How To Make Your Own Lip Palette 💄

Hey guys!

So today's post is a bit different and it's a step by step guide of how to make your own lip palette. I find this to be an extremely productive way to make use of old, almost empty lipsticks. It's a fab way to use up the ends of them but in a way that takes up a lot less space than having a ton of almost empty lipstick bullets. I made mine using all Mac lipsticks that had under half a lipstick left, so that gives the added advantage of being able to bring the empty bullets Back to Mac to get a new lipstick!

So to make a lip palette you will need:

Lipsticks

A knife and a spoon

A lighter

Empty pans

A Z palette 

The brand 'Z palette' is available on beauty bay and that's where I get My empty pans and palettes, the pans are around €6 for 20 and the palettes range from €10-€18. You can find them here - 

http://www.beautybay.com/zpalette/

Step 1 - Chop the top off your lipstick. Make sure to get all the product out of the bullet, as there is actually tons of lipstick beneath the visible end of the lipstick. Place the product on the spoon.

Step 2 - Heat the bottom of the spoon using a lighter, making sure to heat the whole surface of the spoon and not just the part under the lipstick. The lipstick immediately begins to liquidise. 

Step 3 - Pour the liquidised lipstick into the empty pan carefully. The under part of the spoon becomes charred and black, this wipes off easily so make sure the wipe it off to avoid getting black particles in your pan.

Let the pan cool and then place it in your palette! Voila, the lipstick solidifies again and is completely usable with a lip brush. This method is so simple and is a fun way to store your lipsticks! Hope you guys enjoyed this post, let me know if you make your own!

Caoimhe x

Flawless Brush Review

Hey guys!

So I'm currently in the middle of my final exams for college - as in each one I do gets me that little bit closer to my degree. I'm up to my eyeballs in chemistry and so I thought it'd be nice to procrastinate a little bit and do a new post! Today I'm going to do a little review on the Flawless brush set. I picked this up in a local pharmacy just before Christmas because I needed some new face brushes and when I saw the price - I couldn't leave them there. The set is €25 and you get 6 high quality brushes and a makeup bag for that. Ridiculous! 

In the set you get 3 large brushes and 3 small ones. So I'll start off by talking about the large, face brushes. From the first time I used them, I have been obsessed. The one at the top of the picture is my faaaaaaaavourite, as you can see as its a bit more stained than the others. It's a flat headed brush with thick, artificial hairs and is quite like the Blank Canvas F20 which is €14.99 on its own. This brush is an absolute God-send for buffing foundation into the skin and when I use it I know that my foundation is going to be even and flawless for the day. The other two face brushes are an angled version of the first (just as spectacular but more of a back-up for me) and a thick, pointed brush. This brush is ideal for placing and setting concealer under the eyes, on the chin etc.

Next up are the small brushes which may be used as eye brushes or as detail brushes for the face. They are quite chunky so they're not ideal for fine detail on the eyes, but they're fab for blending shadows together or buffing one shade all over the lid. They may also be used on the face to buff in concealer in hard to reach areas! All of the brushes wash amazingly with no hairs falling out etc. You also get this cute makeup bag with the set which is identical to the bags that Mac released with their Christmas 2014 collection. Overall I think for €25 you cannot go wrong with this brush set, the quality is outstanding and such good value too.

You can purchase the brush set here - http://www.simplyfoxy.com/beauty/flawless-cosmetic-brush-bag-set/

Or at pharmacies nationwide!

Thanks so much for reading,

Caoimhe X 

January Beauty Buys - Part One

Hello!

So after a whopping 6 month break from blogging I am back! I've just been so busy, I'm now in my 4th and final year of college so I'm flat out.. But recently I've been wanting to get back to blogging. As my first post in 2016 I thought I'd do some recent beauty buys. I know it's right after Christmas and I probably shouldn't be buying so much makeup but I got a wee bit caught up in the sales, with up to 30% off how could you say no?? This is part one of my beauty buys for January because I am expecting a few more deliveries (oops) so I'll probably do a part two at the end of the month!

So first up I put in a little order on www.fuschia.ie . They were having 30% off everything after Christmas and I thought I'd treat myself. I hadn't tried Fuschia much before, but my mam got me some bits at Christmas and I am loving them so far. The packaging is gorgeous and I also love that they are an Irish brand. I got a sample of the moisture foundation in a gift set and I really liked it so I picked up the full size (€25) in the shade Buff. I also picked up a fluffy blending brush (€12.95) because I needed a good one. The hairs are natural and I haven't used it much but I will let you know how I get on! Next I got the Fuschia Try it Kit which I cannot recommend enough. The kit is €39 and you get 3g pots of their mineral foundation and translucent setting powder, along with a kabuki brush to apply and a sample of their mineral glow blush. I am loving both powders so far and am using them both on a daily basis. I just think this little kit is fab for trying out the products without investing right away. The full size mineral foundation (10g) is €45 on its own which is quite a lot if you weren't even sure if you like it yet!

So finally from Fuschia I got 5 individual pan eyeshadows, my mam got me the Fuschia Z palette for Christmas so I figured I may as well fill it up! The pans are €5.50 each which is incredible value for the quality. The shades I got (above) are Bisque, Butterscotch, Leah, Chinchilla and Oh My Orange (my personal fave)

Next up I put in an order at Meaghers Pharmacy ( www.meagherspharmacy.ie) and I picked up theBalm Mary Lou Manizer which was only about €16 in their sale! It's sold out now but the Betty Lou Manizer was still on sale last time I checked! I got this purely because of the hype around it and the bargain price. Then I got Nyx Tame and Frame brow pomade in the shade (Espresso) and a high voltage lipstick in the shade Stone. I hadn't tried either of these before so picked them up and am loving them so far. When you put in an order on Meaghers they also offer 15% off your next order when you review your bought product, and they have amazing brands
like Nyx, Glamglow and Bioderma in stock.

Finally I placed an order at Inglot, they were having 10% off on St. Stephen's Day and I couldn't resist. I picked up Inglot duraline, which I have been wanting for ages. I wanted it for my gel liners to prevent them from drying up, but have since seen tons of other uses for it. Duraline is €12, and it's a polymer liquid product which basically keeps your eyeliner fluid and makes anything you use with it last all day. It can be used to enhance pigments etc. I then picked up two lipsticks from the Black Swan collection in shades 436 (grey) and 437 (black). I am such a sucker for an unusual lipstick, I know I'm not going to get tons of use of them but I just love having unique colours in my collection and actually the grey one is quite wearable! Finally I got a set of travel brushes (€30) which includes 3 double-ended eye brushes and a cheek brush. These are the most adorable things ever, the whole case lying flat, opened is about the size of my hand. They are teeny tiny and perfect for popping in your handbag! 

So that's basically what I got! I can't wait to use all of these products more, and some of them are already firm favourites. Thanks so much for reading! Hopefully my next post will not take another six months! 😂

Caoimhe X 

Lipstick of the Week 💄

Hey guys!

I've been very quiet on the blog front lately so it seems like my last lipstick of the week was really recently... I haven't been feeling that well and my blog has suffered a bit! I have so many ideas, I'm going to get an idea notebook to contain them all! But it's just getting the motivation to write is the problem at the moment. However I am really excited to bring you guys this weeks lipstick!

It is a Mac lippie - yay! And it is a brand new shade called Real Redhead. This launched last Wednesday as part of the Mac is Beauty collection. There are 12 lipsticks in the collection in total, I picked up a few and there will be a full post on that collection coming soon! It is limited edition, but it's brand new to Brown Thomas counters and it's not in a special packaging so these are going to be around for a little while!

So I wandered into Brown Thomas last Thursday, it hadn't been a great day and I needed a pick-me-up. And I got one! The whole Mac shop had been transformed into a pink and girly paradise with Grease songs playing in the background, in honour of the collection. I swatched all of the 12 lipsticks on my hand and then I had to narrow it down. Every shade is beautiful, but a lot of them are quite dupeable. The only lipstick that really spoke to me was this one, Real Redhead.

The colour is so difficult to describe, but it's a warm, coppery/bronze toned lipstick and it is simply beautiful. To a lot of people this might not look like anything special but this colour on the lips is so natural and healthy looking, I can't get enough. I love these kinds of earthy shades on the lips. This lipstick is a lustre finish but it has great colour coverage that really lasts, even when the sheen of the lipstick is gone.

I am on the bus home as I write this but I just took a few cheeky snaps of the lipstick on me! I think it is just so natural and wearable, I will more than likely pick up another one of these before they go out of stock.

Like I said I will be doing a full post on the Mac is Beauty collection very soon so expect to hear more about this guy then! Have any of you guys tried the lipsticks yet? Mac lipsticks are €19.50 and of course available from Brown Thomas in store and online. Treat yourselves!

Thanks for reading guys,

Caoimhe x

Lush Review: Love Lettuce Face Mask

Hey guys! 

So I've decided to start doing a Lush feature on my blog every week now to review and talk about one product. I adore Lush, particularly their skincare products and I am constantly trying out new bits in there so I really want to start sharing that on my blog. I have 7 or 8 products on the go at the minute (seems excessive but they are all very necessary). I thought about grouping them together to talk about so like face masks together, cleansers together - but I feel like individual reviews would help people get to know the product better.

I only discovered Lush in about February. I do have acne prone skin and at that time it was the worst it had been. I used to only get breakouts on my forehead but it had spread so my entire mouth was affected and I looked like a had a beard of spots. Gross, but if you have acne you'll understand! It's really depressing when even the best foundations don't cover your bumpy skin, so I headed to Lush in search of a miracle. I haven't looked back since.

So the first Lush product I want to review and feature is the Love Lettuce face mask. I've used a few of the fresh face masks but this is my most recent one, I've been using it two to three times a week for the past month. Admittedly I didn't buy this myself, my boyfriend got it for me. He went in to get my beloved Angels on Bare Skin cleanser and the sales guy told him this was the face mask equivalent. 

Love Lettuce actually contains no lettuce, it's just green as you can see in the photo. It does contain, however, skin loving ingredients such as almond shells (a natural exfoliant), almond oil (to soften the skin), lavender oil (a soothing disinfectant to fight spots) and Fullers Earth (an ingredient I had not heard of before but is said to tighten pores). The mask smells of lavender and so is very calming. A little goes a long way with this mask, the 75g pot provided me with over 10 uses maybe upto 12 or 15 which is plenty for the whole month. If you're familiar with Lush you will know that all of their products are natural and have an expiry date. The face masks are made with fresh ingredients, must be stored in the fridge and expire within about 4 weeks - so you gotta use them up fast! This is not a problem for me as they are a joy to use.

The mask went on easily and spread evenly on my face. It dried for the 10 minutes I left it on each time but not in the way that a clay mask does - your face is still comfortable and movable. Despite the thick, rough consistency the mask is actually really easy to wash off. On the addition of water it melts away, leaving the almond shells until last so they give your skin a soft but effective exfoliant. The results are apparent immediately, but even more so the following morning. The natural oils in this mask leave your skin so soft and nourished that it naturally glows. The first time I used this mask, I was shocked with my skins appearance the next morning and my family members all commented on how much better it looked. It soothes angry spots to reduce redness, and evens out your overall skin tone.

This fresh face mask is recommended for normal to oily skin types and having oily skin myself, I can affirm that it balanced out my oiliness and left me glowing. I will re-purchase this face mask, I think it is a good one for skin maintenance. There are other things I would use if I had a really bad breakout, but this is a great skin conditioner and perfect for everyday use.

I hope you guys enjoyed this review! What is your favourite Lush face mask? 

Caoimhe x

Lipstick of the Week 💄

Hey guys!

So I haven't been blogging that much this week. I'm currently getting two wisdom teeth and I'm suffering terribly with them, I may have to get them removed! So I've been feeling a bit miserable and sorry for myself. But I'm back today with my lipstick of the week and today's is an absolute bargain!

I already did a mini swatch and review blog post on this and some other Essence lipsticks so you can check that out if you're interested! I also featured it in this haul video -  https://youtu.be/dlxii2oo0GM

But all my previous mentions of it were before I got to properly try it out. I have worn this almost every day the past week, including on two nights out! It is an Essence long lasting lipstick in the shade Barely There. 

I wear this lipstick sometimes on its own and sometimes with Essence's Satin Mauve lip liner (Mac Soar dupe). I am honestly so impressed not only with the colour of this lipstick but with the quality of it. It was €2.89 in Penneys and it lasts for 6-8 hours on me without re-applying. The formula is creamy but appears as a matte finish, without being drying. This lipstick reminds me a lot of Mac Faux which I also featured as lipstick of the week! What can I say? I love a good pink/brown nude for my everyday look.

This lipstick is such a favourite of mine at the moment and I will definitely be re-purchasing it if I use it all up. For €2.89 I think everyone should pick this up for the perfect everyday colour.

Thanks so much for reading guys!

Caoimhe x

Wet & Wild's Summer Launch Party

Hi guys!

So last night I went to my first ever event as a blogger, eek! I didn't expect to get this post written so soon but the past few days in work have been completely dead for me. The event was the launch of Wet & Wild's Summer makeup range, they had some new products and some old favourites in new shades.

So I was super nervous to go, as this was my first ever event and I didn't know what to expect. I also arrived alone which I think is a bit nerve-wrecking even for the most experienced of bloggers. The even took place at a cute little studio on Bond Street in Dublin 8. A lot of people had trouble finding the location, but I actually work on the next street over so for me it was perfect! From the outside the location looked like an old warehouse, but inside the furnishings were modern and chic. The event room was decorated beautifully in a tropical theme and you could tell that a lot of effort had been put in to make this event perfect! The lighting, music and decorations were all perfect and the atmosphere was so inviting and fun. The DJ actually deserves a special mention because girl every song that came on made me want to dance! I didn't, for everyone's sake.

I arrived promptly at 6 and for the first half an hour I just walked around, swatching lipsticks, taking a few photos and generally being awkward. I soon settled in though and got chatting to some other bloggers who had also never been to events! Everyone was so friendly, I only wish I could have talked to more people - but there's always next time! As you can see from the picture there were super cute cupcake shaped refreshments and drinks were flowing on the night too. 

The makeup itself was stunning, with a clear theme of colour running through the Summer collection. Much to my excitement, they have added new summer colours to the Megalast lipstick range (see my last post for my lipstick of the week ft. Megalast). They had a stand with just about every Wet & Wild product and I literally wanted every lipstick on there. At €2.99 a pop I think I will have to invest! There were also new nail varnish shades, new mascara formulations and some totally new products including a primer and most importantly - brow products! The girls from Publicity Loft were really friendly and helpful and informed us about all the exciting new pieces!

At the end of the night we received a super generous Wet & Wild goodie bag featuring both old and new products. I couldn't believe how jam-packed they were. I will definitely be filming a haul and swatch video on these bits so keep an eye out for that! I actually have none of the items that I got in my goodie bag so I am thrilled to bits with everything.

 

Overall I can say that I really enjoyed my first brand event. Like I said, I wish I could have socialised more but I think that will get easier as I go along! I want to say a big thank you to Wet & Wild and to Publicity Loft for organising such an amazing event and for having me! I couldn't believe the generousity and the effort that went into this event and I only hope my next event will live up to this!

Keep your eyes peeled for a video featuring all of my new Wet & Wild bits and thanks for reading guys!

Caoimhe x