Posts

irish beauty blog

Major spoiler alert. Most of this video is slightly out of focus! Why may you ask? Because stupid Gemma (i.e me) focused the camera and then proceeded to sit in the wrong position like a dope! I debated on whether or not to scrap it. But I am mostly chatting about the confidence boosting beauty products in my life and just applying them as I go. Being able to see my potato head clearly really isn’t necessary in the grand scheme of things. Sure the beginning and end is in focus, you can see me in all of my glory there 🙂

irish beauty blogger

I did a video a while ago here about products that make make me happy. Things that have a meaning to them whether they be connected with memories or people. I thought this was a good continuation on from that. We all have certain confidence boosting products in our beauty drawers right? Things that put a spring our step, that we know look good on us?

beauty blog ireland

I thought I would chat about mine. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that makeup necessarily equates to happiness. I am not that narrow minded, This is just me talking lightheartedly about certain products that I keep in my life because I know they work for me 🙂

Confidence Boosting Beauty

  • The eyeshadow shade ‘half-baked from Urban Decay.
  • A good eyelash curlers.
  • Eyeliner in my waterline. I used the Inglot AMC Eyeliner Gel in 96 (you can see it swatched here).
  • Mac Cosmetics Springsheen blush. On the Brown Thomas website here.
  • theBalm Mary-Lou-Manizer highlighting powder. The tone of this just works for me. I have an old review of it here.
  • Mac ‘Girl About Town’ Amplified Lipstick. You can get it from Brown Thomas here. I just realised I have two Mac products listed! Not on purpose, promise 🙂
  • Setting Spray. I am loving the L’Oréal Infallible Fixing Mist. (full review here).
  • My confidence boosting fragrance is Viktor & Rolf ‘Flowerbomb’. An oldie but a goodie. You can get it from Debenhams here.
  • Instant Tan! The ones I mention are the Vita Liberata Body Blur and the Bellamianta Skin Perfecting Instant Tan.
  • Then finally, my last confidence boosting beauty product is nail polish, or at least just having my nails did :). I chat about the Wet n Wild 1 Step Wonder Nail Polishes. I honestly love these!!
Confidence Boosting Beauty
beauty blogger ireland

And that concludes my ramblings. So tell me, do you have any particular confidence boosting beauty products in your stash? You can watch the video directly over on my YouTube channel here.

xxx

I haven’t done a round up like this in a while. So, here is five of my current budget friendly makeup favourites.

Current Budget Friendly Makeup Favourites

I am not a makeup snob by any means. If a product is good, it’s good, regardless of the price 🙂

Current Budget Friendly Makeup Favourites

My first budget friendly makeup pick of the minute is the very talked about Coverage Foundation from The Ordinary.

beauty blog ireland

I harped on about this here in a dedicated blogpost, so I won’t go into too much detail. But, I am a big fan. I always judge a foundation on whether I would pick it up to wear for a night out or going out all day. This is definitely one I reach for alot. I love the coverage, the finish and the longevity. Oh and may I add, the price point too!

My second choice will come as no surprise either (sorry ha!). The Maybelline Eraser Eye in the shade ‘Brightener’.

irish beauty site

I like both of the colour correcting shades (details on both of them here). I think I just reach for the Brightener more. I feel like I can get away with it just on it’s own. Whereas the ‘Neutralizer’ leaves a bit of a yellow hue to the skin. I am delighted these shades are available in Ireland now, because for me, the ‘Light’ concealer version, just wasn’t light enough. These work so much better.

My third budget friendly makeup favourite is another Maybelline Product. This is their Master Fix Setting & Perfecting Loose Powder.

irish beauty blogger

This is actually Maybelline’s first loose setting powder. It is super finely milled and applies really lightly and smoothly onto the skin.

top irish beauty blogger

It’s really mattifying, so I usually apply a liberal layer of it and then use a setting spray over top to lift the skin a bit. It absorbs oils really well though and definitely helps with the longevity of your makeup. It is a more pricey ‘affordable product’ at €13.79 from Boots here.

Number four is the Catrice Metallic Liquid Liner in 010 ‘Bronze Lee’. I bloody love that name 🙂

beauty blog irelandbeauty blogger ireland

You can see it in action is a previous blogpost here. These Metallic liners come in a couple of different shades, I believe. I need to find the others to add to my collection. I really like the formula and the finish. The shade is less intimidating than black or even dark brown. And I can generally create a flick with the applicator. When I can say that you know a liquid liner is half good. Feline flicks are not my forte at all.

Last on my budget friendly makeup roundup is the Maybelline Brow Artist Plumper.

top irish beauty blog

I am way late to the party with this one. I don’t know why I never tried it up until now. I have the shade Medium/Dark. I like that the spooley isn’t very tightly bound.

top beauty blogdublin beauty blog

It means it doesn’t hold onto alot of product. I can find with some coloured brow gels, it can end up all over your skin. This doesn’t leave your eyebrows feeling crispy either. It just adds a bit of a tint with some added fibers for fluffiness. It’s a really decent tinted brow gel. It costs €8.49 from Boots here.

And that’s my five current picks! Things that are actually in rotation on my makeup desk at the moment, that hopefully won’t break the bank 🙂

xxx

*****CONTAINS PR SAMPLES*****

 

 

 

 

 

More Maybelline chat 🙂 I reviewed the new colours of the Eraser Eye Concealers here. Now, I am chatting and applying some of the new products out for Summer 2017!

top irish beauty blogger

 

Maybelline, as a brand for me can be very much hit or miss. I am not always a fan of the releases, so some of the products end up in bags for friends or for charity. Obviously, if I hate something enough I will tell you why and if I love it I will shout it from the rooftops too! But if something is just ‘meh’, it doesn’t always get a second look.

maybelline new products

I have some of the new Maybelline Summer releases and I thought I would put them altogether and do a makeup look with the goodies I own. Some are PR samples, some I bought myself. Nothing majorly fancy or groundbreaking. But, it just means you get to see some of them in action on my chubby little face , and I get to give initial impressions 🙂

irish beauty blog

I will list everything I used below, in case anything particular takes your fancy and you want to investigate it further:

  • I have already linked the new Eraser Eyes in Neutralizer and Brightener above.
  • Master Blush Color & Highlight Kit. Available on the Boots website here.
  • Master Ink Waterproof Liquid Liner. Available here.
  • The Colossal Big Shot Mascara. Available here.
  • Great Lash Waterproof. On the Boots website here.
  • Master Fix Setting & Perfecting Loose Powder. Boots online have it here.
  • Vivid Hot Lacquers. Available here.

maybelline makeup

I did use some other Maybelline and non Maybelline products just because I had them and I didn’t have a whole face of newness in my stash. As always, you can click the video above to watch and go directly to my YouTube channel here to check it out.

beauty blog ireland
beauty blogger ireland

I think my stand out favourites are the loose powder and the concealers. The Colossal mascara is pretty damn good too though!

xxx

I’ve been talking alot about Kat Von D of late, Since they’ve parked their bums in Debenhams, I want to try everything! I did a post on the Shade & Light Eye Contour Palette here too if you are interested. This post is all about the under eyes though. I am giving my thoughts on the Kat Von D Lock It Concealer and the Brightening Powder.

kat von d lock it concealer

I picked up both products together a few weeks ago and have been using the pretty much consistently since.

kat von d ireland

There is a whole array of products in the Kat Von D Lock it line, ranging from face primer, to setting spray.
I’ll start out talking about the Lock It Concealer.

kat von d lock it

Off the bat, I love the packaging, specifically the doe foot applicator. It has a tear drop shape, so it works really nicely around the eye contours. I also love that it comes in an abundance of shade ranges, and they differentiate by tone too! So, you can get warm, neutral and cool.

I went with L5 Neutral, which is a really good match for me:

kat von d debenhams
kat von d swatches
kat von d lock it under eye concealer
irish beauty website

It has quite a thick consistency on the skin, but blends like a dream. It covers really nicely and brightens up the under eye area too. On me, it has yet to crease, flake or settle in any fine lines once I set it. I usually go in with a light (ish) layer, blend it in and then apply another dot to the darkest area of my under eyes.

irish beauty blog
beauty blog ireland
irish beauty blogger
beauty blogger ireland
irish beauty blog
top irish beauty blog

Overall, I am a big fan of the Kat Von D Lock It Concealer. It gives me very similar vibes to the Clarins Instant Light which I am a huge fan of too! It costs €26 from Debenhams in store or online here.

Next up we have the Kat Von D Lock It Brightening Powder.

kat von d lock it brightening powder petal

I bought this specifically to use over the concealer. I am sure if you wanted just a little brightens under the eyes without using a concealer, this could work too.

It comes in three shades, I picked up the lightest one ‘Petal’. It is a really finely milled loose powder with a peachy undertone.

irish makeup blog
irish blog
irish makeup blogger
irish blogger

With it being a loose powder and in a smaller container, it can get messy to use, I won’t lie. Saying that, it does a really lovely job at setting my concealer and really does help smooth out under the eyes, as well as adding extra brightness.

top irish beauty blogger
beauty blog
top irish beauty site
beauty blogger

It feels like velvet on the skin and a little goes a really long way. It doesn’t leave your under eyes feeling tight or dry when you apply it. Again, this is another Kat Von D purchase I am glad I made. The Brightening Powder costs €24.50. You can buy from Debenhams in store or online here.

Now, I just need to get my hands on the Kat Von D Lock It primer, foundation and setting spray and I’ll be good to go :). Have you tried anything from the range?

xxx

I feel really weird doing this, not going to lie. But, I love watching question and answer videos on YouTube. I love getting a little nosey into people’s personal lives and seeing them as human, if that makes sense?

getting personal beautynook

I am as human as they come, sometimes too much so 🙂

 

I officially have 50 videos over on my YouTube channel!! I literally never thought I would see the day. Seriously, the thoughts of making a video scared the living daylights out of me. It still does, but I am getting more and more comfortable with it as each video is completed. It’s a slow process getting my content seen, but everyday more people stop by.

Getting Personal

I am by no means a YouTuber. I make videos to mix up my content here on Beautynook. I am a huge vlog fan too, so I wanted to give it a go myself and push my comfort zones a little. I’ve grown to love the editing aspect of it, and am actually thinking of maybe vlogging a little too if that’s something that would interest you guys? So getting a little personal every now and again and showing you snippets of life?

 

For my 51st video I thought I would try on the personal side a bit (not too much ha) and answer some questions that you very kindly asked me on my Snapchat and on my Facebook page.

irish beauty blog
top irish beauty blog
irish beauty blogger
irish youtuber

There’s some random questions, some blogging questions and some life questions. You can as always watch the video by clicking on it above or directly on my channel here.

This was another step outside my comfort zone, I have to admit. I’m not a particularly private person, I’ll tell you anything. But doing it in this capacity is a bit more formal and permanent. I’m not the most eloquent speaker either, but sure hopefully you enjoy it anyways.

I was also digging my ‘more simple’ makeup that day, so here’s a bit of a closer look. I used a baby blue pencil in my waterline and I think it really opens the eyes up 🙂

irish beauty blog
top irish beauty blogger

 

As always thanks for stopping, I really appreciate it.

Gemma

xxx

 

Clarins are releasing some awesome products at the moment. You know how enamored I am with their 4 Colour All In One Pen. I did a post on it here a little while ago. Another one of their limited edition releases is a Face Contour Palette. This is their first one.

Clarins Face Contour Palette

It contains 3 shades. A highlight, a contour and a blush colour.

clarins contouring palette

The packaging is beautiful. The powders are packaged in a very swish gold palette.

irish beauty blog
irish beauty blogger
clarins ireland

 

And a large mirror is always welcome too.

top irish beauty blog

It also comes with it’s own mini contouring brush.

beauty blog ireland
clarins makeup
beauty blogger ireland

The natural hair brush is super soft and actually super functional. It works really well at applying the product. The angled shape makes it great for applying contour, but it’s wide enough that you can blend out with it too.

Here are all three colours swatched side by side on my arm, just to give an idea of the finish and the pigmentation. They are enriched with plant extracts that are supposed to help nourish the skin. As well as Clarins own Anti-Pollution Complex.

top irish beauty blogger

All the powders are soft and pigmented. The highlighter is not what you would expect. It’s matte for a start! Clarins say use to enhance the face rather than add glow. Like under your eyes, the chin and the middle of the forehead.

The contour powder is quite warm toned.

beauty blog
beauty blogger
beauty blogger
top irish beauty site

For me, although the powder is lovely and blends really nicely. It doesn’t work as a contour. I much prefer using as a matte bronzer around the perimeter of my face to warm up my complexion.

The blush is pink toned with a satin finish. It’s a nice universal colour, that I think would work on a lot of skin tones.

irish beauty website
top beauty blogger ireland

Overall, I think the Clarins Face Contour Palette is nice. It is always nice to have multi functioning products under a pretty roof. The powders are really good quality, they are packaged beautifully and the brush is really functional. The highlight shade for me, works better as a setting powder and the contour shade as a bronzer. If you are looking to use it for their stated purposes however, it might not be the palette for you.

It is available in all stockists now. You can buy it from Boots online here. It will set you back €47 for 13.8 grams of product, along with the accompanying brush.

xxx                                       ****PR SAMPLE****