PDM - Public Display of Make-up

We’ve all experienced the joys of PDA (public display of affection), whereby a couple feel the need to prove their love to the world by constantly touching and kissing each other. We get it, you fancy each other, but for future reference: nobody needs to sit through an entire train ride watching you and your other halves do everything but the full monty. It is yesterday’s news that public tonsil tennis in the UK is revered and looked down upon. In Paris it is considered a national sport, and a double date consists of sitting on water fountains snogging and only stopping to have a quick smoke of galloise before carrying on.

Recently however, I was thrilled to be shown a whole new form of public indecency, in the form of a woman doing her entire beauty regime whilst sitting on the tube. Why, I wondered, does a woman have so little time in the morning that she needs to apply her spot cream on the tube? Surely this is something that we should all be utterly private about? Being a long-time acne sufferer, my pimple ointment regime is a most embarrassing matter, Id place it on a par with not locking the toilet door at a public venue. Or perhaps on the same level as those disgusting people who mid-conversation start picking their noses whilst looking directly at you. Maybe not as disgraceful as that, but it still shocked me enough to watch her move on to applying her facial moisturiser, foundation, eye shadow, and mascara. The best part was when she started curling her eyelashes, at this point I looked around to see if anybody else was appalled and perplexed by this woman. Surely the whole point of make-up is that nobody knows you are wearing it, we are supposed to simply rise from our beds like goddesses, primped and preened, eyes shining, ready to take on the world. Yet here was a woman proving that really we are all liars and frauds, walking around as one woman and going to bed as another. It made me wonder what the next display of public indecency would be, and where it would take place. Getting dressed whilst waiting for the bus? Shaving your legs whilst chatting at a bar?

I recently read an article about people eating meals whilst sitting on the tube, not just a handy snack or drink, but actual meals. Imagine sitting down on the crusty, faded 80’s seats and enjoying beans on toast whilst everybody stares at you. I can’t imagine anything worse, not to mention the amount of germs flying around the meal provided by the tube which harbours millions of bacteria. There are exceptions to the rule of course, a quick drink or snack is fine. As is a slick of eyeliner or lipgloss. But full make-up appication and meal?? I cant decide if it is my overly private persona or if it really does seem odd to be applying various ointments and potions whilst on the tube? Or any public transport for that matter?

Celebrities through the looking glass...

Yes, a lot of the time celebrities look annoyingly gorgeous, but we know the little secret behind the mask of perfection lies a massively talented make-up artist, stylist, dietician and personal trainer. Imagine if you had all that in order to look consistently gorgeous?! There'd be no excuse for bad hair days, fat days or ugly days! Heres a few of the celebrities who I think get it right every time :



I know what you're thinking. Lizzie Maguire?! Lizzie Maguire gets it right every time?! Well, yes actually, she does. Hilary duff consistently looks beautiful at premiere's and events, why? Because a lot of effort goes in to her make-up look. Here her look is pretty, yet polished and attainable for everyone. She has used a silvery taupey-brown on the eyes with plenty of mascara and false lashes. Lips and cheeks have been kept girlishly pink, yet subdued. The key to this look is lots of mascara, lots and lots of it!

Products to use for this look :
1) For the eyes, I suggest Urban Decay's 'straydog' eyeshadow. This silvery taupey brown is the perfect compliment to all eye shades and has the most beautiful texture. smudge it under the eyes as well as on the lids to create Hilary's polished, yet smokey eye. Use liquid liner on top lids only. I like Boots No7 liquid Liner in Black. Ensure that the line is very thick and very neat, use cotton buds to wipe away any mistakes. For volumised lashes without the clumps, my go-to mascara is 'My Biggest Lashes' in very black, by Prestige. Wiggle the wand through the root of your lashes to create thickness, then keep stroking the wand over and over your lashes till you have created Hilary's doll-like flutter! If you want, stick on some falsies, Im not a fan of them, but I hear eyelure do the best ones!

2) Keep the foundation light and dewy, the skin must not be matte for this look. No powder neccessary! I suggest Myface Mymix foundation for an ethereal glow. For those girly pink cheeks, Urban decay's after glow blush in 'quickie' does the job, dont brush on too much though because its such a pigmented blusher!

3) The lips are a neutral creamy pink, I suggest MAC's angel lipstick for pink lips that dont look overdone.

Although I find Keira Knightley really quite annoying, (why is she ALWAYS pouting?! even when shes talking shes pouting!!) she does happen to always have a good make-up artist and stylist to hand. I have heard she's an acne sufferer which makes me like her a bit more, as I am pront to acne breakouts. She mostly goes for a smokey-brown eyeshadow look with nude-rose lips. The look is very english rose/rock chick, like shes been running around on the windy moors for too long or something. Heres my break down :

1) The foundation shes used is quite high coverage, yet leaves a lovely natural glow. I suggest trying Revlon Colourstay foundation for this look. This foundation takes quite a while to set so do your eye make-up whilst its setting. (what is it?! paint?!)

2) For the eyes a dark, chocolatey brown is key. I suggest using Barry M chocolate dazzle dust (no.53). Use a brush to bring the shadow right in to the socket line, and at the outer corners of the eyes. Keria has not used much highlight, however the lid has a small amount of purpley-grey to offset the chocolate brown. I suggest BarryM's dazzle dust in mushroom, a lovely sparkly grey with hints of lilac. Use a fluffy brush to run over the entire eye and blend the colours together. Use a black kohl eyeliner to line the lower lashes and top lashline. Dont use liquid liner for this look, it is too harsh and not rock chick enough, sorry. My fave kohl eyeliner is no7. amazing eye eye pencil in black. Now take your little finger and run some Barry M chocolate dazzle dust just under your lower lash line. I have always used my little finger for this job because it gives a more worn-in rock chick effect, a brush tends to make it look too polished and precise. Now for the mascara, Keira's eyelashes are volumised and multiplied using layers of mascara on both the top and bottom lashes. I suggest using Revlons fabulash for this, at first this mascara seems useless, but trust me, keep building it up and up and after a while you will be very satisfied with it indeed! I like to blink my lashes in to the brush again and again until Im happy. It makes me really dizzy, but it works!!!

3) Hopefully your foundation has dried by now?! For Keira's glow, use an iridescent gold powder all over the face, especially down the length of your nose, tops of cheekbones and chin. I like Too faced's candlit glow, but if you prefer something less sparkly, Pixi does a lovely blush called Energy blush in naturally sunny, the highlighter part of this blush is perfect! For keir'as naturally pink glow I suggest 17's blush in bramble frost which is a really neutral pink, and literally goes with ANY eyelook you have gone for!

4) Keiras lips look naturally glossy. I like Burts Bees super shiny lip gloss in sweet pink.

C'est fini!

Vivienne Westwood, Naughty Alice Perfume

My favourite designer, Dame Vivienne Westwood, has released a new perfume called 'Naughty Alice'. Could this be anymore perfect for me??

A) I LOVE perfume so much it is a bit freakish. Some people lust after chocolate,clothes, holidays,handbags, shoes. But for me, it has always been about perfume.

B) I LOVE Vivienne Westwood, I love her designs, I love her other perfumes, I love her style, I love her adverts, I love how the British style is reflected in her designs. Hell, I love her crazy red hair and freakish outfits.

C) As you may have noticed from the title of my blog, I LOVE 'Alice In wonderland' and anything related to it. I have considered having an 'Alice in Wonderland' tattoo but maybe it would be tacky? Im not sure on that one. I just love Lewis Carroll's story, its so different to anything I have ever read. I especially love the illustrations. My favourite director, Tim Burton, also provided me with a 'has he made this for me?' moment when he released his version of 'Alice In Wonderland'. Johnny Deppy playing the mad hatter was pure porn for me.

The Vivienne Westwood site describes it as : 'At the very heart of Naughty Alice's perfume is a luminous floriental which dazzles the senses. The modern powdery elegance of Black rose and carnal violet is subliminated by the warm sensuality of the ylang-ylang. Naughty Alice is available in three sizes (30ml, 50ml, 75ml).'

Christmas collections - Too Faced and No7.

Too faced cosmetics have always been a favourite of mine, you actually get what you pay for, unlike other cosmetic company's who shall rename nameless, but charge triple for a very low quality product's. I wont name and shame them, except to say that some of their products are often copied by other companies, for example a rose tinted cheek and lip stain which has been reproduced by other companies who probably did a better job at the product and dont overcharge. Anyway, moving on before I get too heated about the subject!

Its that special time of year when cosmetic companies release their Christmas collection waaaay too early, and it makes me waaay too excited and therefore willing to splurge on all types of glitter coated eyeshadows which will be worn once on Christmas day when it is exceptable to look like a deranged fairy. And this is exactly what I wanted and recieved from Too faced's 'Enchanted Christmas' collection. The collection has some gorgeous fairy-themed palettes which I can only lust after (penny-less student). My favourite is the 'Pixie Perfect make-up collection', featuring a make-up bag with illustrations of fairy's on it. Inside you recieve : Lash Injection Black Masacara, Shadow Insurance, Fairy compact with two blushes in Sun Bunny&Papa dont Peach (gorgeous), Glamour Gloss in Plush, Pixie eyeshadow quad with : Velvet revolver, Enchanted Forest, Totally Toasted and Peach Fuzz.

As for No 7 , they never fail to delight me with something sparkly over the Christmas period. They have released their limited edition 'Tis the season to be twinkly', yes indeed!! Their collection features 'Mirrorball Highlighter compact' - (a sparkly pink and white powder), 'Mirror ball palette' -(featuring 4 sparkly eyeshadows), Mirror ball lipstick, MirrorBall eyeshadow pencils, Christmas Glitter mascara (luuuuust), Christmas collection eyeshadow palette in CandyCane.

Are you feeling more scrooge or more sparkly??!

MAC- just a pretty face?

I'll be the first to admit, I love make-up, especially MAC make-up with its vast array of colours, textures, compositions and many collections. It gives me that little buzz. So when I heard that beauty you-tubers and bloggers who previously adored MAC were boycotting the company I was shocked and extremely curious. What on earth had MAC done to cause such demonstration of resentment after previously being so adored? After doing much research in to the matter, I had my answer and it wasn't pretty (excuse the pun).

MAC released a collaborative collection with clothing company 'Rodarte' . The make-up collection in conjunction with the clothing was supposed to capture the "ethereal nature of the landscape" in vast areas of Texas. As many people are aware, Mexico is well known for having 'Maquiladoras' , more commonly known as sweat shops, which are factories providing cheap export goods to many parts of the world. A typical daily shift in a sweat shop is from 4AM to midnight, with the workers taking home $4.50 at the end of the week (which is actually higher than the average wage in Mexico). However, because the workers are earning more they are having to pay higher rent. This disables the workers from having any basic household amenities such as running water and electricity. Two thirds of the sweat shop jobs are taken up by women, this is because women are considered to have nimbler fingers and are apparently more obedient than males and therefore more reliable workers.

The women are made to prove that they are not pregnant each month either by tests, or appalingly, by showing a used tampon or pad. If they are pregnant then they will lose their jobs, but this isn't even the main problem. The city of Juarez, near the US-Mexico border has become a site of female destruction and murder. 400 unsolved murders and even more abductions lie at the realm of this hell site. A huge number of these victims hail from the 'Maquiladoras', and instead of protecting these women using the huge amount of wealth they have accumulated the factory owners are leaving them defenseless in the face of violence and murder.

But what on earth could my favourite cosmetics company have to do with this brutality and murder? In an act of extremely poor taste, MAC released the Rodarte collection of make-up containing an eyeshadow called 'Sleep walker' after the large groups of women making their way to the sweat shops in the early hours of the morning. This caused huge scrutiny because of the red veins running through the eyeshadow. Many were under the impression that this red veining represented blood. Not only this, but the collection contained a nail polish called 'Factory' because of the large amount of 'Maquiladoras' in the area.

MAC 'Sleepwalker' eyeshadow.

If this information doesn't put customers off MAC as a company, I dont know what would. MAC released a statement on the issue,

'We understand that product names in the M·A·C Rodarte collection have offended some of our consumers and fans. This was never our intent and we are very sorry. We are listening carefully to the comments posted and are grateful to those of you who have brought your concerns to the forefront of our attention. M·A·C will give a portion of the proceeds from the M·A·C Rodarte collection to help those in need in Juarez. We are diligently investigating the best way to do this. Please be assured that we will keep you posted on the details regarding our efforts."

Rodarte also issued a statement,

"Our makeup collaboration with M·A·C developed from inspirations on a road trip that we took in Texas last year, from El Paso to Marfa. The ethereal nature of this landscape influenced the creative development and desert palette of the collection. We are truly saddened about injustice in Juarez and it is a very important issue to us. The M·A·C collaboration was intended as a celebration of the beauty of the landscape and people in the areas that we traveled."

Since then, MAC have cancelled the release of the collection and have donated proceeds to the countless problems in Juarez. Needless to say I can not help but be put off by MAC cosmetics as I'm sure many other women world wide are. To associate themselves with such hideous crime is to cut themselves off from countless customers. There may be some truth in Rodarte's comment that the collection was entirely based on the beauty of the landscape, but to release a product called 'Sleepwalker' ensures that they must have a least been aware of the sweat shops. As for MAC, it seems that they are JUST a pretty face.

Charlotte Tilbury - The best of the best :D

As a makeup junkie, I like to know who's the best of the best at their job as a make-up artist. Who is in high demand and creating the best looks at shows? The answer : Charlotte Tilbury, who is my all time favourite make-up artist. She is renowned world wide for her ability to paint the 'Perfect' face on models at shows and wont stop until she has achieved this perfection before sending them out on to the catwalk. She is also a genius at using colours to create a beautifully made up face, each year she works with designers at shows to come up with a colour palette. The make-up used at each show is extremely important to the overall impression of the fashion collection. Charlotte is in high demand when fashion week comes around, often working up to 17 hour days and jet setting at least twice a week.

Says Tilbury; “It’s high pressure because you have to achieve a look sometimes within minutes. But it’s one of the exciting things too. It’s never boring, that’s one thing about fashion.” Too right. Tilbury has her own make-up line at Boots called 'Myface Cosmetics'. The idea of this collection is that the guessing game of 'which foundation colour is right for me?' is solved by the collection having a 'fair, medium, dark' category. In each category there are three shades to choose from, making choosing a LOT easier. The range also has the right blush, concealer and powder for your skin tone. The only product not categorised are the eye shadows which, as Tilbury claims, are the products that will suit everyone no matter what eye colour. As long as the foundation, blush and concealer colours are right, you can run with whatever eyeshadow colour you want! I love the range, especially the 'Bling Tone' eye shadows which, true to their name, are very 'bling'.

Tilbury has recently covered many spring/summer 2011 fashion shows, including the New York fashion week doing the Donna Karan line. The inspiration for the look was 1930's photographs entailing bronze and gold on the eyes and very matte skin.

Some more of my favourite looks created by Charlotte :

Fashion week spring/summer beauty looks - Tres Jolie!

Paris fashion week for spring/summer 2011 had a lot to offer in terms of beauty. The bleached eyebrows at seen at Giambattista Valli and YSL offer's a fresh, modern, structured look that was feminised at YSL by adding a glossy deep burgundy lip. Perhaps model Lara stone with her bleach blonde eyebrows was an inspiration? One of my personal favourite make-up artists Pat McGrath was going for a 'fresh and strong look", which she achieved with the lightened eyebrows and no mascara. I think it works exceptionally well with the bold lip. However I'm not sure I'll be digging out the bleach anytime soon, best left to the catwalk...

Also at Paris fashion week, dark lips featured at Emanuel Ungaro, this time paired with a bold eye as well. Hairstylist Guido Palau went for a heidi-inspired braided headband look to accompany the bold make-up, it gives an innocent yet mischevious and playful look, "There is something very innocent about this style, but once the girls have their makeup done with dark lips, she turns into this very sexy, decadent, Helmut Newton woman." says Palau. YSL went for a similar look but this time the hair was invertedly rolled around the head. "The designer wanted a very structured look, so we went with a style that is very close to the head," says Palau. "And the shine adds a bit of drama."

At Milan fashion week Charlotte Tilbury (my absolute fave) worked on the models at Etro and produced an amazing purple-lavender look, smoking out the eye and producing “smoked lavender purple that’s universally flattering”.

More fashion week beauty looks to come!