Jack Wills makeup - Oakland Gloss

Never one to buy something just for its brand name (lies *ahem* lies), on a recent trip to Jack Wills I grabbed some bits from their make up range. This is the first of two little reviews.

I picked up two of the 'Oakland' glosses, in (l-r) Raspberry and Jaffa. These are nicely thick and long lasting yet non-sticky and definitely moisturising which I find unusual for a lipgloss. I would actually liken them to a thicker version of Barry M glosses. According to the JW website, these contain Jojoba oil which is a nice change to other glosses that often leave me with dry lips. 'Raspberry' is a pretty magenta with  lilac iridescence and 'Jaffa' is a non-shimmery coral which would have been very 'in' for summer 2011. Neither shade packs a huge punch pigmentation-wise, however they are nice for quick, easy application on the go. My only problem is that these rrp at £8, which for a non-specialist make up brand is pretty pricey (I didn't pay full price for these as I got them from an outlet store).

Available here.

Have you tried these? What do you think about clothing brands selling make up?

xxxx

Exam Time Skin Saviours

In a nutshell, when i is stressed - my skin completely shows it. Final year exams are no joke, and thanks to these three little gems I managed to stay sane (on the outside, anyway!).

MAC Studio Finish concealer - NW30

Half way through my exams, I exasperatedly ran to my MAC counter to look for a fix as my Moisture Cover concealer just wasn't strong enough. I had already purchased this but discarded it as it was just too thick and the colour the MUA matched me to was completely wrong. However when I was shown the same concealer in my 'winter' shade (NC30, I photographed the wrong concealer here) I was converted, again. It's bloody thick, but it works very well with my <3 Studio Fix foundation. Warning: not for those favouring 'the natural look', this will literally mask whatever you put it over.

Sleek Pout Polish 'Monte Carlo'

I brought this back from London last summer after hearing rave reviews, yet I actually wasn't over struck on it. I could never fault the moisturizing qualities and pretty pink sheen, however the chemical aftertaste left little to be desired. When exam time and winter rolled around though, I found myself using this all of the time. Aftertaste aside, it gave enough colour to complete my makeup and kept chapped lips at bay.

Johnson's body lotion 'Dreamy Skin'

After a hard day of studying (and too much caffeine) I found it impossible to unwind and sleep. However my mum gave me this and I truly believe it made a difference. I applied it after my shower and not only does it leave skin silky smooth, it smells of lavender (they say 'moonflower', I insist it's lavender.) which is renound for its sleep-aiding abilities. Also I have the world's most sensitive skin, and this didn't irritate my eczema one little bit.

What are your stress saviors?
xxxx

the fail-safe eye combo

Benefit Creaseless Cream "Flatter Me" / Benefit Velvet shadow "Rich Beach" / MAC 217 Brush

You know the drill, It's that "I have five minutes left to get out of the door or I am going to be sooooo late" make-up application where a full base-lid-crease-highlight process just isn't going to happen. For me, it included getting up at silly o'clock in effort to get a seat in my College's study room during my Christmas exams, over time I became accustomed to this lovely little combo.

Firstly, Benefit Creaseless Creams, how I love thee. They're an absolute beaut to work with, I would say they are thicker in consistensy to MAC Paint Pots and therefore are way more pigmented. I have heard that some people experience creasing with these, however I never had (thankfully, the name should be a giveaway). "Flatter Me" is a beautiful taupe/champagne hybrid which works well under almost all shadows.

Benefit Velvet Shadows are another love of mine. I would liken their buttery texture to that of Urban Decay rather than MAC (an absolute winner in my book), and their longevity over the base is wonderful. "Rich Beach" is a definite warm gold shade but with a slightly brown leaning, very appropriate for this 'brown sugar' shade.

My MAC 217 brush is one that I just could not live without. The fluffy brush is just perfect for dusting a light coating of this shadow over the base, ensuring that without the crease and highlight steps it doesn't look too harsh.

That, with a quick flick of Blacktrack and a coating of Maybelline Falsies I am on my merry way!

Do you have an 'old dependable' eyeshadow combo?

xxxx

Gunmetal Nails

Max Factor Max Effect Mini polish 'Silver'

'Tis the season to be shimmery, right? But wearing brightly coloured and glitzy nails just don't feel right for me in the depths of winter (I just reread that and yes, I am insane). So when I found this little beauty in my collection, completely unused I thought it ticked all the boxes.

In actual fact, It's better than I anticipated. After a rocky start (the first two coats look like actual nothing), about four coats in gave this beautiful dark grey with shimmery particles, silver in some lights and multicoloured in others.

Truly very very pretty and quite a winner in my book. Slight pain in that it took five coats to achieve the effect above, especially regarding the size of the bottle (a teeny 4.5ml). However it's as far away as you can get from the old faithful Lincoln Park After Dark winter nails, without venturing too far into glitziness.

What is your ideal winter nail colour?

xxxx

NUIG "Socs and The City" Fashion Show

On November 17th, I had the absolute pleasure of helping out with the NUIG annual "Socs and the City" fashion show. It is hosted every year in the Raddisson in Galway and as always is for a very good cause, COPE - a homeless charity. This year I was helping out as a Stylist meaning I was assigned a shop which I had to go and pick out clothes then carry out fittings for my 9 models.

I was given Debenhams and I managed to take a couple of snaps of some of my outfits before I returned them the next day...

For the boys, chunky knits were popular instore, and I adore the one to the left by Red Herring. It was a lovely plum and grey and of great quality. 

A big trend throughout the show was sequins and fur, very glam! When picking the clothes in Debenhams I was pleasantly surprised by the gorgeous A/W offerings in store, especially from the "Butterfly" by Matthew Williamson and "Star" by Julien MacDonald (I featured this dress on one model and can vouch for its fabulousness!) ranges. I wish I had actual pictures of the models in the dresses however it was so hectic backstage I didn't get the chance.

I did however get the pleasure of meeting the gorgeous Erika who was also working as a stylist on the night. We got talking and she also has a blog, would you believe! It's fabulous and she is truly gorgeous, I fully recommend you take a look. Also that night I met the lovely Vicky who was doing the makeup, her YouTube channel can be found here. Who would have known there were so many (lol, three) vloggers/bloggers in lil 'ol Galway?

xxxx

Ps. Do you like my blog redesign? I am in love with it. The beaut header is all thanks to Lorna from I Spent Some Time, thank you sweetie! x

New...

...Phone

I you follow me on Twitter you will remember how sick I was of having iPhones for years a couple of months ago. I thought it was time to 'grow up' and buy a BlackBerry however I now admit defeat (this doesn't happen very often) and I'm back to the iPhone.

It's the iPhone 4 in white and I bought it on contract with 3. Contract phones terrify me and god knows I will be in trouble when le bill arrives. However I am really loving my tackalicious case!

...Hair

As you know, I am a student. My past student budget has allowed for hairdressing costs however lately that extra chunk of my pay is needed elsewhere and the lure of home dyes has become overwhelming!

Last week my friend dyed my hair with a L'Oreal kit I just picked up. It definitely disguised my roots and overall lightened my hair but I have come to the realisation that there is plenty of my life left to have 'natural' and 'healthy' blonde hair - and in a nutshell I want bright, barbie blonde! I was recommended this dye by a fellow bombshell blonde, also they were two for €10 in Boots- beats a trip to the hairdresser costing 10X that much anyway! I will for sure be posting the results!

...Skin?

For the very first time in my life, skincare is exciting to me.

I have found a brand I adore in LaRoche Posay and I seem determined to purchase everything to sort my skin out once and for all! Recent purchases include...

Effaclar Gel Facewash - Long time readers will know all about my phobia of water/face/washing/ick but in the shower I can deal with it. I picked this up before realising it is for oily skin, which I don't have. Oops. Regardless I will use and report back, I often read about the Effaclar range being fab for zapping spots so fingers crossed! (€13.44)

Physiological Scrub- I needed an exfoliatior and this fit the bill perfectly. It's a diddy bottle and costs €14, however this is definitely a 'once a week' job so will hopefully last.

Effaclar Duo- This was the priciest of the bunch at €16.43 for 40ml, however I really needed a targeted blemish remover! Also on the box it is described as a great makeup base, which I have been using it for lately.

What's new with you at the moment?

xxxx

Totally unnecessary, but bow-tiful

So, despite being on a tight student budget most days that aren't Monday, little me time purchases have a way of finding themselves in my possession. Last week's little treats happened to have a little theme: bows. 

I absolutely adore bows, they are just so femenine. Plus there seems to be quite a trend for them at the moment, if you consider my pretty cardigan also- maybe my 'girlie radar' just has a habit of hunting them down though.

Item #1 are these pumps from River Island. I was put off RI shoes quite a while ago after spending €80 on a pair of heels that tarnished really quickly. However my friend informed me that they are much better lately, so when I saw these in the sale for a mere €14 down from €33, I made them mine!

I bought a lovely playsuit from Miss Selfridge that had to be returned as it was just too big. Whichever way it worked out I needed to pick something for a fiver to make up the difference so I grabbed this pretty thing...

It's just a plain hair tie with a large chiffon bow attached, I didn't realise at the time that it was €7.50. For a hair tie. Yes, really.

Despite feeling robbed, I do really like this although I am yet to wear it as I just don't like my hair off my face. I do feel robbed all over again though as I spotted the exact same thing in a darker brown for half price in the Topshop sale.

We live and learn, I guess! :o)

Have you made any unnecessary purchases lately?

xxxx

J'adore....

I got a whole new foundation routine, and I think I love it! Me and MAC MSF just plain were not getting on, so I needed a new powder- enter Studio Careblend! It's much more matte than the MSF's and so far it's love! I got matched with new foundation shades a while ago, and I decided to go with NC42. I really like it and I find it to be a great match to my (fake) tan! Me and Pro Longwear concealer also had our issues so I wanted one with a lighter consistency. I kind of like it, however I don't love the doe foot applicator. 

I wore this ring all day yesterday and it made me smile loads. It's completely and ridiculously glitzy, but I heart it. 

This little bag has gotten so much use since I got it from Primark a couple of weeks ago. It was ridiculously cheap at €8 and fantastic for nights out!

My hair has been very dry lately, and these two little wonder products have helped bring it back to life! Loving Aussies new firework-inspired packaging too, very pretty.

What have you been loving lately?

xxxx

The most underrated MAC lipstick.. ever?

I have got to the stage of my makeup collection obsession where I think I have covered all bases, lipstick wise. I have my safe everyday (MAC Angel), night-out showstopper (MAC Candy Yum Yum) and lipstick that I'm bloody terrified of (MAC Saint Germain). So, instead of planning what lipstick I would buy next, me and my friend decided that we'd just go into MAC and start picking up random lipsticks that caught our eye. That is how I found myself this little beauty...

Her name is Creme De La Femme, and she is the new love of my life.

I was attracted to the lilacy-pink shimmeryness instantly. It is a frost, which other than Angel I own none of. My one gripe with this lipstick? When it is wearing off it does leave a little bit of glitteryness in the middle of your lips, however I think for such a unique colour and pretty finish it is a small price to pay. 

The strangest thing about all of this? I have NEVER heard of this lipstick before! It's permanent and all, so it's readily available- I've just never ever heard of anyone mention it in the past few years that I have been obsessed with beauty blogs/youtube.

MAC Studio Fix Fluid NC42 / MAC Select Moisturecover NC42 /  MAC Studio Careblend  'Medium Plus' / NARS Laguna bronzer / NARS Mata Hari blush / Benefit Creaseless Cream Sippin & Dippin / UD NP Half Baked, Virgin, Buck, Naked (brows) / L'Oreal Telescopic Mascara / Collection 2000 Extreme felt tip liner / Benefit Bad Gal Liner / MAC Creme De La Femme lipstick

 Please tell me, have you heard of this lipstick before?

And what do you think of it?

xxxx

btw... I am not going to be so self indulgent to apologise for my lack of blogging lately. Suffice to say September was a rough month for me but it's all over and I am back! Thank you to all 750 of you for sticking around. Mwah to you all xxxx 

Adventures with Nail Art gems!

So if you have followed my nail polish escapades, you may know that I purchased 1800 nail gems for the princely sum of 99c (including postage!).

There are literally zillions in there in all different colours, two different blues, pinks, reds, silvers- you name it! Unfortunately on the evening that I played around with them a few gems got stuck in the twisting cover so I could only get a couple of colours out, that's why the colours are pretty basic.

This is what I came up with...

I like the nail on the far left, I think that would look nice with a plain manicure, as an accent nail. The middle one is supposed to be a lopsided heart shape and the right nail is a flower obvs. I didn't bother doing a close up of my baby finger as it didn't amount to much really, actually I am pretty sure I got bored by that stage.

Now for my piece de resistance (oh what larks!) on my thumb nail. Its a pretty flower with a stem and everything. Not going to lie, it took me bloody ages to do! 

For this I just wanted a plain base, so I used Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manucure in Pink Slipper.

Application-wise I just stuck the gems into the wet polish, they lasted for 2 days before I got bored with my one hand of tacky fabulous 'art' and pulled them all off.

What do you think of my experimentation with nail gems?

xxxx

From me, to me

The other day I went for a little shop with my friend, I didn't particularly need anything and nor did I plan to buy but when I saw these little pieces I just had to have them.

I love my MAC Paint Pots however they are rather pricey at €19 in Ireland, so I usually go for Benefits Creaseless Creams which are slightly more reasonable. To my surprise a local chemists had a small selection of CC's in a 'bargain basket' for €10 each!

I believe these shades have been discontinued as neither are listed on Benefits website. However I have heard of Sippin n' Dippin as a MAC Rubanesque dupe, which I can fully vouch that it is!

Recess is a matte pale brown colour which is something that I have been looking for quite a while. I really like these and I do find them fully comparable to MAC paintpots in making eyeshadow pop and very long lasting.

Recess, Sippin n' Dippin

My other little purchase is something I have been meaning to buy for quite some time, a Yankee Candle.

Almost every time I go to a card shop or something that sells these I have a sniff and a swoon, and then a bigger swoon at the price and put them down. However that day, curiosity got the better of me and I finally invested. I was deliberating between several to buy for my new room at my Uni house when I picked up 'Strawberry Buttercream' and by chance looked at the price and saw it was reduced to just €9.50! These are €18.99 normally, absolute bargain! There was another one that I wanted to pick up called 'Pink Sands', I will definitely be getting it next time.

Do you love Yankee Candles? Which are your favourites?

xxxx

Testing.. Testing

MAC Studio Fix Fluid NC41 / Sleek pressed powder 'Biscuit'  / MAC mineralise blush 'Miss Behave' / UDNP 'sidecar' / Maybelline Liner Define / Benefit Bad Gal liner / NARS Laguna bronzer / L'Oreal Telescopic mascara / MAC 'Impassioned' lipstick

So, as promised here is a FOTD with one of the foundation samples I was given at MAC. 

What do you think? I thought it looked good today but now whilst writing this up I think I look dreadfully pale, I think this would be too light for an everyday foundation as I had very little false tan today. If you can't remember, click here to see what colour I like to be.

Regardless, for the rest of my makeup I kept it very simple with a wash of UDNP 'Sidecar' over some Benefit creaseless cream in 'Flatter me'. See that liquid liner-line, yay me!

For my lips I dug out an old favourite that doesn't get enough use- MAC's Impassioned!

I find it difficult to apply this and it often bleeds on me, but today I used a lip brush and the product very sparingly and I think it came out quite nicely! I really need to invest in some lipliner though.

What do you think of this foundation? Please let me know :o)

xxxx

Back To Basics

So lately I just haven't been impressed by my skin. Yes I may have an array of stunning blushers, bronzers and highlighters to try out every day, however with my dry(!) skin breaking into an oily T-zone only several hours after I had applied my makeup I just knew that a whole 'base' overhaul was required.

Maybe a month or so ago, the lovely Caroline Hirons (of beautymouth.com and founder of Give and Makeup) was good enough to take a look at my current skincare routine and help me understand where I was going wrong. Some of the noted problems were the lack of a good cleanser and moisturiser, amongst other brands 'La Roche Posay' was one that she recommended. When payday rolled around, off I went to Boots to buy myself a whole new facial routine!

Physiological Cleansing milk, Physiological soothing toner, Nutric moisturiser.

There was a little offer on in Boots at the time in which if you purchased a moisturiser, you got a cleanser for half price. In all the three products cost me about €40, an amount I really don't mind as there's no point in putting good foundation over bad skin, which brings me to my next 'basic'...

I popped into MAC that day too as the Studio Fix Fluid in NW35 that I was matched to in London just wasn't right for me. It was far too dark- unless I had on fully developed fake tan, which I don't always as sometimes it's developing, fading etc. Thankfully the MUA wasn't one of those that I had experienced that gave the old 'you shouldn't be wearing fake tan, it's impossible to match blah' lecture, and she was happy to sit me down and try out several foundations on me.

NC42, NC41

We decided that the NC's looked much better next to my false tan, and she gave me two samples. She was so lovely, especially since she spent at least 20 minutes with me and I didn't make a purchase! 

L-R NC42, NC41, NW35

I am sure you will agree that the NW35 is so not a good match. Today when I swatched these my tan was developing and as you can see the NC41 looks great next to it!

I aim to wear the NC41 and 42 in the next few days to test them out, so I will post a FOTD so you can tell me what you think.

Do you take care of your basics?

xxxx