Monday 30 June 2014

IMATS Haul 2014 - Part 1

On Saturday I went to IMATS in London.
I last went about 4 years ago and this time (having a good few years more experience and knowledge) was a million times more fun!

I had the intention of treating myself and went with a few key products in mind but I could've spent my entire wage in one day on the awesome things I saw!

I've filmed a video showing all the things (and getting very excited) but my camera didn't do a great job of focusing on them (or, I'm just rubbish at showing them properly) so thought it was worth posting pictures of them here too.

So here is my IMATS 2014 haul - part one (I got so much stuff, I didn't want to overwhelm you in one post!) - Keep reading for goodies from OCC makeup and Sugarpill :)

Very excited, clearly...

The first (and then, last) stand I visited was the OCC stand - I've been lusting over their lip tars online for a while and since they aren't stocked in the UK it was a great chance to see them in person. The problem was, once I'd seen them in person, I wanted them ALL. I ended up taking 4 (and then coming back for one more) - but I am definitely going to be ordering more online as soon as I can! OCC products are 100% vegan and cruelty free and while I'm not vegan myself, I definitely support brands that are. Previously, some vegan cosmetics that I've used haven't been as vivid or highly pigmented as I'd like, but OCC ticks all the boxes.


The team were awesome, all really helpful and friendly and the guy who was serving me (I didn't catch his name, but he was wonderful) totally got me when I said I liked lipsticks that 'kinda make me look dead' - really glad he didn't run away... gotta appreciate a brand that welcomes the 'glamour corpse' vibe.

So, these were my purchases!


Lip Tars in:
1 - Black Metal Dahlia
2 - Pretty Boy
3 - RX
4 - Sebastian
5 - Lydia

Loose Colour in:
1 - Overlook
2 - Twirl
3 - Jubilee
and Cream Colour in Discipline (number 4)



Apologies for the quality of the swatch pictures - the light wasn't great - and the lip tars swatch picture will just not upload the right way round (technology dammit)  but I'll do a full post about these (with pictures of me wearing them) soon because I'm in love.

I also got the Lip Balm Duo from OCC - it comes with a sheer black ('Tarred') and sheer white ('Feathered') balm that can be used to darken or lighten the lip colour on top - this is really exciting for me because I love an ombre lip and am definitely going to be experimenting with using the duo and a singular lip colour for the ombre effect!



There's no point swatching these on their own (as I found out in my video) as they're sheer on the skin and you can't see anything... I'll use them with another product on top soon I promise!

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I visited the Sugarpill stand and got to meet and take a picture with Amy, the founder. She was really lovely (and tiny in comparison to me) - I won't post the picture here because I look repulsive, but if you follow me on instagram (@charlixo) it's on there!

I'm a huge fan of Sugarpill's packaging, it's totally adorable (much like their entire team) and have never owned any of their products before so got the Burning Heart palette (I called it the 'Flaming Heart' palette in my video, nice one Charli), a loose eyeshadow in Royal Sugar and went back later on for their eyeshadow in Kitten Parade. I actually didn't plan on getting more after my first visit but come on, it's called KITTEN PARADE for goodness sake, how could I not?

(Again, swatch apologies - I'm blaming bad lighting, not bad camera skills)




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Nearly impossible to photograph, but delicious


I really can't wait to play around with all of these. As I so eloquently put it in my video - 'I wish I had 5 faces' so I could wear it all at once.

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In the next update of my IMATS haul (well done if you've got this far!) I'll show you my new Limecrime Velvetine, Crown Brushes and some make-up storage that I got on the day too.

For the sake of showing off the products as much a possible/vanity - here is a selfie from before I filmed the video wearing OCC products on my eyes and lips (Discipline cream colour and Jubilee Loose Colour on the peepers and Lip Tar in Lydia on my lips)



As a sneak peek of more to come, here's a picture of all my purchases combined:




DELICIOUS.

Thanks for reading so far! I'll be back asap with another haul post and more pictures of all my treats.

Charli
xo






Monday 23 June 2014

Starting over...

I've decided to start a new blog!

My old blog - Valentine Xo - had been abandoned so long, it felt weird to start up again, so I thought I'd start fresh (just with a similar layout - some things are hard to let go of!)

A few months ago, I posted my first ever video make-up tutorial and it recently hit over 1000 views (which is totally mental, still can't quite believe that many people have watched me awkwardly talking to the camera...) - and thought that blogging and vlogging (?) go hand in hand, so should pick up the former alongside the latter.

I have every intention of filming a new tutorial super soon (just need to get my bum in gear, but have zero time at the moment) but can let my keyboard do the talking too!


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On my previous blog I did product reviews, outfit posts, one makeup photo tutorial, a film review (oh Moonrise Kingdom, I still love you) and lots of posts based on pictures I'd seen that had given me an eye boner - so I'm sure you can expect to see more of all of these, alongside my video adventures too.

While my primary subject matter in videos is probably going to be make-up (products/application/tips & tricks) - the range of subjects on the blog will be a little more broad - suggestions for both are always warmly welcomed!

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I absolutely HATE 'about me' sections, I really struggle to sum myself up so succinctly (at least, without sounding like a total n00b) - my interests in general chop and change regularly and I fall in and out of 'omg totally OB$E$$ED' with things on a daily basis - this is down to me having the attention span of a small child in a sparkley room -  but, to start with, here are a few (relatively) long-standing things about me that will most likely shape the direction of this blog, so, let me begin:

I'm a make-up artist, it's my full time job (and then some) - and it feels awesome to finally be able to say that - so, understandably, I spend a lot of my time playing with/lusting after make-up, hence the subject matter of my youtube video (currently singular, soon to be plural). I get asked a lot of questions - how/what/which/where/why - about various make-up related issues, so my youtube seemed like a good place to answer those while simultaneously coming to terms with my annoying voice.

I love sofia coppola and wes anderson (both of whom have had posts written on my previous blog about their GENIUS) as well as cats/glitter/witchy vibes/being nostalgic for eras I haven't experienced/religious iconography/leonardo dicaprio (so... tumblr/tumblr/tumblr - ugh.)

I have a worrying obsession with wrapping presents - when I say worrying, I mean it worries my boyfriend when I can't pass a nice roll of wrapping paper or gift bag (or ribbon/string/bows/tinsel/anything to adorn a lovingly wrapped gift) - without buying it ALL. I don't really think it's worrying, I think it's fun and that I'm hashtag big in the wrap game (...I hate myself).

I also totally hoard stationery, but again see this as a positive personality trait - always prepared for note taking/constantly aesthetically pleased by paper... It's the little things.

I'm trying to force myself to read more, I used to read constantly, but now I'm currently about half way through 4 books with no real intention to finish any of them. Book suggestions are very welcome, and loans (from those of you who know me IRL) are too!

Finally, I really like food but am trying to eat less of it, or at least, less of the bad stuff (but it tastes so GOOD) in an attempt to lose weight for various social events in the coming months, wish me luck!

In summary - make-up/virgin suicides/wes anderson/cats/leo4eva/wrapping/stationery/books/food/life.


NTSRY

I think that's enough babbling on for now, I'm starting to cringe at myself and if anyone is actually reading this, they're probably doing the same - I do tend to waffle on, but don't we all? If any of this sounds like something you'd be interested in, be sure to keep an eye out for future posts

If it sounds boring to you, that's fine too - no one is forcing you to keep your peepers open, so feel free to close them and this tab.

If you've made it this far, thanks for taking the time to read it all! I'll (hopefully) be back soon with something interesting to say and will make sure to link any videos I do as well, so for now, bye!

Charli
xo