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This is my very first Black Friday Deals blog post, so I am really hoping it ends up being helpful to people 🙂 I did my pick of Advent Calendars here for this year and it went down really well.Black Friday Deals I always declare, but just to be extra transparent, I do use affiliate links. This doesn’t mean you pay anymore as a consumer. It just means if you buy anything through the links I share I make a really small commission. And it all goes back into buying makeup so I can keep writing (and filming) for Beautynook.

So, now that’s out of the way, let us get onto the Black Friday Deals for this year. I’ll list what I can, as early as I can. And then, if I spot anything else worth sharing, I will update this post throughout as things change. Some codes may only work on Friday.

These are places that I have bought from before myself and are tried, tested and generally sell awesome products. In my humble opinion of course 🙂
  • ASOS have 20% off their website with the code WIN20 here.
  • Look Fantastic have 15% off with UNLOCK (exclusions apply) on their website here.
  • Feel Unique have  on their website here.
  • Cult Beauty have 15% off orders over £20 with the code 15BLACK and 20% off ordered over £200 with the code 20BLACK here.
  • Boohoo have 30% off their website with code GOGOGO here.
  • Beauty Bay have 30% off more or less everything on their website here.
  • Debenhams have 10% off all beauty including their gift sets on their website here.
  • Superdrug are doing to half price savings on their website here.
  • Boots are doing up to half price savings on their website here.
  • Missguided have dresses from £8 on their website here.
  • Littlewoods have up to 30% off on their website here.
  • Joanie Clothing have 30% off all full priced items on their website here.
  • River Island have 20% off full priced item (minimum spend £75 on their website here.
  • Pretty Little Thing have 30% off everything with code ITSON on their website here.
  • Cloud10beauty have 20% with BLACK20 on their website here.
  • Glitz n Pieces have 20% off site wide with the code BLACKFRIDAY here.
  • House of Fraser have 10% off all beauty site wide and up to 40% off everything else here.
  • Office have 20% off site wide with the code SHINE here.
  • Arnotts have 20% off ‘almost everything’ here.
  • Brown Thomas also have 20% off ‘almost everything’ here.
  • Nasty Gal are doing a whopping 50% off everything with the code GIMME50 here.
  • Lifestyle Sports have 15% off with the code EARLYBIRD here.
  • Topshop have up to 50% off and free shipping worldwide here.
  • Selfridges have 20% off gifts and 10% off beauty and fragrance with the code SELFCCE here.
  • Public Desire are doing 20% off everything with the code CYBERBAE here.
  • Harvey Nichols have….on their site here.
  • Zoeva Cosmetics have 20% site wide using the code ZFS2017 here.
  • The Body Shop have 30% in store on Friday.
  • The Body Shop (UK site) has 40% off hundreds of items here.
  • TRND Beauty have 20% off site wide from midnight on the 22nd until midnight on Friday the 24th here.
  • Carraig Donn have 20% off site wide all week here.
  • Elf Cosmetics (UK) have 50% off site wide on orders over £30 with the code CELEBRATE here.
  • Nike have 25% off site wide with the code EPIC25 here.
  • Blank Canvas Cosmetics have 20% off everything with BLACK20 here.
  • Schuh have up to 40% in store and online here.
  • Only have 25% off all full priced items in store and online here.
  • Inglot have 25% off their Signature Collection in store and online here.
  • New Look have 25% off everything in store and online here.
  • Stila UK have 20% off site wide with the code FRIDAY17 here.
  • Missoma jewellery have 25% off their entire site with the code BF25 here.
  • Deciem (The Ordinary, Niod skincare etc) are doing skincare bundles that are heavily discounted here.
  • Robes4You have 10% off everything with the code BLKFRIDAY here.
  • Platinum Hair Extensions have 10% off everything with the code BLACKFRIDAY17 site wide here.
  • Pestle & Mortar have 20% off everything in stock online here.
  • Emma Hardie have 25% off everything online with the code BF25 from Friday here.
  • Zara have up to 50% off online here.
  • Sigma Beauty have 30% off site wide and free worldwide shipping here.

black friday dealsLet me live vicariously through you and let me know what you pick up 🙂

Gemma.

xxx

 

I get asked every year to do a beauty advent calendar post, and I’ve always not ended up doing one. I generally always like to be able to use and give a physical opinion on products when it comes to the blog. I’ve been doing this four years now and that’s what kind of feels natural to me. To talk about products I have road tested and used. But sure there’s always exceptions and I’ve realised that now.

beauty advent calendars

I’m a little blogger fish in a big pond and I can’t buy or get sent all of the fancy beauty advent calendars every year. So, I thought I would just compile the ones that are really taking my fancy in the run to Christmas for 2017 🙂

The first one is the one I am really considering buying for myself, although I have yet to justify it. This is the Beauty In Wonderland from Look Fantastic

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This is retailing from their website here for €98. They say it contains product worth up to £300.

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It’s a mixture of all different brands and all different types of beauty products. Also the packaging is pretty gorgeous. i blame Sharon Leavy from Behind Green Eyes for making me lust after this so much 🙂

Feel Unique do their own version too here. This costs €42 which is a little more palatable, I know.

beauty advent calendars 2017

They also give you a list of the products enclosed if you don’t want to wait until the Christmas countdown.

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Clarins always do a really lovely beauty advent calendar and this year is no exception.

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This is what would be deemed the more feminine version but there is a male offering too. This will set you back £52.50 here. This has been the cheapest I’ve found it online. It contains 12 minis including one of their Instant Light Natural Lip Perfectors, one of my personal faves.

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Lancôme have a ridiculously lovely one this year with a 25 day countdown.

beauty advent calendars

This costs €130 from Boots here, but you do get 25 mini products, ranging from skincare to fragrance.

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If you want exclusively skincare, L’Occitane have a beautiful 25 day calendar chock full of it.

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I actually think this is a really good deal at €59 from Debenhams here.

If Charlotte Tilbury is your go to brand, you’re in luck! She has released a Naughty & Nice Magic Box for this year.

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It contains 12 makeup and skincare goodies. This is the most expensive one of the bunch coming in at €180 here.

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If lipstick is your thing, Nyx have released their Kiss & Tell Advent Calendar again this year.

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This is €67.57 from Asos here. Although if you buy in pounds it generally works out cheaper.

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It contains 24 lip colours to suit any mood.

I know these are all pretty pricey, so if you are looking for a more budget friendly beauty advent calendar, hopefully I can cover you here.

The Tanya Burr 12 Sweet Days Beauty Calendar contains 12 products including nail polish and glitter liners.

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I included this because you can still get your beauty hit with it, and it’s on sale from Feel Unique at the moment here. They also have it on 3 for 2 if you’re shopping for anyone else.

 

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Asos have a budget friendly option too here from Mad Beauty.

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This is a range of hair, skin and nail products and will only set you back €14.85.

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My last choice is this years Makeup Revolution Calendar. This contains 25 full sized products.

dublin beauty blog

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It is on sale at the moment from Superdrug here. It was £50 and now it’s £30.

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And there you have my beauty advent calendar countdown. Any take your fancy? Have you already bought one? Let me know 🙂

 

More Maybelline chat 🙂 I reviewed the new colours of the Eraser Eye Concealers here. Now, I am chatting and applying some of the new products out for Summer 2017!

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Maybelline, as a brand for me can be very much hit or miss. I am not always a fan of the releases, so some of the products end up in bags for friends or for charity. Obviously, if I hate something enough I will tell you why and if I love it I will shout it from the rooftops too! But if something is just ‘meh’, it doesn’t always get a second look.

maybelline new products

I have some of the new Maybelline Summer releases and I thought I would put them altogether and do a makeup look with the goodies I own. Some are PR samples, some I bought myself. Nothing majorly fancy or groundbreaking. But, it just means you get to see some of them in action on my chubby little face , and I get to give initial impressions 🙂

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I will list everything I used below, in case anything particular takes your fancy and you want to investigate it further:

  • I have already linked the new Eraser Eyes in Neutralizer and Brightener above.
  • Master Blush Color & Highlight Kit. Available on the Boots website here.
  • Master Ink Waterproof Liquid Liner. Available here.
  • The Colossal Big Shot Mascara. Available here.
  • Great Lash Waterproof. On the Boots website here.
  • Master Fix Setting & Perfecting Loose Powder. Boots online have it here.
  • Vivid Hot Lacquers. Available here.

maybelline makeup

I did use some other Maybelline and non Maybelline products just because I had them and I didn’t have a whole face of newness in my stash. As always, you can click the video above to watch and go directly to my YouTube channel here to check it out.

beauty blog ireland
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I think my stand out favourites are the loose powder and the concealers. The Colossal mascara is pretty damn good too though!

xxx

We made it halfway through 2017! How did that even happen!! The start of a new month means I have to look back and catalogue some of my most used products. Yes, it’s time for my May favourites 🙂

may favourites

I decided to rock a red lip for this video! Thought I was only brilliant, until I started to edit the footage and realised it was smudged for most of it! Epic, lipstick fail. Just pretend you can’t see it, OK?

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My May Favourites don’t consist of many things, but I think the choices are mighty 🙂

may favourites

 

We have the Penneys PS Pure Glow Highlighter Powder Palette. I have a full review of this here, so I won’t ramble on about it too much.

I spoke about one of my favourite primers, Benefit Porefessional.  The original YSL Touche Eclat. I’ve been using this in conjunction with Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer. Very much a jump on price in both of these, but I love them equally. Then, I couldn’t not add in The Ordinary. I’ve harped on so much about this brand over the past few weeks.

My Asos earrings that I forgot to put in the picture above so here’s a very candid back lit one of me wearing them!

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And then the last of my May favourites came in the shape of some rose gold Nike Cortez and fish net ankle socks. Not for everyone, but I am digging the trend.

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As always you can watch me waffle on more about my May favourites by just clicking the video at the top of this post, or directly on my YouTube channel here.

Happy June! Hope you have the loveliest month. I have lots to look forward to, so I’m very excited for the next few weeks 🙂

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Thanks for watching, I really appreciate it.

Gemma

xxx

It’s the beginning of a new month! That can only mean one thing in blog/vlog land. It’s monthly favourites time 🙂 Here is my round up of February favourites for 2017!

My February favourites consist of all beauty related products. There is a mix of makeup and skincare. I do have an honourable random mention at the end of the video though. You can click the video above, or watch it directly on my YouTube channel here.

The Body Shop Almond Milk & Honey Range is first. You can see the range in more detail over on The Body Shop website here.

Garnier Pure 3 in 1 Wash, Scrub & Mask. You can pick this in Boots stores and online here. It costs €7.49.

Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick in Pillow Talk. I have a full review and details on this here.

februaray favourites

Mac Soar Lip Liner is on the Brown Thomas website for €17.50 here. Not the cheapest lip liner in the world, I know. But I haven’t found a similar colour for less money as of yet. I will keep hunting though 🙂

Spring Sheen Blush from Mac. I am definitely having a bit of Mac revisit at the moment, I know! Again, this is on the Brown Thomas website here. €24 is a bit steep, but you can buy Mac blushes in pan form too.

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Then my final February favourite is the Clarins Ombre Iridescente Cream To Powder Eyeshadow in 09 Silver Rose. I cannot find a link to this particular colour in Debenhams or Boots. But it is avialble to buy online from CH Tralee chemist for €22.50 here.

february favourites

 

And that sums up my February favourites in one blogpost, oh and a video too :). Do you have any stand out products for the month? Beauty or otherwise of course? Let me know and as always thanks for clicking and watching.

Gemma

xxx

I have here some of the new Essence Autumn/Winter releases for 2016/17.

Essence Autumn/Winter

It’s safe to say Essence have been kicking ass of late and are constantly upping their game with their releases. So, I thought I would bring you through some of the products that are going to be hitting stands soon in the Essence Autumn/Winter Collection.

I’ll start with some of the eye products.

essence cosmetics

We have ‘The Metals’ single eyeshadows.

These come in six colours. I have the shade ‘Frozen Toffee’ to show you here.

These will cost €3.10.

Eye contouring is playing a big part in the Essence Autumn/Winter Collection. We have the Contouring Eyeshadow Set.These are available in 4 colour combos. I have the shade 01 ‘Mauve Meets Marshmallows’ here.

They cost €3.10

There’s a Contouring Eye Pencil too. Essence say it can be used as a liner, eyeshadow or highlighter, and it’s available in two shades. One for darker skin tones, and there’s one for lighter which I have here. It’s called 01 ‘Caramel Meets Frosting’.

They cost €3.10.

There is six shades of the new Extreme Lasting Eye Pencil.

I have the colour 05 ‘Rockin’ Taupe’.

These are said to be waterproof and ultra longlasting. They cost €2.50.

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Duo Stylist Eyeliner Pen has a ball-shaped felt tip for creating dots and lines on the eyes.

It costs €3.10.

There is three new mascaras in the Essence Autumn/Winter Collection. I have two of them here to show you.

The Rock ‘n’ Roll XXXL Volume mascara that has long and short fibers within the formula.

And, the False Lashes Mascara Dramatic Volume Unlimited.

All three mascaras are priced at €3.50.

Up next we have lip products. There’s a bundle to choose from including lip balms and plumping lip glosses.

We also have Matt Matt Matt lipsticks.

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These come in a total of seven colours. The shades I have here are 07 ‘Purple Power’. And, 02 ‘Perfect Match’.

These retail for €2.90, not bad at all!

Essence have also jumped on the matte lipgloss bandwagon with these Matt Matt Matt Longlasting Lipgloss.

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There will be five colours in these. I have here 03 ‘Girl Of Today’. And, 01 ‘LA Vie Est Belle’.

They again cost €2.90.

There’s BB beauty balm Lipglosses that contain vitamin E and shea butter with a subtle hint of colour. There will be five shades in this range. I have 05 ‘Heartbreaker’.

The retail price for these is €2.50.

The final lip product I have is the Essence 2 in 1 lipstick & liner. These are also part of the Matt Matt Matt range and come in three colours. I have the shade 02 ‘Make Some Noise’ here.

You are supposed to be able to define your lip line with these aswell as apply full on colour. They cost €3.10.

The Essence Autumn/Winter Collection has all new face products included too.

There’s the Camouflage 2 in 1 makeup & concealer. This claims to offer long lasting high coverage and provide a matte, flawless finish.

This is the shade 10 ‘Ivory’, there is a total of three to choose from.

The price is €4.80.

Here we have the Get Picture Ready Long Lasting Compact Makeup.

You get a mirror and a sponge inside the compact and the cream to powder texture is meant to be great for on the go. It comes in four shades. This one is in 10 ‘Mat Ivory’. And, it will set you back €4.95.

We have a Get Picture Ready brightening concealer too. Essence say it has light reflecting pigments to help diminish under eye circles. You apply to product with the ball shaped sponge applicator. It comes in two shades. This one is 10 ‘Ivory’, and it costs €3.80.

We also have a Light Up Your Face Luminizer Palette with three highlight shades.

It costs €4.95.

There is three Satin Touch Blushes for Autumn/Winter. This is in the shade 10 ‘Satin Coral’.

These will cost €3.10.

Last but not least we have an abundance of new nail products.

essence nail polish

I am a big of The Gel nail polishes so I’m delighted to see Essence adding to the shade range.

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I believe these cost €1.99.

The nail care products range from €2.10-2.50 and even includes hand cream and nail stencils!

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Phew, so there you have it. Some of the products to expect to see from the Essence Autumn/Winter releases. 🙂 Anything tickle your fancy?

You can see them all listed on the Essence website here.

PS. Shout out to Rosie for all the help with taking the pictures in the garden 🙂

xxx