Pretty in pink

Hello! I said many moons ago that I was thinking about doing some small reviews of some make up I've bought recently, and today I have finally got around to it! This post is going to be pretty picture heavy, so prepare yourself accordingly.

These are the four lipsticks I own. Up until about four months ago, I only owned one! Pretty shameful to be honest, it's pretty much one of my make up staples.

(They are in the same order here as they are in the pictures below)

Rimmel Kate Lasting Finish Lipstick in 16.

This one is my favourite! It looks a lot more subtle here than it does in real life, but it's a lovely pale pink which feels kind of like a grown up Barbie colour (so basically my aesthetic in general). It has fairly blue undertones which is great because I am so not one for coral/orangey shades. It's also pretty moisturising but does fade a bit during the day.

Rimmel London Moisture Renew Lipstick in 130/Oxford Street Fuchsia (they don't have the shade, but other ones are available here)

I really, really love this colour but the  formulation of this lipstick is not good at all! It takes a lot of applications to get the colour to really build up and get full coverage, and it can look quite patchy if you have dry lips. I would recommend wearing lip balm underneath for definite with this one because it can settle into lines in your mouth pretty easily (which I think you can see a bit here). I do find it quite disappointing because this is the most expensive lipstick I have bought (£6.29 at Boots, but I bought it in a 3 for 2 offer with the other Rimmel lipsticks). Having said that, I do love the colour (which is slightly more purpley than it looks here) and I like that it makes my eyes look really blue.

Topshop Lipstick in Mischief (they don't sell this exact shade any more but there are other similar ones on their website)

My sister bought me this a fair few Christmasses ago (I think when their make up range had just started) and I really love it! Definitely my favourite red shade that I own. Its slightly raspberry red which I really like because I feel like that works with my ghostly pale skin, it kind of makes me feel like a Snow White/Marilyn Monroe hybrid, if that makes any sense at all. The formulation is really creamy & it is pretty long lasting, however it is very bad for bleeding out. I blot it several times when I apply it & I've also started wearing lip liner with it too (but more on that later).

Rimmel Kate London Lasting Finish Lipstick in 22.

I haven't really worn this lipstick much, but that's mainly because I prefer my other red. As you can probably see, there isn't much difference between the two but this one is slightly less pink and a bit darker.

Swatches! Same order as before, natural light.

And flash.

Also, I thought I would show you my lipstick holders! I picked all of these up in charity shops gradually, at one point I owned all three of these but only one lipstick.

I also bought some glitter eyeliners recently! Glitter, yaaay! I bought the turquoise one for my burlesque make up expecting it to be a bit rubbish as it was only cheap, but I was actually really impressed & went back to buy it in some other colours.

Collection 2000 Glam Crystals in 5/Le Freak (other shades available here)

I really love this liner! It's such a pretty colour & it's really easy to apply. It's easier to put on than the other two, I think because the glitter is finer and it glides better over the lid. Very long wearing too considering it was so cheap.

Collection 2000 Glam Crystals in 8/Dancing Queen (other shades here)

Really love the hot pink colour, but it does look a bit odd when my hair is bright pink so I don't wear it very much.

Collection 2000 Glam Crystals in 11/Shake It Up

I kind of regret getting this one because I don't think I'll wear it very much, it looked very purple in the shop but it's more like a dark blue on which is a little bit dull for me. I mean, duller than the other shades! Can glitter even be dull?

Swatches!

Also, just thought I'd do a quick round up of the rest of the make up I'm wearing here. I don't really wear make up around the house, like ever, but when I'm meeting people or going out for the day I put a little bit on.

• I never used to colour in my eyebrows, but I barely go out without doing so now. The Benefit Brow Zings in Light are so good! I find the wax really good for shaping my eyebrows and the powder is great for darkening/filling in gaps, as my eyebrows are pretty light on their own. It comes with two brushes and a set of tweezers, but I just use my own tweezers because I find these ones too small and fiddly.
• I'm kind of on a mascara hunt at the moment. I got this free sample of Benefit They're Real! in Elle magazine & I have heard good things from other people but honestly I'm kind of disappointed. I really don't like the weird spiky brush and I never feel like I get it on thick enough on my lashes, which i like because mine are pretty thin. I like the colour but I find that it's really difficult to actually take it off too.
• I had a discount code for The Body Shop & I'd heard really good things about their Lip Line Fixer so I decided to give it a go. It works just like any ordinary liner, except it's invisible so it can be used with any colour. I really love it and I use it whenever I'm wearing lipstick, especially with the Topshop one above as it really stops it bleeding out onto the skin around my lips.
• More new additions to my beauty routine from The Body Shop are this Eye Definer liner in 5/White and this Baked-To-Last Blush in 1/Petal. I'm not quite sure what I'm doing with the eye liner, but I quite like the way it makes my eyes look a little bit brighter. I love the blush though! It is really shimmery and the pale pink is much better than the coral I was using before (a free sample my mum didn't want, my apathy with make up is so painful). It comes with a highlighter too, which looks great on my cheekbones.

Okay, so amateur hour make up review is over, hope you enjoyed it!

Moonrise kingdom.

Hello again! I have another outfit post for you all, shock horror! This is sort of Part Two of my Alteration Series (if we're going to be fancy and give it a name).

You know some outfits that just seem to fit perfectly together, but still feel amazingly effortless at the same time? Yeah. This one. I really like all of these elements together, the colours of the headscarf and the skirt match almost exactly, and the heritage style prints of the skirt and the top (which I appreciate is bloody hard to actually see), plaid and toile de jouy, go together surprisingly well. I actually got two compliments from two women at two separate bus stops on this look, so thank you small town ladies!

Front.

I bought this skirt in a charity shop for £7 a few months ago, and it was so long it was past my feet! Last week, me & my mum took it in a bit at the waist and then shortened it a fair bit. I'd been mulling over for a while about whether to keep it more or less the same length or to change it completely, as I know some people think it's very taboo to alter any vintage garment beyond recognition. I was speaking to my mum about this and she said that although vintage fashion is a Really Big Thing now, actually it has been around for years and people have always altered clothes to be slightly different than the garment it was before. I have not really altered that many vintage items beyond repairing them slightly, or altering them to fit me. The pieces that I have changed the most have either been charity shop buys, like this one, or very plain blouses. It's a tricky one though, as I would never like to alter a really beautiful, fragile item or something with any real value, sentimental or sartorial. What do you think?

Back view, the pattern on my top is (rather annoyingly) much brighter on the back. Damn you Topshop and your dreadful quality control.

Top - Erdem for Topshop, skirt - vintage/charity shop, headscarf - you know the drill.

The skirt is quite unusual as it has all these little plates with agricultural scenes on them. They kind of remind me of Brownie or Scout badges, hence the eyeliner as I felt like a weird Suzy Bishop/Sam Shakusky hybrid.

(Also for some reason all the pictures I took came out very dark, so the only decent ones I had were all of me doing the same pose, very sorry!)

Things I have been busy with/doing since we last spoke:

1. Buying a fair bit of new make up, which is very unlike me! I might post about it on here, if that's the kind of thing people would be interested in reading? I'm determined to start wearing make up more often, which you might be able to tell from the eyeliner I'm wearing in these photos.

2. Started writing some articles about feminism for a magazine my friend from uni is starting up. The first one is a piece about burlesque dancing, and the other is going to be a background piece/interview with a long term reader of the feminist magazine Spare Rib as a precursor to its impending relaunch/rebranding. I really need to get on with this because I've been putting off writing them for ages now, but I feel like I'm at the point where I have too much to say so it feels difficult to actually get it out of my head and onto (electronic) paper.

3. Sorting out my ticket for Tramlines! A festival in Sheffield where three of my favourite bands happen to be playing on the same day, and it's only £6! Very excited and being very dorky by writing out the times and stages all of the bands I want to see are on so I don't miss them.

4. I moved into my new house in Sheffield, which is lovely! It's very clean and bright and I live on the top floor which is almost like a penthouse flat. I have a skylight and sloping walls/ceilings and it is the room in the house everyone wanted, so, yay for that! Also I discovered that the house has an old abandoned toilet outside with a gargoyle on the roof! SO COOL! If you follow me on Instagram (@strawberry_charlotte) you'll probably have heard me blabbering on about this already, but I really was very excited. Also, my new room looks like it will be good for outfit pictures, so get ready for more blogging from Sheffield!

5. I am also in the process of listing new pieces in my shop! I have been neglecting it for the past few months because of uni and other things, but I really want to make & sell more pretty things this summer. Please have a look here! (: