The Civil Wars - Poison & Wine

i'm so sorry i missed this week's wishing wednesday- i've had a funny week which has meant i've burrowed underneath my duvet and not really re-surfaced until now. i managed to find enough strength to make a life-long dream come true - strawberry nails! i used cutepolish's tutorial, but adapated it a wee bit as i was missing all the tools (unfortunately i am rubbish and forgot to take a picture of all the varnishes and aforemention tool of old, clean liquid eyeliner brush as my nail art brush)!

this has to be one of my favourite manicures i've ever done - i got so many compliments (albeit from corner shop owners and sainsbury's checkout cashiers, as i've ventured nowhere else). quite a few people aske me if they were those nail stickers - ER NO, crafted by my own fair hands!

Model's Own Red Alert/Model's Own Green Grass/Model's Own Lemon Meringue

oh and this exciting bit of news cheered me up considerably - i've won pearls, lace & ruffles giveaway and can pick something worth up to $37 from Petite Delight's etsy! it's such a generous prize and i can't quite believe it - thank you so much!

i have no idea what to pick! what would you girls choose?

Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold

sometimes you have one of those days when only dressing up will do, even if you don't venture further than your local town! yesterday was one of those days, and i gleefully donned my previously unworn dress, victory rolled the sides of my hair AND gave myself a rolled fringe that perhaps bettie would be proud of (maybs)!

i love wearing my hair in a 1940s style - it always gets compliments and is surprisingly easy to do, once you master the pincurl/victory roll! it's also unerving how DIFFERENT i look with the hair swept from the sides of my face and with a little rolled fringe (i'm almost thinking my face looks REALLY round and doughy?!).

ps. i hope you enjoy my feeble attempts to try and make my photos look more vintage-y!

dress - topshop

what do you think of the vintage/pinup look? have you ever tried it?

a recent spurt of boredom and friends abandoning me to return to their respective unis, mean that i have to fall back on my old-age buddy - retail therapy! splashing my cash and browsing dozen of online stores, mean that i've reawakened my longing for a pair of raybans. sigh, a girl can dream! (N.B. those are fakes below, thank you Turkey!) 

Mel's wish from bluebells!

 

Joy's wish from Dear Joy!

thank you for sending me your wishes this week, i received quite a few! if you don't see yours here, don't fret, i'll be post them next time! 

please please PLEASE continue sending me some of your wishes, even if you've never said hello on this blog before!! just write them on a piece of paper, create something on paint, write something over an image; SEND ME YOUR WISHES to kissesgrantwishes@hotmail.co.uk

ps. if you would like to use any wishing wednesday pictures - you're very welcome to - but just make sure to source the creator (ie. me and and sumbitters!) :)

Amy Winehouse - Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?

ever since i was around 11 years old, i've struggled with my skin and in these struggles, i've purchased dozens and dozen of various foundations (all of which falsely claim to give me airbrushed, flawless skin, PAHA). i've tried low-end brands (rimmel, collection 2000 etc.), medium-end brands (maxfactor, revlon etc.) and high-end brands (dior, chanel, clinque etc.) and so far, the foundations below are currently my top two. 

here we have Bourjois's Healthy Mix in shade 51, and Chanel's Mat Lumiere in 05.




Bourjois Healthy Mix - this retails for around £9.99 and is one of my favourite makeup finds ever! i would say this is a medium coverage foundation, which is completely buildable. the finish is neither matte nor super dewy, but rather luminous. it completely covers any pinkish scars without the need for concealor and any particularly appetising red spots you may have (mm, yummy!). the lasting power is reasonable - roughly around 6 hours, but after that, it does need a little touch up. i use this as my "day" foundation, as it doesn't look mask like and gives a natural finish (when i want a SUPER natural finish, i use Bourjois' 10 Hour Sleep Effect; read my review here). 

Chanel Mat Lumiere - as suggested, this foundation is intended to give a glowy matte finish and generally, i would say this it does exactly that! as opposed to the Bourjois foundation, i would say that this is more a a medium/high coverage foundation as it 100% disguises pink acne scars and red spots. it also doesn't accentuate any dry patches i have, and after several hours, i'm not a shiny discoball. this is definitely my "going-out" foundation as it does provide heavier coverage, but i do often mix it with my Bourjois Healthy Mix because otherwise it can look a wee bit mask-like. however, at a MASSIVE £33, i don't think i'm going to repurchase (i would however happily be gifted it!)

N.B: for reference, i have super oily, senstive and acne prone skin (a joy, eh?). i have pinky acne scars to cover and get the occasional red spot. in regards to colour, i am a MAC NC10 (if such a thing existed). i use an ELF flat-top studio line powder brush to apply my foundation, and always top off with my MAC prep+prime powder.

do you have a favourite foundation? or perhaps one that you would warn against buying?

Cat Power cover (original Cat Stevens) by Youtube user Octave121 - How Can I Tell You that I Love You

this is another staple outfit of mine, based entirely on my three most favourite colours in the world - cranberry, forest green and navy! i know these make a peculiar little trio but i gloss over the fact that they might not work together with my sheer adoration for these wonderful shades! 

this AA skirt i've worn to absolute DEATH - i wear it during the day with leotards/vest tops/teeshirts, and at night with pin-up style crop tops/bralets/more risque leotards. the elasticated waist means that it actually fits my small waist and it's extendable properties make it fitting (literally, ohoho!) for a lunchtime nandos <3!  

my cranberry coloured cardigan is a relatively new purchase, and it's lovely and long - i like my cardigans to flirt with the back of my knees, almost! the leotard you've seen before, worn here with my all time favourite skirt (which really actually, ties in first place with the one below. oooh i am so fickle).

 

(i liked this ^ photo because my hair looks like chestnut-brown fluffy clouds) 

leotard top - AA/skirt - AA/cardigan - New Look/rings - assorted/nail varnish - Topshop's India Rose/necklace - borrowed

what do you think of such simple, colour block outfits? boring or timeless?