Maybelline Lash Sensation Mascara

The latest must have mascara came out at the start of the year in the form of Maybelline Lash Sensation and I didn't take any notice of it. I'm not a huge mascara person and rarely stray from my Benefit They're Real. But the other week I decided to pick it up for the simple face that it was in the colour wheel of a possible purple, Yup, you can sell me anything as long as its purple. In fairness I had read very good reviews of it as well, so I wasn't being entirely bought over by packaging alone. 

I will use any mascara to test it out for the blog or just myself. But I have noticed the ones I've tried out more recently I've been reaching for over my beloved They're Real (yeah, real expensive you mean! Its one of the only high end products I use daily by the way.) But I must say, if I was a mascara, I would like to be this one. It has a lovely consistency, is a true black shade and drys quickly enough that I'm not getting it all over my face or glasses. If you really want to blow people away on a night out, lash on two coats of this stuff and your set. It doesn't flake or end up half way down your face by the end of the day either, as I've wore this many 14+ hour days.

However if you do accidentally rub your eye, it will smudge. I've been wearing a lot of cheaper mascaras recently that don't budge if you do it. I will do a blog post on them, don't worry! But the cream of the crop is not based off of rubbing your eyes raw, its how they look in the end. And this wand gives the most beautiful separation without making the lashes look like spider legs. There are two sides to this curved wand,  the outer with longer teeth and the inner has smaller. This makes it so much easier to to both top and bottom lashes without getting blobs of product all over your face and the curve in the wand is a huge help too, making it easy to get right at the root of the lashes - which is not the easiest thing to do! Or maybe thats just me. Elephant in a china shop, me. But the curve does almost enables you to want to put on more! 

As you can see in the photos below, it really does make a big difference, The mascara lengthened the lashes and gives an incredible volume, especially considering the ones below have only one coat on them. Its also very easy to take off and I use the Garnier eye make up remover on them most nights. However it will come off easy enough with a cleanser or micellar water too - hey we can't all be perfect all of the time!

This is currently €11.99 in Boots and they naturally have their famous 3 for 3 offer running at the moment so it would be utterly rude not to buy this. Its genuinely the first mascara in years that I've wanted to make family and friends buy  so they can see just how good it is. If I had a SnapChat, this is the type of photo you'd be seeing on it. The tube of mascara entitled 'Buy it, thank me later'. (And I can tell you, I have a special rant just for that bloody snapchat yoke. Young'uns!)

Max Factor: Masterpiece Glamour Extensions 3in1 Volumising Mascara

The people over at Max Factor need to take a well deserved break if you ask me. They have been on fire over the past few months bringing out amazing product after amazing product. (Perfect example being their new baked blushes over here. Oh my good lord!) Now I'm not a massive fan of mascara, I prefer lipstick and eye shadow buying then any other products, but this was a pleasant surprise when I first used their *Masterpiece Glamour Extensions 3in1 Mascara .

Claiming to volumise, extend and intensify, I find that all make up will market that they can almost achieve world peace. But what did this mascara actually do for me? Well for one, it properly gets onto the root of my lashes without causing a mess. The wand is shorter then a lot of mascaras (I measured a few from my collection against it just to make sure!) and so is the lovely thin bristle part. So many mascara on the market are thick wands that don't distribute product evenly and make it almost impossible to get right the the lash root without smudging product onto your lids. This one is makes applying product easy and without having to clean up after. I never normally manage to get mascara onto my lashes closet to the bridge of my nose, but with this I noticed immediately how easy it was. And the same goes for my lower lashes, theres no need for clean up or having to put extra concealer on to cover darkness when product goes everywhere.

Apart from easy application, I liked how the wand separated my lashes and the formula itself never clumped. - I've rarely ever found a non clumping formula. My beloved holy grail Benefit They're Real clumps all over the place! It also drys quickly but without getting crispy lashes. Drying quickly is a major plus for those of us who always accidentally touch near our eyes or wear glasses. No smudging or strokes of black eyelashes on our lenses! However I don't agree with Max Factors claim of their 'formula contains wax particles, that act as spacers between lashes to make them appear fuller'. I think this is the perfect product for a daytime look, but I've never found it to give a volumising or lengthening 'wow' factor. This is just a nice mascara that does the job, while being super easy to use, doesn't clump, go all over the place and drys quickly.

For those of you who like bigger and fuller looking lashes, I would recommend applying eyeliner to the water line and and above the lash line. You can also apply a few layers of this mascara, but after coat three I've noticed it will begin to clump. For everyday wear or even just for the lower lashes, I'd definitely recommend this and at €12.99 its not crazy money. Also Boots has the aul 3for2 offer on at the moment, so you could easily pick this up along with a few other bits if you felt the urge!

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

Boots Haul: Hair and Makeup Must Haves

Its important to note that this spend was totally ok as I had gotten a Boots voucher for my birthday and it was burning a hole in my handbag. The majority of this haul are things that I had needed to repurchase or that I had been looking at for ages and just never had the extra funds to splurge on. So thank you to one of my besties for feeding my Boots habit, the doll! Boots are doing there regular savings with 3 for 2 on make up and the likes, but there also doing a 3 for 2 on all hair care - which I think ends up being a little expensive in the long run. So until they finish that offer I'm hunting around the house for some shampoo and conditioner!

I had to get more hair dye as I'm finally finished my god awful bottle of Bleach London. Now I can go back to much loved and trusted Live Colour XXL in purple. This stuff lasts such a long time and is one of the best purple dyes I have tried (and believe me, I've tried them all!) This was only €6.99 and normally its on offer for two fro €9, so look out for that if your a dye addict like myself.

I also picked up Soap&Glory Orangeasm body wash that I have wanted since it came out. I can't get enough of the scent and a friend actually took it from me because I was sniffing it too much. (opps). I can't wait to try this out in the shower and see if the scent is long lasting and what it really smells like once its applied to the skin. Not only that, but obviously if it washes well and leaves me squeaky clean! This was the cheapest out of the new line at €9, which is a bit steep, but after all it is S&G.

Another thing that I had been after for ages was the Invisi bobble that I read about on a blog and really wanted to try. This is meant to keep hair in place without catching or leaving bobbin marks in your hair. I am forever tying my hair up and letting it loose again late only to find kinks and crazy possessed big hair. I really hope this isn't a gimmiky product and it actually works. It will make a nice change from getting my hair pulled out by my bobbins too and I'm hoping it wont break as easy as the ones I'm currently using at the minute. For a pack of three this was €4.89.

I was set on getting a Sleek palette as I have never owned one and when I saw the limited edition Arabian Nights, I knew it had to be mine. What I didn't know was that Sleek had a buy one get one half price on all their stock so I came away with another much drooled over palette, Vintage Romance. Both of these make me happy just to look at and I can't wait to have a proper play and create some looks. These are €9.99 each, but I got the second one for €4.99. Over the past month I have been seriously gaining a lot of new shadows and palettes so I think these will be the last for a while as I just have too many! The last Sleek palette I really want is the Sunset one, after that the craving should be filled! (Or so I hope). I'll start doing reviews and swatches in the next while of all the these shadows and products, so keel the eyes peeled.

Lastly, some much needed repurchases. Seventeen is one of my most loved make up brands and I have bought dozens of their phwoarr paint concealers and miracle matte pressed powders. The concealer is a near dupe of Benefits boi-ing but for only €6.99, while the pressed powder was €5.09. Seventeen had an offer on of buy two products and get a free back lash mascara that is normally €8.19. It was just my luck that I was buying two things anyway! I haven't seen this mascara before, so I don't know if its new or not, although I don't pay too much attention to any mascaras out.

Lastly I picked up a reduced Bourjois record liner in black for €3, originally €10.49 as the packaging had been damaged. I couldn't have been happier as this brand is normally out of my reach with its slightly high end prices. 

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? 

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

June Favourites

I've been crappy at posting in June, tis' a woeful situation altogether lads. I'll try and be better this month. I've lots of lovely things I want to post about, I promise I'll kick myself up the arse and get to it! Right now though, lets talk favourites. I've been a little fish this month heading into the pool a lot and as a result the hair is about three days short of a full on strike. Also I have been stocking up on the books which I'll have a post about soon, love me some reading!

First off I am going mad overboard fancy here - well for me! I recently ran out of my Benefit They're Real and decided to go rooting for a new mascara. Boom! I found this in my draw, a long lost Christmas present. Lancome Hypnose in black. Its a lot wetter then what I was used to with Benefit and when it drys theres no hard layer of can't-open-your-eyes-for-the-weight. In short, I feel classy wearing this. Bit of a bitch if you like fast drying mascaras, but the end result is gorgeous lashes. Not worth almost €30 though. 

On the other end of the money scale (and back to my normal kind of thing!) is a bargain grabbin' €1.50 argan oil hair treatment from the pound shop. As I said, the hair is in dreadful condition so I picked this up in hopes that it will do something. Your instructed to use 3-4 drops and distribute throughout the hair, but I just lash it on and hope for the best washing it out a few hours later. Its worth picking up as I can feel the softy soft results after using it.

As I am an absolute tool I forgot to take a photo of the pink exfoliate gloves from the top picture, but I still need to tell you about them. Penneys best, €1.50 and everyone needs a pair. I have gotten big into my body scrubs lately and what better way to maximize the scrubby goodness then with a pair of gloves to help remove sandpaper skin? These ones replaced my much loved WaxPerts gloves, which I will talk about soon. (Me blogging a lot sounds great in theory!)

If your new to the party, I wrote about the book Guilty Pleasures a little while ago, and after about 14 of them (theres something like 20 in total) I gave up and ranted to anyone who would listen about the awful story line. And after a few months of not reading the books, I'm beginning to miss it again, so when I found some graphic novels of the books I pounced on them. They are everything and nothing like I had imagined in my head, but thats always the way! I'm so tempted to go back and read a few more awful, sex filled, vampire books... Actually it doesn't sound all that bad!

The most exciting thing about my showers recently has been Garnier Ultimate Blends shampoo and conditioner. Man these bottles smell so damn good! (Hey, its the little things in life) I'm slowly making my way through their entire range and this is my favourtite so far. I smell my hair all day and look like a loon because of this stuff. Softy soft hair is also a major bonus from using this too. There all on offer for under €3 in Boots at the moment if you fancy grabbing a few.

Lastly my Emma's soy candles. I'm still in love with these and I did a post about them here. When I get sad I light these and they make me happy. My asthma has seriously been getting worse the past while and they don't effect it at all. Little jar of happiness that you can enjoy being around and still being able to breath? Yeah, we like that kind of stuff! They are Irish, hand made and come in so many different scents. You need at least one.

Junes Powder Pocket

Before we even pour the tea out, I want to warn you that this is going to be a bit of a ranty post. If you've read my last months review of Powder Pocket then you'll know this isn't something out of the blue, I've been having some mixed feelings about the box of a month or two now. This month the box is late - the same goes for the last one too. Its meant to come in the month that it says, but yet again I'm getting it on the 2nd of the next month. This just bugs me so much when I see other subscription boxes arriving on time. 

The second thing thats driving me a little around the bend is the lack of full sized products. I know not every product can or will be full sized, I'm not looking for miracles. But like last month, theres not one full sized product in sight. And then my third and final note of annoyance - what the hell is up with the theme this month? Viva Brazil is a lovely idea, I get that its football month and everyone is going mad for it. But how do the products in any way fit this theme? Ah lads at Powder Pocket, your not having a good streak are you? I really love the people over at Powder Pocket, now don't get me wrong. I met some of them at the Irish Beauty Show and they were nothing but a treat! Its just.. Meh?

 Anyway, heres what came in this months box. You can judge for yourselves and tell me if I'm a whining aul' bat that needs to take a back seat. Or even you might agree with me, stranger things have happened!

I do love that they colour coordinated the Viva Brazil theme to the paper, ribbon and tiny cute little sticker. This is the one place I can and have never faulted this box, their presentation is to die for and I always love every single box in this way. I also really like the booklet that it comes with. Colourful, exciting and full of all the information about the products in the box along with a few other pieces that expand on some of the brands. I love having a flick through this and learning more about them all. 

There was a mixture of things this month. Something I was delighted to see was that Pixy was back in the box this month and had a lovely little lime body scrub in it. I did a review of these over here if your interested. They are great for a quick scrub in the shower while also being really moisturising. I'm a little dissappointed that the same brands keep appearing in this box as finding new brands to try is what beauty boxes should be all about. I'm very divided on this one, ha! This sample size is €1 while a full size product is €5.95. 

Keeping on the same rant, Shiseido is another brand thats popped up in this box before and while its really great to try out a product that would be too far out of my price range to every dream of getting to try out, its still annoying that its a brand I've seen and read about before from Powder Pocket. This is the advanced body creator super slimming reducer. If I'm honest I laughed at this when I read it. One because theres no amount of cream in the world to help me become slim (this is a funny thing, no one go all 'but your not fat!' on me now, ya here?) and second it all sounds a bit too gimmicky for my liking. This is a 12ml sample size, with the full 200ml size a loling €62.  

Something I was excited to see was Dr. Hauschka almond soothing bath essence. I'm a fan of the bath, I'm a fan of almond, how could this go wrong? It smells so damn good from the quick shinff I had when I first opened the box. Only thing that brought me down from my moment of joy was realizing that the full size 100ml bottle is 'from €22.49'. Well, better make this last then! This sample size is 10ml.

Another really exciting thing that I am delighted to have my paws on is the Body Shop super volume mascara. Its been years since I've used any make up by the body shop so I can't wait to give this a whirl and if I like it I might even pop in and have a look at what else they have to offer my face! This is €15.95 for a 10ml tube. I also love that there was a free eyebrow threading voucher in the box, I'll be using that for sure!

Lastly what I would call a really crappy sample, Nia intensive restoring moisturiser. Now I'm not a huge fan of moisturisers in general, but this isn't even going to get a look in with me. It smells really odd, somewhere between a herbal scent and I don't know what. Its not something that my nose would like having to deal with while it was sitting on my skin. This is really poor packaging as the bottom sticker on the little jar is half cut off and illegible. The only thing I can make out is that its a 4ml tub and its made in Ireland. Not a cool price either at €24.95 for a 50ml jar. Some will happily pay that for their moisturiser, but me? Not a hope.

 Overall I'm not really a happy bunny with this months box at all. I said last month I'd give them another try and see if Junes box was any better but now I've decided I'm going to cancel my subscription and head to Chic Treat Club in hopes that what they have will be better. (And lets face it, we've all seen the reviews of those boxes. I'm so jealous I didn't sign up to them from the beginning!) 

So, what do you think? Am I being too grumpy?

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

December And Limited Edition Christmas Glossy Boxes

I know, I'm so far behind I'm posting about December Glossy boxes. Oh god, please don't hate me! But I thought why the hell not show and tell you all about them, after all I quite enjoyed receiving them and I like sharing little bits of happiness with you all. Especially when they come in gorgeous pretty boxes that just make you melt a little. No, just me? Oh, ok then..

First off we have the regular December Glossy Box and its all pimped out for Christmas, surprise surprise! But I have to say, I really loved that even down to the cute red and green theme, it was well thought out. Would you take a gander at the tree shaped beauty things?! Ugh, so much love! 

I have to admit, this box was by far the worst one I have gotten. My favourite thing has to have been a tie between the gorgeous Beautiful Movements Cosmetics nude lip gloss that is £12 for a full size. I have used this from the word go, its so handy and you can use it with any look for a little extra shine. Then the other, the oh-so-nom Bee Nature bee nature soap that just smells amazing and has a cute little print of a bee on it too. For a 100g its only €5.50.

The next thing was Rituals miracle balm which I was undecided about. I liked that I received a good full sized product and I loved the pinky purple packaging but the cream itself hasn't really made any difference to my hands.. Its £10 for a 75ml tube.

Lastly, the two things that I was really unimpressed about was the Maybelline new york volum' express colossal smokey eyes mascara thats £7.99. Not only is it a mouth full, but its something I have tried before and really hated. The brush is too big and awkward to use and it leaves clumps of mascara all over your lashes.. And cheeks! Nope, this was off loaded to the sister to see if she had better luck.

 And lastly, Yin Yang Skincare rich skin food thats £19.50 for 50ml. Not only was I not too excited about little samples but on closer exception I noticed they were expired. Later Glossy Box emailed customers to ensure that they were not responsible and forwarded on an email from Yin Yang Skincare, in which they apologized for what happened and said that the samples were fine to use, but if customers wanted to email them they would be happy to send in date ones. My thoughts? Not even slightly impressed. Glossy Box is meant to be a luxurious service that, lets be honest here, is pricey enough and I wouldn't like to think of anyone forking out their hard earned dosh for less then amazing things. Much less out of date things. Been hearing more and more negative talk about Glossy Box on the tweets and blogosphere lately and I'm starting to agree. Maybe its time to look at other beauty boxes?

Next is the Limited Edition Glossy Box that I was very surprised to find my postman handing over (Stephen is a total plonker, but I love him very much!) This one is a fancy as can be box - its gold and black, like come on! I've no problem admitting I drooled a little over how pretty it is, like all of the box presentations generally are. It also came perfectly in tacked and none of the products looked like they were given a good shake mid travel, so An Post must have invested in a football since my last box! This has six products in it, unlike the normal five you tend to receive in most boxes. I was much happier with this box in comparison to the last disaster, so well done Glossy Box for covering your arse! If only every box could be this amazing! 

First we have Etre Belle Cosmetics waterproof lash sensation mascara. This one gets the thumbs up, no need to pass onto the waiting hands of the sister this time! This is €17.20 for a 9ml tube.

EnPhidra conditioning lipstick is just so gorgeous. You'll be seeing me smearing it all over my general face area for the next age, it smells as good as it looks. Added bonus of an SPF10. It's €13.90 for a 4.5ml tube.

Glossy Box seems to really favour the aul hand cream, because since subscribing to it I've had to clear a drawer just for the ever growing collections. This one however I wouldn't mind having another drawer full of, the Figs And Rouge coco rose hand cream. I'm not a lover of rose scent in the least, it makes me feel really sick, but this I can about handle for how soft it makes your hands. €4.80 for a 20ml tube.

Next is the Philip B african shea butter gentle and conditioning shampoo. I'm really excited to try this, shampoo isn't something you normally receive and this one smells good from the sniff I gave it when I first opened the box. I hope it works wonders! €12 for a 60ml bottle.

So Susan Cosmetics water based pure luminizer was something I picked out of the box and let out a 'oohhh' noise while reading the side of it. The packaging is so eye catching and the fact that its a luminizer was even better! I can't wait to try this one out, I've never had anything like it before. This one is €25 for a 15g tube.

Lastly is the Sue Devitt silky blush which is a lovely shade that I can see myself using now that I've been given a few blushers for Christmas, I'm getting more adventurous! It's €14.50 for a 3g palette. 

Things I've Used Up #3

Its been a while since my last things I've used up post, hence the large amount of potion and lotion bottle I have for your lovely viewing. If you fancy taking a peak at my first post here or my second one  here. Some of these things I had half used up and then did the bold thing of bringing out something new and shiny, forgetting to use the other half bottle of goo. 

Shower things first, and its all shower gels and creams. I'm a big fan of taking an extra blob of whatever I'm using and really getting the biggest amount of bubbles on my luffa that will fit. I had two Palmolive Naturals in Delicate Care an Nourishing Delight. I think Palmolive are really under rated and don't get as much good press as they should, being overshadowed by bigger brands. These two were creamy, easy to foam and smelt so so good. A bottle isn't that expensive either so I will be picking another bottle up soon!

I'm not going to rabbit on about my Soap and Glory body wash as I wrote a post on it here, all I'll say is I'm glad its finally gone!

Lastly my Lush Ponche, full of fruity orange and tequila that really wakes you up in the morning without being overpowering. I will be getting the biggest bottle Lush has to offer as its only a limited edition for Christmas and I'm not waiting a whole year to have it back again. Just love it. So. Much. 

  

 I wont go on about Maybelline mega plus mascara as I talked a lot about it over here. 

I went looking for something that would keep my makeup from sliding down my face while making sure I wasn't traffic light shiny. No7 shine free primer was meant to do that but I must say I wasn't hugely impressed with this. It was shine free but a little hard to apply as it dried quickly so spreading it across your face was an operation in itself. Not something I will be getting again at €16.25 a go!

Lastly I have repurchased both Lush tea tree water toner and L'oreal's 3in1 purifying micellar solution. Both wonderful things that I really can't get enough of. 

I have been meaning to use up this Nivea refreshing cleansing lotion for ages now but just haven't got around to it as its not my most loved one. I'm not going to be getting this again as the L'oreal beside it is my main go to now a days.

 My favourite deodorant, Nivea. A bottle of my favourite body spray, Impulse hint of musk (I just repurchased in my last haul post) and lastly the best dry shampoo every, Batiste. 

Hope everyone is keeping happy and well. Have a fab day x 

Favourite Things The Past While

My take on monthly favourites, instead of the more normal ones you find on blogs. Those people are a lot more sorted and organised then I could ever hope to be, bless their little socks. So 12 things I want to tell you all about. Show and tell, my fav!

Got my mitts on the new L'oreal skin perfection after reading blog reviews, can't wait to use it more and see if I love it as much as I think I do. Also in love with my Rimmel volume mascara / Twinings rejuvenating nettle tea for €1.75 in Tesco, it tastes really lovely - and pretty box / Downloaded the new revenge wears prada, I'm about 15% in and I am really liking it so far

Cake Boss, I'm obsessed! I've got Stephen hooked too / Bourjois sharpener that I lost for over a year, I just found it again. Best sharpener around, and its only €3 in Boots. Go get it! / After getting this Marilyn Monroe picture for my 18th birthday - thanks Steph! - I finally got it hung

Halloween! I'm so excited, I found these guys a while ago, post here / Again, this girl spider candle holder is from the pound shop and shes a sparkly pink! / I can't wait to try my new Soot from Lush, I got one for my blog giveaway too :)

When I was in the Georges Arcade I had to take a picture of how colourful the earrings were / Hello Kitty slippers I got for my birthday - ruined already from over use! / My grans homemade chocolate biscuits, there were more before the photo was taken, but everyone wanted like 3!

As always, I hope all you fab people are having a great day and start to the week. For those of you who are new, hello and welcome! Thank you so much for following my blog. You can also find me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Bloglovin' too :)

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.