Best of Beauty Blog Challenge | Skin Care Saviours

I'm very excited to be getting involved in a Blogger challenge as this is my first one ever. It is the brain child of the fabulous Samantha over at All The Buzz. It is an 8 week challenge, and as the title of this post suggests, it's the "Best of Beauty Blog Challenge". You can find everyone who is involved through Twitter via the hashtag #BOBBlogChallenge.

For this post I am going to talk about my one true Skin Care Saviour and that's the Clinique Take Off The Day Cleansing Balm. It has changed my skin care routine forever. I have been using it for 6 months now and I can't imagine how I ever went without.

I first heard about it from the YouTuber, A Model Recommends and have never looked back. As with all cleansing balms, it is quite a lard-like consistency. Once you take an amount into your hands however, it melts from the heat of your skin. So when you massage it into your face, it is more of an oil-like consistency. Fear not if you suffer from oily skin, this cleanser is suitable for all skin types. It does not leave your skin feeling oily, just incredibly refreshed.

When I've finished massaging it all over my face (including my eyes), I use a damp piece of cotton to remove the balm. I know a lot of people use cloths of various kinds, but to be honest I have an excess of cotton pads at home and the nice lady at the Clinique counter actually suggested dampening a cotton pad, so I went with it and it works a treat so far anyway. One of my favourite things about this cleanser is that I can use it to remove waterproof mascara, which means the cleansing process only requires one product instead of an extra step using eye makeup remover. In summary, I would recommend this product to everyone. It retails for €28 in boots and lasts for over 2 months. An excellent investment as far as I'm concerned!


Have you ever used cleansing balms, what is your favourite one?
What is your holy grail skin care product?

Wish List | Spring Make Up Essentials

Okay okay, so they might not be "essentials" per se, but I've managed to pick out some of my favourite items that are out at the moment or being released for Spring/Summer 2014. We've managed to make it through dreary January (almost) and it's time to look forward! What better way to pick yourself up than creating your very own Spring 2014 wishlist. Essentially I am looking for justification for these purchases and if I put them "out there", no one can be surprised or shocked when I come home, bags full. You've been warned!

MAC Viva Glam Rihanna Lipstick         NARS Guy Bourd Cinematic Lip (Full Frontal)

            WetnWild - Trio - Cool as a Cucumber               MAC Veluxe Brow Liner

Urban Decay - Naked 3 Palette

       

Barry M NP318 - Bourjois Violet Couture - NARS Wind Dancer

Have you already got any of these products, what do you think of them?

What is on your Wishlist for Spring 2014?

The Blogger Tag

Welcome everyone to The Blogger Tag! I decided to create a tag specifically for bloggers, I didn't come across anything similar, so I don't think it's been done already. But as with any tag post, the rules are simple:

1. Answer all the questions below
2. Tag fellow bloggers in the post
3. Link back to blogger who tagged you
4. When you post your response and you're advertising it, use the hashtag #BloggerTag

It's for a little fun and since it's January, it also touches on some of the ambitions we all have for our blogs in 2014. It is also a great opportunity to find fellow bloggers along the way. There is no restriction on the content of your blog to get involved. So let us begin...

1. When did you start your blog?
April 2013, so not even a year old yet, but the time has flown by!

2. What encouraged you to start?
I read loads of other blogs and watch plenty of beauty gurus on YouTube that I find helpful and I was always sharing tips with friends, I thought it might be nice to have a centralised place for all those tips.

3. What was the first blog you ever actively followed?
Fleur De Force is where it all began for me. She is based in England and I really like her style of blogging, she also has a YouTube channel which I'm subscribed to and watch regularly.

4. What types of things do you blog about?
Mostly about beauty (i.e. makeup, skincare, reviews, monthly favourites and that type of thing) but I do add in little bits of fashion, tv and general lifestyle

5. What has been your biggest revelation since beginning to blog?
The community spirit out there. I have only been to one meet up so far, but the encouragement and comradery is second to none. I feel I have already started to make some genuine friendships, which is something I never expected.

6. What do you find toughest about blogging?
Without doubt my biggest obstacle for me is time. I am working full time and completing a masters part time, when you include the fact I need to eat, sleep and socialise in there somewhere too, time is a rare commodity.

7. What is your favourite thing about blogging?
When you get a comment or feedback from someone that they found your post beneficial or helpful. It is great to know (and hard to believe) that some of my ramblings have helped someone out in someway. I know I'm not writing any ground breaking stuff, but it's always nice to make some kind of impact!

8. What are your blogging ambitions for 2014?
I would love to get more involved in Bloglovin' as it's an excellent platform for blogs, so really promote that social networking platform. Then outside of that I would like to release a minimum of one post per week (but ideally 2-3 posts) and really strengthen my viewership through Twitter and Facebook.

9. Recommend 5 Blogs for anyone reading this to follow...
Fleur DeForce, Tanya Burr, All the Buzz, At the Beauty Desk & Blushful Beauty
(there are of course sooo many more I could chose, but I had to stick to 5)

10. Who do you tag?
I tag Samantha Johnston, Sarah Hamersley, Avril Murphy, Filomena Kaguako, Lisa Molloy, Make Up Monster, Megan Daly & Lisa De Jong.

So that's it, even if you haven't been tagged and you want to get involved, feel free. Make sure to use #BloggerTag so everyone can see each others' responses.


Happy tagging...

Brand Obsession | Cath Kidston

I was pretty late to the Cath Kidston party, but now that I've caught up I'm in love. I managed to restrict myself to only two purchases so far. But I'm always keeping an eye on the website for any bargains! As the company is celebrating their 20th birthday this year I thought I would give them a mention today. To find fellow Kidstonites and maybe convert a few others who may have never heard of Cath Kidston.

I would like to preface this post with the comment, I have no connection with Cath Kidston, this post is no way sponsored, I am just in love with the brand!

So Kidston herself was born in England in 1958. It wasn't until 1994, that the brand itself began, her first shop in London. Her vision was to merge the traditional prints of her English countryside childhood with a more modern twist. She started out just selling small items like cushion covers, ironing board covers and second hand furniture which she customised herself. Then she began to branch out and create more products with her signature prints including washbags and swimsuits. After she began attending trade fairs and selling her products wholesale, she garnered much deserved media attention and things escalated from there. Cath Kidston now produces handbags, accessories, home wear, clothing, kitchen wear and curtains. The company has grown considerably and much deserved as far as I'm concerned. Today there are 59 Cath Kidston stores across Ireland and the UK, with a further 54 across Spain, Japan, Republic of Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China.

I thought I would share with you all the couple of purchases I've made so far (stress on the "so far", I intend to buy much more on my next trip to the store...)

Daisy Rose Hand Bag

Polka Dot Washbag 

As you can see the open Washbag has a hook on the top, so you can hang it anywhere from the back of the door, to hidden away in your wardrobe. It's great for travel or even as a place holder for your makeup at home. The separate compartments make it easy to keep track of everything.

Have you bought anything from the Cath Kidston range?

What is your favourite brand?

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)...

Blogtober #18 | Mini Boots Haul

Due to technical difficulties I am a little later than planned here. Blogtober Day 18 is upon us. Another short one this evening. I thought I would share with you a mini haul drugstore haul.

I got quite a few No7 protect & perfect skin items along with dry shampoo, leave in conditioner, heat protectant spray, foundation, lip lacquer and eye shadows. It was a relatively small haul, but as of course skin care was involved, it didn't exactly make it a cheap one. I will however be doing a Skin Care Routine post in the coming days, featuring some of the products shown above, so keep an eye out for that.

What I am interested to know is, am I alone in this one? I went into Boots with the intention of buying the Bourjois Serum Foundation, that was the only thing I "needed" and yet I cam out with a much lighter wallet. I've decided there's too many brands under one roof and there's something hypnotic in their lighting...

What little shopping trips have you made of late?
Are you like me and cannot be left unsupervised in a shop?

Blogtober #17 | Halloween Costume Ideas

So for something a little different I thought I would get you thinking about Halloween Costume Ideas. It's just around the corner and if you're planning on heading to a fancy dress party, you would want to start getting organised! As some inspiration I have shared below what I went as the last two years...

Last year I went with a classic, Zombie! You just need to have a little time and patience with some theatre wax and a lot of fake blood (plenty of old clothes too of course). White face makeup is another essential. One great part about this look is, you can't really go too wrong, you are supposed to look a mess and you don't even need to worry about your hair, let it dry naturally and you're done.

The previous year I was as a box of cinema popcorn. Definitely much less frightening. For this your main equipment includes a cardboard box, white paper, red paint, glue, lots of cut up pillow cases. The box part is relatively straight forward, you just need to cut it to shape, paint it and stick it all together. Then for the popcorn around the top, cut up old pillow cases and staple in individual chunks, which you then attach to a sheet which will travel around the inside of the box (glue/stitch it to the box). Then put some straps inside the box and hey presto, you're off!


Are you dressing up this year?
What are you thinking of going as?

Blogtober #16 | My Brush Collection

Hello my lovelies. On today's blogtober post I am going to share my brush collection. It's not huge by any stretch, but there is a nice selection in there. There are of course plenty more essentials* when it comes to a brush selection, but this is what I have so far...

*should be read as what I really want, by no means essential

I have some brushes from MAC, Make Up For Ever, Revlon, Avon and the Body Shop, but as you can tell if you own any yourself, the most popular brand in my collection is Real Techniques, which are made by Sam Chapman, one half of the sisterly duo that is Pixiwoo. As a make up artist, blogger and youtuber, Sam really knows her stuff and these brushes are excellent.

I have yet to get my hands on the eye brushes, but don't worry, they will follow in due course. Some of my favourites from my collection are the Real Techniques expert face brush, blush brush, detailer brush and buffing brush. Outside of that I really really like my Make Up For Ever lip brush and of course the MAC 217.


Do you use any of these brushes?
What are your favourite brands and types of brushes?

Blogtober #15 | Favourite Lipstick

Welcome to Blogtober Day 15, apologies for missing the last two days I have been quite unwell. Feeling much better now and ready to get back into it! So this is a look at some of my favourite lipsticks which are perfect for Autumn/Winter. I have included a mixture of high street and high end brands, with a price range from approx €6 to €36, so something for all budgets.

In addition to above I couldn't find my MAC lipstick (shade: lustering) for this picture, but here are some of my favourites at the moment. I've mentioned the Bourjois lipstick on more than one occasion, so it's no surprise it's here yet again! The Make Up For Ever nude shade is great for everyday wear, where as the Rimmel Kate, Topshop & YSL lipsticks are definitely reserved for nights out or whenever a bold lip is acceptable.

I just think lipstick is amazing, you can have the most minimal of make up on, pop on some lipstick and you've transformed any look (especially if you go for bold colours).


What lipsticks are you loving right now?
What are you favourite shades for Autumn/Winter?

Blogtober #12 | Autumnal/Wintery Eye MakeUp

Welcome one and all to day 12 of Blogtober. This is a very simple little post on what colours I'm currently enjoying wearing on my eyes for this time of year. It's probably not very surprising, but I am of course utilising my NAKED 1 palette from Urban Decay. It's nothing ground breaking, but since there are so many shades in this palette, I try make the most of it using it as a shadow, liner and brow filler.

I have listed the specific shades used below:

Brows: Naked
Lids: Sidecar
Crease/Under Eye: Darkhorse
Inner Corner: Virgin
Mascara: Maybelline The Rocket Volume (Waterproof)


What are some of your favourites shades and products for Autumn/Winter?

Blogtober #11 | In the Spotlight: YouTubers

Another cheeky Blogtober post a little late... hello day 11! This my friends will definitely have to be a short one, a little look at some of my favourite YouTube Channels.

Fleur DeForce
Fleur is actually the person who got me properly into make up and taking note of what I'm actually putting on my face. Before she came along, whatever was closest to hand/cheapest was sufficient. She has completely revolutionised my approach to skincare, hair care and make up.

She also has a vlog channel as well as a channel where you could follow her wedding preparations, having just recently gotten married, she has released a highlights video:

Zoella
In some round about way through Fleur, I found Zoe. Her posts focus more on hauls, favourites, etc. Not so much in the realm of tutorials, but her cheery attitude makes her videos appealing, and I certainly can't be the only one who thinks so considering she has over 2 million subscribers. She also has a vlog channel she updates from time to time. She also does tags and collaborations with lots of other YouTubers

Shaytards
In the non-beauty world, I follow the Shays, what a cute family. The Shaytards have been vlogging their daily family life for the last 5 years, they have four children with one more on the way.

Lisa Eldridge
Again one of the earlier channels on YouTube that I would have subscribed to. She has worked with some amazing people on some amazing sets over her career as a make-up artist, I treat anything she has to say as gospel when it comes to make-up. She has so many straight forward tutorials as well as video series to help you with everything from picking your foundation to how to look like celebrities.

Fine Bros
Lastly again from the non-beauty range, I am a long standing subscriber of the Fine Bros. They make so many different types of content on YouTube, but what originally drew me to the channel was Kids React to which has now expanded into the react series with Teens React, Elders React and now even YouTubers React

Who are some of your favourite YouTubers?