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NYX Wanderlust Dublin City Set

Nyx have added four new colours to their City Set range. Toronto, New York, Santiago. And my city namesake, the NYX Wanderlust Dublin City Set.

These sets contain four eyeshadows, an illuminator and a blush. The colours are all supposed to compliment the city named Soft Matte Lip Cream within.

The NYX Wanderlust Dublin City Set contains very wearable shades throughout. There’s a lime green in there for good Irish measure though too.

Each eyeshadow is 1.9 grams, the highlight and blush are 3.5 grams and then the Dublin Soft Matte Lip Cream is standard size at 8mls.

The packaging is fairly bulky on the City Sets. It’s a magnetized cardboard palette with a generous mirror within.

All the shadows are powder and have a shimmery finish to them. Here they are swatched in the sequence they appear in the palette. All of shades are soft and pigmented.

The highlighter and blush are also both shimmery powders. The highlight is a really pale gold shade with an iridescent shimmer. The blush is a pale peach with gold sparkles.

The Dublin Soft Matte Lip Cream is definitely my favourite part of the NYX Wanderlust Dublin City Set. It’s a pinky mauve shade, which is right up my lipstick alley.

I am a big fan of the Soft Matte Lip Creams in general from NYX so having one named after the city I’m from feels (cringe worthily) cool to me 🙂

In my opinion, all the shades in the palette are nice, but I would definitely have to add in other colours if I was doing a full on look using it. I think the colour scheme is very much suited to paler skin. Even for me, the blush might be a little too pale. I generally wear blush to warm up my complexion. The palette size is a little bit cumbersome in my humble opinion aswell, for the amount of products you get in it. I think it would be a nice gift though, just probably not something I would go out and buy for myself.

You can find the NYX Wanderlust Dublin City Set now in Boots in store or online, from Debenhams here. Or, I found it on Look Fantastic here for what I believe is the cheapest price from a reputable retailer.

Have you tried it yet?

xxx

*PR SAMPLE**

November 27, 2017/by Gem

Makeup

Benefit Porefessional License to Blot

I’ve had the Benefit Porefessional License To Blot for a long time now.

It’s something I actually pick up quite a lot and just forgot to ever talk about it. It an unusual little product.

Its looks a bit like a pritt stick for your face 🙂 When it comes to comes to marketing and packaging the Benefit team are some of the best in the business, they really are and the Benefit Porefessional License To Blot is a really innovative little product.

According to Benefit: ‘This instant oil-blotting stick with tiny invisible blotting spheres mattifies shine for up to six hours after application. The specially designed triangular tip targets shiny zones: the sides of your nose, forehead and chin. Oil has finally met its matte!

The Benefit Porefessional License To Blot is pretty much designed to throw into your handbag for blotting on the go. It comes in a retractable tube and the product itself is in a triangular shape so it can get around the contours of your face.

The product itself has like a balm texture to it, it’s colourless, so would work on any skin tone. It does have a scent to it, but it’s really very slight.

So does it work?

It definitely blots off any excess oil you might have creeping through your foundation. It also softens the look of any pores that might come through aswell. You should really use a light hand with it and pat it onto the skin as Benefit encourage you to, as it can leave a silicone like film over the top of your makeup. It doesn’t however promote caking like adding powder might do. The fact that you’re applying the product from the tube can get a little grubby as you’re left with makeup marks on it after use, so you have to be sure to clean as you go. I can’t say that it keeps the skin matte for six extra hours, not on my skin anyways, but I would say at least half that time for sure.

I sometimes use the Benefit Porefessional License To Blot in a way it’s not intended too also. Because it works for minimising the look of pores and it is good for blotting, I’ll use it in conjunction with whatever primer I have on the go in my real problem areas on my T-zone before applying foundation (and even sometimes after foundation, if my skin is really acting up).

Overall I really like the Benefit Porefessional License To Blot. It has its flaws but overall does what its supposed to do and may I add at €21.50, it’s cheaper that the primer, but kind of does the same job 🙂 You can pick it up from Debenhams here

xxx

April 15, 2016/2 Comments/by Gem

Makeup

Ben Nye Luxury Powders Review

I have two of the Ben Nye Luxury Powders. I have them and have been using them for…not gonna lie years now. I had never really thought to do a review on them, I never really thought people would be interested to be honest. The couple of times I have posted pictures on them though, I have gotten so many questions about where I got them, How much they were, are they good etc, so I thought I would pop all that information in a handy blogpost, so people could just come here for all the answers 🙂

The two Ben Nye Luxury Powders I own are the Banana Powder and the Cameo Powder.

Ben Nye (who are a professional makeup brand, that’s why they are kind of hard to get hold of) do a plethora of colours in their Luxury Powder range. They come in a whole host of sizes too. The two powders I have would probably be classed as the medium size. They contain 42 grams of product. If you are just using them on yourself, this size will probably last you a lifetime 🙂 The powders themselves are really finally milled. They almost have a flour like consistency to them, which makes them really messy because they go everywhere, but means they apply to the skin really nicely and you can really layer them up.

The Ben Nye Luxury Banana Powder is of course a yellow powder.

If you are sallow, this would work great as an all over setting powder.

For me, I like it for setting the under eye area. A yellow toned powder is great for adding a little more coverage to any discolouration you may have under there. Depending on how much coverage I want, I’ll use either a brush for a lighter dusting or a sponge to really pack the product on.

The other one I have is the Ben Nye Luxury Cameo Powder.

This, on my lighter and more pink skin tone is the one I would use to set my whole face.

Again, like the banana powder you can sheer is out or really pack it on depending on your preference.

To me, neither of these Ben Nye products give you any major coverage. They are both brilliant for mattifying, and keeping you looking matte without making you look like you are caked in makeup or settling in any fine lines or pores. They will also subtly colour correct the area that you add them too.

Overall, I really love the Ben Nye Luxury Powders. They are a staple in my makeup collection and I reach for them alot. You can buy them online from Ireland here from Sunaura.

xxx

March 9, 2016/by Gem

Archives, Bargain Buying, Makeup

Budget Contour Palettes

I am on a bit of a budget roll at the minute, I don’t know what has gotten into me…maybe the post Christmas poorness 🙂 This post is going to be about budget contour palettes, that I have and use in my makeup collection. Contouring has come such a long way in the makeup world, it used to be a drag industry secret and now most of us do some form of it on a daily basis. I know it’s not for everyone, but personally I love a bit of chiselling, anything to make my chubby chops look more defined 🙂

I chose 3 contour palettes to showcase in this post:

First up is the newest of the bunch, the Catrice Prime And Fine Professional Contouring palette.

This comes in different shades which is very handy, I have the colour 010 Ashy Radiance.

Ashy is the important word here, especially for paler skin. A powder with a grey undertone, creates more of a shadow so in theory looks more natural. I really like this palette. The highlighter is more on the subtle side, so good if you just want to add a hint of a glow to the cheekbones. The contour side is soft, pigmented and blends well in the skin.

This will set you back €4.50.

Next up is the Seventeen Define & Conquer Contour Kit

This is a little different as both of the shades in this contour palette are matte.

I like this take on it because the ‘highlight’ shade can double up as a setting powder for lighter skinned gals and then works as a subtle more brightening shade maybe under the eyes for darker skinned lovelies.

The contour shade is a little more on the warm side, so this would double up as an all over matte bronzer shade as well as getting away with being a contouring colour.

You can buy the Seventeen Define & Conquer palette in Boots and it costs €8.49, but they are always on special.

My last choice I think is my favourite and is the most pocket friendly of them all. The W7 Hollywood Bronze & Glow.

It bares a bit of a resemblance to a much more expensive contour palette, right? 🙂

This little duo resides in my handbag and it gets so much use. The contour shade does have a sheen and a warm undertone to it, but it’s soft and blends out really well on the skin so you can still get away with it for contouring. I adore the highlight shade. It’s a really pretty golden shimmer, not at all bitty or glittery. I use it on my cheekbones, on my lids even and it’s a lovely inner corner highlight too.

And the best part? It’s €3.75. Cara Pharmacy sell them online here

Three contour palettes for three decent prices. What do you think? Are you a contouring queen or not really into it? I’d love to know your thoughts.

xxx

February 19, 2016/by Gem

Makeup, Makeup Tools

Nima Brush ‘Girls On Tour’ Travel Set

If you haven’t heard of Nima, eh where have you been living? 🙂 They are an Irish owned makeup brush owned created by the lovely Niamh Martin. I’ve waffled loads about different brushes here on Beautynook in the past. I’m a big fan. Nima Brush’s last big release was the Artistic Collection which I spoke about in more detail here if you fancy a nose.

Nima Brush’s newest additions to their every growing brand is the ‘Girls On Tour’ Travel Set. They are seven of some of the most loved brushes from the Artistic Collection in a more travel friendly form, and in a really cute Nima pouch. The set costs €55 and you can pick it up from the Nima site here.

First off, how gorgeous are these brushes? If you are on the hunt for a Christmas pressie for a makeup lover…or a treat for yourself, I think Nima have you covered. The Girls On Tour Set would be great for bringing on holidays or just to have in your handbag for touch ups.

I think the choice of brushes are really thought out and have you everything you need for doing your makeup on the go.

Here’s the low down on Girls On Tour:

The ‘Blaithin’ is included.

This is probably my most reached for Nima Brush, I have the full handle sized version. I use it for contour mostly which you can see in action here but I love it for blush and powder too.

We also get the ‘Jane’.

The softest duo fibre stipping brush ever!

The ‘Tara’.

Perfect for blush, bronzer,contour the works.

The ‘Girls On Tour’ set also contains another one of my favourites from the Artistic Collection, the ‘Debs’.

This is a gorgeous blending eyeshadow brush.

The ‘Patricia’

A duo fibre tapered eyeshadow brush.

The ‘Ollie’.

I would describe this as a smudger brush, perfect for the lash line.

And finally, the ‘Danielle’.

Danielle is an angled duo fibre brush. I would use this for brows,liner or even lip definition.

The only real differences between the Girl’s On Tour collection and the Artistic Collection version of the brushes is the slight change in colour and the length of the brush handle. The actual brushes are the same great quality that we’ve grown to expect from Nima.

I have small child like hands so for me the Girls On Tour set will probably end up becoming part of my everyday makeup. For now, I’m trying really hard to keep them to bring on holiday with me next month…wish me luck 🙂

xxx

November 26, 2015/1 Comment/by Gem

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