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May Favourites 2018

It’s about that time again dudes. Another month, another faves video. This time I’m looking back over my May Favourites for 2018.

May has been a trying month for me personally I won’t lie, but shite talking about makeup and beauty products definitely helps with all the personal stuff 🙂

My May favourites for 2018 and beauty heavy, there’s no fashion or random loves in sight. Also the lip I am wearing is one of the new L’Oréal Color Riche Shine lipsticks in 466. I am loving the formula of these.

My messed up hair is something I can’t even apologise for. It was a good idea at the time. I swear one of these days I’ll take a course on styling hair or something. I am absolutely brutal at it 🙂

As always I’ll list my May favourites here, but if you want to hear my musings on them click on the video above or here to check them out.

Vichy Mineral 89 Serum . I definitely use more than necessary of this stuff as a day time moisturiser. But it’s great if you don’t like a heavy cream in the day or for night time. I use it in conjunction with a serum and it doesn’t interfere with my makeup.

I actually think the Essence Kawii Trend Edition Collection is gone from June, so apologies if you like what you see.

This is a great little palette if you see it around though.

The Kryolan Translucent Powder is a great staple to have in your makeup stash.

Mine is battered and bruised, all with love though. I end up going back to it so much 🙂

Second last in my May Favourites is this giant eyeshadow brush from Blank Canvas Cosmetics.

Specifically known as the F11 Large Eyeshadow Brush.

Then finally two brow products from Isa Dora which I have been using all through May and really enjoying.

The Precision Brow Pen and the Brow Shaping Gel. Feel Unique actually sell Isa Dora too so I’ve linked them if you want to have a closer look.

And that’s it for my May Favourites. We are officially in June, my birthday month. My June faves are usually a bit more interesting as a result 🙂

xxx

PR SAMPLES INCLUDED

June 1, 2018/by Gem

Makeup

Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation + Concealer

I have been using the Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation + Concealer on and off for a few months now. It’s high time I tell you my thoughts on it 🙂

Off the bat I will say if you are looking for a light, breathable foundation, stop reading now. The Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation + Concealer is not for you I’m afraid. If you like a more high coverage foundation, or perhaps you need something for a special occasion, then keep reading.

First up, I have to say I am not particularly a fan of the packaging of the Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation + Concealer. I like the glass bottle, yes. But, it comes with a doe foot applicator attached to the lid. (Like the Rimmel Lasting Finish Breathable Foundation I talked about here). I am just not really a fan. I don’t tend to complain when there’s one on concealer but I like to decant my foundation onto my hand myself and apply.

My relationship with it is a bit mixed. It’s quite thick, (not as thick as the Estée Lauder Double Wear for example though). You can have it at medium or full on coverage.

I have the shade Alabaster. It goes on a little darker than my skin tone initially, but does blend in and match quite well after a few minutes. It has a more emollient texture, which for me, with more oily skin can be quite problematic as it can be hard to blend. If you have drier skin, the texture might work in your favour though. As you can probably see from the swatch here, it does gather in fine lines, so you do have to be careful and make sure to blend really well. I would definitely recommend using a primer before application as it will help with the settling. Once you work it into the skin it though, I don’t find it too heavy or uncomfortable.

If you have redness, slight rosacea or acne scarring, it will cover well and you can build it up on the areas you want more coverage. I don’t tend to bring it up to the eye area too much though, as it does settle. But if you don’t have that problem, it will work well for under eye concealing. The emollient texture means it’s not too drying. The staying power is decent too. I do always use primer and powder with it.

For me, I found I like this foundation mixed with something else. So I will add it to another foundation to bump up the coverage. I don’t like the finish on my skin by itself. That’s obviously just personal preference though. If you are looking for something with high coverage and you don’t mind having to work with it a bit, the Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation + Concealer could be for you.

You can find it online here, or in store from Brown Thomas, Arnotts and even Boots. Have you tried it?

xxx

December 18, 2017/by Gem

Bargain Buying, Makeup

Essence Trend Edition ‘we are…’

I love the Essence Trend Edition Collections. They are always so cute and quirky. It’s a great way to market the brand too since they are usually limited edition.

The latest Essence Trend Edition on the block is the ‘we are…’ collection. Essence say it celebrates all unique friendships. And the heart theme is a definite nod to Valentine’s Day which is coming up. In case you didn’t know 🙂

The ‘we are…’collection contains a couple more products than I have pictured, including a black liquid liner, nail polishes and a eau de toilette. You can see the collection in full on their website here.

I will show you what I have in action on the skin though in case any of these cuties take your fancy.

First up we have the ‘we are..fabulous, velvet matte lipsticks. There is a red one too that isn’t pictured.

It actually broke my…dare I say heart swatching these 🙂

The first one is 02 P.S We Love Pink:

This comes with a matching ‘we are…flawless’ Contouring Lip Liner.

The deeper shade is 03 P.S We Love Berry:

And the Contouring Lip Liner to match:

The lipsticks retail for €3.10

There is two ‘we are…amazing’, Creamy Eyeshadow Pens.

01 is ‘Be My Highlight, which is a light pink shimmery champagne shade:

The second one is 02 ‘Be My Glam-light’, which is a shimmery grey:

They retail for €3.50.

The ‘we are…crazy’ lashes are quite a nice and wearable. They come with a little bag of rhinestones if you’re feeling fancy and some glue.

These retail for €4.10.

The ‘we are…awesome Multi Colour Blush is probably the prettiest looking thing here in my opinion.

It’s called 01 ‘You & Me = Awesome’. The blush is a deep pink with a hint of coral to it. The embossed heart is a light pink shimmer. I think they are designed to be swirled with a brush and used together. I reckon they look better applied on their own.

This retails for €4.10.

The final thing I have is the ‘we are…funny’ Lip Bag.

It’s actually a really nice size for throwing some makeup essentials into your handbag. It retails for €3.80.

And that’s it for the Essence Trend Edition ‘we are…’ Collection. It is available now until February. Anything take your fancy?

xxx

****PR sample****

January 16, 2017/by Gem

Makeup, Skincare

La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo +

I have used and loved the La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo for literally years and years. There is always a tube of it in my skincare stash.

As a beauty blogger, I am very lucky to be able to try and test new products all of the time. But, as someone with oilier skin, I am always hesitant with day time moisturisers. I need one that adds moisture without interfering with my makeup. La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo is one I can apply and I don’t have to think about it. I just know it works for me.

It is specifically made for oily, spot prone skin. It is non- comedogenic and doesn’t contain any parabens either. The ingredients include: Niacinamide, LHA, Piroctone Olamine, Linoleic Acid, Zinc PCA. They say it helps prevent shine, my take on that would be that it doesn’t add any extra oil to the skin.

My non science interpretation of La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo is that along with helping to alleviate any active breakouts, it still makes my skin feel hydrated. Even if are more oily, your skin can still be dehydrated and in need of moisture and I think this gives a balance to the skin without leaving any residue behind that might interfere with makeup application.

It has a gel like consistency and blends in super easy and quick. You don’t have to wait around for it to soak in. I think it does have a strong floral scent, which I personally don’t mind. It doesn’t really linger after the product has soaked into the skin.

I am not saying by any means it’s a miracle worker (what is really?) I just find Effaclar Duo works really well for me and it doesn’t cost a whole load either. At the moment it’s €11.99 in Boots here on offer. But, usually it’ll set you back around 17 quid or so for a 40ml tube.

This year La Roche Posay released the Effaclar Duo + Unifiant.

This is basically the moisturiser as we know but with a tint. I went to the launch of and I was super excited to give it a go because of course I love the original.

It only comes in two shades, light and medium. The one I use is light and it is a pretty ok match for me.

I use this as I would the original. I would say it has light coverage but the ability to cover redness. I apply it as a moisturiser, let it sink in and then put primer on top. I like using it for ‘no makeup days’. I’ll then skip foundation and just used concealer and whatever other makeup I want to use that day. It wouldn’t last on my skin just on it’s own.

Are you a fan of the La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo + range?

xxx

**** PR Sample

September 23, 2016/2 Comments/by Gem

Bargain Buying, Makeup

Makeup Revolution Ultra Contour Palette

I seem to be talking about Makeup Revolution alot lately. Not intentionally, I assure you, I just happened to pick up some bits from them and have been using them over the last while 🙂

This is the Makeup Revolution Ultra Contour Palette.

Budget brands are finally warming up to the idea of giving up all our contour and highlight needs under one lid. My first experience of powder contour palettes was a few years back when I picked up the Anastasia Beverley Hills Contour Kit from Cult Beauty. I reviewed this so long ago here (the pictures are brutal, I apologise), but it’s still one of my most viewed posts to this day.

Makeup Revolution as a brand, for me can be hit or miss, but I think overall their Ultra Contour Palette, in my humble opinion is a hit! I have been reaching for it pretty much daily over the past couple of months.

In the Makeup Revolution Ultra Contour Palette, you get eight shades, and a large mirror which is always handy.

On top:

You have a beige toned matte.

A yellow toned matte.

A sheeny beige highlight shade.

And then a full on icy shimmery white baked highlight which didn’t take too kindly to me taking pictures of it some reason :p

On the bottom:

A matte mid toned brown.

A cool toned contour shade.

A more warm matte brown.

And finally a champagne shimmery baked highlight shade.

Here they all are together too.

All of the powders are pigmented and soft to the touch.

They blend onto the skin easily and I have had no problem with lasting power either. I use the yellow tone under my eyes to help counteract darkness, and the beige toned matte powder over the top to neutralise the colour. This is a great shade for cleaning up your contour too, or just as a general all over setting powder. I use the cool toned brown shade in the middle to contour and then for me, the others brown colours are more for warming up my skin, although I actually tend to use these more on my eyes as eyeshadows. I love using the highlights in the palette as eyeshadows as well as using them for highlighting the face.

Overall, the Makeup Revolution Ultra Contour Palette gets a big thumbs up from me. I get so much use from it.

I got mine from Superdrug here in Dublin and it cost me €9.99, but you can also buy it online from the Makeup Revolution website here or from the Superdrug website here.

Now I just need to pick up the Nyx version to compare them 😛

xxx

April 8, 2016/2 Comments/by Gem

Current Faves From Catrice Cosmetics

I picked up some bits not too long ago on a bit of a shopping spree from Catrice Cosmetics and I have been loving them and using them alot. I thought I would share some of them with you in case you are in the market for some afforable lovelies 🙂

First up is their All Matt Plus Shine Control Makeup.

I got the shade 015 Vanilla Beige which is a pretty good neutral match for my pink toned skin.

It has a light coverage and is shiny when you first apply but dulls down as it dried into your skin.

This is a good foundation, it lasts well (powdered) on my oily skin and doesn’t oxidise. It isn’t too drying or cakey and it blends really well. It is also buildable for us girls who like a more medium coverage.

Next up on my Catrice love fest is one of their Ultimate Shine Gel Colour Lipsticks.

This is in the shade 080 Russian Violette. These are like a hybrid lipstick lipgloss. They are not sticky and are really pigmented. They feel balmy on the lips so good for days when your lips are not in tip top condition. Also I am in love with this colour.

It’s a purpley pinky lipstick of loveliness and I have been picking it up so much over the past few weeks. It’s so easy to throw on and lasts really well.

My last two Catrice finds are two of their Liquid Metal Eyeshadows.

I threw these into my basket because they looked cool in the pan, I have to be honest. They have a cool wavy effect to them and I couldn’t say no :p

The first one is called 070 Gold Leaf Me and is a kind of pewter cool toned gold colour.

The second one is called 100 What Do You Sea? My description of this would be nearly a green toned blue, if this exists? It is blue but there’s an element of green in there too.

The name Liquid Metal, sums these shadows up quite well I think. They are opaque when built up but you can also just use them for a wash of colour on the lids too. I have used them wet aswell and it brings the metal element out in the colour even more. They are smooth and they blend too which is not always the case for cheaper shadows.

Catrice have really upped their game in the last couple of years. They have such a diverse range of products for all types of makeup users. Everything is reasonably priced, and they are constantly bringing out new collections and products to keep us wanting more. I know I do 🙂

xxx

March 9, 2015/2 Comments/by Gem

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