Seventeen Falsifeye HD Mascara

 
The latest thing to hit the blogosphere is the must-have brand spankin' new mascara from Seventeen. We all know I'm a massive fan of this budget brand. Not only are the cheaper then chips but they have some seriously amazing products and dupes for high end make up brands. I'm not all that crazy about mascara in general, its the eye shadows and foundations that get me every time. But whats the harm in checking out what all the fuss was about, especially when there were reports that it was a dupe for Benefits There're Real. If those claims were true then I'd be cutting my mascara buying habit by almost €20! (There're Real is my one weakness in life, just give it to me. Everything else is a fiver or less, promise!)

To make things better when I went into Boots for one of the bad boys, it was a 3 for 2 deal. It would have been rude not to pick up a few other bits too, but I came away with my prize of the day, all for €8.89. Have to say, what drew me in even before I was on the hunt for the mascara was the box it came in. Oh I love me a bit of fancy looking packaging! Get a load of that pink, ah you just can't beat it. Then of course there is the slightly less fancy, but all the same practical tube of mascara.

I'll cut to the chase, this is in no way a dupe for Benefit. Holy god whoever made that comparison is well out of their tree! But it is a nice mascara none the less. I'm a big fan of the wand, its long and has two different lengths of bristles so its perfect for getting right to the base of the lashes as well as the lower lashes that are really small on me - am I the only one here? The formula is also just right, it doesn't take ages to dry but at the same time its not too dry either. Is it cringe if I make a Goldilocks and the Three Bears reference for a mascara? I'll just be in the corner.. However I'm lost on the HD effect, maybe it just sounded good at the time when they were brain storming names?

This isn't going to give your eyeballs the wow factor with one coat, but slap on three or so and your ready to hit the town and knock em' dead with those oh-so-sexy face flutters. Bonus points, I never get clumps of mascara resting on the lashes, even when I layer more on then humanly possible. I might not be able to lift my eyelids open, but man does my face look great. Major apologises for not putting up proper photos of it actually on my eyes to give you an idea, but man my face has been having a serious week off. I'll try throw something up on my instagram soon!

Do you think you'd pick one of these up? 

Bleach London

I'm a fan of a nice hair dye in case you haven't already noticed! I've tried loads of different brands out over the years and sported every shade going. Naturals to out right neon looks, cos' I like to mix it up a little. I spotted Bleach London in Boots a few months ago and was sure I would no doubt get my paws on a few bottles to lash in the hair. 

Before I dye my hair a bright colour I nearly always bleach it first so the colour comes out brighter and nicer. I use Jerome Russell Bblonde products, as seen in the photo above. It does a great job but careful when using it as the smell could nearly put you under the table and if any gets on your skin it will burn. Like, ouch fuckin pain that stuff burns! K? Good.

The first thing about Bleach London hair dye is the price, when compared to other unnatural hair colours, is a little more expensive then others out there. Its €6.69 for 150ml which isn't too bad in the long run but I have a strong devotion to the Live XXL colours that are cheaper and sometimes on offer at 2 for €9. Apart from price, the packaging is really eye catching and fun but it doesn't come with any colour friendly conditioners or even plastic gloves like other brands do. I don't mind the conditioner not being there, but I always need gloves. Washing your hands with bleach to try and get the dye off my skin is never something I look forward to. 

Anyway, I used the bleach, dyed my hair back to a white blonde. Got some of the Bleach London dye in bruised violet and slathered it on. It recommends you leave it for roughly 20 minutes but I left mine in almost an hour, as I'm lazy and didn't want to wash it out. (I might have gotten back into bed with a book to wait and then it was warm and.. oh dear.) Washing it out was fine and once I dried my hair I noticed that it was slightly patchy in colour - not from an uneven application but rather the dye just didn't seem to work in all the places it was put on. This bugged me a little as I had even bleached my hair so the dye would take better. You can see what I mean in the third photo below. I thought just to leave it in longer next time I used it.

On the bottle it says that the dye comes out in 2 to 10 washes, but this wasn't the case at all. The next day when I washed my hair (this would be the second wash as I'm counting washing the hair dye out as the first wash) as normal with some Dove colour friendly shampoo it turned blue and green in places. Not only that but it faded dramatically. You can see in the last photo below. I had never had that happen with any other dye I had used and was really shocked. I thought maybe it was the shampoo I had used that reacted with it but after finding some reviews on the Boots site I realised that this was happening with a lot of people. It wasn't just me who had faded blue and green hair!

Since dying it the first time and having this happen, I decided to dye over it again and the same thing is after happening. Its so annoying to spend the money and time on your hair and end up looking like you fell into a rainbow. But in fairness I have come to love the multicoluored outcome, even if its not what I was going for to begin with. After I finish this bottle I doubt if I'll ever buy dye from Bleach London again, instead sticking to brands I know will work, that are cheaper and come with gloves, conditioner and more.  

What really bugs me about this brand is the huge hype it has, when there are other brands that have been out longer with better results and they don't get talked about half as much. I hope over the next few months when more people have tried Bleach London there will be more praise for other brands. Right now only the big Boots in Liffey Valley stocks it, but you can order it online.

Book Review: Carnival

I'll be honest, it was the colours on the cover of this book that drew me in first here. What put me off was the two people in a classic sexy pose. I may love erotica but man, do they have to put cringey pictures on the front? Wheres the muscle man on a horse and the half dressed damsel in distress swooning towards him? Anyway, things that make me rant for hours on end aside, this is a girl meets bad boy story. Just the kind of thing I needed after reading a good few thrillers and murder mysteries.

We follow Charlie who has just graduated from high school and should be off to college, but her parents have split up and shes worried about her mother who barely moves from the couch, preferring to have The NoteBook on repeat. Charlie decides shes better off staying in her small town then venturing off into the big wide world. As her friends pack their last few things for their college dorms, Charlie visits the carnival thats come to town. There she meets Blue, the most gorgeous guy shes ever set eyes on, who also happens to be a carnie. She plans to see him again, but wants to keep his job out of conversation from family and friends. He can't be all bad boy, or can he? He leaves the carnival life and stick around for the girl hes fallen for and Charlie soon finds out his secrets. But she might be a little blinded by love.

I have a love/hate relationship with this book. I'm a big fan of the bad boy story line and I love the shots of erotic scenes that you stumble across every now and then. Not to mention the young love is forever and unbreakable, le sigh. But the story gets very far fetched and I actually got a little sad as it could have been almost believable if the author didn't just throw in all the stereotypes at once. Its also hard to not be a little annoyed over Charlies 'I'm a big girl now, I'm an adult and 18. I can do what I want!' carry on and thought process. I know we are/were all like that at one stage, but I don't particularly want to read about it for an entire book.

One last thing that I couldn't ignore as it left me scratching my head, was the minor story line at the beginning talking about Charlies mother and father breaking up. Its all doom and gloom, but suddenly half way through the book the mother picks herself off the couch and continues on with life as normal, without any explanation. It seems like the author forgot how she was acting when she was introduced to the reader. Major WTF?! moment for me, and not in the good way.

Overall I didn't find this totally awful, as I said I love the odd bit of erotica, the mystery of a bad boy who can sweep anyone he chooses off their feet and the big love in a small town. The author - apart from Charlies mother - does a good job of introducing likable and easy to remember minor characters and the story flows well. Its easy to pick up at any point and remember the characters, something I personally can find hard to do with some books when there are just too many names or characters that aren't memorable. If I was to rate it, I'd give it 6 out of 10.  

Exfoliating Magic Foot Treatment

I'll warn you all now, this is a somewhat nasty and scary post. I'm talking skin here, rough dead stuff and very much alive stuff too. You've all been told!

Over a week ago I read a blog post from a favourite blogger who talked about these foot exfoliating bags for your feet. Naturally I went on the hunt for them and found some in Dunnes, though you I hear you can get them from chemists, Penneys and online too. I have really rough horrible skin all over my feet (sexy, I'm well aware) so I thought these would be the perfect thing.

The basic gist is you have one pair of 'socks' in the pack. When you open it you cut the socks open and there are two sticky tags, one on each sock so you can tape them around your ankles. You sit with them on for a recommended 90 minutes (I watched a short film) and then wash your feet and dry them. Inside the socks is a gel-like substance that makes it difficult and slippery to walk in. If you use them really try to stay off your feet while you let the treatment work, I went on my arse trying to make a cuppa.

After 7 days it says that all the rough and dead skin will peel off your feet and you'll be left with shiny new soft ones. In fairness this is just what happened. I had near given up on the socks ever working by day 4 and totally forgot I had used them until day 6 when I almost keeled over in shock at the state of my soles. I honestly thought I had caught some horrible disease and my skin was peeling off as a result - whats that you say? Too much embarrassing bodies? Not at all!..

But heres the scary part. Not only did it make the rough and dead skin peel off, but parts of my fresh and very much alive skin come off as well. Its still really sore and I'll admit, it was kind of scary seeing and feeling my skin come off. I called my podiatrist friend in utter panic to see if I needed to go to the hospital as, well, I mean my skin was falling off! And after she laughed at me (I tend to call her in panic a lot 'I've pulled out a clump of hair, I'm half bald. Its ok to glue it back in, right?' or an old classic whenever I have had too much to drink 'I just wanted to pluck one hair. But now I've no eyebrows! Will sunglasses work?') she told me that there sounded like there was a mild acid in the pack and how were people allowed to sell this stuff. On a side note, a podiatrist is the kind of person you want to go to if you need rough or dead skin removed. Not scary skin eating €4 foot packs!

In the end I've to just wait until my skin grows back and not use those yokes again. I'm quite sure I'm in the minority here for dreadful things to happen from using these as they are blogged about - and I trust these bloggers totally. They are also all over the market, Amazon is selling them by the dozen (but at extortionate prices) and there is nothing online that seems to say people have had the same experience as myself. Maybe I just have very sensitive skin, but the stinging has yet to completely stop and I'm avoiding looking at the 'hole' - piece of missing skin on the bottom of my foot. It makes me slightly bias when saying I don't think I'll be picking them up again, I like having skin. Even if its a little rough!

Apart from the fresh, nerve ending filled skin coming off, the socks did make my skin very soft, but only on the soles. The rough skin on the sides of my feet and toes are still the same, which makes me wonder how well theres socks work overall. I personally don't think its value for money - especially if a doctors bill had been added to the picture!

I really hope this hasn't put anyone off trying these magic foot socks, I just wanted to share my experience and warn people too!

Brand Spotlight: Oriflame 'The One'

Last month I was delighted to attend the launch of Oriflame's new collection 'The One' that is aimed at a younger audience - post here. I was given some of the range to try out and I have to admit, I went from not even knowing this brand existed to pleading for some of the products for my birthday next month. I'm genuinely converted to this brand and can't understand why I don't see it more on the blogosphere. Everything in this post has been gifted to me (see my disclaimer here) and you can order online here.

First up is the gorgeous colour impact cream eye shadow in the shimmer colours rose gold and golden brown. Theres 8 colours in this collection and the wonderful thing that I noticed is that they all compliment each other. You could literally buy any of them and create a look, this is perfect for beginners or maybe someone who isn't quite sure about a little present! I really love the little plastic pots that they come in, they look high end and something to display on your beauty draw or in your room. The two here are easy to use, no fussing over make up brushes or any need to overly blend. Stick your finger in the pot, swipe over your lids and your good to go. Personally I like to use a base of a regular eye shadow in a similar shade before applying the cream shadows for a base - the creams will stay longer and they wont crease.

 Initially I thought the price of €12.95 was crazy for a tiny pot until I used them for a few days, seeing how well they looked, blended and stayed put all day, not to mention after a month of daily use there is hardly a dent in the product. Right now they are on sale for €9.45, so I may just indulge.. 

Keeping with the the theme I want to talk about the volume blast mascara in black. I'm not a big mascara buff, I either like it or I don't, simple as. For me this was an ok one, I liked the length of the wand and the plastic bristles are small so its easy to get up close to the base of the lashes, but the formula didn't blow me away. For €12.45 I think you could get a cheaper and possibly better mascara from Seventeen or another brand. It also only comes in black or blue, which I think is odd that they don't have a more sought after shade like brown. Maybe they might add to the line and more colours will appear.   

However the real gem that I have been bursting at the seams to tell anyone that will listen is the eye liner stylo in black. I wasn't going to even try this when I first saw it, liquid liner and pencil are the only things I use, not even gel makes the cut. I had used these felt tip pen-like liners before and had a dreadful time of it. But seeing as I wanted to be able to write a decent review for the aul blog, I decided to take the pen to my eye balls. And lads, I'm so feckin' glad I did, you've no idea. I have actually swapped everything I normally use for this felt tip liner, its got me all a-flutter with its stupidly easy to use ways, its unbelievably staying power and its tiny tip that makes wings utterly perfect. I'm wearing it in the photo above and there are swatches in the photos below too. When this runs out I will be getting it again, theres just no other way to say it. At €11.45 I would normally think its a crazy ass price, but you can't put a price on love. 

Next its all about them under eye dark circles, oh bane of my life. I'm all about the concealers and colour correcting make up, if I don't have a good base my foundation and the rest of my make up is just going to go flop. This is the illuskin concealer in the shade fair light, one of only three lighter skined shades you can ger. I'm always a little annoyed when brands don't cater for a wider range of skin tones and this is one of those times. But that rant is for another day. This little tube is easy to use and the product is creamy and easy to apply, not drying out too quick so yo have time to blend and set it. The photo above in the bottom left hand corner is a swatch slightly blended into the skin, you can barely see it as it matches my skin tone so well. I'm impressed with this and it says put all day once its set with powder, but I'm not sure if I would pay €9.95 for it as I use other concealers that I have loved for a long time that are cheaper.

I'm not going to say too much about the long wear nail polish in the shade cappuccino as I want to do a separate review on it soon, with proper swatches and a big natter on what I think of it. But overall, I like the range of 15 shades that come in this line. Cappuccino isn't my normal go-to colour or something that I would ever pick out, but when I used it I was surprised at how much I liked it. I think this would be a good one for winter. At €9.45 its not really breaking the bank, 

Next is another big love from this collection, colour unlimited lipstick in the shade fuchsia excess. I don't know if I should start with how much I love the sturdy but cute packaging, the easy to use tube and product, the staying power or the excitement I felt when I saw the range of colours. Its just one of those products, you pick it up for the nice packaging and go back to buy 1 more after you see how gorgeous it really is. This isn't overly moisturising but its incredibly pigmented. It has a crazy lasting power after a few drinks, some food and a sneaky kiss it was definitely faded but not in the 'oh my god are they my lips?! Jesus someone pass me the lippie to fix this catastrophe!' way, more in the, ah I'll fix it when I'm off to the loo next, way. And eh bonus points, this colour matches my hair! We all know I love a good hair and lip match, yes sir. This comes in 10 different colours and I want at least 6 more. For €13.75 I do think its a little dear, but if you were treating yourself to some hair/shoe/jumper matching lipsticks, I think these ones should be on the list.

 Lastly is the illuskin blush in pink glow. I'm not much for the blushes, I have to admit. I thought this was a little too pink toned for my complexion, but none if I had a little tan I think this would have been gorgeous. Curse looking naturally like a milk bottle. The lighter side is more of a higher and has a shimmer to it compared to the matte pink blush. A handy two in one product that also has a little mirror. This comes in 2 other shades and I personally love the more peach toned compact. Its normally €12.45 but its currently marked down to €9.45. 

Is there anything that caught your eye here? Have you heard of Oriflame before?

*I did not pay for these items, they were  PR gifts.  Please see my disclaimer here

Spa Body Essentials

A little while ago the lovely people from Oceana Spa gave me one of their shower sets to try out, the *spa body essentials. I was really delighted to try the set that contains a shower gel, body scrub, body lotion and a bath lily. This set can be purchased from Oceana Spa but I'm still not sure what price it is after asking for a price list a few times, but if you contact them I am sure they would be happy to help. I've found the set online in dollars over here, which in euro roughly converts to €28.  

I really like the presentation of the set, the hard plastic bag that everything come in is right up my street. The packaging on the products is very basic however, which is a slight let down to a colour obsessed magpie like myself. But its whats inside and how well it works that counts at the end of the day. 

Earlier last month I did a little review of my favourite product out of the set here, the body scrub in my top 3 list. Filled with cocoa butter, mango butter and sugar cane, its got some great exfoliating power as well as being moisturising at the same time. Not to mention that its also a big 8.5 oz/140g pot. This, like the rest of the range has a distinct sweet sugar and lemon scent, its surprisingly refreshing. I've written more about it over here.

Next is my least favourite of the lot, the body wash. I didn't find that this foamed up well in the shower and the scent didn't linger on the skin once I was dried off. On the back it suggests using it in the bath as a bubble bath as well. When I tested it out it was very disappointing lacking in bubbles or even doing something for my skin after sitting in the water for over half an hour. This is a 12 fl oz/354.8ml bottle that has a pump, which is the one thing that I did really like about it. 

Last is the smoothie body creme thats 7oz/199.7g. I'm a big fan of this, its thick and creamy. It spreads alright and smells the same as the other products including vanilla, grapefruit and orange. My dear little mammy had a go of this as well and came away with the same thoughts as myself, she would buy it again. This is lasting well, but not as well as some of my moisturisers. As its quite thick you have to squeeze out a little extra then other products I've used which is something I noticed over the two weeks trying it out. Depending on what price this is, it mightn't be value for money when compared to other brands of the same quality. But it does leave my skin soft and drys in averagely well. 

What do you think of this set, would you use it or buy it as a gift? 

*I did not pay for this item, it was a PR gift.  Please see my disclaimer here. 

July Favourites

Late favourites is late, yeah sorry about that. This past month I've found is hard to just sit down and write and its followed me over into August which is crappy. I'm going to try work on that! Anyway July was the month I reignited my love for my kindle after being asked to review books from NetGallery. Why I ever decided it didn't need to be glued to my hand is beyond me! I have so many books read and am going to pile up reviews for the odd occasion, as I'm aware not everyone is a book review kinda person.  However, if you are a book person, Nurse Fancy Pants is always great for a wide variety of must reads, as is the lovely Behind Green Eyes.  In short, I'd like all of the books, thankyouplease.

Next up is my much raved and loved bottle of almond shower gel from the Body Shop. Oh man this stuff is like sex in a bottle, its just gorgeous. Its on sale at the moment for a fiver so naturally I had to go back and get another bottle of it. It foams up so much and the scent lingers on your skin well after you've had a shower. I want everyone I love to have a bottle - if almond was their favourite scent that is! It makes me happy.

I've had La Roche-Posay thermal spring water spray in a favourites before, but this lad has been keeping me and the rest of the house cool in the recent heat wave that hit Ireland earlier in the month. Honest to god we were all melty yokes before I remembered I had this. Bonus points, I through it in the fridge for extra coolness. Its pricey at €4.99 for a 50ml bottle, but I really think its worth it. 

Another thing I can't get into the shower without recent is Garnier's ultimate blends 'the sleek restorer' 1 minute hair treatment for dry and frizzy hair. As some of you will know, I'm a mad one for dying my hair and treating it really poorly, so a quick slather of this every morning is working wonders. I've really noticed a big difference and my hair is much softer - a lot more then with other treatments or conditioners I've used. I think in future I'd pick this up instead of a regular conditioner, it seems to have more good soft hair making things packed into it. I got this half price along with the shampoo and they both smell lovely. But if your picking up just one hair product, get the 1 minute hair treatment. Soft kitty.

Over a year ago I blogged about Lush Ultrabalm thats a multitaking balm. (I'm not linking it as its cringe and the photo is woeful.. and the rest! Find it at your own peril.) You can use it on your lips, for chaffing, to mosturise those really sand paper knees or elbows, maybe even to take off your eye make up if your stuck like I have many a night. This does so much, its a wonder I have it as long as I do. As you can see mine is almost finished so I'm going to be getting it again soon. For over €11 its a pricey little pot, but I think its a proper gem. Plus this is my last Lush ban month, woo!

Lastly a total steal, my much loved Wet'n'Wild mega last balm stain in red. Its the most beautiful medium red not too dark but not too bright, just perfect! Its under €3 as far as I can remember, but double check as I think it could be under €2. It lasts really long, its not moisturising but at the same time I don't find that it drys out my lips, which is always a surprise for a cheap lip product. Its really easy to apply and I find myself not even looking in a mirror - perhaps ill advised! (can you say Cat the Clown!?) The one big downside is the lid, it never stays on and has ruined the inside of a bag. Boo. But all is forgiven, its just too lovely not to want to us all the time!

Have you loved any of these things too?