get involved
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glitter girls

1/13/2017

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All back in august 2015 I did a bit of work at a festival called Boomtown down in hampshire, while I was there I met a very talented lady by the name of Mikki Anderson, it became the start of a face painting collaboration and we since worked at various festivals and events around the country. 
Now a year and half on following a very successful new years party we have decided to formally set ourselves up as business and have launched Glitter Girls with a Facebook page and everything https://www.facebook.com/girlswhosparkle/ if you could take the time to give us a like that would be great. 
And of course it goes with out saying...
HIRE US FOR YOUR NEXT EVENT!!!  
​reasonable rates, London based, will travel.

And now we've got the business side sorted lets get back to the art....

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​ As there is not a huge call for face painting at this time of year we have been trying to keep the momentum going and hone our skills by painting ourselves. (See below) I have learnt that is incredibly tricky trying paint and photgraph your own body so am on the hunt for willing victims... If think you would would be up for being painted do drop me a line!

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