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