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BPerfect Sub Zero Highlight Collection

So this is definitely more of a show and tell than a review, just as a disclosure. I received the new BPerfect Sub Zero Highlight Collection in collaboration with MMMMitchell last week in PR and I wanted to show it off a bit 🙂

I have the other BPerfect collaboration palettes in my possession too, but I feel like I got my hands on them too late to dedicate a full post. You can check out the Carnival Palette here in action though if you’re curious.

Right, I have to completely come clean. Although I love Instagram and watch a lot of YouTube in my spare time, MMMMitchell was not on my radar. I’m more of an Instagram granny I think, and my makeup style is more wearable and everyday. He is the typical Instagram makeup king!

And he is known for his glow hence this BPerfect Sub Zero Highlight Collection collaboration.

This is a seven shade highlighting palette. With six pressed powder highlighters and one that they call a ‘topper’ that you’re meant to be able to use over all six shades to help them pop.

From left to right we have:

MMMM A Pearly white shimmer.
Made It A Champagne shimmer.
Lifestyle A Golden shimmer.
OTT A Bronzed gold topper.
In Blankets A Soft beige shimmer.
Baebly A Rose gold shimmer.
Bodi-Odi-Odi A Bronze shimmer.

Like their other two collaborative palettes the BPerfect Sub Zero Highlight Collection is super pigmented and the powder are soft and easy to blend. Ok, there’s my mini review 🙂

Are all shades going to work for everybody? I don’t really think so, but that’s what you get with a highlighting palette. However I will say, the shades that might not work as highlighter for your skin tone will make for lovely eyeshadows. That’s how I’ve been trying out the darker shades. On me, I feel like the shade ‘Baebly’ works best as a highlighter with ‘Made It’ a close second.

The BPerfect Sub Zero Highlight Collection Palette is available from stockists now and retails for €37. Have you tried it yet? Do you have your eye on it? Let me know.

*PR SAMPLE***

December 3, 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

Fashion, Youtube Video

Fashion Haul ASOS, Zara, River Island

What’s seldom is wonderful. I am back with a fashion haul. It’s been a while I know. But I’m brutal at them though ha!

I love clothes, I just don’t love my body. So it’s really hard to put it on show online. That means a fashion haul for me is more just showing clothes to the camera and trying to describe them. Maybe one day I’ll be comfortable enough for the fancy cutaways showing the clothing on. For now, I hope this method is ok.

I chat in abundance about what I bought and why I bought it in the video above or here. And then I will put pics and links down below of everything I can.

I think everything I bought from ASOS, Zara and River Island altogether cost just over €200. For the amount of things I picked up online, I think that’s a pretty good price!

My Zara fashion haul is first!

Striped giraffe shirt which I’m wearing in the video.

This is available online here.

Buttoned linen dress.

Available here.

Paper bag bermuda shorts.

Available here.

High rise jeggings with taping.

Available here.

Next up is ASOS. I only picked up two things from them.

First up is these fringed sliders from a brand called Kaltur.

I actually wore these the other day and I did end up with blisters on the tops of my feet. Just something to note. They are available here.

ASOS own brand ruffle wrap lip top.

Available online here.

Last but not least in my fashion haul are the bits I picked up from the River Island sale.

Black stipe puff sleeve wrap over blouse. I think my fave item from what I got.

Was still available when I was writing this online here.

Next up is this lemon cut out blouse.

Available here.

The dud of the haul is probably this pom pom t shirt, just because I sized up and it was already an over sized item.

Available here.

And then finally the second pair of shoes I picked up were these backless loafers.

And that’s it for my birthday money fashion haul. Let me know what you think and I promise I will try with the try on cutaways some time in my blogging future 🙂

xxx

June 24, 2018/by Gem

Makeup

Wet n Wild Megaglo Highlighting Powders

The Wet n Wild Megaglo Highlighting Powders have been around for a while now. I had tried to get my hands on them a few times as such good things were been said about them online. Unfortunately for me (not Wet n Wild of course), they always seemed to be sold out in my local Penneys and Dunnes.

Luckily (for me), I was sent a package from the brand with their best selling products of 2017! Included, were two shades of the Wet n Wild Megaglo Highlighting Powders.

There is more in the within the range, but I believe these are the only two shades available in Ireland at this time.

I can honestly say, they are some of the best affordable highlighting powders I have yet to come across! If you follow me on Instagram, you’re probably sick to your back teeth of listening to me talk about them. I thought they deserved a blog post for reference purposes though, and some close up pics too.

The packaging is a little bit flimsy on these. I tend to find that a lot with Wet n Wild products. I guess they have to cut corners somewhere to keep costs down. The powders themselves are soft and easy to blend. They leave a shine on the skin, with a hint of shimmer. I find they apply really nicely with a dense brush for more pigment pay off. But, you can also get a lovely, more subtle effect with a fluffy brush.

The first shade ‘Precious Petals’, is a pale golden pink shade.

This, for me, is the colour I reach for most as an everyday highlight. It’s a shade that compliments my pale pink toned skin.

‘Crown Of My Canopy’, is very much a rose gold shimmer.

Although I can get away with it as a highlighter if I warm my skin up. In my humble opinion, I think it is more suited to more medium tones. I use this A LOT for eyeshadow. I reach for it so much to use as a wash of colour all over the lid.

Wet n Wild Megaglo Highlighting Powder_3526

I think it’s safe to say I am a big fan of the Wet n Wild Megaglo Highlighting Powder. Since receiving them myself, I’ve seen them a few times now in store. It’s always the same, isn’t it? 🙂

Have you tried them?

xxx

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

January 22, 2018/1 Comment/by Gem

Fragrance, Makeup, Monthly Favourites, Skincare, Youtube Video

Beauty Favourites 2017

I was planning on doing an overall sum up of my favourites for the year. To include food, fashion, the works. But I would literally be talking and typing until probably 2019!. So, I just decided to do beauty favourites! Hope you don’t mind.

Beauty is my thing after all so if I was going to talk about something, this would be it 🙂

Everything I chat about in my beauty favourites video here, I believe has it’s own blogpost. Of course, I talk about them somewhat in depth within video form. But if you want to see close ups and more put together reviews, I will link the posts below. I am much better at putting my words together when I write them down. I get a bit carried away when I am just chatting.

Urban Decay Naked Heat Palette. Blogpost here.
I don’t have a stand alone review for the Urban Decay 24/7 pencil in Torch, but I did use it in a makeup look here.
Estée Lauder Double Wear Nude Foundation. I have a review here.
Tarte Shape Tape Concealer. Full review here.
Maybelline Superstay Matte Ink Liquid Lipsticks are here.
Max Factor Creme Bronzer in Light. Review here.
Stila Magnificent Metals Glitter & Glow. Review here.
Clarins Double Serum. I did a full review of this here.
Jo Malone Basil & Neroli Cologne. I chat more about this here.

Have you any stand out beauty favourites from 2017? It was definitely a year for so many new releases, both good and bad!

As always thanks for sticking around these parts. For reading, watching, engaging and just being a part of this Beautynook journey with me. I really appreciate it. It definitely makes all the work a bit sweeter knowing there’s people actually paying attention 🙂

Hopefully 2018 is another deadly year for makeup!

Gemma

xxx

January 10, 2018/2 Comments/by Gem

Makeup

Highlighters My Most Used At The Moment

If I’m wearing makeup, you best believe I have highlighter on! I sometimes just go for a more subtle liquid approach, or a mixture of liquid and powder. Generally though, powder highlighters are my jam.

I am going to run you through the three powder highlighters in my collection that I gravitate towards the most. I’ve loads of lovely other ones, but these are my ‘don’t have to think about it’ picks. They work for me and last well throughout the day.

First up, is the infamous Mary-Lou Manizer from theBalm Cosmetics.

I think the majority of makeup lover have Mary-Lou in their lives, or one of her very lovely sisters.

She isn’t too warm, she isn’t too cool. She’s the perfect in between slightly golden shade. The powder itself is soft and really easy to blend.

If you have yet to see Mary-Lou in the flesh, go check her out in your local Debenhams. You won’t be disappointed. She will set you back €19 online here.

My next choice in my most used highlights is one I picked up at Christmas time last year.

This is the Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Pearl.

If you have pale skin like me or even paler, this could be your perfect shade! It has more of a silvery tone, that can be more suited to pink toned skin tones. It gives shine without sparkle (all of the Shimmering Skin Perfectors do). They melt into the skin effortlessly.

You can also use this wet if you really want to amp up the glow. I did a whole review on this when I first picked it up here. Becca is in store from Spacenk or online from Cult Beauty here.

My last choice is the more pink shade out of the three highlighters. It’s still has a pale gold finish to it on the skin, so works really nicely for me without looking too obvious. I like that look sometimes, but generally everyday, I just want a bit of shine.

It is the Too Faced Prismatic Highlighter in Blinded By The Light.

This is the lightest shade in the three Prismatic Highlighters from Too Faced. There is a more pink shade too that I do use too, but this is just the one I reach for the most. They give such a lovely shine, nearly wet look to the skin.

I tend to reach for this more in the evenings. It looks so pretty as an eye shadow too. You can find these in store or online from Debenhams here.

And there you have my current faves. Any of them your favourites? What’s your most reached for highlighter?

xxx

December 27, 2017/by Gem

Posts

The BPerfect Sub Zero Highlight Collection Palette is available from stockists now and retails for €37. Have you tried it yet? Do you have your eye on it? Let me know.

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

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

What’s seldom is wonderful. I am back with a fashion haul. It’s been a while I know. But I’m brutal at them though ha!

And that’s it for my birthday money fashion haul. Let me know what you think and I promise I will try with the try on cutaways some time in my blogging future 🙂

xxx

Luckily (for me), I was sent a package from the brand with their best selling products of 2017! Included, were two shades of the Wet n Wild Megaglo Highlighting Powders.

Have you tried them?

xxx

As always thanks for sticking around these parts. For reading, watching, engaging and just being a part of this Beautynook journey with me. I really appreciate it. It definitely makes all the work a bit sweeter knowing there’s people actually paying attention 🙂

Gemma

xxx

And there you have my current faves. Any of them your favourites? What’s your most reached for highlighter?

xxx

*PR SAMPLE***