Collection Gothic Glam Lipstick <3

Hello Hello!

I think I may have hit that slightly hysterical, hyperactive state of sleep deprivation. I've been up since 4am, as my boss decided to ask me to cover a shift at the GB equestrian endurance, at 11pm last night, it was supposed to start at 8am, but as it was quite a way away, nearly 2 hours away, we'd have to set off early. Oh and did she mention, that we had to be their a little earlier than the start time. Yay. Last minute! Initially I thought, eh 5 hours sleep, it's do able as a one off. 2am and I was still awake thanks to someone letting off fireworks! As we're kind of surrounded by fields and stuff, I figured some kids had got their hands on some and yeah... very little sleep...

There's no time to do a review like when you're high on sleeplessness. SO LETS DO IT!

The lovely item in question is the Gothic Glam lipstick from Collection. Is it no longer Collection 2000? Have I missed something...? Probably.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Excuse the background clutter... and my left over Toblerone. It's been there since Xmas. I should probably eat that. B-)[/caption]

I have it in shade 3, which is 'revenge'. It also comes in 'scorned' a purple based lipstick, and 'seduction' which is a slightly paler red, but still pretty dark. It is GORGEOUS. I used to be quite heavily into Gothic fashion as a teenager, and to be honest I still love it. The shade is a lovely dark red, like the darkest red wine you could possibly think of. It looks almost black, but doesn't show up that dark once applied.



It's also pretty cheap, £2.99 I believe. You can buy it from the Collection online store here. To be honest, it is a really good lipstick, considering it is so cheap. It is long lasting, and doesn't fade... although it isn't discrete when you drink and does leave a nice lip mark hehe. I think I got about 4 hours of solid wear before I drank something and then started giving in and licking my lips occasionally. Still, I don't mind reapplying after food and drink. It does say that it's supposed to lock in colour all day, it probably would if you were careful and didn't lick you lips, or eat... or drink... or sneeze.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400"] In the light! Excuse my nose. It looked a lot weirder when I cropped my nose out I swear.[/caption]

It is a pretty thick lipstick, you don't need much and I would recommend using a lip brush to apply it rather than straight from the tube. It's so much easier to build the colour up this way, if you apply it straight from the tube it seems to go on too thick and looks darker in places. However once applied it doesn't fade AND what I love about it is when you take it off, either using make up remover or just using a tissue, it doesn't stain, or at least not noticeably! Yesssss. :-)

It's also a good idea to use a lip scrub or to make sure you haven't got too much dry skin on you lips as dry bits tend to be magnified by this shade. It is, admittedly, pretty good at making your lips look speckled if they're a little dry *sigh*.

If I use it day after day it does start to dry my lips out a little bit, which is probably the only downfall. It takes my lips about 3 days to recover from heavy use of this, but in all honesty I don't have the patients to wear lipstick all day every day.

The packaging looks pretty expensive sitting there on my dressing table. Once you've peeled the barcode off the back. The tube doesn't feel cheap and nasty and has a good weight to it. The lid is pretty secure and would probably take a good tug before it came off in your bag. The gold design on the tube is really nice too, however after spending a day in my makeup bag this has all but rubbed off. But I've found that happens a lot with Collection (2000?) products. The patterns rub off easy and then it's hard to see what shade you bought in order to replace it! *cough* Illuminating Concealer *cough* I'm looking at you... ¬_¬

Anyway, I am loving this lipstick at the moment!

Half Term!!!

Phew! I have had a rather hectic week! I'm actually glad it's a Monday, although I am sad to leave the chaos behind!

I attended an old friend's wedding last Saturday, which was amazing. She looked so beautiful I could have cried. I met up with some people I hadn't really seen since I started uni and drank a little too much. Which is pretty unusual for me as alcohol and anxiety just don't really get on.

I then borrowed two gorgeous children for the week, and turned myself into a glorified 10 year old. I played on the trampoline, ate too many sweets, went to Rufford and looked after some owls and spent a couple of evenings laid on the trampoline looking at Mars and then watching the International Space Station zoom across the sky.

I made a cake with one of her girls. It was complete guesswork as my friend has just moved into her new house, and hadn't unpacked her scales! But it turned out really well!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="350"] ...Calorie Mountain...[/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="350"] ...So Much Sugar...[/caption]

 

We also went to Centre Parcs, which was brilliant, I looked after my friend's two girls and their two friends. We spent most of the time in the rapids, and I went down the second stage of the rapids to see if I could take the smaller girls down (the rapids are pretty rough and were pulling me under, no match for a tiny 8 year old!)

I ended up cracking the back of my head on something as I desperately tried to stay upright. I was a little under prepared for how fast the rapids were, which is a total rookie mistake, and I'm a little annoyed as I'm a pretty good swimmer. I ended up with mild concussion and a two day headache! Which I suppose was a small price to pay for all the fun I had. :-)

I also managed to mess up some plans my hubby had made, secret surprise plans, so in my defense I had no idea. But I had a panic about getting home on time etc. With the trains being a little messed up over Easter. I feel pretty bad about that, and annoyed that we didn't go and see the Jousting finals in Leeds because of my anxiety and I'm so annoyed that I didn't just pluck up the guts and just DO IT and text, and ask for a lift back. Urgh. The only reason I didn't text and ask for a lift was because I was worried I would mess up hubby's plans. Stupid brain, over thinking.

Anyway, I hope you've all had a good Ostara, Easter, Half Term or whatever :-)

LUSH - Eua Roma 'Toner Water' ...

Hi everyone!

A little while ago I ordered a few things from Lush, as you do. One of those things was a toner water, which goes by the rather tongue tying name of 'Eua Roma' which I'm not really sure how to pronounce and whenever I do I sound like I'm trying not to cough. In fact in huge 'Alice fail' style, I've been thinking of the song which I thought went 'Mines eau roma' whenever I read the label. In fact the song is My Sherona. SHERONA. By The Knack. Oh my days.

So yeah, I've been thinking it was another play on words by Lush (which it probably is), so now I feel silly because I've been dancing around in the bathroom singing 'Mines eau roma' to the tune of 'My Sherona'. Just thought I'd share that. :-)

Anyway, this little bottle of 'MY SHERONA' can be found here, for £7.50.

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 Lush Says: This is an elegant formula that’s suitable for even the most sensitive skins. Rose water will help to calm and reduce redness, whilst lavender water will balance and soften the skin. This was created as a way to hydrate and soothe the skin both gently and effectively. Use it for a quick, refreshing spritz or to remove any traces of makeup or cleanser.

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It smells nice. It has Rose Water and Lavender Water listed as its first few ingredients and you can definitely smell the Lavender. I still haven't mastered spraying it on my face without flinching though. O.o

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="402"] Look at it, chilling out on a towel. You saucy bottle you.[/caption]

It says you can use it everyday, but I really can't because I find it leaves my skin feeling quite greasy. It brought me out in spots, and it does say on the bottle that it wont cause an over reaction... do spots count as an over reaction? I'm hoping it was just my skin adjusting to something new, but for about a week I've had spots on my cheeks, chin and nose! Usually I don't get any, or I'll find the odd one. Did it calm my skin and reduce redness? No, it didn't, although it didn't aggravate redness it just didn't improve it. :-(

I am a little disappointed, because most of the reviews I have read about Eua Roma were really positive. The most common flaws I've come across were price, effect on the skin and inability to remove make-up as well as it advertised.

I've found most of this to apply to me. It hasn't had any effect on my skin as a toner, it was literally just like spraying water on my skin, I kind of expected something to happen, and for my skin to look and feel better, but no. It also doesn't cut it when it comes to make-up removal. I have to soak a cotton wool pad to get my make-up off, and even then it doesn't remove it as good as products I was previously using.

In the end I've been using it whenever I've taken my make-up off and my face has felt really dry. If my skin feels fine, no Eau Roma for me as I'd wake up with a breakout the next day. If my skin has been screaming because it has been so dry, then yeah, this stuff rocks for calming it down and within 48 hours my skin is hydrated and no longer threatening to go uber dry and delve into the realm of flaky.

I don't use it in the morning because I couldn't get my make-up to apply to a satisfactory level as my skin felt oilier than usual. I think you really do have to wait a little while for this to soak in and your skin to absorb it fully before sticking foundation on. I'm just not that patient, and my skin is apparently very oily at the moment.

It has taken me about two weeks for my skin to accept it. My spots have calmed down, and the oily patches seem to be happier and whatever dry skin I had has disappeared... but this is with every two/ three days use in the evening, it is definitely not something I've been using daily.

I do think, if you have skin that tends to be on the dry side, this may do something for you. I wont be purchasing it again because for me it's just too expensive and what I get in return is basically scented water that gives me a minor break out. I may  reconsider this in the winter when my face is dry and it needs a bit more hydration. But as this hasn't improved the look or feel of my skin, which I'm really disappointed about, it is a no for the summertime. Ah well, live and learn!

Also my Eua Roma was made by Nicky! So THANKS NICKY, you rock! And I think I've had a bath bomb with a sticker that had the same name..? :-D I love reading the label to see who's made whatever it is I'm using.

Have any of you tried this? Or even any of the other Lush toners? 
I'm a little reluctant to try another Lush toner as they are a bit pricey...

 

 

Panic Attacks, and Driving.

Hi everyone, this is less of a beauty post, and more of a, I don't know, I really don't know what kind of post this is! Maybe it goes under the category of 'rant'. Or just me pouring my heart out...

If any of you can relate to either anxiety or panic attacks (or both!) then my heart goes out to you. It's truly horrible and something I wouldn't wish on anyone. But lately, people are really starting to get on my nerves because of the way they treat me or just anxiety in general. I've gotten to that stage on the anxiety road where people are starting to hate me for it I'm sure. I don't talk about it anymore because I don't want people to get tired of me. I bottle it up, and I know I shouldn't but it's easier.

I guess I'm writing this because my anxiety is like a ticking bomb... which sometimes settles and I can ignore, but recently it seems to be my whole life, exploding when I really could do with having a break.

I don't like having anxiety, it's not 'cool', it doesn't get you sympathy, people get sick and tired of your shit, they start to avoid you. Anxiety is not fun... However some people brand it around and it loses its meaning. People don't take it seriously, including most doctors... some are great and they do 'get it' but I find a lot just try and palm you off. 

I don't know why but I was feeling a little delicate yesterday. On the way to drop off my other half at a training event it just spiraled out of control. I'm pretty new on the driving front. Despite passing my test nearly three years ago I couldn't afford a car so I never really drove since. About two months ago I started driving again. I'm a crap driver I will admit that, but I suppose I'm still 'learning' in a sense. I can drive okay on my own, but when my hubby is in the car too I panic and I don't know why. He makes me on edge, like seriously want to vomit on edge. I don't know if it's because I'm worried I'll mess up and hurt us both or if his criticism of my driving just makes me paranoid. Either way, he gets in the car with me and suddenly driving becomes 10 times harder. Pathetic I know, I need to get my self under control.

I tried to fend off a panic attack whilst driving, which I was almost proud of, but instead of fighting if off completely, it decided to simmer there, and wait. I could feel it building and I knew it was going to happen, but as long as it happened when I wasn't driving I really couldn't have cared less at that point. I managed to drive to training, tears streaming down my face making stupid noises and when I got there I just wanted to leave, I knew I'd be okay driving back on my own.

I'd parked the car wonky, I wanted to straighten it up but hubby was pretty mad at me again and he got out and started getting the training stuff from the boot before I had the chance to stick it in reverse. So I sat embarrassed at my parking and terrified I was going to have an attack in the car. However a lecture on 'you'll get points on your license', and other comments just ramming into my head about basically how crap I am at driving, just pushed me over the edge. I sat in the training car park blubbering like crazy in my wonky parked car. I wanted the panic attack to just happen and get it over with, or just sod off completely. If there is one thing I find worse than a panic attack, its waiting in fear for one to happen, when you can just feel it crawling in your chest taunting you. Oh and there was my boss. Yay. An audience.

I didn't want my boss to see me, I didn't want anyone to see me. I wanted to be alone for a while, turn up the radio and just let go. But as people do, they insist on prodding you. My boss hadn't noticed I was in the car, until my other half pointed out something (I'm not sure what he told her) but anyway, she ended up coming over to the drivers side and being all like 'come in for a cup of tea' and then telling me she had bad days driving too. My boss is really really lovely, I could have cried more she was that nice to me. Possibly the only person who was at that point, I kind of want to text her to apologise for my blubbering, I am just that embarrassed. :'( 

People at training were really nice, I tried hard to stay quiet because if I try and speak when I'm like that I just start making wailing noises and end up crying again. It was obvious I'd been crying, mascara everywhere, my eyes looked like I was on meth... someone I work with was really nice too asking if I wanted to talk about it, which I did, but I knew I couldn't because I'd just cry. I can't talk and cry, and I definitely don't cry gracefully either.  

I didn't eat lunch I felt that sick so after my tea I went to work. Drove there okay, I wish I had a camera in my car sometimes to just show that I'm not completely useless. Got to work and had a lovely chat with the secretary. By this time I was feeling pretty drained and on edge, no panic attack yet but I could just feel it wanting to slam my face into the desk. Eventually it happened when I got home. I was alone, which I was so happy about. Then hubby came home from training and called me, so I went downstairs.

Only halfway down I slipped, landed awkwardly on my butt and slid the rest of the way down. I was in so much pain, but I think my hubby was just completely done with me at this point, as he basically just looked away. Ha. So I just got up and limped into the kitchen, trying to walk off the screaming pain in my bum and back.

I feel so embarrassed about yesterday and really hurt that it's just gotten to the point where my hubby can't stand the sight of me when I'm in anxiety mode.

On a more cheerful note, my Lush package came today!