Seventeen Stay Time Concealer

Long time no see! Hope you're all keeping well, I know - I've been a bad blogger! I don't have any excuses for my absence except that I've just been enjoying life and blogging has taken a backseat to all the things that are keeping me busy these days! Blogging is something I've always enjoyed though so here's hoping I can find some more time for it from now on! So, excuses out of the way, let's get down to business!

For some reason my nearest Boots does not have a Collection stand, which in my opinion is a crime, seeing as I have to travel to Dublin if I ever run out of my beloved Lasting Perfection Concealer. I had literally been scraping every last bit of my last tube of said concealer for months and was going out for drinks one night with the Mr, and I couldn't get any more out of the tube! I legged it to Boots in desperate need of concealer anything would have done so I ran to the Seventeen stand because I didn't fancy spending the guts of 15 euro on a concealer that I probably wouldn't like so I settled for Seventeen's Stay Time Concealer which only set me back €6.50 or so. I picked up the shade fair, and I have to say I have been pretty impressed with this concealer since the first use. 

The shade matches my pasty complexion perfectly, the concealer claims to be full coverage and I have to say that it covers blemishes really well even the biggest and angriest ones! I also use this under my eyes and it doesn't crease and covers the discolouration there pretty well too. Staying power is great it doesn't budge at all throughout the day, as for if it stays for up 18 hours like it claims to I'm unsure as I don't think I've ever worn it that long but I'd imagine that it could last that long as it is still perfectly intact when I go to remove my make up at the end of the day. I often wear this concealer alone with no foundation and just powder over the top and it covers everything brilliantly on its own without foundation. 

I absolutely love Collection's Lasting Perfection Concealer and it is still my absolute favourite but this offering from Seventeen comes seriously close to being just as good and is a great alternative if like me your nearest Boots doesn't have a Collection stand!

Do you have any recommendations for other great cheap high street/drugstore concealers? 

Seventeen Super Lash Liner

Seventeen Super Lash Liner

On a recent trip to Boots to buy a new mascara I saw a deal on Seventeen's new Super Lash Mascara where you get the Super Lash Liner for free when you buy it! So I picked up both the mascara and the liner for €5! 

I haven't used the mascara yet as i'm waiting for my current one to run out before I open it, but I have to say that i've been really enjoying the liner!

The Super Lash liner is a liquid liner in felt tip form - but with a difference! Instead of being a regular pointed felt tip, it's angled, which for me has made it easier to get closer to my lashes and also makes it easier to do flicks and cat eyes especially if like me you don't have the steadiest hand!

The shape may make application easier, but the liner itself is lovely. It's a nice deep black shade and the lasting power is impressive, it dosent budge but also removes easily enough when you want it to. It dosent fade or transfer throughout the day which is great if you have oily lids like I do! 

Overall I think this is a great liner, but I think you can only buy it with the mascara at the moment and not on its own. If you dont need to pick up a new mascara and just want the liner I have noticed that Rinmel and Bourjois have the same kind of liners out with the angled felt tip so there is plenty of choice out there until you can buy this without the offer!

Have you tried this or a similar liner? I'd love to hear your thoughts on it!

Affordable Neutral Palette Picks

I am without doubt, a neutral shadow lover. I own more neutral shadows than anything else, I cant get enough of them.

I have a good mix of higher end palettes along with high street palettes. (or what some would call drugstore) 

I use and love them all, I love some more than I love others. Surprisingly some of the cheaper options are favoured over the more expensive options. 
That's why i'm writing this post.
 There are so many neutral palettes being released, and the ones we're drawn towards are the pretty expensive higher end ones like Urban Decay's Naked Palettes, which are great, I own all of the Naked palettes, I adore them, but there are some pretty great cheaper highstreet/drugstore alternatives that are pretty great too.


Firstly, I wasn't sure if I was going to include them because people include them in the higher end side of things but Inglot has some awesome shadows. 

Inglot Freedom System Shadows L-R: 152,153,154

L-R:152, 153, 154,

Their freedom system is great you can buy an palette from them and pick out your eyeshadows from a huge selection of shades. 
If you're to buy the empty palette from them, it can get a bit more expensive, but if you own a z-palette or any magnetized palette already you dont have to buy the palette from them, meaning you can just pick up the eyeshadow pans alone and they're pretty cheap this way, I picked up 3 shadows a while back and I cant remember exactly but it came in at just over €15 for the 3 of them, which isn't terrible if you want a few great quality shadows that you can pick yourself without breaking the bank. 
These 3 Inglot shadows are some of the best shadows I own pigment and texture wise and I don't know why I don't use them, but writing this post and having to do swatches for them has made me realise how amazing they are again and now I have every intention of filling up the rest of my Z-palette with Inglot shadows, oops!

I've choosen 3 other good picks from cheaper brands, 2 palettes and one trio. 
The first palette is Sleek's Au Naturel Palette.

i've done a post on this in the past here, so I wont go into too much detail but for swatches you should look at that post. 
The Au Naturel palette is really versatile, great quality and you get 12 really nice shades in there from browns, to some more greener and purple shades, all for under €10. So if you want a full palette but don't want to splash out on the higher end palettes this could be the way to go.

Next is another palette, Catrice's Absolute Nude Palette, which has 6 shadows for between €5 and €6. 

I've actually found myself picking this up a lot lately, the shades themselves are lovely, though the shadows are a little drier than the Sleek palette for example they're still easy to work with and you can get a few different looks out of it, ranging from very natural to smokey.
 There's less of a variety of colours in here though and it pretty much is shades of brown, so if you want a little more than just brown shades to play with i'd still go for the sleek palette for those few different shades. 
This however isnt something that should be ignored because of the price point as it's a really lovely little palette, which is included in a giveaway im doing, which you can enter here if you'd like to.

My last pick is a trio from 17. It's the In The Nude Trio.

It has the basics for a neutral eye with a light lid/highlight shade, a midtone and a deeper shade, so again you have what you need for a really basic look or you could do a light smokey eye with this. 
I actually fell in love with this trio after seeing Sineadycady from The Make Up Chair using it a lot in her videos. 
The colours are nice and easy to work with and it's nice to have all you need for one eye look in something smaller than a palette sometimes. 17's trios are around the €7 mark and there are a few more to choose from, including one similar to this but just more shimmery.

So there you have it, if you're looking for some good neutral shadows but are unsure of spending a lot of money, why not try these out first, you never know you may end up loving one of these more than one of the more expensive palettes. 

Do you know anymore cheaper alternatives for neutral palettes? Leave a comment and let us know! 

Favourites Of 2012!

Can't believe that we've come to the end of 2012 already. It just seems like no time at all since it started. 

This is been a good and bad year for me in equal measure, but I'm looking forward to 2013 and seeing what will happen for me! One of the things I'm looking forward to is blogging more regularly. Blogging has become something I love, and I really want to put more time into it and get more out of it. 

Before I start posting my favourites of the year, I just want to take the time to thank you all for your support here on blogger, and for taking the time out of your lives to read a post, comment on a post and for following my little blog. It feels really great every time I read one of your lovely comments or see that I have a new follower, it makes me feel like the time I spend putting these posts together is worthwhile. So thanks again, and I hope to hear from my existing followers and some new ones in 2013! : )

Onto my favourites of 2012!


I'm not going to take individual photos of everything, because then this post would never end and I want to keep it short.If I have posted about any of these already I'll link the post, and also there are a few posts on a few of my favourites coming in the new year!

2012 Favourites

L'oreal Lumi Magique Foundation is my favourite foundation this year, and I really need to do a full post on it. Have been very impressed by this foundation. Gives a flawless appearance without being heavy and unnatural looking.

 Revlon Photoready Perfecting Primer Haven't had this primer for too long maybe 2 weeks or so but its impressed me so much that it knocks every other primer I've tried out of the water!

 Mac Mineralised Skinfinish Natural Amazing non cakey, lightweight powder that still provides a bit of extra decent coverage. Probably my favourite powder in the world and will probably be the one I use for the rest of my life I love it so much!

 Urban Decay Vice Palette I got this for Christmas but was given it a few weeks early and it's just a great palette that I keep reaching for. Great variety of colours and great UD quality.I reviewed it recently here.

 Urban Decay Naked Palette I was given the original Naked Palette last year for Christmas by my boyfriend, and its the palette I reached most for this year. I don't have a post on this, but I got the Naked 2 this year for Christmas too, so I might do a comparison post between the two.

 Sigma Mr Bunny Essential Brush Kit This has been my favourite purchase this year by far! Sigma brushes are amazing quality, I had a few individual Sigma brushes and loved them so much that I took the plunge and decided to invest in a full kit. These brushes are the best performing brushes I've ever come across. I'll be posting a full review about the kit in the next few days.

Urban Decay Primer Potion This has been a great little product this year, it makes my eyeshadow last all day and stops it fading as fast, while making the colours stand out more. It really makes a difference to the look and staying power of your shadow.

 NYC Liquid Eyeliner I swear by this liquid liner. Its the only liner I can use that stays put and doesn't transfer from my lash line to my crease. It stays put without being hard to remove, and is also seriously cheap.

 Sleek Blush In Pomegranate A beautiful berry blush, its been my favourite autumn/winter blush. Looks scary in the pan but is really beautiful and flattering on the cheeks.

 Revlon Lip Butters in Peach Parfait and Sweet Tart I love love love Revlon's Lip butters, go here for review and swatches of the ones I have. My favourites are Peach Parfait and Sweet Tart. I really want to pick up a few more of these but every time I go to boots people have messed with them and opened them all so they're all smushed and unbuyable, so whoever is doing this make it your new year's resolution to stop it so I can buy the other shades that I want! Lol!

 Sleek Contour Kit in Light A handy little compact with a matte bronzer for contour and a peachy champagne highlighter. Works really well and also has a built in mirror. This for me along with Sleek's blushes is something I couldn't live without! 

Revlon Kissable Balm Stain in Honey Lovely neutral my lips butter better shade. These chubby stick like lip products from Revlon have really impressed me and I want more!

 17 Lipstick in Barely Blush Not sure what the line of lipsticks is called, but they're the ones in the shiny silver tube so if anyone knows let me know. But this dusty rose lipstick is beautiful. The texture is creamy and moisturising and really comfortable to wear. Really wish they'd put more colours out in this formula, if they did these 17 lipsticks would probably beat Revlon's Lip Butters as my favourite lip product this year!

Sleek Blush in Rose gold This is my all time favourite blush. Swatches are here  if you want to have a look at how beautiful this blush is. It's a dead ringer for NARS's orgasm blush for a fraction of the price.

 Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub Has been a life saver this winter! My lips have been so dry and flaky and this saves them every time! I use this to exfoliate my lips then stick a balm over it and I have nice soft lips again. It smells and tastes pretty good too!

 Maybelline 24 Hour Color Tattoo in Pink gold My favourite out of the Color Tattoos that I own. A really lovely pink shade with golden shimmer, looks really pretty on its own or layered with shadow. Swatches are here.

So those are my favourites of 2012! There are a lot of other things that I love too, but I had to narrow it down because the list was getting pretty huge! 

I'll be back in the new year with more reviews, hauls and also a giveaway in the early new year to say thank you to all of you who have supported me and I can say that it's gonna be a good one! : )

I would also love to know what your favourite products have been this year, are any of them the same as mine? Also would like to hear any other favourites of the year like movies, songs anything at all! I know my favourite film this year is a three way tie between Snow white and the huntsman, Breaking Dawn part 2 and the Amazing Spiderman - I cant decide which I liked the most! 

Happy New Year everyone!