No7 Beautifully Matte Foundation Review

Hey guys!

I'm writing this post on my phone today so it may look a bit different! I just wanted to review this foundation I have been using for the past month, as I've just re-purchased a new bottle of it. It's the No7 Beautifully Matte foundation, and I've been using it as my daily foundation when I'm in work. I was previously using a different No7 foundation, Essentially Natural, which I will also review as I've gone through about 10 bottles of it and I adore it.. However, the lab I am working on at the moment is experiencing difficulties with the AC. It's basically like a greenhouse, if the sun shines at all its above 30 degrees. The EN foundation is light/medium coverage and so even with a matte powder I found that this was just sliding right off my face and by the end of the day I was a hot mess. So I went looking for something with a similarly natural finish, but a bit more staying power. 

I decided to stick with No7 because all of their products are so kind to skin, they're hypoallergenic and I've never had a major breakout while using their foundations. As you can see on the box for the BM foundation it's recommended for normal/oily skin and claims to keep you matte and covered for up to 14 hours. The back of the box also boasts that this foundation will give you a natural look, absorb oil, keep you shine free, moisturise dry areas, cover pores and also contains anti-acne super ingredient salicylic acid which acts as an anti-bacterial. Sounds perfect right?

First off the packaging is great. The metallic box is fab, and the bottle comes with its own built in pump. I've included photos of my almost finished bottle and the full one, as you can see you can see how much foundation is left and as you use it, the product gets pushed up the tube ensuring that you get to use all of it. I think this is great because, for example, with Mac foundations the pump you put on yourself never quite reaches the bottom and I always feel like a lot of product goes to waste. The bottle is 30ml which is standard enough I think but I went through it in no time, 4 weeks I think using it almost everyday.

So they recommend you apply this with your hands or a damp sponge, it's up to you really. I also applied this using a real Techniques buffing brush and it turned out great too. I found the foundation had the best finish when I just used moisturiser underneath (I use Garnier Moisture Match for oily/combination skin, the green one). I used it with Benefits Porefessional one day and for some reason I just found the foundation didn't perform as well. 

In the first picture above, AKA my scariest selfie ever! (I literally woke up like that and had not even brushed my hair haha) I've applied one layer of the foundation to half of my face. As you can see I've got blemishes pretty much everywhere (cheeks, chin, forehead), giving me quite an uneven skin tone. But as you'll notice, on the side of my face that's covered my skin appears 10 times smoother, softer and more even. The coverage on this foundation is buildable so on areas where I don't need that much coverage I'll leave one layer, but on areas where I'm especially broke out I'll add another layer. The next photos show the finished product, the only other face products I used were the Stay Time concealer by Seventeen under my eyes to highlight and Mac Bao Bao Wan Summer Opal powder under my cheekbones. I did not conceal any of my spots or add any kind of extra coverage. As you can see there is the odd bump on my skin where I do have spots but the colour is completely even. The final picture is me at lunchtime in work, the foundation had set completely to give a gorgeous, soft, even finish and still looked flawless after 6 hours.

Overall this product is amazing and I would give it a 10/10 there's nothing I don't like about it. Once it sets it is literally there for the day! It provides full coverage without looking cakey, it blends easily and gives a really natural looking finish. I do suffer with my skin a lot and this foundation actually soothes it, it dries up angry spots and causes no aggrevation at all. It is available nationwide at Boots and is €17.50, the shade I use is called Cool Vanilla.

Bit of a lengthy review but at least it's informative, right? Let me know what you thought of it, if you've tried this foundation etc and don't forget to follow me on Instagram!

Thanks so much,

Caoimhe x

Nyx Butter Gloss review

Hey guys!

So for my first proper post I am going to be reviewing the Nyx Butter Glosses (pictured below). Nyx are quite new to Ireland but everyone is just going crazy for them, including me. They are completely cruelty free, affordable and high quality. I will more than likely review more of their products, particularly their lip pencils which are up there with Mac lip pencils!

So the three shades that I have are Red Velvet, Tiramisu and Devils Food Cake. I got these three in a gift set together but they are available to buy separately also! Okay so let me just get right to it and tell you that these glosses are a-may-zing. They're called glosses but they are nothing like the sticky ones that your hair gets stuck to on a windy day. No, these are a law unto themselves. Now honestly I haven't worn the two darker ones as much as I should have, but my Tiramisu is literally empty. It looks quite dark I think from looking at the tube but it is my perfect 'your lips but better colour'. I put this on at the end of the day when I'm a bit tired, on my way home from work and my other lipstick has worn off.. and it's an instant pick-me-up. It adds instant colour and just a healthy glow to my face. That's the only way I can describe how it looks on, healthy. I will 110% be re-purchasing this gloss in this exact shade. I keep it in my handbag all the time and for 7 odd euro I just don't think you can go wrong.

I have swatched all of the glosses and as you can see they get a 10/10 for pigmentation. You could wear them to enhance a lipstick or on their own as a nice alternative to lipstick, Like I said before they don't feel sticky, they literally do feel like butter on your lips they just melt and are really beautiful. All the shades are named after desserts and they smell like them too they smell like strawberry yumminess. The only slight downside I would say is that they don't last terribly long on your lips. They come off right away when you eat, due to their slidey nature, and if you're not eating and are just going about your daily business they last about an hour. That particularly goes for Tiramisu, because it's such a natural colour it just disappears. The others may leave a slight colour stain for longer.

Overall I would give this product a 9/10, they really are gorgeous and although they don't last too long they're a joy to apply again and again.

Now, where can you buy Nyx in Ireland? For anyone who doesn't know, they are available online at Sam McAuley chemists who deliver nationwide! They are also available in store in Hickeys pharmacies, there's one of those bad boys on Henry street right across from Lush and they've got every colour. Nyx is also available in Clery's on O'Connell street but they currently only stock eye products.. Bit weird in my opinion, but hey it's better than nothing. So don't go looking for these in there!

That's all for now, let me know if you have tried any of these, what shades you like etc. Also I may add lip swatches, let me know what you'd like to see and follow me on Instagram to see more Nyx! Thanks guys,
Caoimhe x

Welcome to my blog!

Hello there! 

My name is Caoimhe and I just wanted to introduce you guys a little bit to my blog. This isn't my first time blogging, I started up a fashion blog last Summer and loved it! However, I stopped blogging due to personal reasons. But lately I've been itching to blog again although this time I'm wanting to focus more on beauty. That's not to say there won't be the odd fashion post, I am a shopaholic Topshop princess and I probably won't be able to resist sharing my splurges hehe.

I am 21 years old, from Ireland and I'm currently in my 3rd year of college/uni studying chemistry. I love what I do and I am a self-confessed nerd, I love to learn.. But I also love makeup and shopping and am a true girly girl! I've always liked makeup, what girl doesn't.. But have developed more of a love and interest for it since coming out my teens. The main reason for this is at 19, I believe I finally hit puberty. My teen years were fab for me to be honest, I was a size 6, regular gym goer, healthy eater, non-makeup wearing girlo.. Life was perfect. But that all changed when I was 19, I started developing hips so none of my cute wee clothes fit anymore, and I also developed mild cystic acne.

 At the time this was a disaster, I'd always had perfect skin and didn't worry that much about looking after myself but all of a sudden everything I ate or put on my face was making me break out or gain weight. I thought I'd been lucky enough to avoid such disasters, but I was wrong. It's been two years now and I'm finally getting a grip on controlling my breakouts and weight. I also have approximately 73234897 food intolerances, including wheat gluten, lactose, lamb, onions, spices... Which complicates things even more. I used to be great for avoiding such foods but when you're in college and all your friends are getting McDonalds.. Its not really that fun to be like 'Oh sorry guys I'm double cheeseburger intolerant'. I stopped taking care of myself and ended up stressed, broke out and 30 lbs heavier. Buuuuuuut I'm on the other side of that now, I'm learning what does and doesn't work for my skin and also resisting the urge to stuff my face with donuts. Because of my skin issues I had to learn about applying makeup properly, proper skincare and eating right.. So I thought it'd be fun to share what I've learned on a blog!

I will hopefully be doing some posts on looking after your skin, but I'm also hoping to do lots of fun ones about just makeup! My vice is Mac lipsticks I have about 75 and it still isn't enough! So if you're interested please give my stuff a read, I'm even considering starting up a youtube channel to go with so I can swatch my lovely lipsticks and just gush about them in general.. So let me know what you think feel free to drop comments etc I'd be delighted to hear from you :)

Thanks guys! Don't forget to follow me on instagram @caoimhehand for loads of makeup related posts :D

Caoimhe x