My Everyday Make-Up of the Moment

Every couple of months I go through my make up collection and pick out the essentials that I plan to use every morning in a bid to streamline my routine as my collection is stored by function - blushers, eyes, foundations, etc.  I try to focus on using up any products that are near the end.  I get a strange satisfaction from finishing something up!

This is my current box, it has a bit more in there than I strictly need, with a couple of eyeshadow palettes and blushes, but they keep things exciting :)

I'm trying to finish up my Lacura and Bourjois foundations, I love them both and have already repurchased back ups.  Despite using them all the time they've lasted for ages.  I'm really getting into the Collection 2000 Perfect Finish foundation.  The quality of their bargain basement foundations astounds me - I also love the Lasting Finish.

The pot with the black lid is actually some Clinique Pore Minimizer which I decanted from the tube and it's amazing how much product I salvaged.  It's a great primer and really fills in your pores but is no where near as gloopy as the L'Oreal Studio resurfacing primer.

I'm also near the end of the No7 dupe for YSL's Touche Eclat, which is a good deal if you use one of those £5 off vouchers towards it.  Benefit Georgia is a wonderful finishing powder, it just transforms your overall complexion.  Some people expect it to work like a blush but it's not pigmented enough for that.

I prefer to use a box rather than a bag as it's easier to see everything inside.  I'm loving the box that the Juicy Couture perfume I got for Christmas came in.  I'm trying not to get it grubby with make up!

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My Make Up, Brush & Perfume Collection Storage

I took these photos a few months ago and then promptly forgot to do a post about it! Since then my collection has grown a little, but the only main change is I now have a black box of foundations where my perfumes used to be, and they've moved up to the shelf above. I've acquired a few more brushes and eyeshadow palettes and so I got a couple of pieces from Paperchase for Christmas which I'll show at the end.

I cannot tell you how long I waited for Ikea to get this piece of furniture back in stock and at one point, they told me it was going to be discontinued! I feel like I spent the whole of Summer 2009 watching Ikea's website like a hawk! It's the ALVE range and the bureau comes separate from the add on shelves at the top. I love it and it's the perfect solution to store all my girly stuff and act as a desk for blogging! I like the fact that for most of the day my perfumes are not in direct daylight thus prolonging their life.

This is the Nightingale Multi Drawer set from WH Smith and it's wonderful for storing make up as drawers are all different sizes. It's currently £16.99. I recently picked up the cupcake one which is so cute for my jewellery collection, but I have a feeling that my excess make up which no longer fits in this set of drawers will soon be squatting in the cupcake one too!

Top three drawers: Misc. beauty tools like brushguards, sponges, brushes I don't use - Concealers and under eye highlighters and eye shadow primers - eyeliners and eye brow pencils

Middle two drawers: small eye shadow palettes - mascaras and eyelash curlers

Bottom drawer: liquid and powder foundations

This set of pink plastic drawers was about £4 in a 'junky shop' (my mum's phrase) and stores so much. I've had it for over a year and last weekend scoured the junky shops near me for another to flank the other side of my Nightingale but it's not to be found anywhere :( I did come across it online but it was £14.99 and out of stock.

Top drawer holds face primers and SPF creams, next one holds single eyeshadows, next one stores lip products and the one beneath is for blushes, bronzers and cheek highlighters.

Unfortunately I don't think Paperchase stock these drawers anymore as I picked them up in the New Year sales last year for about £9. They're very sturdy. Top one stores my MAC stuff and bottom is all my Benefit stuff - I keep them separate from the rest of my make up as I often like to do looks with all MAC or all Benefits products, plus the packaging gets less damaged than if it was chucked in with the rest of my make up. The Nightingale drawers sit on top of these.

I got this letter holder from Rymans to hold my eye shadow palettes. Since then I've seen a pink one and wish I waited to get that one!

This glass holder for my make up brushes started its life as an Ikea candle which is about £3. It took ages to burn the candle down, and I actually use two of these glasses. I spent forever looking for a container of this size and am still on the search for little round plastic beads to fill it with to keep my brushes upright, much like the Sephora one that swept the beauty world a couple of years ago. If you have any idea where I can get beads like this in the UK or order online please let me know!

I got these pen and letter holders from Paperchase just before Christmas so they should still have them. I love them because they match my Nightingale drawers. I'm using the pen holder for my MAC brushes and the letter holder for my smaller eye shadow palettes, like the Urban Decay NAKED palette, my fave :)

I love reading about/watching YT vids on others' make up and brush storage solutions, so if yours is out there on the net please let me know by leaving a link to it in a comment below!

£1 Jewellery Storage Solution!

I knew I went into Poundland for a reason...

While picking up loads of random junk I spotted this Tool Box organiser and it reminded me of the Muji plastic compartment boxes I currently use to store my jewellery, expect more than ten times cheaper!

Since then I've gone back to pick up another and I think they're great, especially for storing bigger pieces like watches which are a bit of a squeeze to get into the Muji boxes. 

I also find with the Muji boxes some of my costume jewellery has oxidised faster than if it were in an airtight container, or at least one which didn't let the air circulate as easily. These Poundland boxes seal very securely.

You can place the divider in whichever way fits you collection best.




Don't you love my reindeer earrings?

I've also popped in some of my hairclips and beloved spin pins to keep them safe!




Poundland stocks turns over very quickly so get down to your local one soon if you want one!

Santa Claus Came To Town!

I had a pretty low key Christmas, just me and mumma. My boyfriend was across the Irish Sea spending it with his folks...one day I hope we will spend it together :) However, Santa must have felt sorry for me and I had lots of lovely presents to play with! In past Christmases I used to get a lot of new clothes and shoes, but none of that this year, just beauty, beauty storage and electricals and a good dollop of Hello Kitty madness!

On to the good stuff...tis pic heavy!

Oh yes, it's Chanel...my first "Channel" stuff ever actually! This was a Secret Santa present...a fabulous one!

Presenting the gorgeous and famous Rouge Noir and equally beautiful Miami Peach.

I waited so long for this Juicy Couture perfume...like waiting for Christmas har har! My lovely boyfriend finally hooked me up with the gift set! 

I still can't work out how to open the charm however so any tips are welcomed!

The bottle and the fragrance are just divine, and if you think Juicy Couture is tacky, which I certainly did, the scent is a million miles away from your expectations!

My mum got me these make up books and so far so good, although I think Rae Morris is nuts to advocate applying foundation AFTER doing your eyes.  I just can't see how that would work AT ALL!  I'll do a fuller post on these, and the Bobbi Brown one I got for my bday soon.

More Chanel! I've wanted this perfume for yonks so I decided to treat myself :)  I'm not loving the bottle as I do love the all glass ones but I would have had to get a much bigger one and I have too much perfume as it is.

I also got this one for myself - thankfully I only paid £15 for it at Portobello Market...it may be off the back of a lorry, but it seems pretty legit!

My girlies mates did Secret Santa this year (recession n'all ya' know) How did I not already own this palette?! There's a freakin' kitty cat on the front and the colours are right up my street! I heart Urban Decay and have a feeling this palette will usurp my Sleek Storm for pride of place in my travel make up bag from now on! 

My mum got me these goodies.  Bourjois Healthy Mix has been my favourite foundation since I tried it back in June and I'm excited about the pale colour of the Max Factor one...detailed review soon.

My lovely cousin sent me this set of travel size toiletries, I love them as they're just the right size for a 2 week break! 

New make up brush holder and palette holder from Paperchase - I always loved stationery items but being able to use them to hold make up is even better!

I've wanted an iPod dock for ages and this is my perfect one - Hello Kitty! The sound is actually amazing as there's a speaker on the bottom too.  The bass can get really strong.  It's really funny to hear a bleak Smiths song blasting out of this cute thing! I can't wait to bust it out at a house party and have people thinking WTF?! but then being impressed by it's ghetto-blasterness!  Kev got me this along with the cute headphones.

I actually got a blue set of drawers with a rip-off Cath Kitson floral design but decided to swap it for the cupcake set as it matches my room better.  This will be my new jewellery storage.

My mum got me the earrings on the left and my lovely workmate got me the cute earrings on the right and cupcake wipes, I can't wait to wear them! They're so me :)

The mumma got me this amazingly soft La Senza robe which I will live in until March and a snug new cover for my iPhone - how cute! And the white dots provide amazing grip as I'm a bit clutzy.

Cute diary from Kev - is that Hello Kitty on a Flow Rider on my birthday month?!  I think there's definitely a theme to my gifts and yes, I probably am about 21 years too old for Hello Kitty!

I'm at least 16 years too old for this Beauty & The Beast DVD, but look, it's for my kids, if I ever get around to having them! Disney only ever releases 'official' versions of classic films every millienium so having missed out on it last time, I HAD to have it! This film is the backdrop of my childhood.  My other gorgeous workmate got me this fabulous Twilight mug - this definitely is not going anywhere near a dishwasher or microwave! And no chocolate is good enough for me to rip Jacob and Edward's lovely faces!

I really needed a nice change purse and this one is perfect, I love the bow! Also from lovely workmate :)

Room scent diffuser - it smells just like Christmas!

I couldn't work out what this was for a while - I actually tried to put it on like a bracelet! Doh! But it's actually for hanging your bag from a table safely out of the reach of thieving hands!  This is perfect for me as I get completely paranoid whenever I'm out since I had my bag snatched on my birthday a few years ago :'(

Best game ever from Kev...I get horribly competitive when playing it - you wouldn't want to be playing against or even WITH me.  Monica from friends was a pussycat by comparison...I really don't know why he let himself in for this!

Gift to myself...I actually spotted it walking home through Portobello Market and the dude gave it to me for a tenner - cheaper than Amazon - even though it's all new like, and was wrapped in shiny plastic :) Don't know how much I'd cook from it though - I thought the recipes would be a bit more practical as they involve quite a lot of different ingredients which isn't ideal when you just want to do a quick whip around Tesco after work for the bits you need before cooking...

I also picked this up for myself as it has the layout I love which normally only Moleskin diaries have - full week on the left page and a clear page for notes/to do list on the right.  It's so pretty!  This will be my planner for what I hope to do and the HK one will be my 'diary' of what I actually d0...

 My other lovely workmate got me my very own prince for Christmas...sadly I left him in a cup filled with neon green liquid in a Soho bar...I just hope I didn't trigger a bomb scare.  I really miss him and hope he got the chance to grow up big and strong and find a lovely girl.  Kev wouldn't have been too happy about him anyway!

I tried to bribe my mum with vast sums of money to get a real tree for Christmas to no avail...Argos plastic 5ft it is then :( Even though I promised to vacuum up an dead pines...

So I'm feeling very lucky, punk! I hope you all had an amazing Christmas and got everything you wanted!