F+F Glamourween: 'Urban Witch' Competition

I absolutely love Halloween and I have to admit that it's possibly one of my most favourite times of the year as I love dressing up and getting into the Halloween spirit. I was utterly thrilled when F+F at Tesco contacted me to ask if I'd like to take part in their 'Urban Witch' competition as I love Halloween and I most certainly love a good competition. I, along with 14 other UK fashion bloggers, were asked to create an 'Urban Witch' costume using F+F clothing and accessories, the outfit could have been anything from a little black dress to something a little more daring, the aim was to add 'fashion to frightening'. In order to create an 'Urban Witch' costume, F+F at Tesco kindly provided us with a £50 voucher to spend online and they also sent a little box of goodies which included makeup, sweets and other treats. 

If you'd like to see my 'Urban Witch' creation, please keep on reading.

When creating my outfit I wanted to go for something that was on trend but glamourous at the same time. I also decided against choosing a dress and a floppy black hat as that's what a typical witch wears and I wanted to be different from the norm. Instead I opted for these gorgeous tartan trousers as they're uber stylish and they can be worn as formal or casual wear, tartan is also a massive trend this A/W. I paired the trousers with a simple black shirt as I wanted the trousers to be the main focus of the outfit. I also added a fabulous pair black heels as they are chic and stylish, the gold toe cap also ties in with the gold detail on the trousers and shirt too. I also felt the shoes were a little halloweeney as the pointed toe gives a witchy feel. To finish off my outfit I added a stylish hat and a simple necklace. 

My intention was to be a stylish urban witch and I think I managed to pull it off. 

Where To Buy:

Topshop Black Shirt - £30.00 - Similar Here

F+F Swing V-NeckVest - £6.00

F+F Tartan Trousers - £20.00

F+F Gold Cap Court Shoes - £25.00

ASOS Roll Brim Boater Hat - £18.00

Topshop Necklace - £12.50 - Similar Here

As well as creating an 'Urban Witch' look, I also created a wearable halloween makeup look using the products Tesco sent me. I wanted to go for a green smokey eye and a dark lip as I thought this would suit the outfit best. If you want to know how to create the look, keep on reading. 

How To:

Face:

1. Apply foundation to the skin, make sure you work from the centre of the face as you want your foundation to be even.  
2. Apply concealer if needed. 
3. Set your foundation with a powder, this can be loose or pressed.
4. Using a angled brush and a sculpting powder, contour your cheekbones. You may want to contour your nose, jawline, forehead and temples too. 
5. Apply a small amount of blush to the apples of the cheeks. 

Eyes:

1. Apply a dark green cream eyeshadow to the eyelid and blend upwards and outwards using a blending brush. For an intense look, repeat this step twice. 
2. Using a flat eyeshadow brush, pat a small amount of black pigment onto the eyelid, again blend upwards and outwards using a blending brush. 
3. Using a clean blending brush and a soft brown eyeshadow, blend out the edges. This will give a softer finish. 
4. If you want to add a bit of glamour, pat a small amount of glitter onto the centre of the eyelid using a flat eyeshadow brush.
5. Using an angled eyeliner brush and gel eyeliner, create a flick and line the top lash line.
6. Using a black kohl pencil, line the top and bottom waterline. 
7. Add a small amount of the soft brown eyeshadow to the bottom lash line and smudge with a smudge brush. 
8. Apply mascara and eyelashes. 

Lips:

1. Line lips with a black kohl pencil.
2. Add a small amount of black lipstick to the outer part of the lips. 
3. Add a small amount of red lipstick to the inner/middle part of the lips.

Products Used:

Eyes:

Revlon ColourStay Shadow Stick in 'Smolder' - £7.99

Barry M Dazzle Dust in 'Charcoal' - £4.59

Inglot Rainbow Eyeshadow in '112R' - £6.00

MAC Reflects Glitter in 'Transparent Teal' - £17.50

Illamasqua Precision Gel Eyeliner - £18.00

Rimmel Day To Night Mascara - £7.99

Eylure Eyelashes in '101' - £5.35

Sleek Eau La La Liner in 'Noir' - £4.99

Face:

Illamasqua Skin Base in '02' - £27.00

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in 'Fair' - £4.19

Ben Nye Luxury Powder in 'Cameo' - £7.50

MAC Sculpting Powder in 'Sculpt' - £14.00

Inglot Face Blush in '20' - £10.00

Lips:

Sleek Eau La La Liner in 'Noir' - £4.99

MAC Lip Mix in 'Black' - £14.00

Barry M Lip Paint in '162' - £4.49

I hope you all liked my 'Urban Witch' creation and if you have any questions about anything I have featured, please feel free to ask away! 

Thanks for reading and good luck to the other 14 bloggers!

Cole

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*This post contains PR samples.

Recent Purchases: Topshop, ASOS, Primark & More!

I cannot believe this is the first post I've written in 7 weeks, it seems like I've been gone ages (which I have I guess) and I do have several reasons for my absence, there are three reasons to be precise. One, I had major surgery on my mouth and it's taken 4 weeks to recover, two, I have a new job and three, I have been mega busy with makeup jobs. The past 7 weeks have been crazy but everything seems to be settling down and I'm now in a routine meaning I'm able to plan my time. So now I can go to work, make my clients fancy and also blog/YouTube at the same time. Since I haven't done any posts for 7 weeks I didn't know what to write first so I thought I'd do a haul, everyone loves a haul right! 

If you'd like to see all the things I've accumulated over the past 7 weeks, keep on scrolling!

Watch Here!

If you'd like to see what I've recently bought you can either watch the video provided at the top or keep on reading to see some images of the clothing. I cannot provided images of the Primark clothing as you can only buy Primark clothing in-store so if you'd like to see the items I've bought from Primark, you'll find them on the video.  

ASOS Elephant Print Smock Dress: £28.00 - Find Here // Similar Here

ASOS Pug Print Dress: £25.00 - Find Here

Glamorous Grey Swing Dress: £25.00 - Find Here // Similar & Cheaper Here

ASOS Monochrome Flower Dress: £28.00 - Find Here

ASOS Floral Swing Dress: £28.00 - Find Here

ASOS Black Leggings: £12.00 - Find Here // Similar & Cheaper Here

ASOS Black Boyfriend T-Shirt: £10.00 - Find Here // Similar & Cheaper Here

ASOS White Boyfriend T-Shirt: £10.00 - Find Here // Similar & Cheaper Here

Topshop Lime Tube Skirt: £20.00 - Find Here // Similar & Cheaper Here

Topshop Black Tube Skirt: £20.00 - Find Here // Similar & Cheaper Here

Topshop Daisy Top: £30.00 - Find Here // Similar & Cheaper Here

Missguided Evie Crop Top: £14.99 - Find Here

ASDA Heart Print Shirt: £14.00 - Find Here // Similar & Cheaper Here

Primark Tartan Dress: £15.00 - In-store Only 

If you'd like to see what the clothes look like, feel free to watch my video. I have provided the link at the top of this post.

I hope you enjoyed seeing what I've recently bought, have you got you eye on anything I've shown?

Thanks for reading and I'll talk to you in my next post!

Much love,
Cole
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How To Depot Lipsticks: Using Heat

Recently I decided to depot all of my MAC lipsticks, I did this because of two reasons. One, they were taking up so much room in my MUA kit and two, by depotting them it meant I could get 7 free MAC lipsticks (praise the lord for Back-2-MAC). I posted a picture of me depotting my lipsticks on Instagram and a lot of you said you'd love to see a tutorial, so here it is. 

If you're debating on whether to depot your lipsticks, I'd say go for it because it saves so much room and you're also getting your money's worth as you can scrape out every last bit of lipstick. A lot of people worry that depotting a lipstick will change the colour, consistency and finish of it but it really doesn't, the lipstick remains exactly as it did in the tube. People also worry about application, the most common question I get asked is 'how do you apply lipstick from a palette/pot?' and the simple answer is a lip brush, you can also use your finger if you want a wash of colour. Another thing you should know is that you can depot any lipstick you like, it doesn't matter about the brand, finish or colour, you can depot any, it doesn't have to be a MAC lipstick like many people believe. 

If you'd like to know how to depot lipsticks using heat, keep on reading.

What you will need...

You Will Need:

• Tissues - These are primarily used when sanitising equipment as you'll pour IPA onto a tissue and then clean a piece of equipment. They are also used to remove lipstick off the spoons, knife and disposable.
• IPA - IPA (aka. Isopropyl Alcohol) is used to sanitise equipment (e.g. palette, knife, spoons, and disposable) as it will kill any germs or bacteria. 
• Palette - You can depot your lipstick into anything you like (e.g. a palette, pot, container or pill case), I use the connectable pill cases from Muji as I find these are the best. They are connectable meaning you can move/re-arrange the lipsticks, they are easy to store, they don't take up much room and each pot has its own lid meaning when you're using the palette, you're only getting air to one lipstick and not all of them. 
• Matches - These are used to light the candle. Obviously. 
• Candle - Without the candle, you'll be setting alight thin air. A candle and matches are essential for depotting lipsticks using heat. 
• Knife/Spatula - This is used to chop the lipstick into small pieces. 
• Teaspoons - One is used to place the lipstick on, the other is used to scrape off the excess lipstick. 
• Disposable - This is used to scrape out the lipstick from inside the tube, you'd be surprised at how much lipstick is actually left within the tube. You don't have to use a disposable, you can use anything you like (e.g. a cocktail stick, cotton bud, spatula) you just need to make sure you use something small and sturdy. I always use the end of a disposable as you can wipe them clean, sanitise them and then re-use them. 
• Scissors - These are used to cut the labels to the correct size.
• Sticky Labels - These are used to identify what lipstick it is. I always write the brand, lipstick name and finish. It's important as an MUA to know everything about a product just incase a client doesn't like a certain finish or is allergic to a certain brand. It's good to write down the name of the lipstick for when you run out and need to buy a new one.
• Pen - This is used to write down information about the lipstick (e.g. brand, name, finish, tone, colour).
• Sellotape - I place a small piece of sellotape over the label just to protect it. If any liquid/substance was to land on the palette, the labels wouldn't ruin. 

Method

1.) The first thing you need to do is place the candle on a plate, then light the candle using the matches.  

2.) Using the knife, cut the lipstick into small pieces and place on one of the teaspoons. I would recommend melting the lipstick bit by bit rather than as a whole. If you melt the lipstick as a whole, it'll take a longer to melt and spillages may occur. 

3.) Hold the spoon over the candle and you'll notice that the lipstick will start to melt within a few seconds. Some lipsticks may take longer to melt than others and this is purely down to the finish of the lipstick, matte lipsticks take a while to melt whereas frost/shimmer lipsticks take seconds to melt. It's also important to know not to hold the spoon too close to the flame as you could burn the bottom of the spoon or boil the lipstick (something you don't want to do!)

4.) Once the lipstick has melted completely, give it a stir with the end of the disposable as this will get rid of any lumps and bumps. 

5.) Pour the lipstick into the pot and scrape off any excess using the other teaspoon. I will warn you that this step is tricky and it does take a steady hand. 

6. Repeat step 2. 

7. Repeat step 3, 4 and 5. 

8. Using the end of the disposable, scrape out the lipstick from inside the tube and place onto the teaspoon. Again, place the spoon over the candle and melt the lipstick.

9. Pour the last bit of lipstick into the pot and leave to set. If should take around 5 minutes to cool down and set completely. 

10. Cut a sticky label to the correct size. 

11. Place the label on top of the lid.

12. Write down information about the lipstick. Include as little or as much as you like. 

13. Place a piece of sellotape over the label. 

Video Tutorial

I hope you found this helpful and I hope it was easy to understand. If you decide to create your own lipstick palette, tweet me a pic as I'd love to see. 

My MAC Lipstick Pallettes

I've also thought I'd show you my MAC lipstick palettes as I thought this would give you an idea of how to put lipsticks in order. I know a lot of people struggle to put lipsticks in colour order so I thought that showing mine would help. If you just remember colour (light/medium/dark) and tones (red/purple/pink/beige etc) you can't go wrong. Another way of putting lipsticks in order is by their finish, for example, matte, satin, amplified, cremesheen, glaze, frost and lustre.  

Nude Palette (Pink Toned)

Left to Right:

'Please Me', 'Overtime', 'Creme Cup', 'Hue', 'Innocence Beware', 'Mlle', 'Myth', 'Fleshpot' 

Nude Palette (Beige Toned)

 Left to Right:

 'Midi-Mauve', 'Kinda Sexy', 'Honey-Love', 'Blankety', 'Marquise D', 'Frou', 'Tanarama'

Orange/Coral Palette

Left to Right:

 'Good To Go', 'Hibiscus', 'Watch Me Simmer', 'Costa Chic', 'Ravishing', 'Ever Hip', 'Viva Glam Nicki' 

Coral Palette (Red Toned)

Left to Right:

 'Insanely It', 'Party Parrot', 'Impassioned'

 Pink Palette

 Left to Right:

 'Pink Pigeon', 'Candy Yum Yum', 'Behave Yourself', 'Pink Nouveau', 'Pink Friday', 'Naughty Sauté',

 'Saint Germain', 'Viva Glam Gaga'

Purple/Dark Pink Palette

 Left to Right:

 'Cyber', 'Rebel', 'Strong Woman', 'Up The Amp', 'Girl About Town', 'Quick Sizzle', 'Lickable', 'Love Forever' 

 Red Palette

Left to Right:

 'Media', 'Hang Up', 'Diva', 'Unknown Pleasures', 'Runaway Red', 'Russian Red', 'Must Be Red', 'Lady Danger' 

I hope you enjoyed this post and if you have any questions, please feel free to comment below. I'd also like to mention that I'm still ill so there will be no videos from me for at least another 5 days. And for all those dying to see my 'Draw My Life', you're going to have to hold your horses.

Thanks for reading and I'll talk to you soon!

Mucho love,
Cole
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Wishlist: August 2013 - Clothes, Shoes & Accessories

If you follow my blog then you'll know that I haven't posted for a while and I'm going to explain where I've been. 

The reason why I've been absent from blogging/YouTube is because of my pesky wisdom tooth,  I'd been having trouble with my wisdom tooth for about a year and a half and this was mainly due to it growing horizontally rather than vertically, it was also growing into the nerve within my jaw. I kept getting infections in it (one every 2 months to be precise) and it was also causing mammoth ulcers on the side of my tongue. Anyway, 3 weeks ago I developed a severe infection underneath my wisdom tooth (possibly the worst infection I'd ever had) and unfortunately the infection didn't surface meaning I was referred for an emergency extraction. One week later I had an appointment with a surgeon and to cut a long story short I ended up having my top wisdom tooth and bottom horizontal wisdom tooth removed. The removal of the bottom wisdom tooth involved having a million injections in my mouth, slitting my gum, drilling into my jaw and having a lot of stitches, this was all done whilst I was awake. After the procedure I was told my face would swell, bruise and it would generally feel awful and the surgeon was spot on with that as I've been in agony for a week and I'm STILL in agony. 

Since I haven't posted I thought I'd write a little update and write a simple post that I thought you'd all enjoy. I'd also like to say that just because I've written this post, it doesn't mean I'm 'back', it's just an update. As soon as I'm 100% better I'll let you know and frequent posts and videos will commence. 

So now I've waffled on about my horrendous tooth experience, I'm now going to show you pretty clothes, shoes and accessories that I'd quite like to own.

Where To Buy:

1. American Apparel - Medium Wash High-Waist Jean - £75.00

2. Topshop - Strappy V-Neck Cami - £18.00

3. New Look - Neon Yellow Double Layer Cami - £14.99

4. Topshop - Lime Double Layer Tube Skirt - £20.00

5. ASOS - Swing Dress In Mono Daisy Print - £28.00

6. ASOS - Glamorous Swing Dress - £22.00

7. Topshop - Cream Chain Necklace - £12.50

8. River Island - Silver Chain Necklace - £8.99

9. Sugar & Vice - Rainbow Unicorn Necklace - £17.00

10. New Look - Black Double Buckle Ankle Boots - £69.99

11. River Island - Brown Strap Ankle Boots - £60.00

I think the majority of my autumn wardrobe will consist of swing dresses, smock dresses, cami's, mom jeans and a trillion pairs of peg leg trousers. I also think I'll end up owning more chains than Flavour Flav. 

I know for a fact I'll be purchasing the floral swing dress and the grey swing dress as these are pieces that can be worn all year round. Mamma is also going to buy the floral swing dress so if you'd like a fashion video featuring the both of us, comment below. The lime tube skirt is also something I'll be purchasing as it's a piece you can either dress up or dress down and it's also lime and I'm LOVING lime at the moment. 

These are the things I've been lusting after, what have you currently got your eye on?

Thanks for reading and I'll be back soon!

Much love,

Cole

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10 Makeup Myths

Below are 10 common makeup myths. There are more beauty related myths out there but I thought I'd share the 10 myths that really get my goat. 

A couple of people were questioning the myths on my video so I'd like to say a couple of things, one, I'm a professional makeup artist and know exactly what I'm talking about, if I didn't I wouldn't bother making these kind of posts/videos as I'd be making a fool of myself and two, I have a degree in Food and Nutrition therefore I know the ins and outs of foods, nutrition and the body (including skin). Now I've just had to justify myself, let's crack on with the myths.

Myth: Chocolate causes spots.

Reality: Chocolate doesn’t cause you to develop spots (or should I say 'blemishes' as that's the proper terminology) and it never would; the same goes for other foods. Foods don’t cause under the skin spots, spots or mild/major breakouts, it's the ingredients within the foods that do. If you notice a rash of any sort (including a rash that could resemble a breakout) the chances are that you are allergic to a certain ingredient within a food, e.g. lactose, lactose is found in dairy products. We cannot say that chocolate, and other foods, cause spots because they don't, it's certain ingredients that do. Now you all know that chocolate isn't the reason you get spots, feel free to eat as many kinder eggs as you like!

Myth: Makeup causes acne.

Reality: There is no scientific proof that makeup causes acne. Again like with foods, it's certain ingredients within makeup that can irritate the skin and can cause allergic reactions, breakouts and acne. An example would be if you have oily skin and use a product that contains oil, there would be a small chance that this would irritate the skin and cause a reaction. We cannot say a product causes reactions, breakouts or acne, it's all down to one or more ingredients within the product. So next time you think your favourite foundation is causing you to break out, have a re-think as the likelihood is that your skin isn't agreeing with a certain ingredient. One common ingredient that causes reactions is 'Bismuth Oxychloride' so if you notice that your skin isn't agreeing with a product, check the ingredients as you'll probably find it contains this little beast. The only other ways to prevent spots, breakouts or acne are cleansing your face properly and cleaning/sanitising your makeup brushes and products frequently. 

Myth: Refresher sprays set your makeup in place.

Reality: Refresher/Binding sprays do not set your makeup, an example of a refresher spray is MAC Fix +. Refresher sprays are purely intended to make your skin look and feel fresher, and they're also used to help powder blend into the skin. Refresher sprays can be applied underneath or on top of makeup. Refresher sprays can be applied after makeup application and they can also be applied to bare skin before makeup application, they can also be used on their own. Refresher sprays are generally used as a quick fix to freshen up makeup hence why they are commonly used on flights. If you’re looking for something to set your makeup in place, you need to buy a setting spray, examples of setting sprays include, Skindinavia, Urban Decay and Model In a Bottle. Refresher sprays are water based, which freshen the face whereas setting sprays are alcohol based, which set the face.

Myth: You should match foundation to your hand or jawline.

Reality: Wrong, you should never match your foundation to your hand or cheek. One, your hand is the place that receives the least sunlight and two, your jawline may contain pigmentation so if your match to the colour of the pigmentation within your cheeks, the likelihood is that you’re going to choose the wrong foundation. The place where you should actually match your foundation is on your chest, as you want your chest and face to match. It’s also important to mention that if your body is cool toned but your face is warm toned, you need to go for a pink toned foundation. And if your body is warm toned but your face is cool toned, you need to go for a yellow-based foundation.

Myth: You should use a lighter concealer underneath your eye.
Reality: A lot of people believe that you should use a lighter concealer underneath your eye to conceal under-eye circles but you really shouldn't do this as you won't conceal the circles, you'll actually emphasise (accentuate) them. If you apply a lighter concealer to under-eye circles, blemishes or any other flaws all you're going to do is make them more obvious. If you're wanting to make your face appear brighter, you need to correct your under-eye circles with either a corrector or a concealer that matches your foundation and then you need to apply a brightening concealer on top. So to recap, for banishing under-eye circles you need to use a corrector or a concealer that matches your foundation. And to banish circles and brighten the face you need to use a corrector or a concealer that matches your foundation and then you need to apply a brightening concealer.

Myth: You can use a bronzer to contour with.
Reality: Bronzers should only ever be used for bronzing the face/body and nothing else. If you contour with a bronzer it isn't going to look right, it'll look like you've either not washed your face for a year or you'll resemble an oomp loompa. The reason why we shouldn't contour with a bronzer is because they tend to be orange toned, a lot of them usually have a shimmer/satin finish too. When contouring you need to use products that are grey toned, you can use anything to contour with (e.g. sculpting powders, sculpting creams, foundation, concealer, eyeshadow, paint pots) just as long it's a mid-toned brown with grey tones. You also need to be aware that you should use matte finishes as opposed to satin finishes as satin finishes will not look natural.

Myth: If you want to look tanned, use a darker foundation.
Reality: If you use a darker foundation to make yourself look more 'tanned' your makeup isn't going to look right, there'll be an obvious line around your hairline, ears and jawline. Instead of using a darker foundation, you need to use a bronzing powder or cream. The only time I would ever recommend using a darker foundation is if you've had a spray tan as you're usual foundation would be too light.

Myth: You should clean your makeup brushes once a month.
Reality: You should actually give your brushes a deep clean every single week. During the week you should clean your brushes with a brush cleaner (I use IPA) and at the end of the week you should thoroughly wash your brushes with washing up liquid and water. Brushes are a breeding ground for bacteria therefore you need to keep them clean as dirty brushes could cause breakouts or infections. I'm going to be writing a 'how to wash makeup brushes' post very soon.

Myth: You shouldn't pluck hairs from the top of your eyebrows.
Reality: This is a myth I have never understood, if your eyebrows need plucking, they need plucking! There's no way I'd leave a straggler on my face! Plucking hairs from the top of the eyebrow creates a crisper finish, it also creates a guide for future plucking and it also helps to make both eyebrows look symmetrical, not only that but you can remove those rogue hairs too. The only time you shouldn't pluck hairs from the top of your eyebrows is if you're creating an eyebrow shape for the first time, you like to have low maintenance eyebrows or you're a man.

Myth: Neutral makeup is for daytime, bold makeup is for night-time.
Reality: Again, this is a myth I simply do not understand. There are no rules when it comes to makeup, you can wear what you like, when you like. If you want to wear vampy lips during the day then go for it and if you want to wear bright yellow eyeshadow to ASDA, do it!

Video Version

I hope you liked my makeup myths and if you'd like me to do another one of these posts then do let me know. 

Thanks for reading!

Cole

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My Graduation

As some of you may know, today I graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University with a Bsc Honours Degree in Food and Nutrition. I had a lovely day with my family and it was so lovely to graduate with my Boyfriend. As I had such a great day, I thought I'd share some snaps with you but before that I'm going to waffle a little. 

The past three years have been very hard for me and if you watch this video, you'll find out why. Not only that but I was assaulted at University, let down by numerous lecturers and wasn't given the support I needed, if truth be told, my time at University wasn't great. I disliked every moment of University so much so I didn't want to attend my graduation because I thought it would be a reminder of the bad times but with persuasion and words of wisdom from my Mamma and Grandma, I decided to go and I have to admit, I'm so glad I did. 

Today I felt proud, not proud of the fact I got a great degree but for the fact I actually completed University because I honestly didn't think I would, it's taken blood, sweat and tears to complete my degree but I did it. With strength and determination, I did it. I'd also like to thank my beautiful Mamma because I honestly couldn't have done it without her, my Mamma is my rock and I'm lucky to have her <3 

I got my degree and I'm proud to have it. 

Today was amazing, and I absolutely loved the fact I graduated with my Boyfriend (Adam). So without further ado, here are some snaps of our day.

I also received a huge bunch of beautiful flowers and a really cool graduation pack off my Mamma this morning, how lovely! 

I hope you liked looking at these pictures and if you're Graduating this week or next, congratulations and good luck! 

Much love,

Cole

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