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Affordable Beauty Favourites CurrentlyI’m back with some affordable beauty favourites.

I have here six products that are currently in heavy rotation in both my makeup and skincare routines. And they all fall under the affordable beauty umbrella. My last version of this post is here if you fancy seeing what made the cut.

Affordable Beauty Favourites Currently

All the makeup products are reasonably new to me. The skincare, I’ve been using for quite a while.

First up we have the new product to me in the bunch the Elf Shimmer Highlighting Powder in Pearl Glow.

Elf Highlighter

Elf can definitely be a hit or miss brand for me. Well let’s face it, most brands can be hit or miss. But I’ve owned Elf products in the past that I’ve adored and some that made their was straight to the bin. This highlighter falls into the adore category. I’ve been wearing it everyday since I got it. It’s a really soft blendable powder with a pearly gold shimmer.

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Really nice for pale gals like myself 🙂 Elf is now available in Superdrug, certain Penneys stores and an abundance of pharmacies here in Ireland. You can also buy from their UK website here.

My second current affordable beauty favourite is the L’Oréal Paradise Extatic Mascara. L'Oréal Paradise mascaraThis is a weird one for me because if I didn’t have my lashes lifted, this mascara wouldn’t have really gotten a look in from me.

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Generally my straight lashes need a waterproof formula. But as they are currently chemically curled, this has been my jam! The brush is huge and it does clump a little. But, it also gives really nice length and volume. If you have semi decent lashes naturally, this is a really nice mascara.

You can find it on the Boots website here.

Thirdly, we have the Catrice Ultimate Matt Lipstick in From Rose With Love. catrice makeup irelandVisually these lippies are so cool. The bullet is completely matte!
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They have a really nice smooth long lasting formula as well though. I am not just digging them for the bullet 🙂 This colour is just me in a lipstick. I am a mauve whore and this feeds my habit completely. I have been gravitating towards this so much since I got it.

Number four is a makeup brush. I picked up what I could find of the new Primark/Penneys PS Pro makeup brush range. This particular one came in a pack of two that cost €4.

Penneys Makeup Brushespenneys ps pro brushes

It’s called the 236. It’s a dome shaped blending brush. It is small but soft and fluffy. I love it for applying colour softly in the crease. I am super impressed with these brushes so far.

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primark ps pro makeup brushes

My last faves come as a combo for me. The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% and the Advanced Retinoid 2%.

the ordinary retinoidI feel like I can’t review them singularly because I alternate between the two.

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At 32 now, I am doing some major ageing prevention in skincare form at least. Retinol is the way to go if you are looking to do this. I use this every second night in my skincare routine and my skin has been really enjoying it. Also, it’s only €9.80 from the Deciem website here.

When I don’t use the retinol, I use The Ordinary Hyaluronic 2% + B5.

the ordinary hyaluronic acid

Hyaluronic Acid can apparently attract 1000 times its weight in water. It’s great for hydration and helping in plumping the skin.

irish beauty siteWhat I love about this is that it doesn’t feel heavy, but still feels like it’s moisturising the skin. I generally use it conjunction with an night moisturiser or a face oil. This is again available from their website here.

And… I’ll stop waffling.

xxx

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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?

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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.

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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 🙂

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As always thanks for stopping, I really appreciate it.

Gemma

xxx

 

I wouldn’t be Irish and the occasion would not be marked if I didn’t at least attempt a St Patrick’s Day Makeup Look.

St Patrick's Day Makeup

I am a big fan of green eyeshadow, so for me this is something I would wear anytime honestly. But we will call it St Patrick’s Day makeup because it fits the bill too 🙂 As always I am not a makeup artist, so this is just something really simple and easy to achieve, but hopefully fun at the same time too!

Green eyeshadow makeup look

I did a St Patrick’s Day makeup look last year, when I first set up my YouTube channel here. This is full on green. I thought this year, I would make it a little more subtle, but still festive at the same time. Think of it like your own makeup, that you are comfortable with, just with a hint of Paddy thrown in 🙂

St Patrick's Day Makeup

As always, you can watch the video by clicking on it above, or directly on my Youtube channel here.

I used a mixture of the Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics palette which I have all the details on here. I used some Makeup Geek shadows, which you can buy online here. And, of course some Mac shadows that you can buy from Brown Thomas online here. The Kiko cream eyeshadow stick is directly from Kiko here.

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Of course I use and name an abundance of other products. If you have any questions about any of them, just let me know in the comments below. You know I love to talk makeup any time 🙂

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As always, thanks for taking the time to click in. Have a brilliant St Patrick’s Day whatever you get up too. I think my own this year will be pretty low key, but I am very much looking forward to it. There is always such a lovely atmosphere 🙂

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Gemma

xxx

 

My first official video of 2017 comes in the form of my Makeup Favourites for the year gone by.

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I thought rather than just show you my makeup favourites, I would show you them in action too. I picked my most used products and created a really simple ‘me’ look that I usually end up doing when I don’t know what to do. Some of the products were new in 2016, some were new to me for the year and then some are just favourites that I always gravitate towards because I know they work.

Makeup Favourites 2016

I’ve written blogposts for a hell of alot of these, so I’ll try list as many as I can in case you want to know more about a specific product.

  • Hylamide HA Blur Primer. Review here.
  • L’Oréal Infallible 24HR Matte Foundation. Review here.
  • Nyx Micro Brow Pencil. Review here.
  • theBalm Put A Lid On It Eyeshadow Primer. Review here.theBalm Put A Lid On It Eyelid Primer
  • Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics Palette. Post here.
  • Sleek Diamond In The Rough Palette. Blog post about it here.
  • Catrice Glam & Doll Waterproof Mascara. Review here.
  • Too Faced Born This Way Concealer. I have a review here.
  • Wet n Wild Dual Ended Contour Stick. First impression video is here.
  • Max Factor Creme Puff Blush in ‘Nude Mauve’. I have a comparison post here.
  • Nyx Highlight and Contour Palette. First impressions and swatches here.
  • Kevyn Aucoin Sculpting Powder in Medium. I have a really old review of it here.
  • L’Oréal Infallible Fixing Mist. Review here.
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Phew, I think that’s everything 🙂

In the video here, you’ll see me using everything, but the finished look, looks a bit like this. I think it definitely sums up my go to makeup favourites for 2016. And, I do love a good before and after picture!

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I say it in video form too, but just to write it down too. Thank you so much for everything over the year. Beautynook (and myself) grew up alot over 2016. I am excited to see what 2017 has in store. Thanks for sticking around.

Gemma

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xxx

 

As I am writing this we are in Kinsale for a couple of days. I thought I would bring my camera with me and film my November favourites.

November Favourites

You can see I brought my ring light too and it gave me somewhat of a halo as it is reflecting off of the picture behind me. Apologies! but sure if the halo fits and all that 🙂

My November favourites consist mostly of makeup with a couple of random things thrown in for good measure.

November Favourites

If you follow me on social media, you know I have begun a bit of a gym journey. I am enjoying it. However the results are slow ( I do like my grub) 🙂 My earphones have become a necessity in my life. So, I had to include them.

My House Of Harlow Sunburst earrings have appeared in my favourites before. I just get so much wear out of them though. I’ve definitely got my monies worth! I thought it was ok to include them again since it was a couple of years since they made an appearance 🙂

I have used the Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics Palette probably everyday of November, so it was a no brainer that I would include in my November Favourites. I have a full review of it here if you want to see it in action.

The L’Oréal True Match Foundation has made its way onto my face on a daily basis over the course of November. I have a full review and all the deets on it here.

The Kiko Longlasting Eyeshadow Sticks are just awesome. I am a huge fan and they are so affordable. You can get them on the Kiko website here.

And then finally we have the Colourpop Créme Gel Pencil in ‘Get Paid’. You can get it from their website here.

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And that’s my November Favourites done 🙂 Happy December….roll on Christmas!!!!!

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Have you had any faves this month?

xxx

I know it’s a tad early, but Christmas is only a few weeks away now. I am a big fan of Santy season, I’ll take any excuse to talk about it here on Beautynook 🙂 I haven’t done a Get Ready With Me style video in a while so, I thought I would start the season off with a Festive Makeup GRWM 🙂

festive makeup get ready with me

I reckon I can call it festive makeup because I added some Christmas music over it and used a bit of sparkle.

I did speed the video up, but I edited very little of it out, so this is my makeup pretty much from start to finish, just 4 times as fast. I was going out that night so I did apply a fair bit of slap, but sure we’re all makeup lovers here, right? 🙂

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Some of the main products I used were:

  • Dermalogica Hydra Blur Primer.
  • L’Oreal Infallible 24 HR Matte (full review here). Mixed with the L’Oreal True Match Foundation.
  • Nyx Micro Brow Pencil (full review here).
  • Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer with the Too Faced Born This Way one over top.
  • theBalm Put A Lid On It Eyeshadow Primer (review here).
  • WetnWild Dual Ended Contour Stick (Video on this here).
  • Too Faced Merry Macaron Palette.
  • Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics Palette (Post on this here).
  • Fairydrops Scandal Queen Waterproof Mascara (Review here).
  • Hourglass Mood Exposure Blush. (You can see it swatched here).
  • theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer (Review here).
  • L’Oreal Infallible Fixing Mist. (Review here).

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Anything I missed and you are curious about, just ask 🙂 As always, you can watch the video above by just clicking on it. Or head over to my YouTube channel here to watch my festive makeup get ready with me video there.

As always thanks for taking the time to click. I personally love watching these types of videos as well as making them myself.

Happy Christmas….countdown 🙂

xxx