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Everyday Summer Makeup Tutorial

This is my honest everyday Summer Makeup look! I tried to keep it as real as possible and just edited out my ‘ums’ and any long winded techniques. My brows take forever 🙂

It’s nothing fancy or ground breaking, but this is generally what I do on a daily basis if I’m wearing makeup. The eye look might change a bit if I’m feeling fancier or lazier. The lip colour might change if I’m feeling a bold or bright lip, but the base tends to not really. I’ve found what works for my skin in the heat, so I don’t want to jinx it too much if I’m going out and about. If I know I’m staying close to home, then I can experiment and trial new products 🙂

It all depends on what you feel most comfortable with. For me, brows and a bit of eyeshadow definition is a must. Eyeliner is not necessary so it’s not something I do day to day. Once I have a wash of colour on my lids I am happy enough. The main components of my everyday Summer makeup look, I’ve spoken about a lot before. I think this is an important aspect of this video though. You know I like these products and above all, you know I trust them.

I won’t get into everything, but some of the main products I used are in my June Favourites here. I have a review the Urban Decay Primer here, and of both the foundations I used here and here. Mac Springsheen blush has been a favourite for literally years and the highlighter from Pixi is a new, but very loved favourite.

And that is my ‘errand running’ everyday Summer makeup. If you watched the video, you’ll get the joke 🙂

Thanks for tuning it. Tell me, what are some of your Summer makeup essentials?

xxx

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July 11, 2018/1 Comment/by Gem

Makeup

Fenty Pro Filt’r Instant Retouch Primer

I have been using the Fenty Pro Filt’r Instant Retouch Primer since just after Christmas on and off. It’s definitely been a hot minute. I’ve put off writing about it for ages, just because it took me this long to formulate a logical opinion on it.

I bought this along with the Bomb Baby Mini Lip And Face Set. I really like the gloss, I can understand the hype. Although I will say loads of brands have jumped on the pretty sparkly non sticky gloss band wagon now. So there’s many a lovely gloss out there to choose from now.

The Fenty Pro Filt’r Instant Retouch Primer is said to be ‘A shine-stopping, pore-diffusing primer that smooths the way for better foundation application and longer wear with an instant retouch effect’. This description is basically what confuses me. Hear me out 🙂

This is obviously a description that would hook me with my skin being on the oiler side and having pores like craters in my t zone. I’ll start with the pros of this primer. The packaging is so lovely and the matte glass bottle feels so fancy in your hands. The pump is really easy to control. It has a really delicate , sweet scent. The formula is really light, blends really nicely and applies nearly like an extra layer of skincare. It dries down and leaves your skin feeling really soft.

Ok, this is where I get confused. For me, it doesn’t really control oil. I generally use it in conjunction with another more hardy primer like Benefit Porefessional. I apply the the Fenty Pro Filt’r Instant Retouch Primer all over and the other primer in my t zone where I know it just won’t cut the mustard. Just because I like how it feels and, well I have it and spent a decent amount of money on it. It also doesn’t do anything for my enlarged pores either, so that were Porefessional comes too.

If they had of marketed this primer towards drier skin types, I could completely concur with the consistency and how it feels. But saying it’s a pore diffusing, shine stopping primer doesn’t really make any sense to me.

Overall, I think it’s nice and it doesn’t put me off the brand at all, this was just a kind of a miss because it doesn’t do what it says on the tin.

The Fenty Pro Filt’r Instant Retouch Primer is available from Harvey Nichols in store and online here now.

Have you tried anything from the Fenty range yet? I’d love to know your thoughts.

xxx

May 2, 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

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April 20, 2018/by Gem

Bargain Buying, Makeup

LA Girl Pro Matte Foundation

The LA Girl Pro Matte Foundation landed here in Ireland before you could even get your hands on it anywhere else in Europe. I was lucky enough to go to the launch of it here in Dublin, so I got to bring a bottle of it home to try out.

According to the brand, the LA Girl Pro Matte Foundation gives a ‘suede like finish to the skin’. ‘Has buildable coverage for both day and night’. And is a ‘paraben free formula’.

I have the shade Natural.

Looking at the shades at the event, Ivory was too light and the other shades after that were a bit too yellow for my skin. Natural is a bit too dark, but it was the most suited out of the lighter colours. We have 14 shades to choose from here in Ireland.

It comes in a glass bottle and have a pump, that alone impresses me, I won’t lie 🙂

On me, the LA Girl Pro Matte Foundation definitely has a more medium to full coverage. It’s not super thick though like some more full coverage foundations can be. The formula definitely does dry down to a suede like finish as the brand suggests. So although it’s more matte, it’s not gonna crack if you smile matte 🙂

I have oily skin. I know I say it constantly, but especially for foundation reviews it’s really important to note. Generally, I use a more silicone heavy primer, as I find they are the ones that work best for my skin type. I actually used the LA Girl one here which I really like.

I use a synthetic kabuki brush to apply it and again that works well for me too. The formula is pretty pigmented so you really have to work it into the skin, so a more dense brush makes things easier. I find the formula can cling to more drier skinned areas so that is something to note. That’s why I think the more silicone heavy primers work better with it. It gives it a bit more of a slippy base. Once I use one though it glides over enlarged pores and doesn’t sit in fine lines either. I don’t apply foundation on or around my eyes.

On me, the coverage is medium, but I can amp it up to more full where I want it. It covers redness and slight pigmentation. My darker freckles come through but I am completely ok with that. I love that the finish, although matte, has a satin feel and look to it. It’s not just completely flat. I think it photographs really well too. It lasts well on my skin once I prime and lightly powder. I can get 6-8 hours out of it, with minimal shine or breakdown. It honestly competes with my very favourite L’Oréal Infallible 24 HR Matte in that department!

Overall, I am a big fan of the LA Girl Pro Matte Foundation. It has made it’s way into my everyday foundation rotation. Yes I have one of those 🙂 You can find it now in store from LA Girl stockists. Online from TRNDbeauty, and Beauty Bay. Have you picked it up yet?

xxx

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March 23, 2018/by Gem

Monthly Favourites, Youtube Video

February Favourites 2018

This is a bit of an all over the place February Favourites!

The cabin fever has gotten to me and the tangents are mighty. Hope you don’t mind a bit of rambling 🙂

As I write this, the snow is still coming down strong and after three days indoors, I miss civilisation. Ok, I am being totes dramatic and I hope everyone who stumbles across this post in real time is safe and warm. Oh and has enough bread and milk to keep you going. 🙂

In my cabin fevered state, I managed to add in a favourite that I spoke about already in my January favourites. I could have edited it out, but then I thought, I loved it enough to talk about it twice, so I must really like it!

It’s all beauty related chatter for February favourites 2018. I did try to see if I had anything else to add into the pot, but I want it to be genuine. Beauty is the thing I am consistently trying, hence the monthly turn around.

As always I’ll list and link everything below, just in case anything takes your fancy and you want a closer look.

Estée Lauder Double Wear Nude Foundation.

Maybelline Super Stay Full Coverage Foundation.

Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Instant Retouch Primer.

Urban Decay All Nighter Concealer.

Huda Beauty Smokey Obsessions Eyeshadow Palette.

Kérastase Balancing Shampoo.

And I think that’s it. It felt like so much more when I was talking to camera about them ha! I really hope everyone had a lovely February. March is off to a bit of a miserable snowy start, so surely it has to be all up from here?

Oh here is my Edinburgh haul in case you want to check it out!

As always thanks for clicking, I really appreciate it. Let me know if there was anything you were loving through the month of February.

xxx

*******PR SAMPLES INCLUDED IN THIS POST*******

March 2, 2018/by Gem

Bargain Buying, Makeup

Catrice Lashes To Kill Pro Mascara Waterproof

When it comes to mascara I am definitely no brand snob! Generally speaking (although of course there are some exceptions), more affordable brands are where it’s at! If you’ve been around these parts before, you know I tend to favour a waterproof formula. No hate on non waterproof, just for what my lashes need the waterproof variety seems to cut the mustard more. I have straight lashes, that need to be curled and given some help with length and volume. Yes, my lashes are super boring. Catrice Cosmetics, do some of my favourite formulas. Their Glam & Doll WP is always in my makeup drawer. I did a post on it so many years ago here if you fancy checking it out and cringing all at the same time 🙂 With their new Spring/Summer releases for this year came a new mascara formula. Say hello to the Catrice Lashes To Kill Pro Mascara.

This comes in waterproof and non waterproof so you’re covered whatever your poison. I of course have been trialling the WP version so that’s the one I am going to show you in action. I gave my mam the standard formula one to road test though and she loves it. She’s already bought a back up!

The Catrice Lashes To Kill Pro Mascara comes with quite a large bristled spoolie. This applicator has quashed my logic that a plastic more narrow spoolie just works better for my lashes. I thought that for the longest time. The larger wand did take a bit of getting used to, but now I really like it and don’t poke myself in the eye….anymore 🙂

The formula is on the money for me. It holds a curl (after I use a eyelash curlers, because I have too). It gives decent length and a decent amount of volume too. I like a mascara to clump a little, especially on the tips of my lashes, to give the illusion of more. The Catrice Lashes To Kill Pro Mascara does that for me without looking spidery. It has yet to flake or transfer on me either, although I don’t use it on my bottom lashes, the eye poking would be just too major.

For me, the formula works great and stays put, but as a result it is a bit of a pain to remove. More so than the Glam & Doll. I always double cleanse in the evening. I use an oil based cleanser first and then go in with a normal cleanser. There’s still mascara residue from it in the morning! If that’s something that would bother you, maybe opt for the normal formula!

Overall though, the Catrice Lashes To Kill Pro Mascara gets a huge thumbs up for me! It ticks all my lash boxes and I will 100% repurchase it myself once this tube runs dry. Both formulas are available now in Penneys and pharmacy stockists around the country. They will set you back a very reasonable €5.50.

xxx

*PR SAMPLE

February 12, 2018/by Gem

Posts

This is my honest everyday Summer Makeup look! I tried to keep it as real as possible and just edited out my ‘ums’ and any long winded techniques. My brows take forever 🙂

And that is my ‘errand running’ everyday Summer makeup. If you watched the video, you’ll get the joke 🙂

Thanks for tuning it. Tell me, what are some of your Summer makeup essentials?

xxx

********PR SAMPLES INCLUDED*********

The Fenty Pro Filt’r Instant Retouch Primer is available from Harvey Nichols in store and online here now.

Have you tried anything from the Fenty range yet? I’d love to know your thoughts.

xxx

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***********

Overall, I am a big fan of the LA Girl Pro Matte Foundation. It has made it’s way into my everyday foundation rotation. Yes I have one of those 🙂 You can find it now in store from LA Girl stockists. Online from TRNDbeauty, and Beauty Bay. Have you picked it up yet?

xxx

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

This is a bit of an all over the place February Favourites!

And I think that’s it. It felt like so much more when I was talking to camera about them ha! I really hope everyone had a lovely February. March is off to a bit of a miserable snowy start, so surely it has to be all up from here?

Oh here is my Edinburgh haul in case you want to check it out!

As always thanks for clicking, I really appreciate it. Let me know if there was anything you were loving through the month of February.

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

PR SAMPLES INCLUDED*

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