Saturday Night At Home

I am just going to outright apologise to anybody who stumbles across my blog. This is pretty much a journal of things I wouldn't put in my journal. Currently that seems to be make-up. If you look at some of my older posts you'll find everything from Plinky posts (I still do those from time to time but Blogger doesn't like Plinky anymore so they don't show up here) to critical analysis of movies.

Why did I say all that? Mostly because the one thing I suck at more than anything is starting. The number of hours I spend contemplating the first few sentences of an essay is incredible (notably I am not Arts student, I do engineering instead).

So getting to the point. My day today was supposed to consist of study, assignments and generally getting my academic life in order. Clearly that is going to have to wait for another day. Instead I blog surfed through the make-up communities... As if I haven't done too much of that already in the last few days.  It is amazing how many hours you can spend doing that.

I couldn't actually do my make-up during that time though because I was headed to gymnastics (I'm no gymnast but flipping into the pit - and then having to climb back out again - repeatedly is good fun for something a little different). I've only done it a handful of times in the last 3 months and it would appear no more because our class ceases to exist from today :(. 

However I couldn't leave without going out with a bang. I managed to ram my knee into my own nose. I am rather hoping it isn't broken but it certainly just a little bit swollen. How does a person ram their own knee into their nose? An attempt at the vault (I told you I was no gymnast) where I was to use my hands to avoid having any contact with the vault with my legs. Well after a few tries I actually managed to get over the vault without my legs stopping me. But only just. Pretty much I got over the vault and tipped head first into the pit. My legs following behind and catching up to my face which had been stopped by the foam with enough force to give my nose a direct and rather brutal hit.

After gym I decided to pretty myself up for dinner and a movie. Dinner being myself alone at the mess hall and the movie being Enchanted since it was on Channel 7 tonight and I needed to watch some ads for a uni assignment. What a thrilling life I lead. See if you can tell that my nose is swollen =P.

This photo seems to pick up on the really goldy colour of my lids that none of the other photos I took did... 

Who is this person? Apart from the fact that my camera (which runs its own routine) has made me look like its summer not the middle of winter. I have to say that looks nothing like me (in a completely good way =] ).

Finally this one as you can probably tell has been auto-corrected unlike the others. However it probably does the best job of actually showing what my eye-make-up really looks like.

Coloured Eye-liner...

That awkward moment when I realise I have a rather large variety of colour eye liner. Now compared to true make-up fiends I'm sure my collection doesn't scratch the surface. However when you take into account that 6 months ago my solitary liquid eye-liner had been relatively untouched because I couldn't master it and didn't like it... I have accumulated a LOT of eye liner.

So yes there is some not liquid eyeliner in the bunch... a gray pencil and a purple pencil (in dire need of sharpening)... and some gel liners which I'm not sure I like.

And I'm not one for all the pretty lines and stuff so this photo is dodgy but I mostly wanted an excuse to make lines of all of them.

They are in the same order as they are in the photo above.

Now because I am a make-up hopeless its all reasonably low cost eye-liner. The gel liner 3 was $16 dollars before reduced and would be the most expensive item in the list. The four that look mostly the same and the pencils are epic cheapies - $3. 

However my favourite of them all is the bronze/gold one (its called Golden Girl) - which is made by a chemists brand Ultra3. Basically the one that started it all (my fascination with not black/brown eye-liner). I'm going to have to collect some of its friends I think. That is now at all how I should be thinking - must resist urge to buy more eye-liner.

I love Bloggable Chain-Mail: ABC Me

Ok I've been epic blog stalking the beauty blogosphere on my days off this week and I came across a series of tag posts. This one reminded me a lot of those chain emails I was addicted to as a teen - I am definitely of the modern generation I love to share information about myself in these formats. It seemed to be a self-tagging one so I figured count me in (I don't have the blog friends to be being tagged or tagging others). [Please note that as a teen I only sent them to two friends NEVER my whole friends list or anything.] 

Anyway here's an alphabet listing of things you probably didn't need to know about me.

A. Age:  20

B. Bed size:  A king single - I just count myself lucky its not single.

C. Chore you hate:  I really, really dislike the dishes - seriously I'd clean 10 toilets to not have to wash a small stack of bowls after people have eaten porridge (notably I also don't eat porridge).

D. Day:  Saturday because it is as close as I get to having a free day.

E. Essential start to your day:  Breakfast. I'm not one of those people who skip it or have to work themselves up to it. I start the day with breakfast.

F. Favourite colour:  Purple and let me say I'm dedicated to it.

G. Gold or silver:  I wear both - but then again I only wear a gold & silver banded watch and silver (cheap) studs 99% of the time.

H. Height:  178cm (5'10") - My mum started telling me at 6 or 7 that she hoped I'd be 5'10" because she thought it was a good height. Always glad to be a good daughter.

I. Instruments:  My musical talent is decidedly limited however I have an appreciation that comes with doing both Piano and Flute. 15 years and grade 3 for leisure was my greatest accomplishment.

J. Job Title:  Somewhere between government employee and overpaid full-time student.

K. Kids:  At some point in the future after I have a husband. In the meantime I'm not a babies girl - I don't goo, I don't gah and I don't enjoy the fact that no other conversation takes place even if the party goes for 3 or 4 hours if a baby is present. I'll have to deal with that enough 10 years from now thanks.

L. Live: Canberra - against my will. I actually don't mind the size or the atmosphere of the country town city because I'm not a city girl but what sadist came up with out thermostat readings?

M. Mum’s name: Jenny and if you call her Jennifer on the phone she'll probably assume you are a telemarketer and hang up because she is NEVER Jennifer.

N. Nickname:  Bron/Brony/Bronnie (yes I know the last two are said the same way) however unlike my mum I will generally introduce myself as Bronwyn and let you shorten it all on your own (everybody does Bronwyn is just that kind of name).

O. Overnight hospital stay:  As a child to get my Tonsils out.

P. Pet peeve:  My biggest pet peeves is other people who have pet peeves and let other people know about them ALL THE TIME and the people who seem to be perpetually developing new pet peeves. Seriously stop letting it BUG you. This seems like a rather odd pet peeve to have - I mean do I bug myself? Short answer is yes however the long answer is that I generally reflect other peoples emotional conditions - if your happy I'm happy, if your sad well I'm hopeless and if you seem to be angry at somebody I feel like you're angry at me and I react by being angry at you.

Q. Quote from a movie:  'They come here, they all come here, how do they FIND me?' The Producers (basically he's bemoaning the fact he attracts absolute pathetic psychos). Now I don't really get how people (particularly guys) master a swag of movie quotes but I get this one in my head whenever the situation seems appropriate to it.

R. Right or left handed:  Right.

S. Siblings:  I always think to say one - my younger brother. However I'm one of those people blessed with a late-in life half-sister thanks to my dad's marriage to a much younger Indonesian woman. No seriously I love Mel she's a great little girl (if you excuse the terrible twos).

T. Time you wake up: On a working day 0550 h. On the weekend approximately 3 snoozes after my initial alarm which I set to 0730-0830 depending on how lenient I'm feeling. Yes I'm alarm obsessed. I hate feel like I've wasted the day - do you KNOW how much of your life you spend sleeping? I prefer to limit myself to 8-10 hours a night.

U. Underwear:  Plain and cream/tan/fawn/bone (I've forgotten the actual colour word I was looking for if you can't tell) in colour. Not particularly sexy however practical under white clothes.

V. Vegetables you dislike:  It actually changes a fair bit.... sometimes I can't stand cauliflower... sometimes I have to alternate brussel sprout for beans to get through eating them... but simply put I'll force myself to eat all vegetables.

W. What makes you run late:  Other people or getting caught by the 'ten minutes I can't go yet its too early I'll just.... oh now I was supposed to leave 5 minutes ago' disaster.

X. X-Rays you’ve had: Teeth, left arm (for both a broken wrist and broken finger - the finger being the coolest x-ray I can lay claim to), back (for the chiropractor) and my ankle (always glad to know its not broken).

Y. Yummy food you make: I make... you've certainly narrowed down the field there. Myself and my good friend Louise have a tradition of chocolate chip cookies whenever I return to my hometown - I reckon after 6 years we've got pretty good cookies happenin'.

Z. Zoo:  When (and ONLY when) my best friend makes me - to be perfectly honest I don't get the Zoo thing.

Now if you have stumbled upon this I'd love to hear from you. Maybe even you want to tag yourself for a spot of fun?

Justifying My Purchases

So... I don't have the abilities of the all around dedication to be one of those epic make-up bloggers... That simply could never happen. However strange things happen when I'm on holidays.

More to justify my spending of HEAPS of money than to actually achieve something I did this. I'm not a huge fan of my shadow abilities but I really love my new copper eye liner... I'm glad I don't feel like I just wasted $6.

Addicted

I have an addictive personality.

It is as simple as that. I've known this for years. The tendency to develop habits quickly and quite concretely, the fickle but in-depth interest in things, the high achiever and over thinker... even the simple fact that I'm naturally anxious and can be both a good loser and a terrible loser depending on how I've approached the game.

It is probably the only thing I can remember for many life and awareness classes during a spare lesson delightfully called 'Options' in high school. Drug, alcohol and sex awareness, career options, study skills—it was that kind of class - procrastination central. Our teacher—the only other thing I remember from the class, the man dressed like a pirate from black longer hair held in a ribbon and white loose flowy shirt and black vest—described a set of things that made an addictive personality and stated that they were most likely to develop severe drug addiction. Good thing I never thought to try drugs is all I can think.

What am I addicted to at the moment? Make-up. It isn't a new addiction since I get it every time I'm on holiday however too much time and just enough money also allows for my other lesser known addiction... shopping. I'm perhaps even less of a shopper than I am a make-up artist... certainly more complex shopoholics actually set my teeth on edge (think The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopoholic - I hate that character sooo much). However as soon as I have money it just seems to go.

Where did my money go these holidays? To supporting my make-up addiction... Now if only I could practice USING all this stuff - the only thing I can guarantee I'll use with high frequency is that deodorant lol.

American Improvement?

Funny how I always come back to blogging when I've got nothing better to do... Perhaps if I did it when I DID have something better to be doing I'd have a more interesting blog. Sorry about that. So I figured... I'd look for some inspiration somewhere light and easy - television. Now as much fun as pondering the pros and cons of The Glee Project or anticipating the next season of How I Met Your Mother... I'm just not generally one for talking about the light and the petty.

What is more my speed? Wilfred. For those of you to whom that is a foreign concept this is Wilfred.

And I have to say if you're not Australian then Wilfred SHOULD be a foreign concept. It is, in its original form, an Australian show which played on SBS about a dog, Wilfred, and the guy who lives next door (the only other character who see Wilfred as we the viewer sees him - a human dressed as a dog). It is rather black, and I think distinctly Australian flavoured humour.

Apparently not good enough for American audiences though. They have recreated the series. They always recreate the series. The Office, Life On Mars, they even tried it with Kath & Kim. Why are international shows simply not good enough for the american viewership? I've been watching 80-90% American television since I was 9-10 years old and they can't manage a single Australian show?

I don't know - the television ads tell me its been a roaring success ( but then ads always tell you things are a roaring succes) - but I just can't help but compare it to the original. Don't get me wrong - I wasn't the original Wilfred's biggest fan. However I did feel it worked as a harsh Australian bloke's bloke comedy.

There is some kind of disconnect that occurs in the American version between the Australian dog (the same one as above) and the replaced and Americanised actors. I feel rather like they feel too 'posh' for the shoe - and its got nothing to do with accents as I contemplated having the show with British actors instead. The very nature of being American doesn't naturally correlate to the Australian humour and there is a disconnect between the characters (more than there is supposed to be).

Maybe after a few episodes it gets better. For me however the injustice is done and there isn't much they can do to make it up to me. At least the dog is still the same Australian bloke. 

A Secret Facination

I don't know how to say this... and have you believe it... but I have a growing facination about make-up. I'm sure you believe the 'obsession about make-up' part. Loads of women proclaim their make-up obsessions all over the internet. Wait I'm doing that right now too... so what do I mean secret?

I very, very rarely wear make-up... I might wear light day make-up on a Saturday to the shops once a month or put some on for going out for dinner (which probably happens even more rarely) but I don't wear make-up to work and I rarely wear it anywhere. Not a very good obsession? I think that makes for something that could only be described as a secret obsession. Make-up is my down time, my easy relaxation, and one of the only things I can take simple pleasure in. Make-up and music - the easiest pleasures around. I put make up on to study, to watch tv, to lounge around my house - on a days when I'll know nobody will ever see me - because the me the world sees doesn't wear make-up.

My make-up story is not a traditional one. I think I got my first make-up at 15... I only think that because I certainly did USE the stuff when I did receive it so I don't remember. Some girls have their mothers bemoaning their make-up tendencies... my mother went out of her way to attempt to entice me to wear the stuff... with little success. At 17 I joined the military... and at 18 make-up started to seem worth it - I got out the assortment of make-up I had (so pretty much the stuff I'd gotten at 15) and put it on in accordance with the solitary make-up lesson I had this one time at mum's insistence.

Then at 19 I started to think a little bit more creatively... make-up was kind of like nail polish only it washed off when I wanted it to and I could repeat the process without the lasting detriment of the canvas I was working from (sure excessive make-up can lead to break outs or whatever... but 4-5 days of bad skin is nothing compared with the 4-5 months of dodgy nails that nail polish abuse leads too).

Now at 20 I actively look into make-up... I love reading blogs about make-up, trying to imitate (generally with little success) the pictures and tutorials... Unfortunately I don't have the money to invest in the better quality products nor the desire to own expensive products that I'll probably only use a handful of times before their best before date... But I work with what I have and have a hell of a lot of fun...

But this is a secret. I'm not the kind of person to wear make-up let alone ENJOY make-up for make-ups sake. I don't get along with the kinds of girls who loved make-up in school or the ones who wear it daily now. I'm not that type of girl. I'm a study in contradictions a lover of romance, addicted to the colour purple, now admitting to make-up addiction - on paper I read like a girly girl I'm sure. Unfortunately (or fortunately) I'm not a very good one in actuality though... I never mastered the girlish giggle, my preference for conversation is social and cultural transitions rather than who's dating who, I study engineering and know more about control engineering than I do about flowers, cooking or men - and all my friends know that side of me... Certainly few if any of them would be interested in make-up.

And because everybody loves make-up photos a few of my own eyes =D.

Here's looking at you. (the day I was looking into 1920s makeup - I'm not going to show you the make-up I did on the night of the costume party though... I picked a gray with a blue tinge... and I looked ridiculous :( )

Today's make-up which is perhaps not really day make-up that looks nice being worn casually to the shops but I'm going to because I need to buy new eye make-up remover :P. Why am I playing so boldly? I'm in my hometown for the week - nobody to notice or to give me alternatives to do....

My attempt to follow along a blog tutorial - without having the brighter bolder colour varieties that had had... (I love the slightly hazel look my eye has in the photo though). (You can probably tell that I didn't bother with foundation that way and I've used the forbidden air brush to hide what I could)