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Essence Cosmetics New SS16

Essence Cosmetics have hit the nail on the head with their launches for this Spring/Summer.

They have touched on so many of the makeup trends happening at the minute, and done their own spin on them. And as we know, with Essence Cosmetics, that means for a fraction of the price.

This blog post is just showing you what Essence Cosmetics has to offer for Spring and Summer of this year. I didn’t swatch any of the products which I would normally do and you’ll see why at the end 🙂

First up we have The Velvets eyeshadows, Silky Touch Blush and the Blush Ball.

These all come in an array of different shades.

The shades I have here are:

The Velvets eyeshadows cost €2.50

Velvet Touch Blush (not sure)

Blush Ball €3.80

Next up is some new concealing products.

We have the All I Need Concealer Palette and the Soft Touch Mousse Concealer.

The palette costs €4.40

The concealer €3.80.

The Superfine Eyeliner Waterproof Pen.

This will set you back €3.50.

Some new lip products.

The Glossy Kiss Lip Balms are €1.30

The Prettifying Lip Oils are €2.50.

I am in love with the Glossy Stick and the Velvet Stick Matt Lip Colour.

These are available in 5 colours a piece and retail for €2.50. This Velvet Stick Matt one in particular took my fancy. It’s in the shade Plum Perfect. I used it in my affordable Get Ready With Me Video here only last week 🙂

Essence have lots of new nail goodies for Spring/Summer 2016 including some nail care products.

These range from €2.30-€2.50.

And some new colours and finishes of their I Love Trends nail colours.

The Jellys and Metals cost €2.30

There are some new colours in the Gel Nail Polish line. I believe these cost under €2.

There’s a Forbidden Volume Mascara and a Forbidden Volume Top Coat (which I am loving, may I add).

The mascara is priced at €3.80

The top cost is €3.50

Essence Cosmetics have also added in some 2 in 1 eyeshadow and liner pencils to this collection. They come in a total of 6 shades both shimmery and matte.

These will set you back 3.50.

And that’s all the products I have to show you. There’s is other products in the new range like a new eyeshadow base, different liquid liners, eyebrow gel, a contouring palette, fixing powder even a fixing spray. And from what I can see, nothing will cost you more than a fiver!

Onto the fun part. The reason I didn’t swatch the products here is because I wanted too give some away to you.

If you fancy winning these Essence goodies.

Comment below. Let me know what kind of blog posts or Youtube videos are you favourite to read or watch. Also, make sure to be following me on any social media platforms you have.

Good luck 🙂

xxx

April 6, 2016/52 Comments/by Gem

Archives, Bargain Buying, Makeup

Sleek Makeup A New Day iDivine Palette

Sleek Makeup products have donned my makeup collection before we could even get our mitts on them easily here in Ireland. I am a big fan so it’s great to see the brand in so many pharmacies around the country now.

I am predicting their newest Sleek Makeup iDivine eyeshadow palette called ‘A New Day’ is going to be a resounding hit if I base it on all of you lovely people asking about in on social media 🙂

I have it in my possession less than a week and I committed a beauty blogging cardinal sin…I used it before taking pictures on my DSLR camera, the shame, oh the shame. I just couldn’t wait to dig in though, so will you forgive me? Ok now that confession is out of the way lets dig into the important bit, the swatching 🙂

As with all iDivine eyeshadow palettes from Sleek Makeup, there are 12 eyeshadows within.

There is a great mix of mattes, shimmers and satin finish shadows, which is really appreciated. It means you don’t have to go from palette to palette when you’re creating a look. Handy for travelling too. I always use an eyeshadow primer. I have oily lids so it’s a complete necessity for me. With a primer added though the Sleek Shadows tend to stay put on me really well.

I’ve swatched them left right:

‘Sun is Shining’.

‘Brightside’.

‘Daydreamer’.

‘Let It Go’.

‘Don’t Worry’. (my personal fave 🙂 )

‘Be Happy’.

‘Feelin’ Good’.

‘Silver Lining’.

‘Shine On’.

‘Carpe Diem’.

‘Believer’.

‘H-A-P-P-Y’.

How cute are the names by the way? All positive connotations. Love it 🙂

The Sleek Makeup ‘A New Day’ palette will be available nationwide in stores from the 8th next Monday onwards. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, if you’re that way inclined 🙂 And of course you can buy Sleek online too here from Boots and Cloud10Beauty here

The Sleek iDivine Palettes usually cost €9.99 not a bad price point at all!

Will it be on your shopping list?

xxx

February 3, 2016/by Gem

Archives, Bargain Buying, Makeup

Rimmel Good To Glow Highlighter in Soho Glow

I bought the Rimmel Good To Glow on a bit of a whim when I was checking out the Kate Nude range they’ve just released. They were doing buy one product get another half price, so after searching the stand I settled on the Good To Glow Highlighter in 003 Soho Glow.

This is actually the darker of the three shades they have, there is also 001 Notting Hill Glow and 002 Piccadilly Glow. Now if you know me you know I am as pale as anything, but I thought the more bronzed shade would be good for warming up makeup looks and making me look less dead and the likes 🙂

The Good To Glow is a liquid highlighter.

Off the bat it smells really good, not relevant but still needs to be addressed. I think it smells a bit like Dior Hypnotic Poison, which is good in my books but if you don’t like that scent which I know alot don’t, don’t say I didn’t warn you!

The 003 Soho Glow comes out a nice warmish bronze colour at first, then when you start to blend it in, it fades to a really lovely radiant glow which just the slightest hint of colour.

It doesn’t look too crazy on my skin, in fact it just warms it up a nice amount exactly what I wanted from the product.

The formula is really lightweight and blends well with your fingers or a brush, it dries really quickly too with a non sticky residue, which is brilliant, particularly if you are more oily like me so you’re not left with unwanted oiliness on your skin.

You can use the Rimmel Good To Glow as a base for your makeup or as a subtle highlight on the high points of your face and chest. What I like to do with it, is mix a little into my foundation for a just a touch of glow rather than a completely matte base.

I really like this products, it’s a nice subtle addition to your summer makeup routine for a touch of added glow. At €6.49 from Boots, it definitely won’t break the bank either. 🙂

July 23, 2015/by Gem

Archives, Bargain Buying, Skincare

Dove Deeply Nourishing Body Wash-A Review

Body wash? Yep we’ve all got to use it. Sometimes I feel like investing money into it and splashing out and sometimes I want a reasonably priced pick that I know I can rely on. For me, Dove is this pick. I was sent this new Dove Deeply Nourishing Body Wash, but I had actually done a basics shop in Boots a few days before and picked up a bottle myself!

I love the soapy “clean” smell of it…if that makes sense? 🙂

It has a thick consistency, so you can use it just with your hands and create a nice lather or with a sponge or a flannel, what ever your poison.

I tend to use it on my hands when I am washing as normal. A little goes a long way and it feels really nice and silky on the skin. I use it to shave aswell. I am not really a shaving gel lover, and I find the Dove Deeply Nourishing Body Wash is a great alternative. And because it is so reasonably priced, I don’t feel like I’m wasting the product either.

Once or maybe even twice a week, I like to exfoliate my skin. Again, I can use the Dove Body Wash for that too.

I can sometimes find gritty body scrubs a bit too harsh. Using the body wash, which feels lovely and nourishing, I apply it with this exfoliating gloves. You can pick them up in loads of different places. I get mine in Penney’s. I love this combo, because I am in control of the scrubbing, not the product and The Dove Deeply Nourishing Body Wash lathers up nicely and makes my skin feel nice and soft afterwards.

Overall, The Dove Deeply Nourishing Body Wash is a winner in my book. I have always loved the Dove range of body wash products. My skin doesn’t feel dry or dehydrated after using them. The Nourishing Body Wash is particularly good for this. At the minute it is €1.74 (half price) in Boots . Cannot argue with that really 🙂

xxx

May 8, 2015/1 Comment/by Gem

Sleek Makeup Eyebrow Stylist And Brow Perfector- Review

On a little Boots flurry…we all have them now and again done we? 🙂 I picked up some brow offerings from Sleek Makeup.

Let me introduce you to, The Sleek Eyebrow Stylist and the Brow Perfector.

It was 3 for 2 on makeup in Boots so I did pick up a nail polish too, but that’s not what you came here to read about 🙂

I’ll talk about the Eyebrow Stylist firstly, as this is the one you would use first in your brow routine. The packaging is on point. Very similar to it’s more expensive counterparts from Hourglass or Burberry. It’s sleek…get it Sleek?! (sorry).

It has a spooley on one end and then a wax slanted crayon on the other.

I have a motto now, don’t buy a eyebrow pencil without a brush or a spooley at the end, it just makes life easier!

The pencil itself is soft in texture and it glides on without much faffing about, the slanted nib is quite wide though so in my opinion the Eyebrow Stylist is more for just filling in the body of your brows rather than any precision work. It’s great for someone who already has a great shape to theirs (lucky you) and just needs to tidy up any gaps or make you brow a tad longer. As the pencil is soft, it is easy to rub away, but it does set with a gel over the top. As I am an oily sucker, I tend to add a bit of powder on top, when I have time to just for added assurance. The colour I chose Medium 717 is a good medium brown, but it does have some red to it so be wary of that. This suits me as I have red undertones in my hair and brows anyways so it doesn’t look peculiar. There is colour choices though so I wouldn’t let that deter you.

Overall for a waxy ‘drug store’ brow pencil the Sleek Eyebrow Stylist is a good choice. I have used the Hourglass pencil in the past and I never got along with it. I definitely like the Sleek version better and at €6.99 it’s less than a third of the price.

Onto the Sleek Brow Perfector.

This is basically a coloured brow gel, that you can use to define and help keep your brows in place over product or you can just use it alone to add a bit of colour and definition.

I picked up the colour Light Brown 041. I didn’t want my brows getting any darker after using the Brow Perfector so I picked it up in a colour that just slightly lighter than mine.

The little nifty spooley that the gel is applied with really loads up with product so I would advise you to give it a bit of a wipe before use…I found that out the hard way because the gel clings to any hair it is in contact with. It is a very wet formula too so easy to smudge…again found that out the hard way. It does set my brows and adds some subtle colour and texture, great! But I found that throughout the day the product can start to flake and even clump together, not so great.

In conclusion, I am not a huge fan of the Sleek Brow Perfector. I have used better more affordable brow gels from the likes of Wet n Wild and Catrice. It will set you back €5.99 but won’t be a product I will be rushing to buy again. However, I have just been gifted the clear version of the brow gel so I will jumping straight into that now and hoping is fares better.

Onto the demonstration 🙂 I have applied both of them for you to see them in action. My brows are not my crowning glory…I picked the best one out of the two to show…we all have one we like better don’t we?

My Naked Brow 🙂

Sleek Eyebrow Stylist Applied

Sleek Eyebrow Stylist and Brow Perfector Applied

There you have it. What do you think? Let me know.

xxx

April 15, 2015/2 Comments/by Gem

Skincare

The Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Oil

I was given the Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel at an event, and I simply fell in love with it, but at over 35 quid it’s not ideal for the pocket. So I’ve been on the hunt for something that does the job but is a tad bit cheaper.

This brings me onto the whole point of this post The Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Oil. I’ve been a bit of an oil junkie of late, see my review of the Waxperts Beautiful Body Oil here, so I thought oil was a good way to go.

Like the Oskia gel, the Camomile Cleansing Oil is applied to your face when it’s dry to begin with. Give the bottle a shake and then you massage it in, then wet your hands to emulsify the oil and lather some more. I really like this two step method. I feel like your helping with circulation aswell as really getting the product into your pores and giving your face a good oul clean! You then just rinse your face (I use a muslin cloth) and the jobs oxo.

I really like the Camomile Cleansing Oil. It smells lovely and fresh and you only need a couple of pumps in the palm of your hand to do your whole face (and neck if you’re like myself) so it’s not a really messy operation. It also works! A couple of times after using it I checked for residue with some micellar water and a cotton pad and there was none, so it’s taking off all of my makeup, even the waterproof parts. I rub it into my lashes, it doesn’t sting or feel uncomfortable.

It also doesn’t feel like your stripping your skin or drying it out when you use it. As I have oily skin you would assume I would want my skin as dry as a bone after washing but if you strip your skin completely it’s just going to make even more oil to compensate, we don’t want that.

The Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Oil is made with fair trade camomile which is great and is the case for alot of The Body shop’s products. It also contains Almond Oil, Sunflower Seed Oil and Soy bean Oil so plenty of oil within the oil 🙂

In conclusion, I’ve found a really good alternative to my Oskia Cleansing Gel. It get the job done, doesn’t irritate and feels nice on the skin, I will definitely repurchase.

The Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Oil will set you back €17.50 which is half of what the Oskia would. Also Caroline Hirons had nice things to say about the Camomile Cleansing Oil, that alone would make me buy it 🙂

xxx

April 10, 2015/by Gem

Posts

Essence Cosmetics have hit the nail on the head with their launches for this Spring/Summer.

Sleek Makeup products have donned my makeup collection before we could even get our mitts on them easily here in Ireland. I am a big fan so it’s great to see the brand in so many pharmacies around the country now.

I bought the Rimmel Good To Glow on a bit of a whim when I was checking out the Kate Nude range they’ve just released. They were doing buy one product get another half price, so after searching the stand I settled on the Good To Glow Highlighter in 003 Soho Glow.

I was given the Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel at an event, and I simply fell in love with it, but at over 35 quid it’s not ideal for the pocket. So I’ve been on the hunt for something that does the job but is a tad bit cheaper.