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Huda Beauty IrelandThere has been a ridiculous amount of hype about the Huda Beauty The New Nude Eyeshadow Palette. And I think we can all agree it’s purely based on just how pretty it looks, right? I wanted it solely just because the shades look amazing in the pan. Even when I forked over the €65 for it in Brown Thomas, I didn’t even swatch it in store beforehand. Nor had I googled reviews, I just blindly bought. But look at it!!!!

Huda Beauty The New Nude Eyshadow Palette

I only own the Huda Beauty The New Nude Eyeshadow Palette a week and have only used it on my eyeballs twice. It’s been a slow New Years week, there wasn’t much makeup being put on 🙂 I put up a poll on my Instagram stories asking would you want to see swatches regardless. 99% of voters said yes, so here we are. After using it a couple of times I did chime in on stories to tell you my initial thoughts.

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The fall out is immense, do your base second and use a creamy base for the glitters to give them more opacity and help them stick. (Huda do include a concealer in the palette). I heard mixed reviews about the mattes, for me so far, they’ve worked well and I find them easy to blend. Although some of them need more building up then others and the fallout is bad, so just be careful!Huda Beauty The New Nude Eyshadow Palette

This isn’t my first Huda Beauty eyeshadow palette. I also have three of the Obsessions Palettes which you can see swatched here, here and here.irish beauty blogger

Ok let’s get into the task at hand, talking about and swatching the Huda Beauty The New Nude Eyeshadow Palette. This palette contains 18 eyeshadows. They range from nude, mauve, gold, copper, to more berry tones in colour. And then you get 10 matte shades, four duo chromes: (Crave, Fantasy, Daydream, Charmed). Two glitters: (Excite, Infatuated). One pressed pearl (Kinky) and then a concealer to use as a base, or however you choose.irish beauty blog

I’ve swatched them in their rows of six from left to right.

Top row: Bare, Crave, Play, Fantasy, Love Bite, Spanked.

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Middle row: Lace, Daydream, Tickle, Excite, Infatuated, Kinky.

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Bottom row: Concealed, Secret, Tease, Raw, Charmed, Teddy.

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top irish beauty blogger

Here are some of the shades in action on my eyes, just for reference, it’s a really simple look, I’m no makeup artist, and I’m definitely no Instagram makeup artist.

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I paid 65 quid for the Huda Beauty New Nude Eyeshadow Palette, I’m sure there’ll be a video demonstration at some point too 🙂 What do you think? Have you tried it yet? Is it on your lust list? Let me know.

xxx

catrice lip foundation lip linerThere is five shades of these Catrice Lip Foundation Lip Liners. I managed to find four of them to try. I initially bought two while we were staycation-ing in Kilkenny. Enjoyed the concept, so wanted to grab more shades when I was back in Dublin to do a post on them.

catrice Lip Foundation lip liner

I believe these were part of their Spring/ Summer collection from last year, I hadn’t seen them until now though. I ran out my brow pencil while we were away and needed to pick up. So I just went to the local chemist and they happened to have a Catrice stand. I got one of their micro brow pencils, and then kept perusing. That’s when I came across these little beauties.catrice cosmetics ireland

The concept of the Catrice Lip Foundation lip liners is that they’re a base colour for your lips. So you can use them to prime for lipstick, contour, or as an all over colour.irish beauty site

I really just like them because of the shades available and the fact that their super creamy and pigmented.

They’re my kinda nude lip colours and within the four that I have, I think there’s a matte nude shade for pretty much for everyone. That alone, made me think they deserved their own blogpost 🙂

As always, I’ll give them an oul swatch and you can make up your mind.

First up is ‘Addicted To Cafè Au Lait’ a lighter pinky nude:

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‘Caramel Blonde To Go’ is light pink shade:irish beauty bloggertop beauty blog ireland

‘I Take You To The Chocolate Shop’ is a medium brown nude.

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And the final one I have is ‘Cool Brown’, which I think ironically is a warmer toned brown 🙂 :

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The shade I am missing just because the chemists I went to didn’t have it is ‘Can’t You Hear That Super Base’. This one seems to be the lightest shade in the collection.

And that’s it! Just to mention, they are super soft pencils, which is great. But it does mean you’ll get through them pretty fast. Thought that was something to note.

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The Catrice Lip Foundation lip pencils are available in all good stockists now in store and online. Inish Pharmacy have all five shades online here. And they only cost €2.80 a piece which I think is really decent.

xxx

Urban Decay Optical Illusion Complexion PrimerI’ve heard and read a lot of mixed reviews about the Urban Decay Optical Illusion Complexion Primer. I swatched it a while back at an Urban Decay masterclass. And from then, I was super intrigued, so I took the hit and picked it up from Debenhams.

Urban Decay Optical Illusion Complexion Primer

First up, I really like the packaging of these UD primers (they come in different finishes). I always appreciate a pump when I’m spending a few bob on a product. I like that you can see how much product is in the bottle too. You get 28 mls for on average €29. So you’re getting a ml of product per euro. It contains rosehip and argan oil.Urban Decay Primer

So what does the Urban Decay Optical Illusion Complexion Primer claim to do? Well pretty much that. They say it blurs pores and fine lines. As well giving a velvet like texture to the skin to help foundation go on smoother. It gives the skin a bit of a pink tint. UD say this helps illuminate the skin. I think if you’re my skin tone or lighter that might be the case. But, if you’re darker, it could give a white cast to the skin, that might not be so flattering.irish beauty blog

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I really like this primer, it works really well for me. I do tend to use it only in my t-zone though. It’s thick in consistency and takes a bit of working in to the skin. I press it into my skin with the tips of my fingers.top irish beauty blogtop irish beauty blogger

The big no no that people say about it is that it balls up as you apply. That definitely can happen with a silicone heavy product like this if you use too much, or use it over a thicker moisturiser. They’re two things I tend to avoid on a daily basis so for the most part it blends out smoothly on my skin. It definitely glides over my enlarged pores and helps fill in my more prominent forehead lines. It gives a smooth base and foundation blends well over top. I find it does help with longevity too. I do always set my makeup with powder as well though.

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It reminds me of a thicker Benefit Porefessional, with a drier finish on the skin. I find that as it is thicker, it goes further than Porefessional.

I can whole heartedly say I am happy enough that I spent the €29 on the Urban Decay Optical Illusion Complexion Primer. It ticks all the primer boxes for me. My skin likes silicone heavy primers and this is definitely that with a more velvet finish. Have you tried it?

xxx

 

Real Techniques Brushes

I have spoken a lot about Real Techniques Brushes (and their sponges too).

Real Tecniques Brushes

But, with all their new releases at the moment, which on a side note, I need everything! I thought I would bring it back to some of their basics, and the Real Techniques brushes I reach for on a daily basis.

Real Techniques Brushes

I’ve split it into face brushes and eye brushes. Just a coincidence that there’s three of each 🙂

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First up is one of the first Real Techniques brushes I ever bought. Although this is a newer version of it. John broke my old one when he attempted to do my makeup. You can check out the lolz in that video here. This is their Blush Brush.

affordable makeup brushes

Although I definitely do not use it for blush. I love that the fab Pixiwoo ladies always say their brushes do not need to be used for their namesake. Use them for what they work for.

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I use the Blush Brush for bronzer. I love the tapered shape for doing some light bronzer contouring too. It’s €14.99 from the Boots website here.

My next choice is their Setting Brush. It’s again tapered and like all of their brushes synthetic.

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I don’t specifically use it for it’s named purpose either. This, for me works great for setting my lids with powder rather than my face.

beauty blog ireland
beauty blogger ireland

I also use it for highlighter too. It’s €9.50 from Cloud 10 Beauty here

My last face brush choice is the one I probably use the most. It’s the Cheek Brush. top beauty blogger irelandI use this to pack on setting powder. It’s domed and moderately dense, so I find it great for applying powder quite liberally. As well doing a good job of getting in around the nose and the brows.

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Because I have oilier skin. I tend to go in hard with the powder and then use buckets of setting spray to make me look less like a powdery mess 🙂 This was part of the Nic’s Picks limited edition collection, so you can’t buy it individually unfortunately.

Onto my eye brush choices. beauty bloggerThese all have purple handles, and are all part of kits which is super annoying, I’m sorry. But they have such similar brushes still available and you can still find the kits in chemists and stores.

Feel Unique have the Starter Kit here, which contains the Deluxe Crease Brush.

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I bloody love this brush for under eye concealer. But I generally use it on lazy days when I just want to put a wash of colour across my lids. There’s no faffing needed, it does the job in a couple of swipes.

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I do use my other choices for their actual purposes 🙂 I love the Base Shadow Brush for building up colour on the lid.

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It’s quite small and tapers at the tip so works great for blending and application. You can kind of blend with it as you go.

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drugstore makeup brushes

I love using it for applying loose pigments and glitter aswell. It works well with powders, creams and mixing mediums too.

My last choice is the Essential Crease Brush.

budget makeup brushes

This is just super dainty and great for precise crease work. The bristles aren’t too tightly packed so it still gives you scope to blend colour as you go.

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top beauty blogger

I love using this for blowing out colour on the lower lash line too.

And there you have my most used Real Techniques Brushes! I am a huge fan overall of the brand. They have brushes to cater to most budgets and needs. They are all synthetic and cruelty free. And for me, generally wash really well too. Have you a favourite?

xxx

 

I wanted to talk a bit about primer for oily skin types.

primer for oily skin

Chip pan skin is my jam, with some dehydration in certain areas too. Although, I think this little discussion will help other skin types aswell. I wanted the title to be ‘primer for oily skin’, because that’s what I know about best.

primer for oily skin

I spoke briefly on social media about mixing primers and I got some questions about it. Also, a couple of people said they would never think to use more than one.

This is me just talking about personal opinion. I just wanted to put that out there. I am a makeup lover, not a beauty expert by any means.

I think of mixing primers like mixing any other makeup or skincare products. One of my favourite things to do is mix foundation. Different finishes, different tones. I think primer falls into that bracket too.

I’ll use the two examples I put up on Instagram.

These are two of my favourite primer (s) for oily skin.

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The Ordinary High Adherence Silicone Primer. (You can buy it here).

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And Benefit’s The Porefessional. (Buy online here).

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With applying primer, I do find less it more. Too much can undo the barrier you are trying to create with it.

I love both of these in their own right as a primer for oilier, more combination skin. But, I’ve been really enjoying using both of these together in the warmer weather. I use the silicone primer all over, just a really light layer. Not all silicone based primers cut the mustard for me. I spoke about the L’Oréal one here a while ago that I only find OK.

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After The Ordinary Primer settles into the skin, I pat some of Porefessional into my T Zone. I have really big pores and Porefessional works like putty to fill them in, again using the patting method. It works great on scars and fine lines too!

Both together gives me a nice flat base for my makeup, and of course helps everything last longer on my skin too.

This is just my go to cocktail of the minute. It will work with all different primers. It’s just fun to play around with them and find what works for your skin. There is no need to use two different products whatsoever, one is just fine, I just like to experiment.

That’s the great thing about makeup, right? 🙂

xxx

 

****CONTAINS PR SAMPLE****

 

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!

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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!

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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*****