Mastering Your Makeup

Say hello to Paese Cosmetics!

Another day another makeup brand for me to play with!

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Today we are talking Paese Cosmetics. “This is a brand developed by a young Polish company made up of professional make-up artists and beauty professionals dedicated to their craft. Paese is a unique and modern make-up brand that is dedicated to bringing you quality, created by natural ingredients, beauty created by a vast variety of shades with strong depths of colour and affordability that will make you smile.

Paese is a brand, which specifically takes care of high quality of its cosmetics. Recipes' of our products are based on substances and raw materials extracted from richness of nature and effects of work from modern laboratories. All of our products contain ingredients like Vitamin C, A, PP, B and E complexes, oils, waxes, minerals, natural UV filters. About 85% of cosmetic ingredients are natural.”

I saw the Paese Cosmetics stand at the Beauty Show in the RDS in March, there were a lot of people currently shopping at it while I was passing and as always with those beauty shows, you pass something once, you mean to go back but instead you stop for tea and head home from the heat and the pure exhaustion of being indoors with the beauty madness for too long.

I was thrilled when a package from Paese Cosmetics arrived at the door a few weeks back. As we all know, I have been out and about at a lot of event and launches through the blog and had a number of outings personally recently so it’s a perfect time to try out some new makeup goodies. I have been trialling the three beauties over the last few weeks and now I feel I can give my full opinion on them.

So what was I sent?

I received the Matte & Cover Foundation, Bamboo Powder and Linea Automatic Eyeliner.

Matte & Cover- Mattyfying Foundation: “This foundation is for oily & mixed skin which is exactly what I have. This foundation gives a strong coverage of any imperfections. The innovative formula Sebum Control recognizes and balances oily and dry areas. The latest generation Nylon in the form of active Microsponges disperses oil on skin surface to give a strong matte finish. The foundation contains no Talc. The active ingredients in this foundation are; Mikcosponges, Hyaluronic Acid, Vitamin A&C and D-Panthenol”

I have totally 100% fallen in love with this foundation! That’s no mean feat to say but I love it!! I have worn it all day, on nights out and it doesn’t budge. I think it’s so fresh looking, it feels great on my skin and I am reaching to it all the time lately. I am over the moon to have received this foundation and at €12.99 I will be sure to get this again. Only €13 that’s a bargain when you have found something so good for your skin that also looks amazing and lasts ages! Sometimes ladies there is no need to break the bank with a foundation when you find something you love…stick with it!!

Bamboo Powder: “This product is dedicated to oily & combination skin with excess production of sebum. This powder ensures the highest degree of long lasting matte effect. This can be applied as a loose powder in order to obtain effect of matte and smooth skin with a subtle glow but without colour coverage. Bamboo powder contains more than 90% of silica, which absorbs excess sebum and moisture. It has antibacterial and calming properties, aids healing of the skin and regulates production processes of sebum glands. The powder reflects the light giving an effect of ‘soft focus’ on the skin. Bamboo takes the form of white, soft and fluffy dust which when applied leaves the skin with transparent matte finish”

With all that info can there be a bad point to this powder? Eh…Nope! Again another amazing product from Paese and this time costing €11.99 the pot is huge! It’s gonna last you ages so that is such a steal of a price. I really like this powder as finally when a product description says it does something, this one does what it says. I use this all the time over the foundation mentioned above and I think the two combined is how my makeup has been lasting so long and looking so great. I will absolutely replace this once this goes but I am hoping from now until the show in Sept/Oct whichever one it is I will be able to stock up on more Paese goodies. I’ll leave my wishlist at the end of this post.

LINEA AUTOMATIC EYELINER: "Metallic eyeliner high intensity is provided by metal pigments combined with a long-lasting, smudge- and waterproof hold. The soft texture ensures a perfect glide a creamy pay-off. There are 5 colours: Plum Glam, Black Glam, Brown Glam, Blue Glam, Olive Glam"

I was sent the Plum Glam colour. Not that this product is bad but I think for me just because the other two were so superb, I wasn’t over in love with this product. I think for me I have spent so long trying to perfect my gel liner with the Inglot gel, I struggle to be wowed by other liner pens and the colour of plum isn’t one of my faves. However, I have tried this pencil and for the bottom lash line when I recently created a cranberry look it was awesome. The little smudge brush at the end of the pencil was just perfect. I would recommend these pencils if you are in love with liners but for me they are just a hard product to love. I think now that the hunt for foundation and powder is over maybe my attention will turn to eyes again. These liners retail at only €8.99 so still a total bargain.

There are three products on my current Paese Cosmetics Wishlist:

Matte Base (primer) for €12.99

Clair Brightening Concealer (Light Beige no.2) €11.99

Lipstick (no. 35) €8.60

I will be sure to pick these babies up at the next show if not beforehand. You can purchase all these and more on the Paese Ireland Website www.paese.ie

I hope you enjoyed this review, sometimes you can be so so lucky with finding a new brand that you will literally fall in love with after trying. If you have any questions on Paese please contact me or better still if you have any products you think I need to add to my wishlist get in touch!

*All information in “” is from information leaflets sent with the products.*

15:04:00
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My Makeup Look by Claire Brookes in Maddens Roscrea

Happy Monday everyone!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend, I must say I had a lovely time at home in Tramore, chilling by the fire wrapped up in a fleece onesie and a trip into town with my mum for lunch and a look around at the shops…it was so nice to just have nothing on! I have two when weekends over the last three weekends and I have another in Galway this weekend. My liver will hate me so I am trying my best to stay on track with all things healthy during the week and not cause too much damage.

The second hen weekend I attended started off in Roscrea Co. Tipperary and it was excellent. Once again I met an amazing group of girls I had never met before (as I only know the bride) and had an excellent time. I had been sick during the week after the 1^st hen with a really nasty headcold and although it caught up on me when it poured rain on the Saturday night, the one thing I didn't have to worry about was my makeup.

Pic from Facebook

Early on Saturday morning myself and Arlene (the bride) headed into Maddens Pharmacy in Roscrea for Arlene to get her makeup done. We had already been in the hairdressers since 8am getting stunning blow-dries and although my hair was stunning, really big volume and lose curls, I ran into the car and it all fell out thanks to the bloody rain. We paid €50 for two styles and only got one, I was not impressed. We had booked Arlene in to get her makeup done with Claire Brookes, one of the MUA’s based in Maddens.

Makeup by Claire Brooke's Facebook Profiler

Only due to time constraints, I left Arlene in Claire’s capable hands and went off to start my own makeup. I had my brows on and got a call from Arlene to head back to Maddens that Claire had time to do my makeup before we left on the bus. I was delighted!!

I have followed Claire for ages and love her makeup style, it’s such a wonderful opportunity to get to meet someone you follow and have them work on your face. I have recently put up a status on the blog that I would love to get more makeup looks done so I can have a fab profile pic on the blog because I really feel my phone just doesn't do a look justice. Thankfully Claire knows her salon and her lighting so I have stolen her pic as it really shows off the look.

Excuse the fleece but I was trying not to get sick again

(my poor hair had totally fallen down)

I loved the makeup look, I wanted something smokey and sultry and that would last the day. Myself and Claire chatted the whole time about makeup we loved, brands I haven't tried, using the powder foundation from Fuschia in another way….it was excellent!!

The pharmacy hosts a range of makeup stands including our beloved NYX stand but as usual no Mauve liner to be found, I don't think I'll ever get my hands on that so please if you have one near you let me know! The two main brands for makeup in the shop are Clarins and Fuschia. I am not a huge Clarins lady and for no other reason that I just don’t think of it when buying makeup. Fuschia is of course a brand I know all too well and I really like to top off my foundation with a layer of their powder foundation in Fawn at the min to give my skin a little glow without the dreaded shine. I picked up a sample pot at the beauty show back in March and I am almost out so I'll be needing another one very soon. I just love the finish for my skin so it’s good to know Claire loves it too.

My lashes on the day were individuals and had been applied the night before in Arlene’s by the lovely Siobhan. We had a great time in the house with all the girls and poor Siobhan had to tint brows, wax them and then had at least five sets of individual lashes to put on, it was a very late night for us all. It was a great treat to have all the girlies together, sipping champagne and having the chats while getting beautified in the house. It also saved myself and Claire some time on the Sat and she made my look dramatic to match the lashes.

Judy, Arlene our bride and Sioban our lash queen!

We went with a nude lip colour for during the day and I added a little more liner and Candy Yum Yum from MAC for my night-time outfit. We had all been wearing black and pink during the day so I wanted the theme to carry into the night.

Queen of the snapchat selfies from Night back to Day

I would highly recommend booking in with Claire if you are around the Roscrea area. She is super talented and even better than just having talent she has a real passion for doing makeup. She just loves it and you can tell as she works on your face, her priority is for you to look your best.

Booking your makeup in Maddens is a great way to treat yourself, not only to a fab makeup look but also to treat yourself. Makeup applications cost €20 and you can then redeem this against Clarins or Fuschia makeup. Be sure to give them a call on 0505 21058 and check them out on Facebook HERE.

Thanks so much to Claire for a fantastic morning of chats and for the stunning makeup look, I really did love it and if anyone has me on snapchat @emmajcs you will have seen it was selfie central at that hen. Bring on the madness of Galway again this week!

Be sure to check out all Claire’s social media and give her a like & follow:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clairebrookesmua?fref=ts

Instagram: @missclairebr

13:22:00
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An evening with Sleek Makeup!

15:10:00
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Image Skincare- A night of Info & Treats

12:30:00
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High End Skincare Products- What's been on my face?

High End Skincare…sometimes it can be a real treat and sometimes it can be a nightmare, all too often we are bombarded with really good marketing telling us we ‘need’ the latest must have and then we get it, paying a fortune and it doesn't do anything magical to our skin at all.

Luckily this post contains things I liked, maybe not things I would go out and buy or tell you, you need to have them but thankfully I didn't have a single bad reaction to any of these skincare products and there’s some I will deffo keep using on a daily basis.

I think since my love of Ziaja Skincare started and of course increasing my knowledge base so much with becoming a brand ambassador, it is hard to me to be swayed away now from my manuka tree range. I am of course happy to try out other products and like many makeup or beauty lovers, we tend to have a mix up of products in our routine to ensure we are getting the best into and best out of our skin.

So for today’s post, it is a long one, there are familiar brands to some of you and maybe not too familiar. I will link in social media sites for you to learn more about the products and give you some overall thoughts and feedback on how I got on using the products.

The first brand to feature in this is an Irish brand called NIA. Nia is an Irish company which was established in Limerick and has grown in it’s product range in the last year or so. They specialise in Body balms and Nia’s products are hand-made in Limerick, Ireland. Nia uses Irish ingredients in all our products, importing only Amazonian butters, essential oils and supplies not available on the beautiful Emerald Isle.

Recently I was delighted to receive their new Calendula and Orange Blossom Cleansing Balm and an Intensive Restoring Facial Hydrating Mist. I am so into my natural products at the min, I think they are just such a treat when you've had all the chemicals of not only makeup on your face all day but the atmosphere itself, you can just feel so dirty from the air around us.

I have been using my Cleansing balm as a real treat when having some ‘me’ time at home, the whole process from applying the balm using the spatula, removing it with the lovely cloth that comes with your balm, it’s such a treat. The mist is always in my handbag, I’ve been reaching for it more and more during the day in the office. It lifts my skin and has me feeling lovely and fresh while cooped up in the office. Both these products can be bought through the nia website http://www.nia.ie/ and retail at €19.95 for the cleansing balm and €19.95 for the Mist. I really like Nia and I think at this price point they would make a fantastic gift for someone. I also love how this is an Irish company so support home as much as you can.

Just look at that for a tag line from a company

Next up we have The Pink Cow Brand, The Cream. This is 100% Natural up to 85% Colostrum and 0% bull. Now that’s a weird tagline you say and yep it’s taken straight from the info sheet on the card. So just a small bit of info on the brand. The key ingredient is Colostrum which is the 1^st milk from happy, outdoor, grass-fed, New Zealand cows, hence the pink little cow symbol. The Cream uses only the most pure and effective natural ingredients, it is available in selected shops in Ireland and it retails at €49.95 You can find all stockists details at http://www.thepinkcowbrand.com/outlets

My first impression was a little tainted by the smell, it’s funky. Not like something that would totally put you off but deffo not something that makes you think, oh yeah I love this scent. The texture is lightweight white cream which rubs in really quickly and absorbs into the skin in no time. It doesn’t leave me feeling greasy and the absolute best thing is the result in a real fresh faced look. I was really happy with this product and I currently still use it as my daytime moisturiser, hoping it won’t run out too soon as at €50 it’s a bit steep to be buying all the time. I find 3 pumps will do my entire face and I would recommend this if you had a nice event coming up and wanted to look after your skin.

Next up is a new brand in my life, Declare. I was contacted by them through twitter when I was having a really tough time with my skin so I was delighted when this package arrived. Declare are a swiss brand of skincare, specialising in all things sensitive. I was getting sore spots on my face and I felt I had caused some damage to my skin using such harsh chemical based products to battle the spots. So here’s a run down of what I got….

Cleansing Powder: The special face cleansing for sensitive skin. Soap-free and pH neutral. When mixed with a small amount of water, the mild powder transforms into a delicate foam, which removes make-up, dead skin cells and impurities gently and thoroughly.

Ocean’s Best Moisturiser: This wonderfully soft cream draws its special effects from the strength of the sea. A highly effective combination of sea minerals, trace elements, and algae and seaweed extracts boosts cell activity, countering the external signs of stress and fatigue. 24-hour moisturizing activity. Exquisite oils pamper your skin and imbue it with unbelievable smoothness. For a sensationally fresh and revitalized look.

Anti-Irritation Serum: t’s the unique combination of valuable active ingredients that makes this ultra-light serum so effective: signs of stress, fatigue and rashes are visibly reduced, and your complexion looks smooth and relaxed, radiating a wonderful freshness. Thanks to the addition of hyaluronic acid and moisturising complexes, the skin is plumped out, making wrinkles and areas of loose skin less visible. At the same time, highly effective plant extracts reinforce the skin’s own protective function, helping your skin to combat daily stress factors. For perfectly groomed and fortified skin, and a relaxed and fresh complexion.

I am loving the brand and the products. I think my favourite item I received was the Anti-Irritation Serum, it just leaves my face feeling so soft and really cared for after use. The Ocean’s Best cream is lovely when having pamper evening at home, after a facial I will apply this and leave it soak into my skin and it feels fantastic. The powder cleanser was pretty different to anything I had tried before and while it was a little awkward at the start, I am now so used to using it there is no more mess. I am thrilled to have come across this brand and as it expands and new stockists come on board, there’s sure to be a declare stockist near you soon. Do check out their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Declar%C3%A9-Ireland/278606515660847 for all new updates and other products in the ranges. There are so many products you are bound to find something you will love.

Last but not least is a little humours and it's the Mio Boob Tube! I have been using this product for a few weeks now on a daily basis and while I'm not seeing any difference in my chest area, I should reap the benefits in about 30 years time.

Just so you don't think I'm gone completely bonkers check out which Kardshian star had our PR company buzing with this product:

"Khloe Kardashian is the latest celeb to fall for cult bust & décolleté firmer Mama Mio Boob Tube. Khloe, whose sister Kourtney is already a fan of the range, says you don’t have to be pregnant to get the benefits of all natural skin care.

The 30-year-old Keeping Up With The Kardashians star uses Mama Mio's Boob Tube every day to tighten her neck. Gorgeous Khloe discovered Mama Mio's products when her sister Kourtney used them during her pregnancies.

She said: ''Kourtney got me into all these Mama Mio products that are all natural. I think she used them when she was breast-feeding. Their names are really cute - there is one that's called the Shrink to Fit Cellulite Smoother that I like. I use one of their other products called the Pregnancy Boob Tube every day. It's got avocado oil and shea butter so when your boobs are growing you don't get stretch marks. I like it though, because it tightens your neck, too. I've been using it every day for a year.''

.She joked: ''Now people always ask me, 'Why do you have this?' Hinting as if I'm trying to have a baby, and I'm like, 'No, no. It's just because I f**king like it'.''

She’s not the only one – Sarah Stack, still boasting an enviable six pack at eight months pregnant, relies on Mamma mio to keep her perfect figure. She said: “I’m a huge fan of this entire Mama Mio line for the prevention of stretch marks, especially their Tummy Rub Butter, Pregnancy Boob Tube and Megamama lotion.”

MIO Boob Tube is priced @ €37.00

I am of course going to continue to use this product, I really like the feel of it on my skin and if its good enough for my fave Kardashian it is certainly good for me. This might be a wonderful treat for an expecting lady in your life.

So there we have it, loads of new skincare products my face has had the pleasure of trying out. It has been such a journey with my skin lately but I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to try out so many wonderful things which I will absolutely purchase once they are used up. If you have any questions or would like anymore info then please don't hesitate to get in touch and have a wonderful Tuesday evening.