travel Archives - Irish Beauty Blog Beautynook

Travel Vlog Budapest

If you hadn’t seen all over my Instagram at the time, I went to Budapest a few weeks ago with the lovely sisters known online as @itscherrysue and @stonetravel Corrina is the absolute QUEEN of travel and had gotten this awesome weekend in Budapest for €200 including flights, accommodation and transfers. Not bad at all, right? So, you bet your ass, I jumped in on their little getaway and sure I even managed to fit a little travel vlog in while we were there 🙂

I’ve done a couple of travel vlogs now. There’s one of Brussels here and Malta here. I still find it weird to pull out the camera on people and myself so just be aware of that. There is a lot of musical montage going on 🙂

We stayed in the Burg Hotel. It was pretty old fashioned, but it was clean and super cheap. It was easily accessible too and the view was lovely! As bad hotels go, I would recommend it for sure. We did a city tour bus and got to see a lot of the amazing architecture that way. It also meant we got a free trip on the Danube too, which was absolutely gorgeous and well worth doing.

We ate some super tasty Japanese food the first day we were there. And then we sampled some of the local cuisine before we went home. You can see that in full in the travel vlog. I have to be honest, I wouldn’t say I’m a huge fan of Hungarian cuisine.

We had a pretty chilled weekend to be fair. Had a drink or two, soaked in the views.

And finished things off with a trip to the House Of Terror Museum. If you want to know the history of Budapest, it’s a must! The Baths were on the agenda, but as I explain in the vlog, it just wasn’t meant to be. Next time for sure!

Thanks to the girls for letting me tag along on their trip, I appreciate it no end! Let me know what you think of the travel vlog. I’m a beauty blogger at heart, but it’s nice to mix it up every now and again.

Gemma

xxx

April 5, 2019/by Gem

Lifestyle, Youtube Video

Travel Vlog Malta

I took some (very amateur) snippets of travel footage while myself, John, my mam and my brother were in Malta. It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these, right? As you’ve probably seen me mention a couple of times on Instagram stories, my mam isn’t very well, so we’re trying to make some lasting memories with her. She’s been to Malta a few times over the years and loved it. I thought it would be fun for us all to go together on a little family trip.

I booked the flights for next to nothing on Ryanair a couple of weeks before we went. It’s off season so they we super cheap.

So was the Airbnb, although as I say in the vlog, I wouldn’t recommend where we stayed, so I didn’t show much of it. It was grand for how we used it and how much it cost in January. The location was great too. We stayed in St Julian, the apartment was close to lots of bus stops and had plenty of amenities close by.

As I mentioned this holiday was more for my mam, and she loves shopping. We spent most of it waiting outside of shops for her 🙂 We did do a little exploring and lots of eating and drinking in between though.

Malta is a beautiful place. We managed to travel to Valletta, Sliema and Gozo, (which is an Island), within our week there. It’s a reasonably small country so it doesn’t take too long to get from one place to another.

The architecture is beautiful and the cathedrals in particular will blow your mind. I never thought I would get up close to masterpieces from the artist Caravaggio. I actually studied some of his paintings in school, so it was amazing to learn more about him and see some of his works in real life.

Overall, our trip to Malta was a memorable one. The food, the views and the people are all brilliant. It is pretty chilly there if you travel in January, that’s something to be mindful of. You automatically think of it as a warm country. We will 100% will be back, to do even more exploring.

Let me know what you think of the travel vlog. Is it worth me doing more of them in the future?

xxx

February 6, 2019/by Gem

Lifestyle, Youtube Video

Vlog: Brussels & Bruges

It’s been a while since I uploaded a vlog! We live at home at the minute ie: with the parentals, so it’s not really something I’m too comfortable with doing here. We’ve been trying to do it when we’ve something on or we’re away though.

John secretly likes it and it gives me practice with the camera and talking to the camera in front of him and strangers! I’m still not too great with it, but baby steps and all that 🙂

So if you didn’t know we went to Brussels for John’s birthday for a couple of days. He is majorly into his craft beer, so where else would you be heading with a hobby like that, right?

I am also majorly into chips, waffles and chocolate, who isn’t? 🙂 It’s definitely the place to explore that too.

We were broke after Christmas, so this was predominately a more budget friendly trip. The flights were super cheap in the Ryanair sales and we booked a really affordable AirBnB. I do a little tour of it in the vlog here if you want to see it up close. It was a gem of a find!

If you want to see Brussels and we went to Bruges for the day too from a touristy perspective, this vlog is for you.
We just wandered around, taking in the beautiful buildings. And also eating and drinking what the cities had to offer.

We weren’t sure what to expect, but we had the best time. The people were lovely and considering they already speak two languages within the one country, their English is bloody brilliant. Also, their infrastructure makes it really easy to get around too. We went for two days, we could have easily had one more to take in even more sights and maybe go to a museum or two as well.

The shopping is pretty great in Brussels and Bruges, if that would tickle your fancy more. I managed a quick trip to Kiko, which I was pretty delighted about. I did a haul here if you fancy checking it out.

All in all we had the best time. I didn’t vlog everything just because I’m damn awkward, but hopefully you get a taste of what the cities have to offer.

Let me know what you think.

xxx

January 31, 2018/by Gem

Lifestyle, Makeup, Youtube Video

Weekend In Berlin With Essence Cosmetics

In case you don’t follow me on social media, here is a recap. Essence Cosmetics turned 15 this year. To celebrate, they had a big party in Berlin, Germany. And I was one of the lucky people who got to go. Four of us in total got to go from Ireland. May I add the other three ladies who were on the trip were absolute legends.

I decided to bring my camera to try and vlog my’ Weekend In Berlin With Essence Cosmetics’.

Like it was a no brainer that I had to at least try! It’s not everyday that a girl (ahem, woman) like me gets to have a weekend in Berlin with a makeup brand!

I am still new to this vlogging game. I’ve only ever done it once before with John here. On my own I can talk to the camera, but I am still pretty shy about pulling it out in front of other people…that’s what she said 🙂

So the vlog consists of everything we got up to with a smattering of me keeping you updated generally in the comforts of my hotel room 🙂

We stayed in the nhow hotel on the East side of Berlin, which is a really cool music themed hotel. The party itself was held in the Tempdrom Berlin, which is a pretty epic venue! We weren’t allowed bring cameras, but I did have my phone and managed to get a couple of clips of the joint. I’m sure if you follow me on Snapchat or Instagram, you got the feel of it though.

The next day we got some site seeing in which was awesome. I really wanted to visit Kiko while I was there, but all the shops close on Sunday. That was probably a good thing though in hindsight, because it meant I had more time to explore the city a little.

I honestly had the loveliest time and I hope you coming on my weekend in Berlin through video form 🙂 As always you can click on the video above to watch, or head directly to my YouTube channel here.

Thank you so so much to the Essence PR here in Ireland for inviting me and of course to all of you for tuning in!!

xxx

July 21, 2017/by Gem

Archives, Bargain Buying, Hair, Skincare, Tanning

Cocoa Brown Kind Range

Marissa and the Cocoa Brown team have gone and surprised us all with their four new arrivals. I am sure you have seen them all over your social media feeds, but here’s a closer look at the new Cocoa Brown Kind Range!

Marissa has begun the expansion of Cocoa Brown, it no longer just means tan and complimenting products….a new Cocoa Brown Kind Range era has started 🙂

It Continas contains shampoo, conditioner and a shower gel.

This Cocoa Brown Travel Set is our introduction into these with travel friendly 50ml bottles of the products. These will be released in full size bottles too!

They are all scented with the Tahitian gardenia scent which is now synonymous with Cocoa Brown with a hint of peach in there too. Cocoa Brown actually say the fragrance used in the products is so minimal that they didn’t technically even have to list the ingredients used on the tube, but they did which is nice. The Kind Range is derived from natural sources and contains coconut oil and fruit sugars. They are paraben,alcohol and formaldehyde free. Marissa herself suffers with dermatitis on her scalp so wanted to create and shampoo and conditioner that works for sensitive scalp and skin conditions. They’re also kind to coloured hair and extensions. An added bonus too, the products are ph neutral, so they won’t get interfere with your fake tanning!

The Cocoa Brown Kind Range Travel Set also contains their new Face & Body Self Tanning Wipes.

I was lucky enough to have lunch with Cocoa Brown yesterday to hear about (and of course receive) the new products. Marissa said upon talking to buyers of Cocoa Brown, there was a market for tanning wipes. So, she decided she wanted to release her own and do them right!

The wipes are said ‘to be an easy way to maintain your Cocoa Brown tan on the go’.

Marissa also made the point that when your travelling, the wipes won’t take up any of the liquid allowance in your luggage.

I will of course be giving all the products a go, so keep an eye on my social media to see how I get on. 🙂

So there you have it, the newest Cocoa Brown Kind Range in travel form. What do you think?

It’s available in Cocoa Brown stockists since yesterday the 7th of June, so you can get your hands on it and try for yourself. Cloud10beauty have it to buy online here. The set is priced at €7.95.

xxx

June 8, 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

Posts