Mastering Your Makeup

Youngblood Cosmetics #worldofcolour Launch.

Hi All,

So last week I was delighted to have been invited to check out the Youngblood Cosmetics summer info launch in Closer2Fabulous Dublin. closer2fabulous.ie Just want to say a huge thanks to Elaine from Lovelane PR for the invite (the rice crispie squares were fab!)

I had heard of Youngblood a few months back through Facebook (www.facebook.com/YoungbloodIreland) and have been following them a lot checking out their product reviews and pictures of completed looks.

(sourced through Google Images)

"Youngblood is the premier luxury mineral cosmetics line made of natural, finely ground minerals from the earth — without any of the common irritants (including chemicals, dyes and preservatives) found in conventional makeup. Created by former medical aesthetician, Pauline Youngblood, many of our products contain our signature mineral blend of Malachite, Rhodolite, Hematite and Zincite to help protect cells and tissue." (www.ybskin.com)

So this wasn't the first launch of Youngblood in Ireland, they had originally launched late last year so this was to showcase the new products within the range. They had also brought over the wonderful Philip Luque, Youngbloods International MUA.

I arrived and had tea and a lovely rice crispy square and got chatting to Sinead from The Beautiful Truth and Debs Leonard (closer 2 fabulous) before we got started with Philip. I really enjoyed being taken through the products that Youngblood have, people can be so skeptical about using mineral products, we all get a little nervous of things we don't know, things we think we may not get enough coverage out of or lasting power. I used to be the type of person who didn't touch brands I didn't know as "how could they be any good" but since starting my blog six months ago, I have tried more brands now than ever in my life and I am really starting to look for good skin care quality of makeup I want to wear.

Ladies, we have to be careful what we put on our faces, now we all know I love a bargain, I don't discriminate ranges based on price (unless I can't afford them haha) but I do think it's fair to say I now want to take much better care of my skin and if I am to move into makeup as a profession, I want to supple the best products to my clients.

There are a number of products I really want to try from Youngblood, they have a compact primer for oily skin which I think will really work for my t-zone.

(www.ybskin.com)

There is also going to be a new trio of eyeshadow coming out around Christmas hopefully to Ireland but I didn't get a chance to take a picture of the swatches, they are an amazing gold bronze and silver pigment, perfect for the festivities.

I certainly had a great time and have been looking into Youngblood more over the last week, we were also given an amazing Goodie bag with FOUR products to take away! That is so so generous and I was just so excited to get using the products. I received the eyeshadow quad in Moulin Rouge (whatta name!), A Lipstick in Kranberry, An Extreme Pigment Eyeliner in Blackest Black and a Blush/Highlight Duo in Riviera.

So onto the products:

First up the Blush/Highlighter Duo in Riviera:

'Show off a healthy summer glow all year long with our mineral bronzer. You will love its mélange of colors that are reminiscent of a tropical vacation; use them together on your face and body, or individually as a blush, highlighter or contour' I really like this product, a light pink glow is given to the skin used alone with the brown separate of together create a beautiful summer glow to the face.

Kranberry Lipstick:

'Get gorgeous lips with our colorful range of luxurious lipsticks. The lanolin-free formula contains a special blend of natural oils and vitamins. Stays fresh-looking for hours.' This product is so smooth on the lips, I wore it for hours, it didn't move and my lips felt really moistureised. The pigment in the lipstick was flawless also.

Eyeshadow Quad, Moulin Rouge:

'Use your eye-magination! Four complementary shades come in a sleek, mirrored compact for limitless looks. The formula sweeps on like silk and wears for hours. Each compact includes matte, pearl and shimmery finishes that blend together easily' These shadows are fantastic, application was very easy, staying power is really good and the pigment in the colours again is just superb. I like the feel of the shadows on the lid and they blended really easily for me.

Extreme Pigment Eyeliner; Blackest Black:

'Define those lash lines with these cream-textured pencils. The rich, long-lasting color won't tug or irritate. Sharpens to a fine point for complete precision, or smudges for a sultry, smoky look.' So far I have used this products lightly to create day looks but I really liked how it applied to the lash line, I am looking forward to using it for a night look and deepening the colour but again the pigment is really good and it applied smoothly to the lash line, there is nothing worse than your eye being pulled to pieces just to apply a pencil liner!

Here is a look I wore to work recently:

(please excuse the hair, it was early!!!)

If you want to start looking after your skin and applying great makeup which is not overly expensive but amazing quality, please do check out Youngblood Cosmetics. I am going to researh them more in the coming months but if you have any questions at all please feel free to contact me @ emmajosephinesheehan@gmail.com. I will be sampling their foundations soon which I am so excited about so will deffo keep you all posted on that!!

Here is a full list of Irish stockists:

Mc Cartans Pharmacy Sutton, Dublin
Briarhill Pharmacy, Briarhill SC, Galway
Matt O'Flaherty's Pharmacy, Galway
Kellys Pharmacy, Enniscorthy
Liberty Pharmacy, Thurles
Goods, High Street, Kilkenny
Mallow Late Night Pharmacy, Mallow, Cork
Chemco Carlow Sandhills SC Carlow
Chemco Bunclody
Chemco Celbridge - BRAND NEW STORE
Mi Health Pharmacy Portlaoise
Mellericks Fermoy
Murrays Pharmacy Dungarvan
Urban Pharmacy Belfast
Bellissimo Hair & Beauty Limerick

And online at www.closer2fabulous.ie

Emma x

11:12:00
1 Comments

Inglot Dundrum Makeovers for 1D

Hi All,

Saturday was just amazing... Firstly just want to saw like nearly 250,000 others I went to 1D in Croke Park and it was a fantastic show! The boys really outdid themselves and despite the rain (it's ok we were covered the makeup was safe) everyone seemed to have a brilliant night!

So in order to prep for what was to be a brilliant night, myself and my two besties Elaine and Sinead had booked in to Inglot in Dundrum for some fab makeovers.

This is not the first time we had all booked into Inglot and you can read about our first time here....

I have attended a few masterclasses in Dundrum and as this is the closest Inglot to me, I always have to pop by for a look when I am in Dundrum. I had specifically asked for Nikita who's masterclass I attended recently and not only is this girls beautiful but her work is fantastic so I was really excited to see what she would do. You can check out Nikita's own Facebook HERE

(Nikita)

Myself and the girls had been doing a little shopping prior to going to Inglot so apart from super organised Elaine, we didn't have a colour scheme in mind so after grabbing a top in River Island for the night, I scanned instagram for inspiration and came across a fab look created by another Inglot MUA Jessica who works in the Pro Store on South Anne Street, you can check out Jessica on Facebook HERE

(Jessica- My inspo for my look)

So the look I wanted was made up of red, brown, strong contouring and dark brows, I was so delighted with my finished look, I mean Nikita just did an amazing job and the entire time we chatted away, I was extremely comfortable and we all know just how important that is when you are trusting someone to do your makeup. It's not always easy if you feel unsure about what you want so my advice would be to have a think about the look you want created and have even some colours in mind, MUA's are artists absolutely but they are not mind readers ladies ;)

Elaine was taken care of by one of the prettiest 19 year olds ever! (Apologies Elaine totally told me your age ;) ) This stunner is MUA Blathnaid and please you have got to check out her amazing work on Facebook HERE Elaine went with the pink tones in her playsuit which she was wearing that night, I was told that if colour is what you want to play with, then Blathnaid is your girl!! Elaine was over the moon with her look and couldn't choose the lashes so literally had to choose from behind Blathnaid's back, that's the trouble with Inglot you just want everything because it's so lovely.

(Blathnaid)

Sinead was looked after by Aideen, who had the loveliest flower headband on and I really meant to ask her where she got it from! Anywho, Aideen is the only MUA on the day I hadn't come across before but due to the wonders of technology, I found her makeup page on Facebook which you can click over to HERE Sinead went for a stunning liner look with a pop of colour under her bottom lashes. Sinead loved how she looked, she likes her eyes to look wider and got some contouring which she is not always used to. Sinead actually had her makeup finished off with a nude lipstick as she wanted one to take home with her but when she put on her jumpsuit that evening, she needed brightening so we actually lashed on MAC Heroine to top off the look.

(Aideen)

So how did we all turn out? Well here is our before and after collages....

(Me!)

(Sinead) (Elaine)

I really love that aspect of Inglot, many of the MUA's have their own Facebook like pages and Instagram pages where they showcase their work so it's really easy for you to see styles, you like, trends that are out and also get inspiration for the look you want created.

To get your makeup done in Inglot is €30 which is good pricing but the added bonus is.... that €30 is then redeemable against products from the store. This of course is an aspect I love and who doesn't want to feel like you are getting 'free stuff' after paying for your makeup?! On Saturday I got the lipstick we used to create my look, the newly released mascara which I cannot wait to try and also a trio of red shadow for my 10 palette which is now almost full.

Both Sinead and Elaine also had lashed applied, which costs and extra €15 but they are re-usable so you get the case to bring home with you. If you take care of your lashes, you will get about 3 wears out of them, well that's what I manage anyway :)

I just want to thank Nikita, Blathnaid and Aideen for a fab time on Saturday. All the staff were amazing to us, really listened to what we wanted and didn't want, helped us choose some fab new products and really spent the time with us, chatting, keeping us comfortable and interested in what we were doing and who we were. As a blogger but more importantly as a customer, I was so happy with our time spent in Inglot Dundrum I just wanted to rave about it to you all, super staff and super value. As my followers know, I am a true inglot addict, since moving to Dublin only 6 months ago, I have attended a full course and many many masterclasses, I am yet to have a negative experience with the company so will absolutely keep coming back.

Thanks to the team in Dundrum we loved it!

You will see on my Facebook Blog Page Here that I have posted the new info about Inglot's new products launching this Thursday, of course a lip palette has my name all over it so be sure to check it out!!

You will find inglot on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Inglot-Make-Up-Ireland/153416228012372
Twitter: @inglotireland

Emma x

17:16:00
3 Comments

Nia Skincare... Homemade and smells delicious!!

Heya Beauties (yes that shall be the name from now on I think :) )

I, like many of my fellow bloggers love to get in on something we think could be huge so one Sunday night I was chilling at home watching Dragons Den when a lovely lady Celine appeared with her new skincare brand Nia (there is a fada over that 'i')

I contacted Celine directly through Facebook as in recent months I have been on the hunt for some natural products to use on my body and face. I feel that the longer my love of makeup and false tan and false lashes and lets face it anything false that makes me look pretty, I am slowly slipping into terrible skin routines so I want to find products I will use and which will help my skin.

So introducing Nia... This is 100% natural, irish handmade beauty balm specialist!
There is no mineral oil, silicones, parabens, synthetic fragrance, hidden alcohols or petroleum. I mean you don't get much fresher than that!!! I really like the tag line on the info pack Celine sent me it states;
" If it's not good enough to eat, it's not good enough for our balms"

Firstly I was sent a pot of the 'Firming Balm' the yellow label and this is made up of essential oils; Mandarin, orange, fat burning grapefruit, patchouli, bergamot and ginger. This product is for toning, firming, cellulite, stretch marks. There is a body balm and a firming scrub bar. This retails at €14.95. http://www.nia.ie/firming/

I have been using my firming balm over the last two weeks and the first thing that hits you about the product is the beautiful smell! I love using this product after a hot shower when you skin is all clean and soft. The product itself looks mostly like a mousse and applies thickly so you need to give it a good rub in. I find that the product is quite oily so I do tend to use it as part of a pamper evening or even better still if I shower in the evening, lash it on, leave it soak into my skin and then I really feel the difference the next morning. It's not too easy to get your jeans on when you've applied this product but it's a real treat to the body, the oils are wonderful on the skin and you just feel so soft and smooth.

The second product I have tried is the Intensive Range. Again I was sent the Body Balm and I was blown away by the wonderful smells. The intensive range is made up of essential oils; Jasmine, Neroli, Rose, Frankincense, Sandalwood & Orange. This product is for dry/extra dry skin. I find that when using false tan I get get little dry patches especially on the backs of my arms and close to my elbows so again I have been soaking my lovely skin in this product after showers. You may think it's strange lashing on two products onto two different parts of your body but these products just smell so good you would literally cover yourself and sit there for the evening feeling clean and gorgeous. As with the other Nia product, it is a mouse like consistency, and the oils then sit on the skin. The intensive range comes in a Body Balm, a shower mousse, a body scrub, a body cream and a hand balm. This retails at €9.99 for the 150ml. http://www.nia.ie/intensive/

The third product I was sent was actually a few little samples of the Intensive Restoring Facial Moisturising Balm. Anyone who reads my blog will know I suffer from poor skin at times, actually most of the time but I am trying now to drink much more water and get on top of my skin once and for all. So this little miracle pot has been amazing. This is a blend of 100% natural butters, herbs, essential oils suited for the routine or intensive care of dry, sensitive and irritated skin.

This product is used to treat:
Sunburn Sensitive Skin Psoriasis
Eczema Ageing Skin Irritation
Skin rashes Dehydrated Skin Dull Skin
Dry Patches Prone to Allergies Dermatitis

I love this little beauty. Again, an oily consistency when you apply it so maybe leave it until you have time to let it soak in, I like to apply it in the evenings and let it work its magic over the the night when I'm asleep. This retails at €19.95. http://www.nia.ie/facialcare/

Nia has it's own website and the link is here.... http://www.nia.ie/
It is full of great info, prices and you can even order trial sizes for €0.02 that's just fantastic!!!

Nia is also on social media such as:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/niahomespa
Twitter: @NiaHomeSpa

I would highly recommend this range and wish Celia all the best with her venture.

Emma x

11:05:00
2 Comments

Taking care of all things hair and skin at Niall O Reilly!

Hi Ladies,

As many hair experts, nail addicts and makeup lovers know if you are in Waterford City and in need of some supplies, the absolute gem of a place to stop by is Niall O Reilly Hair Supplies in Michael Street. Tucked down a pedestrian street close to the Apple Market it has all you can want and more. They also have a website which makes it so handy if you can't pop into town they link is right HERE (they deliver nationwide and have free shipping over €19.99 ex vat)

"Niall O' Reilly is a leading Supplier in the Hair and Beauty Industry. The O'Reilly Group has 40 years of experience in wholesale Salon Supplies and work hard to give our customers a wide selection of all the best brands including L'Oreal, Wella, Schwarzkopf, Revlon, Babyliss . . . We offer the most competitive salon wholesale prices and we guarantee the highest standard of professional products. We stock over 3,000 products and are constantly sourcing new brands to keep ahead of industry trends." (http://www.nialloreilly.ie/)

I have been a customer of Niall O'Reilly since first doing hair in Waterford College of Further Education way back in 2009 and find myself stopping in most times I'm at home or having my mum nip in to pick up something for me. My sisters (who are twins) have been buying their hair extensions from there for years.

The first time I can remember going in was to buy the Babyliss Wand (in pink of course) and I loved the layout of the shop, it was so easy to find everything and the staff were always so friendly.

I got in touch with Niall and Lisa a few weeks back about reviewing some products for them and they generously sent me some much needed hair and skin care. I have included under all the write ups a link to the website so you can easily purchase these products yourself.

The Bed Head sachets were fantastic, they really smelled like toffee and this was my first time using bed head and I think I may invest in this after my other products are finished

For anyone that follows the blog will know I have had a bit of a rough time with my hair lately, I've attempted to go blonde, I've had my hair falling out, I've had to get over 3 inches cut off due to a previous styling so I am not overly happy in confident in my hair at the minute. I have decided to leave the colour as is for the next four weeks, treat it properly and then add more brown back into my hair but I was so worried I would loads more. This first product has been to good to my hair.

The first product I want to talk about is the Toujour Balm: It's an intense conditioner. It works as well as a mask but you only need to leave it in for 5 minutes and rinse out. Online for €7.70 ex vat, €9.47 inc vat. Look at the colour of this bad boy and it smells amazing, all citrus and fruity it's fantastic. So I have used this at least 3-4 times now and used varying leave in times and I really do feel my hair is much softer when I use this product. The pot is so big so really the value is unbelievable for this so if you are in need of a treatment I would highly recommend this!

http://www.nialloreilly.ie/toujour-conditioning-balm-1000ml/toujbalmpd.html

The next product I want to talk to you about today is the ProYou Nutritive Shampoo:

It's an excellent shampoo for putting moisture into the hair also if people find their hair gets greasy quick this is a good shampoo because it clears away all the excess oils. You need to use it for about a week/ two to really see the benefits. Online for €5.99 ex vat, €7.37 inc vat. I took Lisa's advice and have been using this product for about two weeks now and again I have to say after all the stress my hair has been under lately this shampoo has worked really well. All girls who are naturally dark and have attempted to go blonde quickly know just how hard it can be to keep the condition of your hair good so this shampoo has been really good to me. It has a clear/pearly consistency and smells nice and that's always a plus. It's strange but most things that are good for you in life, don't always smell great (I'm totally thinking vegetables here) so it's nice to know the shampoo peeps got it right!!

http://www.nialloreilly.ie/revlon-professional-pro-you-nutritive-shampoo-350-ml/proyounutritivepd.html

I was over the moon to get a skincare product and not just one I liked but one I really needed. I have finally started a good skin care routine but never use a face mask, lucky for me I was sent the Strictly Professional Facial Mask: It's a deep cleansing mask with Kaolin to draw out impurities and Witch Hazel to refresh the skin. (Lisa also informed me that she uses her cleanse off mitt to take it off) Online for €3.65 ex vat €4.49 inc vat. This product is designed for people with oily skin so was exactly what I needed, I even post a pic of myself with the face mask on onto my blog page and instagram as I was so impressed with the product. Once again this mask smells great, feels lovely on the skin and is easily removed with a lovely fresh and hydrated feeling left on the skin.

http://www.nialloreilly.ie/strictly-professional--facial-mask-100ml/spfmpd.html
Just to mention again Niall O Reilly's offer free shipping on all orders over €19.99 ex vat. And here is some more amazing news just for all you followers!! To make online shopping even easier for you guys, Niall O Reilly are offering a week long promotion of 10% of all orders made online... How amazing is that!!!

All you need to do is log onto http://www.nialloreilly.ie/ and when you get to the checkout type in: EmmaSheehan as your discount code and you will receive 10% off your order. This promotion is valid from Thursday 15th of May until Thursday 29th of May.

There is so much available on the website I really encourage you to check out the site and get yourself a treat!! If you have any questions or queries, Lisa will answer any questions you any have and you can contact her @ lisa@nialloreilly.ie

Check out Niall O Reilly on:

Website: http://www.nialloreilly.ie/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Niall-O-Reilly/125549864191758?ref=br_tf
Twitter: @NiallOReillyHB

Keep me posted if you guys purchase something from the site!

Emma x

10:36:00
1 Comments

Fantastic service at Urban Decay... Yep you heard me!!

Ladies we all know service at higher end makeup brands can be hit and miss sometimes based on your own appearance (yes I've experienced this) and also the immense pressure to buy when you just want a look or a tester (give me one!!) Well tonight I attended the Debenhams Beauty night in Blackrock with Karen and we bought found the service at Urban Decay AMAZING!!!!

We were met by the lovely Doireann who was very helpful with Karen she used loads of products on her look, answered all my questions and trust me I had loads especially about their B6 vitamin spray and she had a wealth of knowledge on each product. We discussed the difficulty of approaching brands, asking questions and needing help and Doireann was just lovely.

Karen treated herself to a few new bits and I do think some of that was down to the effort Doireann put in to explaining products but also giving Karen enough space to make her own decision.

Karens fab goodies

We then met Meg and this girl was stunning, I was so tempted to try and take a picture of her eye make up but I chickened out... I am thinking I need to go back and get my makeup done to showcase how fab it was!! Meg was equally lovely and as Karen was making her final choice I was getting help off Meg about products I wanted (yep so much for not spending)

I had to buy something!

I just want to say now that I have had some horrific sales experience and vowed never to go back to places because of the treatment I got from staff, it's so rude at times in this beauty business people's personalities can be ugly so I want to thank Doireann and Meg for a lovely time at Urban Decay Debenhams Blackrock you ladies were so good and have deffo made a return customer out of me!!!

Emma x

21:04:00
6 Comments

Practical time at Waverley Academy

Heya ladies,

So this is just a quick picture opportunity to showcase some of the hard work we do are Waverley Academy. The week before last Tanya had her friend Augusta in from Estee Lauder and showed us how to create a traditional bridal look.

Last week then after our exam questions (still doing OK on them) we had a whole practical night! We each took nearly an hour to recreate the look and I worked with Elaine, this was the first time we had been working together and were so distracted chatting loads but we got there!!

Tanya was good enough to walk around the class and take some snaps while we are all busy...

This is my work on Elaine

Elaines great work on me

Lindsey is always smiling ;)

Is Kellie really camera shy?

Lisa working hard

Poor Danielle is finally getting her cast off this week

This week is very exciting for us we have a senior trainer from Inglot Cosmetics Ireland coming in to talk to us about life after the course and working for a brand on a counter. As we all know I am a huge Inglot Makeup fan so I really cant wait for this, I will of course have a whole post on any info I get for all you beauty lovers!!

Hopefully ill have loads to fill you all in on after this week :)