Blogmas Day 6: Gift Ideas for Make Up Lovers

Make up is always a a nice gift to receive and I get asked quite a bit what palettes I use / what a good gift would be etc. I've put together a few gift ideas that might help you if you're looking to get someone (or yourself :P) make up this Christmas.

1. Carli Bybel Palette (BH Cosmetics) - €26.50 Beauty Bay
2. Morphe Copper Spice Palette - €22.95 Cloud 10 Beauty
3. Morphe 7 Piece Rose Gold Brush Set - €21.95 - Cloud 10 Beauty
4. Morphe 35O Palette - €25.50 Beauty Bay
5. StylPro Brush Cleaner - €47.99 Feel Unique
6. Z Palette - €12.70 Beauty Bay
7. Zoeva Caramel Melange - €20.40 Beauty Bay
8. Real Techniques Duo Fibre Collection - €23.32 Sam McCauley
9. Benefit Hello San FrancisGLOW Gift Set - €22.95 Arnotts
10. SoSu Hot Fire Palette - €29.95 SoSu by SJ

Vlogmas Day 6:

Blogmas Day 5: Festive Nails

Getting your nails done is always a treat but there's just something even better about getting them done for Christmas! Whether you're getting them done or going to do them yourself, I've put together a few of my fav designs and colours that are perfect for this festive season.

Vlogmas Day 5:

Formula 10.0.6 Wipe Your Face Off Facial Wipes

I've been trying out the Formula 10.0.6 Facial Wipes* for the last few weeks and I've been really impressed with them. I'm normally not the person to recommend a facial wipe as they're so bad for your skin but I've only been using them for my eye make up so I'm only going to recommend using them for that reason :P

I usually tend to use a micellar water to remove the majority of my make up before using a facial cleanser to properly clean my skin. I've recently been using the Boots Simply Sensitive Micellar Water and while I do think it's really good for taking off my make up, I find it really stings my eyes when I use it to remove my eye make up. That's why I've been using these wipes!

The wipes themselves are quite wet (I find other wipes tend to be quite dry) and they are mildly scented of grapefruit and apple which is a really refreshing scent without being overpowering. They take off my eye make up quite easily and don't sting my eyes which is a big plus for me. One wipe is enough to take off the majority of make up on both eyes and I obviously take off the rest when I use my facial cleanser.

The wipes retail at €4.25 for a pack of 25 which is really good as they last ages (if you're only going to use them for eye make up). You can pick them up in Dunnes which I find much handier than having to find a specific pharmacy/independent retailer etc.

On another note, I'm gonna be doing blogmas (blogging every day until Christmas) starting from tomorrow so snap me any blog post ideas!

 * PR Sample. All opinions are 100% honest and entirely my own.

Beauty Pro Collagen Face Masks

I was sent these face masks a couple of weeks ago and was really impressed. I had never tried the sheet type masks before so they were a first for me. I left them on for about 15-20 mins and really saw a difference.

I found these masks in particular to be really refreshing especially the one with green tea extract. My skin had been quite dry and these really helped hydrate the dry areas. They were really soothing and relaxing and I'd definitely try them again. I definitely noticed the difference in my skin but I also found them really relaxing which means they're the perfect mask for a pamper night. You can get them on the Beauty Belle website and are €5.88 each. They have lots of other types of masks too that I'm dying to try out.

W7 Banana Dreams Loose Powder

I had been looking for a loose powder for ages especially in a banana shade. I had heard a few people talk about the W7 one and I figured I'd give it a go.

This product has been my holy grail ever since I got it! I have been using it for almost a year I'd say and I have absolutely been loving it. I use it to set my under eye concealer and it works really well. It has great staying power and doesn't crease at all. The best part is it's only €5.99. A little goes a long way with this product so you don't need to be buying it too often. I use this every single day for brightening under my eyes and it's still mostly full. Just be careful not to use too much product as it does create a lot of fall out!

Let me know if you've used this or other loose powders, I'd love to try more.

Urban Decay Naked Skin Colour Correcting Fluid

I received three of these Urban Decay colour correcting concealers* in the post a few weeks back and oh my God they have been amazing!!!!! As in I can't understand how I have been doing my make up without them :P the two I've been using most are the green and yellow.

I have been having a hard time with my skin for the past few months and I'm constantly breaking out and being left with scarring from spots. All around my chin area is quite red and often, concealer just isn't cutting it. I've been using the green shade of these colour correcting fluid on any red areas and red spots before applying my foundation. It has really helped in covering them and I don't even need to use as much concealer anymore.

I've also been loving the yellow shade to counteract any dull areas. Although I wouldn't say I suffer from dark circles, my under eye area is definitely quite dull. I apply the colour correcting fluid just underneath both eyes, again before applying foundation, and the difference it makes is just incredible. I look much more awake and my dullness is completely gone.

There are five colour correcting fluids in the range and they retail for €22 each. Here's a breakdown of what each colour does:

Green - counteracts redness including spots, blemishes and broken blood vessels.
Lavender - balances out sallowness and helps neutralise skin with yellow undertones.
Peach - use on dark circles, dark spots, veins and deep discolouration.
Pink - disguises dark circles particularly on fair skin tones.
Yellow - perfecting for disguising dark circles and brightening skin.

Have you tried them? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

*PR Sample

Karora Cosmetics CC Cream

I've been trying out this Karora Cosmetics CC cream* for the past few weeks and although initially I didn't love it, it did grow on me and became my go to foundation especially when I was on hols.

I find this CC cream really hard to blend for some reason. It applies really muddy and patchy but I find if I use a non-dense stippling brush after applying it, it blends it out much easier. It has quite good coverage and feels really light on the skin which I really liked as I was using it in a very hot Florida climate! It had good staying power and I didn't need any touch-ups.

What I really like is that it comes in one shade. That may scare some of you but it adapts to the colour of your skin and although I can only speak from my perspective, it definitely worked for me. It did apply a little darker but as I blended it out it was really natural. Again, perfect for summer even when I became more tanned - no more packing 3 different shades of foundation!

It retails at around €25 and can be purchased from their website, along with Cloud 10 Beauty, Sam McCauley and plenty of other pharmacies I'm sure.

This was my first time trying out a Karora product and I'm really looking forward to trying more from their range.

* I was kindly sent this product. All opinions are 100% honest and entirely my own.

Kiko Full Coverage Concealer

So I'm back from Florida :( so sad to be back but I think I'll put up a blog post with the very few pics we took of the holiday :P anyway...I wanted to come back with a beauty post so I thought I'd talk about this Kiko full coverage concealer that I've been really loving lately.

I picked this concealer up when I was in Barcelona and I must say, I absolutely love it! It's seriously full coverage and one of the best concealers I've used. It matches my foundation perfectly (I have shade 03) and it blends really easily and really well. The consistency is really nice; it's quite creamy, not too thick but doesn't slide off your face either. 

 

I think it costs about €7/€8 and although you can't buy it in Ireland you can get it on their website. Shipping costs €5.90 and is free on orders over €49. I'll definitely be re-purchasing this when I run out of it as it really covers up redness and bigger spots better than any other concealer I've ever used.

Have you tried any other Kiko products? I'd love to try out some more so let me know in the comments below.

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Catrice Camouflage Concealer

I have been using this concealer for a few months now and I can honestly say I absolutely love it. When the Urban Decay Naked concealer hit the shelves I was eager to try it until I heard the Catrice one was a dupe for it. I haven't used the Urban Decay one myself but since buying the Catrice one, I haven't stopped using it.

I picked up the shade 010 Porcelain, which is the lightest shade, for only €3.99 in Penneys but Sam McCauley's also stock it. I apply it in a triangular shape under my eyes to really brighten and conceal any dark circles. I've really noticed the difference when I use this especially on days when I'm feeling really tired. I set it with lighter setting powder than what I'd use on the rest of my face just to add to the brightening effect. It's become part of my every day make up routine and couldn't imagine not using it. It doesn't crease, it blends amazingly well and lasts all day. I absolutely love it!

Have you tried it? Let me know in the comments below!

Baby B Browne Tan Review

Hey everyone!

I'm finally back with a beauty blog post! This time it's about tan. I'll be honest, I very very rarely wear fake tan. I'm lucky in the sense that I do have sallow enough skin so don't exactly need it but as we tend to go to Florida on hols during their hurricane season, I don't tend to get much of a tan and so I've been paler than usual lately. 

When Baby B Browne* contacted me to ask if I would like to try out their tan I was delighted as it was perfect timing seeing as I had been looking around for reviews on different tans. I had heard great things about this tan and was really looking forward to putting it to the test.

I wanted a natural look with this tan so left it on for the minimum amount of time which was 4 hours and then showered it off. It was really easy to apply and didn't have the fake tan smell which was great. The results? I was in love!!!! The tan was so natural and came out completely streak free. It also washed off really well and faded evenly. I've already recommended it to people and they've loved it too! It's definitely gonna be my go to tan from now on.

              Before                              After

You can buy the tan here for around €20.

Let me know you're fav tan in the comments below!

* I was kindly sent this product for review. All opinions are 100% honest and entirely my own.

Valentine's Day Hair, Make Up and Outfit Ideas

So as Valentine's Day is coming up, I thought I'd put together a quick post on some ideas for hair, make up and outfits. I've done similar posts before where I did separate posts on hairstyles, make up and outfits but this year I thought I'd make it easier for people and combine everything into one post. Hope you like it - let me know your favs in the comments! Enjoy your Valentine's Day :)