Last Minute Nab: Cosmopolitan Magazine

I know, I'm last to the party here as normal. This is just a quick post to tell you all that you still have little under a week to go and grab yourself a copy of this months Cosmo magazine. This mag is my one true love, I wont buy it every month but I will lust after it and this months was just too good to miss out on. Also it has a fab Orly nail polish and a free Cosmo Christmas his and hers magazine as a special added bonus for your eyeballs to love. 

Apart from the obvious wonder that is Miley on the cover and her really great interview - not to mention the photo shoot that goes with it. Wow is all I can say. This month Cosmo have a really eye opening article on the one year anniversary of the woman who was brutally raped and died as a result on a New Delhi bus. It focuses on the facts and figures of sexual violence in India and further a field. Also the two day experiment of wearing a niqab that a journalist investigated and the really shocking and just unacceptable results.

Heavy stuff out of the way theres also big talk of where to get the best party dress this season and if bling is really back in. Oh and if you want a laugh the inside mens mind section made my sides sore from giggling away at it. 

Bottom line, I love it. You might too. Go take a peak! 

NOTD: Maybelline Color Show Brocades Knitted Gold

I don't own a huge collection of nail varnishes, but those that I do I always wear loads and love them like they are a limb. And the past few months writing a blog has given me an excuse to buy and try out more and more, oh bold girl that I am! One thing I'm not a massive fan of is glitter, but when I saw this online I knew it had to be mine. The new Maybelline Color Show Brocades has 10 new beautiful glitter shades that I want all of. Like every single one, thankyouplease! They look nice on Maybellines online store, but seeing them in person when I was in Boots was a major treat for the eyeballs. 

Knitted gold has a gold shimmer base with thousands of bigger and tiny rose gold/pink pieces of glitter that aren't really circles, more like a hexagon shape but I can't really count the sides properly a they are so small. But just wow. Who doesn't need a bit of sparkle in their lives? And especially as the party season is now upon us and not everyone (me) wants to deck themselves out in a eye catching dress or glittery pair of heels. 

I went off outside in the natural light to show you all how divine this nail varnish is. Pretty, no? But besides how fab it looks, its a pain in the backside to keep on. The Maybelline site claims that this is a chip-resistant nail polish. Lads they are having me on, chip-resistant my... Umhum, well besides that, its just really annoying. After only a day it comes off in big chunks. I put two lovely coats on last night, then after having a shower and putting on my tights the next morning it looked just dreadful, take a look at the picture below. Devastated. 

I've been wearing this about a week, reapplying it loads. Applying it is fine, the nail varnish has a normal decent brush for application that causes no hassle and after two coats your ready to hit the town. But you need patience and a good nail varnish remover to get this off. Its a well known fact that glitter nail varnish is harder to scrub off then normal polish, but man its a pain when your in a hurry and you end up frantically picking and chipping away at your nails (we've all done it don't lie and look so shocked). 

 Overall I love this so much while also hating how bad it is for chipping quickly after only just putting it on. Why cruel world, why? Despite all the negatives, I will be picking up one or two other shades in the Color Show Brocades as they've all stolen my little heart and at €5.95 they wont break the bank. 

On another note spelling colour as 'color' for this entire post nearly sent me mad!

Lush Shoot For The Stars Bath Ballistic

'Is she actually attempting to do three Lush bath related items in one month?' I hear you think. Yes. Yes I am.

 For me one of the things that make me feel like Christmas is getting near is seeing tins of sweets and biscuits in shops, the coca cola ad on telly and talk of the Late Late Toy show (which by the way I can not wait for!) But in the beauty world its seeing Lush bring out their shiny Christmas gift boxes. Theres something for everyone. If you don't fancy parting with your pennies on a gift set then you can cure your craving by picking out one of their many bath goodies to get you in the festive mood. I have already got my paws on Lord of Misrule and their Star Light, Star bright, and now it is time for me to tell you about Shoot for the Stars bath ballistic. 

What grabbed my attention to this bath bomb was when one of the girls in Lush offered to show me how it worked in water. When she plonked it into the bowl it started fizzing this lovely blue with a burst of pinks and yellows. One please! Its meant to smell the same as the Honey I Washed The Kids soap (- a kind of sweet smell thats just like honey and you just want to spread it on toast) but when it dissolves into the bath its barely noticeable, which is such a pity as I'm a massive fan of the soap and have a chunk of it in the shower with me most days. 

The bath bomb itself isn't the most pleasing thing to look at as its a bit plain but I thought the same with Lord of Misrule and have since gone back and bought about 4 more, so I had my fingers crossed for this guy. Nope, he didn't live up to my expectations at all. The amount of bubbles made in the bath were ok, but I've had better outcomes with other Lush bath bombs. The smell was ok too but nothing that made me go wow and the water colour was by far my most favourite thing. The deep blue was just lovely and there was a little surprise sparkle and tiny stars inside the bath bomb that floated around the bath. I stayed in it long after all the bubbles had popped and ran away (as you can see below). Theres nothing in the ingredients list thats worth mentioning either as nothing stands out for me, and we all know how much I love to tell you about stuff like that!

Overall a nice bath (who doesn't like a bath!?) but not something I would pick up again for the price of €4.25 - I think but I could be wrong, make sure and check in the shop. Never fear though, I will continue my search for the next best Lush bath and report back soon! 

Tiger Haul And Christmas Stocking Stuffer Ideas

I was in town the other day and made big plans to head to Tiger, I go in only when is needed as I'd spend all my money in that fab shop. I have below my stash of presents, stocking stuffers and little bits for myself. Whats fun about this shop is not only the easy and accessible layout, but what kind of random and parctial things they stock, not to mention their incredible prices.

Above in order I'll list along with the giving-it-away prices of gifts that I'm giving friends and family:

Tin of butter cookies: €4

Heart shaped ginger snaps: €3

Pink monster blank book: €2

Angel candle holder: €2

Paint your own Christmas tree mug: €3

Acacia Honey: €4

Box of sweets: €2

Then random buy of the day in Dealz, 4 selection boxes for €3 and boxes of Milk Tray for €1.49 each. What a steal! And great for little and bigger people with a sweet tooth!

I also got a few things for myself in Tiger,

3 glitter nail files: €2

2 pink and purple ribbons: €1 each

3 packets of tissues: €1 for three

Tin with red ribbon: €2

 Not everyone will have loads to spend on presents and there are some great deals out there for the savvy shopper. I myself love to buy lots of little presents that don't cost the earth and put them in a nice Christmas bag with lots of bows and sparkly ribbons. 

And I had to take a few photos of the Christmas lights in town, they are just so pretty and its really getting me in the Christmasy spirit! Not to mention how cold its gotten, brr!

Have you stayed your Christmas shopping yet? I hope this has given some of you ideas and a bit of a hand in stretching your pennies! As always I hope everyone is well and having a fab day x

DIY Almond & Lavender Sugar Body Scrub

Hello there lovely people of the internets! How are you all today? I really don't ask that enough and  I should. While were on the topic of chats, why don't you come over to Twitter page and we can chew the ear off each other!

Today I have decided that to do a little DIYing as Christmas is upon us and not everyone has a money tree in their back garden. (But if you do, kindly post a few seeds my way please!) That and its just something different that you might like to try. You can use many different things in your body scrubs. I opted for sugar instead of salt as I wanted a softer scrub, I put in some lavender for colour and almond oil because I love the smell of it. Don't be afraid to experiment and add your own tastes to your scrubs. 

For this you'll need:

A clean jar

Sugar (I like brown)

Olive oil (I used extra virgin)

almond essences or scented essential oil

Lavender

A table spoon

Ribbon (optional)

You can be very fancy and go spend a bomb on the ingredients if you like, or you can pick up cheap as chips things from Tesco that will make several batches of scrubs. You can also get a bag of lavender and different essential oils in a lot of health shops, I got mine in the Asian food market beside the Georges Arcade in Dublin. So once you have a clean jar grab a tablespoon and get to work! 

For every 2 tablespoons use one tablespoon of oil. I only found this out through a lot of trial and error, so find what works best for you. I actually liked a more oily mixture so I add in an extra tablespoon of oil at the end. I've found the best way to do this is add 2 tablespoons of sugar and then use another tablespoon to add in the oil, then mix it. Add in a tiny bit of essences and a sprinkle of lavender. Then go repeat this until you have filled your jar to the top.

If your making this as a present for someone then adding a piece of ribbon to it, a piece of fabric over the lid or hand designed sticker can really add an extra loving touch. And thats it, your all done! 

This is so easy to do and makes a great personal present to give someone. It works well and my skin feels really clean, well scrubbed and soft after. Since making this I've actually used half the jar and know when its all gone I'll be making some more stat! 

Thats all for now, hope some of you might try this and find it works well for you or even as a Christmas present.

Stay fab!

Vaseline V Nivea Roll On's

I'm a big fan of body sprays and deodorants in general, I have loads dotted around my room and the bathroom, not to mention my handbag. But sometimes I like to have a go of something different just to see if its any better. Aerosol sprays can be really overpowering if your in the same room for a while or for me as a asthmatic it can lead to half killing myself at times, lovely stuff!

So with all that in mind I have been trying out a few different roll on deodorants, different brands and different scents. My two favorites out of the lot are the ones pictured here. The Vaseline aloe for sensitive skin is my utter most favorite. My next favorite is the Nivea but only because the Dove that I tried was really awful and I didn't even keep it this long to photograph. 

Nivea is my favourite aerosol, the invisible 48 hour protection one in particular. But the roll on of this is not as good, nor is it an effective one. I notice that I need to reapply it a lot more throughout the day compared with a spray or the Vaseline roll on. The guys over at Nivea were thinking up numbers between 1 to 100 when they say its 48 hour protection. On the plus side the bottle does last a good while and it doesn't leave marks on your clothes. 

Vaseline aloe sensitive is also claiming to be 48 hour protection. It lasts an acceptable amount of time - a lot more then the Nivea, but again not anywhere near 48 hours. However it still works so well, I would 100% switch my aerosols for this roll on any day. It smells good, doesn't stain clothes or sting the skin (even just shaved skin that can be extra sensitive). Another positive is that the bottle is upside down so the liquid doesn't take as long to come out. No one likes standing in the freezing cold first thing in the morning waiting on liquid to slide down the bottle so you can put some on you and freeze a little more!

Overall I love the Vaseline roll on and will be repurchasing it again soon. However I'm not sure about the others, perhaps I am too fussy. If you use roll ons what do you think of them? have you a favourite or a suggestion of one I should try?

On a totally different topic, I just love Autumn so much. As I was taking photos for this post a tree in the garden caught my eye. Isn't the yellow and orange just so gorgeous? This time of year has to be my favourite time as you get to bundle up in heavy scarves, see all the lovely colours that the trees turn and have an excuse for lots of hot drinks!

As always I hope your having a great day. Stay fab x

Model Co FluidSplash 3 in 1 Foundation

This afternoon I have a new foundation that I have been using for about a month now. Model Co FluidSplash 3 in 1 foundation* in 01 Sand. Now isn't that a mouth full? I have never used this brand before and was really interested to have a go of it, after all I'm a big fan of foundations and concealers, buying them as if there going out of fashion!

To start with would you look at the lovely packaging, its so feminine and eye catching, love it! The product is a 3 in 1, foundation, concealer and eye primer. Not bad for a little tube and very handy if your traveling light. It has a screw off lid that also holds the concealer/eye primer in the bottom. This is a medium coverage for me, as I tend to need a cement mixer of concealer first and without it I wouldn't be fit to be seen in public! The consistency is light and easy to apply, not drying faster then you can rub it in too, which is a big bonus in my book. The concealer is also easy to use but I would only use it on small blemishes or over redness as its not something you can use on those in-your-face huge spots and blemishes.

This is a long lasting coverage foundation and also has a SPF 15+ to add to the list, along with it being oil free and allergy tested. To get technical it is 'Enriched with the hydrating properties of Vitamin E and C, FLUIDSPLASH leaves your skin looking naturally radiant. The inbulit concealer and eye base contains Vitamin E and Aloe Vera that work to banish blemishes and imperfections.'

One of the downsides has to be that the product is scented in a kind of sickeningly sweet rose smell that can be overpowering the first few times you use it and off putting. But I don't really notice the smell anymore as I've been using it almost daily now. Another downside would have to be the pocket pinching price of €45 of a 35ml bottle. This is a more high end foundation and I would be used to paying no more then €12 for my regular Maybelline or Rimmel stuff. A bit much for my price range and I'm not sure I'd be buying it myself considering I could get more for my money with drug store bands instead. 

If I was kinder to my skin this is the sort of foundation I would be reaching for non stop. My skin is sensitive and oily so the fact that it is soft, kind and oil free is a must have for anyone with skin similar to mine. Overall a big 8 out of 10 from me!

Hope you are keeping warm this cold weekend and having a great relaxing one. Stay fab!

*I did not pay for this item, please see my disclaimer here.