Current Favourites

Hey ladies!
For such a long time I've been trying to get back on track with my blogging. I still love make up and beauty just as much as I previously did, but there was just something about blogging that felt like an effort, so because of that I gave it a break for quite a long while. Oops!
Today I'm here to tell you about my current favourites. I have tried a fair bit during the Summer so my list could be huge, but I'll try and keep it short so you won't get bored! :)

Essence All About Matt Powder: I've always always always for as long as I can remember had dry and previously  super sensitive skin. But for whatever reason this Summer my skin turned more to the oily side of the scale, and no matter what primer or foundation I used, after a couple of hours my face was as shiny as a disco ball. I picked this up on a whim one day because it was cheap, and oh my god it is actually so good!I apply it after all my other make up is done, and it keeps me matt all day long. Now that the weather has slightly changed and gotten a bit cooler, I may not need to use it as much, but for anyone on a budget looking for a good mattifying powder, give this a go!


Covergirl 3 in 1 Outlast Foundation: I'm really trying to ration my use of this because I picked it up in the States back in April, and since I've no immediate plans to return for a while I don't know when I'll be able to pick it up again! Sad face! But anyway, this is the first foundation in quite a while that I've really loved. Its a medium/full coverage and it leaves the nicest finish on the skin. Not matte, but not particularly dewy either.  But it lasts ALL DAY. I put it on in the morning and when I'm taking my make up off at night it looks exactly the same as it had earlier. To me it just looks natural! I only got it back in April and I'm over half way in the bottle already, so that just shows how good it really is!

Benefit Dandelion Blush: This has been mentioned quite a few times before, but when you hit pan on something then you really know its a favourite! Its a beautiful natural shade of pink, with a very very subtle hint of shimmer. Its the perfect blush to wear if you want to go for a strong smokey eye, or a bright statement lip. I really can't wait to try more of the Benefit Box O Powders because I genuinely love this one!

MUA Undressed Palette: I'm a neutrals girl through and through. I don't know what it is but I'm just not adventurous when it comes to my eyes! This palette is MUA's version of the Naked Palette, and you can see how much I love it by just looking at the battered packaging and I've hit pan on a couple of them already!  I'm not too gone on the Matte shades so I don't use them that much, but I love the shimmers, and when I use them alongside a primer, they stay put all day!

Rimmel Colour Rush Balms: There was one particular shade that I wanted to tell you about, but typical when I went to photograph it, it seems to have disappeared! I'm really looking forward to trying some deeper shades when the weather gets a bit cooler! This is probably the most comfortable, pigmented lip crayon I've used so far, and trust me I've tried a lot of them! There's a newer pinky/purple shade that came out as part of the Rita Ora Collection that I can't wait to try! :)

Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm: I was lucky enough that my mother gifted one of these to me when she purchased it herself of QVC a while back. I hadn't been using it because its so expensive, but I've been using it regularly the last while and I'm so impressed! I rub some onto my face and it sounds strange but you can feel it actually melting the make up away! I then rinse it off with a warm face cloth and all my make up is gone! I often use a micellar water to make sure, but there genuinely isn't a trace of make up left!

So that's it lads and ladies.. There's so much more I could list here, but for now I'll keep it short and sweet! :) I've really enjoyed writing this post, so here's hoping that this is the start of me getting my blogging mojo back!
Anything in particular that you've been loving lately?
Thanks for reading (if there's anyone still left out there)
Alisha xx

I'm baaaack!!

If there's anyone left out there reading this blog, then from the bottom of my heart I'm truly sorry for the huge blank space that has been this blog for the last couple of months! I could give a list of excuses why, but I won't. In truth its just been laziness. Plenty of people have plenty of things going on in there lives, and still make time for their blog, so for me to come along and try to use the things that have happened in recent months to me as an excuse, it would just be highly insulting to all those people out there who have genuinely have more hectic lives and still have fantastic blogs on the side!
Anywho, apologies aside, things have changed a bit for me in recent months, and to be honest at the start I was a bit down in the dumps about it, but the last few weeks especially, I've seen how fantastic the friends that I have really are, and I've enjoyed some fantastic nights out with them, some that I won't be forgetting anytime soon... :D But one thing these nights out (there's been a lot), have taught me, is that for the first time in a long long time, I'm genuinely happy.
Far too many times I found myself sitting in my bedroom crying for reasons I couldn't figure out, a lot of the time I put it down to grieving for my grandfather, (which maybe it was). However, I haven't had that happen to me in weeks. I wake up in the morning in a great mood, looking forward the day ahead, and find myself giggling and smiling at ridiculous things during the day and just in much better form than I ever can remember being in before.
So now that I've found myself in this great humour, I've found itch to start blogging again has returned. I'm not that sure exactly where I'll start, but over the last while I've found some products that I genuinely love, so no doubt you'll hear about those!
So if there's any of you left out there, thanks for sticking with me and I'm looking forward to getting stuck back in soon!

Lots of Love,

Alisha xxx

'Nearly Empties'

So today's post is a  bit of a different one. Last night I was getting ready for bed and cleaning my face and all that stuff, and something hit me like a bolt of lightning out of the blue.. I HAVE TOO MUCH STUFF. I mean, it was something I knew all along, but whatever way I looked at it last night it was different, like all of a sudden I took my rose tinted glasses off and saw the amount of stuff I've gathered up over the years for the first time. Not good!
 I'm a bit embarrassed and ashamed of it if the truth be told. I mean I've so many shower gels and body lotions on the go at the one time I've lost track! So today I've decided I'm going to pick some products that I've been using for a good while now, and try and use them up by the end of the month so I can go on and use some other new bits instead!
I'm also going to do the same with my make up bag and give it an overhaul in a way, so that I'm using products that I've shoved to the side and forgotten about, but I shall do that separately!

L'Occitane Verbena Body Lotion: I'm not sure if I should continue to use this or actually throw it out because I've had it opened for so long. I think the latter may be the best option! I absolutely love the Verbena range from L'Occitane. Its a beautiful refreshing lemon scent, that is perfect for the Summer and for early mornings aswell as it instantly wakes me up. I really want to get rid of this one because my parents got me a lovely gift set of the same range at Christmas, and I can't wait to get to start using it!

Boots Extracts Mango Sugar Scrub: I bought this huge tub last Summer, and its still going strong, although I wish it wasn't, as I'm really not liking it! Its not tough enough to feel like its actually doing a good job, and after I rinse it off it leaves what feels like an oily film on my skin. I hate wasting things so I'm going to use it until the very end.

Soap and Glory Clean on Me Shower Wash: Don't get me wrong, I love Soap and Glory, quite a lot as a matter of fact, but given that I've been using this shower gel for about 6 months now, you may understand why at this stage I'm a little bored of it! Like these bottles are a huge 500mls, that's half a litre! They are ridiculously big, and while there's no denying that its great value, at this stage I want to try one of the other lovely ones!

Soap And Glory The Righteous Butter Body Butter: Obviously enough this goes hand in hand with the last product because the scent is the exact same, so I use them in conjunction with each other. I have a few of these lying around the place thanks to the gift sets I buy every Christmas, but I'm making good headway with this one and have over half of the product gone, so hopefully by the end of the month it'll be used up!

No 7 Protect and Perfect Night Cream: I'm great with moisturisers in the morning, but I admit I slack off at night time. I'm nearly done with this though, so I'm going to get better and actually give myself a proper night time skincare routine and use up the end of this fella so I can get on to something else.


Nivea Extra Gentle Eye Make Up Remover: Again, nothing very exciting about this one. It doesn't remove eye make up very well at all, so no wonder its extra gentle! I much prefer my micellar solution for removing eye make up, it does a much better job! However there's only a small drop left so I'm going to do my best.


So ladies, they are all the shower type products that I'm going to attempt to use up this month. Hopefully I'll manage to do it, but I shall check back in at the end of the month and let you know how I get on! I'll also do something similar with my make up at some point aswell!



Thanks for reading,
Alisha xxx

Orange Lips...

Hey ladies, I hope you all had a fantastic June Bank Holiday Weekend! I'd a great time, went out Friday, had a rest Saturday, and hit the town again yesterday! :) It was great to catch up with friends and have a good gossip, and scout out some potential talent ;)
Anyway, given that I've seen orange lips everywhere this Summer, I decided I wanted to give it a try. I'm a little bit apprehensive about colours like these because they can often wash me out and just look ridiculous on me! But I decided I'd pick up something cheap to try the trend, and if I didn't like it there was no harm done.

The one I decided to try was from one of my favourite brands Catrice, more specifically the Ultimate Colour Range. This range comes in sleek black packaging, which make it look more expensive than its less than 5 euro price tag. It also has the brand name embossed into the actually product, which I think is another lovely touch.
The shade I picked up was shade 50, Princess Peach, ( cute right?) To me this is a beautiful light orange shade, which isn't too over powering, which is what I wanted given that I was dipping my toe into the orange pool for the first time.

Formula wise, it was so comfortable, it glided on to my lips effortlessly, and left a creamy, glossy sheen. It applied lightly, but I built it up to get more colour. Time wise, it didn't last too long, but given that I was eating and drinking, I wasn't too surprised. But reapplying lip products isn't something that bothers me too much.
Overall, I'm really glad I picked it up, and I do genuinely really like it! Paired with a neutral eye and lashings of mascara, it's the perfect shade for Summer, if it ever arrives that is! I also picked up a more vibrant shade from the Penney's range, but I'm yet to try this, but I shall let you all know when I do! :)

Thanks for reading,
Alisha xxx

Recent Penney's Purchases

We all know the drill by now. You pop into Penney's for socks and come out after  having spent 80 euro in no time! It happens to us all, and my justification is that I don't shop anywhere else really, rarely go out, and don't smoke. There my reasons and I'm sticking to them like glue! :P
All that aside, I've been in and out of Penney's a fair few times over the last month or so, and have picked up a nice few bits. So all the pieces are fairly recent, so if you see something that catches your eye, chances are they still have it in stock!

I've had my beady eyes on this Hat for the longest time, and I eventually gave in and bought it. It only cost 5 euro, but I was wary of buying it as I'm not really a hat person. I do think it'll look so cool with a vest top and denim shorts for a festival kinda look, or else for lounging around in the sun on holidays!

This Striped Tshirt caught my eye and I knew instantly I had to have it. It came in two colours, the coral and white, or the navy and white, and I'm annoyed with myself now that I didn't buy the navy as well, as these will be so handy and they'll go with more or less anything!

It literally took me all night to remember the word Kimono. I know, how bad is that! Penney's had some fab kimono's in store, but I'm only a tiny 5'0, so they would have just swamped me and made me look even smaller. When I saw this cream lacy one I grabbed it as I knew the style would suit me a lot more, as its sleeveless and its not as busy as the other ones that were in store. If the weather would pick up again I just think this would be gorgeous over a tshirt and denim shorts, or teamed with a plain maxi dress, but its so versatile there are heaps of ways you could wear it I'm sure!

More recently I picked up this Aztec printed skirt for a night out, and I absolutely love it. There's so many colours in it that you can team it with anything, and I teamed it with this blue strappy top, and it was perfect.

I also grabbed a pair of nude heels that are so comfortable because they aren't too high, and I also bought these beautiful blue sandals to put with them when the Summer arrives!

Lately I've been obsessed with Penney's jewelry, and is it any wonder when they have pieces like this in store? The 3 toned knot style just won me over! 

I can't not visit the make up section when I go to Penney's, I'm obsessed. Lately I've been having problems with my skin, one week it can be dry and my make up will not budge off my face, but at the minute it seems to be fairly oily and within a couple of hours the shine on my nose and forehead is something ridiculous, so I picked up this Oil Control Primer from Essence,  and this mattifying powder from Catrice. So here's hoping!

So these are just a few bits that I've picked up in the last few weeks.
Have you picked up anything nice from Penney's lately?
Thanks for reading,
Alisha xxx

Catrice Liquid Metal Single Shadow in Gold N Roses

Over recent months I've developed an obsession with Rose Gold. I bought a ridiculous amount of rose gold jewelry (cheap costume jewelry  of course), my lovely parents got me a watch as a gift, and I went on a hunt for the perfect Rose Gold nail polish, (I think I found it, its a Max Factor one). I then picked up the Naked 3 palette, and while I love that don't get me wrong, I still felt I was missing a true Rose Gold eyeshadow, mental eh? But while I was in Penneys the other day, I wandered over to the Catrice stand as I always do and left with The One. Pretty big statement right? But look at it! If that's not the perfect Rose Gold shade I don't know what is!

The Catrice Liquid Metal shadow's are highly pigmented shadows, which have a super metallic finish, which come in a range of colours, to suit either day wear or night wear. The embossment of these is so cool aswell. Its almost like 3D snakeskin!

Application is so easy with these aswell, the formula is fantastic, so pigmented and creamy. I tend to use this on its own for day wear as its just so pretty, but I'm sure it'll look great blended with other shadows for other looks, (I'm not that creative).
Altogether there's 9 shades in the range, and at around 4/5 euro each, you can afford to have them all in your collection! ;)

Have you tried these?
Thanks for reading,
Alisha xxx

Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso

You know when you see/hear someone rave about something for ages, and it makes you wonder could it be that good? Well that's what happened to me with the Milani Blush in Luminoso. The beautiful Amelia from Liana Beauty raves about this all the time, so I just had to pick it up to see what all the fuss was about. (Any excuse right) ;)

These blushes from Milani are baked blushes, meaning that a liquid product is heated for up to 24 hours on Terra cotta tiles to achieve the desired effect, consistency etc. These baked products can then be used wet or dry to achieve whatever effect you desire.
Luminoso is like nothing I've ever tried before.  Its a beautiful peach shade that is packed with the really fine gold shimmer.

When applied to the face it leaves a a natural flush of colour on the cheeks in fact when its on it doesn't look peach at all, while the shimmer provides a gorgeous subtle glow to the cheeks which just makes your skin look so much healthier.
I never usually am impressed with a product straight away, bar maybe one or two. But I've been using this constantly since I bought it last month, and I don't think another blush has got near my cheeks since. Its very neutral so whether you're going for a smokey eye, or a bright statement lip, you can wear this safe in the knowledge it won't distract from either.

Unfortunately though I got this in America. So bad news is its not readily available in Ireland.. Good news is if you're a fan of online shopping, you can pick this up on Cherry Culture!
Have you tried any Milani products?
Thanks for reading,
Alisha xxx