Ink

I think it's time I got round to actually getting a tattoo, I've talked about it amongst friends for years and now I have some money (hello student loan) and actually live near some pretty decent tattoo places it might be time to get on with it. I have a month of uni left and two months until I have to move back home and away from said decent tattoo places, so I am on a time limit which should motivate me.
I used to want some stars on my foot, now I want something a little more individual and something that I'm not going to get bored of in a few years time. I have thought about it carefully and decided on a swallow. Now I know that a swallow is a popular choice, but it's a beautiful bird, one that has a pretty tough life and always (or tries to) return to the same area in Britain or Africa. While my life is anything but tough, I do always enjoy returning home, particularly after a long period of absence, so I know to some extent how they feel, although I'd never choose to travel quite so far. Personally I don't feel you have to justify getting a tattoo, so it really just boils down to the fact that I like the image of a swallow. Simple. A lot of tattoos I've seen, the ones that pop up on google, are in the Sailor Jerry style, which I like but not enough to get one on me. I have instead decided to go for a 'sketched' style, so that the swallow looks like it's been drawn, like out of a bird book if that makes sense, I'm hoping this will make it a bit more unique and 'me'.

Anyway, philosophical ramblings aside, here are some images that I pulled off google (original credits missing sorrrrry) that I'm hoping to print off and chop about as I like elements from all of them, but not as an individual image:

Soooo hopefully in a few months time I will have something like the above on me...somewhere, I haven't figured out the placement yet, somewhere that I can cover if necessary but that's easy to show to people without having to strip off/flash everyone. I'm thinking the shoulder blade, inner forearm or on my foot, or the top of my thigh, oh decisions! Not too worried about it hurting as I am no stranger to painful piercings (never go for a scaffold, most painful experience of my life) and it won't (hopefully!) kill me, plus I'm choosing to have it done, and I hate wingeing about self-inflictedness (as does my bf who will give me no sympathy haaha). Anyway, time to stop rambling about skin art and look for some more swallow images...


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Eyes and Face

W7 77 Neutral Eyeshadow Palette

Swatches

Here is the promised review of the W7 77 palette. I have taken some images of the casing, some swatches of the colours and also some close-ups of the shades. I got this on ebay about 3 months ago for £10.00, although these seem to be really popular at the moment and you can also get the huge 120 palettes for about £12-£15. The quality of these surprised me, for the price I expected something cheap and a product that would wear off after about an hour. Not the case, these shadows are great, although nothing can compare to a mac shadow, these are a brilliant alternative for people on a budget, or those that want a wide selection to choose from. I don't use a primer and the shadows seem to last a reasonable amount of time, with a primer they are likely to last longer obviously, so I may have to invest in one, especially as I suffer from oily skin. The palette comes with two of those cheap eyeshadow applicators, my advice would be to either chuck them and use a proper brush, or keep them for blending shades as I have done. The colours in the palette are quite pigmented, although this is the neutral version of the palettes, I think you can get a 'cool' and a 'bright' one too, and the colours really seem to complement each other. I'd really recommend this product, not only for value, but also for the surprising amount of quality and product you receive for your money.

Chanel foundation really is worth the extortionate amount of money (£29, luckily I had vouchers!), it stays put, covers up horrible spots, evens out skin tone and makes your skin glow. Worth every penny, seriously. When I went to buy this I had a skin test done at the counter to match my shade, she took all my makeup off (not my eyes) and redid my whole face in under 5 minutes- primer, foundation, powder and blush. Why can't I do this as quick?? Seriously considering pretending I want some more foundation on the day of my grad ball, hello free make over...
I got the matte foundation, which I can really recommend to those who have oily skin, as it dries matte and stops shine without loosing the luminous finish. DON'T buy this if you have dry skin as it will be really uncomfortable.
I apply mine with a brush and it goes on and sinks in really easily, plus it's never broken me out and I have really sensitive skin so that's a big plus. I had to get the lightest shade (20 Clair) but she said I could have done with a lighter one, so if you have really fair skin then this might not be suitable. The only down side to this is the pump dispenser, it takes practice to get the right amount out, one full pump is too much for my face, but only getting half of that out can clog the pump opening, so wipe excess off with a tissue/wipe after each use as the top can become clogged and disgusting. Apart from that, amazing product. This sounds so snobby, but I don't think I can go back to highstreet foundation, nothing I have ever tried has been this good, sorry bank balance.

Necklace: £3.99. Oxfam

Reviews aside, I got this lovely art deco style necklace last week, loving charity shops at the moment. Yesterday I came back home from uni after printing, binding and HANDING IN my dissertation, it was quite strange to send something off that you've been working on for the best part of a year, felt quite flat afterwards so me and the boy went shopping. I got a basic navy cotton skirt in H&M for £6.99, I don't earn many skirts and this goes with pretty much everything and will be good for the summer. Then it was off to New Look where I found a chambray long top/tunic button down with a belt for £11 (good old student discount, what I'm going to do without it I don't know). The only problem with buying skirts/dresses is my legs. Pasty white. Hiyaa fake tan.

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Easter Bunny

Just some photo's of my garden and the pond, the frogs are cute! I got a really nice little vintage handbag for Easter along with a big Lindt bunny and egg, feeling a bit sick now ahaaa. Hope everyone has a nice Easter and gets lots of yummy chocolate stuff :) I'm off back to uni for 2 days to get my dissertation printed and bound then home again until next Monday, then it's back to uni for a month until it's ALL OVER. I can't really get my head around it, where did 3 years go?? Roll on the finishing education celebrations and bottles of wine, think I deserve it ;)

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Photo Diary Four

Just some photographs of a walk from today that I went on with my parents, mainly pictures of butterflies that my dad spotted, him being an avid fan of all insects/flying things. It was soooo hot outside, but really muggy, so there'll probably be a thunderstorm soon eeeeek. Off to my friends tonight in Exeter for dinner and a sneaky glass of wine.

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