site Archives - Irish Beauty Blog Beautynook

A Personal Note To Myself

A personal note to myself….I am writing this, just home from a lovely holiday. With lovely people, in a lovely place. I don’t talk too candidly about my life, my feelings and emotions for fear of being judged. I am afraid of people’s judgement. I fear people thinking badly of me. But I also fear my own thoughts sometimes.

I am not where I want to be in life. If you had of asked me ten years ago what I envisioned for the future, it would have been a nice house, kids, and a decent job. Myself and John had just moved into our own place and were thoroughly enjoying ‘playing house’. Not too long after, the recession hit and we were forced to move home. Even writing those words gives me a lump in my throat. But, we tried to be positive and figured we’d be back on our feet before the year was out. Fast forward to ten years later, sitting typing this in my parents back room at 33 years old!

This is not the life I pictured. But, some times you just can’t imagine what life is going to throw at you. Family break ups, deaths and in my case Cancer, which my lovely mammy is currently battling for the second time in her life. This time it’s so much worse. She is literally the strongest person I know! And if I wasn’t still in her back room writing this, I wouldn’t be able to go to hospital appointments with her, be around when she needs me….and even when she doesn’t, just in case 🙂

I get down a lot, I’m naturally a pretty pessimistic person, I worry. But I choose not to show it much. My family sees it, John bears the brunt of it. For me Beautynook is an escape. Somewhere for me to get lost in the things that sometimes just keep me going. Completely unnecessary things like lipstick and eyeshadow. But some days, these are the things that keep me going.

I don’t have a bad life in the grand scheme of things. I have somewhere to live, food, clothes and nice things to boot. I also have literally the best partner in the world. (Don’t tell him I said that). I have great friends. I write about something that I love. And in return, I get to do nice things, sometimes get sent lovely things and get to communicate with with some lovely people. It’s just not typically a life people would be proud of.

Honestly I have no idea why I started writing this. I guess I just wanted to put it out there that everyone struggles. And we all handle it differently. Some of us get stronger in strife, some of us weaker. It doesn’t make us bad people, it just makes us people. Without some of the bad things in life, the good things wouldn’t happen. If we had of stayed in our nine to five job, John wouldn’t be excelling with his own business, I probably would have never taking up blogging and I wouldn’t have some of the brilliant people in my life that I do now. Maybe it’s all for a reason. Maybe it will all make sense one day.

I am my hardest critic, it stops me from taking chances. It stops me from believing in myself. Which in turn, stops me from advancing. I haven’t always made the best decisions in life and I’ve spent a lot of time thinking what if?

Maybe saying it out loud like this might help me to take a chance now and again. And maybe it might help you too. Sure if we feel rock bottom, what have we got to lose?

Shoutout to all the awesome people who say nice things to me and about me on Instagram, Facebook anywhere really. As shallow as it sounds, your words have helped me so much. My little corner of the internet is an ok place and I have you who take the time to check in with it to thank for it 🙂

This is a personal note to myself and I guess to you and all the lovely people in my life too.

Thank you for everything you do for me.

Gemma

xxx

October 9, 2018/2 Comments/by Gem

Makeup

Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Lipstick

I’ve shared her all over social media, I know. I am now the proud owner of the Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk lipstick.

I wasn’t going to write this post, just because I know it’s been spoken about alot at the moment. But I thought feck it, she’s pretty, I want to show her in action 🙂

I already own the Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Lip Cheat Lip Liner. John bought it for me for my birthday last year. I did a post on it here at the time, comparing it to Rimmel’s Eastend Snob. They are compared alot and obviously there’s a big price difference.

John kindly bought me the lipstick after seeing me conversing about it so much with some awesome blogger buddies. The boy did good 🙂 The packaging is perfection, I adore the rose gold corrugated tube.

It is a Matte Revolution formula, which is described on the website as a ‘Luminous Modern-Matte Lipstick’.

To me, the formula has more of a satin finish. It applies really smoothly and opaquely to the lips. The colour, on me applies like a brown toned nude, with a hint of pink. You can see both Pillow Talks swatched on my arm below. The colour really is identical.

Here is the lipstick applied to the lips on it’s own:

Then, the lip liner on it’s own:

And then both together:

Of course, you do not need to buy both products. If you want to keep the lipstick true to colour though and make it last longer, it is a nice addition. I find the liner a bit too drying, so I think I will be more inclined to use the lipstick. The formula is much more forgiving on the lips. I will say I am not a huge fan of the scent. To me, it smells like a mixture of caramel and flowers. It does dull down after a while though.

At the moment the Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk lipstick is exclusive to the website. This means you have to get it shipped from the UK, which adds to the price. You can shop for it here and the lipstick alone costs €32. It is definitely a luxury purchase.

Would you splurge?

xxx

February 15, 2017/2 Comments/by Gem

Haul, Makeup

Alice In Wonderland Urban Decay

I hauled the Alice In Wonderland Palette from Urban Decay in my latest Youtube video here if you fancy seeing what else I got too 🙂

The other half kindly bought me it as a very early birthday present, a month early in fact!

This is the second Urban Decay Alice In Wonderland Palette to coincide with the second movie being released by Disney, ‘Alice Through The Looking Glass’ I have a lot of Urban Decay Palettes, I can’t call myself a hardcore collector because I don’t get all of them, but I do enjoy the visuals that come with the fancier releases and I sometimes get sucked in. This was definitely one that sucked me in. It’s just too pretty!

The packaging is just so whimsical and fitting, Urban Decay really have nailed it, I think!

So, onto the stars of the show, the eyeshadows!

On the first row, from left to right, we have:

Second Row:

Third Row:

Fourth Row

There is 20 eyeshadow shades total in the Urban Decay Alice In Wonderland Palette and they are 1.3 grams each. In my opinion, the varying colours and finishes make for a maybe not practical day to day palette, but it is usable and you will get wear out of most of the shades if you do like to have fun with your eye makeup 🙂 There is a couple of transitional mattes and shimmery highlights to help pull looks together, no matte highlight colours though! The pigment is pretty amazing too as you can probably tell from the swatches. They are super buttery and were a dream to apply….on my arm at least 🙂

You also get a super cute dual ended brush inside the palette with a blending brush on one end and a flat shader brush on the other.

Can you tell I’m a fan? As someone who owns a good amount of makeup and is surrounded by it on a daily basis, I can sometimes be a bit numb to new releases, but just looking at this palette makes me happy 🙂

You can buy the Urban Decay Alice In Wonderland palette from Debenhams online here or in store for €49 It is limited edition though!

Let me know what you think?

xxx

May 15, 2016/2 Comments/by Gem

Haul, Makeup

Makeup Haul!

I did a teeny bit of shopping last weekend. I got a few bits so I thought I would combine them together and do a makeup haul in video form!

I do love watching Makeup Haul videos on Youtube so I am completely jumping on the bandwagon and doing my own 🙂

Here are some links of the products I mention in case any of them tickle your fancy or you want to more information on anything.

Bourjois Air Mat Foundation – You can get on the Boots website here

Bourjois Healthy Balance Powder – From Boots online here

The Rimmel Colour Precise Eyeliner- From Boots online here

Rimmel Super Gel Top Coat- From Boots online here

Keep an eye on the offers in Boots, they change all of the time 🙂

I picked up the Cocoa Brown Instant Tan Matte Bronzing Gel in Penneys, but chemists and Boots around the country stock it too as does Cloud10Beauty. I have a blogpost about this too here if you’re curious.

Baptiste Dry Shampoo is available nationwide aswell. Boots stock it online here.

The denim skirt is a new arrival to Penneys I think. It comes in black and two shades of blue denim too and costs €14.

The Urban Decay Alice In Wonderland Palette costs €49 and you can buy instore in Debenhams as well as online here. It’s currently out of stock at the minute, perhaps I was wrong about the amount of stock they had in store :(.

There you have it my first video makeup haul! It made me realise I have to eliminate the word ‘so’ out of my vocabulary pronto…why do I keep saying it? ha!

As always thanks for watching (and reading). Let me know what you think, and if you liked it you could always subscribe to my channel and then any new videos go into your subscription box, just saying 🙂

xxx

May 13, 2016/1 Comment/by Gem

Makeup

L’Oreal Infallible 24HR Matte Foundation

I already reviewed the L’Oreal Infallible 24HR Matte Foundation last year. After using it for a while I thought it was good but nothing really special.

I have since deleted that post, because I have been using it a lot over the past few months and I have properly fallen in love with it. It has converted me and I am not too proud to admit it 🙂

I have a few foundations in rotation, but I think out of them all, I have been reaching for the L’Oreal Infallible 24HR Matte Foundation the most.

I know I say it in probably every post, but I have oily skin, so this type of foundation should really tick all of the boxes for me. L’Oreal say it has a medium texture, high coverage and shine control. I don’t know about shine control because I always powder my foundation. It does set to a matte finish though and the other two I can somewhat agree with. I have seen the L’Oreal Infallible 24HR Matte Foundation being compared to the Estee Lauder Doublewear online, and I can kind of get it. Although, I think it has a lighter consistency than Doublewear and it has a lighter finish on the skin. Sure, I let you have a look for yourself 🙂 I use the shade 11 Vanilla and it’s a pretty good match for my Mac NC20 skin tone.

Here is my skin with just primer on it.

Then, here is one layer of the L’Oreal Infallible 24HR Foundation, buffed in with a Real Techniques Buffing Brush brush. I apply it with the nozzle of the tube onto my face.

On my skin, one layer gives medium coverage. It covers any light imperfections and somewhat blurs pores.

I like to add another light layer to my problem areas though…which is kind of all over, not gonna lie. 🙂

The L’Oreal Infallible 24HR Mattifying Foundation, is actually really easy to layer. It doesn’t cake up on my skin, or look too dry or heavy. Although it has really good coverage and covers what I want it to cover, it doesn’t mask my skin either. I think this is a very rare thing for a matte, good coverage foundation.

It doesn’t oxidize or separate throughout the day. I will get shiny and have to powder my t zone, but nothing major, and the shine won’t kick in until about the 4th or so hour of wear. For me, that’s pretty good so I’m not complaining.

If you have normal skin or even a little combination (how lucky are you) and enjoy a more matte finish to your foundation without adding powder, I think the LOreal Infallible 24 HR Mattifying Foundation could work for you too.

In the words of Baby’s father to Johnny Castle, ‘When I’m wrong, I say I’m wrong’, this is definitely one of those instances for me 🙂

You can pick up the L’Oreal Infallible 24HR Mattifying Foundation instore from Boots or online here. It will set you back 12.29.

April 17, 2016/1 Comment/by Gem

Bargain Buying, Makeup

Makeup Revolution Ultra Contour Palette

I seem to be talking about Makeup Revolution alot lately. Not intentionally, I assure you, I just happened to pick up some bits from them and have been using them over the last while 🙂

This is the Makeup Revolution Ultra Contour Palette.

Budget brands are finally warming up to the idea of giving up all our contour and highlight needs under one lid. My first experience of powder contour palettes was a few years back when I picked up the Anastasia Beverley Hills Contour Kit from Cult Beauty. I reviewed this so long ago here (the pictures are brutal, I apologise), but it’s still one of my most viewed posts to this day.

Makeup Revolution as a brand, for me can be hit or miss, but I think overall their Ultra Contour Palette, in my humble opinion is a hit! I have been reaching for it pretty much daily over the past couple of months.

In the Makeup Revolution Ultra Contour Palette, you get eight shades, and a large mirror which is always handy.

On top:

You have a beige toned matte.

A yellow toned matte.

A sheeny beige highlight shade.

And then a full on icy shimmery white baked highlight which didn’t take too kindly to me taking pictures of it some reason :p

On the bottom:

A matte mid toned brown.

A cool toned contour shade.

A more warm matte brown.

And finally a champagne shimmery baked highlight shade.

Here they all are together too.

All of the powders are pigmented and soft to the touch.

They blend onto the skin easily and I have had no problem with lasting power either. I use the yellow tone under my eyes to help counteract darkness, and the beige toned matte powder over the top to neutralise the colour. This is a great shade for cleaning up your contour too, or just as a general all over setting powder. I use the cool toned brown shade in the middle to contour and then for me, the others brown colours are more for warming up my skin, although I actually tend to use these more on my eyes as eyeshadows. I love using the highlights in the palette as eyeshadows as well as using them for highlighting the face.

Overall, the Makeup Revolution Ultra Contour Palette gets a big thumbs up from me. I get so much use from it.

I got mine from Superdrug here in Dublin and it cost me €9.99, but you can also buy it online from the Makeup Revolution website here or from the Superdrug website here.

Now I just need to pick up the Nyx version to compare them 😛

xxx

April 8, 2016/2 Comments/by Gem

Posts