2012 February 20 – Mixed Gems

For the last 24 hours, a scandal has emerged surrounding the University of Liverpool’s student president elections. In the build up to the announcement of this year’s candidates, a secret source, LGoSsip Girl, has taken to Twitter and Blogspot to share the dirty little secrets behind every campaign.

As someone that knows little about politics (I hate to admit it, but it’s true) I am SO excited to follow this election period knowing that this person will be giving us the insider info. This evening, Gossip Girl wrote a blog post following the endless speculation that has surrounded her/his identity. Unfortunately, I found her list to be a little too vague and so I’ve decided to outline my opinions on who this scandalous individual could be. Here are my favourite guesses, followed by a few from the person who is just as excited as me about all of this, Sean Ross Howlett…

My picks:

Adele Halsall? Adele is currently a student at the University, known for her musical talents and actively involved in Band Society. I have a couple of reasons for suspecting Adele. Firstly, she writes a blog called Purple Milkshakes and so I know that she’s into her social media. Secondly, I often bump into her in the Guild and so I’m assuming she gets snippets of gossip while she’s there. But, thirdly, in an extensive 24-strong list of potential identities listed by Gossip Girl earlier on, Adele was absent despite having interacted with Gossip Girl on Twitter, and Gossip Girl hinted that she/he may not even be on the list.
Sean Ross Howlett? Sean is currently the head of LSRadio and therefore has lots of knowledge of what is going on around the University and at the Guild. A good friend of mine, and a boy that shares my love for American TV box sets, I can safely assume that he is a Gossip Girl fan and therefore would love to emulate this role. I also know that he lives with someone involved in Maggie’s campaign team, which could perhaps explain the Maggie favouritism and insider knowledge regarding her plans.
Ruth Brewer? Ruth is currently a Vice President at the Guild of Students following her successful campaign in the 2011 elections. Initially I thought that this could be a perfect role for her. Personally I’ve only met Ruth a couple of times, but I know lots of people that would consider her clever, articulate and informed enough to have come up with this idea. She was also intending to start a radio show called LGoSsip Girls at the start of this academic year but it never materialised. Gossip Girl has been somewhat disdainful when referring to Ruth which is the only thing that weakens this argument. (Ruth, for the record, has been hilarious and admirable in the face of such criticism!)

Sean’s picks:

Millie Kidson? Could the News Editor for LSMedia be the one behind the elusive LGoSsip Girl? She’s definitely in the know with both LGoS happenings and many of the candidates. She’s even taking charge with LSMedia’s coverage of the SO Elections, so she’s sure to have a scandal or two up her sleeve. Who wouldn’t tell their campaign strategies to such a trustworthy face?
Charlotte Nichols? The self-professed Carnatic Shop Girl is always free with her opinions, and is a hit with those elusive freshers. Could she be using this platform to focus on amending university procedures? Or is LGoSsip Girl lying through their teeth?
Sam Butler? Already keen to promote his campaign, everyone’s favourite chappy has even joined Facebook in a bid to get those votes. He’s a true gent, who’s determined to stop at nothing to be an SRO next year. I’m simply not sure if his determination has crossed over to gossip spreading… (It’s Rose here – might I just add that Sam’s contributions to the LGoSsip on Twitter have been absolutely hilarious.)
Rose Gallagher? Yes, I know LGoSsip Girl said it wasn’t Rose but who doesn’t like a spanner in the works? She may not be politically minded but she definitely loves a scandal, and she knows enough people across the Guild and the University to get the plethora of information LGoSsip Girl seems to have at her beautifully manicured fingertips. My lips are sealed, obviously…

So who do you think it is? All I can say is that I’ll be glued to LGoSsip Girl for the next few weeks… bring on the election secrets.

You know you love her… xoxo

Every girl loves a smokey eye – it’s a classic look for a reason, never failing to look striking and pretty. This week, one of the Mixed Gems faces, Helen, came round to tell me all about her week and have a little pamper while she was here.

Helen’s a brilliant model because she rarely has any requests for her makeup; instead, she takes her seat and says the dangerous, “do whatever you want”. While the thought of giving me free reign may strike fear into the hearts of some (namely, the Peaches! ha ha), Helen was up for an idea I had – a smokey eye with a hint of the Peaches and Cream Cheryl glitter.

Rather than just using pigments to create Helen’s smokey eye, the Cheryl glitter gives the look a bit of sparkle without being too outlandish. It is dark silver in colour, meaning that it is dramatic enough to make a statement but isn’t quite as daunting as using a full black.

I used Carbon and Knight Divine eyeshadows from MAC to outline Helen’s eye and create the blended smokey effect. Then, using a glitter fixing gel, I applied the Cheryl glitter to Helen’s eyelid and let it blend softly into the shadows. I made sure that I highlighted the inner corner of her eyes to give the illusion that they were larger.

Since her eyes were so piercing, I kept the rest of Helen’s base fairly soft. We used a light coat of MAC Studio Sculpt foundation (I’ve been experimenting with a sample this week – do any of you use this?) and a soft pink blusher. This was a night where the eyes were doing all of the talking.

Did you like this look? If you want to try it at home then here’s where to get your Cheryl glitter. Be sure to tell the lady it was named after, the gorgeous Cheryl Ballinas, what you think of it by sending her a tweet.

shop.fabulousmakeup.co.uk/product/cheryl