Mastering Your Makeup: Honest Post

A Review Of: b.tan I want the darkest tan possible

Blank Canvas Cosmetics

13:22:00
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Electrolysis- Is it really as bad as you think?

Blogger

09:55:00
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Foundation Review- Armani Luminous Silk

Beauty

09:55:00
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Lip Glosses Summer 2018... Splurge Spend & Save

Beauty

Hello Lovelies,

Our summer... hello you beauty! The weather has been unreal, I am so happy the sun has been shining, it's been giving me all the wedding feels. I also can't believe I am now less than a month to my big day its sooo exciting!

One thing that has happened over the last few weeks is the postman has been visiting my house with some really interesting new samples. Lip Gloss is making it's big come back this season and I for one am delighted! I really tried with the whole matte lip look for the last few seasons. I spent a fortune of my own money buying liquid matte lipsticks, bullet matte lipsticks and went to countless launches of brands with matte lipsticks. I'd wear them and I'd re-apply throughout the day if needed but I really missed the creamy sensation on my lips.

I actually started to use a more gloss based lip for events last summer so now that we are in fully into Summer 2018 and more & more lip glosses are back on the scene I am delighted! I have four brands I want to mention to day which escalate in price but will give you an idea of what's on offer this season in terms of lip gloss.

Essence: Essence is a brand extremely well known in Ireland. For me it's the go to brand when you've forgotten something and you need a cheap fix that will work. Recently I attended an Essence Ireland event with Anita from Adorn and it was all about creating festival looks. We were asked to take products home to create a festival inspired look which I posted to my social media accounts a couple of weeks ago. For me, festival makeup while sitting in a tent with a small hand mirror needs to be simple and glowing and needs to stay put for hours on end.

One of the products I used as part of my Essence makeup festival look was the Shine Shine Shine Lip gloss. "The lip gloss creates an extreme shine with a wet-look effect on the lips. The supple texture feels wonderfully pleasant and comes in a broad range of colours - including creamy nude shades, shimmering pink and intensive colours with a prism-glow finish. The heart-shaped flock applicator with a soft coating allows an accurate, smooth application." (essence.eu)

This lip gloss does exactly what it claims, it's really easy to apply, the nude pink shade I had was not too sticky so my hair didn't get too caught in it and it lasted a fair while. For under €5 this is an absolutely bargain and as I say if you are at a loose end or someone who is totally new to lips gloss then these are a great place to start!

Urban Decay:Next up and we do take a jump is price is a brand new product from the ever amazing Urban Decay Cosmetics. They have just launched their new Hi-Fi Shine Ultra Cushion Lip Gloss and it is retailing at €18 here in Ireland. There are 20 shades to choose from and available in locations such as Debenhams around Ireland.

The new Hi-Fi Shine Ultra Cushion Lip Gloss is ultra-shiny, glides on cushiony-soft and provides long-lasting wear that’s comfortable, not tacky. Laced with vitamin E and peppermint oil, our hydrating formula leaves lips feeling nourished, has an immediate plumping effect and comes in a yummy vanilla-mint flavor. And wait until you see our lineup; whatever gloss frequency you’re on, we’ve got you covered. Tune in to everything from blaring brights to soft neutrals in four different effects—metallic, holographic, cream and sheer cream.Urban Decay is 100% cruelty-free. (urbandecay.com)

I was kindly gifted Fireball, Midnight Cowgirl, Naked, SPL &. My absolute fave shade from these five beauties has to be Midnight Cowgirl, it's a fab sparkly nude shade. It's perfect to add a layer of sparkle over a lip pencil so you can have staying power with a glossy look. Fireball & SPL look very frightening in their boxes but on the lips bring a little party to your face so are great to have in your collection for a night out or if you're feeling fun. Naked has been living in my handbag quite a bit and the peppermint scent from the tube is lovely. At €18 a pop, with such a fab range of shades, if you loved a shade in the matte lippy for instance 1993 then having it in a gloss is just brilliant to move you right into the summer months.

Lancome: The final lip gloss installment in this post is a serious splurge purchase. A brand so world famous they can totally justify their costs and that is Lancome. The doorbell rang one day over the Easter holidays and a lovely delivery man held out a Lancome bag asking for me by name. I had no idea this little gift was coming to me so when I opened the bad to see four of the new lip glosses I was just delighted with life. It's not every day you can say you own a €30 lip gloss while saving for a wedding and a house I can tell you that much!! The new product I was sent were four of the L’ Absolu Lacquer.

The L'Absolu Lacquer buildable shine & colour longwear lip lacquer has a lightweight formula that coats the lips with colour and gives a high-shine lipstick finish. With buildable shine and colour you can create the lip look that you want, whilst ensuring lips are moisturised and hydrated for hours. Apply one coat for a sheer, natural look and a dewy shine finish. Apply two coats for intense colour and a high-shine finish. Apply three coats for a dramatic lip look head turning colour impact and an ultra lacquered shine! (www.lancome.co.uk)

Back to my shades, I was kindly sent 134 Be Brilliant, 323 Shine Manifesto, 378 Be Unique & finally my favourite 202 Nuit & Jour!! They range froma brilliant red to two pinks and my fave the 202 is a stunning nude shade. You can tell I have a thing about nudes... well I do! I was only at an event this week and purchased another nude lippy which may be a contender for my wedding day lip. The Nuit & Jour shade is deffo a product I will be keeping in my handbag the day of the wedding, it's the perfect top up product, so nice on the lips, not drying, not sticky just a stunning layer of colour and you really can build up the layers taking a little setting break in between layers.

So there we have it ladies... a little look at the lip glosses that have been happily added to my lip stash for the upcoming summer months. Now if only the weather would catch up and give us a chance to enjoy some sunshine that would be awesome!! Hope you enjoyed this post and of course any questions let me know.

23:10:00
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Catrice Cosmetics: Bridal Makeup Look By Me

Beauty

18:40:00
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Elaine's Beauty- Dermalogica BioSurface Peel no.3

Blogger Love

Hello Lovelies,

Back again with another peel post for you all today! Unfortunately due to be unwell and time running away with me, I wasn't able to complete my three peels with Elaine in the optimum time usually between peels (7-10 days) but nevertheless I couldn't wait to get back to Elaine for my third Dermalogica BioSurface Facial Peel.

If you are unaware of what this is, I went through all the details in my first ever peel post HERE & then I checked in after my second peel so see how the results were this time HERE.

Did anyone else notice just how dry and dehydrated our skin became during the snow? I refuse to blame poor Storm Emma, it seems that poor girl gets the blame for everything!!

Anyway, I had booked in with Elaine on the Friday but due to the severe weather we postponed our appointment until last Monday. I knew myself that my skin was possibly in the worst condition it had been in, in a long time. Elaine could see where I was talking about when I pointed to my nose and cheek area. They were so dry, almost flaking in parts and then I also had more redness than usual. This could be down to a number of factors Elaine explained but I was certainly happy to see the back of them.

As with all of my peels, I filled out my consultation card, Elaine talked me through the whole process making sure I numbered how any sensation I was feeling. I was monitored extremely closely especially now that my skin seemed to be in a different condition to other peel occasions. Thankfully, the sensation was minimal so I was able to get through all the layers of the peel. The cooling off part of the peel is my favourite, this is what I call the bubble mask as your face feels a bit like a bowl of rice crispies popping away to itself as it cools and calms the skin.

I could instantly see results from the peel, you have this wonderful glow about your face, like it's been cleaned to within an inch of it's life but you haven't had to hurt yourself to get that way. Also as part of your BioSurface Facial Peel in Elaine's Beauty, you get a three day take home kit. These items are the only skincare items you are allowed to use for the first three days after your peel.

As my peel was booked into the evening slot, I didn't have to do anything to my face going to bed that night. When I woke up in the morning, I took out my kit and used the products in the correct order. If you are worried about the sounds of this after care, with your kit there is an order of how they are used on the back of the box, Elaine will also give you an aftercare sheet so you don't even have to worry about remembering everything yourself.

I have mentioned this point so many times in my blog posts on the peels but they are not anywhere near as scary as they sound, honestly! A peel goes beyond a pamper session, it's for the client who wants to see a real change in their skin. It's for the client who needs more than a facial to make their skin work for them. Again I do feel this is am important point to make, it's also for the client willing to look after their skin. The aftercare is so important so as not to damage your skin so you need to bear that in mind for the following three days. I wouldn't suggest a peel the day before a big night out if you catch my drift!

I am now booked into Elaine's Beauty for four facials before my big day. There are new facials just released since January from Dermalogica called the Pro Skin 60. I'm really excited to start these, again to boost my skin and have it in the best possibly condition for the big day.

I will of course write a full blog post on the new type of facial and also check in on my full Dermalogica face routine I have in place at the moment. I am using solely all Dermalogica products between now and the wedding on my face and following the steps Elaine gave me on how and when to use them. I will talk through in full in the blogpost.

If you have any questions on the BioSurface Facial Peel from Dermalogica, feel free to get in touch with me and if I don't know the answer I shall ask my Dermalogica Exprt, Elaine!

14:26:00
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Zinc Hair & Beauty- My Hair Journey!

Blogger Love

17:38:00
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Madison Makeup Launches in Ireland- Review

Beauty

Hello Lovelies,

Today on the blog we are taking a look at a new brand to my life, Madison Makeup. Unfortunately due to work I missed the official launch of this new brand in what looked like an out of this world event in Dublin's City Hall at the end of last year. But after Christmas I was sent two of the new products from the range to try out and review for you all.

About Madison Makeup:

Madison Makeup has been created and developed by Irish beauty industry veteran Paul

Mooney, and is his latest in a long line of innovative products. Paul’s vision is to create

obtainable luxury, while still providing uncompromised quality and Madison Makeup is

leading this vision. Madison Makeup has been created with the Millennial Irish girl in mind; its trend driven colours allow you to replicate the most current makeup looks. (press release email)

Berry Bold Eyeshadow & Hightlighter Palette- €19.95

This is an essential eyeshadow & highlighter collection with 14 shades in light , neutral & berry tones.

Highly pigmented formula for complete build-able coverage

Finely milled formula for the most seamless blend

Shades range from pink champagne to rich berry with a mix of neutral browns & 4 highly pigmented highlighters that open up an unlimited amount of makeup looks to choose from to suit every type of style. (madisonmakeup.ie)

This palette is really pretty. I also have to say that the size of the palette is very good. It's certainly big enough for the pans to work out at a brilliant cost of only €2 per eye shadow or the four highlighters at only €5 each if they were to be in a palette separately. The tones in the berry bold palette are exactly the type of colours I like to work with. Oranges and Burgundy's are my go to shade for my blue eyes especially when I have tan on, I love to make my blue eyes pop as much as possible. I also think that the shades can be used as a stand alone colour for a quick day look. I like to use the shade burnt when I want this look and sometimes I take it slightly browner with neutral. My absolute favourite shade from the palette though has to be berry itself I just love it!

The highlighters in this palette are not for the faint hearted, or I advise you to use them sparingly. The glow is unreal. I've been using them alone or sweeping my brush across them all. I find when I have tan on, they look even better on my skin. Although, doesn't that apply to every aspect of my life? Always better with a bit of tan on!! Daisy is my favourite highlighter shade from the palette and the one I used the most, it's not the lightest but I love the gold hue it leaves on my skin. I think if you are sallow skinned then fifi would be absolutely stunning on!

Contour; Contour Highlight & Blush Palette- €19.95

A kit to expertly sculpt and define your features with these highly bendable – 6 cream sculpting shades, 1 cream radiance highlighter & 1 powder coral blush
Each of the 6 contour colours can be inter mixed and custom blended to create a tailor made shade to expertly sculpt your features !! (madisonmakeup.ie)

Before we go any further, this is a disclaimer, I am not really into cream contouring. I have to be honest, I just panic when it comes to adding cream contour to my face. I always worry that I look really muddy and then if I do make a mistake, I'm trying to add more foundation ending up feeling like I've a weeks worth of product on my one night face!

That being said, I do think this palette would make a brilliant gift for someone who is into cream contouring or for yourself if you're growing in your cream contouring confidence. The blush shade takes my breath away the beautiful rose gold shade is stunning and I am OK with using the cream highlighter, again be light handed, it is creamy but you always want to be careful about the placement of a cream highlighter.

In the description of the contour palette on the Madison Makeup website, it's says that you can blend the shade to custom colour your contour shade... I will admit I tried this but it didn't work too well on me. I clearly thought my foundation was darker on my skin but I made the contour too dark so started again. Little by little I could see myself starting to add some of the cream contours for a night time look but at the moment, I like to use them more as a concealer. Carving out my brows using Contour 1 or sometimes adding a little of 4 as a concealer, it's deffo something if you're into cream contouring you'd love.

I hope you found this post helpful in deciding if you'd like to try out Madison makeup products. Being tailor made to the young women in Ireland, I think this brand will do very well. I think the price point is smart and this is reflected also in the packaging, it's young and funky and totally appeals to the young makeup lovers of Ireland.