Can Eye Have A Drum Roll Please

Holy Oh My God, Batman! Why did I chose to write tonight’s post directly after the season premiere of Lost!? Shake. Shiver. Shrug it off.

Moving on.

Real Girl Confession number gajagillion: I like pretty things. Like ribbons and eyelet and lace. Like color. Soft, rich, deep, charming, gorgeous, just exactly right color. Like my beloved, ever changing Body Shop Shimmer Cubes.

Why beloved? Come with me on the journey. You’re at the makeup counter, or you’re at the drugstore. You’re looking for the perfect eye shadow. That mixture of glamour and wearability that so few eye shadows hit exactly right. Ooh! There it is!! That one color your lids just have to have. Eureka! Except…hey. What’s this? What’s that other, much less cool color, some taupe or sickly beige or weird blue-green. You mean I’ve got to get those other pewy colors in order to get my favorite one? Man. That sucks.

But not with shimmer cubes. Love me some shimmer cubes. Love. Adore. Hug. First of all, every color is a winner. They’re divinely rich shades with just the right amount of shimmer. It’s that shimmer that makes you look dewy without the greasy shine. It’s that shimmer that sparks up your whole eye and says yes, I am gorgeous. You may trail after me, but clean up your own drool please.

Why ever-changing? Here’s the thing about the Body Shop. They’re big into seasonal items. The first four colors of shimmer cubes I bought two years ago no longer exist. But you know what? There are new colors now and I totally want them. And what’s more? Them cubey suckers are deep. There’s enough product there to potentially last a lifetime. My shimmer cubes from two years ago show no sign of running out any time soon.

(A total aside. Remember how obscenely bereft I was over the discontinuation of my favorite blushy bronzer—a cousin of the shimmer cube—the Shimmer Wave? Good news folks. Fabulous heaps of good news. My Precious is back! Backy back back! Swoony yay. Yaaaay.)

But we’re on the cubes here. Must focus on shimmery eye goodness. Wanna see more colors? Because they are all so fab that I want to just let my credit card out of its little cozy and let it do what it’s best at. Buying me pretty things!

You’ve already seen the new autumn colors above, a scrumptious mix that’ll make any eye smoke like hell. Make sure you dab that lightest color in the inner corner of your eyes and just under the brow bone for luscious highlights. Great, now who’s drooling?

Next comes a warmer palette, probably better used separately than together. That silver could look great swiped on the bottom lid—just a tad for an icy effect. And the warm rose will make any cold day feel sunny.

Finally, we reach out to the earth tones, in all their browny tawny goodness, to send our eyes on safari. To smoke them up more softly than black can. To give us earthly nirvana.

Looking at these colors just sends chills through me. And many thanks to Ahe for putting eye shadow on the brain.

What about you guys? Will you share your eye shadowy goodness with us all?

Or do you just want to find out who won the first splendiferous Real Girl Beauty Contest. Let’s recap. Real Girl said: Ooh! Write me a poem about your favorite product. You said: Ooh! We not only look pretty but we write real good too. Kudos to each and every one of you who entered. You are special. And man, it was hard to choose a winner! It came down to a final three, all of whom were delightfully fab and it’s so hard to publish only two! But those were the rules, and who wants to break the rules? There will be more contests in the future. It’s just too fun.

But first, our runner up! She’s getting married on Saturday! And I’ll be there! What really got me, besides the slamming rhymes, were the mentions of ingredients. Mmmm, ingredients…So here’s our bride-to-be…Liz!

We all know from Real Girl's rants
the awesome powers of antioxidants.
Whether we get them from blueberry shakes
or carrot juice and sweet potato cakes,
they help our systems, our skin, our hair,
and they're in my fav product, about which I'll share.

My Optimum Antioxidant Facial Mask!
It nourishes well and takes dryness to task.
It has SilyMarin, from artichoke hearts,
As well as liposome, to absorb in all parts.
I have to admit, that what I like when I preen,
is its silky texture and silvery sheen.

It's not too expensive, but I'm not good at splurging
(especially when my wallet's been purging)
I think when the wedding is, at last, fin
I might buy my mask as a treat for my skin.
But meanwhile, if you want something new
I think the artichoke hearts will work well for you.

Are you feeling like slathering artichoke hearts all over your face too? And you thought they were just good for salads…

And now…drum roll please!! Our sample package winner! And look—she spells things all British-like and so must be extra charming! Here’s the beauty from Léonie, one of our Londoners!

A contest. Fabulous. Great,
I thought
I'll give that one a whirl.
See if I can think of something
To impress the wise Real Girl.

So I sat and chewed my virtual pen
And had a little think
What had a special place both in my heart
And by my bathroom sink?

I supposed I could write a sonnet
About my lipgloss. Or a song
About shampoo.
I could effuse about my hand cream
In a short but sweet hailku.

But then, in an epiphany
That flashed before my eyes,
I knew the most important thing to me
Of course! To moisturise.

I think sometimes that without it
(Although at this you may well scoff)
My facial skin would crumble, peel
And crack
Then fall right off.

If there's one that works the very best
To maintain my glowing dimple,
It has no colour, perfume, it's pure as snow
And is called, quite aptly, 'Simple'.

It's small and unassuming
A cheap-ish moisturiser,
But I could tell you it's all fancy and costs the earth
And you'd all be none the wiser.

So this, in the end, is a simple rhyme
And it might not win the prizes.
But I wanted to show the importance to me
Of being a girl who moisturises.


Congratulations, Léonie! Email Real Girl your address and your samples will be on their way!

So! Poetry and eye shadow. And you thought you just came here to look at something pink.

What gorgeous shade of eye adornment have I missed, my sweets?

With love,
From one Real Girl to another.
xx