My Skincare Additions

Hello Lovelies!

I was thinking about doing a new skin care post, but to be honest it hasn't changed that much since the last post so I thought I would show you the extra bits and pieces that I use as additions to my everyday routine to help with certain areas. 

No.7 Overnight Radiance Boost

I have raved about this product so many times in the past so it is no surprise that it is included in this post. Here is the post I have dedicated totally to this, but basically it is a chemical exfoliator, so you just need to pop it on once or twice a week and it gets rid of all the dead skin cells to leave your skin looking fresh and rejuvenated.

Una Brennan Pore Purfying Clay Mask

I have actually been using this for a few months now and I don't think I have ever included it in a post. Whenever my skin isn't looking its best I pop this on to help clear up any breakouts and to prevent any new ones. It feels lovely on the skin without stripping it too much and leaving it feeling really tight and dry. It also leaves your skin feeling really clean and refreshed after use. 

Bioderma Hydrobio Masque

This is a face mask that I tend to use once a week to help inject a bit more moisture into my skin which is definitely needed during the colder months! Some days I apply a thick layer of this all over my face and leave it on for ten minutes and others I put on a lighter layer and just leave it on over night. The lovely Jess sent this over to me from France and I'm really dreading running out of it because it will be slightly harder to get hold of. Again I have another rave review of this here if you want a bit more detail.

La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo

This has been a firm staple in my skincare routine for nearly a year now. My skin has improved so much since I've started to use this. It helps reduce any breakouts that I have and to help prevent any others coming up. I used to have a lot of little bumps under my skin that never really turning in to anything but since using this they have completely disappeared and my skin seems alot smoother. It does itch abit when you apply it but in my eyes it just feels like its doing something! 

Vichy Idelia Serum

This is the most recent addition to my little extra skincare regime. I have started to use this most mornings under my make up and every evening. It has made my skin alot healthier and plumper looking. It instantly illuminates my skin and makes it look alot fresher in the mornings which is always a good thing. Again I have a more in-depth review of this product here. 

Sudocream

The Irish persons cure for everything, I can safely say nearly every household in Ireland has a pot of this! It is actually designed for nappy rash but I have put it on burns, cuts and spots! It clears up everything and really takes the pain out of whatever you are putting it on. It is one of my staple products that I couldn't live without. I love that it comes in a tube now which I think is just so much more hygienic! If I could only pick one add-on product it would definitely be this one, I really could not be without it!

So those are the products I use in addition to my everyday skincare routine. What products do you use in addition to your everyday routine?

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L'oreal #TXT Volume Supersizing Spray

Hello Lovelies!

You all know I am forever on the hunt for that one product to give me big hair. I have tried backcombing, the volumizing powders and have even used dry shampoo on a night out before, all in a bid to get that massive hair! I had been eying up the spray by Orbie that everyone has been raving about the past few months but to be honest I really couldn't bring myself to spend that much! So I resisted and hoped that there would be a drugstore version release soon and the beautiful people over at L'oreal answered my wishes! 

I literally snatched this off the shelves when I seen it and it was in my hair about five minutes later. Let me just say that this has been everything I have been looking for! It really does what it says on the tin. Just one or two sprays of this in your hair and a little bit of a ruffle and boom..big hair! It doesn't leave your hair feeling powdery like dry shampoo or the powders would and doesn't leave it feeling dry and crisp either. It's easily bushed out but lasts all day easily. It's smell is a bit strong and reminds me of the Elnett hairspray which luckly I like so it doesn't bother me but just if that scent isn't your thing just to be wary of that!

I hope they never stop making this product and I actually hope they bring it out in a mini because I would definitely have one for my handbag too! Finally I have big hair! If you want to give it a go, you can purchase online here.

Have you tried the L'oreal Volume Supersizing Spray? How were your results? 

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November Beauty Favourites

Hello Lovelies!

I hope you all had a brilliant weekend, I can't believe we're already in December - I'm not feeling Christmassy at all yet but we're putting up the decorations in our house next weekend hopefully so that will help. I was shopping in Galway this weekend for a few presents and of course I ended up picking up a few things for myself too...oops! So expect some reviews of the goodies I picked up in the coming weeks. 

Anyway, enough rambling and on with my November favourites! This month I have some new favourites and rediscovered some old reliables! 

Chanel Bronze Universal

This is an old favourite I have brought out yet again. It is one of those products that I stray away from but always end up coming back to it, it just never lets me down! I have been wearing a bit more fake tan the past couple of weeks and this is brilliant for helping match up some of my paler foundations to the tan. I love using it for contouring and just generally adding some warmth to my face. It smells nice too randomly enough! 

Korres Lip Butter - Jasmine 

I bought this a while ago on ASOS when they had one of their discount days, after having it in my basket for ages I thought it was about time! This really does smell gorgeous- not sure if it smells of Jasmine because I've never smelt it but I think it smells of cookies! It leaves a nice tint of pink on the lips and leaves them feeling lovely and moisturised!

 

NARS Copocobana Illuminator

I bought this at the same time as my Korres lip butter and again I have been lusting after this for ages! After much deliberating decided to just go for it and quickly popped it in my basket and checked out! When I was in London a few months ago I swatched it in Selfridges and was disappointed at the time because it looked really glittery and OOT. But since then all I've read about it are rave reviews and even the likes of Millie Mackintosh wears it so I decided to give it a go. I am so so glad I did, the one in Selfridges must have been abit dodgy because the one I got is not glittery in the slightest. It gives such a nice natural glow to the skin but can definitely be built up for nights out for a more dramatic look. You can use this as a standard highlighter or you can mix it in with your foundation for an all over glow. 

NAKED 2 Palette

I recently hit pan on my beloved Naked Basics palette so I decided to give it a bit of a break bless it, and I dug out the Naked 2 palette to keep my neutral eyeshadow love going! I have been reaching for this on an everyday basis and have been getting use out of all the colours! I prefer it to the original Naked palette as the colours are cooler in this one so it suits my skin tone more. It really has all you'd need in it, including a nice big mirror and a handy double ended brush! 

 

Vaseline Cocoa Radiant Body Moisturiser

This was a repurchase halfway through the month because to be honest I was getting a little lazy with my daily body moisturizing and the thoughts of rubbing a thick body butter in and waiting for it to dry was less than appealing so I decided to repurchase this and I purchased the Nivea in-shower body moisturiser (I told you I was feeling lazy!) to try and combat it. I have definitely learnt my lesson and I will always have this in my collection. It is just so quick and easy, you can literally spray and go. It is a nice continuous spray too, which disperses a nice fine mist. Love it! 

Vichy Idealia Life Serum

I had heard such rave reviews on this, and having never used a serum before I thought I would give it a go. My skin has been looking worse for wear- with the weather changes and with me stressing out over random stuff it is definitely taking the hit for it. But since using this it has plumped up and is looking much healthier and fresher. I apply this morning and evening. I find it makes for a great make-up base and instantly makes my skin look nicer, so even if I'm not wearing make up. Love love love! 

MAC Hue Lipstick

I have been loving two lipsticks this month, on opposite ends of the colour spectrum. First up is my beloved Hue. I have been loving this for ages now, and I bought a new one during the month and it has been in my handbag since! Its such a perfect everyday lipstick and it looks fabulous with a smokey eye too!

 

MAC Rebel Lipstick 

The most recent addition to my MAC lipstick collection was Rebel. Again this is something I was looking at for ages before I bought it and since getting it I have not regretted it. I have actually worn this so much both as a daytime lipstick and for night. A year ago I would have ran from wearing a lipstick like this but since then I have been trying to break out of my comfort zone, especially with lip colours. If you are debating about getting Rebel I would say definitely go for it! You can't go wrong with a colour like this, and I think it would suit every skintone! 

So those are my favourites for the month of November, hard to believe the next time I'll be writing one of these posts will be in 2014! Have you tried any of these products? What was your favourite beauty product for the month of November?

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Top 5 Drugstore | Concealers

Hello Lovelies!

Recently I have just been on a crazy concealer buying spree! Concealer has turned into the one thing I have been craving to find the perfect one. I've been through a similar crazy with mascaras, foundation and eyeliners, so now it is concealer time. I absolutely love trying out different versions of the same product to find the one that is for me. Now being honest I love these five picks equally and rotate between them throughout the week. There are some used for different purposes compared to others but I will explain more thoughout the post.

L'oreal Lumi Magique Concealer

I was on the hunt for ages for a dupe for my beloved YSL Touche Eclat and I think I may have found one! (Granted L'oreal own YSL so it is probably pretty much the same product) This is an amazing under eye concealer, it completely brightens up the area while still giving a decent coverage. So you can cover and brighten those dreaded dark circles! It is really lightweight so it doesn't cake or crease under the eyes either. It comes in a handy pen form like the Touche Eclat so you can literally paint it on and blend it in and your good to go. I love the rose gold packaging of this too! 

 

Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer 

 As you all know I am a massive fan of the Healthy Mix foundation, so much so that it just became obvious that I needed the Healthy Mix concealer too! I actually use this concealer both for covering up blemishes and for under my eyes. So I usually have this one in my handbag ready for touch-ups throughout the day. It's perfect for popping on over my foundation because it doesn't cake or look too much. So it is that perfect middle of the day concealer for everything! I'm not the biggest fan of the packaging though because I always end up squeezing out way too much!

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer

Lets be fair..we all knew this concealer was going to be in this post didn't we? The Collection concealer has been raved about by beauty bloggers everywhere and rightly so. It covers absolutely everything, and lasts for ages on the skin. I do find it can be a little bit cakey if your not careful but if you are a concealer newbie this is definitely the one to go for. Again I use this both for under my eyes and on blemishes and it works brilliantly on both. They don't have the best shade range in the world and that is one thing that I wish they would improve on. 

Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer

This is one of the most recent additions to my concealer collection and for the same reasons as I bought the Bourjois Concealer. I was a fan of the Wake Me Up foundation so I thought I would give the concealer a try. Like the foundation it is a brightening concealer- literally designed to wake your skin up. This concealer I only use under my eyes because it would be way too brightening for any blemishes. It lasts well throughout the day and again it doesn't cake up under my eyes which I appreciate. It does seem to have tiny pieces of shimmer in it which is similar to the foundation so be wary of this if you have oily skin this may just emphasise that and may not be the one for you.

Seventeen Phwoarr Paint

I absolutely am in love with this concealer. It literally covers everything! Apparently it is meant to be a dupe for Benefit's Erase Paste- I've never tried that so I can't officially comment but this stuff is amazing! I use it for under my eyes, blemishes the whole lot! It is a more heavy duty concealer compared to the others in this post but there are just some days where you need the little bit extra and this is the one for that! I have already hit pan on this, that's how much I love it and I will definitely be picking up another one! 

So those are my top picks for "drugstore" concealers. Have you any recommendations for me? Please let me know what your favourite concealers are to use! 

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Rimmel Space Dust Nail Polishes

Hello Lovelies!

I hope you are all having a good week! This weekend I'm heading to Galway Christmas shopping and I'm so excited, is it sad that I have my make up bag packed already? Would anyone be interested in a what's in my make up bag post? I got a new make-up bag (you can probably guess which one) that I am in love with and I'm dying to put it in a post! So if you would like to see that please let me know! 

So recently it was three for two in Boots as I'm sure you all know, and who can deny a good glitter polish on three for two coming up to Christmas? Certainly not me! These polishes caught my eye on the Rimmel stand recently and I just had to snap them up! They are part of the Space Dust collection and the polishes that I picked up were Aurora, Luna Love and Total Eclipse. Aurora, my favourite of the three is a baby pink filled with fine and chunky glitter. With all three polishes two coats and the polish is opaque which is just so amazing! I love pairing this one with Essie's Fiji or Ballet Slippers on my bling finger. Luna Love reminds me alot of Butter London's Disco Biscuit, it is a vibrant fuchsia pink with some slight blue glitter running through it. And finally Total Eclipse which is a black glitter with a deep green running through it. I originally thought I would like Total Eclipse a lot more than I did, I was expecting it to have more green in it than it did.

These glitter polishes are just gorgeous, like I said all you need is two coats and they're lovely and opaque, they last reasonably long on the nails and of course as with any glitter polish they are impossible to get off! They also dry to quite a grainy texture so if you prefer a smoother finish I would recommend you use a top coat.

I hope for Christmas they release a nice deep red or a gold, yes I know I'm really original with my Christmas picks! Have you tried any of these polishes? What are your thoughts?

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Dinner Date OOTN

Hello Lovelies!

On Saturday evening myself and my boyfriend went out for dinner at a local restaurant. It was nice to do something different, we normally only go out for dinner on special occasions. So of course I took the opportunity to get all dressed up and to take some pictures for an OOTN post and I wanted to show off my new handbag! Here is a couple of pictures of the makeup, accessories and of course the outfit - please excuse the pictures of me, everytime I uploaded them to Blogger they put a funny filter on and I don't know how to get rid of it! 

Make Up
Chanel Vita Lumiere Aqua, Seventeen Phwoarr Paint, Chanel Bronze Universal, MaxFactor Miracle Touch Blush -Soft Pink, NARS Copacabana Highlighter, Bourjois Java Rice Powder, MAC Omega & Espresso for my eyebrows. NAKED 2 Palette -Foxy, Bootycall, Tease and Busted, Rimmel Scandaleyes in Black, Benefit They're Real, Ardell Demi Wispies and MAC Rebel.

Accessories

Necklace- Pennies/Primark, Watch- Fossil, Bracelet-Pandora

Outfit

Blazer - Really old, I can't even remember! Top- New Look, Wet Look Leggings- Pennies/Primark, Shoes - Sponge, Bag - Gionni

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Vichy Idealia Life Serum

Hello lovelies!

This is one of the excellent example of where all you other Beauty Bloggers are a terrible influence on me and my poor bank account. I recently purchased the Vichy Idealia Life Serum after hearing so many rave reviews about it online from other bloggers. I have a small confession to make, I have never used any serum before. If I'm honest I never really understood the point of them and never seen the benefits, but after reading a lot about this particular one it really stood out to me and I knew I had to try it.  It is said to be designed for the everyday woman, helping with the things that take the biggest toll on our skin in everyday life such as stress, late nights, bad diets, pollution and exposure to UV rays. The stress part really intrigued me, because when I'm stressed my skin really pays the price so that really sold it to me and I knew I had to have it. 

So €38.50 later (ouch!) I had it and I have been using it every evening since and sometimes in the morning as a base for my make-up. On first impressions I really love the packaging. It's pink which obviously wins me over but it feels really luxurious and expensive. It has a pump on it which makes application all the easier, one pump and I'm done! The product itself is white in colour with a pearl sheen to it, but once applied to the skin it is invisible. It smells gorgeous and again really luxurious! I find one I apply this it really does make my skin look brighter and healthier. Like I said I use one pump, it sinks in really quickly which is great because you can use it as a base for under make up if you like or just use it on its own.  It can also be used under or instead of a moisturiser, some nights I just stick with this because I find it gives my skin enough moisturisation on its own and I don't feel like adding another layer.

I really do love this product and it's fit in perfectly with my skincare routine and has become an excellent addition! It's available online to buy here if you are interested!

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