My Top 5 Blushers

Blusher is something that terrified me for years and I've not been brave enough to use it for the longest time. Only recently in the past 6-8 months have I properly started to use it daily and try to conquer it. Hell, it still does its best most days to make me want to run screaming. There are so many colours, brushes and different types. It makes my head spin - and thats even before you go to apply it. How the hell do people manage to look effortless putting on just the right amount of the stuff? I'm sat in the corner after getting a look at my reflection and realising I have clown cheeks. That, or I'm severely embarrassed looking and why wouldn't I be! Those of you out there who have mastered it, I take my hat off to the lot of you.

In my never ending quest to find not only the perfect blush, but also the perfect tools and the perfect amount to apply, I've gained a substantial amount of products. Some are fancy, some are less then a fiver, but none the less, they are all occasionally speaking my language, so we get on quite well. My top 5 may not even come close to your radar, but for me, these are the bees knees. (For now!)

The first is a short and sweet one from one of my favourite brands, Seventeen. When these stamp blushers came out in the summer I thought they would be just the thing to sort my woes of looking like a clown. A lovely light pink shade thats neutral called blushing and is one of five colours to choose from. This works perfectly and goes on really easy too. The stamp part didn't work out as well as I had first imagined, as you do need a brush to buff it out a little (silly novice me!) With it being €6.29 I think its perfect for those who, like myself, are new to the game and maybe want to test out different shades with different looks. You can see more photos and a full review of it over here.

Sue Devitt silky blush is the next on the list. This one is in the shade malay reef and is slightly more pricey at roughly €14.50. I got this one in a special edition Glossy Box last Christmas and if I'm honest I knew nothing about the brand before getting it. This cream to powder finish is slightly more tricky to work with, so I wouldn't recommend running out the door 2 seconds after you slap this one on. Also the smallest amount goes a long way. I've had a look around the interwebs and theres a lot of this brand on sale from lookfantastic.com at the moment. Maybe you can pick up something you've wanted to try for a bargain!

A shimmer that is perfect for the Christmas season is this Benefit one. I got it last year in a Christmas set (groovy kind-a love) and it has two blushes in it that I mix every time I use it. The light pink side is Dandelion pink perk me up and the darker shimmer side is Gimme Fever. Both of these separately cost over €30 so I am on the look out for a dupe, but if your into your blushers and want to fork out, I'd especially recommend the second one. I'm clearly mad about my shimmer as you'll soon see below! This is the one thats currently got a special place in my make up bag at the minute. Ugh all the love! (I know, total sell out to more expensive make up brands then what I normally preach about, but if it makes it less of a sin - it was a present!)

A much more budget friendly blush is my w7 The Honey Queen which is the biggest Benefit dupe there is out there! w7 are well known for their amazing dupes (eh hello Naked palettes alert!) and this is no differnet. Along this could look a little daunting with all those colours, but when you give it a swish round with your brush, it makes the perfect dark pinky shade. Not only does it look pretty in the box, it works wonders on the aul mug! This has a tiny - barely noticeable shimmer running through it, so its ok if you go to town with this one. You wont look like you made out with a box of glitter at the end of it. For less then a fiver you can get it from The Cosmetic Outlet where they have a full range of the w7 products. You can read my full review of it here with lots of photos and more information.

 And last but not least is my NYR mineral blush in peony. This is a deeper almost brownie shade and my god its one of the best and equally worst of the lot of them. If you haven't got blusher down just yet, attempting a mineral one is a feckin' minefield of hassle. It will go all over the place, you'll end up with it all over your boobs and top and in the end you could quite possibly be ready to run away to the circus. But on the other hand you could dip your brush in a tiny bit, tap the shit outta' it and then brush it lightly over your cheeks and be gorgeous. Or so I've seen others do.  But then again, isn't the 'overheating and simultaneously freezing my face off' look really in around this time of year? Perfect. This will set you back €21 but this one is only for the brave. (Or the gobshites like me who sneeze and ruin the entire thing. Note: Don't sneeze.)

Am I the only one with the dreaded problem of how to use/find the perfect blusher?

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.