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.

Max Factor S/S Creme Puff Blush

Max Factor has been coming out with some proper gems over the past few months and these new Spring/Summer collection of *creme puff blushes aren't any different. Some have compared them to the much loved Hour Glass palettes, but without the price tag. There are six different shades, with a suggestion for which would suit each skin tone, at €11.49 each.

I have been trying out three of the shades over the past few weeks, two are in the fair-medium skin tone range and the third is the darkest shade. The lightweight baked formulas are really something special, I've not tired anything like them before (and we all know you must swatch every product in Boots, as is law). They contain 'finely milled, multi-tonal pigments that blend evenly..' - I couldn't have said it better myself. I just love something that actually does what it claims to do on the tin!

Getting up close and personal with them, you'll see that one quick swipe on a brush comes away with the most pigmented result, so you only need the tiniest amount to give the desired look. They can build really well too. I find that some blushes look caked on or too light even with (what I always think is!) just a little product. I always apply these over foundation, some concealer and even a little setting powder without any issue. 

The packaging is small and sturdy, that holds up to be thrown on the floor repeatedly - sorry Max Factor, the cat likes to paw them off my dresser.. And so far, no matter how much they get used the lovely baked swirls of different colours doesn't get wiped away. They are just so pretty to look at and take photos of! (I know, I'll see myself and my many make up photos out.)

Although I like all three, surprisingly enough my favourtie out of the three is the darkest, most intimidating shade of Gorgeous Berries. Just the slightest touch of a brush to the product and then to my skin gives such a lovely colour without making me look like a traffic light. I think the Seductive Pink gives me the appearance of having wiped off my makeup a little as its more my natural skin colour. But I think the shade in Nude Mauve would be the perfect colour for anyone who isn't too sure about blush or doesn't want something thats really in your face and noticeable. 

I honestly don't think I'd pick these up for almost €12 if I hadn't tried them first and seen how good they actually are. I now have my eye on Alluring Rose, the only medium/dark shade in the collection and I might just pick it up this week. Max Factor is on 3 for 2 at the moment in Boots, so it would be rude to pass up an offer like that!

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

New Max Factor Excess Shimmer Shadows And Eye Liners

Whatever is in the water over at Max Factor, its doing them serious good. They are coming out with new products every few weeks its seems, with a full nail varnish line, a foundation and now 2 more added to the ever growing list. Might I first introduce their new *Max Factor excess shimmer eye shadows. Oh mammy now these are something I can really talk at length about, would you just look at them! Six shimmer gel based, cream-like, dark to light pots that dreams are made from. 

The first thing I noticed with these little pots was how well they were sealed. At times you can pick up a product in the shop and you wouldn't be sure if its been opened as there is no protective seal or plastic, so this was a plus for me. I'm getting more obsessive about hand sanitizer and hygiene in general as I get older and make up is a big one. The pots themselves aren't much to look at with plain black lids, but flip them over and you get to see whatever lovely shade you have picked inside the glass. The only thing that bothered me with some of these was the lids tend to loosen and can come off, which is a pain if you popped one in your makeup bag. But a plus is that despite them being glass, they don't weigh down your overall makeup bag. So as you can imagine I'm carting them around (carefully) with me everywhere!

The six shades are all beautiful in their own right with Crystal being a light pearly white - which is amazing on the inner eye and under the brow as highlighters. Next in the light side is Pearl which is still giving me a hard time to work with, I tend to use this near the waterline or the inner corners on my eye and build colours over it. Something like the lovely Pink Opal, its a colour I would never ever normally use as I am too fond of my darks, but wow does this pink shimmer really work wonders for my green eyeballs! 

Although the three lighters shades are lovely, the three darker shades in this collection are my utter love. A Copper that is so subtle you could wear it on its own as a natural look. Then my favourite of the lot, Bronze. I have a feeling this eye shadow will have every last bit dug out from the base and be overused. Lastly a bold black in Onyx that makes the most perfect smoky eye. 

I need to sit down after describing all those shades, they are just too much for me to handle. 

A few things to note when using these eye shadows. For all gel/cream based shadows, its always best to use a base of primer and then a regular powder in a close shade to your base gel/cream shadow. This helps them to stay longer and not slide into the crease of your eye. Thats never a good look. I personally don't think they last the 12 hours that Max Factor say they do, but they last most of the day, with just a little topping up needed if your going out later that night.

 Another thing is that these eye shadows build amazingly, like just wow. With a brush or with your fingers, they are so feckin' easy to work with and blend together really well. A big thumbs up to the lovely people in Max Factor for getting it spot on with these. You can pick them up in Boots right now for €9.99 - but theres a 3 for 2 offer on, so you will be able to get three! (If not more. Enabler? Me! Never.) 

Next is the *Max Factor excess intensity longwear eyeliners. There are already six of these in shops now, but these three colours are going to be released in January to compliment the new shimmer eye shadows. These three are violet, jade and cobalt that twist up to release the eyeliner. I'm a big fan of the strong blue liner over black liner to give the eye a major pop, but I'm a little ifie with the other two colours. I'm certainly not brave enough to go out and about with these striking colours just yet, but around the house I look pretty damn fancy - if I do say so myself.

These are smooth and easy to apply, but I think they could be almost too soft as they snap off easily if you twist them up even a little too far. They also tend to move a bit more then other eyeliners I have tried. But pared with a good primer and I think they stay much longer, without budging. They are definitely not smudge/water proof like Max Factor claims, nor are they near 12 hour long lasting, but they do still work well. I think there particularly handy because you never need to sharpen them - but that could just be the lazy in me talking.  For €8.99 with the three for two offer in Boots at the moment, you can try out the other shades while you wait for these ones to be released in January. 

Do any shades call out to you?

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

Max Factor Skin Luminizer Foundation

Max Factor has another new product out, this time its for the face, *the skin luminzer foundation. This is meant to give the effect of barely there foundation, 'giving a healthy looking glow that still evens out imperfections.' There is a swirl added to this foundation as you can see in the bottle, which has skin luminizers and pearl pigments to give that instant glow. This is also meant to offer the skin hydration, vitains B3 and E and have elastomers that make light reflect off the skin so your left with a glow.

This foundation comes in only a small range of 6 colours, which I think is a little annoying. Its fine if your like me and just pick up the lightest shade in whatevers going, but for someone with darker skin it must be a real pain in the arse. I have the lightest shade, 40 light ivory. This is almost a perfect match to my colouring so I was excited to try it. It has a lovely consistency, not too thick and not overly watery. Its just right - and now I feel like the three bears are about to walk in.. Personally this just didn't do it for me coverage-wise. My skin is far too patchy red and full of spots to have a light coverage foundation like this, I need the heavy duty stuff. Even after a good base of correctors and concealers, I was still left needing way more face help. I envy those who don't have many blemishes as this would be the perfect light make up to perk up your skin, making you look more awake without having to cake on the makeup like I do. (With a shovel, might I just add. Theres not a brush out there that can help me apply it all!)

I'm a fan of the packaging, its lovely eye catching gold is a big thing for me, I'm such a magpie! Its also in a plastic bottle and pump which makes it utterly perfect for travelling or just carrying in your bag and easy to use. I'm gaining muscles from carting around a glass foundation at the minute, I know I wont need it, but just in case! The only downside about this foundation for me (apart from my awful skin needing more coverage help) is the price. For a bottle of this your going to be paying €17.99 and I just couldn't fork that out for any foundation ever. However Max Factor does have a 3 for 2 offer in Boots at the moment so it might make the price a little easier to manage. Though personally I think cheaper brands are just as good and I have a load of cheaper make up brands that have great coverage, be they foundations or even BB creams for half the price of this. 

So the foundation overall is a thumbs down from me. I need a much heavier coverage. But thats not saying that this mightn't be perfect for those who are lucky enough to have clear skin. In terms of Max Factor, I'm going to be sticking to their nail varnish and maybe a sneaky look at their eye shadow. (*drools* have you seen their smokey eye pens and lipsticks?! Mmmm) Would you look at my barely awake looking self below. Swear to god, if I don't have eyeliner on my eyes are non existent!

Would you buy this foundation or do you have the same coverage issue as me?

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

September Favourites

This has been such a good month for me, I'm so sad to see it go! I feel like it lasted the perfect amount of time, does anyone else get like that? I'm forever saying a month dragged or flew, but never that it was just right. It could have something to do with it been my birthday month, but sure feck it, everyone has to have a good time now and again. I have so so much that I have loved this month and actually had to narrow it down. Normally I'm wreaking my brain trying to think what I have used and enjoyed, but not for September. I've actually loved so much I've decided to do a few separate reviews to satisfy my cravings and need to tell people about wonderful things. I've spent the full day taking photos non stop, I'm delighted to have a few things ready to go for the blog. Theres nothing worse then feeling like your getting behind and will never be able to blog again.

I've a good few things that I've loved that aren't really beauty related. For one Netflix; I just realised  a few days ago that How I Met Your Mother has a season 9, I thought it ended at 8! So I can't wait to start watching that. (Those of you who are big HIMYM fans have every right to boo and give out to me!) I've also been really getting into Once Upon A Time - a retelling of all your favourite fairy tales but with a modern twist thats just great. I'm half way through season 2 and its starting to drag, but I've been told it picks up! Has anyone watched it? Lastly Bones. I'm a long time fan of Bones but somewhere down the line I stopped watching it so over the past two months I've been re-watching all the seasons. Its so good and addictive! 

Other things that I've been loving are candles (which I will do a review of soon) and hot chocolate. Nearly every single night I will go to bed with one, I'm awful! But after putting back a big box of Cadburys last time I was in Tesco, I thought I'd treat myself only to find that the biggest tub was reduced to €2. Made my month. I've been to lots of blogger events this month too and its just so lovely to meet new people and catch up with blogger friends that I genuinely have such a big space in my heart for. Ugh, you women!! *cuddles all the ladies*

Oh, and the Gyspy Rose bar in town (on the quays?) is normally somewhere I'd never venture - loud, many many people and if I'm honest, a little scary. But I was in there one of the really quiet nights and I was bowled over by how friendly, polite and just down right gentlemanly the fella behind the bar was. Its not often a bar tender makes me feel safe and not even slightly perved on, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to tell anyone and everyone to stop by if your looking for some nice staff.

That was a freakin' mad long intro, sorry! First, lets just take a minute to love these colours above, side by side. Mmmm. Max Factors new nail varnishes were one of the only ones I wore this month, alone and with colourful accent nails. These were two of my favourtie colours as they stood out and made an outfit. Have a proper look at the entire collection Over Here.

Two random things that I've really loved this month are bobbins and earphones that are both pink! Some of you will have seen my haul from yesterday that had these invisibobbles in it. I've had these for almost two weeks (I know, shameful to have a haul and not put it up sooner!) have been using them non stop. I love them more then any bobbins I've ever had. They don't break on me, are really stretchy, hold hair much better then regular bobbins, don't catch or pull on my hair and are different to the everyday stuff you see. I know these claim to leave no kinks in your hair but I've noticed some in mine - much less then with normal bobbins but still a few. However that wouldn't stop me from using them or going out and buying more. Its love. 

Next are these earphones that were €2 in the pound shop! I got them as I broke my other ones (€3 from Penneys) and wanted to watch videos on the bus. They are so freakin' handy!! You pull them all the way out and when your done pull on them again and the wrap themselves back up. No untangling for 10 minutes before you can listen to music. The one downside is that they are only €2 so the quality isn't amazing. But there cheap enough that if I break them it isn't a big loss, easy to use and small enough not to take up space in my bag. 200 please and thank you!

Its hard to find a really good lipstick that I will wear non stop. I'm not one for bothering with my lips too much, let alone reapplying. This is a serious big deal for me, I've been using this for a month and a half every time I go out. Every, single, time. Its from one of my favourite brands, Seventeen and is their supreme shine lipstick in the shade Pink Posey. I went on the hunt for something that was dark and purple, but wasn't going to be too OTT - the lighting is so poor in the above photo, I'm sorry! This entire collection is darker shades that just make you want them all. I've been so happy with this one and its half way gone, its been that used. Its moistursing, slightly shiny and doesn't have a very strong colour that you would need to apply in front of a mirror. Its really perfect for on the go or sneakily putting back on between drinks or food. It doesn't last forever but it keeps my lips hydrated which for a 'drug store' brand lipstick is amazing. Theres 12 colours at €6.29 each. Plus, look at the shiny gorgeous packaging!   

Two little palettes that I haven't been able to do without are the Wet'n'Wild Comfort Zone and the NYX eyebrow cake powder. I'm not going to talk about the eyebrow kit at all because it needs its own post. Thats how much love I'm willing to give it. Watch out for it on the blog soon! Every time I've put on makeup without fail I have used these. I've loved the eyeshadows so much that I went out specially and bought a brown mascara to go with the brown side for a smoky eye look. I've also got brave and used the green side a few times. I've put some of the eyeball looks up on Instagram over here if you fancy a goo. You can also see my full review with swatches of all the colours Over Here.

The last two things are old loves of mine. Vaseline spray and go body moisturiser has got so much love this month that my cocoa one finished and I've started to use this one now. These bottles last a crazy long time too. I got a little sick of a nearly empty product so one morning after the shower I tried to finish up the bottle. I was covered from head to toe in this stuff and there was far too much, but after I rubbed it in a little it was totally absorbed and gone. I'm even more impressed with it now as I was sure there would be a greasy residue left on my skin and I'd feel sticky. But that wasn't the case at all and I am pleased to say this will be a long time repurchase until they stop making the stuff! 

For my birthday I got so many lovely things from friends and family but decided not to do a 'haul' post as I find they can sound quite braggy at times. But one thing that I've been using loads is this Yardley perfume called Diamond. I've had this once before and its the most lovely fresh scent that I have owned. I was gutted when I finished it and I remember going on a hunt only to find Boots didn't stock it. So when a friend guess bought this for me without knowing I loved it, I was delighted! And just look at that bottle. Oh its so pretty. I always feel lighter, fresh and 'wake me up' scents make me feel so much happier and perky then my deep heavy sweet scents, although most of my collection is made up of the latter!

So, tell me something you've loved this September!

And also, do you have any Netflix recommendations?

New: Max Factor Gel Shine Lacquer

My prayers were answered when all this was handed over by the post man a few weeks ago, as I've gone on a mad nail varnish buying rampage lately. I'll admit, if I knew what was in the parcel at the time I may have jumped postie himself. The stud. *Max Factor have an entire new collection of gel shine lacquer nail varnishes out and they are really something to drool over. There are nine shades in the 'Modern Glamour Collection' and they are all inspired around the 50's to 90's fashion styles. 

Autumn colours are always a little ifie for me, I'm more a lover of bights as I wear lots of blacks and peep purples so my nails always brighten me up. Naturally I am in love with the brighter colours in this collection and for some reason they seem to need less coats to be totally opaque then the darker ones. I've also noticed that the reds in this all look very samey - I know there will be massive nail varnish lovers out there screaming at me for that comment! But for me, they just didn't wow. Honestly bias opinion there. (Heh, contracting words that actually make sense. Love it!) The swatches below are all only one coat, just to show the difference that I'm going to talk individually about now.

Unfortunately when I recieved this lovely surprise there had been a little mix up and I had two of the same shades. I'm missing out on the brightest orange shade here, Vivid Vermillion. But no matter, the show must go on! 50s inspired my favourite true pin up red here, the brightest Patent Poppy. This is one I know I'll use a lot and two coats are needed for it. Its just so classy!

Next is the 70s Blues, Lacquered Violet and Glazed Cobalt that are inspired by the punk movement. When I first saw the shades side by side in the bottles I thought they were really similar and was disappointed until I tried them on. I'll admit, I'm a bigger fan of Glazed Cobalt as its a more.. Primary dark shade if you get me? I'm actually wearing it right now and it makes an outfit stand out, which I like. The Lacquered Violet has hues of purple in it and isn't as clear, you have to really look at it a second before you can decide what shade it is. Not one I think I'll reach for often, but both shades only need one coat. But sometimes I'll throw on two just to be on the safe side.

Moving on to the 80s Brights (woo!) with Twinkling Pink, Gleaming Teal and Vivid Vermillion. As I said earlier I haven't got Vivid Vermillion to show and tell, but the other two are up for much discussion. Twinkling Pink is a really lovely deep dusty pink that has just the startings of deeper tones in it, one I have used a lot over the past while along with an accent nail of Gleaming Teal or Glazed Cobalt. Speaking of, Gleaming Teal is a really lovely dark evergreen tree shade and its not normally a colour I would ever pick up. But this has converted me and I noticed myself looking at the darker greens in Boots now, bold girl that I am buying things! These colours are a little tricky and sometimes need two or three coats to get them totally opaque.

Lastly is the 90s Shades of Burgundy that are my least favourite shades. Sparkling Berry and Sheen Merlot honestly just look the same to me, I must be mad! Even when I try them on side by side I can barely tell the difference. I think I'll leave those two to more well trained eyes. They both need at least three coats before they are totally flawless. Despite being dark, I'm not kicking Radiant Ruby out of the bed for eating biscuits. It reminds me of a darker, but just as classy Patent Poppy pin up colour. Its not one I would wear often, but now that I'm trying out braver dark lip stick shades, I think this colour would go lovely and be handy to have on stand by, just in case! This one only needs two coats, but occasionally three if your being a bit fussy. 

Overall I think that this is a nice collection, I personally wouldn't buy every shade but not all are to my taste. I think the colour pay off is great but some are annoying as more coats are needed then others. I'm not too sure where they are going with their 'gel shine lacquer' as they look like bog standard varnish on my nails, but that wouldn't put me off getting them. Also the gold topped bottles are eye catching and scream pretty to me, which means I'm going to go off and buy the last orange shade. I think it needs a home with me. You can get these in Boots for €8.99 or buy one get one half price. It would only be right to have a goo at them next time your passing a Max Factor stand!

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

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