All Made Up

I've always been more of a fashion gal than a beauty queen, but now and again I'll find little bits of make-up that I, from then on, can't live without. So here are a few of my must-haves.  

I'm a big fan of the red-lip trend but lipstick just doesn't work for me. I recently found a red lip conditioner
called 'Pout Polish' by Sleek (pictured above). The gloss adds enough colour to stand out but doesn't have that harsh definition of lipstick. Plus it was only £3.50, barg!

If you haven't discovered it already, then I urge you to purchase Barry M's Nail Effects. The ingenious nail varnish that cracks as it instantly dries when applied over another layer of nail varnish (pictured above). It works really nicely with a subtle, pale colour underneath or for a more dramatic look, try putting white, silver, or a neon shade as your base coat. Boots and Superdrug carry the brand and it's priced at £3.99.

Blemishes are a royal pain and some concealers don't give enough coverage or can dry out your skin, so I was delighted to finally come across a concealer that actually sits nicely on my skin and covers...well, anything! Benefit's Erase Paste (pictured below) is a god send for concealing dark circles after a night out, 'breakouts' or even little scars and imperfections. It's priced at £19.50, so it's not a cheap buy but the thickness of the paste allows you to use such a small amount that it'll last you ages!

Now, this isn't something I can't live without as I have yet to purchase it, but it's deffo on my shopping list! www.cupcakecosmetics.co.uk is a brilliant website that offers a selection of brands that aren't available in all area's of this country, (especially small towns and cities like my native Exeter!) such as Bobbi Brown, M.A.C, Sephora and Smashbox.
Pictured below is Smashbox's Glow Hydrating Illuminating Powder..."It's designed to give you an allover boost of color. With a combination of enlightening pigments, active moisturizer, and anti aging ingredients, the wondrous formula creates the soft, glowing, radiant complexion you've always wanted" At the ripe old age of 25 the anti aging ingredients are becoming appealing! And at £21.40 (with free P+P on orders over £30) it's pretty reasonably priced. I'll definitely be giving it a go.

Grammy-oke?!

Is it me or did the Gwyneth Paltrow / Cee-Lo Green duet at this years Grammy's feel a tad odd? When Gwynny first came onstage I thought she looked pretty fierce and her voice sounded on form. This was, however, short lived as she descended down the stairs into a bonkers stage production of a cast full of Jim Henson's Muppets while Cee-Lo sat at the piano in a crazy red feathered get-up. I don't know how impressed Chris Martin will have been with his wifes shakey vocals as she girated ontop of the piano trying to keep up with the track which, along with Cee-Lo's vocals, kind of swallowed her.
I must admit though, anyone that can get onstage at the Grammy's, surrounded by credible and talented artists, and dance around with a load of puppets has got some balls.

Once performance that didn't disappoint however was Miss Katy Perry's. Opening her performance with 'Just Like The Movies' from her nominated album 'Teenage Dream', the newlywed sat sweetly on a sparkling swing while home movies of hers and Russel's wedding were projected behing her (pictured above and below). Aww!
Rusty's other half closed her performance with a rendition of 'Teenage Dream' for "all the Valentine lovers".
Clearly loved up as ever I think we can dismiss the recent rumors of the couple seeking a marriage counsellor!

She's Washed That Man Right Outta Her Hair...

Kelly Osborne has finally put the Luke Worrell saga behind her and moved on, and moved in, with new beau Rob Damiani. Kel doesn't waste time as she's only been dating the British musician for a matter of weeks before shacking up with him in a Beverly Hills apartment block, once graced with Nicole Richie and Lindsay Lohan...enough said.
The new couple were papped moving into their new pad yesterday, where it seemed a large part of the cargo was Kelly's carefully packed couture wardrobe. Since achieving her svelte shape, Kelly O has been seen in some pretty high fashion clobber so I don't blame her.
Ozzy's daughter has never been one to keep shtum about her private life, proved by her Twitter rant at ex Luke Worrell (pictured below) after their split at the end of last year;
'Luke Worrall is the biggest piece of s**t'  followed by...
'He is the worst thing that ever happened to me...I have never felt heartbreak like this in my life. I only came home for Xmas to see him meanwhile he has been f*****g hundreds of girls as well as men behind my back.'

Ouch!

But Kelly took to Twitter with a slightly happier message last month, saying
'Had one of the longest phone conversations I have ever had in my life! 3 hours I guess time really does fly when your having fun! :)'
Nice to hear than K has moved on. The two reportedly met in a club over the Christmas period and have since been inseparable. But has she learnt from her previous mistakes? The E! presenter recently told Closer magazine 'Loads of people saw my Twitter rant about my ex-boyfriend over Christmas, and this is the last time you'll probably hear me talk about my relationship in the press...I've learned my lesson the hard way. I'm excited about this year - onwards and upward'

X-Rated

Rihanna's new video for 'S&M' have proved to rub people up the wrong way after it's risquee content.
The video marks Rhi's third single from her 'Loud' album and features her simulating sex with a blow up doll, being tied up, leading celeb pal Perez Hilton round on a leash, eating a banana in a rather suggestive manner, and a whole lotta latex. 

It's currently banned in 11 countries while MTV are only playing the vid after 10pm. YouTube have also deemed it "unsuitable" and viewers will have to sign in to confirm they're over the age of 18 in order to watch it.

With the amount of porn available on the internet it baffles me as to why a music video causes such a ruckus...?

Rih Rih's no stranger to controversy and recently angered followers of her Twitter account by responding to a friends joke with "LMAO (Laughing my arse off), Katt u lil c***." Dropping the C bomb didn't go down too well, with Tweeters pointing out there are young fans reading her updates. The singer chose not to remove her comment and responded with a short and sweet "Bite me" tweet.

The expectations of young stars is a funny issue. The media and a large amount of the public expect singers and actors to present a perfect 'role model' image for the young generation that admires them, which it seems does not involve any personal self-expression. If we look back to the hey days of Britney Spears, who was presented to the world as the all American, clean cut, Catholic, southern girl. As far as her image was concerned she didn't put a toe out of line and had an army of young fans wanting to emulate her 'perfect' life.  Fast forward a few years and Brit has a mental breakdown, shaves her head and develops bi-polar disorder. Now, I'm a fan of Brit so I won't diss her too much, but is it better to try and mute or dilute what these artists want to do and say, or let them present an open and honest image of themselves which lets their fans know who they actually are,thus not giving an unrealistic and fake images? I'll bypass a "you-go-girl" moment to Rhianna and leave you with that thought.