cheerful Archives - Irish Beauty Blog Beautynook

Affordable Makeup – Five Current Favourites

I do this every so often. I’ll pick five (or so) affordable makeup products that are in my makeup rotation at the mo and have a little chat about them.

Why do I give them different names you ask? The last one here was called ‘Current Budget Friendly Makeup Favourites. Well the only reason for that is that it’s good for SEO not to have the same titles all of the time. That’s the only reason I am calling this Affordable Makeup. Sure it all means the same thing 🙂

My first affordable makeup love of recent times is the L.O.V Cosmetics Eyeshadow Palette in ‘Devoted To Metallics’.

L.O.V is created by the same company who brought us Catrice and Essence. You can find it in pharmacies nationwide. There’s more information on the Irish Facebook page here. I’ve used a fair few products from the brand, It’s definitely been hit or miss for me. This palette from their Autumn collection is a hit in my humble opinion though.

It’s €14.99 so not the cheapest out there I know. The quality of the packaging is A1 though and the shimmery shades inside are super pretty. The pink colour in particular has been getting a lot of love from me on minimal makeup days. It’s a great ‘whack all over the lid shade’.

Next we have the Eylure X Fleur De Force Brow Define Pencil.

Now I did a whole blogpost on this a while back here so I won’t go into it too much. But, I have been thoroughly enjoying this. Having the two tones of brow pencil in one means I reach for less brow powder too. I think this makes my brows look a teeny bit more natural and less drawn on.

My third affordable makeup choice is the Rimmel Exaggerate Lip Liners.

I talk about these all of the time. They are some of my favourite liners out there full stop. I feel like when the weather gets cooler I become more obsessed with lipstick and branch out a bit more. I consistently pick the Rimmel liners to either use on their own as they are super creamy and pigmented. Or to use under lippies.

I have the shades Addiction, Diva Red and Eastend Snob here:

Because they are soft, they do have a tendency to break. This doesn’t bother me too much though. I’m just careful not to twist them up too much. You can find them on the Boots website here.

Another Rimmel offering has made into my current top five. This is their Insta Fix & Matte. Rimmel know their way around a setting powder and this one proves that for sure. It’s just a general talc based pressed translucent powder but it’s quite smoothing on the skin too. This is something that I always appreciate as I have ginormous pores. I like it 🙂 You can get this from Boots online here.

My last favourite is the Wet n Wild Liquid Catsuit Matte Liquid Lipsticks. I am fairly late to the party with these. Everyone has been raving about them for a good while now. I have two shades in my possession.

Nudist Peach and Give Me Mocha.

Give Me Mocha in particularly has been floating my Autumnal lip shade boat. I have been using this with Rimmel Addiction lip liner underneath. They are of course matte liquid lipsticks so they can be drying. But I find the formula on these quite thin so it doesn’t ball up or feather. And they stay on put once they dry too. I need to try more shades. They are under a fiver aswell which makes it even better!

And there you have my current affordable makeup favourites. What’s yours?

xxx

*********INCLUDES PR SAMPLES**********

November 6, 2017/by Gem

Bargain Buying, Makeup

PS Pure Glow Highlighter Powder Palette

I picked up the PS Pure Glow Highlighter Powder Palette after seeing my lovely and very talented YouTubing friend Eimear McElheron rocking it at a beauty event. Honestly, her makeup videos are awesome, you should totally check her out here 🙂

Her highlight was blinding and I was extremely intrigued to know what she had used. She was lovely enough to let me in on the budget friendly secret!

It was this €6 PS Pure Glow Highlighter Palette from Penneys! Now, I am very aware that Penneys beauty products can be very hit and miss! I actually bought another highlighting palette first thinking it was this one and it was so crap, it went in the bin. There is definitely some hidden gems within the brands though. I actually have a post on the PS lip liners here, that I really like and they only cost €1.50 each. Not bad at all.

This highlighter palette comes with four shades in a pretty decent cardboard magnetic palette. From left to right we have:

‘Desert’, which is an icy shimmer.

‘Glimmer’, which is a soft, light golden shimmer.

‘Eden’. This to me is more of a shimmery rosy blush shade.

And then finally ‘Firefly’ which is a deeper, more bronzed golden shade.

All of the powder are pretty bloody good for the price. They are reasonably soft to the touch and apply really well with a brush, as well as with your fingers. If you are more of a subtle highlight fan, this palette might not be your jam, as the shades are super shiny. If you apply them with a damp brush, they pack even more of a punch. They last really well on my oily skin too.

I think you get the best look at highlight when it’s actually on your mug, so here is ‘Desert’ and ‘Glimmer’ mixed together on my non existent cheekbones 🙂

Each pan is 7 grams of product. I myself, have been gravitating more towards the top two ‘Glimmer’ and ‘Eden’. They seem to work best for my skin tone. All of the shades will be pretty useful in different capacities though and they make really pretty eyeshadows as well.

Overall, the Penneys PS Pure Glow Highlighter Powder Palette gets a thumbs up from me! I am super impressed with it. Have you tried it? I’d love to know what you think.

xxx

May 24, 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

Bargain Buying, Makeup

Festive Red Lipstick Budget Beauty

I did a post similar to this last here year for my first Christmas in Beautynook world. It’s a festive red lip for under a fiver. I still love and use both of products I used, these are just alternatives for your 2016 Festive Red Lipstick look 🙂

I think a decent lip liner is as important as the lipstick you choose when rocking a red lip. You can by all means go for a more soft approach and that’s beautiful too. But, when you’re going full out bright and Christmas-sy red, I think a crisp lip line is important. And you don’t want any bleeding, I mean lipstick bleeding but of course we don’t want any bleeding at all 🙂

For this year’s festive red lipstick lip liner, I went with the Rimmel Exaggerate in ‘Red Diva’.

I am a big fan of the Rimmel Exaggerate lip liners. They are super soft and easy to apply. And they now have an angled twist up nib which I find really handy for outlining and correcting my lip line. ‘Red Diva’ is the perfect classic red colour and actually works really nicely on it’s own as well.

This costs €5.49 and you can get it from the Boots website here.

The lipstick I chose is a new release for 2016. It’s one of the new Lip VIP’s from Sleek Makeup. It is called ‘Walk Of Fame’.

These are a semi matte formula lipstick. They are really creamy, pigmented and very comfortable to wear.

I just think both of these products together are a really lovely and affordable festive red lipstick combination. The Sleek Lip Vip’s are available from Boots too for €7.49 here.

Matte lips are everywhere at the minute so I thought I would go old school with more of a creamy textured combo. Layering the products means they are still long lasting but they won’t dry out your lips as much.

It is such a cliché I know, but I just love a red lip during Christmas time 🙂

xxx

December 11, 2016/1 Comment/by Gem

Bargain Buying, Makeup

Penneys PS Love Lip Liners

The Penneys PS Love Lip Liners have dare I say reached a bit of a cult status in the online beauty world.

We constantly see them in flat lays and in favourites, or at least I do anyway 🙂 I am no stranger to talking about them myself either may I add. But, I’ve never done a post on them specifically. So here are my overall thoughts.

I have four shades of the Penneys PS Love Lip Liners in my lip liner stash. Say that with a few gins on board!

All four shades are pigmented, soft, true to colour and apply to the lips without dragging or feeling uncomfortable. That’s no mean feat! That being said, because they are softer, I personally wouldn’t use them just on their own. I would just use them to do the job of actually lining the lips before lipstick. Or, I would add a gloss or balm over the top. They do transfer and fade after a short period of time, in my experience.

The one I use the most and looks a bit stubby next to it’s colourful friends is the brown, more neutral shade in 06.

My next most used would probably be the red in 05. It is a brilliant true red colour.

I actually did a post last year including this here. It’s about getting a festive red lip for under a fiver if you want to check it out. I think out of the four liner shades I have, this would be the most long wearing.

Then we have the deep plum shade in 04.

For me, this is the one that fades the quickest. But, paired under a similar coloured lipstick, it helps stop bleeding and gives you cleaner edges. If of course that’s what you want.

The last shade I have is a light powdery pink in 07.

This is my least used out of the four I have. Just because the colour doesn’t particularly suit me. Saying that, it works great for adding some pink to a more neutral lipstick. And, you can use it under darker shades and it won’t interfere with the colour of them too much.

Overall, I think it’s fair to say the Penneys PS Love Lip Liners are a hit with me. And for €1.50 they definitely won’t break the bank either. Makeup bargain personified!

xxx

December 5, 2016/by Gem

Makeup, Product Comparison

YSL Touche Eclat Vs W7 Concealer

I’ve seen this comparison being made a few times online, so I had to investigate it myself! Today I am comparing (and contrasting) the cult beauty product that is the YSL Touche Eclat to the purse friendly W7 Light Diffusing Concealer.

I will say, when it comes to the word ‘dupe’, I am very reluctant to ever use it, and in this comparison it will not be muttered again, because in my humble opinion, these products are not the same!

Just in case, you haven’t encountered either of these products throughout your makeup journey yet, I’ll give you a quick synopsis of both.

We’ll start by talking about the YSL Touche Eclat. It comes in encased it the well known sleek metal plated gold packaging.

Mine says ‘no need to sleep’ on it. They brought out some slogan collectors edition ones not too long ago. They’ve also since released colour correction variations of the YSL Touche Eclat. What I have here is just the original highlighter in number 1.

You click the top to release the product into the brush.

The YSL Touche Eclat is a skin highlighter. It’s not a concealer, although I know alot of people use it for this purpose, as it does have some coverage to it. It does have a salmon hue to it aswell so can work to help brighten under the eyes. It has a creamy really blend-able texture. For me and my skin tone, it doesn’t do much highlighting unfortunately, I can get away with it a little under my eyes. Overall, it’s a really unnecessary purchase (that I’ve made about 5 times in my lifetime) because everyone loves it so much, I want to aswell 🙂

On to the W7 Light Diffusing Concealer.

This product does claim to be a concealer.It comes is a similar looking to the YSL Touche Eclat (from afar) plastic pen.

You twist the top of the pen to get the product out onto the brush, again similar to the YSL.

For me, this is where the comparison ends. The product itself,to me, is just crap. It doesn’t have any major coverage, doesn’t really conceal and can come out of the pen in little hardened balls which makes it hard to blend into the skin.

Here’s both pens swatched side by side. The YSL Touche Eclat is on the left and the W7 Light Diffusing Concealer is on the right. The YSL is more peachy toned and the W7 pen is definitely a more suited colour for highlighting for lighter skinned people like myself.

Here’s both products in action.

My eyes with nothing underneath

I buffed both of them in with the same Real Techniques Brush

The W7 concealer is here on my right eye

Close up, I can’t seen any major difference between either eye, except there is a build up of product on the side of nose where I applied the concealer.

Onto the YSL Touche Eclat.

I applied it in the same way

The W7 Concealer is on my right and the YSL Touche Eclat on my left.

I personally think the YSL Touche Eclat does a better job at concealing even though it’s not actually formulated as a concealer. The W7 Light Diffusing Concealer just doesn’t nothing really.

There is a pretty huge price difference between both of these products. The YSL Touche Eclat will set you back €35, you can get it from Debenhams online here And the the W7 Light Diffusing Concealer will set you back around 5/6 euro depending on where you pick it up. I can’t find a direct Irish stockist link to it, but here it is on the W7 website.

What do you think, would you pick up either? Are you a YSL Touche Eclat advocate?

xxx

July 6, 2016/1 Comment/by Gem

Posts

I do this every so often. I’ll pick five (or so) affordable makeup products that are in my makeup rotation at the mo and have a little chat about them.

My first affordable makeup love of recent times is the L.O.V Cosmetics Eyeshadow Palette in ‘Devoted To Metallics’.

Next we have the Eylure X Fleur De Force Brow Define Pencil.

xxx

I picked up the PS Pure Glow Highlighter Powder Palette after seeing my lovely and very talented YouTubing friend Eimear McElheron rocking it at a beauty event. Honestly, her makeup videos are awesome, you should totally check her out here 🙂

‘Desert’, which is an icy shimmer.

‘Glimmer’, which is a soft, light golden shimmer.

‘Eden’. This to me is more of a shimmery rosy blush shade.

And then finally ‘Firefly’ which is a deeper, more bronzed golden shade.

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.

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

I did a post similar to this last here year for my first Christmas in Beautynook world. It’s a festive red lip for under a fiver. I still love and use both of products I used, these are just alternatives for your 2016 Festive Red Lipstick look 🙂

The Penneys PS Love Lip Liners have dare I say reached a bit of a cult status in the online beauty world.

We constantly see them in flat lays and in favourites, or at least I do anyway 🙂 I am no stranger to talking about them myself either may I add. But, I’ve never done a post on them specifically. So here are my overall thoughts.

Overall, I think it’s fair to say the Penneys PS Love Lip Liners are a hit with me. And for €1.50 they definitely won’t break the bank either. Makeup bargain personified!

I’ve seen this comparison being made a few times online, so I had to investigate it myself! Today I am comparing (and contrasting) the cult beauty product that is the YSL Touche Eclat to the purse friendly W7 Light Diffusing Concealer.

I will say, when it comes to the word ‘dupe’, I am very reluctant to ever use it, and in this comparison it will not be muttered again, because in my humble opinion, these products are not the same!