MAC Basic Training

Hi...

Sorry for being a crap blogger yet again. When I get out of the habit, I feel unable to start anything at all. Plus I have always been a procrastinator. I'll try to be more consistent with my posting from now on, for my own sanity if nothing else. 
A week of my absense was taken up by Basic Training last week in Birmingham. Five nights in a hotel with free food and talking about make-up all the time? Yes please! Haha, actually it was kind of intense!

This was the make-up I wore on the train down, expecting to meet my room-mate and therefore wanting to look OK. As it turned out, I got a room all to myself. Sweet. This is the kind of thing I would have tweeted about, only I don't have any kind of smartness to my phone... at all. I'm thinking of starting a contract soon because it's become silly! Still, I didn't get any kind of mobile phone till I was nearly 19. Give a slow-with-technology-type girl a break.
Another bonus was we were staying in the Malmaison (4 star!) which is pretty fancy for staff training. Rumour has it we should have been in the Thistle (a 3 star one). Someone elses error was my good fortune. Yay!

Look at my room... wooooowwww. I thought it was fancy anyway. The breakfasts (om nom nom eggs benedicts and croissants with honeycomb and pan au chocolat and fruit and yoghurt) and the shower and the bath were lovely, and lots of the others (read: not me) used the gym and sauna daily. I managed to resist the minibar to boot. Bonus...no... TRIUMPH.

The above is just some of my swag. This was after two days. A couple of items (Semi-Precious Rose Quartz Mineralize blush and Prolongwear lip pencil) were prizes for quizzes. Imagine how much stuff I put in my case on Friday morning? Argh. No. Self. Control. I may have to host a MAC based giveaway on here soon. Watch this space.
I tried individual lashes for the first time and really love them on me. They're much easier to use than they appear. I also bought a few more brushes, this time all for my belt, including a big 150 powder brush. I am trying out Prep and Prime Future Lengths Lash Serum for the 8-weeks as advised, and plan to review it whether good or bad... and I picked up Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair even though I am constantly ID'd, more than I ever was as a teenager. I want to stay young and beautiful forEVER... or something. But seriously, it seems no amount of moisturising is making my skin how I want it at the minute. It's not dry but... I'm used to my skin being super oily so it feels weird that it's on a more 'normal' side of things these days. I'm using the EL serum and Oilatum natural repair face cream at night, with MAC Brightening Serum and various moisturisers in the day time (and always some kind of SPF of course).

Me and Jo (from Newcastle) at our last Nando's evening meal. It went by so quickly!
I'll try to get more creative, there's so many looks I just haven't posted because it doesn't feel good enough! And I swear, I'm not a walking-talking advert for MAC. I love their products and I love my job but... well, I'm feeling down on myself at the minute. If you got this far, please leave me a "cheer up Ruth" comment. Ta.

Ruth x

PS. I have felt I should address the MAC testing on animals in China dilemma and well... VivaGlamLana on youtube sort of summed up how I feel. Turns out I'm not a good person. Humph. For example, I swore off Max Factor about a year ago (even though I loved their False Lash Effect mascara) and then Fantasy Fire nail polish came along and I forgot all about it. And then I bought the Estee Lauder serum (and they own MAC anyway and have never NOT tested on animals)... I wear leather, I eat meat. What can I say?