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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 Favourites

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 🙂

May Favourites

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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**********

Primark PS Pro Makeup BrushesThis is my second Penneys post in the space of a couple of weeks. That must mean I am either going mad, or they are really stepping up their game! The last one was about their new individual eyeshadows here. It was more just a show and tell. This post is going to be on the Penneys PS Pro Makeup Brushes.

Penneys PS Pro Makeup Brushes

I’ve have been using these for a good chunk of time now, so think I can give a decent review on the ones I own. I wanted to use them and to clean them a few times, so I could show you properly how they fared.

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They have pretty much all manner of brushes in this collection. I picked up the ones that I thought people would be interested in and of course I would actually use myself. They are all synthetic and from what I can see all under a fiver too.

I have nine brushes from the collection. Five eye brushes, and four face.

Penneys PS Pro Makeup BrushesPenneys PS Pro Makeup Brushes

I have the Duo Precision Brush Set. This was €4.

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It contains two eye brushes. One duo fiber pencil brush and a blending brush with a more splayed out tip.

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The other double pack is The Duo Blending Brush Set. Again, this was €4. top irish beauty blogThis contains a black bristled tapered shadow brush and then a blending brush very much like the Mac 217 just synthetic.
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My last eyeshadow brush from the Penneys PS Pro Makeup Brushes range is probably my least favourite out of the ones I have. This is €2. beauty bloggerIt’s their Eyeshadow Shading Brush. Just personal preference but I find this a bit too soft to pack on colour with, and that’s what I would mostly use this shape brush for.  I don’t get much use out of it.
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beauty blogger ireland
I have their Touch Up Brush with is a duo fiber little domed brush. This costs €3. top beauty blogger irelandGenerally, I use this for under eye powder or highlight.
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This is the Large Duo Buffing brush is €4.

affordable makeup brushesTo me this is a standard enough large stippling brush. I have been loving this for applying bronzer.

affordable makeup brushes
penneys makeup brushes

I have been using their Large Powder brush for it’s complete name sake and loving it. This costs €4.

primark makeup brushes

I’ve actually purchased very similar tapered brushes to this in the past that I found shed alot. The dye also ran dreadfully when I washed them. I can confidently say, neither of these things has happened with the Penneys version.

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top irish beauty site

The last brush I have from the Penneys PS Pro Makeup Brushes range is their foundation brush. This costs €4.

irish beauty blog beautynook This was the hardest brush to get my hands on and the one most people told me to get! It’s a soft, but densely packed, rounded, with a slight slant, kabuki brush.

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Overall, I am a big fan of the Penneys PS Pro Makeup Brushes! I have used other brushes from the brand in the past that have ended up in the bin. These, however have made it into my daily rotation. I am picking up some of these brushes instead of my Zoeva, Sigma, Blank Canvas and even Mac. I have washed them all a few times now and haven’t had much hair shed as of yet. They all washed really well. (Have a click here to see how I clean my brushes).irish beauty youtubertop irish vlogger

The handles are plastic, so if you enjoy a more weighty makeup brush, these won’t be for you. All of the ones I have are soft, and do pretty much what they are supposed to do. I honestly cannot say anything bad about them, and generally I try to be objective here! If you’re in the market for some new brushes that work and don’t want to break the bank, look no further.

Have you tried any of them? What other ones do I need in my life?
xxx

 

 

Beauty And Fashion Haul

I put myself on a bit of spending ban for a bit. It didn’t go great, I still managed to spend money. And I use the blog as a reason to buy makeup too, don’t judge me 🙂 But, we have a little holiday coming up and the season is changing so that’s a good excuse to go shopping for both beauty and fashion stuff, right?

 

We’re only going on holidays for five days and we’re going to spend most of it chilling by the pool, so I didn’t need much for that. But an excuse is an excuse.

Beauty And Fashion Haul

I ended up getting some beauty stuff from Penneys and Boots. I still haven’t let myself into Harvey Nicks to check out the Fenty stand. I know I’ll end up spending a fortune 🙂 Alot of the beauty stuff consists of mini products to bring away with us, but I did pick up a few other bits.

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For clothes, I didn’t go too crazy. I picked up some bits in Penneys and H&M in store. I went into Zara thinking I was going to spend a fortune, but they had feck all here in Dublin. Some online shopping happened on ASOS and Boohoo aswell for some holiday bits.

penneys ps makeup brushes

I am going through a bit of  a weird time with clothes at the moment. I’ve been trying to go to the gym a good bit lately. I haven’t lost tonnes of weight or anything. I still enjoy eating too much. But my body shape is changing every so slightly. So, I feel like I don’t want to spend a fortune on stuff that might end up not fitting in the near future.

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Anyways, I shall stop rambling here. I do enough of it in the video :). As always you can click above to watch or click here to go directly to my YouTube channel.

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Let me know what you think.

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Gemma

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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top irish beauty blog

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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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.

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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

 

The Catrice Spring/Summer collection for this year has some really great products in it. I was going to do a lowdown on the stuff that I was actually sent from it, but there is a couple of stand out things that I think deserve their own limelight. I spoke about their Makeup Transformer Drops here last week. This week is about the Catrice Liquid Gel Cushion Eyeliner.

Catrice Liquid Gel Cushion Eyeliner

Now when I first spoke about this I naively thought this was the first cushion liner on the market. My lovely friend Mags rightly corrected me though. She is an encyclopedia on all things Stila, they did it first! The Catrice Liquid Gel Cushion Eye Liner is a hell of a lot cheaper though!

Catrice Liquid Gel Cushion Eyeliner

It comes just like a cushion foundation or blush would, except obviously it isn’t in compact form. It’s in a glass jar with an airtight lid, to prevent the product drying out. Inside the jar is a sponge doused in eye liner.

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If you press down on the sponge, you can see the liner is very much in liquid form. This is a bit unusual because obviously we are used to seeing gel liner in potted form. Liquid liner usually comes in a pen or tube. I actually really like the format of the Catrice Liquid Gel Cushion Eyeliner. You can use your weapon of choice to apply it rather than a built in applicator.

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This is it swatched just once in a downwards motion on my hand with a small liner brush.

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You can see it’s really opaque, smooth and it dries down with a bit of a shine to it. It does last pretty well too. I only managed to remove this from my hand with warm soapy water.

Here it is in action on one of my eyes:

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Went a bit ham with the flick so I did. I just wanted to show that you can manipulate the liner to your liking 🙂

I actually put the packaging to the test too and turned it upside down while open. The product didn’t escape the cushion!! You get 3ml’s of product within the jar.

Overall, I am a big fan of the Catrice Liquid Gel Cushion Eyeliner. I like that you can have the control over how you apply your liquid liner. It’s available from stockist now for €4.95. It only comes in black at the moment. You can see Catrice talk about it more on their website here.

xxx                   ****PRESS SAMPLE****

 

Brushes are a crucial part of any makeup lovers arsenal. I think we sometimes forget just how important they are. I know I do. I thought I would do a run down on some of my favourite makeup brushes right now.

Favourite makeup brushes

The ones I reach for time and time again. I have accumulated alot of brushes over the years and do dip in and out of some of them. Or as I’m sure you can relate, become obsessed with one in particular and then just forget about it a month later. This makeup addict business is very fickle 🙂

favourite makeup brushes

This little grouping has been in constant use over the past few months. So much so I’ve really only been washing and using them… dare I say exclusively. They are all from pretty affordable brands too. I have notions of owning some more fancy brushes in my makeup future. I find it hard to splurge though when I know there are affordable brands out there making great tools for a great price point.

There is no real rhyme or reason to this list, but if you’re in the market for a specific brush for a particular use, you might find it helpful 🙂

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Zoeva 102 Silk Finish:

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This is my go to foundation brush when I’m not using a sponge. I use and like others, this is just my most picked up. I like that it’s quite tightly packed so it doesn’t splay when you’re buffing in product. The rounded shape makes it easy to get around the contours of your face. It’s also really soft and quick to wash too. It’s €14.50 from the Zoeva website here.

My next choice is in the same vein as the Silk Finish. This is like it’s little sister. The Zoeva 110 Face Shape.

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It is pretty much the same brush just a third of the size. I saw Lisa Eldridge reach for this so much in her videos, I just had to have it. I adore it for buffing in concealer and cream contour. This is €13.50 here.

Next up is the Real Techniques Setting Brush:

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This is quite a small tapered brush. I use it for setting product under the eyes or for when I want to apply a light powder contour. It also works really well for highlight too. The synthetic bristles are soft and moveable. So, it doesn’t apply too much product. I found it on the Feel Unique website here for €8.95.

The Zoeva 126 Luxe Cheek Finish brush has been the only blush brush I have used probably for about two years now.

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It’s domed and is a mixture of natural and synthetic hair. It is super soft and allows you to build up product and buff it into the skin all at the same time. I love it. It is on the Zoeva website here for €17.50.

The Real Techniques Blush Brush is another favourite I’ve had for a while. This one is well loved.

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top beauty blog ireland

It has rounded duo fiber bristles. They aren’t very tightly packed on top, so I love using this for bronzer. I think it’s a bit big to use as a blush brush. It applies powder product quite sheer, so you can build up as you go which is my personal preference. This is on the Boots website at the mo for €9.99 here which is great. It’s usually €14.99.

The Blank Canvas F28 is my go to for applying highlight.

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There’s a bit of a domed brush theme going on here, I realise. They just seem to float my beauty boat. The F28 is small and fluffy. It’s a real hair brush, so is very soft. The bristles are long in comparison to the brush size, so it works great at blending highlight really well into the skin. This is currently €7.99 from the Blank Canvas website here.

My last face brush fave is another Real Techniques one. This is their Cheek Brush:

beauty blog
beauty blogger

I use this for applying face powder. As someone with oily skin, I need to apply a good layer. I like using a smaller brush to make sure I am getting powder in to the places that really need it. Like the sides of my nose and my chin. This does a great job as I can be precise, but it doesn’t cake my face in product either. There’s a fine line 🙂 This was part of the Nic’s Picks Set, but I believe they do similar individually now.

The Inglot 31T is my go to for eyebrows whether I am using cream or powder:

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inglot cosmetics

It’s made of Taklon, so it can be used for either. It is really petite, slanted and narrow so you can be really precise with it. I’ve often used it for liner too and it washes out really well. It is €14 from Inglot in store or online here.

I have four eyeshadow brushes to end things with.

The Debs from Nima is the perfect goat haired blending brush:

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top eyeshadow brushes

It’s super soft and a little bigger than the OG Mac 217. I reach it for it more than the 217 generally because it covers more lid space and it blends out quicker as a result. It is €12 from the Nima website here.

Another Nima brush I use probably more is the Crease Blender from the 5 Piece Eye Detail Set:

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It’s a natural hair brush. Great for blending out socket colours and I love it for applying washes of colour all over the lid too. The five piece set is €30 from the website here.

The Large Shader brush is another favourite of mine from the set.

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nima brush

I use this for the exact job it was created for. For applying base eyeshadow colours and for setting my eyeshadow primer too. Super soft and easy to use.

My final pick is the Zoeva 223 Petit Eye Blender:

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It’s another Taklon brush, so great for creams. I use it to apply shadow on my lower lash line though. It’s quite dense but tapered at the top. So you can apply a good amount of product with it, blending it out as you go. A blown out lower lash line has been my go to look of late. The 223 is €10.50 from the Zoeva website here.

And there you have my favourite makeup brushes right at this moment in makeup time 🙂 Tell me, what are your favourites?

xxx