Essence Hello Autumn Collection

Who heard that Essence was releasing a new Autumn collection and when a little bit mad looking for them? It can't have been just me, I'm sure of it. I went into the Penneys on O'Connell St and headed straight for the back of the shop where I knew they kept the good stuff - the makeup. This is one of the most affordable make up collections to come out this Autumn if I'm correct and its just gorgeous. I only picked up a few bits but I can tell you I'll be back in looking for a few more bits this weekend.

Walk in the park is the name of this 6 piece palette. My god almighty would you take a look at those warm shimmers? I had to have it, honestly. It talked to me. This was €4.79 so I couldn't say no. Theres also another one in this collection thats slightly colder, darker shades with an almost black colour being the darkest, called keep calm and go for a walk. I think all the names are a little bit mad. All the colours in these are light so there really easy to build up and I'm surprised about how little fall out there is considering there on the cheap side. And the very best bit is the packaging is neat and compact so you can pop it in your makeup bag with plenty of space left. It also comes with a double ended brush if your stuck.

Keeping on eyes two eyeliners in a brown and dark green are available for €1.89 each and also two eyebrow kits that are €3.09 each. I'm not in the market for an eyebrow kit as my current one works wonders, but I was sad that there were no eyeliners left on the stand. Lots to look out for in the coming weeks!

Another must have from this collection is the multi-colour powder thats only €4.09. So maybe its a must have because it looks so gorgeous, but its true. This is a perfect highlighter and despite the darker shades in this, I'm not as scared to use it now as I had been to begin with. All the prettiness here.

Theres also 2 blushes in this collection, they are colour adapting which put me off a little. They sounded too gimmicky to fork over a few bob for when I went in for just a few things and was in a rush. But maybe next time I'll pick up one for the craic and see if there any good. There only €3.09 each anyway so its not breaking the bank. 

The last thing I picked up was the lip cream in beauti-fall red for €2.49. You can also get a pink one, but I can't pass a red by without wanting it. This is easy to apply and doesn't have that awful plasticy smell some cheaper lip products can have. It drys almost matte and has an average staying power, but does stain the lips a little. Handy to throw in the handbag as an emergency red lip (doesn't everyone have one of those!?) that you wont cry over if it gets lost.

There are several different nail varnishes in this collection too that also sounded a little gimmicky as they say they change colour with the temperature. I hadn't time to properly look at them, but I might pick one up as its only €2.49 a pop. Lastly there are also themed autumnal coloured bobbins that are seem free for €3.79. What an amazing collection if I do say so myself! Some real gems there that I'm sure will be missed once the season is over.

What would you pick up from this collection?

Wet'n'Wild Comfort Zone Eye Shadow Palette

 Wet'n'Wild has been in Ireland now for nearly a year and the craze for getting your hands on it is over. But for me, I'm still last to the party as always. I have a few of the trio eye shadow palettes, some foundations, concealers, other eye and lip products. But what I have lusted over for a really long time was this Colour Icon Comfort Zone palette. I told myself lots of times I didn't need it, I had loads of make up already. But the other day I couldn't hold out any longer and got it. After all W'n'W is a budget brand so this was less then €8, a steal.

This has 8 gorgeous highly pigmented colours that are so easy to build up. You can follow the guidelines on the back to create different looks or choose your own mixing and matching. I really like that all the W'n'W palettes have what colour can go where printed into the shadows themselves for those of us that might not be too sure about that sort of thing. I've been wearing make up for years and still have to idea what I'm doing most of the time. 

If there was a palette made just for me, this one has to be it. Theres a really lovely mixture of lights and darks here. I especially love the browns on the left side, they would be my go-to shades most days. All of the shadows have a slight shimmer to them as well, which happens to be right up my street! Give me all of the glitter, thank you please. I've yet to use the green side as I have green eyes and think it could be a little much. I'll no doubt update everyone on Twitter or Instagram when I've finally had a play with them, even if I come out looking a fright! One particular shade that I am in love with is the definer in the green side of the palette. I'd have bought the entire thing just for that one colour. It isn't showing up well on the swatches below, but in real life its the most unusual shade I've ever seen and I think it will be like having a mermaid on my eyeballs once I use it. 

The packaging itself isn't the strongest, but then again when the product is quite cheap that sort of thing can easily be overlooked. I've already managed to crack the front of it after putting it in my make up bag for the day. This also comes with a little double sided sponge and brush applicator, although I doubt I'd use it as I like using my own brushes for that. (I'm getting posh in my old age. I remember a time when they were the only things I used!) Overall I have found a new love with this and think it only right that everyone in Ireland (and everywhere else for that matter) go out and buy one in the near future. Go on, you need it. Really!

I Only Went In For Hair Dye! Haul Post

I genuinely only went into Boots the other day for hair dye. I've decided to try go all the way back to my natural blonde colour and instead of having 12 shades of different roots, I picked up a colour closer to my own. Normally Boots has a massive range of dyes, brands and offers so I got the John Frieda moose. Partly because it was on offer from €13.99 down to €6.99, partly because I had never tried it before and partly because its a fancy pants brand! Oh and the most important thing of it matching my natural hair colour the closest. Nearly forget that bit. 

But once hair was thought about, I noticed that the John Frieda intense after colour conditioner was only €3.49 down from €6.99 and it would have been truly rude not to pick it up. The same went for the big bottle of Herbal Essences that was only €2.74 down from €5.49. But in my defense, I was running low on the shampoo..

After the hair care incidents I was on my way to the check out when I spotted that it was 3 for 2 on all the Simple range. I've been after the eye roller for mad bin bag under your eye balls (the technical advertising terms, of course) for ages since seeing Sprinkle of Glitter get it in a haul. It was €6.99 but then I did get the face mask free once I picked up the face scrub.. Both were €4.99 each. And I had to get them. Cos', cos' of the offer!!

After that total fail I said fuck it and headed to the make up. Collection had all their nail varnishes for only €2 each and I had about 12 in my basket, but decided against crying when I had to hand over all my money at the till. So instead I just picked up the one. Isn't it just gorgeous? I've tried it since getting home and its a perfect Autumn shade. 

I have been on the hunt for a particular eye shadow from Seventeen for myself and the sister, but its the hardest one to come by! Its always sold out everywhere. So to console myself after not finding it yet again I picked up these two lovely shades from Collection for €2.99 each. 

Well, I tried. But I did get the hair dye I went in for.

Damn bargains!

March Favourites

We are in April, can you believe it? I can't. And if your like me, any bit of sunshine and the shorts are out and sun cream is getting slapped on like no ones business! Holy mammy I got out to the garden and went wild with the photo taking and flower picking (while no one was looking that is- risky stuff picking your mothers prize flowers.) I have a load of different things I've been loving this month and can't wait to tell you all about them, so lets get crackin'!

I did a make up face yoke kind of post ages back here and also a comparisons post on this Wet'n'Wild concealer palette against the Catrice one. I said Catrice was much better in my Jan Favs, in my BOBBlogChallenge here and here and I still stand by that. Honest to god, I pure rave about the stuff after looking back at all those links! Its more creamy, better selection of colours and doesn't sting near my eyes. But over the last month I have been using this non stop because my poor Catrice is no more. Surprisingly enough I'm noticing all its great qualities. Its cheap, it lasts much longer then the Catrice palette even with daily use, it covers well and bonus points for the highlighter which I've been slapping on the face whenI contour (Yes, I now contour. Close your mouths, I shocked myself enough as it is.) So Wet'n'Wild gets a big thumbs up this month. But boo on the slight stinging.

 I got a W7 In The Buff eye shadow palette only the other week from the Cosmetic outlet - post here on all the goodies I hauled! And since then it has been true love. Like head over heals love. Its meant to be a dupe for the Naked 2 palette and for a fraction of the price. I bet this is bringing all the boys to the yard, promises of milkshakes or not! I have done a tonne of different looks with all the 12 nude matte and shimmer goodness(es), things I would never normally think of or have the confidance to do. Take a goo at my Twitter or my Instagram to see some of the photos of recent colours I've used. I'm going to do a full post on this in time, just to brag about how badly I can wipe powdery colours across my face. Sexy, non?

My Cleanse Off Mitt? No words can describe my love, as someone who is a lazy arse about taking her makeup off. If I come home from a party or night out then boom, 2 second scrub round the chops with this beaut and I'm already half way to bed. Read my full review of it here - warning though, I make faces and some of them aren't purtty.

Ah, Timotei you sly dog you! Here was me thinking it was the kind of cheapy brand you could nab in the pound shop and did the job ok. But oh no, they went off and brought out a dry shampoo without informing me of its wonder, great power and general magical abilities. This is without a doubt the best dry shampoo I have ever tried. I know right, what is she on about? Has she lost the run of herself altogether now? Its all that fresh air, not doing her the least bit of good! Go way and stop that sort of thinking! I'm going to do a better review of this really soon, but for now just take my word for it, run like crazy and buy ever bottle you can find. Then send some to me. It doesn't leave white residue like Batiste, gives the locks volume and it lasts all day. You'll never need to shower again. - Ah here, slight exaggeration but you get what I'm jabbering on about. I found mine in Tesco on sale. Go, run!   

Next is nail varnish, a slight obsession of mine. Seventeen is a brand that can do no wrong in my eyes, they do amazing dupe concealer for Benefits Boi-ing, they do gorgeous eye shadows and they now do amazing nail varnish. Who created the brand and can I marry them please? This is the new colour clash nail effects in 'in the surf'. Blue speckled nails with white. Orange. Baby pinks! Oh be still my beating heart, its almost too much. You only need one coat of this stuff, it makes the most divine looking nail art and I will be wearing it all summer. I mean allllll summer. Prepared to get bored of my nails fast. 

Another little gem is my Anatomicals headache relief balm soother. I got it the same time I ordered my Cleanse Off Mitt from Cloud10Beauty. I got it on a whim, thinking it wont work but it was cheap and thought it might be something cute and different to try. It actually does reduce my headaches, I'm shocked to say. It smells really lovely and slightly minty, its hard and compact in the tin but the moment you touch it it tuns into this lovely oil thats so easy to spread over your temples. I even use this before bed sometimes to relax me and help me sleep. I'm considering this as a stocking filler already! (No one shoot me, I am 24/7 365 days of the year about Christmas, ok!?) 

Lastly, my Penneys shoes. Would you look at all that blue glittery goodness packed onto one pair of shoes! I got these bad boys last year and I have a feeling they might bring out something similar again this year. I didn't wear them much as they cut the footies off me but after saying fuck it and breaking them in, I now want nothing else on me. Happiness is glitter feet. They are comfy, finally and aren't too unstable like some of the shoes Penneys dishes out. I think I paid about €7 for these. I need to go back and stalk the shelves in there for the summer, just in case they pop back in! 

Make Up Face With Wet'n'Wild

Above is how I generally look when it comes to talking about make up or indeed putting it on. Looking confused, slightly frazzled and scratching my head. I'm no expert in the field and can regularly be seen sporting lipstick down to my boobs, big bushy eyebrows and eyeliner across my cheeks. What can I say, I like to do my make up in a darkened room and hoping for the best outcome. But today I thought I'd give all you internets people some lolz while I show you what I have on my face, Including Wet'n'Wild which is brand new to Ireland, so we need not be so jealous of American people and their wonderful cheap make up any longer!

Whats on my face:

Benefit POREefssional 

Wet'n'Wild cover all concealer palette

 Catrice camouflage concealer 

Model co fluid splash foundation

Seventeen miracle matte pressed powder 

Benefit eye shadow 

Wet'n'Wild eyeliner in black

Essence liquid ink in black

Wet'n'Wild mega protein mascara in black

Rimmel Kate lipstick in 107 

My Sleek and w7 makeup brushes

I really liked the Wet'n'Wild mascara for a subtle day time look, but the only down side is that it takes ages to dry. I was flapping my eyelids about like a crazy person trying to get it to dry! The eyeliner is massive and will last ages but pulled a little when drawing it on. Lastly the concealer is great and it has a highlighter in there too which is handy but a bit too sparkly for my liking. If I was going for a concealer palette like this I would use Catrice's one that I have reviewed over here. Much better constancy, colours and it doesn't hurt my skin.

I got the four Benefit eye shadows in Groovy Kind-a Love set for Christmas but depotted them and didn't take photos of the set before hand like the dope that I am! On the outter corner of my eye I have tickle my ivory, then guilt-y pleasure and in my crease I have both shimmer down and kiss me, I'm tispy. You can see the full set below; image from Benefit.com.

Naturally with big dark red lips I couldn't help but pull a Miranda Sings face, she is so funny and I love watching her youtube videos. You can check her out here, and I also love her instagram profile too! Thats all from me now, I hope my face hasn't scared you all too much! As always, have a great day x

January Favourites

Last year I was all over the gaf with favourites, I had weekly ones then I think I had random ones and finally now I'm trying to stick to a monthly as part of a I'm being good and not frying the head off myself or anyone else. New year, fresh start and all that jazz! I love haul posts and favourites posts as you get a good few products to read about in one go and if anything takes your fancy you already have read a mini review of it, sounds pretty good huh!? So here are mine, its a mixture of things this month. I surprised myself with going straight for make up and then body products.

First off my trusty batiste dry shampoo. I think at this stage everyone has tried one of these life savers. I go threw a crazy amount of these bottles and they are my favourite brand too. Oh and the smell! They work wonders, can't get enough of a good thing.

I have left my lovely holy grail L'oreal purifying micellar solution over at a friends house and have been left to rummage through my potions and lotions to find other things to take my make up off. And with that I have been reintroduced to Botanics soothing eye make up remover. I did a full review of it over here.

Flower pharm is something that I have known about for quite a while, I see it in Tesco a lot and my sister buys me products from the line for birthdays and Christmas' but this is the first time I have used the lime blossom body scrub and it is amazing. I love a scrub thats not too harsh when your skins not feeling up to it and this works a treat. Also I'm not normally a fan of citrus scents but this is gorgeous and helps me to wake up in the morning. Try one out their not pricey at all!

Lush. Oh Lush. I know I'm on a spending ban from this shop but it means I have more time to try out and get to find some new loves in my big pile of products from their line. Lovely Jubblies breast cream is normally over €20 but I got it half price in their after Christmas sale, lucky girl for spotting a bargain, me! I will definitely do a full review on this as its amazing and smells divine! Nom for my boobs!  

I went off earlier this month to TopShop and got some goodies along with this matte blue nail polish. Its already been slapped on my nails loads and I know its going to be worn to death over the coming summer months. Its just so pretty!

Next I am in love with The Body Shop white musk smokey rose* perfume. I have been wearing it for at least two months now and its such a lovely scent, I get compliments about it all the time. Its an old teenage favourite with a new twist! If your near one of their shops I'd defiantly recommend going in for a quick sniff to see for yourself.

Normally when I go to a Catrice stand they are all out of this concealer palette but someone obviously was loving me earlier in the month when I stumbled across this, ugh its perfect! I have used Essence ones before but they seemed to have discontinued them, boo. But I think after using both, this is the better one. It also has three different shades of concealer for different skin tones which I really like too. Bonus!

My new beaut of an eye shadow palette that I also got in TopShop the day I got my nail varnish, it was on sale at only €4 and I was delighted with life! It has gorgeous shades and the pigment is to die for. It lasts all day and blends amazingly well. I think everyone needs one in their collection. You can see swatches here.

Lastly my lovely Rimmel Kate Moss lip stick that I had lusted over for ages when they came out. I got my very first one for Christmas and I am firmly hooked, I think about 10 more are in order! This is in the shade 107 and is a gorgeous dark red colour. Its very pigmented (you have to scrub your lips a little) and it lasts ages. On the down side because it is a matte it hides none of those lip sins and isn't moisturizing at all so a lip balm and maybe a gloss is a must.

Thats all my January loves, I hope you enjoyed them! I'll do another favourties next month and keep up the good behavior of sticking to one type of posting and blogging. As always I hope everyone is having a good day. Whats some of your favourites this month? 

Products marked with * are PR or gifted samples. Read my Disclaimer here.

TopShop Haul

Another haul, I know. But this time its nothing to do with the Christmas sales I promise! I have never bought any Top Shop make up before and after reading a few posts on their lipsticks I wanted to go in myself and have a little look at what they had on offer! I actually didn't get any lipsticks sadly as Stephen was complaining that I was taking ages so I have to go back on the sly!

I spotted a cheap as chips €1 hot/cold penguin hand warmer. I'm a massive cute animal print fan so how could I say no. That and its normally about €9 if peeling off the little stickers underneath is right. I also got lovely shiny pink sliver and blue leopard-like printed wrapping paper for only 50cent, its normally €3, yonk!

First off I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw an eye shadow palette for only €4. There wasn't anything wrong with it apart from the outter packaging being a bit battered. But smokey eye Tawny had to come home with me. I love this so much! From looking on the Top Shop site there is a palette similar to this for £12 that you can see here.

Lastly I couldn't help but get some glitter while I was there picking up 2 nails in dark knight. And the cute packaging for the polishes, gahh!! At €3 I had to get one for my giveaway that I am going to be running some time side of 2014.. Promise ;) I also just had to take the 2 for €13 offer on all their nail varnishes up. They have new matte shades that are to die for. I picked up a light lilac in mellow and a light blue in whisper. You can see a little photo of them in action on my Instagram. I'll also do a review soon too as they are to die for spring colours!

Keep on smiling and have an amazing week! Its almost the weekend too, yay!

Rimmel Scandaleyes Eye Shadow Sticks

I've had these two for about 3 months and they have found a new home in my make up bag. I switch them up with my 17 eye shadow trio that you can see in my whats in my make up bag post. Rimmel the past 12-15 months they have been on the ball with things like their match perfection foundation and apocalips lip lacquer, just love this make up brand so much and they can do no wrong!

Theses are a beautiful creamy formula that are easy to apply and blend. The colour pay off is amazing too, something I was quite surprised about considering how creamy they are. The two I have are bulletproof beige and the darker brown is bad girl bronze. They are gorgeous to blend together and if I'm in a hurry or don't fancy spending ages fixing and blending loads of eye shadow these are my go to. Even the lighter bulltetproof beige works great on the water line and the inner eye to make them bigger and brighter to give you an overall brighter more awake look. Thank you please! The packaging is also sleek and easy to store away, just a quick pop off the lid and a swipe on the eye lids and your good!

The one down side to these is they don't tend to stick for the same hours as my normal eye shadow lasts. I find myself touching my eyes up more and if its any way warm then its off down my face with them! A litte does go a long way though, which is a plus. They come in five colours and are €5.95 but at the moment Rimmel have a 3 for 2 offer on in Boots, so you might be able to pick up a little something extra for yourself totally free. Now if thats not something to smile about then I don't know what is!

Hope everyone is keeping well and having a fab week - the weekend is in sight!

Huge Boots And Pound Shop Haul

As you can see, I went a tiny bit mad the other day in Boots and bought some essentials.. And then some lusted after goodies I've been wanting to try for yonks. First off was a bee line to the shampoo and condition section as I am nearly out of my normal Boots €1.95 stuff. It was 3 for 2 so I got a lovely smelling Dove set and an Aussie deep conditioner that I tried years ago and loved ever since. (Benefits of having showers at friends houses you see.) I got some Boots own brand chamomile and lemon balm shampoo as it was cheap as chips and smells lovely. 

I finally caved in and got Maybelline baby lips in cherry, I really can not wait to try it out! I picked up buy one get one half price cotton pads as I'm nearly all out and repurchased my Natural Collection powder in two colours because again they were on offer and I want to see which colour is the best now that I'm using a different foundation. I also managed to finally find and repurchase 17's eye shadow trio in metallic toffee (see it here in action!) It was harder to find then 

I needed to get some more Vitamin C tablets as I'm all out and really don't want to get one of my seasonal horrible colds, ugh! I got some Impulse into glamour (oh it smells so good!) and a little roll on Vaseline with aloe just to try it out. Hair pins grow legs and walk off on me so I threw in a pack and to finish off the crazy Boots rampage I picked up a packet of exfoliating mitts. 

Lastly I saw that a pound shop had all its Halloween stock in and even dragged my mother in I was that excited! I came away with a little Frankenstein and a ghost, two sets of spider earrings and my favourite thing ever - confetti and glitter!

Have you entered my Halloween giveaway yet?

Whats In My Make Up Bag?

Please excuse the messy products! They get like that every 5 minutes from being together in my makeup bag :/

I said I'd do this post, I told myself many a time and even sat down to do it a few times but it well, you know the story!  So, whats always on my face and in my make up bag, keeping in mind that I don't use a lot of make up because A. I'm not bothered to spent that long on it and B. See A again. - I got the No7 bag as part of a set well over 2 years ago and never used it, only discovering it again when I was rooting through a draw last month. (I just realised I have forgotten to take a photo of it, I'll put it up in a future post, silly me!)

First off whatever foundation I happen to have floating about. Currently its Rimmels Match Perfection in the lightest shade, ivory that tends to be on offer for €6 or €7. I like this one and have repurchased it over 4 times now. It only has a light to medium coverage and I think the next time I go to buy one I will be looking for something to suit my blotchy uneven skin tone to cover it a bit better. It has an average lasting/staying power that would be fine for a lot of you girls out there but for me its only ok. I really love the smell of this too, little added bonus! 

Next is Rimmel again, my concealer of choice for about 5 plus years now, hide the blemish concealer. This is a classic, great coverage and something that really stays put once you put it on with a quick sweep of finishing powder to set it. I love this and it lasts ages too. Around the €5 mark.

My pressed powder is the Natural Collections cheap and cheerful in cool. Its the one I have been reaching for the most considering the price, how much I use it, that it lasts forever and oddly enough for something so cheap it doesn't break or go all over the place, score. It's less then €3. As you can see from the photos I'll need to be repurchasing this asap!

This trio of eye shadow is from 17 and called Matallio Coffee. As you can tell from the pictures I have used it to death and it has to be the best trio I have ever owned. Light, medium and dark brown shimmer shades that you can create a bundle of different looks with? One please! There isn't a lot of fall out with this, the colours pop by using just a little and they stay put. I never tend to use an eye primer either with this.I have a feeling this was about the €7 mark but its been ages since I've got this so do double check. On my last visit to Boots I went looking especially for this only to find that it was out of stock - devastated! But I will find it as soon as I can, cheeky thing hiding on me.

For eyeliner I use the forever trusty Essence Liquid In in black - about €2.99. I have loved and used Essence for years now and this is there most amazing formula to date. It has amazing staying power and is 100% water proof (trying to get it off can be tricky without proper eye make up remover) and the little applicator is easy to use, giving loads of product with just one stroke of the brush. For my waterline I use Rimmel's super duper Exaggerate Waterproof Eye Definer in 261 Noir - about €6. You don't need to sharpen this pencil as the product just twists down and it also has a built in smugger on the other end for days when using liquid eyeliner is just too much or when you want to get the smoky eye effect. This glides on so easy which is a must for me, who else hates when eyeliner snages on your lid? Ahh! It comes in 6 shades and I might just have to nab the purple shade when I see it next. 

Maybellines Volume Express Mega Plush is currently in my make up bag, but its not my favourite mascara at all. When I bought it about 2 months ago I expected great things from hearing the fuss it was causing. It had a fancy flexibly brush and it was a gel-mousse with 40% less hard wax which was meant to be easier to use and wear. Eh no. The brush bristles aren't as good as some I have used and using the flex on the brush is hard. I don't think it was worth the €7.99 (on offer) I paid for it and once I have used this up I'll be glad to see it gone. 

Lastly to finish off my eyes I use Benefit's Eye Bright on my lower water line just to brighten up my eye. This is a pricy one at €21.50.

And that is all that I keep in my make bag and use daily. I can almost here to intake to breath here but I don't use moisturiser or primer, and rarely do anything to my eyebrows. I might get better one day, but I've  feeling I've a bit to go yet! As always I hope everyone is having a fab day! Talk to you all soon.