Primark Rose Gold Make Up Brushes

My sister picked up this set of make up brushes (after I blatantly hinted to her) for me as part of my Christmas present. I'll be honest, the only reason I wanted them was because they look pretty - I mean rose gold and white brush hairs, how can you say no to that? They were only €8 for the set and I can honestly say I couldn't be more impressed by the quality of them. I've been using them for a while now and I'm really happy with them. I love the foundation brush especially as it's quite pointed and a different shape to my other brushes so it gives a different finish - it's much more dewey. If you can get your hands on a set, I'd definitely recommend them.

BH Cosmetics Carli Bybel Palette

I bought this palette a few weeks ago from Beauty Bay for about €21! I loved the colours and mix of shimmers and mattes as well as a mix of eyeshadows and highlighters. The palette comes with 10 eyeshadows and 4 highlighters and all are the perfect shades for me.

The palette itself is quite pigmented and I love the way it also has a variety of highlighters which makes it a fab palette for travelling as you can take less products with you. I've been playing around with it since I got it and these are my go-to looks that I've been doing. The colours are quite pigmented but very blendable which I love.

Blogmas Day 18: Make Up Palette Gift Guide

Ok so I've missed the last two days of blogmas coz I have been SO busy and haven't been feeling very well over the weekend. I had no posts pre-written so I didn't have the energy to write new ones so I took a brief break!

Anyway I'm back with a gift guide on make up palettes. Here's a few of my favs.

1. Naked Palette

2. Morphe 35O

3. Naked 2 Palette

4. Z Palette with Make Up Geek Eyeshadows - this is an empty palette that you can build up with individual eyeshadows of your choice. I've been building mine up with colours I like to wear and it's great coz it means I'll use all of the shades in it rather than a normal palette where I only tend to use a few shades.

Here's Vlogmas Day 18:

Blogmas Day 10: Festive Make Up

I'm sure everyone loves bringing out the glitter for your make up around Christmas. Whether you're looking for a look for a Christmas night out or for Christmas Day itself, I've put together a few of my fav looks.

 

 

Here's Vlogmas Day 10:

W7 Banana Dreams Loose Powder

I had been looking for a loose powder for ages especially in a banana shade. I had heard a few people talk about the W7 one and I figured I'd give it a go.

This product has been my holy grail ever since I got it! I have been using it for almost a year I'd say and I have absolutely been loving it. I use it to set my under eye concealer and it works really well. It has great staying power and doesn't crease at all. The best part is it's only €5.99. A little goes a long way with this product so you don't need to be buying it too often. I use this every single day for brightening under my eyes and it's still mostly full. Just be careful not to use too much product as it does create a lot of fall out!

Let me know if you've used this or other loose powders, I'd love to try more.

Urban Decay Naked Skin Colour Correcting Fluid

I received three of these Urban Decay colour correcting concealers* in the post a few weeks back and oh my God they have been amazing!!!!! As in I can't understand how I have been doing my make up without them :P the two I've been using most are the green and yellow.

I have been having a hard time with my skin for the past few months and I'm constantly breaking out and being left with scarring from spots. All around my chin area is quite red and often, concealer just isn't cutting it. I've been using the green shade of these colour correcting fluid on any red areas and red spots before applying my foundation. It has really helped in covering them and I don't even need to use as much concealer anymore.

I've also been loving the yellow shade to counteract any dull areas. Although I wouldn't say I suffer from dark circles, my under eye area is definitely quite dull. I apply the colour correcting fluid just underneath both eyes, again before applying foundation, and the difference it makes is just incredible. I look much more awake and my dullness is completely gone.

There are five colour correcting fluids in the range and they retail for €22 each. Here's a breakdown of what each colour does:

Green - counteracts redness including spots, blemishes and broken blood vessels.
Lavender - balances out sallowness and helps neutralise skin with yellow undertones.
Peach - use on dark circles, dark spots, veins and deep discolouration.
Pink - disguises dark circles particularly on fair skin tones.
Yellow - perfecting for disguising dark circles and brightening skin.

Have you tried them? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

*PR Sample

Karora Cosmetics CC Cream

I've been trying out this Karora Cosmetics CC cream* for the past few weeks and although initially I didn't love it, it did grow on me and became my go to foundation especially when I was on hols.

I find this CC cream really hard to blend for some reason. It applies really muddy and patchy but I find if I use a non-dense stippling brush after applying it, it blends it out much easier. It has quite good coverage and feels really light on the skin which I really liked as I was using it in a very hot Florida climate! It had good staying power and I didn't need any touch-ups.

What I really like is that it comes in one shade. That may scare some of you but it adapts to the colour of your skin and although I can only speak from my perspective, it definitely worked for me. It did apply a little darker but as I blended it out it was really natural. Again, perfect for summer even when I became more tanned - no more packing 3 different shades of foundation!

It retails at around €25 and can be purchased from their website, along with Cloud 10 Beauty, Sam McCauley and plenty of other pharmacies I'm sure.

This was my first time trying out a Karora product and I'm really looking forward to trying more from their range.

* I was kindly sent this product. All opinions are 100% honest and entirely my own.

Kiko Full Coverage Concealer

So I'm back from Florida :( so sad to be back but I think I'll put up a blog post with the very few pics we took of the holiday :P anyway...I wanted to come back with a beauty post so I thought I'd talk about this Kiko full coverage concealer that I've been really loving lately.

I picked this concealer up when I was in Barcelona and I must say, I absolutely love it! It's seriously full coverage and one of the best concealers I've used. It matches my foundation perfectly (I have shade 03) and it blends really easily and really well. The consistency is really nice; it's quite creamy, not too thick but doesn't slide off your face either. 

 

I think it costs about €7/€8 and although you can't buy it in Ireland you can get it on their website. Shipping costs €5.90 and is free on orders over €49. I'll definitely be re-purchasing this when I run out of it as it really covers up redness and bigger spots better than any other concealer I've ever used.

Have you tried any other Kiko products? I'd love to try out some more so let me know in the comments below.

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Catrice Camouflage Concealer

I have been using this concealer for a few months now and I can honestly say I absolutely love it. When the Urban Decay Naked concealer hit the shelves I was eager to try it until I heard the Catrice one was a dupe for it. I haven't used the Urban Decay one myself but since buying the Catrice one, I haven't stopped using it.

I picked up the shade 010 Porcelain, which is the lightest shade, for only €3.99 in Penneys but Sam McCauley's also stock it. I apply it in a triangular shape under my eyes to really brighten and conceal any dark circles. I've really noticed the difference when I use this especially on days when I'm feeling really tired. I set it with lighter setting powder than what I'd use on the rest of my face just to add to the brightening effect. It's become part of my every day make up routine and couldn't imagine not using it. It doesn't crease, it blends amazingly well and lasts all day. I absolutely love it!

Have you tried it? Let me know in the comments below!

Valentine's Day Hair, Make Up and Outfit Ideas

So as Valentine's Day is coming up, I thought I'd put together a quick post on some ideas for hair, make up and outfits. I've done similar posts before where I did separate posts on hairstyles, make up and outfits but this year I thought I'd make it easier for people and combine everything into one post. Hope you like it - let me know your favs in the comments! Enjoy your Valentine's Day :)