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EX1 Cosmetics First Impressions

I am no stranger to the EX1 Cosmetics brand online. I’ve seen it mentioned so much over the past few years. It’s been available for us to buy here in Ireland the last while, but only online, so I never pulled the trigger.

However, Boots are now stocking EX1 Cosmetics officially now. I was perusing the makeup aisles in Boots in Liffey Valley. Nestled within the more well known brands, there it was. Small, but mighty 🙂

They only seem to have four products for us to choose from here. I think they only have five products to choose from in total though, so we’re not missing out too much. They have a compact powder as well, but that wasn’t on the stand in Boots.

I was ridiculously eager to try the products I got, people have such high praise for the brand. Prices range from around €13-€17, so it’s definitely a brand that’s more on the affordable side. I know a lot of makeup artists love the foundation, so that makes it even more endearing. I filmed this video the day after I picked the products up, just because I couldn’t wait. This is not a review, it’s a first impressions video, just showing you how the three products apply and chatting about if I like them first time around. This is my skin before application, plus a ridiculous screenshot because it made me laugh ha!

Then this is my skin after applying all three of the EX1 Cosmetics base products. I used the lightest shade 1.0 in all the products. The shade range doesn’t seem to be brilliant.

They definitely evened everything out and made a blank canvas for me to apply over. Of course I go into more details in the video, but first impressions of all three products are good. I’ll give a more in depth insight once I try them more. Be sure to follow me on Instagram to keep up to date.

xxx

December 21, 2018/by Gem

Makeup

It Cosmetics CC Cream Oil Free Matte

Oh I jumped on the It Cosmetics bandwagon, I jumped on it hard 🙂 I just couldn’t bloody resist it. Good coverage and really high SPF! So many people had such awesome things to say about it, and the brand is in Arnotts now. It was a no brainer really.

I bided my time a little until the Oil Free Matte version came to our shores. I am generally oily, particularly in my t-zone. The older I get, the more dehydrated some of my skin is getting, but I still get a super oily nose, so I like oil free products.

So what is the Oil Free It Cosmetics CC Cream you may ask? Well I’ll let the brand do the specific explaining and then I’ll throw my two cents into the equation:

‘Created to improve the look of skin texture, this complexion-perfecting breakthrough provides long-wear coverage and camouflages skin imperfections including dark spots and discolouration without creasing or cracking. It’s also infused with charcoal, tea tree extract, colloidal clay and Moroccan lava clay—plus, oil-absorbing, minimising technology and an advanced anti-aging serum. You’ll see powerful results instantly and more dramatic results over time. Finally, a full-coverage CC cream that airbrushes the look of your pores while providing natural-looking matte complexion perfection that lasts!’

The other versions of the It Cosmetics CC Cream have broad spectrum SPF 50+. The oil free version is SPF 40+ which is still amazing! I love the packaging. It’s a tube with a pump, so you can squeeze every fairly expensive drop out of it.

It Cosmetics do recommend you apply this with a brush. And that’s what I was doing, like I would with a foundation for the first couple of weeks. I liked it at this point, the coverage and pigment was great and the longevity fairly decent, especially for something that has such high protection. However I did find, it clung to dry patches as it is matte, and it was hard to blend into my giant pores. I have the shade Fair Light.

Then, I brought it on holiday with me, and started wearing it as my SPF. One of the days I was just wanting to slap some on and used my fingers to blend it in. This was a bit of a revelation for me. It blended so much easier into my skin, it was easier to get it into all the nooks and crannies. Which makes complete sense I guess, since it is a CC Cream. It just performs like a really decent foundation.

Here it is in action on my skin in video form:

The coverage and staying power of this stuff is pretty overwhelming considering it’s good for your skin to boot. I need to get a sample of the original formula asap to see how that performs on my skin! I do get a bit of shine on my t-zone after a few hours, but I’ve yet to find anything to combat that. And a bit of blotting makes it disappear. The rest of my skin lasts really well though and I’ve found myself using less powder with this and can even skip setting spray if I fancy. Just be wary it is matte and it can cling to dryness. Once you aware of that, it does exactly what it says on the tin!

The It Cosmetics CC Cream Oil Free Matte is available now from Arnotts. It will set you back €39.

Have you tried it yet?

xxx

October 12, 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

Haul, Youtube Video

Zara Duty Free And Random Haul!

This has been a bit of a funny week for me. If you follow me on Snapchat, you’ll probably already know. And, I touch on it a bit in the video aswell. Last week was lovely, we spent it in Spain (Almuñecar to be exact), for our lovely friend Ella’s birthday. I had bought some stuff in duty free on the way back and the plan was just to give you a nose on Snapchat. But something pretty shitty happened this week and my brain hasn’t really let me get back to normality…yet. It will though 🙂 So, I thought I would combine a few bits that I have bought in town, some Zara bits and the duty free products and show them in a haul.

Hauls are fun to film, and hopefully fun for you to watch aswell. This was a good compromise for me. It meant I could just sit in front of the camera and ramble about the goodies I have picked up, and it gives me blog content too. I actually ordered some of the Zara things while I was still in Spain, online. I thought they would be a nice little treat to come home too 🙂 Then, we had prolonged our holidays for a little bit longer by spending the day after we came back, in town, doing some shopping.

I only did a haul here before I went away. So if you want to see more shopping you can watch that too!

What I can link I will, in case anything takes your fancy:

Zara online purchases.

Pom Pom Sweatshirt. Link here.
Two Tone Sweatshirt. Link here.
Mini velvet embroidered backpack. Link here.

Duty Free purchases. I bought these in Malaga airport, but they pretty much cost the same as they do here:

Esteè Lauder Doublewear Nude Foundation. Link here.
Lancôme Matte Shaker Liquid Lipstick in the shade…Link here.
L’Occitane Almond Shower Oil. Link here.

Clinique Beyond Perfecting 2 in 1 Foundation. I wanted to get this in the airport but they were out of stock of my shade Alabaster. So I treated myself to it in store from Arnotts. They have it online here.

And yes I bought a third foundation for good measure. The new Rimmel Lasting Perfection Breathable foundation. I picked this in from Boots here. The brand was on buy one get one half off, so I got their Insta Fix & Matte Powder because my lovely friend Sue (itscherrysure) raves about it.

The rest of the things are from Penneys so I can’t link them, but they are in store now. To watch the video in full, click on it above or head to my YouTube channel directly here.

Thank you so much to everyone for your lovely messages on Snapchat and for taking the time out to talk to me. I really appreciate it.

Gemma.

xxx

October 13, 2017/by Gem

Bargain Buying, Makeup

The Ordinary Colours Coverage Foundation

I already posted about the Serum Foundation here if that would tickle your fancy more. This post is all about The Ordinary Colours Coverage Foundation though. My personal favourite out of the two 🙂

The Ordinary Colours Coverage Foundation is as the name would suggest the more full coverage of the two foundations.

They both have the same 30ml plastic bottle with a rubberized pump (although you can buy a glass pipette separately if you would prefer).

They both come in the same 21 shade ranges and are deemed SPF 15 here in Europe. I will quote Deciem for the pigment explanation because they do it better: ‘These foundations contain higher pigment levels than our Serum Foundations but still offer a smooth finish that avoids the heavy makeup look that can make skin appear more aged. The texture is that of a lightweight, non-oily cream.’ For me, this sums up the Coverage foundation perfectly.

I feel it’s a medium coverage foundation, that you can build up easy enough without it looking too caked on the skin. I definitely do not think it’s full coverage like Deciem say, but it’s a solid medium coverage which I can definitely live with.

The Ordinary Colours Coverage Foundation is a little thicker in formula than the Serum. Here they are side so you can see the difference. Serum is on the left and Coverage is on the right.

On my skin, it applies really easily and smoothly. I always use a primer underneath foundation, which I thought was good to note. I have the shade 1.1N which is a decent match for my paler skin.

It has a semi matte finish on me. I say semi matte because although it’s not dewy, it’s not drying or heavy either. It blends really lovely and evens out my skin tone really well. It glides over my pores really nicely too and it doesn’t sit in any fine lines.

Before:

After:

I like this personally more than the Serum foundation for two main reasons. 1, it has more coverage. And 2 it lasts really well on my skin. This is a foundation I can confidently apply in the morning and know it will stand the test of time. The Serum foundation is lovely but I don’t have that longevity guarantee with it on my oilier skin.

This is a just a winner in my book! I really like it!

The Ordinary Colours Coverage Foundation is still awaiting stock on the Deciem website, but the link to order it is here. You can sign up to get an email when it’s back in though. That’s how I got my hands on it. It costs the same as the serum, a very reasonable €6.90. I thought it was good to add here that the Colours are alcohol free, oil free, silicone free, vegan and cruelty free.

Are you intrigued?

xxx

June 4, 2017/3 Comments/by Gem

Archives, Giveaway

Essence Live Laugh Celebrate Competition

Fancy winning some of the limited edition Essence Live Laugh Celebrate collection?

The very kind people at Essence have given me one of their eight pan interchangeable palettes to give to one of you lucky lot! You can see the limited edition shades that are part of the Essence Live Laugh Celebrate collection over on the Essence website here.

Up for grabs here, we have the limited edition eight pan palette, and then 8 pans to place in it. The products range from eyeshadows, fixing powder, lip powders, lip base, highlight and blush.

I actually did a blogpost here not too long ago swatching some of the shades here if you want to see them in action.

So, the big question is, how do you win?

All you have to do is comment below telling me your favourite kind of blogpost or YouTube videos to click into are. If you fancy an extra entry, share this post and tag me on any social media platform you want. I’ll add that into the pot too!

This competition is only opened to people in Ireland. It will run from Monday the 29th of May to next Monday the 5th of June 2017. Closing time is 10pm.

A winner will be picked at random and will be contacted by me through email So make sure to add your email address when filling out the comment form. I will pass your details on to the PR company will send your goodies out to you.

Thanks so much to Essence for giving me the chance to give one of you lovely lot a present. And of course, thank you for taking part.

The very best of luck!

Gemma

xxx

May 29, 2017/42 Comments/by Gem

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