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theBalm Balm Jour Creamy Lip Stain Swatches

This post on the new theBalm Balm Jour Creamy Lip Stain (s) is ridiculously overdue. I’ve been threatening to do this for like two weeks now. I even gave away the whole collection over on my Instagram last week. The PR were super cool and sent over two sets, how deadly of them 🙂

I have been using these pretty much every day since I’ve had them in my possession. They’re just a really easy lip product to throw on. The colours are really wearable, the formula is pigmented and easy to apply, as you’ll see in the video here or above.

Are the eight shades available in the new theBalm Balm Jour Creamy Lip Stain collection ground breaking? Absolutely not, but they did a really good job at covering all bases I think, so there’s a shade in here for everyone.

It’s good to note too, that the formula isn’t sticky either. Also, you get the best of both worlds with them. Gloss and high impact colour that leaves a hint of a stain behind when the shine wears off. I’m a big fan overall, as you can probably tell. If you’re a fan of their Meet Matt(e) Hughes Liquid Lipsticks, but are over the dryness of a matte liquid lip, these are definitely worth checking out in my very humble opinion.

I swatch all eight in the video, with just one dip into the tube, just to show you the colour pay off and how they perform. Here are all eight, as I call it, ‘arm swatched’ too, just so you can see the shades close up.

From left to right we have:

Hola, Namaste, Salut, Konnichiwa, Aloha, Hello, Ciao, Ni Hao.

theBalm Balm Jour Creamy Lip Stain (s) are available now from theBalm website. (You can use the code ‘beautynookie’ for 15% off), and they are also available from Cloud10beauty here.

Have you tried them?

xxx

PR SAMPLE

August 26, 2018/by Gem

Makeup

NYX Wanderlust Dublin City Set

Nyx have added four new colours to their City Set range. Toronto, New York, Santiago. And my city namesake, the NYX Wanderlust Dublin City Set.

These sets contain four eyeshadows, an illuminator and a blush. The colours are all supposed to compliment the city named Soft Matte Lip Cream within.

The NYX Wanderlust Dublin City Set contains very wearable shades throughout. There’s a lime green in there for good Irish measure though too.

Each eyeshadow is 1.9 grams, the highlight and blush are 3.5 grams and then the Dublin Soft Matte Lip Cream is standard size at 8mls.

The packaging is fairly bulky on the City Sets. It’s a magnetized cardboard palette with a generous mirror within.

All the shadows are powder and have a shimmery finish to them. Here they are swatched in the sequence they appear in the palette. All of shades are soft and pigmented.

The highlighter and blush are also both shimmery powders. The highlight is a really pale gold shade with an iridescent shimmer. The blush is a pale peach with gold sparkles.

The Dublin Soft Matte Lip Cream is definitely my favourite part of the NYX Wanderlust Dublin City Set. It’s a pinky mauve shade, which is right up my lipstick alley.

I am a big fan of the Soft Matte Lip Creams in general from NYX so having one named after the city I’m from feels (cringe worthily) cool to me 🙂

In my opinion, all the shades in the palette are nice, but I would definitely have to add in other colours if I was doing a full on look using it. I think the colour scheme is very much suited to paler skin. Even for me, the blush might be a little too pale. I generally wear blush to warm up my complexion. The palette size is a little bit cumbersome in my humble opinion aswell, for the amount of products you get in it. I think it would be a nice gift though, just probably not something I would go out and buy for myself.

You can find the NYX Wanderlust Dublin City Set now in Boots in store or online, from Debenhams here. Or, I found it on Look Fantastic here for what I believe is the cheapest price from a reputable retailer.

Have you tried it yet?

xxx

*PR SAMPLE**

November 27, 2017/by Gem

Makeup

Zoeva Plaisir Box

The Zoeva Plaisir Box is one of the fanciest makeup products I have ever owned!

Well it’s actually three products in a very swish box, but you know what I mean 🙂

I spotted Anna from TheAnnaEdit chatting on her blog about it before Christmas and shared her post on the Beautynook Facebook page, just because it looked so pretty. So many of you lovely people told me just how much you loved the Zoeva eye shadows. That alone sold me so thank you! I have lots of Zoeva brushes in my possession, this is my first step into their makeup products. But, after this experience I would 100 percent buy more!

The Zoeva Plaisir Box comes impeccably packaged. It is in the same vein as a swanky box of chocolates. The box is sleeved as well as the individual palettes. Honestly, I know I sound a tad over the top, but it’s a joy to unbox.

The three palettes (which are available to buy separately) are all named very chocolate appropriately. There’s ‘Caramel Melange, ‘Blanc Fusion’ and ‘Cocoa Blend’.

The eye shadows themselves in my opinion are a joy to work with. They are soft, rich in pigment and I, as of yet have experienced minimal fall out when using them. There is a mixture of shimmers (almost foil like), mattes and a couple of satin finishes. You have warm and more cool toned colours within the mix too. The shades on a whole lean more towards the neutral side, but there is a couple of fun ones thrown in for good measure as well. I, myself wouldn’t use all of the shades on a general basis, but the majority as shades I would gravitate towards for everyday makeup and for the evening too. There is ten shadows in each palette, each pan is 1.5 grams.

Here are they are in action:

‘Caramel Melange’ is the warmest of the three.

Wax Paper, Universal Delight, Aftertaste, 182º, Liquid Center

Alchemy, Start Soft, Finish Sensual, Almost Burnt, Edible Gem

Next up is ‘Blanc Fusion’.

Noble, Single Origin, Visions Of Gold, Late Bloomer, Sweetness Lingers

Travel Inspired, Joy In A Box,Conched, Question Of Taste, Last Bite

The third is ‘Cocoa Blend’.

Bitter Start, Sweeter End, Warm Notes, Subtle Blend, Beans Are White

Pure Ganache, Substitute For Love, Freshly Toasted, Infusion, Delicate Acidity

The palettes are available on their own for €22.50 each. The Zoeva Plaisir Box costs €62 from the Zoeva website here.

What do you think?

xxx

January 11, 2017/1 Comment/by Gem

Skincare, Tanning

Cocoa Brown Ice Goddess Shimmering Oil

The Cocoa Brown Ice Goddess Shimmering Dry Body Oil is the third installment in the shimmering body oil family.

The other two offerings which I am sure you are familiar with are Golden Goddess shimmering loveliness. There’s a yellow gold one and a rose gold one to choose from. This is the first one with a more icy glow 🙂

The Cocoa Brown Ice Goddess comes in a trio with the other two. It will hopefully be available in it’s own right this year.

I was lucky enough to receive this from Cocoa Brown as a little festive treat so mine is personalised, which makes it even more special.

It comes in a 30 ml glass bottle and has the same distinctive Tahitian Gardenia fragrance that all of the Cocoa Brown products have.

The Ice Goddess has become my personal favourite out of the three oil choices. It has more of a pearl toned shimmer to it so is more flattering on my paler pink toned skin tone. I need a decent tan to rock the other two.

You just give it a shake to mix the shimmer and oil together and then apply it wherever you want some extra glow. You can even use it on your cheekbones as highlighter. The shimmer also disguises mild imperfections and makes the skin feel nice and hydrated.

As it’s a dry oil it doesn’t feel sticky once it dries down on the skin. And you can choose the amount of glow you get by how much you use and how much you work it into the skin.

The Cocoa Brown Ice Goddess Shimmering Dry Body Oil is available from Penneys around the country as well as selected pharmacies. You can also pick up the collection online from Cloud10beauty here for €14.95. The collection includes 30ml bottles of all three of the oils.

Have you tried any of them? What’s your favourite?

xxx

***sample***

January 2, 2017/5 Comments/by Gem

Makeup

My Colourpop Eyeshadows

Since Colourpop have begun shipping to Ireland, I have made three orders from their website. The shipping is pretty expensive, I know. They do free shipping every so often though and the products themselves are pretty cheap. I try to keep my orders below the tax threshold of €25 which is a pain in the bum. But sure look I won’t complain 🙂 I have four shadows in my collection at the moment, but I thought I could update this post as I add to my collection. So, here is my Colourpop eyeshadows, so far 🙂

Three of them definitely fall into a similar colour wheel and then there’s a wild card in there for good measure.

Their powder products have the most unusual texture that I’ve spoken about before. The formula feels wet and spongy to the touch. They come in a screw top container so they don’t dry out.

The four Colourpop eyeshadows I own are soft and pigmented. The metallic ones are my preferred texture and finish out of the bunch. You get the best application from all of them when you apply with your fingertips. You can apply with a brush, it just takes a bit more work and building up.

First up we have ‘LaLa’. This is a rose gold metallic shadow. It’s probably my favourite and most used out of all four I own.

My next favourite would be ‘Gameface’. This is a warm toned metallic bronze.

Third in my collection is ‘Elixir’, the only true matte of the bunch. It’s a warm terracotta colour.

Then last I have ‘Envy’. This was a really random choice for me. It’s a matte black with flecks of purple glitter running through it. Not an everyday pick, but I’m sure it will come in handy, someday 🙂

And that’s all my Colourpop eyeshadows, for now 🙂 You can shop all of their products on the website here.

xxx

December 30, 2016/by Gem

Makeup

Urban Decay Full Spectrum

The Urban Decay Full Spectrum is not a necessity is your makeup bag. To be fair makeup isn’t a necessity in our lives, that doesn’t stop us from wanting using and enjoying it though 🙂

If I am being completely honest with myself (and you), most of the colours in this palette will not make it on my face day to day. Or perhaps even, never. I am not a professional makeup artist so I cannot even justify it by saying I might use them on other people. I enjoy buying and sourcing makeup, the buzz and the aftermath. So, that is my justification for buying the crazy colourful Urban Decay Full Spectrum Palette 🙂 Oh and I did get it in Siopaella, AND it was half price!! You have to be quick buying makeup in there though. There’s usually only one (or sometimes two) of something.

Ok, enough beauty babble out of me. We’re here to look at the Urban Decay Full Spectrum up close. Urban Decay say it is a step up from their Spectrum Palette which was launched last year. This is the 2016 version of that limited edition colour explosion. You get 21 shades in total, each 1.2 grams. This is most eyeshadows in any Urban Decay Palette to date.

They are organised by colour family. So if you look at the colours in trios going down, you can see that they go from light to dark within the same colour….spectrum 🙂

The packaging is really lovely and is sleek to the touch, with a large very usable mirror within the lid.

You also get a dual ended brush, which has seemed to become the norm with Urban Decay Palettes.

The eyeshadows vary from more sparkly, shimmery and then shadows that look shimmery in the palette, but swatch matte. There is also a matte white thrown in for good measure. I actually like this addition because you can layer the bright colours over top (in theory) to make them more vibrant on the eyes. It contains 18 new shades with 3 what Urban Decay call exclusives from past palettes.

I have them swatched in sevens across, from left to right.

On the top line we have: Alchemy, Warning, Midnight Blaze, Hundred, Minx, Delirious, Platonic.

The second line contains: Gossip, Seize (apologies there’s a glare on the name), Calavera, Hatter, Blindsided, Sketch, Iced.

Then on the final row, we have: Paranoia, Jones (again with the glare, apologies), Goldmine, Mean, Metamorphosis, Faded and the matte white, Bump.

Some of the eyeshadows definitely have more colour pay off than others. You would even just notice that from the touch. There is some really lovely wearable colours within the rainbow. But overall, I think this is a palette for people who are makeup fiends, colour fiends or collectors ( I put myself in that category 🙂 ).

The Urban Decay Full Spectrum Palette is available in Debenhams in store now or online here and will set you back €49. Would you dare?

xxx

November 30, 2016/by Gem

Posts

theBalm Balm Jour Creamy Lip Stain (s) are available now from theBalm website. (You can use the code ‘beautynookie’ for 15% off), and they are also available from Cloud10beauty here.

Have you tried them?

xxx

**********PR SAMPLE**********

You can find the NYX Wanderlust Dublin City Set now in Boots in store or online, from Debenhams here. Or, I found it on Look Fantastic here for what I believe is the cheapest price from a reputable retailer.

Have you tried it yet?

xxx

*******PR SAMPLE********

The Zoeva Plaisir Box is one of the fanciest makeup products I have ever owned!

Here are they are in action:

The Cocoa Brown Ice Goddess Shimmering Dry Body Oil is the third installment in the shimmering body oil family.

The Urban Decay Full Spectrum is not a necessity is your makeup bag. To be fair makeup isn’t a necessity in our lives, that doesn’t stop us from wanting using and enjoying it though 🙂

I have them swatched in sevens across, from left to right.

PR SAMPLE

*PR SAMPLE**