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

Illamasqua haul

When I saw that ASOS had added some bits from the Illamasqua Toxic Nature collection to it's sale, I just couldn't resist. These are the goodies that I picked up...

I've been dying to try an Illamasqua nail polish for some time, but the €17 price tag put me off. When I saw the full range for just over a tenner, I really couldn't resist! I eventually narrowed down my choices to...

gamma, purity

Gamma was always my favourite from this collection. I have wanted a bright orange for some time but nothing has given me that bright bright orange. Purity was what I thought to be a perfect nude. IRL it's more peach, definitely comparable to Barry M's Peach Melba which I already own- oops! Anyway, that's another blog post.

 Although I don't adore my other Illamasqua gloss, I couldn't resist one more! This is in the shade 'Torture' (cute name huh? :/) and is a bright bright orange. From previous experience, these do run quite sheer so hopefully it will give me the coral pop I am looking for!

This afternoon I couldn't resist painting my nails with Gamma, I am so impressed by this polish, it's absolutely gorgeous!

It's coming off kind of yellow here, however it is orange. Think highlighter orange! It dries to kind of a matte finish- not matte entirely but not sheeny shiny. I heart it!

On a completely different note, my little ipod arrived today! Got it from ebay for €60 as I no longer have an iPhone to play in my car. Or maybe I just wanted to show off this nail polish some more :o)

*swoons*

xxxx

I'm a Winner!

I am delighted to announce that I have been a very lucky girl lately, in fact I have won three giveaways in the past month! Woohoo!

The beautiful Melanie from Beauty and Bows sent me this amazing box full of Sleek goodies all the way from Australia!!

I am so excited to get experimenting with these! Already I adore the blush in Flamingo :o)

Toni from The Beauty Spot sent me a whole load of goodies! The bodyspray is already a firm favourite of mine, perfect as a handbag pick-me-up, I love it. I am also having great fun with the big W7 eyeshadow palette which I just realised I forgot to include in the picture. Thank you!!

Finally, I won Zoe from Diamond Solitaire's wonderful MAC giveaway in which I won a MAC shadow of my choice, as well as another MAC eye product!

I chose 'Shroom' eyeshadow - not the most exciting eyeshadow choice, however I have wanted to add a highlight to my MAC palette for quite some time!

Also I chose the Fluidline in 'Dip Down', a stunning brown. I can't wait to start using this, super exciting stuff! I just need to invest in a proper eyeliner brush as my old one isn't doing its job properly :o(

Don't forget to check out each of these wonderful girls' blogs!

xxxx

Payday Treats Vol IV & YOUTUBE!!

Since I have been shopping like a crazy lady since I got paid on Friday I had far too many new items to show you all in a blog post as it would be so picture heavy and take forever for you guys to read! 

I took this opportunity to jump into YouTube, honestly I thought this day would never come. :o) So here you have it, my very first YouTube video... enjoy!

If you like what you see, don't forget to 'like' it and of course subscribe! I am hoping to keep making videos as well as my blog, so all constructive criticism and video requests are more than welcome in the comments below.

Thank you :o)

H xoxo

My First ELF Order & First Impressions

Yay! What a haul, and all for the grand total of £14!

The lip products I got are the Hypershine Lipgloss in 'Bubblegum' and Liquid lipsticks in Strawberry and Raspberry.

My first impression was that I picked two seriously wrong colours in the lipsticks. At first I thought it was my own fault, but when I looked on the ELF website I found this:

Ok, so 'Strawberry' is essentially red, completely unlike what I thought it was, a peachy pink. The 'Raspberry' is a pinky mauve colour, not the mid-pink displayed. Humph.

I wanted to try the normal line of brushes too, the Concealer brush and Bronzing brush. I love the concealer brush, it seems dense and perfectly sized. I intend to use the bronzing brush for contouring, it is not as dense as I would have hoped, but what can you expect for €1.70?

The only studio line product I picked up was the blusher in 'Fushia Fusion', I honestly cannot believe how much of a NARS copy the packaging is! From the clasp and film sheet inside to the corrugated cardboard inside of the packaging, it is just so similar. I also got a much raved about All Over Colour Stick in 'Pink Lemonade'. First impression? This is teeny!

Finally, I needed new eyelash curlers so these are ideal. I haven't tried them yet, but they seem sturdy and good quality!

Expect reviews on all of these soon :o)

What do you think?

Did you ever get seriously mislead by the sample colours shown on websites?

H xoxo

PS. Have you checked out my Blog Sale yet?

Hello Mr.Postman!

So, if you follow me on Twitter, you will know that I am super excited to have gotten a PayPal account..finally! If any of you were wondering, I got a 3V card which you can top up and then use online as a Visa card. I topped up mine by €50 to try it out and I may have spent it all already. Oops!

Anyway here are some goodies that got delivered today:

 The Carmex isn't very exciting, but I bought it as on ASOS my transaction had to come to £20 to use my Diet Coke code for a fiver off. I love the cherry flavour, although I wish I had been more adventurous and gone for the mint.

Next I got my very first Benefit lipstick in the shade 'Nice Knickers'. I have managed to cut off the top of the picture here but it is a sheer raspberry red. There will definitely be a Lipstick Lover Review about this very soon!

Next was another 'first', my first purchase from Illamasqua. I have heard quite a lot about this brand lately, especially their Lipglosses. It is an Intense Lipgloss in 'Indulge'. These look incredibly pigmented from my pre-purchase research and I honestly don't have a neon pink like this in my slightly extensive lip gloss collection. I really think this is going to be a winner! I love it already.

That is all that I bought from ASOS, just thought I'd let you all know that you can use your Diet Coke vouchers on sale items. It was a pleasant surprise for me when I was checking out!

Today I also got a very exciting package from the lovely Karen from Band of Blushers (check out her blog, it's fabbo!). It is a NARS lipgloss in 'Orgasm', I am really hoping that it will match my much loved Orgasm blusher. 

 Also I must mention the extremely exciting package that I received from Aussie on Friday!

As I am an honorary Aussie Angel, I was asked to take part in their Lusciously Lighter challenge- I chose 'Style' which will involve me trying out some potential hairstyles for a style overhaul! They also gave me a bottle of their Luscious Long Conditioner which I will be trying out very soon.

What do you think of my  purchases?

H xoxo

PS. What do you think of my Blog layout change? I love it!

PPS. I am thinking of starting a continuous Blog sale page featuring make up and some clothing, let me know if that is something you may be interested in.

Payday Treats! Vol II

This month, I decided to try some 17 products as I haven't before and maybe because they were 3 for 2 at Boots! As I am experiencing what can only be described as a lipstick binge lately and as I was instantly attracted to the shiny packaging (I swear I was a magpie in a past life). I picked up two "Mirror Shine" lippies...

L: Peace I thought this sheer coral colour would be a good place to begin to experiment away from pink. The colour looks scary in the tube, but it is a peachy pink when swatched. Very wearable and very cute!

R: Flirtini As I have been using this lipstick in the past couple of days, it somehow has got smushed in my handbag. :o( However it truly is a lovely hot pink with silver shimmer through.

** Just for reference, I would not describe these as full on lipsticks, as the consistency and longevity is closer to that of a gloss. However they are very moisturising and a dream to apply. Gloss-stick?**

Both avaliable here.

What possessed me to purchase 5 lipglosses in one day? God only knows, anyway they are all very lovely :o)

Click to enlarge, to see swatches etc.

 L-R Sally Hansen Diamond 12hr Lip Treatment in 'Promise' This gloss claims to act like a balm and moisturize lips for up to 12 hours.. hmm, we shall see! Love the packaging and sparkly deep pink colour, however the applicator is not fantastic as the fibres look like they are static or something. On the plus side, it smells exactly like Malibu (the drink), that's always a plus! Avaliable here.

No7 Liplicious in 'Sherbet Twist' After I bought my 17 products, I was given a €7.50 off No7 voucher. Instead of getting myself a free eyeliner or something as usual, I decided to try out a No7 gloss. This contains SPF15 which is always good. It is a mid-pink with gold shimmer, I like! Avaliable here.

Rimmel Kiss Off in 'Wild at Heart' A genuine hot pink with what appears to be a blue undertone. Pleasantly surprised by the applicator. Overall I'm gonna put it out there and compare this to a MAC Dazzleglass. 

Maybelline Shine Seduction in 'Pink Whisper' A sheer pale pink with iridescent shimmer. Nice twist up applicator, not very pigmented though.

17 Ultimate Volume Gloss in 'Peach Melba' I got this whilst thinking it would go on perfectly with the 17 Peace lippie above. However, I think it will look even better over Sellout below... 

 This is a prime case of when one is just not enough! 

Urban Decay Lipstick (Classic Collection)

Sellout - A reddish nude.

Jilted- A plum-ish hot pink with blue shimmer.

Both of these shades are highly pigmented. Beautiful packaging and attention to detail! Full review to come :o)

That's it for my payday haul this month! As I have said before, there is no better way to celebrate a payday than shopping! 

Love, H xoxo

Stuff I Bought on Saturday

As this Saturday was the first since Christmas I've had off work, it was clearly a cause for celebration. What better way to celebrate than shopping!

First port of call was New Look. Unusually for me, I didn't buy any clothes this time, just some lovely accessories.

TL: I haven't ventured into the scary world of DIY French Manicures for a very long time, however when I spotted this cute little inexpensive kit, I thought I would give it a go, again! I'm thinking French polish with Barry M Pink Iridescent over the top? :o)

TR: 100% plastic and totally tacky, but what can I say, I love! However I didn't realise that the rings had sizes (durrr Hannah!) and I picked up a M/L. It just falls off my finger instantly. I must return it for the smaller size.

BR: Last summer I wore flowers of silly sizes in my hair every day. I somehow remember it all beginning with some this size. Hmm, I should probably keep an eye on the situation! However, they are cute and I love the mint green. Available here.

BL: Lovely little pendant, nice change from the "Love" ones I keep being drawn to inadvertently. Available here.

From Superdrug I bought some body stuff, and some make up stuff too! 

 L: I've been experiencing really bad eczema on my legs lately, hopefully this E45 lotion instead of the moisturizer I am using currently will help clear it up.

R: If you have read my post on Products I Am Using Right Now, you will have noticed my love for the Original Source shower gels. This smells so zingy (best word I could think of to describe it!), it may be enough to wake me up in the mornings! :o) 

 L-R Collection 2000 'Extreme 24 hour Felt tip Liner"- I got this because I need to learn how to do the whole eyeliner-on-upper-lashline thing. This looks the simplest tool to practice with! Available here.

Barry M Kohl Pencil in Navy Blue (4)- This actually came free with two other Barry M purchases at Superdrug. Bargain! Available here.

Barry M Shimmering Eye and Lip Crayon in Golden Bronze (7). I'm a little confused by the name, not sure why you would want this colour on your lips! :o) Lovely on eyes though! Avaliable here.

Barry M Blusher in Pink Orchid (1). Pretty pink! Avaliable here.

I will be doing a more thorough review of these make up products very soon! Already I absolutely love the Barry M Eye Crayon.

Let me know what you think, as always I do love a comment! :o)

Hannah

xxx

ASOS delivery time!

See, it all started last Monday, I hadn't meant to make a purchase... but when I saw that ASOS was offering free international delivery, well, I cracked. Suddenly, with no due regard to the fact I had places to be, I was scouring through the seventy-odd pages of sale dresses. Lets face it, it'd be rude not to.

One Shoulder Contrast Pencil Dress

Out of everything I purchased, this was the dress I was most excited about. The colour I chose was "berry". I like it, I really do, but I didn't realize that the black trim (ruffle and waistband) would be velvet. I am not sure how I feel about this, yet it's stupid me to blame for not reading the Info and Care properly. However, at €22.30 (£17) reduced from €49, it's quite a bargain! Avaliable here.

Next was a bit of an impulse purchase. See, I really wanted the teal version of this dress but unfortunately they hadn't got my size. So thanks to much deliberation, and the lovely Hayley's input, I decided on the Mocha colour instead.

Satin Bandeau Dress with Embellished Waist

It's a cute dress, and the same shape as the one above although without the shoulder, but I love sweetheart necklines so thats a plus for me!

Here is a close-up of the waistband embellishment...

Avaliable here.

Both dresses are ASOS brand and in a size 10.

Finally, I went for a mooch around the Beauty Shop to source bargains. Well, a bargain I found! If you read my blog at all, you will be familiar with my love of Barry M products- see here. Well, imagine my delight when I saw this fabulous duo for the mere price of €5.38/£4.10.

Lip Gloss Wand in Bubblegum (5)

And swatched...

As you may imagine, the colour is much more sheer when applied to lips. However it is substantial for a colour pop alone, but amazing over a lipstick. And no kidding, this is the most delicious smelling lipgloss I have ever owned. It took me and my friends much deliberation but we concluded that it smells exactly like the little round chewing gums you used to get at the bottom of a Screwball ice cream. Anyone remember those? :o)

Also in the duo is a black eyeliner...

Not super-exciting, I know, but this one is retractable! This excites me because I have a habit of using eyeliners until they get blunt, hurting my eyes on the wooden splinters and then throwing them away. I know, the sensible option would be to just sharpen them, but unfortunately I'm far too lazy for that! So far I am quite impressed by the creamy consistency of the product as well as its staying power. However I pressed down too hard while attempting to swatch this and I broke the nib. Ooops.

Set avaliable here.

Also worth noting, my package included the new ASOS magazine. Just the sheer glossiness of the magazine made me smile! I have only had chance for a quick flick through so far, but some of the products look gorgeous. I can't wait to make more purchases soon!

Oh yes, I also bought the boyfriends Valentines day gift from ASOS, which was a t-shirt in luminous green trust me, he will love it! This is my first ever valentines day with a boyfriend, and I am rather excited! :o)

Have you got your eye on anything from ASOS at the moment? What do you think of my purchases? Please comment below and let me know!

Love, H xxxx

Payday Treats!

Ok, picture the scene. I had not been paid in over five whole weeks, the last payday being Christmas eve's eve where, naturally enough said paycheck was spent on last minute gifts. So, self sacrificing for the entirety of January until the wonderful moment that my manager informed me that we are not getting paid on the last day of the month as usual, we were getting paid TODAY!

So, I asked myself; "What is a girl to do?".

Instantly, she replied; "SHOP"

Seemed like a reasonable enough suggestion..

As this was an emergency shopping trip, I only had time to make one stop, New Look.

First up, sunglasses. As much as I would love to invest in a pair of designer shades, I have a habit of sitting on them in my car (don't ask), so the cheaper the better! Available here.

As winter is drawing to a close (yippee!), my shearling boots (mentioned here) are in need of replacement. I chose these cute ankle boots, they have a wedge heel and are incredibly comfy! Expect to see these featured in an OOTD soon. Available here.

Finally, I picked up these super purdy earrings. I am a sucker for New Look accessories. On the most part they are good quality, especially for the price! These earrings just screamed out to me, I had no choice but to purchase both pairs. They lean towards this summers huge 70's trend and I absolutely love them! Available here.

I hope you enjoyed my mini-haul here. :o)

What were your payday purchases? Please comment and let me know, or link me to your blog!

Thank you for reading,

Loves H xxxx