Review | Úr Beauty Sponge & Mascara Wands

So I received a little package this week which was kindly sent to me from Úr Makeup*, which is an Irish make up brand created by Nichola Graham, MUA.

After giving the Beauty Sponge and re-usable Mascara Wands a go, I thought I would share my thoughts with you all.

Firstly I used the sponge to apply my usual Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum foundation (which by the way I'm using year round now). 

Initially I felt I had to use a little more foundation than usual, as a small bit got absorbed by the sponge (as is the nature of a sponge, so I wasn't too worried). But then I found my foundation blended incredibly naturally with this sponge and more importantly, it helped me seamlessly cover up the breakouts I'm currently experiencing along my jaw line. Then when applying my concealer, I also used the beauty sponge to blend it all in. While I am a big brush lover and usually shy away from sponges, I feel with continued practice I could get used to this sponge since I was definitely impressed with the finished result!

When it came to mascara I chose the curved wand without doubt I have to say I was in love with the results. It applied the mascara like a dream and the curve really helped with easily gliding the mascara onto the inner and outter corners lashes. It really is one of the best mascara wands I've ever used. Dare I say it, it might even trump my Rimmel Lash Accelerator wand! As the wands are re-usable I gave it a clean afterwards and was impressed with the cleaning capabilities, however it did take me quite a good scrubbing and some time. I think if I needed to use these on a regular basis with lots of different people I would need to invest in a proper cleaning brush to really take off all the product. As a comparison, the one on the left is the wand I used to apply black mascara, after a bit of a clean, this is how the wand looks. I honestly didn't think it would ever be pink again, so it's great to know the wands can handle a good clean.

Overall I am impressed with the sponge and especially the wands (particularly the curved one) and I would certainly recommend them to a friend. I am also excited this is an Irish company as I'm always eager to find Irish make up brands. 

Have you tried the Úr Makeup range yet?

What are your thoughts?

Favourites | The Best of 2013

Okay okay, it's been a couple of months, instead of boring you with the details, let's just get 2014 off to a productive start! What better way to begin the year than a quick look back to 2013 and what products I reached for time and time again! There are loads of products I could have included, but I really tried to keep it to the bare minimum of what I used almost everyday.

So I touched on some of my favourite face, hair, lip and eyes products along with two of my favourite tools. There shouldn't be any major surprises as most will have featured in my monthly favourites throughout the year.

What were your favourite products of 2013?

Blogtober #24 | Boots Haul

Welcome to Blogtober Day 24. This is the day where I publicly admit I have a problem. I am supposed to be saving to pay college fees and yet I couldn't resist passing boots without having a look inside, a look inside turns into ah sure I may as well pick up that one thing and that other thing until I've managed to spend about €70 in under 3 minutes. I can never find the clothes I'm looking for, but when it comes to beuaty/makeup, it's like an episode of SuperMarket Sweet (#throwbackthursday). In a very short amount of time I can really dash around and make a decent dent in my wallet. So I present to you today's window shopping exercise...

So as per my post a couple of days ago, I'm obsessed with Real Techniques brushes, so I figured I may as well finish the collection (be rude not to), coupled with some cotton pads (the only product I properly NEEDED in boots), two nail polishes from Barry M (perfect autumnal colours), yet another Apocalips lacquer from Rimmel and two eye liners from Rimmel. I am single-handedly keeping both Real Techniques and Rimmel in business. Someone help me...

What is your go-to impulse buy?
Have you picked up any great items lately (just to add to my list, you know yourself)?

Blogtober #23 | Hair Care Essentials

Only a week or so to go now left in #Blogtober! I thought I would share with you a couple of my hair care essentials. Outside of shampoo/conditioner, what items I use in my daily hair care routine.

The first two products I use after the shower, Aussie Leave-In Conditioner & TRESemmé Heat Protector. I adore the smell the conditioner and it's perfect as a de-tangler. Then the heat protector works wells, leaves a nice finish on my hair and I really like the large spray. I have tried a few that fire out in a line and you find you have lumps here and there of product. The spray on this leaves a fine mist over the hair, it's perfect!

Then on the right I have the ever popular Batiste Dry Shampoo. It's of course great for in between washes, but on top of that, you can use it to help build volume in your hair. Finally I have the Alberto V05 Hair Spray. I think this spray is great for holding my hair without leaving too much residue or making my hair flaky.

Do you use of any these products?
What's in your essential hair care collection?

Blogtober #22 | Favourite Music Band

Ok so I have a few top bands, but for sure in amongst the very top is the band fun. They are an indie pop band from New York made up of Nate Ruess (singer), Jack Antonoff (guitarist) and Andrew Dost (multiple instruments).

I have been to see them both times they came to Ireland at both The Academy in 2012 and The Olympia in 2013. Not only do I love their songs, but their stage presence is amazing. They're so energetic and the mood is infectious. While most known for the song We Are Young, they have two albums filled with great songs (in my humble opinion). Generally music that puts me in a good-go-get-'em mood will be amongst my favourite types.

If you've not heard much else or not as familiar with fun. you can check out their website here and their YouTube channel here. Below I have included some pictures from both their Academy and Olympia gigs.

The Academy

The Olympia

What gigs have you been to lately?
Who are some of your favourite artists?

Blogtober #21 | In the Spotlight: The Conjuring

Ok another sneaky missing day... but I had some birthday celebrations to attend to (not my own)!

In yet another Halloween themed post, this is a look at a recent horror. If you're looking for a scare this Halloween, I would definitely recommend The Conjuring. It is a really really long time since I have been properly scared by a horror movie. Don't worry, there are no spoilers in this post.

It is supposed to be based on a true story and it's about a family who have a presence in their home disturbing them and starting to hurt them. They call a couple who are experts in the field and have studied demons, etc. I won't go too much into it, I definitely do not want to spoil it for anyone.

It wasn't all about the CGI or the gore, it was an old fashioned, tension-building scare! I could barely handle it at times, choosing to hide my face behind a cushion, only capable of peeping over it. It's definitely not one for the faint of heart, but it's a brilliant scare.


Have you seen The Conjuring yet?
What is your favourite horror movie?

Blogtober #19 | #DublinMeetUp

This is a post to say thank you to Samantha Johnston from All The Buzz for organising a blogger meet up today in Dublin! Everyone had a fantastic time, there was some great goodies for everyone (including cup cakes) and some great talks. It was my first ever blogger meet up and it definitely won't be my last. Got to meet some great people! Below I have a quick run down of the event in pictures!

I cannot get over how many goodies we got...

Then we had a great talk and demonstration from Niamh from Nima Brush

After which we got another goodie, from the Nima Brush collection

We also heard some great insight and tips from Her.ie's Michelle McMahon on being a part of such a great company and the world of blogging.

There was also some yummy cupcakes for everyone from Monaco Cupcakes.

Then if I wasn't having enough of a good time, to top it all off, I wont the €100 voucher for Dundrum Town Centre.

I just want to say thanks again to Samantha for such a successful event. It was fun, informative and I also got to meet lots of fellow Irish bloggers. I am looking forward to many more meet ups and the new friendships!

Were you at the #DublinMeetUp?
I look forward to seeing all your pictures (as well as some official ones)...