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Tanya Burr Cosmetics Illuminating Powders

YouTube 100 million percent made me do it! I have to admit I can be a bit skeptical when YouTubers or online people bring out products. A lot of it is just done to make a few bob on the side, and not really thought out.

Tanya Burr Cosmetics has been going a while now and I actually did try some bit from hers in the beginning, and they weren’t half bad. Since then though nothing has really caught my eye majorly so I didn’t invest in anything.

The Tanya Burr Cosmetics Illuminating Powders are new from the range. I watched her Get Ready With Me Video here, where she showcases her new ‘Chasing The Sun’ Collection. The Illuminating Powders in particular took my fancy.

They remind me so much of the Hourglass Ambient Lighting blush and bronzers. And the Max Factor Creme Puff blush and bronzers too. I actually did a post on the Max Factor Bronzer not too long ago here if you want to see the lighter shade in action.

There is three illuminating powders within the ‘Chasing The Sun’ collection.

I picked up all three because Superdrug were having a 3 for 2 offer. Any excuse, right? They all come in a square, pretty sturdy clear topped palette, with 12 grams of product within.

The darkest of the three is ‘Warm Bronze’.

It’s a medium, shimmering bronze shade.

Next, we have ‘Champagne Sorbet’.

As the name would suggest, this is more of a champagne shimmer. Much more suited to use as a highlight for my lighter skin tone.

The last of the three is ‘Peonies Please’.

This looks like a darker pink in the pan than it swatches. It’s still a really pretty shimmering light pink blush shade. This, for me would be a blush and highlight all in one.

I have to admit, I am really impressed with the colour pay off from all three of the Tanya Burr Cosmetics Illuminating Powder shades. The powders themselves are nice and soft and easy to blend. You get a really decent amount of product for the price point €10.85 ( in store here from Superdrug.) Not the cheapest ‘from the drugstore’, I know. Although they are only €8.99 from the Feel Unique website here. They give a really nice glow to the skin without being too sparkly or glittery.

I will definitely get a lot of use out of ‘Champagne Sorbet’ and ‘Peonies Please’. ‘Warm Bronze’ might be a little too dark for me to use regularly. It will make a lovely eye shadow though!

Here is ‘Peonies Please’ applied as blush to my skin:

And then ‘Champagne Sorbet’ applied on top:

Have you tried anything from the Tanya Burr Cosmetics range? What has YouTube made you buy? I reckon I could do a whole dedicated blog post on that question myself 🙂

xxx

July 17, 2017/by Gem

Makeup, Youtube Video

Spring Makeup Get Ready With Me

So many of you told me you love watching Get Ready With Me style videos. I love watching them too (not my own though if I’m being honest ha) So here’s a Spring Makeup one, where I am basically applying a face of makeup that I would wear for a Spring day/early evening. Myself and himself were off for some Friday eats this day so I thought it would be a appropriate because I was actually doing my makeup to go somewhere, not just for the sake of filming 🙂

This is more of a talk through style video, which I still haven’t completely mastered, words still elude me 🙂 But I thought I would give it a whirl and sure don’t they say practice makes perfect, right?

I used a mixture of more affordable and more high end makeup which is a true representation of my normal makeup routine. I like to mix it up 🙂

So the products I used (including skincare) are:

La Roche Posay Serozince- Full review here

Vichy Normaderm Beautifying Anti Blemish Care Moisturiser- Full review here

thisworks Light Time Open Eyes Eye Cream

Essence Prettifying Lip Oil

Maybelline Baby Skin Primer

Image Skincare I Conceal Flawless Foundation

Soap & Glory Archery Brow Pencil

HD Brows Kit

Billion Dollar Brows Brow Gel

Urban Decay Primer Potion

Essence 2 in 1 Shadow & Liner Pencil in 06 She’s Got The Mauve

Lorac Pro Palette

By Terry Ombre Blackstar in Bronze Moon

Rimmel Exaggerate Eyeliner in Rich Brown

YSL Volume Effect Faux Cils Waterproof Mascara- Full review here

Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer- Full review here

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer

Mac Full Coverage Foundation (as concealer)

Nars Laguna Bronzer

Kevyn Aucoin Sculpting Powder in medium- Full review here

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette (all three 🙂 )

Ben Nye Cameo Powder- Full review here

theBalm MaryLou-Manizer- Full review here

Rimmel Exaggerate in Addiction

L’Oreal Infallible Fixing Mist- Full Review here

So there you have it all the products I used in my Spring Makeup Get Ready With Me. I would love to know what you think and be sure to tell me your favourite types of beauty videos to watch.

Thanks for watching (and reading :))

Gemma

xxx

April 27, 2016/by Gem

Bargain Buying, Makeup, Product Comparison

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette V Makeup Revolution Radiance Palette

Makeup Revolution is pretty new to Irish shores. We could buy it online but never in store. Now we have a couple of stands, just in the Superdrug’s we have here in Dublin. So still not the easiest to get if you don’t live in the county 🙁

I picked up a few bits which I documented here in a blogpost a while ago.

One of them was their Radiance Palette.

This is a trio of their highlighters. If you are a makeup fiend you may be thinking these look familiar? Well you would be right there.

This palette has a remarkable resemblance to the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette which I also have in my possession.

These are being compared alot online. The Makeup Revolution Palette is being deemed a dupe for the Hourglass. They look really similar in the pan but of course the Makeup Revolution one is a hell of alot cheaper than the Hourglass palette. So do they compare?

Close up shots of both palettes

Here is the Makeup Revolution Radiance Palette swatched on my arm from left to right.

Then, here is the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette swatched in the same way. Radiance Light first, Incandescent Light in the middle and then Dim Light.

I think the Makeup Revolution Radiance Palette fares ok. The palette itself is grand. It had a good sized mirror within a plastic casing and the powders are housed pretty firmly inside. The product is a little powdery and takes alot of building up in my humble opinion. It disappears as you blend it into the skin, but you can eventually get there and build up a glow with them. They have quite a sparkly finish.

As I reiterate in most of my posts I have oily skin, and I find the Radiance Palette doesn’t last very long on me. After a couple of hours of applying any of them, I can’t really see the product anymore, it’s like it just sinks in, not great 🙁 It may work better on drier skin? I don’t know.

So what about the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette?

I have this palette a long time now and really love it. I love the sleek packaging (even though it’s plastic) and then the powders inside are just so soft and buttery to the touch. They blend into the skin without much effort at all. They glide onto the skin much easier and they last much longer on me personally then the Makeup Revolution ones. They look more soft focus than the Radiance Palette, which I prefer too.

There is a pretty substantial price difference between these two. The Makeup Revolution Radiance Palette will set you back €10.35 and the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette is a whopping €68!

On comparing the palettes, it really comes down to brass tax, you get what you pay for. There is often amazing similar products (I find the word ‘dupe’ hard so I’ll go with similar ha) to be found in the ‘drugstore’, of course, and I love to hunt them out and shout them from the rooftop, but I personally don’t think I have found one this time. They definitely look similar, but they do not perform the same at all.

In conclusion, I think the Makeup Revolution Radiance Palette is OK as a shimmery highlighter palette, I don’t think I would repurchase it, whereas I think the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette is a gorgeous face powder/ soft focus highlighting palette and I would splurge on it all over again. That is my over analytic summation anyways 🙂

Do you have either? Or both? Let me know what you think.

xxx

July 6, 2015/by Gem

Makeup

Hourglass Mood Exposure ‘V’ Max Factor Nude Mauve

The blogsphere has been alight ever since Max Factor brought out their Creme Puff Blushes. Instantly they were being compared to the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes…they look really really similar in the pan so there is no surprise there! As the proud owner of 4 Hourglass blushes I thought it was my duty as a blogger and makeup obsessed person to buy a couple of the Max Factor Creme Puff Blushes and compare. All in the name of research I swear 🙂

So today I am comparing Hourglass’s ‘Mood Exposure’ (which I have in palette form)

to Max Factor’s ’10 Nude Mauve’.

They look pretty similar in the pan don’t they? The marbling effect in ‘Mood Exposure’ is more prominent than in Nude Mauve, and ‘Nude Mauve’ looks a tad more shimmery when you look at them both up close.

When they are swatched on the skin, they look like this.

Mood Exposure Nude Mauve

Hourglass’s ‘Mood Exposure’ is a slightly more muted peach shade when swatched whereas Max Factor’s ‘Nude Mauve’ is true to it’s name and a little darker and more nude in colour.

Both blushes blend really well on the skin and can be worn as a light flush of colour or can be built up for a more noticeable application. They both have a very subtle sheen to them, with just a smattering of shimmer nothing too drastic or over powering at all. They both also have a light fragrance to them, different but it really won’t affect you when you are wearing either of them.

Rather than talking about them separately it just felt natural for me to talk about them together because they really are such similar products. Except of course when it comes to the price tag. The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes will set you back close to 40 quid where as the Max Factor Creme Puff Blushes are a much more budget friendly 11.50, there’s a big difference there.

Both of these blushes are the perfect neutral blush colour, for less makeup days or when you are having a day of focus on your eyes or your lips, both of them would tie your look together without trying to steal the show. It’s just down to which one you want to buy. As a makeup ‘collector’ yep that’s what I’m calling myself! I like having both of them at my disposal but in reality the Max Factor offering is cheaper, more readily available and does the exact same thing!

The decision is yours 🙂

xxx

March 20, 2015/2 Comments/by Gem

Haul, Makeup

What I Got For Christmas…

Can you believe Christmas is over? 2015 has come so quickly. I hope you all had a fantastic break and the start of your new year is going well.

Christmas was very good to me and I wanted to share with you some of the goodies we were lucky enough to receive as gifts. I love seeing what people got so we hope you don’t mind us getting in on the fun 🙂

The boyfriend did good this year (as he does every year).

First up I got this rose gold faced Accurist watch.

I have wanted one of these for ages, ever since I saw Youtube’s Lily Pebbles rocking one, so I was very happy to open this on Christmas morning.

He also got my the coveted Hourglass Ambient Blush Palette.

How beautiful is this? It is so pretty and pretty extravagant looking. The colours are very wearable and have a lovely glow to them. I love owning this palette 🙂

I of course had to get the Soap & Glory Next Big Thing set. I get this every year and love it. It contains all of the Soap & Glory items you will ever need for shower time.

He got me the Benefit Cheeky Sweet Spot Palette, which was an absolute bargain, considering how expensive Benefit boxed blushes are.

It contains 5 of their cult blushes as well as Hoola, a sample of Watts Up and a little brush. I love Benefit blushes so this is a very welcome addition to my makeup collection.

A new hair dryer was amongst the gifts on Christmas morning.

I didn’t think I needed this, but it has 2100w and is so much stronger than the one I already have. I have a whole lot of hair so this will not go to waste.

Diptyque’s Mimosa Candle is on my Christmas and Birthday list every year, it’s my favourite scent, so I was very happy to receive a nice new one. Yum yum yum 🙂

Another gift I got from him was all from his own findings. A couple of years ago he surprised me with the Anna Sui Minnie Mouse Lipstick and Eye set, which I love so much I can’t bring myself to use it and I think this is going to end up the same way.

How pretty is the packaging? The lipstick inside doesn’t disappoint either.

We always do a present on Christmas Eve because we are children and cannot wait to exchange gifts, so this year my Christmas Eve pressie was the Charlotte Tilbury Mini Lipstick Charms.

These are such a cute gift for any makeup lover, as well as being lovely pigmented lipsticks.

Kris Kindle goes down in the boyfriends house at Christmas time. We make a list and then the person who gets you can pick what they want from the list up to €100. This year mr father in law (to be) got me and it did very well. He made the money go very far. A couple of the stand out things were.

The Urban Decay Vice 3 Palette.

The shades Brokedown, Sonic and Alchemy make me squeal with delight 🙂 Can’t wait to get properly stuck into this.

He also got me an Alex and Ani bangle.

This is the Path of Life charmed bangle, which I think is quite fitting for me at the minute. These are a really lovely and reasonably priced gift with a lovely sentiment.

The Mammy got me a couple of lovely goodies as she always does including these cute pj’s from Marks & Spencer. I can’t wear these enough, they are so cozy.

And the Lush Merry Christmas Gift.

Is it bad that these are all nearly gone already?

I was such a lucky girl this year. My brother kindly gave me a very generous gift card for Brown Thomas and so I went in over the Christmas break and bought a couple of extra presents. #brat I know 🙂

I picked up Charlotte Tilbury’s eyelash curler.

Adore that this is rose gold, it’s so pretty. I’m not too fond of it unfortunately though, I much prefer my Shu Uemura 🙁

The other thing I bought is one of my new favourite things for sure though. I think it deserves it’s own blogpost, so stay tuned for that.

So there you have it a dip into some of the wonderful gifts I was given for Christmas. It was a fantastic one surrounded by friends and family and too much chocolate…the diet starts now I swear 🙂

Happy New Year, hope 2015 is an amazing one for you!

So tell me, what did you get for Christmas? Go on tell, I love to have a nose.

Gemma.

xxx

January 6, 2015/6 Comments/by Gem

Posts

YouTube 100 million percent made me do it! I have to admit I can be a bit skeptical when YouTubers or online people bring out products. A lot of it is just done to make a few bob on the side, and not really thought out.

The Tanya Burr Cosmetics Illuminating Powders are new from the range. I watched her Get Ready With Me Video here, where she showcases her new ‘Chasing The Sun’ Collection. The Illuminating Powders in particular took my fancy.

Makeup Revolution is pretty new to Irish shores. We could buy it online but never in store. Now we have a couple of stands, just in the Superdrug’s we have here in Dublin. So still not the easiest to get if you don’t live in the county 🙁

I picked up a few bits which I documented here in a blogpost a while ago.