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Showing posts with label debenhams. Show all posts
Showing posts with label debenhams. Show all posts

My love affair with make-up started when I was around 6 years old. I remember having these lip balms - I think there were 3 of them. I can't recall the shades but I do know one of them was orange - and that they smelt awful. You know that typical cheap cosmetic smell? Yeah, like that. I kept them in this little Tweety handbag and I would get them out every so often to look at them and smell them etc. There wasn't much wearing of the lip balms, mainly just admiring. I guess that's where it catapulted into me becoming a make-up collector.

Soon enough, I started buying magazines. Not really for reading, more for the free make-up. I remember I used to buy like 6 different magazines - Sugar, Mizz, Top Of The Pops, Smash Hits, Bliss and Shout. I rarely missed an issue. Now that I look back, it would've been waaay cheaper for me to just buy proper make-up!

I had this big box where I would store all my magazine make-up, and it was filled to the brim. At this point I was around 8 or 9, and obviously I didn't wear a full face of make-up but I would rock a bit of lipgloss, eyeshadow and mascara once in a while. I just loved dressing up, and to me make-up was an extension of that.

I guess when I started wearing a full face was probably in Year 7, so I would've been 11 at the time. A girl in one of my classes said that I'd look better with make-up on (in a nice way) - so I took her advice and started wearing some. I went to my Mum and she gladly said that she'd share her make-up with me. Now if you haven't realised - I'm very pale. So pale that still to this day, I struggle finding a foundation that will match my skin tone. My Mum, on the other hand, has very tanned olive skin. You can see where I'm going with this. I guess it wasn't too bad as it was a tinted moisturiser rather than a foundation, but instead of using powder to set it, I used bronzer. Shimmery bronzer. My Mum knew absolutely nothing (and still doesn't - I love you Mum!) about make-up so her 'tips' were pretty unhelpful. Despite the super-tangoed image you have of me in your head - it surprisingly didn't look too horrific. I'm not saying it was a good look by any means - but it wasn't so bad either.

At this point I started experimenting more with make-up - glittery liquid eyeliners, turquoise eyeshadow etc. Very 'retro-disco' if you will. To be honest I'm kinda proud that my younger self actually had the balls to wear hot pink glitter eyeliner - cause I'm not too sure if I'd be able to own the look so much now...

So now I'm around the age of 13 and I've become obsessed with Avon. And before you say anything - they didn't used to test on animals but yes, they do now. Anyways, my Mum would bring the catalogue home from work as her assistant was an Avon representative. I used to get that feeling like when I was younger and my Mum would hand me the Argos catalogue and say "Circle what you would like Father Christmas to get you and I can send it to him.". It really did feel like Christmas every time. Even more so when the products actually came! I would spend around £30 each time on various different bits and pieces because it gave me this ecstatic buzz when I opened the little white bag to see what I'd ordered. Usually I had forgotten so it was always a nice little surprise.

Mum would always tut whenever I bought make-up - and still does to this day. I try to constantly remind her that I could be like most other young adults and instead of spending my money on eyeshadows and lipsticks, I could be spending it on drugs, alcohol, and admission into sleazy nightclubs. Also known as the complete opposite of me. She should count her blessings that I'm an angelic little princess with a penchant for eyeshadow palettes! It could be worse, Mother.

It's gotten to the stage where I'm asking myself on a daily basis: 'Is my love for make-up getting out of control?'. Heart says no. Head says yes. Despite me rolling my eyes over the opinion of my conscience - I know it's becoming - or has the potential of becoming - an addiction if I'm not careful. Addiction. It feels weird writing that word. Something I've always associated with alcohol, nicotine, and not-so-legal narcotics. Make-up 'addiction' seems extremely mild in comparison.

To be perfectly honest, I can't see myself going down the 'I will sell one of my Dad's kidneys for an Urban Decay eyeshadow palette.' road. Not yet, anyway. Despite my almost blasé attitude on the matter, I know that I need to be careful. I've always been good with my money. Very good, in fact. So good that I have the ability to turn a few measly £s into designer accessories and top-of-the-range techno gadgets. I honestly have no idea how I do it - I guess I'm just good at saving money for the things I really want. And maybe make-up just happens to be one of those things. I'm trying to get my heart to synchronise with my brain like it does any time make-up is not involved. Maybe one day I'll have the strength to ignore the countless e-mails from Illamasqua telling me they have a sale on, or I'll be able to walk through the Beauty Department in Debenhams without batting a perfectly cut-creased-and-cat-eyed eyelid. Or maybe, just maybe, I will find it deep within myself to throw away *gasp* those Boots vouchers offering 200 points when I spend £20 or more. I did say maybe...



Have you got your make-up obsession under control, or is it running wild like mine?

"There are barbarians who seize this dog, who so prodigiously surpasses man in friendship, and nail him down to a table, and dissect him alive to show you the mezaraic veins. You discover in him all the same organs of feeling as in yourself. Answer me, Machinist, has Nature really arranged all the springs of feeling in this animal to the end that he might not feel? Has he nerves that he may be incapable of suffering?" - Voltaire

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Urban Decay has once again created an almost unattainable piece of heaven, this time in the form of the Mother Lode, a limited-edition collection of  UD's legendary eyeshadows. The colour-rich collection which boasts 68 mind-blowing shades was created to celebrate the re-launch of Urban Decay's newly packaged and re-formulated shadows, which this collection contains all of. All of the eyeshadows are full-sized, individually packaged and easy to pop out. The collection also contains an exclusive four-pan Build Your Own Palette so you can create the most perfect mini palette with all the shades in your arsenal to choose from, and it is all housed in a beautiful purple open-top box.
yes, it really does exist *insert dribble here*

The Urban Decay website states 'From super smooth mattes, pearly satins and shades loaded with shimmer and glitter, to gorgeous duotones that change color before your eyes, it's all here. Switch between sultry neutrals and daring brights with shocking ease.' - I must admit, I have had dreams of owning this gorgeous collection, which were soon shattered by the stark reality that I sadly do not have several hundreds of pounds to spend on mere (she doesn't mean it, she loves you really!!) eyeshadows. Despite this, the set is actually value-for-money. I know it sounds surprising 'cause it's pretty pricey, but a single shadow is normally £14, and because there are all 68 shades that would mean it should cost £952, and yet you end up saving a whopping £507. I guess it's more of an investment, especially if you're a make-up junkie like me. You can continuously tell yourself that whilst you cry over your credit card bill at the end of the month, I won't be judging you, I promise.


Unless I win the EuroMillions sometime in the very near future, I think that this collection will just have to be a dream to me...sigh.

The Mother Lode costs £445 but is currently on sale at Debenhams for a mere(!) £400.50 

Do you pine for The Mother Lode too?

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For those of you that have never heard of it, White Rose is a big shopping centre in Leeds and houses your average high street shops like Topshop, Zara, Marks & Spencer, Debenhams and my new favourite, Boux Avenue.




First we started off in Debenhams and I came across the Illamasqua Alter-Ego Mystery Selection box. I'd seen it before but never bought it, but this time I thought what the hell! The box contains a nail varnish in Collide  (a neon pink shade) and a Liquid Metal in Electrum (gold). But the box also includes four 'mystery products', mine were a blusher in Create (a dark orange/brown, more of a bronzer), a lipstick in Encounter (a deep red), a lipgloss in Fury (a dark lilac) and an eyeshadow in Fame (bright green). The contents of the box are valued at £91.50 but retailed at £39 but I got mine on sale for £19! I had some points on my Beauty Card to spend so I also purchased the De-Slick setting spray from the Urban Decay counter, something I was a little sceptical about because I've tried the All-Nighter setting spray before which was pretty much useless but I must say the De-Slick one seems to work, although I have only used it twice so I may have to wait a little longer to really be able to judge.









Next we went to Ernest Jones as I'd received some money from my Gran for my 18th birthday back in March and I'd been wanting a watch for a while, so I decided on the Michael Kors rose-gold chronograph with a crystallised bezel, and although I was on the verge of collapsing when I handed over my debit card, I've come to the realisation that it is an investment and something I will treasure forever (cheesy, but oh well!).





As I mentioned in the intro, I've become a fan of a new shop in WR called Boux Avenue, it's a lingerie shop and although I haven't actually purchased any lingerie yet, I did get a candle and some pyjamas! The staff in there were really lovely, one girl in particular showed us round the store and explained the layout (if you've never been in before it can be kinda confusing, but simple when you know). The store itself was so beautiful, like a perfect boutique. You walk in through these massive 10 foot-or-something black glossy doors, (you know the fancy kind with the big silver doorknobs) and then there it is. White chests of drawers holding underwear, each drawer labelled with a different size, big white wood cabinets housing candles and reed diffusers and in the middle a huge white table, matching all the other furniture, dressed with bubble baths and body lotions and the cutest vintage perfume bottles! When you get to the back on the left are the changing rooms, which are incredibly cool... Each changing room has a name (I was in the Silk suite!) and inside each one are three buttons to change the lighting, I felt like such a kid ahahaha! I know this is supposed to be about the products but this store was so beautiful, and when the lovely shop assistant bagged up my stuff she wrapped it in pink and white lace tissue paper and sprinkled these white scented petals on top, how fancy! I honestly can't wait to go back there, I intend on buying another candle but this time in the Pink Freesia fragrance, and I shall definitely be getting my hands on those vintage perfume bottles, they'll look perfect on my dressing table! But anyways, back to the task at hand...I purchased a pair of cute pyjamas with a bunny wabbit (the only way to say it) on! I also got a candle in the White Chiffon fragrance and because me and mum had our stuff put through together and she had bought two of their home products, that qualified us for a free 'square product', and I decided on a bubble bath in the Pink Freesia fragrance which was worth £10 - bargain!






Finally we stopped off at Schuh 'cause I was in desperate need of some shoes. Now I know most people will say that and they will have like 50 pairs of shoes but my collection consists of heels, flip-flops, flats that rub so much that my feet bleed and fake Uggs that are bending at the sides. So yes, I really needed some day shoes. I'd been wanting some Nike Blazers and managed to find a vegan pair but I wasn't really willing to pay the price after the whole watch fiasco, so I opted for some Vans! A pair of beautiful, pink Vans...and I feel it may be the first pair of many, they're so flipping comfy!

What are your favourite shops and shopping centres?!

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