Urban Decay Stay Naked Foundation and Concealer Review

 

As a certified pale girl, I have often struggled to find a foundation that works with my skin tone. Having a complexion similar to that of Casper the Friendly Ghost has made trying to find a foundation that doesn't leave me looking extremely orange difficult. While the makeup industry is beginning to understand that not everyone has one of the same six skin tones, it can still be hard to find a foundation that works with my pale skin and cool undertones. Such difficulties is why I get excited when I discover a foundation available in a wide variety of shades which also come in cool, warm, and neutral undertones. After realising the Urban Decay Stay Naked foundation and concealer had such options, I quickly snapped up both products and eagerly put them through their paces. 

As I was buying both of the items online, I didn't have a means of knowing if they would be suitable for my skin tone so had to hope for the best. Additionally, I bought these both through Sephora who didn't have as many shade options for the concealer as they did for the foundation. As a result, I got the foundation in 10CP (10 cool pink) and the concealer in 10NN (10 neutral neutral). Fortunately, both shades are a pretty close match to my pale skin. The foundation is ever so slighlty too dark, but it is the closest to my skin tone that a foundation has ever been. The concealer is also relatively close to my skin tone and, while I was concerned it being neutral would mean it would be too yellow for me, it seems to suit my pink undertones quite well. 

While the shade matches of both products are great, I am not overly enamoured with their ability to fulfil the claims made by Urban Decay. Urban Decay describes the Stay Naked foundation as a "long wear liquid foundation with buildable medium coverage and a real-skin matte finish that lasts up to 24 hours". While a medium coverage is attainable if you have the patience to apply enough layers, the first application of the foundation offers a light coverage. While the foundation isn't able to cover the redness around my nose, it does a great job at evening out my skin tone. I don't have any hyperpigmentation or many blemishes though so the foundation doesn't have too tough a job. 

While Urban Decay fulfils the promise of the foundation giving a buildable medium coverage, it does not deliver on being long lasting or matte. I have combination skin and apply a sunscreen prior to the Stay Naked foundation and I'm definitely not left with a matte finish. Additionally, if the foundation is not set with both powder and setting spray, there will barely be any left on my face by the end of the day.  It does also cling to dry patches although this isn't nearly as bad as other foundations I've tried (I'm looking at you Fenty Pro Filt'r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation). I'm sure this all sounds like I don't like the foundation, but, surprisingly, I do. I much prefer a lighter coverage and it's the only foundation I've used that hasn't immediately sweated off my face while I've been on holiday (after setting with powder and setting spray otherwise it would've disappeared as soon as I stepped off of the plane). 

Although I like the foundation, I can't say the same for the concealer. Urban Decay claim the Stay Naked concealer has a customisable coverage level and won't crease, cake, or settle into fine lines. If it has a customisable coverage level, I don't know anything about it because one layer creases, cakes, and settles into fine lines. I only use concealer on my undereyes as they are quite dark and this concealer not only does absolutely nothing for my panda eyes, but it goes cakey and settles into my undereye lines. The settling into the lines happens soon after application. While I don't expect a concealer to completely cover my undereye circles, I had hoped the Stay Naked concealer would do a bit more than nothing. 

Overall, I would recommend the Stay Naked foundation if you are looking for a light to medium coverage foundation and don't have overly dry or oily skin. I would, however, not recommend the foundation if you want something long lasting and prefer full coverage. As for the concealer? Stay well clear. 

Urban Decay Stay Naked Foundation and Concealer Review

Saturday 12 August 2023

Artist Textiles Exhibition: Picasso to Warhol

Over the last few months, very few art exhibitions have caught my eye. As my taste in art twists into something completely unrecognisable from just a few years ago, I’m finding myself increasingly frustrated with the exhibitions that make it to Scotland. While I always appreciate talent when I see it, I long for something with significantly more substance than another gallery wall covered in large polka dots. When I find myself jaded with the selection of art on offer, I pay a visit to Salvador Dali’s Christ of Saint John of the Cross and marvel at the level of talent and patience required to create such an extraordinary painting. 

After all these years of staring at Christ of Saint John of the Cross, I’ve been oblivious to the fact Salvador Dali became a household name after creating textiles for New York based Wesley Simpson Custom Fabrics. I’ve only ever known him as a painter but the Artist Textiles exhibition at the New Lanark Visitor Centre introduced me to a whole new world of his creations.

While the New Lanark World Heritage Site is home to recreations of millworkers’ homes from the 18th century, historical functioning machinery and incredible views of the River Clyde, it also features a wide variety of exhibitions all year round. Until April 29th, New Lanark is playing host to over 200 rare pieces from the likes of the aforementioned Salvador Dali, pop art pioneer Andy Warhol, Cubism co-founder Pablo Picasso and Fauvism frontrunner Henri Matisse. Despite my taste in art gravitating more towards politically inspired pieces, I will always welcome the chance to gaze upon the works of the masters. 

As soon as you walk into the building containing the Artist Textiles exhibition, you’re met with a flood of colour courtesy of designs by artists such as Sonia Delaunay, Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore and Alexander Calder. Printed material decorate the walls while mannequins model dresses, skirts and a rather fetching Pablo Picasso waterproof jacket that wouldn’t be out of place in the muddy fields of a music festival. The exhibition is perfectly laid out which allows you to view each piece without the intrusion of the bright and often busy work of art next to it. The designs are all accompanied by a few sentences about the history and creation of the work but chances are, you won’t be able to drag your eyes away from any of the displays to actually read the words. 

While the exhibition is fairly small, my other half and I spent two hours fully immersing ourselves in each piece. We often found ourselves wandering around displays a few times before moving on to the next part to ensure we had really taken it all in. It was the Pablo Picasso display that continued to capture my other half’s attention; he’s always been a huge fan of Picasso's art but has never been blessed with the privilege of standing in front of original pieces. Picasso’s work features prominently throughout the entire exhibition. His monochromatic design adorns a jumpsuit placed in front of two of his prints from the 1960s; one bold and colourful, one understated and geometric.

It’s not difficult to pick out the rest of Picasso’s designs once you’ve familiarised yourself with just one of his creative explosions. The entire section dedicated to him follows a natural progression from designs that wouldn’t look out of place in a primary school classroom to more sophisticated yet simple drawings of bullfighters and art inspired by Picasso’s second wife, Jacqueline Roque. 

While my other half was engrossed in the large Picasso section, it was the Andy Warhol designs that drew me in. Admittedly, I’ve never been a huge fan of Warhol’s work. My first real introduction to his art was through studying art at college. Thanks to computer software, changing photos into a typical Andy Warhol style before tracing and painting them was just a little too easy for my class and was often encouraged by our lecturers. This gave me the impression that Warhol’s work, and the entire pop art movement, was based on simplistic, straightforward lines and colour but, when you really break things down and eliminate the technology we have today, things are not as basic as my younger mind would have had me believe. The Warhol designs featured in the Artist Textiles exhibition proves how wrong I was. 

The Warhol prints on display are predominately brightly coloured and, dare I say, childlike. When I initially noticed the clothing behind the glass window, I assumed they were multi-coloured patterns made up of triangles, it wasn’t until I got closer that I realised that they were in fact, beautifully bold ice cream cones and lollipops that made me crave artificially flavoured food from my childhood. While the vast majority of the pieces in the exhibition feature an abundance of colour, Warhol tops them. Each design is instantly recognisable as the work of Warhol and has given me a whole new appreciation for not only his talent but the movement he played a huge role in.

While I came to the Artist Textiles exhibition expecting to pay a significant amount of attention to the Salvador Dali designs and learn more about a man I admire, I ended up walking away with a new found love of a style I once resented. Salvador Dali’s attention-grabbing silk scarf designs received my praise and admiration but it was Warhol who provided me with a new perspective. There are many highlights throughout the exhibition but ultimately, it was the bright colours and obscure patterns that won me over. 

Disclaimer: This post is in collaboration with the New Lanark Visitor Centre. I was provided with free admission in exchange for a review.

Artist Textiles Exhibition: Picasso to Warhol

Thursday 15 March 2018

Exercising with Teddy

I thoroughly enjoy wearing a fitness tracker. A lot of my hobbies tend to revolve around sitting down so having a fitness tracker means I am regularly reminded to move every hour. Additionally, as I am constantly tracking my movement, I can see whether I've improved on the previous week's steps or if I'm slacking. My favourite kind of competition is one that involves beating my past self so having the means to compare this week's exercise to last week's is a great motivation. While exercising regularly and refraining from spending all day sitting is hopefully improving my health, it also has a positive impact on my dog, Teddy. 

If you’re not familiar with my black Labrador-Retriever cross then I’d like to introduce you to Teddy; my 3-year-old former Guide Dog puppy that my partner and I adopted last year. He is the sweetest, friendliest, wiggliest dog I’ve ever met and I protect and spoil him at all times like he is my child. Other than biscuits, he doesn’t want much and is happy so long as you let him cuddle into you. He also occasionally sits on me which wasn't an issue when he was a puppy, but now he weighs 34kg so it gets uncomfortable very quickly.  He’s too cute to turf off though so I just have to sit there with numb legs until he eventually decides to move.

The problem with Teddy being so content with very little is I fear he’s not getting enough exercise. He thoroughly enjoys walking the same routes and they’re not always lengthy walks. I can see how much exercise I’m getting thanks to my fitness tracker but that doesn’t mean a whole lot for Teddy as he’s not always by my side. Fortunately, Teddy now has a PitPat: a fitness tracker for dogs that securely attaches to their collar and monitors how much walking, running, playing and resting a dog does each day. You just have to sync it to a free app via Bluetooth and you get to see your dog’s daily stats and whether they’ve met their daily target.

After inputting Teddy’s information into the app, his target exercise goal came out at 80 minutes which doesn’t seem like enough for Teddy but it’s completely doable. For the most part, he gets at least 80 minutes of walking a day and further playing time with our other puppy so he’s a very active dog. He isn’t one for chasing things and was never allowed a ball until he was withdrawn from training so, if you try to play with him, he looks at you in utter confusion and makes you fetch whatever it is you just threw for him. I swear the majority of my steps are a result of me throwing a ball and then running after it myself.

Teddy does have his mad moments though which typically happen in a forest I run with him in and when it’s snowing. He has a habit of running at top speed all over the place before stopping and staring at me with a look on his face that never fails to make me laugh before running around again. He doesn’t go far but if there’s water, you can guarantee he’s going to end up in it and I’ll have forgotten a towel.

Before Teddy wiggled his way into my life, I would very much avoid exercising beyond walking to the fridge and back. I understood the importance of exercise, but walking from my house to the end of town just to come back again seemed rather dull. Having Teddy with me makes that walk a little bit more exciting (and challenging when he decides he wants to go one way but I want to go the other way) and it makes running so much more fun. I actually enjoy being outside now which amuses me greatly since I was the kid who would build a fort in their bedroom and sit in there for days on end reading book after book. I’m actually not alone in preferring to be outside and exercising more thanks to my dog, it’s quite a common occurrence for dog owners.

I’m so happy I decided to adopt Teddy when he was withdrawn from training. I can’t imagine my life without that weird little dog taking up all the room on the couch, getting his head stuck in the laundry basket and staring at me with his big brown eyes until I give in and feed him copious amounts of biscuits. He’s a happy dog who is probably currently hatching a plan to break into the room I keep his food in and eat it all again. He would’ve gotten away with it if he hadn’t burped.

Disclaimer: This post is in collaboration with More Than. The PitPat was sent to me (and Teddy) for review. All opinions are my own.

Exercising with Teddy

Friday 22 December 2017

Winter Night-In Essentials

I admit it, I hate winter. I hate the cold weather, I hate how the damp air makes my hair frizzy, I hate having to defrost my car in the morning, I hate the awkward steps I have to take when I know there’s ice lurking somewhere on the pavement and I hate the fact daylight only exists until 4 pm. The only real positive to winter is it allows a homebody like me to stay indoors without feeling guilty but I need a few things to be totally comfortable and avoid cabin fever. My winter nights revolve around a couple of things so here they are!

Binging on TV Shows:

If you had told me 10 years ago that I would happily spend time watching TV on a tiny tablet or phone screen I would’ve taken one look at my then giant TV and laughed at you. It’s true though, I have taken to binging on extremely obscure documentaries (who doesn’t love a documentary on French sculptors though?) on screens smaller than a ruler thanks to Netflix and Amazon Video. More often or not, I’m too lazy to hook my tablet up to my TV (or my dog is lying on me and looks too comfy to disturb) and tablets are handy. I can’t stand the horrendous tinny sound that phones and tablets produce though so I make the effort to sync it via a Panasonic Waterproof Bluetooth speaker; I may be too lazy to move but I still have standards when it comes to sound.

This is the part where I should probably recommend some TV shows but I’m still stuck in an endless loop of Friends reruns and early episodes of Modern Family so I’ll refrain from doing that. On the other-hand, I know some great documentaries so I urge you to check out Final Portrait, Betting on Zero, Disposable Hero, The Crash Reel and The First Monday in May.

Comfort Food:

Put a bag of crisps in front of me and I will demolish them before you’ve even finished offering me one but I’m trying to eat healthier (she says while munching on a bag of crisps) so I’ve changed my description of comfort food. I try to stick to warm, filling vegetarian meals that are quick to make and oh so delicious. Shepherd’s pie with sweet potato and empanadas made with meat-free mince always go down a treat but my absolute favourite meal for exceptionally cold nights is a spicy root and potato casserole. I also won’t say no to a kidney bean burger made by my other half and if you throw a sweet potato and lentil adaption of sloppy joes my way, I’ll love you forever.

Books:

I’ve officially lost count of how many books are on my to be read list but winter is the perfect time to get through them all. As the days are shorter and my opportunities to paint are dwindling, curling up with a good book in a cosy corner of the room is too appealing to pass up. I’m still slowly plodding my way through Stephen King’s IT but, once I’ve finished that, I have plans to dive straight into either John Ajvide Lindqvist’s Let The Right One In or Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. I’m also tempted into rereading The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead as I believe there are a few details I may have missed the first time around.

Drawing:

While the lack of daylight may be hindering my painting, I love using electric light to work on my actual drawing ability. Being able to work on drawings where I don’t have to worry about guidelines for where to put colour or even ruining the line drawing by adding paint is liberating. I’m horrendous when it comes to perspective so my refusal to paint with artificial light means I get to work on that. This does mean I have quite a few unfinished drawings lying around but at least I can see a minor improvement across the board.

Being a comfy, lazy human who is full of nice food and has a couple of pencils nearby helps me get through winter. If I could hibernate until spring I would but apparently, there’s this thing called adulting that I have to be a part of so hibernation isn’t possible. I’m hoping the world will keep churning out documentaries and I’ll keep finding nice, hearty meals to consume otherwise winter and I will never get along.

What are your essentials for a cosy winter night in?

Disclaimer: This post is in collaboration with Panasonic.

Winter Night-In Essentials

Friday 17 November 2017

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead Review

TW: Racism
Contains Spoilers.

In 2017, we live in a world where white supremacy is not only very much alive but making itself known in a very public manner. We all saw the images and footage of neo-Nazis marching along Charlottesville, we heard about Heather Heyer who lost her life protesting against hatred and just yesterday you may have seen footage of white men screaming “white lives matter” in Tennessee. We’ve watched the President of the United States refuse to condemn white supremacists, we’ve watched him attack black NFL players again and again and we’re all too aware of the fact his supporters are very much the ones spewing the racist venom.

I can voice my disgust and hatred towards the acts of these pathetic excuses for human beings but my disgust is purely superficial in comparison to the anger and fear any person of colour will experience in their day to day life. I can’t relate because I’m white and sit firmly in my privilege; the only thing I can do is educate myself on past racism and the current racial climate and I chose to begin that educational journey with *The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead.

The Underground Railroad tells the tale of Cora, a motherless slave girl who escapes a Georgia cotton plantation and her owners with her friend and fellow slave Caesar. Their escape begins with them fighting their way through a swamp when they discover fellow slave Lovey has followed them. Cora, Caesar, and Lovey continue through the swamp in hopes of reaching the first station of the Underground Railroad. Lovey’s story ends abruptly after all 3 slaves are cornered; Lovey is captured but Cora and Caesar make it out alive and it’s at this point where we’re introduced to the Underground Railroad and the people willing to help slaves escape.

Throughout the story, Colson Whitehead uses the Underground Railroad as a fully operational legitimate railway. I think some people will argue that this was to make things convenient and speed up Cora’s and Caesar’s escape but I personally loved this added touch. Up until recently, I believed the Underground Railroad was, in fact, an actual railroad with old-fashioned passenger trains so seeing my silly idea being used as a premise for a book amused me while simultaneously making me cringe at my own ignorance.

Their first stop of the Underground Railroad is South Carolina; a state that presents itself as progressive and willing to help integrate former slaves into society. Cora is given a job, a place to stay and an education. She lives a fairly happy life but the worry of a slave catcher named Ridgeway being hot on her tail is always at the back of her mind. While everything seems great on the surface it becomes apparent that South Carolina’s progressive nature isn’t as it seems.

The white people of South Carolina are conducting forced sterilization on the black people they’re pretending to help and are also carrying out inhumane things such as the Tuskegee experiment. While The Underground Railroad is set in the 1800s, Colson Whitehead uses a broad timeline to tell the story. The Tuskegee experiments, for example, happened between 1932 and 1972 but Whitehead has manipulated the dates to make the story more horrifying than it already is. Admittedly, I found the story became disjointed in places as a result of the mismatched timeframe but it does make for a good starting point if you’re looking to do further research into past racism.

There is a distinct lack of description of the brutality slaves experienced on a daily basis at both the hands of their slave owners and after they’ve escaped if they ever manage to do so. There is enough to make your mind wander and explore what else could have possibly happened to all of these people but I personally don’t believe the human mind can truly comprehend these atrocities without a little guidance. I wanted The Underground Railroad to make me uncomfortable and it didn’t quite manage it. I know enough about slavery and historical racism to put the pieces together myself but I feel like Colson Whitehead missed an opportunity to really drive home the horrendous nature of white people.

One of the few descriptions of brutality comes in North Carolina. After Cora escapes the illusion of South Carolina, she finds herself in a state that has begun the process of eliminating black people. The road from the North Carolina Underground Railroad station is lined with rows of black people hanging by their necks, there is a lynching in the park every week which draws in huge crowds of white people looking for cheap entertainment and raids on houses are carried out on a regular basis as the locals search for abolitionists and Underground Railroad operators harbouring escaped slaves. If there is ever a point where you really hope Cora escapes, it’s during her stay in North Carolina. You fear that the fate instilled upon the unfortunate people who are caught will be placed upon her but instead, Cora meets a different kind of fate. The slave catcher named Ridgeway finally gets a hold of her.

As Ridgeway takes Cora back to her slave owner in Georgia, another part of history is intertwined in the form of yellow fever that gripped Tennessee in the second half of the 1800s. You plead for yellow fever to strike down Cora’s captors or for her to somehow find a chance to escape but it never happens, she’s chained up and forced to listen to Ridgeway as he slowly takes her back to meet her death. It’s at this point where we discover what happened to Caesar. He has of course been tortured and killed in a disturbing fashion but that wasn’t what caught my attention. I had completely forgotten Caesar was even in the story at all as he is an extremely underdeveloped character. His only real contribution to The Underground Railroad is that he gets the ball rolling on Cora’s escape but even then, Cora could have muddled her way through that without him.

Cora eventually escapes Ridgeway and then escapes Ridgeway again. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find her multiple escapes from him to be convenient. There are points where I just don’t believe the things Cora is capable of as she is presented as an uneducated 15-year-old girl naïve to the world outside of her own plantation. She seems to have an inordinate amount of strength both physically and mentally and I personally just don’t buy it. It makes her a true heroine but it doesn’t feel like an entirely accurate depiction of a girl who, up until Caesar’s suggestion to escape, never ventured beyond the borders of the plantation she was forced to work and live on.

There is also the additional issue of Cora’s mother Mabel. She is often referenced throughout the story as Cora tries to come to terms with her abandonment. Mabel is presented as a woman so desperate to escape the plantation that she leaves her daughter behind and runs into the swamp. You believe Mabel escaped and is living somewhere in the north or made it to Canada but in reality, Mabel never made it beyond the swamp. She got a few miles away from the plantation in the dark before having a change of heart and went to make her way back but was bitten by a snake and died. Mabel was so focused on through The Underground Railroad that the truth of her demise seemed rushed and forced. I believe that her escape should have ended with her coming across a variation of the Great Dismal Swamp as this would have set up another good point for further research and would provide the reader with a glimmer of hope for any future runaways.

You’re probably thinking while reading this review that I didn’t enjoy The Underground Railroad and in a small way, you would be correct. There are a few things I would change about this book but that doesn’t take away from the fact I think it’s a brilliant piece of literature and something worth reading. There are very few people who can tackle a subject matter like slavery, intertwine it with other historical events from different periods and make a captivating and worthwhile story out of it but Colson Whitehead managed just that. I do believe there would be more emotion and urgency to the entire story if it was written in Cora’s voice but there is also a chance I am looking for a way to relate to her as a character when in reality, I can’t.

Admittedly, I think it would be an ignorant move on my part to present The Underground Railroad as an entertaining way to pass a couple of hours. This isn't entertainment, this is a fairly accurate insight into a life that should never have happened and I would urge anyone, whether you have an understanding of racism or are adamant racism doesn't exist, to read The Underground Railroad. It's not without its flaws but it's a flawed book worth reading.

Disclaimer: Anything marked with an asterisk (*) is an affiliate link.

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead Review

Sunday 29 October 2017

What's On My Desk?

First things first, the title of this post is a lie. I could show you what’s on my desk but I don’t think you want to see a pile of clean clothes that I somehow could be bothered washing and ironing but can’t be bothered putting away. You probably don’t want to see the random notes I leave for myself that are usually not much more than doodles of pizza and cartoon faces either. So, instead of the mundane items that lie upon a desk, I’d thought I’d show you the more interesting things that are scattered all over the area I tend to do my best work; the entertainment unit that I hunch over every day.

I have plenty of surfaces and plenty of chairs in my house so I can’t explain why I choose to sit on the floor and destroy my posture by leaning over an entertainment unit other than it’s surrounded by a constant source of inspiration. Above the unit is a painting of Stirling Castle but Jan Nelson, to the right of Jan Nelson’s work is a painting by Roderick Gauld and further along is a poster of Stephen King’s IT. Next to the unit is a steadily growing pile of books; some of which are illustrative fashion books, others are full of drawing techniques and the rest are fictional. Of course, there is a TV on this entertainment stand which will remain off while I’m chilling on the floor.

On the actual unit is a whole bunch of art supplies. This is where I tend to work on new paintings and drawings and doodles that aren’t pizza or cartoon characters. I’m gravitating more towards watercolour recently so there are a few palettes scattered everywhere and a couple of tiny paintbrushes. I also have a fondness for ink so I have multiple bottles of various colours lying around. A plethora of pencils - both graphite and watercolour - decorate the unit as well as a few pens for outlining. The dreaded smelly masking fluid lies near the ink so I can block off areas that need to stay clear of colour. There are tubes of gouache which admittedly, I keep eyeing up and then going straight back to the watercolour palettes. There are also half eaten packs of Polos everywhere as I discovered in high school that the mint with the hole in the middle helps me stay focused.

You’re probably thinking one of these things is not like the others and you would be right although I have tried to erase lines with Polos on numerous occasions. I keep Polos everywhere; they’re in my pocket, my car, my bag, the side of my bed etc because, although I thoroughly enjoy having minty fresh breath, they’re a “normal” thing for me. If I’m going into a situation that’s completely out of my comfort zone, I pop a Polo in and it gives me something else to focus on while my legs carry me to said scary situation. Polos have gotten me through countless exams, job interviews, driving tests and awkward human interactions. I always have them to hand while drawing and painting as they somehow focus my mind which means I’m less likely to make stupid irreversible mistakes. Having the new sharing pot of Polos to hand is an absolute dream although I am worried I’m going to try and wash my brush in the Polo pot.

While hunching over the entertainment unit is probably going to ruin my back over time, it’s the only place where I seem to be motivated and creative. I don’t know if it’s to do with my surroundings or if it’s just because I really can’t be bothered putting those clean clothes away but for now, I love having art supplies scattered all over a unit that sits in the room I spend most of my time in.

Disclaimer: This post is in collaboration with Polo.

What's On My Desk?

Thursday 26 October 2017