Beauty Haul: Preston

I went shopping for a few miscellaneous beauty products with my friend Sam, and came away with some bargains!

Firstly, I found this Max Factor Colour Correcting stick which is perfect for those with tonal imperfections. I chose Green because I suffer from acne-prone skin. I have found this product perfect to cover blemishes and reduce redness, which I typically get along my T-Zone as a result of hormones (as if being a girl wasn't difficult enough!).

The only weakness I can think of is that it also has an illuminating side-effect, which is great if you are wearing with brightening make-up and want a complexion with a glowing finish. For those matte fans out there, this may not be for you.
In any case, at only £9.99, this is a steal.



My favourite buy of the day was the Soap and Glory Supercat Carbon Black Extreme Eyeliner pen. I had seen one of my favourite youtuber's Louise, better known as Sprinkle of Glitter, talking about how great this product was and, as a fellow beauty fiend, I had to try it out for myself! I had looked at the reviews beforehand and seen that literally everyone was giving it five out of five stars, and now I know why. It is easily applicable and dries quickly. The lines are clean and you can easily build depending on the look you are going for. I have applied mine in an almond shape to enhance the shape of my eyes and give the illusion of bigger, wider eyes. For £6.00, I am very happy I found this and will definitely be re-purchasing.

I also splashed out on a Natural Collection Solo Eyeshadow in Barley. This summer I am really feeling the neutrals, and this champagne nude has a lovely shimmering finish. Although in a pressed powder form, it applies like a cream. It is currently available in Boots for £1.79.

I have also purchased the Maybelline EyeStudio Color Tattoo eyeshadow. Advertised as lasting for 24 hours, even the most dedicated Maybelline fans would doubt such a bold statement. I have to say, I am happy to be proven wrong. This eyeshadow, cream in texture, applies like a creaseless gel and doesn't transfer throughout the day. It is currently sold at £4.99 in Boots and Superdrug. My shade of choice is Gold Pink.

I must give a mention to the Chanel counter Sam and I visited to be colour-matched. My match was Chanel Perfection Lumière in Number 12, which has a pinky rather than yellow tone. 

It would be rather amiss of me to not mention the price, which is £36.00 and available from Debenhams. I am going to put this on my birthday wish list, but I am absolutely gaga for it and may have to buy it before then.

 It offers the most coverage of all the Chanel foundations, so it is a full-face make-up. Because it is a high-end make-up brand, the colour is matched perfectly to your skin to give a flawless finish without looking as if you are overly made up. It has a matte finish which is perfect for my oily skin and corrects my blemishes perfectly. It even smells wonderful, and holds for 15 hours. This is my dream product of the month!

Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann: Review and Feminist Insight.

Valley of the Dolls is a Hollywood thrill-ride from start to finish and, as commentator Julie Birchill posits, is ‘the most fun you can have without a prescription!’

Author Jacqueline Susann took her chances at the American Dream by trying, and failing, to become an actress. Susann’s subsequent seen-it-all attitude became the base note for writing a thick novel in the style of a gossip column, in which she intricately weaves the debaucherous exploits of her three heroines. It is fantastically rumoured that Valley of the Dolls was written on a hot-pink typewriter.

Susann when young

Not that Anne, Jennifer or Neely are particularly concerned about the traditional ideals of what it means to be 'feminine' in 1940s America. Femininity in this cultural and time sphere has connotations of demureness, chastity, maternity, obedience, beauty and innocence. All but Anne are unconcerned about the (society-created) disadvantages of losing their virginity, and Anne, the anti-Venus, is labelled 'frigid' and worries that there is something wrong with her.
The character of Jennifer North, too, is completely against what the patriarchal standards of femininity believe to be 'normal'. We learn, from her first third person perspective within the book, that she was involved in a lesbian relationship with a girl named Maria for several years, who divided her time between an innocent friendship role and sexual deviant. Maria not only initiated the sexual acts with Jennifer, but taught Jennifer how to explore and enjoy her own body. This is something Jennifer very much keeps to herself throughout the rest of the novel; potentially through fear of what her other friends would say. 
 Set in the 1940-1960s, the reader follows the strive for glittering stardom with our ingénue protagonists Anne Welle (secretary-turned-model), Jennifer North (all-American beauty), and Neely O'Hara (hot-headed actress). The novel follows their journey from the savage fight to kick start their careers in the most world-coveted setting, where thirst for fame and fortune plagues the teens’ minds. Watching washed-up stars like Helen Lawson fall from grace only encourages them, as the girls are determined to avoid her mistakes.

However, the pressure of fame, screen tests and sexuality can be very daunting. The ‘dolls’ referred to in the title are a metaphor for prescription drugs and uppers; little red, yellow and green pills which tranquilize, energize and down-size the girls.

The cut-throat nature of the agency business means that friendships are brought to their limit; after all, there is only room for one at the top. Moral qualities such as loyalty, chivalry and honesty are thrown to the wind in this dog-eat-dog world of Susann’s lavish creation.

More than just a fast-paced swipe at the media industry, Valley of the Dolls is essentially a feminist novel. If you are to take one message from it, let it be the one she screams at you: “Guys will leave you… your looks will go, your kids will grow up and leave you and everything you thought was great will go sour; all you can really count on is yourself and your talent”.

The character of Helen Lawson is the complete antithesis of what it means to be feminine. She is loud, abrasive, arrogant, sexually available and selfish. However, this apparent lack of consideration for all others around her is essentially the key which brings her much success and happiness. Albeit rather alone at the top, she is at the top and ensures that all of her (self-centred) dreams come true.

  Jennifer is also notorious for her 'European' films where she appears in many roles completely naked; an artistic vision which the other girls label brazen and condemn her for. Femininity places a strong emphasis on a girl's need and want to become a mother. We learn that Jennifer has seven abortions; the ultimate abhorrent act of disinterest towards the 'natural' mothering instincts she should possess. Her carefree attitude towards the abortions, as a medical inconvenience rather than any source of moral, philosophical or religious turmoil, further isolates Jennifer as deviant from the ideals of motherhood and, in turn, femininity. 
  The ultimate betrayal of the patriarchy, and probably the biggest feminist comment made by Susann in the whole novel, comes when Jennifer commits suicide. Before the final act, Jennifer is inches away from the happiness she has so eagerly sought her whole life. She is to be married to a Senator who, through the nature of their meeting and falling in love, convinces Jennifer he loves her for the person she is inside rather than the body so popular with cinema fans. When it is uncovered that Jennifer has breast cancer and is to undergo a mastectomy, her Republican husband-to-be enthuses about how much he cares for her breasts because they are in essence herself and he could not stand anything happening to them. This pushes Jennifer to silence and, after sneaking out of the hospital and home, overdoses on her dolls to leave the perfect embalment of the perfect body.

The reliance on stimulants for comfort has been likened to little girls clutching their dolls. Furthering the feminist theme, Susann’s, albeit subtle and implicit, use of the word ‘dolls’ could symbolise the treatment the girls receive by their male counterparts in patriarchal America.
  With the creation of the television an ever-present threat and husbands becoming notoriously hard to hold onto, the search for happiness, and the discovery of what ‘happiness’ even means, for each girl becomes more and more difficult.

Addiction, ageing and (medical) affliction are inherent concerns for Susann. Unexpected twists and gruesome ends; this book is exhilarating and incredibly difficult to put down. If Carlsberg made novels about glamorous Hollywood hyperreality…

Lady Gaga through the eras

Once upon a time, 9/11/2012 to be exact in Manchester, in front of thousands if not millions, Lady Gaga explained that the Haus of Gaga collective are not a pop group. 

(c) Jenny Way, 2012

They are a cult, a way of life, a generation. People will look back at her as one of the greatest people to shape the landscape of music and pop culture. Not that they will be looking back anytime soon. Gaga has captivated our attention and conquered the world; shifting our expectations and pushing the boundaries to the extremes. We were made to reconsider what we expected from musicians, from our government, from each other and from ourselves. 

photo credit: bloodyxmary.tumblr.com

She had me at Just Dance. I made a bet with a friend that I would have learned the lyrics and the choreography by heart over the weekend. (I won). I think it resonated with a lot of people as another pop artist with a twist. There was just something special about this one. As The Fame era evolved, she won and lost a lot of fans. With videos such as Paparazzi, some thought she was a little too weird for their liking (oh, if only they knew what was to come in a matter of years). Glamorous outfits, a woman empowered by her sexuality, criminality and obsession - and we just couldn't look away. It was beautiful, it was destructive, it was revolutionary. It ended with the fiery finale of Lovegame, featuring a subtle Michael Jackson tribute and featured Gaga's first onscreen lesbian kiss.

photo credit: aphrodite-bieber.tumblr.com

Then came The Fame Monster era. Gaga's followers were obsessed and no longer identified as fans but as little monsters, and we became a family. We were dedicated to Gaga, and overwhelmingly, she was dedicated to us too. Bad Romance blew our minds - the outfits! The choreography! The art! The symbolism! The sparking bra! Everything seemed like a blur - everyone wanted a piece of her. I know I was dressing like her; I had her shoes, her make-up and her assured confidence. Things only snowballed when Telephone was released. A collaboration with good-girl Beyonce; who was no longer America’s sweetheart but badass girlfriend to Gaga - the honeybee with the fatal sting to negligent boyfriends. Alejandro pushed the bar even further and, criticised as it was, inspired confidence in millions of wide-eyed fans. You don't have to pine over useless ex-lovers! Gaga cried. They do not define you; you are fine without them! And hey - sexual orientation should be something to be proud of!

photo credit: petergilbert.tumblr.com

The Born This Way era killed it (in a good way). Gaga was no longer adjusting the landscape of music and art; she had bulldozed it and was starting afresh. Politics became a focus of Gaga's. The Bullying Is For Losers campaign made President Obama take notice – where the two had a discussion over what Gaga labelled a 'hate crime', and protested one which should be illegal at that. Lady Gaga helped shape history when she urged followers on twitter to get involved, and succeeded, in making New York City, her childhood back garden, a state in which it is legal for gay couples to marry. Born This Way carries a heavy message of love and acceptance, not just between monsters but for everybody, with anger and hate unacceptable ways of responding to negativity. "No matter gay, straight or bi, lesbian, transgendered life", Gaga shone the way for an inclusive family where everyone protects and loves each other to share an enjoyment of music, art, fashion and technology. People who interviewed Gaga would be bewildered - she was already so unpredictable and extravagant, so how could she possible keep shocking her audiences? Looking back to this time, sheep on stage and breasts set alight seem almost tame compared to onstage castles, aliens, guns, meat machines and motorbikes currently onstage.

Current profile picture on Gaga's twitter: @ladygaga

photo credit: gaga-artpop-era.tumblr.com

We are now well into the ARTPOP generation (capitals necessary), and from what we have seen thus far it features fibre-optic hair, a tribute all things Disney princesses (and also our own late Princess Diana), pigs and sex. The glorification of sexuality and drug-taking combines to create a self-entitled 'Disney princess high'. Although a questionable message for her devotees, her bold empowerment is also used for the greatest of goods. Gaga actively supports the LGBTQ community and recently helped establish the Born This Way Foundation with mother Cynthia, as a charity promoting kindness and aiming to eliminate all kinds of bullying.

photocredit: faultyking.tumblr.com

Currently, Gaga is on a stretch of her ARTPOP tour, following the release of her most recent single, G.U.Y..

I remember when watching television, waiting for the extreme vanity of my super sweet sixteen to begin, and catching an interview with Lady Gaga. I remember this woman with huge sunglasses, a rasping voice and a goal to not to be famous; but to be a star. I think she long-ago fulfilled that prophecy, and this is only the beginning.

My escapism...

So beautiful, if not a little unfriendly

Time for a stretch

And a roll

"Draw me like one of your French girls"

*Harrumph*

Whinny whinny

I can see you, little Shetland pony, who isn't even as big as the fence

Snail

The path into wonderland

"Weeds"

Gorgeous

They let me past without moving

Everything's sunny canal side

Solidarity

Sun sun sun

This looks like a dreamscape

Mama and her babies

Swan lake

This is so romantic

Peek-a-boo

Literally my back garden

She looked up when I blew kisses

Lazy days

(c) Jenny Way,  2014
All photographs are captured with a Nikon Coolpix L810 3.0 Lens

Trafford Centre (Manchester) Haul!

Today I went on a super-shopping spree haul with my bestie, Jess, in search of some super duper fabulous ball gowns for our graduate ball this Sunday.

Although not the gown I chose, this treat from Quiz was reminiscent of Ariel (Disney's underwater princess) and I had to try it on! Albeit slightly too large for my frame, check out the beautiful gossamer material and the pastel pink and mint hues which are so in this spring!

I did buy this, though.

Continuing with the Disney princess theme, I picked up these beauties from Claire's for just £8! Lipsmackers have teamed up with Disney to bring 8 sumptuous chap-sticks. What really sold it for me was that it included the treasured Snow White (very cherry), which has always been my favourite princess.

I also officially knocked down to size small on this trip, and celebrated in style with this simple but cutesy Forever 21 cami top. Black and white monochrome have been very in so far this year, so I'm hopping on board the trend with this steal!

Finally, for the birthday wish list, I tried on this drapey knitted sweater from Hollister, and this navy crop tee.

You will be mine yet!