I have been using the Clarins Ever Matte Foundation since the Summer time and I keep forgetting to review it. It just became part of my foundation rotation 🙂

Clarins foundations all have the same distinctive smell. It’s kind of sweet, kind of flowery and I love it. if you are affected by smells though, I suggest going to a counter and having a whiff before you go buying just in case.

As you would assume the Clarins Ever Matte foundation is…well a matte foundation (shock, I know 🙂 ).

Clarins Ever Matte Foundationclarin foundation ireland

It’s an opaque liquid foundation with a thin consistency.

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As you blend it dries quite quickly so it needs to be worked with fast or with a damp sponge or brush. Once blended it feels really lightweight on the skin.

Here’s my skin before application:

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Here’s my skin after a light layer of the Clarins Ever Matte buffed in with a buffing brush.

irish makeup and beauty blogbeauty blog irelandAnd after another layer applied.

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I am in the shade 105 Nude and I think it’s a pretty good match for Mac NC20 skin. I think it has a medium but very build able coverage, which is what I look for in a foundation 🙂

Now onto the science bit…I am an oily skinned gal, so the Clarins Matte is ticks alot of skin boxes for me. It’s oily-free so it lasts really well on me (although I always powder my foundation regardless). It has a matte finish so doesn’t leave any residue behind once it’s set. It’s non-comedogenic so it doesn’t sit in pores and add more blackheads into the mix! It’s covers redness really well and it has an SPF of 15 which is handy too.

Overall, I really like this foundation and I reach for it alot day to day. If you’re oily skinned or even combination, get a sample and give it a go. Clarins is an understated brand and I think sometimes, we forget they know and do makeup well.

It’s not the cheapest of the bunch, the Clarins Ever Matte will set you back €33 and you can pick it up from Boots here

xxx

 

This is round two of my H&M Makeup Haul. The is the face products round 🙂 If you want to see the eye products I picked up, just click on the link here and you can see them up close and swatched. Again, I’ll link the UK H&M website here for all price listings as I bought these in Norway and was probably ripped off 🙂 Everything is pretty reasonable price wise .

First up in my H&M makeup haul part two is the Cover-Up Concealer.

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Now, I wanted this in Ivory, but I couldn’t find one on the stand to save my life, so I got Vanilla, that’s a tad dark for my skin, but sure I’ll make it work. This would be an all over skin concealer, however I think I will chance it as an under eye one and see how it works.

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It has a thin consistency and seems to blend really well into the skin. On first swatch it hasn’t a huge amount of coverage, but it definitely seems like it could be build-able.

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I just blended it really softly here

Next up is their Immaculate Compact Foundation.

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I chose this over one of their setting powders because I tend to like a bit of coverage with my face powders.

This is in the shade Ivory and I adore the packaging.

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It comes with a mirror, the powder and than a sponge underneath.

irish makeup and beauty blogThe powder is really finely milled. There is a bit of a weird scent to it but nothing to crazy. After swatching it, the shade Ivory which I believe is the lightest shade they do may be slightly to dark for my natural (MacNC20) skin tone.

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This is a bit annoying considering there are paler people than me out there.

I also got their Solar Flair Bronzing Powder. I had actually seen Lily Pebbles talk fondly of this so I knew it was something I wanted to try.

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Again, I love the sleek packaging and it comes with a good sized mirror.

I got the shade ‘Sheer Tan’. I think this was the lightest bronzing shade they do. I really like that they do different colours. That is not a regular thing within a beauty brand.

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I can detect a really really subtle sheen to the powder when swatched and like the powder foundation it is a really finely milled powder. I think I’m really going to like this 🙂

h&m makeuptop beauty blog irelandThe last thing I have to show is one of the H&M Pure Radiance Powder Blushers.

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Again, I’ll address the packaging, it’s super pretty and these have a gold bottom which I really love.

I chose the shade ‘Sunrise Pink’. I thought this was the most wearable shade for me.

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It’s a dusky pink with a fleck of gold sparkle running through it. When you apply it though, the shimmer doesn’t seem to translate too much.

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Personally, I’m happy about this, but if you’re looking for the sparkle you might not be.

Overall, on first impressions, I am really pleased with my H&M makeup purchases. The packaging, the products themselves and the price points are really great. I look forward to actually applying these to my mug now and seeing how they fare 🙂

Thanks for reading.

xxx

If you follow me on social media you know I went to Oslo this past weekend. I didn’t do much shopping, but as we were walking around the shops having a browse, I realised their H&M had a huge beauty hall! It not only stocked their own brand but the likes of Maybelline and Revlon aswell. I know we have the H&M beauty range here in Dublin (in Liffey Valley, I believe), but since I live closer to town I tend not to be up that way too often. So, when I saw the array of H&M makeup I had to try some. I am gong to split my H&M makeup haul into two posts. This one will be the eye products and then the next one will be face products.

Oslo is known to be expensive, so I could have well been ripped off with prices for these products, but sure I was on holliers so I won’t complain 🙂 I’ll link to the prices on the English site here to give you some sort of a gauge.

I only ended up getting 5 things for the eyes. They have a full range though from liners to lashes. I stuck with things I knew I would actually use rather than just buying for the sake of it (I do that alot too 🙂 )

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I got one of their eyeshadow palettes.

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I am in love with the sleek packaging of the H&M makeup may I add. It feels really nice and luxurious as well as looking the part too.

You get nine shadows in the palettes which I think is a pretty good deal. I went with a somewhat neutral choice called Smoky Nudes. I think there’s four palettes to choose from though.

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Here they are swatched from left to right.

H&M Makeup Haulbeauty blogger irelandh&m makeup swatchYou can see there is a good mixture of matte and shimmers in the Smoky Neutrals palette. I think the shimmers have more of a punch than the mattes on first swatch. Not always a bad thing because it means they can be built up as you go.

The cream to shadow eye shadows were another product to catch my eye. I had a quick swatch of a couple of them and then ended up grabbing 3 colours because I couldn’t choose just one colour.

irish makeup and beauty bloggerFirst up we have ‘Khaki Brocade’. This is a gorgeous sparkly olive green colour.

irishbeautyblogmakeup and beauty bloggerirish makeup and beauty bloggerNext up is the aptly named ‘Champers’.

irish beauty bloggerbeauty blogger irelandbeauty blog irelandAnd the last one I chose is called ‘Gentlewoman’ which is a lovely dark again shimmery berry colour.

top irish beauty blogtop irish beauty bloggerh&m makeup haulThey have a mousse like consistency and go onto the skin really smoothly. I have yet to wear these on my eyelids yet, but upon swatching them on my arm, I think if you have oily lids like me, not a hope these will last on their own. I will be personally use them as shadow bases rather then stand alone shadows.

Overall, I am really impressed with the H&M beauty range. The packaging, the quality and the amount of products they stock is really impressive. The price point is not bad at all either which makes things very much sweeter. I am now off to fill my lids to the brim 🙂

xxx

 

Coloured Eye Liner doesn’t have to be scary and it doesn’t necessarily have to be used just in the traditional sense. This is a look I do alot when I want to do something fun, but don’t want to faff about too much. It’s simple and packs a punch 🙂

Here’s the mug with some foundation and brows done.

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To begin with I took a taupe shadow and added some definition into the crease, you know the drill by now if you’ve read my blog before 🙂

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I want to keep the lid colour pretty simple but still look ‘done’ if that makes sense? Satin Taupe from Mac is a brilliant colour for this.

satin taupe mac cosmeticsI packed this all over the lid.

beauty blogger irelandTo blend it out and deepen up the crease I used a warm brown on a tapered brush in the crease.

makeup geek irelandmakeup and beauty blog irelandThen to just conceal any redness and lighten up the brow bone, I added a light shimmery shadow.

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I did a thin line of brown liner to the top lashes.

makeup blog irelandAnd added some concealer and added some mascara.

top irish beauty bloggerNot necessary but for a little definition, I used a couple of my beloved Penneys individual lashes on both eyes.

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I added a little wash of Satin Taupe under my eye and some mascara.

makeup and beauty blogI used Makeup Geek’s Shimma Shimma in my inner corner.

irish bloggerirish makeup and beauty bloggerThen onto the fun part, the liner 🙂

I chose one of my all time favourites but anything you have that’s pigmented will work. You could even put a light liner on and then add some shadow of your choice over top.

This is Inglot’s Matte Amc Gel liner in 87, I’ll put a link to it here

inglot amc gel liner 87inglot gel liner irelandMine has certainly seen better days but a drop of Duraline (review here) brings it back to life.

I use a pencil to apply gel liner to my waterline. I find a brush too ticklish and uncomfortable, so dipping a liner pencil into the gel works for me, even if it’s not the same colour. You can always wipe it off after you use it 🙂

easy fun gel eye liner lookAnd the eyes are done! An easy coloured eye liner look 🙂

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This is one of my favourite looks to do and as you can see it’s so simple. I always get compliments too which is nice.

Here’s the finished look.

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Will you give coloured liner a go? Let me know. (that rhymes ha)

xxx

Smoky eye looks don’t have to be difficult. If you have patience and are willing to blend, you can do it! You don’t have to be  a professional makeup artist to create it, I’m definitely not. It also doesn’t have to be black, it can literally be any colour you want it to be.

What I would normally use to create a simple smoky eye is:

  1. A cream shadow
  2. A powder eyeshadow in the same or a similar colour.
  3. An eyeliner (something waterproof).
  4. A brush to pack colour on and a couple of blending brushes to..blend 🙂
  5. A warm shadow (or a bronzer even) for the crease.
  6. I use a taupe shade in the crease too, but that’s optional
  7. A highlight shade for the brow bone and inner corner.
  8. Mascara and or lashes.
  9. Patience 🙂

 

There will probably be alot of fallout when you pack dark colours onto the lid, so I suggest doing your foundation or at least your concealer after you finish the eyes.

I did throw on a bit of foundation, did my brows, primed my lids and set them with powder beforehand.

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I first grabbed one on the Maybelline Color Tattos in ‘Timeless Black’. I forgot how much I love these!

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I applied a good amount of this all over my lid with a synthetic brush.

Smoky Eye Makeup Tutorial (3)When the colour was opaque on the lid, I cleaned off the brush and blended out the edges.

beauty blog irelandHaving the primer and powder underneath makes it easier to do this step.

I used the sparkly black from my Pro Collection Palette from Fuschia Makeup.

fuschia eyeshadow panWith a flat brush, I packed this onto the color tattoo on my lid, tapping the excess of my brush as I go.

Smoky Eye Makeup Tutorial (6)beauty blog irelandIt’s looking scary I know, don’t click off yet 🙂

On a blending brush, I took some of this taupe shade, again from the Fuschia Pro Collection.

fuschia pro collectionI blended this into the crease of my eye, bringing the black into it to help soften the edges.

Smoky Eye Makeup Tutorial (9)To add a bit of warmth on a clean brush, I took some of the matte contour shade from the Seventeen Define & Conquer Contour Palette ( I have a full review of this here).

seventeen define & conquerI applied this over the taupe shade in the crease of my eyes with a tapered blending brush.

Smoky Eye Makeup Tutorial (11)With all the blending (you need to do alot of it), the intensity of the black shadow may be lost. Don’t be afraid to apply more to the lid…and yes blend it into the crease colours.

easy smoky eye makeupI think smoky eyes are all about layering and light continuous blending. Just take your time.

To help the blending process even more, I took a bone matte shade (again from the Fushcia pro collection).

Smoky Eye Makeup Tutorial (13)And used this on the brow bone.

Smoky Eye Makeup Tutorial (14)Things are still looking really messy, but don’t give up! You can see the difference between the blended and the unblended eye below.

Smoky Eye Makeup Tutorial (15)Ok time to bring this smoky eye together now 🙂

Time some liner on the top lash line.

urban decay irelandThis is Perversion from Urban Decay.

smoky eye tutorial It just adds extra darkness to the lash line and if you’re adding lashes hides the band. Again, you can see the difference between the eyes below 🙂

Smoky Eye Makeup Tutorial (18)To clean up the fall out just use a wipe or come micellar water.

irishbeautyblogsmoky eye tutorialI apply concealer (and usually foundation) at this time, and then onto the lower lash line.

esence all about greysI used some of the dark grey from the Essence All About Greys palette and applied a good amount under my eyes.

irish beauty blog sitesirish beauty blog siteLashes time! These are some of my very faves from Amazing Shine and now they’re available in Mr Price, score!

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Completely optional, but I always tight-line my upper and lower water line.

top irish beauty blogSmoky Eye Makeup Tutorial (28)

Too add more light to the dark eye look, a little bit of shimmer in the inner corner never hurt anyone either 🙂

fushcia makeupeasy smoky eye lookAnd there you have it a non makeup professional smoky eye, of course with rest of the face makeup applied. Especially bronzer for us pale girls, a dark smoky eye can really wash us out 🙂

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Smoky Eye Makeup Tutorial (34)smoky eye for beginners

Thanks so much for reading (and reaching the end) 🙂

xxx

I bought a couple of lipliners from the Longlasting Lipliner range from Essence randomly when I was in Lanzarote. And I liked them so much and they are so cheap (I think they cost €1.80) I had to pick up another couple when I got back. Essence have more colour choices in these. I just have four of them here to show you today. I reckon I’ll end up with all of them at some point though 🙂

They are mechanical lipliners in plastic very durable packaging (especially considering how much they cost).

essence cosmetics ireland longlastin lipliner

The pencil itself is soft, pigmented and applies really smoothly. I would say they wear well, but they do wear. You’ll be left with a stain to your lips after eating and drinking rather than full on colour. Of course, if you use them under lipstick or lipgloss they will definitely help the longevity of them.

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The four colours I have (so far) are:

06 ‘A Girl’s Dream’

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To me this is a dark pink with a red undertone.

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03’Yummy Berry’.

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This is a deep raspberry pink.

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02 ‘Sweetheart’.

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Is a brighter pink but with a more nude undertone (I think this my favourite of the four I have).

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Then finally 04 ‘Peach Beauty’.

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An orangey peach shade.

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The colour range of these Essence Longlasting Lipliners are really great too. Very logical shades that work for everyday use on their own and also to use under other lip products you already may have. You can see all the shade choices on the Essence website here

Essence Cosmetics are available nationwide. I got the Longlasting Lipliners in Penneys, but there are so many independent pharmacies all over Ireland now stocking the brand which is brilliant. They are really doing a good job of making great makeup with lots of products to choose from and for an amazing price point. I reviewed so many Essence products in 2015 and they come out with new lines all the time so I am sure I will be reviewing lots more in 2016.

Let me know what you think?

And thanks for reading, as always 🙂

xxx