The Weirdest Saturday EVER!!

I've actually had the weirdest Saturday EVER!!!!!


I actually got locked IN my room!! The door handle fell right off the door and the little square rod was nowhere to be seen

I'm super lucky that I wasn't the only one in my house as I honestly don't know how long I would have been trapped in there but that didn't mean I got a speedy release.


Of all the times for my mum to "Choose" to ignore me, she chose right then!!


She wouldn't pick up my phone calls to EITHER of her phones (her excuse later was that they were both dead . . .errr then why are they both on the charger and ON!!!). She didn't attempt to pick up the house phone despite it being in REACHING DISTANCE and she didn't respond to my screams and banging on the door (but in her defence she was on her sewing machine and I was two storeys above her).


I was stuck in my room for almost an hour and had nothing to do except tweet for help and  tidy my room.


In all honesty, I think my mum must have done something to lock me in my room . . I'm thinking like an ancient firm of mummy voodoo or a secret trigger or something as she's been bugging me for the last two weeks to tidy my room.


But come on, it's not that bad . . right???

It might look a bit bad . . but at least I made my bed

continue reading "The Weirdest Saturday EVER!!"

Giveaway Galore

As my giveaway is coming to a close this week, *I really hope you've entered* I thought it would be a good idea to give a shout out to all the bloggers who are currently running a giveaway this week

- Mel at Melissa's Wardrobe is doing a fantastic giveaway that I have actually entered *It's just that good*. She's giving away a £30 Topshop voucher!!! I'm a Topshop junkie so while I secretly don't want to tell you about this to better my chances of winning, I'm prepared to take the humble approach *just this once* 
Her giveaway ends on the 12th of December so all the Topshop junkies head over to her blog now

- The Chap from The Chap Blog is doing a giveaway for the ladies *Don't we feel a special*. He's giving away a Batiste Dry Shampoo which is exclusive to Boots. This version is honestly the cutest thing ever as it comes with a little leopard key ring as well as a secret gift. His giveaway ends the 11th of December at 10pm!!!

- Lauren at My Life, The Universe and Shoes is having a Half-birthday Giveaway and is giving away the MAC Holiday 2011 Dazzlesphere in Smokey Blue. Her giveaway closes on the 7th of December, which my poor calculations mean you have almost a week to rush down to her blog

 - Lucy from Lucy Writes 01 is gearing up to turn us all into LUSH junkies with her 12 days of Christmas Giveaway where she is giving away a gift set that has 12 gorgeous LUSH products inside and she's doing ANOTHER giveaway with OSIS Get Volume Products. I think she's on a mission to make sure we smell nice and have perfect hair this xmas. The 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway ends on the 1st of December and the OSIS giveaway ends on the 5th so Hurry Up!!!

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EOTD - Cranberry Ripple

This is one of my everyday looks, and probably the one you are most likely to find me in. The only difference really is that I've used MAC's Beauty Marked on my outer v to darken this look a bit, and I normally just skip this

Base - NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk

Lid - MAC Expensive Pink

Crease - MAC Cranberry

Outer V - MAC Beauty Marked

Brows - MUA Eyebrow Pencil in Brunette

Browbone - MAC Phloof and Urban Decay Virgin 

Lips - MAC Viva La Glam VI

Face - MAC Studio Flix Fluid in NW45

Blush - MAC Format

Highlight - ELF Peachy Keen

Something about pinks and plums always make my day. What are your favourite coloured eyeshadows to wear?

continue reading "EOTD - Cranberry Ripple"

I am not Black . . . I am Brown - Skinned

These were the words spoken to me with such confidence from my 6 year old cousin that I had to pause and stare at her dumb-founded. This confident and bold statement made by someone so young has stuck with me from the first time I heard her say this to me roughly a year ago.

My little cousin is *in my opinion* a dark-browned tone, miniature beauty with features that reflects my mother’s Nigerian lineage, and is currently living in Dubai (with a brief stint in Singapore). Her mother (my aunt) recognising the fact that her daughters were likely to be the darkest skinned children in her class reinforced the ideology in her children that they were not black, as the colour black literally means the absence of colour, they were dark brown and they should NEVER let anyone try to demean them by calling them black and instead should reply.

When she said this to me after I described myself as black, I was shocked!!! How could I be corrected a child, I could practically have given birth to?! I informed her that I WAS Black and so was she. Excitedly she ran and grabbed an item black in colour (I think it was a cushion) and held it against my skin and said,

‘This is black, you are not black. You are brown skinned’.

This got me thinking, is it my choice to call myself black as a racial label or heritage choice or rather is it some other person's imposition that I call myself black to show what background I come from.

Growing up dark skinned in England is probably a lot easier than growing up dark skinned in America as the levels of racism over there seems to be quite mind-boggling and over here I can honestly say that I haven’t really experienced racism in anyway towards me. Nevertheless I feel that ‘being black’ is regarded by most as an identity rather than a colour, *anyone who has ever used the excuse of ‘BMT – Black Man Time’ for being late knows what I mean by this* yet why are dark skinned people the only people who readily accept an identity associated with a colour? And even worse why do we try to impose that said identity on others, like I tried to do with my cousin? If I went around labelling individuals of Oriental or Asian Descent by the colour of their skin or eye shape, I would be looking at several, never ending lawsuits

Moreover, I really can’t stand when people describe others of a Caucasian nature as white, as that is simply not true. There are spectrums of shades, tones and pale or dark colourings which should not be limited to one colour . . . especially if it’s the same shade as a sheet of A4 paper. Labelling someone as one colour is just too vague. It turns very unique people with various beliefs and backgrounds into a dried up Paper-mache lump breeding racial inequalities. In fact if we stopped referring to each other by colour the large majority of racial tension would be obsolete

So when someone asks me what I am, I refuse to use 'Black'. It’s just too narrow and excluding and doesn’t describe me at all as a person, instead I will answer

‘I am not black, I am Dark- skinned’

So what do you think? How do you feel about labels on your ethnicity or skin colour? What do you use and what do you avoid?

continue reading "I am not Black . . . I am Brown - Skinned"

Review: Illamasqua Cream Blush in Ravish

Illamasqua is best known for their take-no-prisoner shades, outrageously unique beauty campaigns and their deviously names beauty products. Since discovering the Illamasqua brand this summer, I have turned into a bit of an Illamasqua whore and their cream blush in Ravish is currently ranking a very high top spot in my pink/plum blush collection.

What They Say

Ravish is a bright raspberry red ‘with a dewy finish’. ‘Highlight your cheekbones, shape your face, build & blend with fingers to create the colour intensity you desire. Use over foundation for impact or under for a captivating glow. However you apply it, be daring’

What I Say

I originally bought Ravish many months ago, as I was looking for an intense pinkish, plum blush that would look great on dark skin as well as a longwearing stay. I think the Makeup gods were looking down on me the day I visited the Illamasqua counter, as this was exactly what I found.

Depending on how you use this shade (i.e. for contouring or to add a pop of colour onto the cheeks) you will end up with an intense, dewy finish. I like to use this very gently on my cheeks using an ELF Angled Contour Brush rather than my ELF Angled Foundation Brush, which I normally use for crème blushes as this blush can be SUPER intense and needs a light handedness to ensure you don’t end up looking like you used clown paint for your cheeks.

 On a bit of a whim, I also used Ravish as a lipstick and  . . .woow . . just WOOOW!!! I think I might actually start using this as a lipstick. The colour and pigment is super rich and gives a glossy finish that many lipsticks fail to even do right

Illamasqua Ravish used on cheeks and lips

Ravish really is the go-to Cream Blush

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EOTD - Dark and Lovely

This is my version of a dark smokey eye using a combination on my MAC, Illamasqua and Urban Decay eyeshadows. I tried to make this look as soft as possibly by using MAC Black Tied on my lid instead of MAC Carbon, and used Carbon as a outline crease colour. Finally I used the Naked and Virgin eyeshadows from my Naked Palette on my brow bone and tied it all together with MAC Handwritten on my upper crease.

 Base - Illamasqua Malevolent Cream Eyeshadow

Lid - MAC Black Tied

Crease - MAC Carbon

Upper Crease - MAC Handwritten

Brow-bone - Urban Decay Virgin and Naked (Naked Palette) 

Lips - Revlon Colorburst Lipgloss

Blush - MAC Format

Eyebrows - MUA Eyebrow Pencil in Brunette

I think it turned out very well looool what do you think??

continue reading "EOTD - Dark and Lovely"

OOTD - Modern Day Tinkerbell

This is a quick shot of the outfit I wore to Monday's Hand-Picked Media gets Social event which I absolutely loved.


I'm not exactly sure what I was thinking when I choose this outfit, all I know is I was determined to wear this skirt loool

Jacket - Random Boutique in Finsbury Park 

Long Sleeve Black Body Con Dress used as a Top - H&M 

Skirt - Lipsy

Tights - Peacocks

Shoes - H&M

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HandPicked Media Gets Social

Getting out of bed before 9am is a bit of a mission in itself (especially if I'm not getting paid to do so),so you can imagine the level of excitement I must have felt to willing get out of bed at 6am (well technically 6.45am because I hit my snooze button like 5 times) to attend Hand-picked Media's gets Social Event

Hand Picked Media is a Social Media Agency that hand picks the best and most innovative UK blogs to work it, effectively creating a community of bloggers that believe in delivering a versatile message of quality not quantity to their readers. They help to promote blogs, open a channel of information as well as work with PR agencies on their bloggers behalf to create exciting campaigns that are exclusive to bloggers. So knowing this little snippet of information it does seem like a best fit for them to pull off this absolutely great blogging conference. 


Now I personally believe that this event was more like the ultimate blogging conference than a typical event as I feel that I absorbed sooo much knowledge and tips from purely sitting in my seat listening to these professional speak so passionately and informatively on their chosen fields on SEO, site traffic, Blogger and PR Relationships, Journalism, the possible future for Bloggers in the media, and Online vs. Print Media. I think Hand-picked Media did a fantastic job in approaching speakers who could advise and relate to problems and thoughts that bloggers encounter with their blogs. While all the speeches from all the Speakers and the Beauty/Fashion Panels  where all insightful and relevant, I think my favourite talks of the day came from Garry Davies and Mark Borkowski.

Our Honourable Beauty and Fashion Panel

 Garry Davies from Why Communicate spoke about his top 10 tips *even though I'm sure I counted 11* on how to successfully promote and increase your blog traffic by making the most of the tools available to us on the web. With pointers on how to interlink your posts and pages, use blog rolls, the importance of Meta-titles and Meta-descriptions, as well as using readily available and free social platforms (Facebook, Linked-in, Google + etc.) to effectively increase your blog traffic as well as decrease your blog's bounce rate. I hand on heart, believe I learnt so much from him, that despite him informing us that his slideshow will be available to use online I still managed to write 4 pages worth of notes that I plan to put into action this week. 

Garry Davies giving us his SEO speech

Mark Borkowski IS the PR Guru King! His slideshow and speech on Media Communications, PR and Strategies was an eclectic mix of confidence, animation and experience with a hint of controversy that captivated my attention from the start.. I am not kidding his slide show and one-liners were just so graphic and effective I literally did not want to shift my focus away from the podium in case I missed something ground breaking. Thinking back it was a struggle to quick share his one-liners onto the #HPMSocial twitter hash tag as I was secretly afraid I might miss another ultimate one-liner.

Mark Borkowski doing what he does best.

Bourjois, Keihls, Daniel Henderson, Biotherm,  Shu Emura, Feel Good, Kenneth Green and my new found infatuation China Doll Boutique were the proud sponsors of the event and when I spoke to some of the people behind the brands they all seemed very knowledgeable and answered all my questions about their products which was great, however when speaking to Nhuc Tran (China Doll Boutique) and Caroline Foxbury of Feel Good, they spoke with such passion and enthusiasm, and it was just soo contagious that  I am actually excited to go out of my way to buy and review some of their products just because they believe in it so much *that's a bit geeky isn't it?? Oh well it's true*

Nhuc and China Doll Boutique

Caroline and Feel Good Drinks - They taste lovely by the way

I thoroughly enjoyed this event and I really hope that I am able to give you a good recap of what went on. If you would like to receive a copy of my notes taken *as sharing is caring*  leave a comment under this post and I will make sure to send you a copy as soon as possible.

More Pics

Joy from Joytodworld, Dawn from Dollylovesyou and Lara from BECCA Cosmetics

Me, Dawn and Lara

The Biotherm and Kiehl Counter

The Bourjois Counter with a display of the Intense Eyeshadows

A BEAUTIFUL Kimono worn by Lyuba from FunkyMakeupJunkie/Strawberry Kimono

Me and Stephanie from Nerdabouttown getting out eyelashes done

Me and Shortiee from Little Beauty Blogger

continue reading "HandPicked Media Gets Social"

100 Things to do Before I kick the Bucket - Part Five

41 -  Live on a remote island (that comes equip with wifi)

42 – Have 100 followers on my blog

43 – Send a message in a bottle

44 – Blow Glass

45 – Get Married

46 – Learn French

47 – Have 250 blog followers

48 - Send a message in a bottle

49 – Dress up as a geisha

50 – See the Northern Lights (Totally inspired by the book by Philip Pullman)

continue reading "100 Things to do Before I kick the Bucket - Part Five"

OOTD:- Monki'ing Around

I have been dying to show off this Faux Fur Hooded Scarf that I bought from the Monki Concession in Selfridges. I am super happy that it is finally cold enough to wear this (and that's saying something because I absolutely LOATHE being cold) without looking like a complete prat.

 
Outfit
Scarf - Monki (£15)
Shoes - Topshop
Trench Coat - Lipsy
Bag - Baratts

Make Up

Illamasqua Skin Base - SB16

MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NW45 (to tidy up eyebrows)

MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NW40

MAC Select Cover Up Concealer in NW40

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Deep Dark

MUA Eyebrow Pencil in Brunette

Sleek Contour Kit in Dark

Sleek Blush in Coral (1st layer of blush)
Elf Blush in Tickled Pink (highlight)
Daniel Sandler Blush in Dare (used to transition blush and contour)

Maybelline Colossal Volume Express Mascara 

 Revlon ColourBlast in Sienna Sparkle

continue reading "OOTD:- Monki'ing Around"

Bad News

In the reasonably late hours on the night of the 14th of November, my computer decided to throw the HUGEST, most CATASTROPHIC tantrum to end all tantrum.

It wiped away ALL the pictures (and videos) I took over the weekend.

But hope is on the horizon, my Dad fortunately enough has some photo recovery software that should *hopefully* get back the majority of my pictures.

Unfortunately this means that the beauty posts that should have been going up this week are going to be postponed for a little while.... 

 . . . .Sowi

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WOOOHHOOOOOOO . . . It Finally Uploaded!!!

I've just spent the last 2 days trying to make a video and upload it on my new Fuji Finepix HS20 EXR, that I got this week.


As I don't normally do Youtube videos, it took me absolutely ages to do this simply because as I had problems with lighting, finding somewhere quiet, my camera video settings, angling my camera properly, uploading . .and lighting. I think lighting is my biggest problem.


So in the end (out of pure frustration) I settled on this take. I think I'm giving a lot of nose hole shots though looooool

Hope you like it but Feedback is always appreciated

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100 Things to do before I bite the dust (part 4)

31 – Dress up as a pretty pink princess

32 – Go Jet skiing

33 – Learn how to ski/snow board

34 – Go Bungee Jumping

35 – Learn to walk in flats properly (aim is for 30 minutes without falling over)

36 – Break a bone (I still haven’t broken anything or had a cast #unbelievable)

37 – Take a vow of silence for a whole day (If you knew me, you know this is next to impossible)

38 – Buy a DSLR camera - because my current one is stressing me out!!!

39 – Kiss a total stranger

40 – Go crazy in Las Vegas

continue reading "100 Things to do before I bite the dust (part 4)"

Epiphannie A is Escentual's Blog of the Week

'SSSCCCCCCCCCRRRRRRRRREEEEEAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMM!!!!

 *Inhales*

SCCCCCCCCRRRRRRRRRREEAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!

*Dances around the office in excitement*

If you're wondering what I'm so excited about, I'm going to tell you (only because I reserve bragging rights on this before my mum gets to it). My blog has been chosen as blog of the week by Escentual's blog and if you can't tell by my screaming and dancing, I'm super excited about this.

I always follow the Escentual Blog of the week as a way to visit other blogs so I am super chuffed that they chose mine looool anyway here's a link to Escentual's post so make sure you check it out

I'm going to brag about this all day so apologies if you follow me on twitter or facebook

continue reading "Epiphannie A is Escentual's Blog of the Week"

NOTD - O.P.I.'s Pearls Night Out

Just a quick little post showing off the newest shade in my nail's beauty collection.

I got this shade of a recent blog sale which I told you about earlier last week, the shade looked gorgeous on screen and just as good off.

I really love this pearls iridescent shade on my fingers. I'm not sure if you can tell by my pictures but I really think it looks a bit like a pearly moonlight colour

continue reading "NOTD - O.P.I.'s Pearls Night Out"

Things I find on the Internet . . . Labrinth and Tinie Tempah on BBC Radio Live Lounge

I dont think anything should be said about this.

Labrinth did an amazing job

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NOTD - Revlon's Facets of Fuchsia

This is a nail polish shade that has really been hyped up on a lot of blogs, so I really wanted to try it out for myself . . .Mainly because it so sparkly!!!

What I loved about this shade is the fact the glitter settled down quite nicely on my nail and didn't feel at all lumpy or odd to the touch. I adored the vibrant shade but it's a bit of a struggle to get this glitter nail polish off. I  was literally covered in purple glitter and still have a bit stuck in between my acrylics despite bathing my nails in acetone.

continue reading "NOTD - Revlon's Facets of Fuchsia"

Epiphannie A has a new look . . .

I guess the title of this post is pretty self explanatory but yes, I gave my blog a makeover following a lot of feedback I recieved from fellow bloggers on the #bblogger twitter has tag.

I really you like this new look as it's less cluttered that the old template but I can't like I kinda miss the old background *I really liked the textured appearance*

Before

After

continue reading "Epiphannie A has a new look . . ."

100 things to do before I bite the dust (Part Three)

21 – See 10 West-end Musicals

22 – Go Crowd Surfing

23 – Get me and my besties arrested

24 - Shouting out ‘I object’ in a court room

25 – Visit Hawaii

26 – Peer into a volcano – (preferably in Hawaii)

27 – Wear a Grass Skirt and Coconut Bikini Ensemble (Goes with the Hawaiian Theme)

28 – Go Sky Diving

29 - Go to a Burlesque Club

30 – Learn to do the splits (flexibility is everything don’t you know)

Photo Source: -

Make sure you take a peek on my previous Post on what I would like to do before I bit the dust here

continue reading "100 things to do before I bite the dust (Part Three)"

November Giveaway - Your Choice of 3 MAC Products

Hi Everyone,

I feel like I haven't done a giveaway in a while and I've been feeling a bit generous lately *maybe the Christmas Spirit has hit me early*

Anyway this giveaway is going to one to remember because this November I am going to give the winner of this giveaway their choice of ANY 2 MAC lipsticks as well as their choice of ANY eyeshadow.

(See like I said Generous)

Now on to the terms and conditions

- Giveaway is open to UK residents only
- You have to be following my blog
- Leave a comment in the comment box with your email address and your product choice
OR if you're not sure what you want at the moment
- Leave a comment with your email address and if you win, I can email you and we can sort it out then
- This Giveaway will end at the end of November

continue reading "November Giveaway - Your Choice of 3 MAC Products"

NOTD - Zoya's Tao and Illamasqua's Glory

I've been dying to put up a NOTD post using Zoya's Tao Nail Polish ever since I recieved it in my Boudoir Prive box, many centuries ago (I think it was the August box - but please don't quote me on that).

I've paired it up with Glory from Illamasqua just to bring a little bit of to the grey shade. I aboslutely love this little collaboration and the best thing about this is after 3 days of doing the stacks of dishes in my kitchen, none of these nail polishes has even chipped yet.

continue reading "NOTD - Zoya's Tao and Illamasqua's Glory"