I know so many wonderful bloggers have done their version of beauty favourites already so apologies if you’ve been inundated. I think it’s a really great idea though and I haven’t done monthly faves this year, so I thought I would do a yearly round of my beauty favourites 2015!

First up is an easy one. I know the Urban Decay Gwen Palette came out late in the year, but it has become one of my most reached for eyeshadow palettes.

urban decay gwen stefani paletteurban decay irelandI am completely head over heels for it. There is neutrals galore, transitional shades, fun sparkly shades and even a couple of cray cray shades to keep things interesting. Gwen, I bow down to you and can’t wait to see the new releases you and Urban Decay have up your sleeves for 2016 🙂 Full swatches of the palette can be seen here and I even did a makeup look with it here if you fancy a nose.

Next up is the very coveted Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Champagne Pop.

becca champagne popNo joke I have used this pretty much everyday since I got it. When I first got my grubby little mitts on this in mid 2015 it was only available in America. Now the lovely people of Spacenk are stocking it here, so everyone can bask in the Champagne Glow. Another one of my 2015 finds was the brush I use to apply the Pop 🙂

irish beauty blogThis awesome F28 brush from Blank Canvas Cosmetics. The lovely Ashling from Total Makeup Addict introduced me to this beauty and I will forever be in her debt for it. It’s the perfect cheek bone highlighting tool.

My favourite setting powder of 2015 would have to be the Chanel Vitalumiere Powder Foundation.

beauty favouritesI have pretty much used this exclusively for the past year.

chanel vitalumiere powder foundationI have a whole review if here. It’s a foundation so there is coverage with it, which I personally like. You can build it up or thin it out depending on application or what brush you use so it’s really versatile. Pricey but versatile 🙂

My next beauty faves are a little more pocket friendly.

irishbeautyblogAgain I have a review of these here, but they are two of the All About palettes from Essence. Essence have a few different colour choices in these really handy eyeshadow palettes and they cost less than a fiver, bargain! Oh and they’re damn pigmented too!

2015 was definitely the year of budget friendly favourite for me. Another one is the Catrice Glamour Doll Waterproof mascara.

irish makeup and beauty blogirish makeup and beauty bloggerFor the latter half of the year this is the only mascara I was (and still am now) using. And what do you know, I have a full review of it here 🙂

My favourite under eye concealer duo have been the Catrice Liquid Camouflage and the Flormar Perfect Coverage.

best of beauty beautynookflormar concealerCheap as chips and together for me are a dynamic duo. You can see them in action here.

My favourite blush of the year has to be the Max Factor Creme Blush in ‘Seductive Pink’.

max factor creme puffmax factor seductive pinkirishbeautyblogThis is just the easiest blush colour to wear. It goes with everything. I love the formula of these too. They blend so nicely. You can see it swatched here if you fancy a nose 🙂

My lip liner find of 2015 probably has to be Whirl by Mac.

mac whirl lip pencilmakeup and beauty blogThis lip liner got a life of it’s own in 2015. It’s a great all round colour though that you can use on it’s own, under nudes and even under darker and brighter shades of lippie. It’s great for evening out the lip line too. I have it swatched here if you want a closer look.

The Only Lipsticks from Rimmel are another makeup find of 2015 that I am very happy with.

irish beauty blogirish beauty bloggerThey came at the end of the year I know, but I’ve been obsessed with them so I had to include them. These two lighter shades have been the ones I grab for most but I own six of them and I wear all the shades alot. I love the finish, the pigmentation and the price point. (yep, I have them all swatched here 🙂

I have two facial skin care faves for 2015 that I wanted to add in aswell.

Serozinc from La Roche Posay.

la roche posay serozincI think I’ve gone through about 4 of these so far and I will repurchase! There’s a full review of it here, but I use Serozinc as a toner, to freshen up my makeup and as a finishing spray when I am finished my makeup. It’s a great all rounder.

My last fave is from the Oils Of Life range from The Body Shop.

the body shop oils of lifeirishbbloggerThis is their Intensely Revitalising Gel Cream. I use this as a night cream. I have oily skin, so heavy creams can sometimes clog my pores. This stuff feels so light on my skin and soaks in really quickly but still leaves behind nice soft hydrated skin. May I add it smells incredible too!

That’s my Beauty Favourites for 2015 done and dusted. Seriously, where did that year go?

Should I do below the neck beauty favourites too, as in more body orientated stuff ha. Let me know.

xxx

 

If you follow me on social media, you’ll know instead of giving big gifts this year myself and my family went to Spain for the week of Christmas. We had a really great time. The weather was so good to us and we spent most of Christmas day in the ocean, so I ain’t complaining 🙂 I did by myself some goodies  throughout the week though so I thought I would compile them into a holiday haul if you fancy a rummage.

Time ran away with me in the airport and I was gutted I didn’t get to shop in the Loop, I’ll just have to be sure I make up for it next time I fly.

We went to Lanzarote which is a tax free Canary Island. There’s not a whole load to be buying there, it’s a very holiday orientated town, so lots of tourist shops and the likes. Perfume is a good chunk cheaper there though, so I made sure to stock up on a few.

Don’t laugh, but I bought Britney Spears Fantasy.

irish beauty blogBritney Spears FantasyThis is the only celebrity perfume that I’ve ever really bothered with throughout the years. It smells like sweets, I was feeling nostalgic and it was only €15 🙂

My brother and John (the other half) know I love Lady Million from Paco Rabanne, so I got a couple of bottles to keep me going ha!

lady million paco rabanneI bought another nostalgic perfume for myself. I use to wear this so much when I was younger. It’s Gucci Rush.

irishbeautybloggucci rush 2Luckily it was cheap, because I think I’ve grown out of the scent now…typical.

My fanciest pressie to myself was a bottle of Tom Ford Velvet Orchid. Well in Dublin this would be the fanciest, this set me back less than 40 euro over there which I don’t think is bad at all.

irish beauty blogtom ford velvet orchidThis is a cologne. And it would be classed as a unisex fragrance. John has Black Orchid, and I adore it, Velvet Orchid would be a ever so slightly sweeter version in my opinion, but still a very musky night time fragrance.

Of course there’s a big Zara where we were, it’s a Spanish company, so I had to have a look. I ended up only picking up two things. A dark green faux leather over the shoulder handbag, with gold hardware. Very Chloe-esque I thought?

zara green bagAnd a long sleeved wool jumper of all things! I couldn’t leave this behind though 🙂

zara jumper #instamood From one of the little boutique shops on the strip, I bought this really cute delicate rose gold plated bracelet.

christmas holidau haul

If you’ve been to Lanzarote, you will know they have a stand alone Flormar store there, which is pretty cool. The brand has just been reintroduced here in Ireland, so I had to take a look and pick up a few bits. On a side note, they had different more seasonal products within the store, but the price point was the same as Ireland.

flormar irelandI got their Matte Velvet Mattifying Foundation. This is in Vanilla, but it’s a good bit darker than my skin tone (my fault), so I’ll have to keep it for when I have tan on.

irish makeup and beauty blogI got one of their nail polishes, this colour is just unusual and caught my eye. it has a duochrome effect.

irish makeup and beauty bloggerflormar irish beauty blogI get searches everyday here on beautynook for the Flormar Lip Primer, so I had to pick one up and give it a try.

flormar lip primerI bought one of their eye primers too.

makeup and beauty blog irelandflormar eye primerI liked this one because it has a concealing effect on the eyelid, so it will cover imperfections.

beauty blogger irelandThis eyeshadow stick was from their Christmas collection and I just thought the colour was so pretty. The formula is really nice too.

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This twist up lipstick in the colour raspberry and I have 20 lippies in the same colour but I couldn’t resist. Love the packaging too.

top irish beauty blogbeauty blog irelandbeauty blogger irelandThe last thing I bought was a baked eyeshadow which they call a Diamonds Terracotta Eyeshadow.

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Upon swatching it, I see it as more of glitter to apply over other shadows to add a bit of sparkle. I’d like to mix it with a bit of Inglot’s Duraline too and see what happens (I have a review of Duraline here 🙂

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I bought a couple of random things on the strip too which we can get here easily, but sure I was on a spending roll so I just kept going 🙂

catrice makeup irelandI had just run out of primer so I thought I would give the Catrice Prime and Fine one a trial.

catrice irish beauty blogI also got a Catrice Beautyifying Lip Smoother. This is really similar to the Clarins Lip Perfector and a quarter of the price. There’s a few shades to choose from too.

Catrice Beautifying Lip Smoother

catrice makeup irelandThe one I picked up is in the shade Coffee To Go.

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I got a couple of Essence Longlasting Lipliners in the same place. The formula of these is actually pretty great!

essence makeup ireland lip linersThe pink shade is called Sweetheart and the peachy one is called Peach Beauty.

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The last thing I got is from a brand I’ve never used before. This is the Palladio Crushed Metallic Eyeshadow.

palladio crushed metal eyeshadow irelandirish makep blogmakeup blog irelandI swatched all the colours of these and I really regret now not picking up more, but I settled on this burnt bronze colour in Eclipse.

palaThere you have it, my holiday haul. All of the goodies I crammed into my suitcase and brought home to Ireland 🙂

Hope you had a brilliant Christmas (and new year). Hope 2016 is the most exciting year yet 🙂

xxx

 

 

I know Christmas is what we’re probably looking forward to the most, but New Years Eve is a big occasion too right? So. I have here a New Years Eve Makeup Look I would happily rock on the faithful night. I went for a subtle glittery eye with a matte pink lip. I think this combo would work for any night out not just New Years but it’s nice to have an excuse 🙂

Base, brows and eyeshadow primer dunzo!

irish beauty blogThen onto the good stuff, I’m using the Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Palette.

urban decay gwen stefani paletteIsn’t she a beauty?  I have a full review of it here if you want to see it up closer.

I grabbed the shade Stark to begin and added a wash of it to my crease just to makeup everything blend better on my lids.

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To deepen the crease colour more I took some Anaheim and blended that over top.

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To conceal any discolouration on the brow bone and lighten it, I applied some Skimp. It has a little bit of sheen to it but nothing too crazy.

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Punk is one of my favourite colours in the palette.

punk gwen stefani paletteI used a tapered brush to apply it on the outer v of my eyes, and blended it across my crease slightly.

irish bloggerirish blog beautynookTo just add a base for the pigment, I patted some Baby over the rest of my lid.

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And then some more blending happened 🙂

irish blog beautynookI don’t think this step was really necessary, because the pigment is more of a shadow than a glitter, but I did it so I’ll add it in.

I applied a really small amount of Duraline onto my eyelids (I have a full blogpost on Duraline here).

inglot duralinetop irish beauty blog

I pulled out Makeup Geek’s pigment in New Years Eve for a bit of festive sparkle and because it’s aptly named for a New Years Eve Makeup look 🙂

makeup geekmakeup geek pigment new years evenew years eveI applied this with a flat brush over where I placed the Duraline.

irish beauty blogirish beauty bloggerI just deepened up Punk in the outer corner then.

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I used the colour Blackout, from the Gwen Stefani Palette to line my lash line because lashes have to happen…it’s New Years Eve Makeup. 🙂

urban decay irelandeasy new years eve makeupnew years eve makeup

I chose Ardell Demi 120 false lashes, I like that they flare out on the outer corners.

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To hide the false lash band a bit more, I applied a line of liquid liner across them.

physicians formulanight out makeup

I concealed and then went onto the lower lash line. I added some of the Punk shade on the outer end of my eyes, the same as the top lid.

easy evening makeup

And then some Baby on the inner part.

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Mascara time then.

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I wanted to darken things up a little more so I tight lined with some black liner.

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For some inner corner brightness, I used the shade Pop.

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I wanted to go with a somewhat strong pink lip. I lined my lips first with Nyx Lip Pencil in Pinky.

nyx liplinermakeup tutorial

I chose one of my favourite lip products the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in the colour Ole Flamingo.

bourjois rouge edition velvetbeautynook beauty blogbeautynook makeup tutorial

I did some loose curls in my hair for the occasion and then we’re done 🙂

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Let me know what you think!

Have the best Christmas and of course New Year ever, and thank you so much for reading, I really really appreciate it.

xxx

 

I already delved into all the skincare goodies I’m bringing for our Christmas trip away here I thought it was only natural to show what will make it into my holiday makeup bag. I say a bag, lets be honest I’m bringing a couple of bags I’m not gonna lie 🙂

My makeup bag is definitely overflowing, but as I said in skincare post I like to be prepared!

First up is eye products.

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I’m bringing 3 palettes, excessive I know, don’t judge, one of the zpalettes does contain my Inglot blushes though and a yellow under eye setting powder so it’s kind of ok, right? 🙂

irish beauty blog beautynookI’m bringing the new Urban Decay Gwen Palette which I have swatches of here I bloomin’ love this palette and don’t want to be without. Also some Makeup Geek shadows in a zpalette and then the palette of a few Inglot shadows and some blushes.

beautynook beauty blog

Eye primer is essential in my world so I have a mini Urban Decay Primer Potion being added to my makeup bag. Then, in case I’m feeling posh I’m going to pack the Charlotte Tilbury cream shadow in Bette, I have a full review of this here. Rather than a black gel liner I have been loving using a dark grey one at the minute so I’m bringing my Inglot matte gel liner in 78. Then two kohl pencils. A grey L’Oreal one and a brown one from Rimmel.

beauty blog beautynookThe rest of my eye goodies consist of lashes, my fave individuals from Penneys, a pair of Amazing Shine lashes that I love, you can now buy these in Mr Price which is really handy. Then some Duo glue to apply them, an eyelash curler from Shu Uemura and finally some Catrice Glamour Doll Waterproof mascara, I have a full review of this here I love it 🙂

For the face, of course I am going to bring a few options because I am very fickle, and like to change my mind…alot. Also I think you need day time options and night time options too.

irish makeup and beauty blogThe Botanice Radiance Balm is coming. I have a review of this here The primer I have been using for the last while is the Wet n Wild Coverall. I really like it for my oily skin. I have the Estee Lauder Double Wear Light in a shade darker in case I get a little bit of colour, I can mix it with my tried and tested Rimmel Lasting Finish Nude foundation (review here) and a tester of the Makeup For Ever Ultra HD which I really like too. I’m also bringing the Benefit Porefessional License To Blot which is such a weird product. It’s a cream blotting stick and it bloody works!

irish beauty and makeup blogMy concealer choices for the week are my beloved Mac Full Coverage foundation. I love using this as a concealer. Then, my favourite under eye concealers of the moment (again another full review here 🙂 The Flormar Perfect Coverage and the Catrice Liquid Camouflage.

irish beauty blog beautynookirish blog beautynookPowders consist of four faves…yep four I have problems ha! I have Nars Laguna in this really cool palette (it’s called Tahiti) and it comes with a mini Ita brush! Then the Chanel Vitalumiere Powder Foundation, sorry for dropping all of the links but I reviewed this too . the cult classic Champagne Pop from Becca is coming, I have this reviewed too here .The last one on the right then is to bring with me for touch ups, it’s the Mac Studio Fix Powder.

beautyblogbeauty bloggerFor contouring (and cream highlighting) I have a couple of old reliables. The Kevyn Aucoin Sculpting Powder in Medium (yep review here 🙂 and the Smashbox contour and highlight sticks (demo here 🙂

irish blogger beautynookBrow products consist of the Soap & Glory Archery Pencil, then three Billion Dollar Brow products, you can buy these from Boots. I have their brow brush, brow powder and brow gel.

what's in my makeup bagtop irish beauty blog

I have a full colour spectrum of lip choices to choose from going into my makeup bag. A red from Tom Ford called Cherry Lush, a Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in Ping Pong, Essence liquid lipstick in Show Off (review here) and then one of the Rimmel The Only One Lipsticks in Naughty Nude (I have a load of these swatched here) A couple of lip liners join the crew too. Rimmel Eastend Snob and Mac Whirl.

nima brush

To apply all the slap some brushes are essential, right? I have the Nima Brush Girls On Tour travel set, I’m so excited to use these beauties, you can see them up closer here. I have a mini Mac 217, a random mini flat Nars brush and a big Powder n Pout P230 which I have yet to try so the hollier will be a good test. I think these will keep me going for the week, right?

 

That’s all the makeup that will make it into my suitcase. I’m definitely an overpacker I know, a couple of makeup bags will be needed.

If you want to have a nose at what I get up to, be sure to follow me on Snapchat. I love snapping. My username over their is ‘Beautynook’.

As always thank you so so much for reading 🙂

xxx

I am a huge Inglot fan. The pigment, the colour choices, I could go on and on. I think the choice can be over whelming sometimes. So, I put together my five favourite Freedom System Inglot blush colours to swatch and show in hopes it might help if any of you are in the market. The great thing about the Freedom System is they are magnetic separate pans that you can buy on their own, you can buy an Inglot palette to put them in or you add them to a zpalette too. The blushes come in 18 shades so plenty to choose from and they retail for €9.

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My first choice is number 20.

irish beauty blog beautynookinglot freedom system blushThis is a matte pink shade. It’s really lovely on light to medium skin tones.

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My second pick is number 29.

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This is a matte peachy terracotta shade. I think a colour like this is great to have in your collection. Not all blushes have to be pink 🙂 It can warm up any look and looks great on the eyes too.

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My third choice is number 38.

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Number 38 is a slightly deeper pink shade than number 20 with a shimmer running through it. I wear this alot during the summer.

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My fourth Inglot blush choice is number 27.

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Number 27 is a matte mauvey pink shade. A mauve blush is always good to have around. It adds colour to the skin without taking away from a bold eye or lip.

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The last colour choice is number 28.

makeup and beauty blogbeautynook beauty blogIf number 27 above has to much pink in it number 28 is for you, it’s a full on matte mauve. If I can’t decide on a colour I reach for this because it’s just so darn easy! It’s the most ‘natural’ shade of blush.

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Any of them take your fancy? Do you have any favourites yourself? Be sure to let me know 🙂

xxx

Urban Decay have finally released their collaboration palette with Gwen Stefani. I couldn’t resist, I needed it in my life. The Urban Decay marketing team are geniuses 🙂

I picked my Urban Decay Gwen Stefani in Debenhams. It will set you back €46. They have it on the website with free shipping here, if you like what you see 🙂

urban decay gwen stefani

The palette contains a mixture of neutral matte, satin and shimmery shades for the most part, with a couple of more intense colours for good measure. I think it’s a good mixture. As a Urban Decay fan I have alot of their palettes, so I’m used to them having some crazy colour combos within them. I think the Gwen palette gives good practical but still really pretty colour choices. You get 15 shades in total which is pretty decent for the price. They are soft and pigmented as you would expect from the brand. I love all the names she gave them too. If you’re a Gwen fan since her old school No Doubt days (like myself) you will get all the references she makes with them.

 

Now onto the good part, the eye shadows in action 🙂

The top row:

We have ‘Blonde’, the lightest shade in the palette.

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‘Bathwater’ (one of my favourite No Doubt songs :).

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‘Skimp’.

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‘Steady’.

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‘Punk’.

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Then the second line of shadows:

‘Baby’.

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‘Anaheim’.

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‘Stark’.

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‘Zone’.

urban decay swatch

‘Serious’.

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And finally the third line of shadow and where most of the crazier colours lie:

‘Pop’.

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‘Harajuku’.

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‘Danger’.

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‘1987’.

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And ‘Blackout’, a matte black is always a welcome addition to a palette for me.

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I struggled to part with the money for the Gwen palette so close to Christmas for myself I have to admit. The guilt has subsided now however and I’m so glad I did. She’s just so darn pretty. I love everything the colour choices, the packaging everything! And there’s also an added bonus with it. You get samples of the lipsticks Gwen will be releasing with Urban Decay too. Score!

urban decay gwen lipstick

The packaging of the lippies looks amazing in the picture may I add 🙂

 

So we have ‘Rocksteady’.

beauty blog irelandA pinky red lipstick with a cream formula.

 

It wouldn’t be Gwen without a matte red. So this is a mega-matte (according to Urban Decay) and it’s called ‘714’.

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‘Ex-Girlfriend’ is a sheer neutral brown shade.

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Then, finally we have ‘Firebird’ an awesome bright purple hot pink shade with a cream finish.

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I think it’s safe to say the Gwen palette for Urban Decay is a hit with me 🙂

Have you picked it up? Or is it on your Christmas wish list?

Let me know.

xxx