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Mac Extended Play Perm Me Up Lash Mascara

I don’t know how new the Mac Extended Play Perm Me Up Lash Mascara is. But, I hadn’t heard a dickie bird about it online. I just pottered into Mac in Brown Thomas for a visual makeup refresh. As I do. I like to keep updated on the new releases if I can. And there it was in all of it’s mascara glory!

It’s not really a spoiler if I say I bought the Mac Extended Play Perm Me Up Lash Mascara there and then really is it? Considering this is a review and I am holding it in all of the pictures 🙂 I am such a fan of the normal Extended Play mascara. Specifically for my bottom lashes, which I explain here.

The original has a dinkier brush, but the formula is the same. It doesn’t budge or flake, and its super separating. It’s also not too much of a bitch to get off! For some, it works on their top lashes top, but not on my boring straight ones.

However the new one does.

The spoolie is bigger, fluffier and curved. It works really well coating and elongating the lashes. It gives a fair amount of volume too. But the big thing for me? It holds a curl. All day long.

I do curl my lashes just because on their own they’re straight, so they need a little help. I’ve gotten lash lifts sporadically over the past couple of years. There’s more talk about that here. However, my last one didn’t end well. Nothing to do with the treatment itself, just my lashes went a bit haywire at the end. They took a while to go back to normal. So, I am back on the eyelash curler and mascara bandwagon.

I did a super short video of the Mac Extended Play Perm Me Up Lash Mascara in action which you can see at the top of this post and here. And here are some stills as well.

Here it is on both top and bottom lashes too, just to be thorough 🙂

Unfortunately for me personally, the brush doesn’t work as good as the original on my bottom lashes. The formula does, but I just can’t get the definition with the bigger fluffier brush. Kind of gutted. I thought I was on to a money saving winner. However I think I’m still destined to keep buying the original too. It’s good to note, that the OG is 5.7 grams. Whereas the new one comes with 8 grams of product for a pretty identical price point.

Overall though, I am a big fan of the new Mac Extended Play Perm Me Up Lash Mascara. I am delighted I picked it up. Are you an Extended Play fan?

xxx

March 29, 2019/2 Comments/by Gem

Makeup

Summer Makeup Essentials!

Since the sun is shining, don’t say that too loud, we might spook it! But, since it is, I thought I would put together some of my summer makeup essentials. This isn’t so much about the products, just dive into your collection and see what you have already to play with.

These are products I have in my stash right now. I love shopping my stash, especially when a new season begins.

Summer makeup for me, is about a light base and having fun with everything else.

My skin tends to behave itself a little bit more in the summer months so I can spend less time on my base. It still needs help though!

My Summer makeup will always consist of primers. I have oily skin.

I just find adding a few dabs of it to the t zone and blending it out over my whole face, really helps with the longevity of anything I put on top of it. Eyeshadow primer is another must for me. All year round, but particularly in the warmer months. Oily lids are no joke! I am really enjoying The Ordinary High Adherence Silicone Primer (you can buy it here) and Benefit Porefessional has always been a holy grail for me.

Because I use a more mattifying primer, I find I can go a little bit more dewy and light with the foundation.

If I know I am going to be out in the sun for a long period of time, I will of course use sun protection on my face. However, it does tend to melt my makeup. So, if I am going somewhere that is more shaded, I’ll use a foundation with SPF.

One very important Summer makeup essential for me, is coloured eye liners.

Whether it be liquid, gel, waterproof pencil, or pencil with eyeshadow over top, this is something I cannot get enough of in Summer. It is just such a fun way to add something to your makeup without trying too hard. I love applying a slick of it across the lash line. If I am feeling extra daring, I’ll even attempt to wing it out. Adding a pop of colour to your water line too is a lovely way to incorporate a hint of colour to a makeup look aswell. I used the Nyx Vivid Brights Liner here in a makeup look last Summer.

Without waterproof mascara, I am a basic lash person.

My lashes are straight and need waterproof mascara to hold a curl. It is imperative in the Summer time too though. It is a bitch to get off, but a decent waterproof mascara means you don’t have to worry about panda eyes behind your sunglasses. Or if you suffer with watery eyes, you are less inclined to have black marks down your cheeks. I talk about two of my favourites pictured here and here.

My last Summer makeup essential is a glossy lip. I never thought I would say those words, but glossy lip products have come such a long way.

They don’t have to be sticky and they can be super long wearing and colourful too. Products like the Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfectors are great. They add shine with a hint of colour as well as nourish the lips. So handy to throw in your bag for top ups throughout the day.

Shout out to Rosie for helping me take the photos!

And, I will stop rambling 🙂 Have you any Summer makeup essentials?

xxx

May 26, 2017/by Gem

Bargain Buying, Makeup

Spring Blush And Cheek Releases

The weather is kind of changing. I can see daffodils when I am out and about. That’s proof 🙂 With the changing season comes new beauty releases, which is always exciting! I thought I would compile some that I have from a few different brands. This is some of the new Spring Blush And Cheek Releases for 2017!

First up we have two (of three) new Perfect Blush colours from Isa Dora.

05 ‘Poppy Peach’ which is a soft slightly iridescent peach:

And, 60 ‘Pinky Peach’, which is very much it’s name sake.

I have been using these quite regularly over the last couple of weeks and have been enjoying them. I found them online from Feel Unique. They have an abundance of shades to choose from here. They retail for €15.30.

Next is the Clarins Contour Kit.

I already have a full blogpost on this here, so I won’t go into much detail. But, I thought it deserved to be in the mix. It’s a cheek product and it’s new 🙂

Next we have a couple of different offerings from the very affordable Essence Cosmetics.

As part of their Spring/Summer range for this year, they have the BlushPlay Sculpting Blush Palette.

This is in the shade 10 ‘Play It Peach’.

It has a highlight shade, a scultping shade (although to me this is more of a blush colour) and then a light satin coral ‘define’ colour. This is of course the blush shade. It retails for €4.95.

Another new cheek palette from Essence is their Prismatic Rainbow Glow Highlighter.

The internet is kind of going mad for this at the minute. The shade is called fittingly 10 ‘Be A Unicorn’.

The colours, indvidually do show up true to colour.

Swatched together though, they give you a really lovely light gold highlight, with subtle flecks of the colours shining through.

This retails for €4.40.

Next, is the very beautiful 7 Lights Powder Illuminator By Shiseido.

This powder was first created in 1917, and this offering is the modern day version of it.

The packaging alone is pretty stunning and then the powder contains 7 colours that are meant to help uneven skin tone and freshen the skin.

I have been using it to touch up my makeup of late and have found it works really nicely.

The brush that comes with it is really perfect for on the go too. Swirled together the colours give you a really pretty peach, wearable sheen.

Shiseido is sold in pharmacies here in Ireland. It was actually quite hard to source it in stock online. I managed to find it on the Escentual website here. It is priced at €48.76.

The last Spring blush release I have to show is Benefit’s newest Boxed Blush in Galifornia.

It smells like holidays in a box.

Once the gold overspray is gone, you are left with a really pretty peachy pink blush, with a hint of golden shimmer running through it.

Galifornia is available now from Debenhams here and Cloud10beauty here. It retails for between €30-34 depending on where you buy it.

And that’s pretty much Spring Blush products in a nutshell right there 🙂 Any of them take your fancy?

xxx

March 8, 2017/by Gem

Makeup, Monthly Favourites, Youtube Video

January Favourites

Yep it’s happening, it’s January Favourites time!

I am panicking a bit, not going to lie. We are properly into the second month of 2017, eeeekk! But in blog/vlog world that gives us an excuse to recap and look over the month and pick out some of our most used bits and bobs. I do this in video form now, but I do like to still do a blog post too.

My January Favourites for 2017 consist of a couple of fashion bits, a skincare item and of course my one true love, some makeup as well.

I have a bit of disclaimer, I filmed this feeling a little bit under the weather. I have the cold that so many people have at the minute that just won’t go away. So it’s a bit of rambley video, hope that’s OK ha. I am a bit zonked on cold medication 🙂

The products mentioned are:

A Zara bag pack, that is gone from the website now, I apologise if you liked the look of it.
Coverse Hi Top runners. You can get these in so many places, but I’ll put a link to them on the Schuh website here if you want a closer look.
Asos watch: I can’t find a to the exact one, but they have lots of similar (and actually some nicer ones) here.
Cailyn Dissolv’It Makeup Melt Cleansing Balm. I got given this at an event, but it retails for €25 from their website here.
Isa Dora Matt Fixing Powder. I got this as a press sample. But, I found it on the Feel Unique website here for €17.86.
Zoeva Blanc Fusion Palette. I have a review and info on all of the palettes within the Plaisir Box here.
Rimmel Exaggerate Lip Liners. You can pick these up in Boots in store or online here. They are €5.49
And then finally Mac Extended Play Mascara. I have a whole blog post about this here.

And that is all of my January Favourites. You can watch the video by clicking on it above or going to my YouTube channel here. Have you any stand out products from the month?

xxx

February 8, 2017/by Gem

Makeup

Mac Extended Play Lash

Ok, this is probably the most ridiculous posts I will every write, but hear me out 🙂 I have spoke about this before in other posts aswell as on social media. I do not justify it, but I use TWO mascaras generally on a daily basis! Madness I know. I want something that holds a curl, lengthens and defines up top. Down below, I want something that lengthens, separates and doesn’t flake or smudge. This is where the Mac Extended Play Lash comes in.

Now I will say I don’t always repurchase it. I don’t find it does great things for my top lashes. For me, it’s just OK. I much prefer the likes of Catrice Glam & Doll Waterproof which I have an old review of here, or my ride or die Fairydrops Scandal Queen mascara, review here. Scandal Queen does hold tight on the bottom lashes but I find the brush a bit cumbersome and the formula a bit thick for my sparse hairs.

When I bite the bullet and reintroduce Mac Extended Play Lash into my routine, I just fall in love with it all over again. It’s a treat for my bottom lashes. And they deserve it, they don’t have a lot going on in their lives!

Extended Play just works so well, so every once in a while, I choose to be apologetically extra and pick one up. The wand is thin and reasonably small, so it makes it easy to really get in and coat all of the hairs. The formula is quite wet which I think is beneficial for your lower lashes because you can really pack the product on without it clumping or making the hairs bunch together. It does a really good job (for me anyways) of making my bottom lashes look longer and so much fuller. I generally have pretty boring short lashes naturally.

The one thing that makes me buy it again and again though is that it doesn’t budge when you put it on, but the waterproof formula is not a pain to get off either. On me, it never flakes or smudges on my lower lash line. I’ve never had this with any other mascara except probably the Clinique Bottom Lash.

Of course people use it on their top lashes as well and love it, but it really has become a bit of a cult bottom lash mascara. I think it’s fair to say I bloody love it 🙂

You can buy Mac Extended Play Lash in Mac and Brown Thomas in store. Or online from BT here. It costs €20. So tell me, do you think I’m crazy? 🙂

xxx

January 18, 2017/by Gem

Beautynook Tips, Youtube Video

Long Lasting Makeup Tips

I’m like a broken record, I know, but I have pretty oily skin and as a result of this makeup, as much as I love it, doesn’t particularly love me. It sinks into my skin, oxidizes and just doesn’t hang around too long. So, as a result, over the years, I’ve tried and tested lots of different ways to make it last longer on my visage. I’ve done a post about this in the past, but I’ve updated and added some different steps, so I thought I would put together all of my Long Lasting Makeup Tips in video form and demo them on my mug 🙂

Before Makeup

After Makeup

There is a lot of long lasting makeup steps in the video, I don’t expect anyone to do them all, unless of course you’re really oily like me. But if you struggle with your makeup slipping and sliding, or have a special occasion, some of them might help you a little. You can click on the video up above or go to my YouTube channel here to watch.

Just in case something takes your fancy, I’ll link any reviews I have done in the past of the products I talk about in the video.

Waxperts Wonder Pads. Review here.

La Roche Posay Serozinc. Review here.

Vichy Normaderm Anti Blemish Care Moisturiser. Review here.

L’Oreal Infallible 24 Hour Matte Foundation. Review here.

Rimmel Lasting Finish Nude Foundation. Review here.

Nyx Micro Brow Pencil. Review here.

Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer. Review here.

L’Oreal Infallible Fixing Spray. Review here.

Makeup Revolution Ultra Contour Palette. Review here.

I really really hope you find something helpful within my waffling. These are by no means my personal long lasting makeup tips. I’ve just picked them up along the way on my makeup journey and tried and tested them on my skin.

As always, thanks for watching and if you have any other long lasting makeup tips to add to the pile, please do comment. I would love to try more 🙂

xxx

July 16, 2016/by Gem

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