FOTD #2 : 5 Product Face

Recently I've been quite overwhelmed by the amount of make up I own. While I don't have a massive collection compared to other beauty bloggers, I really have a lot more than I even need. 
So I was looking at the products I own and thought of the idea for this post, which is if all my make up was taken away from me right now and I was only allowed to keep five essential items what would they be? 

So I've dug through my stash, picked out five stand out products for me and have decided to do a FOTD with them. 

I picked fairly basic items, I really thought if I was only allowed to use these 5 for the rest of my life, I'd be fairly happy. 

I choose Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum, just because it's my favourite foundation EVER! My shade is the lightest shade 51.
 Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer because this stuff is seriously good, it's good for blemishes and also for the under eye area so that's both of those covered with one product. Again, my shade is the lightest, which is Fair.

My favourite mascara is Lancome's Hypnose Doll Eyes, I choose this because it's amazing, but also because even if I don't wear eyeshadow I always have to have mascara on or I feel odd. 

For my cheeks I choose Benefit's Rockateur, review here, I was torn between this and Sleek's Rose gold which you can see here. I ultimately choose Rockateur because not only is it a really beautiful blush, but it also doubles up as a really nice eye shadow, so it covers two bases with one product. If I had have chosen an eye shadow however, I would have choose Urban Decay's Sin, it's pretty much my go to eye shadow I use it on it's own a ton and also it's usually a base for a lot of eye looks that I do, such a pretty pinkish/rose gold shadow.
Obviously from this post it's very clear I'm all about the rose gold shades in everything!

For lips I chose No 7 High Shine Lip Gloss in Smile, just because on a day to day basis I keep my make up very natural and this is a perfect my lips but better kind of shade, it lasts well and isn't sticky.

Really Basic FOTD using the above products

So combined all these products just make a really basic look, probably as basic as you can get really, but if all my make up was taken away I'd prefer to look as natural as possible at all times and have all of my necessary base products to use rather than having more choice with eyes or lips.

So if you had to pick just 5 make up items to use for the rest of your life what would they be and why?

If you havent entered my giveaway yet you can check it out here, it's an international giveaway too so it's worth a look! :)

Benefit Rockateur Review And Swatches

Like a lot of other bloggers I'm sure, I have been dying to get my mitts on Benefit's latest addition to their boxed powders. I've been scouring every Benefit counter I know of every time I've been in Dublin lately and I eventually spotted it!

Rockateur is a rose gold blush, which in my opinion actually leans a little more orangey brown than rose gold, but none the less it's still a cracker!

Benefit Rockateur Boxed Powder

Wear time is great it lasts a good eight to ten hours before it starts to fade and even then theres some still there when I go to take my make up off.
 As with their other boxed powders there's a brush included, the brushes aren't the worst they're usable if you need it but I don't bother with it as it can be a little fussy so I just use my usual blush brush. (Sigma F40, see it here, if you'd like to!)

As you'd expect from Benefit, Rockateur is a great quality blush and works as it should. I hate the price though, €34 seems so steep for this, especially when there's actually less in here than in their other boxed powders, I think it'll last me a long time though as I have so many blushers to get through and its so nice I would re-purchase if I had the money floating about.

Have you tried Rockateur yet? Is it your favourite boxed powder from Benefit yet?

What's In My Make Up Bag?

Well hello there! It's been such a long time since I've posted and I'm feeling in a much better place than I was in my last post.  So I have decided that it's time for me to begin posting again!
Lately I've been enjoying reading What's In My Make Up Bag posts, I also like seeing updated ones so I can see what other products that beauty bloggers switch out and what ones they can't live without. So I might make this a regular post every month or two, so if any of you are interested in me doing that let me know in the comments section.

I've been keeping my make up pretty simple lately, so there's not really a ton of products in here right now, there may be too many in here considering how little make up I've been wearing. I've been keeping it really simple with just foundation, blusher, mascara and a really subtle natural lip colour. 

From Left to Right: Revlon Photoready Perfecting Primer, Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation in 100 Ivory, Revlon Photoready 3D Volume Mascara, Revlon Colorstay Normal/Dryskin Formula in 110 Ivory, Benefit High Beam, Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey, Sigma Brow Gel Duo, Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette, MAC Mineralize Skinfish Natural in Light, Dainty Doll Blushers in My Girl and Money Talks, Urban Decay Primer Potion in Eden.

My make up bag itself is actually an iPad case that I saw in Tesco and thought it was perfect for make up, as its big enough to hold tons of products, including palettes and brushes and I also throw my skin care in if I'm going anywhere over night. Not bad for €4!

It feels good to have a post up again! I have a few posts drafted and ready to go so be expecting to see a lot more from me in the next while. Also if you'd like a closer look at anything in this post let me know in the comments and I'd be more than happy to do that for you.

So, what's in your make up bag? I'd love to know!

EOTD: Amped Up Everyday Neutrals

Hello! Hope you're all well : )

This is just a quick EOTD post. I was going to to a FOTD but I have psoriasis on my hands and face and my face is pretty bad with it at the moment so the rest of my make up isn't sitting right, so here's a quick EOTD :)

Sorry that the photos aren't overly clear guys, the weather is crappy today and there isn't a lot of light to play with!

I used Urban Decay's Naked 2 Palette, I got this for Christmas and have been enjoying it so far, I think I actually like it more than the original Naked palette!

So I used Suspect as an all over lid colour, then I mixed Snake bite with a very small amount of Pistol my crease and outer corner to deepen it up a little. Then I used Bootycall on my tear duct area as a highlight, and lined my lower lash line with a mixture of Snakebite and Pistol again.

I then applied a line of NYC's Liquid Liner on my upper lash line and then applied Eyelure's Katy Perry line of fake lashes in Sweetie Pie, which are a lovely natural looking lash that still gives a bit of impact. I then blended my own lashes with the fake ones using Benefit's They're Real! Mascara. 

This is pretty much the kind of eye look I do everyday, but my boyfriend is coming home from hospital today (But this will be scheduled to post tomorrow) after being in for two weeks over Christmas and new year, so I wanted to look nice without looking too overdone because we're only in the house, so the Katy Perry lashes did a good job of giving the look a little something extra without going overboard.

I think that sometimes the best eye looks when you want to look your best are the simplest ones, do you agree? 

Review: Benefit They're Real! Mascara

Hello! It's such a good feeling to have my own laptop and to be able to post again whenever I like! : )
So this post is overdue, back in October I posted a haul post here, which had lots of lovely things I've been dying to post about, so here is the first of them - Benefit's They're Real! Mascara.

They're Real!

They're Real! Has had so many amazing reviews, saying that it's amazing and one of the best mascaras out there, I however, have a completely different opinion to everyone else on this mascara it seems. The only thing I really like about this mascara is the tube, it's so pretty, I love the silver mirror like tube, it looks great but thats as good as it gets for me. 

They're Real! Wand

The wand on the mascara is pretty cool, and in theory I think it sounds great and like it would do a lot. It claims to catch lashes to curl, lengthen, volumise, lift and separate lashes, and also says it is a long wear smudge proof formula. This basically doesn't curl, volumise or lift my lashes. While it does lengthen and separate them, it takes the curl from my lashes after I have curled them with a curler and it also weighs them down rather than lifts them and I don't put a whole ton of mascara on, ever, so that isn't the reason. Yes the lengthening is great if you're looking for a lengthening mascara, but my lashes are quite long already what I was looking for was the curl, lift and volumising effects, and I couldn't see a hint of any of them anywhere! 

They're Real! Really is long wearing and smudge proof though, this stuff just doesn't want to come off when you try - you will still probably have traces of this on your lashes after removing it. It also doesn't seem to budge if you happen to cry when you're wearing it, unless you start rubbing your eyes like crazy if you've been crying it wont go anywhere. These are the only reasons why I'm continuing to use it, and also because I don't want to waste something so expensive.

Benefit's products are always a bit hit and miss, and for me, sadly They're Real! Is a huge miss, it's so sad because I really wanted to love this mascara, but I honestly get better results from Maybelline's One by One mascara that is half the price of They're Real! Which sells for around €25. I won't be repurchasing this again.

Would love to hear if any of you have had this mascara and found that it didnt do half of what it claimed to do, and also if you discovered a way to make it work better for you! : )

Until next time!

X o X

Monthly Favourites: The Best Of October

The Best Of October

Hello! Hope you are all doing well! So I have never done a monthly favorites post before. I have always had it in my head to start doing them but for some reason I never have. Also, before anyone tries to tell me that November 9th is too late for me to post an October favorites post - you're wrong! : )

Face Products

L-R: Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation and Concealer, Essence Cherry Blossom Girl Bush, Benefit Cha cha Tint, MAC Select Sheer Pressed Powder

This month I've been trying to use up foundations because I have a drawer full of them. I have been making myself use the ones I don't like too, but in doing this I have actually grown to like one of the ones I didn't like before. I know everyone raves about Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation, but for some reason when I first got it I really didn't like it, it made my skin look bloody awful and didn't last any amount of time on my face at all, though now I think that was because my skin was in awful condition when I first got it and now its improved drastically. So needless to say it was thrown in the back of my foundation drawer and that was that. Until I pulled it out again a few weeks ago and decided to give it another chance, and i'm pleased to say that I am now in love with the stuff! It makes my skin feel and appear so much smoother, even and brightened up and pair it with the matching Healthy Mix Concealer and my skin has pretty much been looking flawless, amazeballs!

For setting my foundation I usually use MAC Mineralise Skinfinish in Natural, but I had my cousin's wedding last week and wanted something with a little more coverage. So I bought MAC's Select Sheer Pressed Powder and I'm really liking this. It's great for those days where I want a bit more coverage without looking plastered in make-up. That being said, I think this may be the cause of some breakouts lately. 

Blush wise, I found a lovely one a while ago in Essence's Cherry Blossom Girl Collection. I picked it up when I bought one of their double ended eyeliner pens, reviewed not so long ago here. I hadn't really used this until the last few weeks, but this is a lovely peachy/coral blush that goes on lightly for a lovely subtle flush. Its a great multi purpose product due to the two shades in the compact, I swirl them both together for blush and then use the lighter shade as a highlight which works really well.

I've been pairing the Essence blush with Benefit's Cha Cha Tint underneath if I want to add a bit more oomph to the blush. The two look really pretty together and it's been my favourite way to add colour to my face recently.

Eye Products

L-R: UD Feminine Palette (Old Version), Eyelure Katy Perry Lashes, Benefit They're Real! Mascara, UD 24/7 Liner in Perversion, Revlon Precision Lash Glue

I know the version of Urban Decay's feminine palette that I have is the old version, but honestly I prefer the colours in the one I have to the new one, hence why I won't be buying the newer one. I've been reaching for this most days, it has the perfect shades of shadow in there for putting together a quick and easy eye look that still makes you look put together.

Inside UD Feminine Palette

I wont say too much about my next favourite, as I will be posting about it in the next few days, but I've been really liking Benefit's They're Real! Mascara. It's pretty amazeballs!

When I bought my UD Smoked Palette, it came with a full sized 24/7 Perversion liner. Holy cow! It's amazing! It's the blackest black pencil liner I have ever seen and the lasting power with this is amazing, it lasts most of the day before I have to go near it to re-apply, it's really something else and I think everyone needs this liner in their life!

Now i'm not a big false lash wearer, but for my cousin's wedding I picked up a pair of Eyelure's Katy Perry lashes and they blew me away. I got the most natural pair called Sweetie Pie. They're so beautiful, they really opened up my eyes and I got tons of compliments when I had them on. Will be doing a post on them soon as I was so impressed I think they deserve their own post!

With the Katy Perry Lashes I used Revlon Precision Lash glue, as I hate the stupid little useless tubes of glue that come with eyelashes. The Revlon lash glue is in a league of it's own when it comes to lash glue, its so easy to work with and I had no problems with lashes falling off, it's fantastic!

Lip Products

Top: Strawberry Carmex, L-R: Revlon Lip Butter in Sweet Tart, 17 Lipstick in Barely Blush

I love Revlon's Lip Products, my favourites being their Lip Butters, which I posted about here. Lately I've been wearing Sweet Tart non-stop, you can see swatches in the link posted above.

When I want something a bit calmer than the bright pink of Sweet Tart, i've been using 17's Barely Blush Lipstick. I really love this lipstick, it's been a consistent favourite of mine for a while now, I always get compliments when I wear it so that could be why!

Also now that it is winter, I've been breaking out the lip balms more than usual and my main pick every time is my Strawberry flavoured Carmex. My lips are pretty chapped at the moment and this is doing wonders for them.

Other Favourites

L-R: Nivea Happy Time Body Lotion, Sigma F80 Flat Top Kabuki Brush

I absolutely love the smell of Nivea's Happy Time Shower Gel, to me it's pretty much the best smell in the world, so I was so happy to see that they do a body lotion now! It's the same delicious orange blossom smell, and it leaves my skin unbelievably soft all day long, its brilliant!

Another long time favourite item is my Sigma F80 brush. It's a flat top synthetic kabuki brush that is used to apply liquid or cream foundations. I got this last year from Cloud 10 Beauty and it's been a firm favourite ever since. It flawlessly buffs foundation into the skin, leaving a smooth, streak free, airbrushed finish. Apologies for the dirtiness of the brush in the photo, it's in need of a clean! 

So that's it for my favourites for October, i'm already looking forward to posting November's favourites!

X o X

Collective Haul

Hi there! Today I have a bit of a haul to show you all. I have been away for a while and have been quite busy but between my last post and now I have made a few purchases that I'm pretty excited about and thought it'd be a nice post to get back into the swing of things with and so you could also see some of the things I'm playing around with as they will all be reviewed shortly!

OPI Nothin' Mousie About It, Maybelline Color Tattoo in On and On Bronze and Benefit They're Real Mascara

So first of all, I was in Leeds for my sisters wedding a few weeks ago, and on the way home in the airport I picked up Benefit's They're Real Mascara for £15 compared to the €25 or €30 it is here, which is why I hadn't jumped to get it until now because I really can't justify spending that much on mascara. Also in the airport I picked up a Maybelline 24 Hour Color Tattoo in On and On Bronze, It's a pretty bronze colour and it's hard for me to find a Maybelline stand with all the colours of these at home unless I go to Dublin so I got it in Leeds, also wanted to get the Permanent Taupe shade but they had none left. Also as a surprise my boyfriend very kindly bought me a bottle of OPI's Nothin' Mousie About It, which is the pink glitter polish with hearts in there too polish from OPI's Minnie Mouse collection, so I was so happy about that - think he was too because it stopped me moaning that none of the websites I buy OPI off had any of that particular polish left Lol!

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain In Honey

At some stage either before Leeds or after, but I think it was before, I picked up one of the new Revlon Kissable Balm Stains in Honey. I really love these things, they're so amazing! I want to get more of them, the only thing is that the colours all look insanely bright and scary! So if any of you have the other colours please let me know if they actually do come out that vivid or not! I'll put a swatch of this at the end of the post.

And yesterday while I was in Dublin, I went a little mad. First of all there was a 3 for 2 in boots on everything, and all I picked up was another Color Tattoo in Pink Gold which by the way is absolutely beautiful! I have been searching for a cream eyeshadow in a colour like this for the longest time! I think this is a new shade in the range because I've never seen it before but its so pretty! 

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Pink Gold

But low and behold, I couldn't find two more things I wanted in boots so I got annoyed with myself for missing out on an opportunity to get lots of things, and before I knew it I found myself in Debenhams, where I splurged on this...

Urban Decay Smoked Palette

Aaahhh! look how beautiful it is! I have wanted this since I heard about it and yesterday I just found myself at the Urban Decay counter looking at it, then the nice lady asked could she help and I asked how much it was and before I even realised it I had paid for it! Oops! Here's a quick look at the inside of the Smoked Palette, I'm not going to go into too much detail about it now because I've only had it since yesterday and haven't played with it enough yet, but wow it sure is pretty!

Urban Decay Smoked Palette

And to round it off I bought InStyle Magazine yesterday because they had a sample size of Benefit's Cha Cha Tint which I've wanted to try forever but have been scared of because the stuff is neon orange in the bottle. But it's actually gives a really beautiful peach flush and I'm in love with it and will have to get the full sized bottle.

Benefit Cha Cha Tint

Cha Cha Tint - It's Orange!

Swatches Left: Just Bitten Balm Stain Honey Right: Cha  Cha Tint

So that's it for now, as you can tell there will be a lot of posts coming over the next few weeks, along with tons of other products and things I have to post about. So you will be hearing a lot more from me from now on!

Toodaloo!

X o X

Benefit Benetint Review

Swatched:

Blended:

Claims: The sexiest flush you can get from a bottle. innocent yet provocative. Our rose tinted cheek stain is see through colour that endures it all.

 I can't even say how much I love this stuff! Honestly this is just amazing stuff! I've been using this for a long time, (since I was 16) and this is my third bottle of the stuff, so a bottle of this stuff lasts forever! When I bought it the first time all those years ago my first thought was woah! This stuff is so red! and it is, very very red, I didn't understand how I wasn't going to look like a clown when I had this on, but I tried it and i've been hooked ever since!
The first thing you'll notice if you haven't used Benetint before is the smell. It smells like roses! It's such a lovely smell, if it didn't stain your skin wherever you put it, I would wear it as perfume. Anyway back to what it does! There is a little brush when you screw the lid off, and it says to appy 3 dots to the apples of your cheeks and blend it quickly, I do that but then I add 3 more if I want more colour, so most days I use 6 dots of this, and it gives you a really nice flushed colour, 3 dots does give you a really nice flush too but I prefer a little more.
You have to blend this as soon as you put it on, or it's going to absorb into your skin in a lump of colour. So when this is blended, it gives a nice, natural flush to your cheeks, and it stays put until you take it off. It dosent fade either, which is awesome. It's pretty much a hassle free way of doing your blush, you just throw it on with your fingers and you're ready to go, you don't need to top it up during the day so it's just amazing!
The only off putting thing about this is the price...it is expensive at €25, BUT it's money really well spent, my last bottle of Benetint lasted me over two years! and the one in the picture I have had for 3 months and the liquid in the bottle has only slightly gone down. I honestly can't recommend this more! Go and get it!
I got this at the Benfit Counter in Debenhams in the Ilac center I think, but most Debenhams to have Benefit counters I think..! You can also get this on the Benefit website, and on the Debenhams and on the Boots UK website. All the links for these sites will be in my links box on the right hand side of my blog page. So definatly one of my favourite things I use! Can't praise it more!

Thanks for reading and take care


XoX