Current Preoccupations

I have a pretty addictive personality. This can be good - I usually throw myself into things and get very enthusiastic about them. It can also be bad - everything in moderation, etc. Here is a choice selection of what's been preoccupying me over the last week!

SONG: "Don't Unplug Me", by ALL CAPS. This came out in 2010 but I've recently rediscovered it, and am obsessed. Previous obsessions (according to last.fm, which I only signed up to last January sadly - think of all that music being listened to unrecorded, so to speak) are "Pop the Glock" by Uffie, and "Beat Control" by Tilly and the Wall.

ALBUM: Still Foe's Bad Dream Hotline. Brilliant stuff - every track is worth a listen (or five - I actually had to buy the CD, thanks to Spotify's incredibly irritating five-plays-and-you're-out rule. I miss the old days).

BOOK: M.R. James's ghost stories (available cheaply from Amazon). I never read actual horror fiction (i.e. anything gory), since it just doesn't appeal to me, but these are chilling little gems: mannered, yes, but brilliantly effective.

FOOD: Salted chocolate (specifically the Lindt kind). I've also been making occasional batches of plain vanilla biscuits (courtesy of Nigella Lawson's must-own The Domestic Goddess). Also jelly - the kind where you snip up the cubes with scissors and make it yourself, obv. Nostalgia in a wibbly-wobbly spoonful. Strawberry or raspberry are the best flavours. And jelly should not have bits of fruit in it, since that just ruins its bizarre translucent glory. (Only possible exception: really good trifle on a summer's day.)

Not my jelly

YOUTUBER: Kathy from JustKissMyFrog. (It was actually her February Outfits video that reminded me of the addictive ALL CAPS song mentioned above, which makes her awesome already.) If you aren't already subscribed to her, I highly suggest you do so now! I absolutely love the eclectic (had to use that word) mix of videos she makes, which are hilarious, personal and insightful, usually all at the same time.

WEARING: Grey everything - jumpers, skirts, cardigans. My style at the moment is basically school uniform chic (and the "chic" part is questionable). From the ages of 11 to 16 I wore a black watch tartan kilt to school every day, and I now own three kilts in different tartans which I've found in charity shops and shortened to above the knee, to be worn with red or black roll neck jumpers. (Red is pretty much the only colour I wear at the moment.)

Dream jumpers

NAILS: Nothing! This is pretty revolutionary for me, since I wore nail varnish pretty much constantly since I left school (where we weren't allowed to wear it). I felt my nails deserved a bit of a break, since they weren't in great shape, so I haven't had nail varnish on since New Year. The downside of this is that my huge nail varnish collection (featuring Barry M and Models Own heavily) is sitting unused at the bottom of my wardrobe!

So, there you have a sprinkling of the things I'm enjoying at the moment. No makeup! I will be starting a hot or not, up or down style feature, which will be about makeup (of course), when I next take a break from the world's dullest coursework essay.

Till next time,

Josephine x

PS. Random photos are from weheartit.com.

Twenty Questions

So, while taking a break from the endless revision/coursework treadmill, I thought I'd do this personal questions tag which has been floating around Youtube/blogs for a while.

1. Things you cannot leave the house without?
Aside from the obvious (keys/phone/wallet) - lip balm (Lanolips!), hairbrush, a good book (you never know when you'll get stuck somewhere waiting for a train, and pretend texting can only get you so far!).

2. Favourite brand of makeup?
My collection probably features MAC most heavily - I also have a new-found love for NARS (see previous post!). On the high street, I like Revlon for lip products, Topshop for their cream blushes and kohl pencils, and Barry M/Models Own for nail varnish.




Yeah, I own too many of these.

3. Favourite flower?
In spring you can't go wrong with a good daffodil. Also lily of the valley, bluebells, honeysuckle, roses. Generally, if it doesn't smell nice, I'm not interested.




Hipster daffodils

4. Favourite clothing store?
Without a doubt, TK Maxx. I now resent paying full price in normal shops! I also go through phases of charity/vintage shopping. I don't remember the last time I bought clothes from regular high street shops!

5. Favourite perfume?
Thierry Mugler Angel or Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb. I also wear Stella McCartney Stella a lot.

6. Heels or flats?
In the daytime, always flat boots; in the evenings, always heels.

7. Do you make good grades?
I'm currently in my fifth year of higher education. I heart learning (but I can't wait to start my real job next September and stop being a student!).




We can only hope so.

8. Favourite colours?
Black, white, red, grey. These are pretty much the only colours I ever wear. I also love purple.

9. Do you drink energy drinks?
When I was at university I drank quite a lot of Red Bull (the sugar-free kind), both with vodka and in the library late at night. Not good. I have to admit I also drank Blue Bolt, the Sainbury's budget version, in a pinch, and that stuff is pretty noxious.




The view in the library

10. Do you drink juice?
Not really, but if I'm cooking a proper fry-up for breakfast (usually when hungover), I'll have orange juice. Has to be bitty, or there's no point! (Similar to my theory on peanut butter - go crunchy or go home.)

11. Do you like swimming?
When I was younger I used to swim a lot, but now I only ever swim on holiday. And I love swimming in the sea, even the freezing British sea!

12. Do you eat chips with a fork?
Since I only ever eat chips when I've had a few drinks - no.





Cue photo of chips, with ketchup. I also like mayonnaise more than I should.

13. Favourite moisturiser?
Anything with SPF in it. Usually the Alpha-H SPF 50 one.

14. Do you want to get married later on in life?
In theory, yes.

15. Do you get mad easily?
Not really, I'm quite easy-going in that respect.

16. Are you into ghost hunting?
Bizarre question - no. Is anyone?

17. Any phobias?
Don't think so (how boring!).

18. Do you bite your nails?
No. I do bite the skin round them when I'm stressed, which is really not a good habit!

19. Have you ever had a near death experience?
Thankfully, no.

20. Do you drink coffee?
Is the Pope Catholic?? (Yes, a thousand times yes. Coffee is the lifeblood of the student. But never, ever Starbucks.)



This is actually tea. I like tea too.

And finally, a random photo of Dennis doing his thing, having a nap on Ford Madox Ford:

Till next time,

Josephine x

PS. Random pictures are from weheartit.com.

First Ever Post

So, after quite a while following many lovely beauty bloggers and Youtubers, I decided to give it a go myself. Not sure I'll be contributing anything very original, but since I have a shameful amount of makeup (in which I have yet to lose interest - probably a good thing?) I felt it was time to take the plunge and start posting. Will my point-and-shoot camera be up to the job? Only time will tell!

 I'm Josephine, 22 years old, living near London, and a student by occupation - I finished my second degree in English literature in July, and became a law student in October. I'm eagerly anticipating/dreading the date in 2013 when I finally start A Real Job as a City solicitor. In the mean time, my cosy student bubble leaves a lot of time (too much, some might say) for buying/wearing/rambling about beauty-related things.

Here's a random get-to-know-me tag I found somewhere on Google. Because I'm supposed to be reading about vicarious liability, and I don't want to.

1. Are you named after anyone? My middle names are my grandmothers' names, so yes.

2. When was the last time you cried? Ages ago. Stiff upper lip and other British cliches galore.

3. Do you have kids? Pets, yes. Kids, no.

4. If you were another person, would you be a friend of yourself? It really depends. Who is this other person? Could I exist in two places at once? Cue spiralling existential crisis.

5. Do you use sarcasm a lot? I would say yes, but it wouldn't be sarcastic enough.

6. Will you ever bungee-jump? No. I am hideously cautious and hate adrenalin. Did you see that clip of the girl's bungee cord breaking? I rest my case.

7. What's your favorite cereal? I'm more of a porridge girl. Oh the glamour. Alternatively, Marmite on toast.

8. What's the first thing you notice about people? Whether they smile or not. People who don't smile scare me.

9. What is your eye colour? Blue/grey/undecided.

10. Scary movie or happy endings? Happy endings. I have an overactive imagination and hate scary/gory films as a rule.

11. Favorite smells? Coffee. Talcum powder. Rain. Lilies of the valley. Vanilla.

12. Summer or winter? Winter. I am sadly not designed for summer, much as I'd like to be - I hate being hot and sticky, and I'm luminously pale. Give me woolly things and frost any day.

13. Computer or television? Computer, because you can watch TV on it. Bargain. (Well, if I ever get round to buying a MacBook Air it won't be such a bargain, but you catch my drift.)

14. What's the furthest you've ever been from home? The US, Barbados. Nowhere incredibly exotic (yet).

15. Do you have any special talents? Not of the party-trick kind, no. Must work on that.

16. Where were you born? London.

17. What are your hobbies? Reading, drinking tea/coffee, watching films, going to the pub, reading the Sunday papers cover to cover, cooking, walking my dog, talking too much, blowing my money on makeup, and t'internet I suppose.

18. Do you have any pets? A cat and a dog. I am suspicious of anyone who doesn't like pets.

19. Favorite movie? Let's go with an embarrassing one: Robin Hood Prince of Thieves. What do you mean Robin wasn't American? (And presumably didn't have a mullet either...Less said about that the better.)

20. Do you have any siblings? One younger brother.

21. What do you want to be when you grow up? A real person. A girl can dream.

And finally, a shocking confession (at least, shocking for someone who owns as many lipsticks as I do): I wasn't wearing any lipstick at all today, until I gratuitously slapped on MAC Syrup whilst typing this post. Oh the shame.

Till next time,

Josephine x

Follow this blog with Bloglovin'