Illustrations

Some people asked if i would show some of my artwork on this blog, so here is what i have finished most recently, a set of illustrations for a book that will hopefully be being published, albeit in a very small run. If it does get published it will be so so great for my career just to have some work circulating and if not it was still good practice.
These are all photos that need to be cleaned up on the computer, so just imagine them without the smudges and things :P

Various pictures from a while ago.

Firstly here is one of the Elf coats i mentioned having to make for a friend:

It didn't fit me, so it looks really bad. Also in the poor lighting you cant see it but i sewed bells, sequins, beads and so on all over it :)

A plainish casual sailor outfit i liked:


here is my makeup, which i really liked, but my face looks rather demented:


And another days look:


And finally me and my girlfriend:

100th post!!

I hope you all had a great christmas!
Mine was partly very stressful as my grandma and aunty came up and they are now very old, frail and going senile, so it really added to the usual stress of christmas. Dinner was very tasty, but there were so many people my sister Lydia and i had to sit on our own at a ridiculously tiny table. It was hilarious. Imade the pudding and it was really delicious if i do say so myself. In the afternoon I stayed at home alone for a few hours while my mum and Lyd took grandma and aunty back to worthing, unfortunately for them my aunty vomited all over the car about half way there D:! However the evening was lovely, we watched eastenders and gavin and stacey and other tv and i was recieved a load of amazing presents!

I was thoroughly spoiled, especially by my mum and girlfriend! I'm going to post pictures of what i got soon.

Today my girlfriend came home so we had a second chirstmas celebration! She made dinner this time and it was amazing, she makes the best roast potatos in the world. And i spent the day mainly cuddling her and watching movies, as a christmas day should be spent.

Lyds ferrets were staying with us, they have a cage in the bath but sometimes we let them run free around the bathroom. Feargal (the big boy ferret) worked out how to open the cage by pushing his mighty nose against the opening thing at the top so we had to weight it down. Rikku (a small, shrimmpy girl) managed to climb into the toilet, yesterday Feargal put himself back into the cage to go back to bed! And today Rikku managed to knock a jug over and it smashed. <3 Beauties. They've gone home now and i already miss them and their weird smell.

On wednesday i'm having a christmas celebration with my friends, then thursday is new years, don't know what i'm doing though. On saturday i'm going to my friend Foz's party in Brighton and then it's my birthday a week today! I'm gonna do my best to continue posting regularly, as it makes me happy, but i may be absent until after my birthday. Having said that i've finished the illustrations for the book i'm working on and don't have any paintings that need finishing, so i do have a lot of free time. We'll see how it goes.

In other news i'm watching the remake of Day of the Triffids. I've been with it from the very start and it's about to finish. I honestly have no clue what is going on.

I just wanted to say thank you again to all of you reading this. i've been at this blog for about half a year now and it really is so rewarding and i just hope you are finding it a fun and interesting read. I'm planning on doing another giveaway soon and i hope i can keep you interested with my posts. If you have any requests or ideas for my posts i'd be delighted to hear them!

Hope everyone had a wonderful christmas, tell me what you got up to and your loot! :D

Merry Christmas everyone!

It's Christmas eve eve! :D
Thank you all for your comments on my recent posts, i went with the general consensus that my cherubim look was the best of my christmas faces and have entered that one in the competition (but it hasn't shown up yet, i got it posted by the deadline but maybe the administrator had to review it before the deadline, that would suck :() and i am so happy to say that my reverse rococo look is one of the finalists in the Mizz worthy Illamasqua out of the box competition. My fingers are crossed!

I should hopefully be back to blogging properly a few days after christmas. I have a lot of great reviews started and just recieved an amazing haul from aromaleigh i can't wait to share!

I hope all of my followers, or indeed anyone reading this, has a wonderful christmas, or just a nice holiday if you don't celebrate it.
I'm looking forward to sitting around sharing a nice vegetarian roast with my family and then snuggling up and watching the gruffalo and lots of other tv. I'll also be having an extra christmas celebration on the 29th when my girlfriend gets back from visiting her family. And then getting together with friends on the 30th, and then it's new years eve, though i probably will just celebrate quietly at home. And then it's my birthday on the fourth of january! I like this time of year.

Thank you for all your wonderful support, i only started this blog in the autumn but i can honestly say it's made a difference to my life, it's wonderful being able to share with like-minded people and everone i've met has been so kind and welcoming, thank you all.
xxx

Morgana Minerals Haul

About a week ago i recieved my order from Morgana Minerals www.morganaminerals.com . This was my first order from the site and actually my first order from any mineral makeup company! I didn't get much but was very impressed with what i did recieve


I was the most excited by the fact that Morgana makes mineral lipsticks, something which seems quite rare for a company to do, and as you may have gathered i LOVE lipsticks. So i bought myself 2 full tubes and 6 samples. The samples come in a tiny ziplock bag and i guess are a few scrapes of the lipstick of your choice. for 50 cents the sample is generous and will easily last for 2-3 applications, which is more than enough for you to make your mind up about the colour. However i found it quite difficult to apply the lipstick neatly because the lipstick stuck to the sides of the baggy very easily. also i found it a bit messy to stick my finger into the bag to get to the lipstick. I think it might be easier if the sample was in a jar, but then they would cost more. However those tiny problems aside, the lipsticks are wonderful. The colours are strong and well pigmented and the formula is creamy and really lovely feeling on the lips. Here are lip swatches of all the colours i tried (you can see the ones that were samples are applied a lot less cleanly than the 2 i have a full tube of):

cauldron:

this is one i bought a full tube of. It is described as 'a matte black with silver hologram sparkle'. To me this doesn't have any discernable scent and none is mentioned on the website. I must say i was a bit disappointed with this one. While it is black with sparkle the sparkle isn't particularly noticeable and when i can see it it just shows up silver to me, i haven't noticed any hologram effects. If like me you already own a black lipstick i really don't think this one is different enough for you to need this one too. But if you don't own one and want one this one is really nice, the opacity is great, the formula is lovely and the small amount of sparkle is pretty and a nice touch, but again if you already have a black lipstick it's not really so different for you to need this one as well.

turquoise:


This one is really lovely. It's a dark turquoise which is a bit on the green side. Very unusual and pretty. Again applies lovely and creamily and is opaque in 1 - 2 coats. Again i couldn't discern any scent and the website doesn't mention one.

icy aqua:


Beautiful. Like Turquoise but paler or indeed 'icy'er. I can't acually decide if i like this one more or less than Turquoise but i wouldn't buy this one as they are so very similar to each other. Again no scent.

nightshade:

A very dark almost greyish blue-purple. My least favourite of the 3 purples i tried but i know a lot of people love this colour.

shrieking violet:

I LOVE this one. It's just a beautiful colour. A really true but vibrant purple. I will definately be getting a full size of this. This one smells slightly of grape to me, but it could just be me.

grape:

Finally one where the website tells me what the scent is! This one smells distinctly of american grape candy or soda, i hate the taste of those things but really like the smell so it gets a thumbs up from me. The colour is a very dark, blueish purple. This one is very unusual again and while i prefer shrieking violet because it's brighter i can imagine this one attracting a lot of people because it's an exciting and strange colour for lipstick.

metallic maiden:

Beautiful, another one i'm going to be buying a full size of soon. This is basically a metallic bright red. Most metallic red's i've seen in the past have been a bit brown or plumish, this one is a pure true pillar box red but with a silvery metallic finish. This one smells utterly delicious, like red licorice.

ravenna:

This is meant to be a very dark blackish red. On the website it tells you to only use one coat otherwise it will become almost black, but to me this was basically black in one coat!

And here are swatches on my hand:

left to right
top: cauldron, turquoise, ice queen, metallic maiden
bottom: ravenna, shrieking violet, grape, nightshade

I also got 3 samples of glitter. These samples also come in a ziplock baggy, but that isn't any problem at all with the glitters. The sample size is very generous at $1 for a gram. 2 of the colours i got, Hottie (a bright neonish pink with blue reflects) and Siren (a plain red glitter) are beautiful but nothing that couldn't be found other places, although you can get them nice and cheaply here. However the third i got, Changeling, is one of the most amazing glitters i have ever seen. It is a dark mix of purple with bright green and fuschia reflects. I cannot describe how absolutely stunning this is.

left to right: changeling, siren, hottie, glitter ghoul
(this photo doesn't do changeling or glitter ghoul any justice and also makes my hand look insanely hairy! D:)

And finally i got a 5g jar of 'Glitter ghoul' eyeshadow from their 2009 halloween collection. It came full to the brim. Another amazing product, this is a matte, very opaque black with tiny sparkles in pink, green and blue.


Oh and i also bought some 10gram jars as i ordered before i knew i was making a tkb order. They were very well priced at 35 cents each.

Would i order again? Absolutely! When i have some money i'm going to be buying full sizes of 2 of the lipsticks i got samples of, shrieking violet and metallic maiden, several of their new christmas lipsticks and a lot more samples of other lipsticks from their main range. They're also bringing out a new set in january too so maybe some of them will get added to my casket basket :P
I think i'd also get a full size of Changeling because i love it so much and perhaps some other glitters and eyeshadows, but i haven't decided what yet.

I would highly recommend you check them out :)

DIY Lipsticks

So here are some pictures of the lipsticks me and my girlfriend have made.
So far we've made some really nice colours but are having real problems with the consistency and opacity. We've used a mixture of liquid dyes, powder pigments and micas and mixed them all with TKB lipstick base. The ones made with powder pigments have the worst pigmentation and are more like lip balms than lipsticks, the one made solely with mica is nice but dryer than the rest and the ones made with liquid dyes have the best colours but are more liquidy and more like a lip stain than a lipstick.
We've read up on it and think perhaps the tkb base has too much oil in it and we need to add some more wax to make the opacity better, but we can't be sure. If anyone has any experience and could help us out we would be really greatful.


made with powder pigments only


made with powder pigments and mica


made with mica only


made with liquid dyes only


made with powder pigments and liquid dyes


My girlfriend made this one with liquid dyes, powder pigments and mica


Claire made this one too, from liquid dyes only


made with powder pigments only


made with powder pigments only


it was a blast making these, but just slightly irritating that they haven't turned out brilliantly because we are certainly no experts and have never made makeup before, so we were rather hoping that the lipstick base would work well on it's own. Hopefully we can sort it out easily, it's just tricky to know what to do.

A lot of christmas looks

Hi everyone,
I want to enter this superdrug competition here:
http://superdrugloves.com/
basically you just have to show your 'favourite party look' using products available at superdrug.
I decided to do christmas-themed makeup instead of any sort of sparkly party look. Perhaps this isn't wise, because they don't ask for it to be christmassy, but hey it's more fun this way.
Anyway i had loads of ideas but i'm only allowed to enter one look, so i thought i'd do them all and ask you lovely people which one you like best. Any input you guys can give me would be really really greatly appreciated! :)

Cherubim:

gold glistening skin, gold eyeshadow with white/blue eyeliner and highlight, false lashes, rosy cheeks and coral cupids bow lips.

Holly punk:

matte pale skin, matte red lips, dark green eyeshadow.

Glitter poinsettia:

green glitter eyeliner, red lips with red glitter lipgloss

Misteltoe and wine:

wine coloured lipstick, various green eyeshadows, white eyeliner.

So have a look and tell me which one is your favourite and i would be most greatful.
If anyone else is entering let me see your looks please! :)

Nigella Lawson is crazy!

I'm enjoying watching all of the christmas specials on the food channels at the moment. I just like everything about christmas, even watching the same basic recipes being made again and again by different chefs (even though most of them are meat-based so i couldn't actually enjoy the food, it just feels christmassy).
At the moment i'm watching a Nigella christmas special. The woman is just plain weird.
First of all she was putting tea in mulled wine (which just seems weird to me anyway) and said 'usually i like earl grey, but today im going for what you could call the vegetarian option, ginger and apple tea'. What? In what way is Earl grey not vegetarian? It boggles my mind!
Then later on she was making ginger bread christmas tree decorations. Along with the golden syrup, flour, sugar and ginger she ground in a whole load of black pepper! Saying it was so 'the kids don't eat them all'. Surely the entire point of making edible decorations is that you can EAT THEM! If not why not just make them from clay or something, that way you can reuse them year after year! I just don't understand at all.

We are looking after my sisters dog at the moment while they have some building work done. She is the sweetest thing ever, but so so nervous. It's very sad, she always seems worried. At the moment she's sleeping at my feet and i can tell she's dreaming because she's all trembly. Sometimes she barks in her sleep and it's just delightful. Good old pippa.

You may have noticed i've brought a load of posts over from my old blog. Originally that was going to be my personal blog and i'd keep this one just for beauty stuff, but then i decided against it. So now i will be posting entries like this, regular life posts, as well as beauty entries :)

FOTD and OOTD

Here is a pretty standard FOTD from a while ago:

I am wearing Collection 2000 glam eye crystals eyeliner in spandex and Barry M Lip pink in no. 145 punky pink.

And behold my awesome guinea pig jumper (and see my hilarious dancing):

jumper: topshop
skirt: Primark
tights: new look
shoes: office (£5 in the sale :D)

Barry M Lipgloss swatches

Cherry Glitter:


This one smells of a sort of synthetic cherry candy. I like it but i can imagine other people might find it sickly or unpleasant. This one is quite sheer and i wouldn't recommend wearing it on it's own as it can go on a bit patchy. However i LOVE this over the top of a red lipstick or lipliner, the glitter is beautiful and not at all gritty or rough and the sheer red makes the red base look even more vibrant.

Here it is over the top of a red lipstick (have since forgotten which one)


Tropical Tango:


This one is less sheer and looks beautiful on it's own, but i imagine it would look even more vibrant and special over an orange liner. This smells absolutely delicious, it reminds me of fruit salad chews (these are an old-school british sweet, i don't know anything it might compare to outside the uk) i cant imagine anyone would dislike it because to me it's so irresistable, but it's quite strong so again check the smell before you buy.

Also i added some new lip swatches to my Barry M lipsticks post here:
http://lillianfunnyface.blogspot.com/2009/11/barry-m-lip-swatches.html

Halloween! (repost from my old blog)

So here are some photos from my Halloween party. It was very small but very nice :)

group shot!


My girlfriend Claire, the dodo!


Amazing costume she made entirely herself


Ian/death having a drink


Omelette the cat being intrigued by Audrey 2's head


Being weird with Dead Phillipa


Oh no, i'm being eaten!


and giving my girlfriend a kiss. Man that this photo highlights the fact i have no jawline



Next year i am going all out, and am going to have the biggest, most ridiculously over the top party ever! You're all invited :)

Now i watch Doctor Who and the Waters of Mars. It's hilarious.