Recalcitrant matte eye shadow?

You know I mentioned that I loved MAC Copperplate once I had coaxed it from the pan and onto my eyelids, which took getting on for a week, per eye, for a reasonable amount of opacity?  This morning I really wanted to wear matte eyeshadow but didn't have a lifetime to work on it so decided to do something so outrageous true beauty lovers should look away now.  I used the sponge applicator from my Revlon matte shadow.  I know, it felt all kinds of wrong to me too.  But you know what?  It only bloody worked!  Obviously I did all the intricate stuff like blending with a brush but using the much ridiculed sponge applicator worked a dream.  So there you go, if you have a matte that wont play ball dig out a sponge applicator and give it a whirl!

New hair!

From this:

 To this:

 I love it! It's very subtle, but looks so much better.

And finally one with my glasses as this is how I actually look!

 

Cool or warm? Does it really matter?

When Mum was buying her blush in Boots on Friday the Estee Lauder SA had a curved card which on one side had cool colours, which were mainly pinks and reds all with a blue tone and on the other warm colours, which were peaches and browns.  She held the card up so the cool curve was on one side of the face and the warm on the other so we could see which tones worked best on our skin - Mum was deemed warm and it was decided that I was cool.  All fine and Mum bought a lovely blush in Rose Sensuous that looks fab on her - nice warm pink/nude shade, lovely and I have just realised I should have taken pics of it for this post.  At the time I was wearing Revlon lip butter in Raspberry pie, which even to my untrained eye is quite definitely a cool toned pink.  I love this on me, it makes my face look brighter and my teeth whiter. The SA said this was absolutely spot on.

Which is all well and good until I empty the rest of my make up collection onto my bed and have a long, hard look at it.  It's all warm. Everything.  Lots of coppers and browns, with hints of gold rather than silver.  In fact I studiously avoid anything with a hint of silver to it - unless its jewellery; all of mine is either silver or white gold, to the extent that I don't even wear my original wedding ring which was yellow gold.   There's quite a clue there isn't there!

This morning I decided to dig out MAC Copperplate which I longed for, purchased and instantly loathed and this morning I remembered why.  It's actually a much nicer colour on than it looks in the pan but god is it hard work to actually get any of the bloody colour onto your eyelids.  I primed with UDPP and got a big eyeshadow brush, loaded it and pressed it on. And on. And on. In the end I resorted to using my slightly damp foundation brush to apply larger amounts as I was in danger of spending 40 mins applying applying a single eye shadow.  Once it was on I loved it and it has gone from languishing in the carrier bag of shame, second drawer down to First Division "in the make up bag" status.  I opted for Copperplate because it's the coolest shadow I own.  I teamed it with a hint of a Boots No 7 loose powder blusher in a pink colour, pink also being cool, and Revlon lip butter in Raspberry Pie, the blue toned pink.  A cool face.  It looked like this:

What I wanted to do was compare how cool colours looked on me with how my usual, much warmer make up looked.  So I did this:

Anyone would think I was proud of my receding hair line!

So that I could compare the two.  Unfortunately the light isn't the same but I think the comparison still works.  Until I saw these two pictures close together I was sure that both the cool and the warm make up worked equally well, or equally badly depending on  your take on all this!  Now I have to say I much prefer how the cool colours look.

I really do have a very wonky smile.

 I have already given my Mum the peachy Estee Lauder lipstick I bought recently and am now on a mission to buy myself a cool blusher - I have a fancy for one of the New Estee Lauder ones so I might get the SA in Boots to give me some ideas next time I am in Huddersfield.  I am sort of hoping that this will all mean that if my hair gets lighter and maybe more grey, if I combine it with nice cool eye colours in charcoal, slate and navy and add a nice bright pop of lipstick I might look pulled together rather than corpse like.  Might.  So, what do you think?  Cool or warm, which do you prefer?  If you have any suggestions for cool toned blusher please shout, any advice - as always! - greatly appreciated!

Embrace the grey?

You know how sometimes you think out loud? This is me, doing that.  I am considering accepting that my hair is going grey and ditching the dye.  In my head I will have my hair in its current style, which is shoulder length, on basis that short AND grey is definitely going to be ageing, long and grey is going to look sophisticated, quirky and confident.  I may be deluding myself here.

To give you some idea of what I am talking about when I say I am going grey here are some pics.  Please note I decided to take these on the spur of the moment and because they are in bright light so you can see my hair colour I am frowning like buggery, fine lines have become wrinkles!!

Delighted that I actually look like a hard faced man in this one!

Please no one mention the receeding hair line!

I look very much as if I have already embraced this whole grey thing don't I!

Grey eyebrows, god I am DIVINE.

Bet that little lot have made your morning, consider them a gift from me to you - Happy Easter!  

So, lovely ladies, what do you think?  Do I step away from the dye and see what happens or am I deluding myself into thinking its going to look nice?  Has anyone done this, what happened?  Did you feel ancient, did your husband leave you for a much, much younger woman, or did you feel fantastic?  At nearly  46 I think I have finally accepted that I am who I am and I look like I do, it's not beautiful, but it's not hideous either, I am in danger of being comfortable in my own skin! Shock, horror!  Any and all advice greatly appreciated!  Oh and s'cuse the migraine inducing dress, bright innit!