Wednesday 10 July 2013

Summer Beauty Haul!

Hey guys!

Sorry it's been a while since my last post I've been super busy lately! Over the past few weeks I've been picking up a few beauty items; some everyday essentials and some new products I wanted to try out. There's a couple of things I've picked up so I'm sorry if it's a bit long but I thought I'd share them with you anyway!




Angelica Nail Polish in "Skylar"
I picked up this nail polish as I really wanted a pastel blue colour for summer. Angelica is a great brand; it's cheap, cheerful and you don't need loads of coats. I thought this colour would be gorgeous for summer and would go with any outfit. It was €2.75 in Penneys (Primark).



Benefit They're Real Mascara
I've already mentioned this in a few posts now so I won't go into too much detail. I've been loving this mascara ever since I got a sample of it for Christmas. Sadly, that sample has been used up so I went and purchased the full size for €26 in Debenhams.



Essence Sun Club "Brunettes" Matte Bronzing Powder
I LOVE bronzer whether it's for contouring, adding a bit of colour or just simply blending in with a tan in summer. I've tried a few bronzers but my go-to one is the Essence Sun Club in the shade "Brunettes". It comes in two sizes and it's matte so there's no shimmer. Mine ran out so I quickly repurchased this for summer. I'll have to buy another one before my hols as this one is almost gone too (oops!). Did I mention I love bronzer?! I got the bigger version which is a steal at €4.79 in Penneys.



NYC Cheek Glow Blush in "West Side Wine"
I wanted to try a new blusher as the ones I normally use are a pale pink colour so I said I'd try this out. It looked darker than the ones I normally wear but it's actually not very pigmented. I have to get loads of product on my brush and it barely comes out. I can't complain though it was only €2.99 in Sam McCauleys.




Catrice All Round Concealer
I've always used a liquid based concealer but since it ran out I decided to try a cream one. The Catrice palette is perfect. It gives a selection of different shades of beige to match different foundations and skin tones and also gives a green colour (to cover red areas) and a pink colour (to cover dark circles). The consistency is great and it hides blemishes well. I do feel that it doesn't stay on as long as I need it to. I got this for €3.99 in Sam McCauleys.



Catrice Eyebrow Set
I've always used an eyebrow pencil to fill in my eyebrows but I really wanted to try out a powder and see how it'd turn out. None of my brown eyeshadows were the right colour for my eyebrows so I said I'd purchase this little kit and I have to say I'm impressed. I really like it. I usually tend to wear it going out when I want a darker, more defined eyebrow. It comes in two shades; a dark and light. It also comes with a cute mini tweezers and a mini spoolie hidden in a little slide-out drawer in the bottom. It's a perfect size and I really love it. It's really pigmented and even though it's small it's lasting quite well. This was €4.49 in Sam McCauleys.



Real Techniques "Expert Face Brush"
Ok every beauty blogger and youtuber has been raving about these brushes since they came out. I finally caved about 2 weeks ago and bought one and I have to say it's as good as it's made out to be. I needed a new foundation brush anyway so I figured I may as well get this one. I ordered it online from The Hut and it was €14.99. When it came it was much smaller than I thought. The bristles are great and it really does give a flawless finish but I feel it soaks up the foundation more than my other brushes and I'm using twice as much with it. Other than that though it's fab. I will definitely be buying more.



Mac Lipstick in "Creme Cup"
Up until my birthday 2 months ago, I've never owned anything by Mac. My friends got me one of their lipsticks and I loved it so much I went and bought another in a different shade. I've wanted another day-time nude lipstick with a more pinky tone for a while so that's what I picked up. I've worn it almost every day since and I have to say I love it. This was €18 in Brown Thomas.



Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation in "Classic Beige 201"
This was just another re-purchase. I've been using this foundation for a couple of years now and I really like it. It gives great coverage and it stays on for long (but maybe not 25 hours haha!). I got this in Boots for €8.85.




Batiste Dry Shampoo in "Floral & Flirty Blush"
I've never really liked dry shampoo before. It never really worked for me and would constantly make my hair look white. But I said I'd try the Batiste one and I really like it. It gives texture to your hair too so it's good for messing up your hair before styling if it's too sleek. This was €3.99 in Boots.



Batiste Dry Styling XXL Plumping Powder
Boots were doing a buy one get one half price offer so that's why I picked this up. I've always been curious if these type of products actually work. I've only used it once or twice for a little volume and it has really helped. It does make your hair a little sticky though if you don't rub it in quickly enough. So far I'm happy with it. It was €5.29 in Boots.



















Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in "Deep 4"
Again, another product that literally everyone has raved about and sadly I've never owned it until now. So far I'm impressed. I've had it about a week and a half  now and I'm pleased with it. It gives good coverage and it's long lasting. I got this for €6.49 in Boots.



Lacura Beauty Care Cream
This was recommended to me by someone so that's why I bought it. I had never of heard it before. It's a cream that clears up any blemishes or scarring that's similar to bio oil. I've had a serious case of spots lately and I've tried loads of different products to get rid of them and they just won't go away (stubborn little feckers!). Anyway, I've only used this for the last two nights but I've already seen an improvement. My spots have definitely gotten smaller and that's with only using it twice. It can be used all over the body too which is fab. There was an oil too that's meant to be better but that was out of stock the day I went. It was €4.99 in Aldi.



















So that's all of my beauty purchases for a while! Hope this post wasn't too long. Let me know what you guys think or if you have tried out any of these products yourself I'd love to hear your thoughts on them.

Keep Stylin'

Rebecca x






Monday 1 July 2013

Summer Outfits!

Hey everyone!

For today's post I'm going to go through some of my fav summer outfits. I personally love wearing bright colours during the summer months and try to keep the darker colours for winter.

Maxi Dress
I did a post just on maxi dresses not so long ago so I'm not going to go into too much detail about them here. These have got to be one of my fav outfits for summer. They can be dressy or casual depending on how you want to style them. I personally prefer the plain coloured maxis with a few accessories. I have a black one (yes I know I said I prefer colours for summer but shh!) that I can't wait to style. I just bought a cream studded bag (coming up in my fashion haul post soon) that will look perfect with it. A statement necklace, some stacked bracelets or a watch and a pair of sandals and the look is complete. If I was wearing this in Ireland I'd throw on a cardigan over it if it's a bit cool.

Skater Skirt
Another look I love. I rarely wear skirts but I love wearing them on hols. I love the skater skirt with a plain tank top and again paired with sandals and some statement jewellery. I posted an Outfit of the Night post recently with a skirt and top look that I can't wait to wear again. 

Shorts
These are obviously a must for summer! They can be dressed up or dressed down for a casual look depending on how you style them. For a day time, casual look I usually would wear a casual tee or vest top and a pair of converse or vans. At night they can be paired with sandals, a more dressy top or again some statement jewellery. 

Skinny Jeans
In Ireland we don't get much of a summer but it's not exactly cold enough to be wearing our winter clothes. So what do we wear? I love wearing skinny jeans with either sandals or pumps or even converse for a more casual look and a nice summery top. I love coloured skinny jeans and the bright colours are perfect for summer. If it's a little bit cool, just throw on a cardigan and you're good to go.

Leggings
I love leggings! Plus they're perfect for the Irish summer too. I don't really wear them much with long tops but I love them with certain dresses. I have two dresses that I wear navy leggings with. These dresses are too short to be worn on their own but they're perfect over leggings and a cardigan. I recently bought a black and white monochrome/aztec print dress that can be worn on it's own but I've worn it with black leggings.

That's all for my summer looks. I think these looks are perfect for summer and can be adjusted to suit all climates!

Chat soon and...

Keep Stylin'

Rebecca x