Posts

Essence Cosmetics have very kindly given me some of their new Essence Little Beauty Angels Colour Correcting products to give away to one of you!

irish beauty blogger

I have the guts of the whole Essence Little Beauty Angels collection here. According to the brand: ‘essence brings “little beauty angels colour correcting” on a heavenly mission to you. the products help balance out small skin flaws with contrasting colours to ensure a flawless, radiant complexion. pink gives tired skin a wide-awake look, green neutralizes redness and beige corrects skin irregularities.’

Essence Little Beauty Angels

The prize will include:

  • Primer stick 01 on my concealing mission
  • Primer stick 02 on my anti-redness mission
  • Primer stick 03 on my covering mission
  • Mini make-up sponges 01 pretty little angels
  • Core lip primer 01 prime time angel
  • Concealer palette 01 four angels for brightness
  • Brush duo 01 one team, one mission
  • Multicolour matt pearls 01 call me a multivalent angel
  • Face perfection primer 01 I’m your wake-up angel
  • Face perfection primer 02 I’m your anti-redness angel
  • Face perfection primer 03 I’m your brightening angel

To be in with a chance of winning, all you have to do is comment below telling me what your favourite blog posts to read are. And make sure to include your email address so I can contact you. For an extra chance, you can share this post on any of your social media platforms and I will include those entries too!

irish beauty blog

This Essence Little Beauty Angels giveaway closes a week from today, the 11th of April 2017 at 10pm. It is only open to people living in Ireland. I will pick a winner at random and email you. The lovely people at Essence will then send you out your goodies.

The very best of luck. As always thanks for taking the time to click and enter, I really appreciate it!

Gemma

xxx

*****Prize courtesy of Essence Cosmetics Ireland*****

I am a big Pixiwoo fan as well as being a Real Techiniques fan. If you didn’t know Real Techniques stems from sisters Sam and Nic Chapman. They are both professional makeup artist, youtubers, authors and creators of Real Techniques.

Real Techniques Miracle Sculpting Sponge

I have alot of Real Techniques brushes in my collection and am a big fan of their Miracle Complexion sponge. This year they have expanded their makeup sponge range. I want to talk about one of them in this post, the Miracle Sculpting Sponge.

irish beauty blog

I bought the Miracle Sculpting Sponge after seeing Sharon Farrell talking about it and using it on her Youtube channel (which I will link here). You should totally check her out 🙂

It’s a funny looking sponge I know. I think it’s shaped a bit like a pointy snowman myself 🙂

real techniques boots ireland
irish beauty blog
real techniques
irish beauty blogger
It is described as having six surfaces, so you can use it to apply and blend contour, highlight as well as foundation, concealer and powder. They can say you can use it wet or dry too. I, so far have only used it wet. Here is the comparison in size between wet and dry.

top irish beauty blogbeauty blog ireland

In Gemma terms. I love this sponge. It is really soft and squidgy and it’s latex free. When wet, it expands so it covers more surface area. It also doesn’t soak up all your products and blends liquids in super easy. The shape does take a minute to get used too in your hand. I use it for applying foundation, concealer, cream contour and bronzer. But, I also really love using it for applying my setting powder. I am going through a bit of under eye baking faze and this sponge really works a treat for it because you you can get right in under the eyes using the small, flat pointed end.

I do like that it has a different sized em…ends. I use the big flat end for foundation then the more rounded end on the opposite side for cream concealer. But, when it comes to deep cleaning it can cause a bit of a problem. Mine was ruined by scrubbing it too hard and the skinnier neck part of it split. I didn’t have it very long when it happened which is annoying, so it’s just something to note. Don’t be too heavy handed with it. Although saying that, I am still using it damaged and it is working grand for me.

Overall, I am a big fan of the Real Techniques Miracle Sculpting Sponge.

beauty blogger ireland

For me, it wins over the Miracle Complexion Sponge, not because of the shape but because it’s softer and feels nicer (dare I say more bouncier) on the skin :).

You can buy them from Boots in store or online here and Cloud10Beauty here. They retail for between €7 and €8 depending on where you buy.

xxx

 

The Trilogy Mineral Radiance Mask has fast become one of my favourites. I am on my second tub of it, so I think I have used it enough to give my honest opinion about it 🙂

beauty blog ireland

Trilogy describes the Mineral Radiance Mask as a mineral rich kaolin mask that delivers instant radiance with a deep cleansing action. It contains Native New Zealand pohutukawa extract helps tone and regenerate while emollient oils, rosehip and evening primrose nourish and hydrate.

 

My less fancy description would be this a really lovely kaolin clay mask filled with natural ingredients. I don’t personally mind the scent, if you are sensitive to smells though try give it a whiff or get a sample before you buy. It applies smoothly to the skin and unlike other clay masks I have used in the past, dries to a nearly rubber like texture.

irish beauty blogger

There’s no tightness so it’s really comfortable on the face. The mix of ingredients means it works well for drawing out impurities, but leaves your skin feeling soft and moisturised. I have pretty oily skin, and it works really well for me because weirdly enough I can get dehydrated in some areas. I feel the Mineral Radiance Mask gives me the best of both worlds.

We all know the Trilogy name for their Rosehip oil. I am a huge fan of this too, so for it to be in their mask is such a bonus. Rosehip oil is great for scars or marks on the skin, dehydrated skin and even fine lines.

irish makeup and beauty blogI’ve never looked better, I know ha!

Trilogy says just to let the mask dry and then rinse off, I’ve been known to forget it’s on and an hour later remember and have no redness or anything as a result, so it’s not too harsh. It comes off easy enough with just warm water. I usually like to use a muslin cloth with it though makes things a bit easier.

In my humble opinion I think this is a pretty darn good mask. I have oily skin and works really well for me, but I think it would really work for all skin types.

A 60ml tub of the Trilogy Mineral Radiance Mask will cost you between 23-24 Euro depending on where you buy it. Cloud 10 Beauty sell it here

Thanks for stopping by 🙂

xxx

Lash application is one of those things that just comes to you after practice, I think. I was crap at it when I first gave it a go, but I’ve done it so much over the years now that I don’t even think about it.

If you’re new to the lash game, something like this kit from Kiss is a really handy place to start.

Kiss LashesKiss do all different styles of lash in these Haute Couture lash kits. This is the wink style, which give more volume and length to the centre and outer lashes.

Kiss Wink LashesThey all come with a handy lash application tool and some Aloe Vera Adhesive, which is meant to be more gentle so good if you have sensitive eyes.

When I use lashes for the first time, I like to bend the band on them a little. So, to do this I just twist the seam of the lash between my fingers and then basically form it around my finger.

Fake lash tipsfalse lash tricksDoing this makes the band (especially a thicker bank) a more of a rounder shape, so it will fit to your eye better and make lash application easier.

Then, I grab my lash glue.

irish beauty blogThis Kiss one is actually really handy because if has a little applicator on it, so you can easily apply it to the lash. The key to application is only apply a thin layer of glue to the band of the lash, then give it 20 or so seconds to become tacky. If the glue isn’t tacky, the lash will slide around your eyelid and things just start to get messy.

The more you apply lashes, the more you’ll know what tool is best to use for you for applying the lash onto your natural lashes. For me, I’m more comfortable placing it down first with my hand.

lash applicationDrop the lash into the centre of your eye as much as you can. It means you have a couple of second to adjust if the lash isn’t where it should be.

irish beauty bloggerThen, I grab my tool or tweezers, and tuck in the edges 🙂

irish beauty blog beautynookYou can use it to squeeze the fake lash into your real lashes aswell, so you don’t have any gaps showing and they are as close to your natural lash line as you can possibly get them.

The Kiss Wink lashes don’t go right into the inner corner of my eyes. I personally like this because it means if there is any lifting throughout the day or night, I won’t be getting poked in the eye ball. We’ve all experienced that right? It bloody hurts! A good tip is to actually measure your false lash to your eye before you apply it and trim any excess.

irish makeup and beauty blogThe Wink lashes don’t have an invisible band though, so to make them look more flush with my lash line, I use a liquid liner to just continue the line across my lash line.

Physicians formula lash booster eyelinerSo there’s one eye finished. Definitely makes a difference, right?

makeup and beauty blogThen I just recreate what I did on the other eye as best I can. Don’t give yourself a hard time if the falsies aren’t completely symmetrical, your eyes aren’t completely symmetrical!

makeup blog irelandbeauty blog irelandI finish off by adding another slick of mascara to my top lashes, to just make sure falsies and naturals are all married together and looking the best they can.

Lashes like these Kiss ones can be used more than once if you’re careful taking them off, so get your monies worth ladies. You can remove any excess glue with a tweezers and put them back into their handy little case.

There you have it, my top tips for lash application. Hope they helped 🙂

The Kiss Haute Couture Lash Sets are available from Dunnes and some selected pharmacies and they cost €21.99.

 

xxx