WHITWORTH ART GALLERY: On a Rainy Afternoon in Manchester

 

   

For the first time since its reopening, I had a good look around Whitworth Art Gallery. I have to say, it really is an impressive space, and that's coming from a very naughty art student who generally doesn't enjoy going to galleries. This newly refurbished building feels fresh, cool, modern and welcoming, and I particularly enjoy the way they display their impressive collections of drawings and watercolour paintings. If you love Turner, then this is a great gallery for you.

Cornelia Parker's solo show is the first to be exhibited in the new space. A smart move I think: the perfect work to really show off a space. It's big, open, airy and steeped in natural light thanks to the windows overlooking the park everywhere you look. The cafe is also completely made of glass, and juts out from the gallery like a swanky pier. I didn't understand the queue until I caught a glimpse of it thought yet another floor-to-ceiling window. It really is impressive and a rather delectable place to enjoy a coffee I have no doubt.

Let's not forget the gift shop: oh holy mother of gift shops, it is a goody.

http://www.whitworth.manchester.ac.uk/

- REVIEW - Urban Decay Naked Skin: Weightless Ultra Definition Liquid Make-up

"It feels like wearing nothing at all, yet Naked Skin transforms complexions. Skin looks natural, illuminated and bright: like the beautiful skin you were born with. Weightless and virtually invisible, this revolutionary, paraben-free formula creates a flawless, demi-matte finish; light diffusing spheres make you look professionally retouched. It's the ultimate in ultra definition.

Infused with Matryxil 3000 (a powerful anti-wrinkle peptide), protective and brightening Litchiderm, antioxidant green tea, and vitamins, this makeup loads skin with nourishing ingredients."

Since my commitment to only purchasing cosmetics from cruelty-free brands, I've found it really difficult finding a 'drugstore' foundation that really cuts it for me. I wanted something lightweight, natural-looking but still with a decent amount of coverage. I tried so many different drugstore brands that by the end, I'd probably spent more than if I'd simply tried a foundation by a higher-end brand.

So that's when it happened. That is when I spent £28, the most I have ever spent on a cosmetics product ever in my life, on a foundation. I do not enjoy spending that amount of money and I know it is not the kind of money most people, myself included, have lying around. I do also realize, however, that while Urban Decay falls under the category of 'luxury brands', it is one of the more affordable foundations that you're going to find in that market.

But here is why I wanted to review this product and devote a whole blog post to it: I love it and do not regret a single penny I spent on it. If there is one thing I've learnt from this whole experience of trying out new foundations, looking at formulas and swatching countless ill-fitting tones on the back of my hand, is that sometimes, it really is worth spending a bit more to get something that is actually going to work for you and do what it says on the bottle.

And so, let me begin with the basics: finding a colour that matches your skin tone. This foundation has a really helpful scale to determine what colour and best suits you. If the number of the colour ends in a .5, it is a cool, pink-toned foundation. If it ends in a .0, it is a warm, yellow-toned foundation. The number that comes before it dictates how light or dark the shade is going to be: the higher the number, the darker the colour. Before forking out a load of your hard-earned cash, you're going to want to make sure that this is the perfect colour for you, and so it is definitely worth going into an Urban Decay store (in selected Debenhams and Selfridges stores etc) and trying the foundation out for yourself. I'm sure it's dependent on availability, but when I went inquiring about the foundation, they offered to put a little bit around my jaw line to see how it matched. At this time I wasn't sure whether I was was warm or cool toned, I just knew that I was hella fair, so she placed the 0.5 (cool) on one side of my jaw and 1.0 (warm) on the other, and instantly she was able to identify me as a cool tone. It was perfect! I had found the perfect colour and shade to match my skin.

As indicated in the name, this foundation is very runny. Because of this I was a bit dubious at first as to how well I was going to be able to apply it to my face, but with a bit of trial and error and working out which brushes worked best in producing the look I wanted, applying the make-up is a doddle: usually, I use the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush to apply the foundation to my face and did so using circular motions. If I want slightly more coverage, I use the So Eco Foundation Brush.
The foundation blends like a dream: you can see the look of your skin improving with every little circle of the brush. It doesn't dry out for quite a while so you can build up a bit more coverage or apply concealer on top without it turning cakey or pulling the underneath layer of foundation off. It has a demi-matte finish: I've always been a little bit obsessed with completely matte skin so usually cover my face in powder, but this is the first foundation I've used where I've wanted to leave as it is because the effect is dewy without looking...well for lack of a better word...sweaty. It really does give you that healthy glow everyone talks about, and I would say that it lasts as long as any foundation.

The only issue I have with this beaut of a product is that I'm not so sure how it would fare on dry skin: I find that if I don't moisturise heavily before applying it and my skin is a little drier than usual, it can cling to some areas and is no longer 'virtually invisible'. This is something that can be combated though, so do not fear! I suggest properly prepping and priming your face before application to get the best and longest wear out of this beautiful foundation.

So there we have it! Georgie tried her very first 'luxury' foundation - I'm moving up in the world!

Let me know in the comments below what your favourite cruelty-free foundation is or if there's one that you want me to review!

Tra for now!

G xo

CRUELTY-FREE?! COSMETICS?!

Hello everybody!

Today I'm going to attempt to summarize some of the research I've been doing into cruelty-free cosmetics. If you are new to the cruelty-free club then be prepared for a few difficult truths to swallow as I'm sorry to say that you will probably feel betrayed by some of your most beloved brands, and if you are not new to this, then I'm sure you are as sick as I am of the complete and utter mine-field that is the world of research into cosmetics companies that do and do not test their products on animals.

Now before I go any further, it is important that I clear a few things up:

Firstly, a cosmetics company stating on their website that they do not test on animals means nothing. The company may employ third-parties or other companies to test their ingredients or products on animals, meaning they are still allowed to say that they are cruelty-free because they technically aren't the ones doing the testing. Technicalities aside, however, they are: the products you buy have been tested on animals and the money you use to buy those products will subsidize animal testing. That alone should be enough for you to not consider a brand cruelty-free.

Secondly, cosmetics companies are required by Chinese law to have their products tested on animals before they can be sold in China. There are other countries that also adopt this law but the mega-market of China makes it tantalizingly tempting to big-time money-making cosmetics-giants. Many companies drop their cruelty-free status to get a slice of this this lucrative market and in short, are more concerned about the money in their pockets than innocent animals. That doesn't sound very cruelty-free to me.

Now here's where things get just that little bit more confusing: thirdly, some companies are owned by giant cosmetics conglomerates, known as parent companies, that do conduct animal testing. I don't think there is a right or wrong answer when it comes to buying from these companies and it's a very grey area for me. Put it this way: do we take a point of having nothing to do with either of the companies, regardless of whether the 'child' company is cruelty-free, OR do we support the cruelty-free companies owned by the cosmetics conglomerates as another way of making a point? For example, The Body Shop, known as a serious advocate for cruelty-free beauty, is owned by L'Oreal, a company definitely not for the cruelty-free list. The decision is up to you.

You can find below two lists: one compiled of companies that I have found to be cruelty-free and another of companies that I do not consider to be cruelty-free. This is not a list of companies that are vegetarian and vegan friendly - I'll deal with that in another post - but even though a lot of them are, it's still worth checking the ingredients anyway. Here we go!

Cruelty-free
This is an on-going list of companies that I have personally researched and concluded that they do not test on animals. I would not put any company on this list I would not purchase from myself:

• Barry M
• Urban Decay - owned by L'Oreal
• Superdrug
• Kiko
• Lime Crime
• Butter London
• Liz Earle - owned by Avon
• The Body Shop - owned by L'Oreal
• NYX - owned by L'Oreal
• Illamasqua
• ELF
• Charlotte Tilbury
• Models Own
• Sleek
• Beauty UK
• Too Faced
• LUSH
• OGX
• Nails Inc
• Soap & Glory - owned by Boots

Not Cruelty-free

We would be here forever if I listed all the cosmetics companies that test on animals, but here are some well known names that you should be aware of:

• MAC
• Estee Lauder
• Yves Saint Laurent
• Bobbi Brown
• Rimmel
• Bourjois
• Maybelline
• Garnier
• Revlon
• MaxFactor
• Avon
• Sally Hansen
• Clinique
• Dior
• Chanel
• Simple
• Lancome
• Collection Cosmetics
• Neutrogena
• Michael Kors
• Elizabeth Arten
• Clarins
• Giorgio Armarni
• L'Oreal
• Essie
• Vaseline

If you would like to know the cruelty-free status of a company that I have not mentioned, or would like further information on any of the companies listed above, simply comment below and I will get back to you as soon as I am able!

If you've made it this far, thank you so much for reading!

See you soon,

Bye!

Georgia xo

ART ENDEAVOURS

To keep the whistle wet if ya'll know what I'm sayin', I just thought I would keep you posted about what's keeping me so busy at the moment:

 



 

 

And here is the semi-finished studio space! I've made a little more work since then that I'm including but I'll update you on those as and when.

I hope you enjoyed a little sneak peak into my life as and art student and would love to know what you think! Let me know if you have any questions.

Bye for now!

G xo