Prime Those Lids

Having greasy eyelids could be seen as a blessing or a curse. Blessing? Fewer wrinkles for longer. Curse? Unaided, any kind of eye make-up will slide across you face in a matter of hours. If I apply liquid eyeliner in the morning, it will have transferred onto my upper lid by lunchtime. I have tried expensive eyeliners and inexpensive but the results are always the same, even if I prime the lid with concealer and face powder.

I hadn't tried primers before, but was very impressed with the results; I used an Yves Saint Laurent liquid liner throughout to ensure a fair test. I took a photograph at the beginning of the day and one at lunchtime so you could see how well each one worked on me.  I have also tried all of these primers with just eye shadow and mascara and found them to perform very well indeed - I'm not sure how I ever survived without eye primers!

Bare Minerals Prime Time Eyelid Primer £16.00

This was the first primer I tried and it worked fantastically well. It made my eyelids feel velvety and evened out the tone as well as making my liner stay very well. I actually went to the gym before I took this photo, would you believe it? Prime Time is also available in colours – ‘Sundance’ is a gorgeous shimmery pink, effectively doing two jobs in one!

Cargo_HD Picture Perfect Eyeshadow Primer £14.00

A nice neutral beige colour with a sleek, soft finish. Good results (it was very hot in the office on this day - it actually performed much better than it looks in this pic!) and chic packaging to boot.

Too-Faced Shadow Insurance £17.00

Amazing retro packaging made this primer stand out from the rest and it performed too. It felt very light when I applied it and I did doubt its grease-defending ability from this! My fears were unfounded and it was one of the best I tried.

For something a bit different…

Eye Rock Designer Liners Trends £5.99

I loved the concept of these fun eyeliner alternatives and tried them out on New Year’s Eve. If you’re good at applying false eyelashes, you’ll have no problem with these. If your eyelids are particularly greasy (like mine!) then you may want to take a small tube of eyelash glue with you in case they stop sticking; especially if you’re out for the night. They come in lots of different shapes – really fun to experiment with.

How to Solve a Problem like January

Okay, so just a reminder that we still can’t smoke, eat naughty food, drink or spend any kind of money…January is seriously dragging! There’s only a just over a week left but here are some free, healthy January activities to relieve resolution-induced pain and get you through next week:


1.       Marvel at your new (and still relatively clear) diary (Mine's in positive canary yellow from Aspinal)

2.       Watch the new series of Girls, then talk about it

3.       Have a nice hot bath with the window open – instant Icelandic experience without the cost or travel hassle!

4.       Freeze a banana and eat it; a bit like white chocolate. A bit.

5.       Try to create new outfits from old stuff –sell anything you don’t want on eBay

6.       Take to Pinterest and create a ‘Dream Board’ of everything you want for the future (make it ‘Private’ if you fancy).

7.       Have a bloody good clearout

8.       Go and see a free exhibition – it might inspire you to do something creative!

9.       Make tons of soup and freeze it

10.   Indulge in some D.I.Y pampering , using up the ‘ends’ of things (face mask, nails, hair dye, fake tan, ANYTHING)

Mulberry Spring Summer 2014 Video

This sweet Mulberry video cheered me up and made me think of spring! Featuring Cara Delevingne and a menagerie of animals, it was shot by Tim Walker in an English country house called ‘Shotover’. It makes me want to host a tea party of my own – get out the pretty crockery and have a sneaky biccie or two; there’s a good January blues-buster!

www.mulberry.com 

Sale Shopping Reluctance

I haven’t really hit the high street sales in a big way this year. There are a few good reasons for this:

1. The weather is hideous
2. The hideous weather will make my fringe gross
3. I would have to leave my new electric blanket
4. Shopping is tiring
5. I’m too fat from Christmas and am very afraid nothing will fit me

All good points, I think you’ll agree. HOWEVER: I am a bargain lover and would hate the high street to suffer because of my reluctance. With this in mind, I have scoured the internet for the best bargains of the moment. In my pyjamas, natch. 

J Crew Pablo Crystal Drop Earrings now £40 Net-a-Porter (were £100)

Because the sparkle must continue. 

Nike Air Pegasus 83/30 Black Trainers now £40 (were £67)

Er. are these gym-appropriate? Who cares, they’ll make me look cool. 

Zara Leopard Blazer now £30 (was £59)

I sucked it up and actually ventured into Zara Marble Arch to unearth this beauty. Be warned: Zara’s sizing is beyond mental and you will need a size XXL if you are a UK 12 like me. 

River Island Black Tiger T-Shirt now £15 (was £50)

Staying (as ever) on the leopard theme, I discovered this…so wrong it’s right.