Peachy Keen

After a recent trip to my local MAC, something The Mother has been saying for years finally struck a chord. Not only do I buy too much make up, but I repeatedly buy the same sorts of products. I was looking at the mass amount of blushes available, and was slightly overwhelmed until one of the artists came up and recommended Springsheen. Although I was initially looking for something more bronze, I instantly fell in love with its peachy tones. Money handed over, thank you ma'am.

Only to get home and discover that I had three other almost identical blushes. Doh! At the beginning I was a little miffed, having spent over twenty euro on such a similar product. But then rationalised that its a colour that suits me and as long as I don't buy another one (hopefully) equally similar life is peachy. Yeaah?

So the moral of this story? I should probably invest in a variety of products, but hey, I probably won't need to repurchase for a while!

Do you hoard similar make up? Don't even get me started on eyeshadows..

Nars Orgasm - A peachy pink with shimmer, but not glitter. Believe me, I am not a glitter person; so its fab.

Sleek Rose Gold - Sleek's dupe of Nars Orgasm and they are almost identical. If you have one, you really don't need the other. Oops.

Nars Orgasm Multiple - Ditto. Double Oops.

MAC Springsheen - Although very similar to both the Nars and Sleek blushes, its slightly more of a peach. Again, its probably not a necessity. Triple Oops.

Inner Grunge

In anticipation of starting my make up course in just six days, I decided to play with my face for a night out. Instead of the usual brown smoky eye I usually go for I opted for something a bit more grungy. I decided to use gel liner as eyeshadow, pressed a bit of powder shaow on top, dabbed a little bit of clear lipgloss over it, and hey presto. Grunge. The had creased before I left my house, but I like it that way.

Laura Mercier Creme Smooth Foundation

MAC Harmony Blush (as contour)

MAC Melba and Springsheen Blush

Josie Maran Lovely Palette (as highlight)

Maybelline Black Gel Liner (as eyeshadow)

MAC Typographic e/s

NYX Clear Lipgloss

Eyeko Big Eyes Mascara

This look was inspired by a beautiful new pair of shoes I acquired a week ago. I cannot walk in them for the life of me, but the guy who sold them to me was too good looking to disappoint. Sad? Yes. But we all do it, don't we?

So here are my fabulous shoes, that will probably remain in their box until I get the courage or ever get drunk enough to wear them. And they are sickly beautiful.



Liz Earle, How I Love Thee (Dublin Event)

Liz Earle held an event over the weekend to celebrate their third birthday in Dublin and to promote their products. Like the little Liz Earle fiend that I am, I jumped at the chance to make an appointment and learn more about the brand I obsess over and try out the few products I haven't already bought.

Since I have been using the LE products for years, I thought I would opt for a hand and arm massage instead of the skin consultation. Because, lets face it. The Liz Earle skincare range makes up the majority of products I will ever let touch my face. Not only did the women who work there create a lovely, warm atmosphere but they discussed the products used on me in a way that wasn't pushy.

My hand and arm massage was completed by the lovely Rosana, who talked to me about some of the new products in the range and the different ways to use them. She used the amazing Superbalm moisturiser on me, and although The Mother has it, I had never realised its different uses such as rubbing it into the cuticles to make them uber soft. Will be stealing that off The Mother so!

They passed around the most delicious cupcakes I've ever tasted, had beautifully fresh juice flowing and massaged my blues away. And if that wasn't enough we were given gorgeous goody bags containing a mini Cleanse and Polish, Instant Tonic Boost and even the Liz Earle fragrance sample, all perfect for travelling. A massive thank you to all the ladies who worked there, I had a fabulous time!

You can buy Liz Earle products at the Wilde and Green shop in Milltown or online here.

Summer Lovin'

 

After being sick in bed all week with a virus, being able to wear make up again has made me far more excited than it should. Normally one to back away from bright colours with rapid speed, this little break from make up has made me slightly more adventurous. Cue all manner of make up slapped onto my face. And you know what, I kinda like it!

While I'll always be a Winter girl at heart, I'm happy to embrace the summer brights for the next while!

Inglot Eyeshadow Quad (bottom two colours)

MUFE Aqua Liner in 21L Dark Grey

Maybelline Volume Lashes Mascara

Chanel Pro Lumiere

Laura Mercier Secret Concealer

MAC Harmony Contour Powder

MAC Well Dressed Blush

MAC I Like it Like That l/s

Currently listening to this and this while reading Hello Beautiful and Buy Now Blog Later.

Do the summer months result in you wearing brighter colours?

Happy Monday! x

Popularity Contest

I love blogging. I do. For me, its a hobby and I enjoy filling my time by writing, reading and watching posts about things that interest me. But quite frankly, recently, some things have really began to piss me off. Don't get me wrong, I love reading everyones blogs; but its the attitude of a small minority that literally makes me scream at my laptop. These are the people, that for some reason, are trying to make this blogging community a popularity contest. And that has never been its purpose. What annoys me is that it has now become normal to 'compete' for followers and do just about anything to get them.

'I'll follow your blog if you follow mine' - Um. No? I'd rather have someone genuinely interested in reading my blog follow than someone who just wants to use it as a stepping stone to make theirs more 'successful'. I'm all for sharing the love, but when its a blatant attempt to plug a blog, it gets peoples backs up.

'Nice pictures. Here's my bloglink' - Thanks. But no thanks. I really don't mind if someone leaves a nice, thoughtful comment and then adds a link, but when its clear they haven't read anything you've said and made zero effort, why should I? Almost everytime someone leaves me a comment, I will reply and check their blog. I love finding new ones, that's why I enjoy blogging so much: because you meet new people, find great blogs and learn about products and things you mightn't have known about before. But begging and harassing will get you nowhere in life. Its social climbing. By interacting with other bloggers on Twitter and other social media, you will do a lot better than if you ask people to follow. Plus, if I want to find your blog I can easily do so by clicking on your name :) And I almost always do. Problem sorted.

'I run a successful blog' - Really? What defines a 'successful blog'? Is it when you reach 100/500/1000 followers? For me, I write about what I enjoy and what interests me. If just one person read it, it would make me happy. And yes, its such a lovely feeling that other people enjoy it and follow, I really appreciate it. But I do it for me. It makes me happy to write, to take nice pictures, to share what products I like and dislike, to write about my life etc. Does that make me successful? Or do I have to have 1000 followers in order to call myself that. Food for thought.

'I don't get free stuff. Boo!' - Yes. Boo. Boo you. If that's the only reason you want to write a blog then its not for the right one. While its nice recognition for a company to contact you about reviewing, its not the bee all and end all. And it doesn't define who you are or how fabulous your blog is. When I have been approached occasionally about reviewing products, I am honestly really really flattered. But I'd never assume I was intitled to anything free. Its nice to try out a product you ordinarily would have not heard of, or bought. But just because it was free doesn't mean it should get a five star rating. Personally, I will always be 100% honest and assume that everyone else is too. Complaining that you don't receive stuff or bragging when you do? Just annoying.

'I'm a beauty/fashion blogger' - Sometimes I have trouble with this word. Kind of like the 'guru' thing on Youtube. I'm not an authority on anything, I just give my opinion and am interested in others views. If I get something wrong, by all means tell me. For practical reasons, I know we have to call ourselves this, eg. for people to find us on Twitter or to understand us better or on Youtube for others to be able to search us. But am I a 'guru'? Hell no. I have a blog. I am one person out of billions who gives her two cents on the internet. I make mistakes, I don't get my makeup perfect everytime, I don't know everything. And to claim that I do would be wrong. But that's just my view. There is a person in my University who on the first day of our drama class introduced themselves as a 'thespian'. No, love. You study drama. Like us all. Awkward. Its kind of the same thing.

What I'm asking is does it really make a difference or make people happy because their blog is 'popular'? Like I've said before some of the best blogs I've come across have had few followers and surpass some of the 'popular' ones. We need to stop obsessing over a little number, because at the end of the day : this is meant to be a fit of fun.

There are millions of things I could ramble about, making this post indecently long. But I'm not going to. I hope this hasn't offended anyone, that was not my intention at all. Like I mentioned above, I love blogging. And the positives definitely outweigh the negatives. It just saddens me that there seem to be some negatives and a minority of people pushing them forward. And I really honestly do appreciate everyone who reads my little rambles on this blog. Fills my little heart with happiness. I just woke up this morning, ranting in my head and thought I would voice it. I'm also on painkillers at the moment for a virus (boo) so this may have influenced this post. But no, its not directed at anyone. Just me, ranting to myself. Have a great day and if you have an opinion leave it below!

Ones to follow: Charlotte Loves, Lizabellys and anyone else in the 'Blogs I Love' section.

 

PS: Couldn't resist the urge to feature my new Canon as the picture! Apologies!

Xen Restored

Tanning has never been high on my agenda list. Sadly, I'm one of those "slap it on and hope for the best" merchants. No preparation, no exfoliating, no moisturising. Just me and my hands, applying cheap streaky tan. Which always ends in disaster, streaks and general orangeness. So when I attended the Xen-Tan event a few weeks ago, the lovely Amy encouraged me to tan properly. After seeing her wonderfully even glow, I knew my nasty habit of hoping for the best when I tanned had to stop.

Cue Xen-Tan. Amy kindly let me choose any product from the website I wanted, and since we had discussed the new Perfect Blend tan at the event I thought it would be the best one for me to try out. She also sent me out The Little Book of Tanning, which has great tips on how to make the most of your tan, how to prepare the skin before, how to treat it after and how to tan different parts of your body. At first, this little book overwhelmed me with its mass of information, but it was very easy to follow and really worked. 

Perfect Blend is a mixture of self-tan and shimmer bronzer, meaning that as you apply the product you know which areas you have missed out. It has a handy little dial, which can be changed to have more self tan, more bronzer or an even mixture of both. Application was easy, with no biscuit-type smell, though I did have to use a few layers to achieve the colour I wanted. Most importantly, its natural. Unlike St.Moritz, Fake Bake and other tanners, it's impossible to go orange with Xen-Tan. I applies an even, fresh looking glow that looks real, and doesn't fade in patches. A good few of my friends thought I'd gone away because Xen-Tan has that kind of look, not the fake tan look, but the I've been away one! Result? Oh yes, I think so.

This is the perfect tan if your looking for a natural glow; you will not be horrendously dark, you will not look like your wearing fake tan, you will not have streaks. And it lasts. I have had to top it up jut once throughout the week and one layer every week will be enough to keep it fresh looking. If your more into the 'fake' look, this product is not for you. If you like a beautiful natural olive tone, I would highly recommend it.

You can buy Xen-Tan here, they send to Ireland and if your quick they have a deal on that when you buy Perfect Blend you will receive a free Xen Tan Body Scrub worth £14.99. Delish! Go forth, my friends!

PS. I'm very aware that this is a dreadful photo of me and that I look slightly demented. But hey, I'm tanned!