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Getting a lash lift. My Experience

I just got my third lash lift and shared some of the experience on my Instagram, as I always do. There was lots of questions so I thought it might be worth doing a blogpost about my thoughts on it here.

I had my first one at the beginning of 2017 in the Vanity Rooms in Stepaside. They invited me out to try out their LVL lash lift. I was so excited because I have super straight lashes. It’s something I always moan about. If I want a curl to last, I have to use a decent lash curlers and then go in strong with the waterproof mascara to maintain it. I toyed with the idea of lash extensions. But I am too much of a picker, and I love eye makeup too much 🙂

Disclaimer, excuse the brows from these throwback pictures, I’ve come along way :)

So what is a lash lift? It’s basically a perm for your eyelashes. In my experience, it’s a three step process. I have had both LVL (a brand name of Nouveu lashes I believe), and then I was invited to try Yumi lashes too in Elysian Brows, it seems to work the same way for them all.

You’re prepped and your eyes are protected. A plastic shield is put on above the top lashes and then the lifting solution is applied in upwards motions moulding your lashes around the shield. Very gently and precisely I might add. That’s left to do it’s work, then removed. A setting solution is then applied and you let that do it’s thing. After that in most places, A tint is applied to make your lashes look darker and more defined.

A lash lift is not particularly a comfortable treatment. Your eyes are closed throughout and they are being prodded at, so going to a professional in my humble opinion is a must! It’s uncomfortable for sure, but it’s not painful, nor should it be.

It’s also way less maintenance than eyelash extensions. It’s just your own lashes curled, so you don’t have to maintain them necessarily, although it’s good to brush them through regularly and try not sleep on your face if you can 🙂 Some single lashes can go astray, so combing them through helps keep them on the curl and narrow ha! They say you don’t need mascara after getting it done, I use mascara to make them look more full and I get the six-ish weeks out of my treatment. Just don’t do anything crazy for the first 24 hours! You can of course purchase specific serums and mascaras in the salon that may help prolong the effects, I don’t do that myself.

A lash lift lasts as long as your natural lash cycle really, so it can be up to eight weeks. You’ll see the curl disappear, and you’ll want another one 🙂

My latest lash lift was in the Brow Boutique in Jervis Street shopping centre. At €55, it was the cheapest place I could find in the city with decent reviews and a reputable name. They did a great job and I’m super happy with the outcome. I would recommend all three salons.

If I can fork out the cash every six-eight weeks, it’s something I would definitely keep up! Have you had a lash lift? What has been your experience?

xxx

December 14, 2018/2 Comments/by Gem

Hair, Youtube Video

Hair Curling Tutorial

I am very hesitant to call this a hair curling tutorial. I’m forever hesitant to use that word anywhere on Beautynook to be honest. But, it’s what people search for, so I’m just jumping on the bandwagon. Don’t think any less of me 🙂

Myself and hair styling would not be the best of friends. I’m lucky in that my hair isn’t too unruly so I can get away with doing the bare minimum with it most of the time. There is really only two facets to my ability. Straightening, which I use the L’Oréal Steampod for. (Review here). Or, I can curl it, which I’m doing a lot of lately.

At first when I was asked a few times by you lovely lot on Snapchat and Instagram how I curl my hair, I kind of got embarrassed. I just think of myself as so shit at hair. I decided to give a ‘hair curling tutorial’ a go anyways though and as I got into it, I realised, maybe I do have a couple of tips that people might learn from. We all do these things differently, right?

I generally curl my hair when it’s freshly clean. I know most people don’t do that, but I have oily roots and if I did it on second or third day hair, it just wouldn’t be worth my while. I’ll use heat protection spray before drying and then just blast dry it. I used the fancy Dyson hairdryer in this video because we’re house sitting. Sad to say, I definitely don’t have one of these at home 🙁

I’ll link the vent brush here too that I use in case you like the look of it 🙂 I let my hair cool and let my really old but favourite Babyliss curling wand heat up. I like less uniformed waves rather than full on curls. That’s of course personal preference though.

I do one side of my head at a time, taking approximately one inch sections. I like the tousled look, so I don’t think too much about it, once all the hair has a bit of a wave I’m happy. Click on the video above or directly here to see the whole Hair Curling Tutorial in action. You’ll get a better sense at how crap I am at hair and of the finished result 🙂

Let me know what you think.

Thanks, as always.

Gemma

xxx

**********INCLUDES A PR SAMPLE*************

August 13, 2018/by Gem

Bargain Buying, Makeup

Catrice Lashes To Kill Pro Mascara

Ok ok, I know I’ve talked about the waterproof Catrice Lashes To Kill Pro Mascara here before and I bloody love it!

I recently got a Yumi Lash Lift in Elysian Brows. (Thanks for inviting me in guys). This means my natural lashes now have a perm essentially. My eyelash curlers is in a drawer for the next couple of months and I can venture out of my mascara comfort zone 🙂

I had heard so many good things about the Catrice Lashes To Kill Mascara in Ultra Black. I am not the only one enjoying it, which always makes me feel better in my judgement. Do you ever love something that everyone else seems to hate? I’m always so worried when that happens…in blogging, in life….in general 🙂

Now I will say I don’t think this is a new mascara for Catrice, they’ve already had a mascara with the same namesake. However I’ve never tried that so I can’t really compare. From google searching, I can see the wand was slightly different though. The spoolie this time round is bristled as well as being large and in charge.

It’s a volumising mascara, so the wand does deposit a lot of product onto the lashes to help build them up. It’s a wet formula too, which is something to note as things can get messy real quick if you’re not careful. There is a slight bend to the spoolie that can help while layering. You can avoid your lid, but you just have to pay attention.

If I didn’t have a lash lift this formula would be too heavy for me. But if you already have a bit of curl and decent lashes in general, this mascara will give you so much extra length and volume.

It gives big lashes and it gives them quick.

As a disclaimer I will say I don’t use this on my bottom lashes. I nearly always use the Mac Extended Play just because I know it works. The wand is small and it doesn’t budge. So I can’t give you any indication of how the formula performs on the lower lashes. On the top, it lasts well on me though. I have minimal flaking or transfer. I don’t suffer with major wateriness or the likes though either.

Overall I am a big fan of the Catrice Lashes To Kill Pro Mascara reboot. If you like a lot of volume from a more wet formula, you might like it too. It’s around €4.50 and available in pharmacies and Penneys nationwide now. Have you tried it?

xxx

PR SAMPLE

April 20, 2018/by Gem

Bargain Buying, Makeup

Maybelline The Colossal Big Shot Mascara

Ok, I don’t throw this statement around lightly, but the new Maybelline The Colossal Big Shot Mascara is a bloom’in good mascara!!

If you are a regular around this parts you will know I am a waterproof mascara junkie! I have super straight lashes. I rarely find a non waterproof formula that holds a curl for me. Now, I am definitely not a brand snob. One of my faves is a Catrice one I talk about here.

The Maybelline The Colossal Big Shot Mascara arrived on my doorstep a few weeks ago and I will be honest, I wasn’t expecting to like it. I used it for the first time going to the gym. Yep, I sometimes wear mascara to the gym, I have to walk to it and I like to look somewhat awake while doing it ha. From the first application, I was super impressed!

The wand is quite large and does hold alot of product. It doesn’t apply as clumpy as you would assume though. One layer will give you some length and a decent amount of volume. It does build up really nicely, without too much clumping. And I find it doesn’t flake majorly or anything throughout the day.

It also holds a curl really nicely. This is the part that sells it for me! It gives length, volume and curl! Music to my very picky mascara ears 🙂

I will say I don’t tend to use it on my bottom lashes. I am that girl who has a designated bottom lash mascara. I use Mac Extended Play (review here).

Overall though, it’s a really great mascara. If you’re not super oily and clumsy like me, it might work as a bottom lash mascara for you aswell!

You can find the Maybelline The Colossal Big Shot Mascara mascara in store from Boots now or online here. It will set you back €11.99.

Have you tried it?

xxx

June 25, 2017/1 Comment/by Gem

Makeup

Flormar Triple Action Mascara

First up, how pretty is the rose gold packaging on the new Flormar Triple Action Mascara?

I have to be pathetically honest, this would nearly push me to buy it…don’t tell anyone I said that 🙂

I very luckily got given the new Flormar Triple Action Mascara at the Irish Beauty Show this year. The Flormar stand was mobbed but I managed to squeeze myself in 🙂

The mascara itself has an adjustable plastic wand, which is an interesting concept. In theory, you get three types of mascara in just one tube. The packaging itself is sturdy and easy to manoeuvre. The wand manipulates without too much persuasion. You just twist the top of the lid for your desired shape. According to Flormar it also contains Argan oil to help condition your lashes.

There are three settings.

Lengthening.

This is the wand in it’s full capacity.

Here are my lashes before application with no curling.

Then the Triple Action Mascara applied with the lengthening wand.

The setting for the curling spooley is one twist away.

You can see the shape of the wand has more of a twitsted centre.

Again, here are my natural (boring) lashes.

Then the Flormar Triple Action mascara applied with the curling wand.

You can see there is a slight difference in how the different spooleys deposit the mascara. The left is the lengthening and the right is the curling.

And the final twist on the top will give you the volume wand. The wand is twisted completely now.

Here are lashes with no product on them.

And here is the Flormar Triple Action Mascara applied with the voluminous adding wand.

I am a die hard waterproof mascara junkie. I have straight and not very long lashes.

For me the Flormar Triple Action Mascara is ok. If I curl my lashes it’s good. It has a wet formula, so you can build up the layers and it doesn’t clump too much. It didn’t flake on me either which is another plus. The changeable wand is a novel idea, and does change the way the mascara applies to your lashes. I think my favourite version of the wand is the lengthening, that gave me the most oomph.

Have you tried it? I’d love to know what you think.

The Flormar Triple Action Mascara can be found in all of the Flormar stockists around the country and you. If you head to their website here, it should have a list of stockists. It will set you back €9.95.

xxx

April 1, 2016/2 Comments/by Gem

Makeup

Benefit They’re Real…in Full Colour

So last night, I was very lucky to attend the launch of Benefit Cosmetics new release into the makeup world…They’re Real…In Full Colour. Benefit are releasing their best selling mascara and the push up liner that coincides with They’re Real in more colours!

There is already the duo you love in black, but in July things are going to get a bit more colourful! Us bloggers were lucky enough to bring the whole collection home with us. Thanks so much Benefit for their generosity. I thought I would photograph straight away them all to give you a sneak peak 🙂

David LaChapelle did the visuals for the campaign. There is no post production on the images which is pretty amazing, in his words, “This isn’t illustration or digital. It’s live,it’s real”.

First up we have the They’re Real Mascaras.

There is three in the collection now. They retail for €26.

The black one where this all originated from of course.

We have a brown one for those who just want subtle definition.

And then a blue one, I think this will be lovely paired over a black mascara.

Then we’re on to the liners…my favourite part 🙂

There is five colours to choose from now again available in July. They are waterproof gel liners and retail for €25

Of course there is the original They’re Real Push Up Liner in black.

Then we have a brown one.

There is a blue one.

A green one.

And finally there is a purple one.

Here are all of the They’re Real Push Up Liners swatched on my hand.

They are all very wearable colours as you can see. I especially love the green and the purple ones. They are all matte and very pigmented. I have never used any of these before so I am excited to try them out. I am in love with the Benefit Roller Lash which I reviewed here not too long ago, so if these are anything like that I will be happy.

Benefit were also kind enough to add in something extra to our goodie bags.

You know if you read Beauty Nook regularly I am an oily skinned so and so this The Porefessional License To Blot excites me greatly. I love the primer already so I am sure I probably will! It is a blotting stick! You can use it under or over your makeup to help blot any excess oil…this could be a dream product for me :).

So there you have it. The new They’re Real…In Full Colour line-up in all its colourful glory. Let me know if anything tickles your fancy.

xxx

May 15, 2015/3 Comments/by Gem

Posts

******Disclaimer, excuse the brows from these throwback pictures, I’ve come along way :)******