Benefit Vending Machines.

I was in JFK last Tuesday, and after being disappointed in myself for not doing as much shopping as I could have (rookie mistake), I'd decided I was going to make the most of airport shopping and spend a chunk of the dollars that I had left. Until I got to the terminal and saw that the shopping was complete and utter rubbish. We were flying out from Terminal 5 and maybe its one of the smaller terminals at the airport or something but shopping was very limited. There was a tiny shop with some perfumes and cigarettes, a few stands with a couple of beauty brands outside it, but that was it for beauty shopping. I was well and truly disgusted because I thought there may have been some MAC, but nope!
But then... I came across a vending machine. Not much excitement there until I looked in and saw it was selling Benefit Products! How mental is that! I don't own much Benefit bar the Dandelion blush, and the ever popular Porefessional primer, so I thought I may aswell try some new bits to see were they as good as the other two!

                                                            The vending machine itself...

But the really important question is... What did I buy?
I had thought about purchasing Sugarbomb blush as I love Dandelion so much, but then I decided it would be more beneficial to try some of the mini's instead.
So I opted for the 'Beauty Score' kit, which seemed better value for 36 dollars compared to 1 blush at 28 dollars, (beauty maths right there).
It contains 10 mini sized products which are the perfect size for travelling, and out of the 10 I've only ever tried one, which is good going!

The products it contains are:

• Benetint Cheek and Lip Stain (2.5mls)
• Highbeam  Highlighter  (2.5mls)
• Stay Don't Stray Primer (2.5mls)
• Ooh La Lift Under Eye Brightener (2.5mls)
• The Porefessional Primer (7.5mls)
• That Gal Highlighter (7.5mls)
• It's Potent Eye Cream (3.0grms)
• Hoola Bronzer (3.0grms)
• BelleBamba Blush (3.0grms)
• They're Real Mascara (3.0grms0

All in all I'm really impressed with what's in this, and I think its fantastic value, considering it works out to be about 25 euro! I know they're all smaller sizes, but realistically they will last me for ages, as I had a sample this size of the Porefessional before, and it last me a good 6/8 weeks! I'm especially looking forward to trying the Hoola Bronzer and the Ooh La Lift brightener! :)

Have any of you tried any of these products? What do you think of Benefit overall? 

Thanks for reading,

Alisha xxx

Derma V10 Cleansing Milk

I ran out of my favourite Lancome Cleansing Milk before I went away last week, and for the sake of packing, I didn't want to be bringing a huge bottle of micellar water and a hot cloth cleanser with me, so I decided for the week that was in it I'd make do with one cleanser instead. I opted for something cheap and cheerful and picked up this Derma V10 Deep Cleansing Milk in Tesco for 1.99 as I'd heard of the brand and figured it would be grand. It contains Sweet Almond Oil, and is free of parabens and other nastys. All this sounded so good to me I didn't think twice about it and packed it in my toiletry bag without even trying it before I went away. Which I really really should have!

This stuff just did not work for me at all! I used it twice a day, morning and nighttime. Nighttime it was OK because it just took off my makeup really, but in the morning when I was giving my skin a freshening up it just left this greasy residue across my face, and even trying to wipe of the excess with cottonpads didn't work, because the cotton pads just stuck to it, leaving my face covered in bits of fluff! This residue that was left behind also made it fairly hard for me to carry on with my skincare routine and my eye cream and moisturiser didn't work as well as they should have, in my opinion. For the week I was there and using this, my boyfriend also commented on how patchy and streaky my make up was, and I figured it had to be bad for him to comment on it, because he never comments on my make up, ever. The only thing I had changed up in my routine was my cleanser, so the only thing I can put the change in how my make up looked was down to that. Maybe its unfair of me to do so, but I honestly can't think of any other reasons, considering as soon as I came home and went back to using a micellar water until I picked up another cleanser, I have had no problems with streaky make up. Overall its not the end of the world, it was only cheap, but I just couldn't be bothered to bring it home because I knew I wasn't going to use it again so I left it at the hotel (hence the lack of pictures), so its either gone straight in the bin or maybe the cleaning lady has found a new holy grail cleanser! :P
All in all it just wasn't for me, and I have since purchased a new Garnier cleansing milk to try, but if you have any other suggestions, please let me know!
Thanks for reading,
Alisha xxx

Bath and Body Works Haul...

One of the shops I knew I had to visit when I went on holidays was Bath and Body Works. With candles constantly being featured in vloggers videos on YouTube I wanted in on the action myself, so when we came across a store on a visit to Jersey Gardens there was no holding me back! Instead of getting some of the large jars, I opted for some of the sampler jars, which were on offer 3 for 10 dollars, so I got 6 because they were only small, and I had plenty of space in my suitcase!

The scents I chose were:

• Island Margarita: Which as the name suggests, smells exactly like a zingy cocktail! It makes me look forward to sitting by a pool in the Summer lazing in the sun with said cocktail! ;)
• Mahogany Teakwood: This isn't one I thought I'd like, but in fact I'm suprised with how much I do! Its a very grown up woody scent and its a nice change from all the fruity sweet ones I usually go for! 
• Sundrenched Vineyard: I imagine this is meant to smell like wine given the name, but to me it doesn't. It does smell fruity, to me it smells like berry's as opposed to grapes, but regardless its a nice fresh scent! 
• Springtime In Provence: I think this could be my favourite out of the bunch, its what I imagine a nice crisp Spring/Summers day to smell like, if only we ever got those in Ireland. 
• Red Guava Lava: Again, another fruity smell, (what can I say I'm obsessed), 
• Peach Bellini: Can you see a theme developing here? It smells like peaches, and smells like a cocktail. Winning! 

Another thing which I had seen a lot on YouTube was the hand sanitizers, and after a week using the Subway and constantly putting my hands in places where probably thousands had been before me that day, I could see how useful they were. And they were on offer 5 for 5 dollars, so can't really go wrong with that! 

• Meyer Lemon: Obviously a lemon scent, and I love lemon and anything lemon scented, so it was common sense to get this one!
• Island Margarita: The same scent as the candle, just in hand santizer form. Yay for clean hands that smell like margaritas! :P 
• Rainforest Sugarcane: This is a citrusy scent, with a hint of vanilla to it.
• Carribean Escape: Another fruity one, with just a hint of coconut to it! 

I did get another one but Paul kept it for himself for work... And now I can't remember which one it was, but no doubt it was sweet and fruity! :P

So that is all I bought in Bath And Bodyworks. I'm trying to figure out how to break up the hauls exactly, as I bought a lot more make up than anything else and I can't remember where I bought everything as I didn't keep my receipt. Oops! But I'll figure it out so except lots of hauls and reviews over the coming weeks.

Thanks for reading everyone,

Alisha xxx

Apologies...

Hey everyone, this is just a quick post to say I'm so sorry about my lack of posting in the last couple of weeks! For a while I lost my blogging 'mojo' if you'd call it that, and last week I was in New York and just literally arrived back today so I'm a bit away with the fairies! However I'm back now, and I can't wait to share some posts of the goodies I bought with you all, (and believe me, there's a lot)! From now on I'll be blogging on a more regular basis.. Promise!
Chat soon,
Alisha xxx

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paints

As I haven mentioned before on this little slice of the Internet, I have collected an insane amount of nail polish. Most of it being drugstore with the exception of a couple of bottles of Nails Inc that I picked up at bargain prices in TK Maxx. I'm not fussy, if I like the colour I'll buy it, simple as that. Today though, I thought I'd talk about the one brand that has impressed me much that I've kept going back for more, and so have ended up with quite a few, all in the same formula. They are the Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine polishes to be exact, and if  you've never heard of them then leave. NOW. Hehe, only joking, but seriously though, you must give them a try!

So what's the point of them you ask? Well basically, they give the effect of a gel manicure, without having to go to a beautician and stick your nails under a UV lamp and all that jazz! As Barry M say themselves 'a highly pigmented, chip resistant formula. Gives a glossy gel-like finish with a single coat'.
So for 5.99 its possible to get a professional looking gel manicure! Hooray!
I have to say while they are very pigmented, some are more than others. For example the colours Lychee and Dragon that I have pictured below are lighter colours, so seem to take an extra coat  to look more opaque! Most of them though are opaque in one coat, but for me I'm used to wearing two coats of any nail polish, so I just apply two out of habit, but it makes them last a day or two more without chipping, so that's something to consider, especially as these are so glossy a top coat isn't really needed! The formula is a little bit thicker given that its a gel formula, and it applies relatively easy. The only thing I'm not sure about is the brush. I recently picked up Dragon and Key Lime, and it could just be me but the brush seems to be a lot thinner or something. But still it applies fairly easily as long as the brush isn't overloaded, otherwise it just goes everywhere, and that ain't a pretty sight!
So with all that out of the way I'm going to show you the colours I have!

Blueberry: A really pretty light almost pastel blue colour. I haven't given this much love lately and that will have to change soon because its such an unusual colour and it looks so pretty on the nails!

Blue Grape: This is the total opposite to the last one in that its a really deep royal blue shade, and again one that deserves more love from me. For some reason I feel more like a winter shade, which is crazy because I think it would look brilliant on the toenails with a deep tan! (Which I will never have, sigh) :(

Key Lime: As you can see, its a really bright in your face green colour. I'm not really sure how I feel about it to be honest. I look at it one day and say oh ya that's really nice, and then the next day I hate it and want to take it off straight away! However though there's no denying its a great Summer colour, I think it'll look especially great with a tan, or if you think its a bit much for the fingernails, it'll look fantastic on your toenails!

Dragon: This is such a pretty girly shade, I love it so much I can see myself wearing it quite a lot over the Summer, if it ever gets here that is! It is a nice bright pink, but at the same time, I think its something you can get away with in the work place without it looking too mental. Both these colours make me so excited for holidays and beaches and cocktails!

Greenberry: This is my favourite out of the bunch by far. I love green, more or less any shade of it, and this is one I've gotten so much wear out of, as you can see from the messy bottle! Its a turquoise green, that nearly leans towards neon its that bright! But that's why I like it, its a shade that just makes me think of warmer weather.

Lychee: Lastly, my least favourite of the bunch. Its a nude shade that has been raved about online, but it just does nothing for me because I'm so pale it just makes my hands look ghostly. I think I shall be sticking with pinky nudes from now on!

Have you lovely ladies tried any of these polishes? What other shades should I try?

Thanks for reading,
Alisha xxx

Soap And Glory Solar Powder Bronzer

You know you have a serious addiction to make up when you go through your stash and you find things that you didn't even know you owned. I'm seriously hoping that I'm not the only one that this happens to, on a more frequent basis than I would actually like to admit. Anyway, recently in a bid to save my euros I decided instead of raiding Boots in the 3 for 2 like plenty did, (if you're one of these people I'm very jealous and please tell me what you bought so I can live vicariously through you), I instead raided my own excessively large make up collection to see what I had that I could add in to my daily make up routine, and I found this. WHEN did I even buy it? I can't remember exactly, but I have a feeling it came as part of a set that I more than likely picked up in the post Christmas sales. I'm ashamed to admit it wasn't even swatched when I resurrected it, how bad is that!
I haven't used bronzer in my make up routine in years, partly because of bad memories from teenage disco's of Rimmels Sunshimmer Bronzer being used for absolutely everything. I remember even applying it to my elbows! Why I don't know... But since then I've given up the bronzer because I really believed nothing would work for me, instead I'd just look like I'd been Tango'd.

That was until I tried this! The product itself comes in typical Soap And Glory packaging, totally cute and girly. The bronzer is contained inside  a black cardboard case, but don't let that put you off, because it is seriously sturdy. Its made up of two different shades, a matte darker colour, and a more shimmery lighter shade, both of which are perfect for my pale Irish red haired complexion.There is a slight over spray on the embossed S&G in the product itself, but after one quick swipe its gone, so no need to worry about your face looking like a glitterball!

At first I wasn't too sure where exactly to apply bronzer, what with being a bronzer virgin, so I just went with what I've seen people do in video's on YouTube and applied it to the higher point of my cheekbones, my temples and the jawbone, and I was super impressed I didn't look like one of Willy Wonka's helpers! It just looked so natural, and it looked like I'd just come back from a weeks sun holiday... (I wish). Then I applied a little coral blush to the apples of my cheeks just to feel extra Summery!!
The only thing I haven't tried to do with it yet is the dreaded contouring, but I think that shall be left for a day until I don't have to go anywhere, and can stay on front of the mirror for the day to perfect my Kim Kardashian like features.... :D Oh I wish!!
Overall I have to say I'm very impressed with the Soap And Glory powder products that I've tried. I've also tried the 'Love at First Blush, which is gorgeous too, and I've heard rave reviews about their highlighter and finishing powder aswell. It retails at 14.00 euro, which isn't too bad. Its the more expensive side of the drug store, but still reasonable enough that you won't feel too guilty about sneaking it into your basket! ;)

Have you tried this or any of the other powders?
Thanks for reading,
Alisha xxx