Make Up Revolution Haul

Hello lovelies, how's your week going?
I'm back this week with something a bit bold. I'd been so good and holding out buying make up, but then Make Up Revolution had a discount code on the Leap Year so I just had to purchase a few bits! Make Up Revolution are a very reasonable priced brand anyway, so the discount code just made it even better!
Let's see what I got shall we?

So as you can see, I eh, got quite a bit!! Whoops! 

Starting with face products, I got 4 items.  First off, I got the Pro Fix Amazing Make Up Fixing Spray. I've seen and heard this being used a lot, and I've never used one, so I said I'd give it a try. Now I've used it once or twice, and I'm not blown away just yet, but I'll keep ye posted. 

As if I didn't have enough blush already, I got one of The Matte Blushes in the shade Dare. When I saw it online it looked nearly like a really light purple that I thought I'd nothing like it in my collection. Well turns out I was wrong, I've a Sleek blush nearly the exact same! Oops! I haven't tried it yet, but again I'll fill ye in later on. I also picked up one of the Ultra Blush Palettes in Hot Spice. Now this and the Fixing Spray I got in a pharmacy near where I work, but online this blush palette looks very dark and not like much. However though it's the complete opposite! It's made up of 6 beautiful varying shades of coral tones, and 2 amazingly pigmented highlighters! I've been wearing this quite a bit since I got it, and I think this is definitely worthy of it's own blog post. #Staytuned. Lastly for the face I got the Correct and Conceal Palette in the Light/Medium shade, I bought this to try cream contouring, but realistically I should have bought the darker shades for that, but I'll get use out of this some way.  

 I've heard a lot of good things about Make Up Revolutions eye shadows, so naturally I had to try some. I picked up the I <3 Make Up I Heart Chocolate Pink Fizz Palette. These I Heart Chocolate Palettes I believe are possible dupes for the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palettes, but I don't have any of the Too Faced ones, so I can't compare. But just look at the packaging, just LOOK! How cute is it? Anyway, as you can see below, the shades in here are all different neutral tones, bar the navy one. I have tried this a couple of times, some shades are amazingly pigmented, some not so much. But I think that's to be expected with all palettes!

Another thing I had heard a lot about was the Awesome Metals Eye Foils. Again, Stila have something like this, the name is lost on me but the concept is the same and they're a fair bit more expensive than the Make Up Revolution ones. They come with a mixing tray and a mixing solution that you use to mix the shadow.  I picked up the shade Rose Gold, which obviously is rose gold. This I'm very much looking forward to playing with! 

And no make up look would be complete  without the eyebrows! So I picked up a Brow Duo Brow Arch and Shape in Dark. This has a brow pencil type product on one end, and a pen on the other which is to help draw on light feathery strokes. First off, it's not dark! I've very dark brows for some reason, considering I have light brown/reddish hair. But I'm enjoying using the product so we'll see. 

For lips, I went with one product. And that was the Lip Lava in Shockwave. It's a really vibrant pink/purple shade. It's a liquid lipstick type product but not one of those really drying matte ones, it's a more glossy moisturising type product, which again is a less expensive similar version to the Too Face Melted Liquid Lipsticks.

Lastly, I got some shampoo for cleaning my brushes and a little brush cleaner. The brush cleaner looked a lot bigger online, but it's tiny. It'd be perfect for smaller brushes, say like eyeshadow, but for bigger face brushes, it's far too small. The shampoo is OK, it does take the product out of the brush, but after a few goes. 

So that's all the bit's I've gotten so far from Make Up Revolution. They're easily accessible, they're in a lot of Superdrug stores, and online with international delivery from  http://www.makeuprevolutionstore.com/ 

I'm trying to slowly get back into more regular blog posts, so apologies for the delay, and also the poorly taken photos. I'll get better! 

Have you tried any Make Up Revolution Products? 

Thanks for reading,

Alisha xxx

PS Love Make Up Range.

Hey Lovelies,
Hope you're all well and happy! Another Monday done and dusted! Although I can't say much, I was in Liverpool/Birmingham for the weekend and only came back today so my Monday was alright! Anyway, I'm back today to show you a few bit's that I've picked up recently from the Penneys/Primark Beauty Range. Now I'm just going to say that I haven't given any of these a good go yet, I've tried some of the bit's once or twice, so we'll see how they fair out. I'm just letting ye know about them in case ye fancy going out and picking them up! :) I also bought these at different stages, between here and the UK.

Contour and Sculpt Contour Kit: I know, not another contour kit offering! The whole contouring thing seems to have just blown up in 2015, and when I saw this I couldn't not pick it up just to try it out. I haven't been one for the contour phase, as if it's done badly, it just looks like two stripes down the side of your face. This one comes with a contour shade, a bronzer (well at least I think it is), and a highlight.  It also comes with a tiny little brush, alongside a picture to show you where to place each powder.Now, I did try it once, and I have to say I didn't find it very pigmented. But for me that may be a good thing because at least then I can't go overboard. It was a steal at 4 euro, and I'm going to give it a good go before I make up my mind.

Blush Duo: I'm a blush fiend, I have loads and loads, but yet I still go back for more! To be fair, I didn't have anything like this in my collection. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. This is a blush and highlight all in one, and it reminded me very much of the No7 ones  that were released last Summer. This is yet to be tried out, but I'll report back as soon as I do.

CC Sticks: I came across these in Primark in Liverpool the other day and just had to try them. They had 4 different types to do with particular problem areas. I picked up the yellow for under eye circles, the green for redness, and the purple for dullness. I'm not sure if these are available in Ireland yet, but if not I'm sure they'll be along soon. I tried yellow one on Sunday night going for dinner, as we'd been doing a lot of travelling and walking and what not, and a lack of sleep at night between going out, and someone snoring, meant I had fairly bad circles under my eyes. I didn't use a primer as I was being lazy and only had a few minutes to liven up, so I found it a bit dry, but I think with a primer it'd be fine. It really did a good job of cancelling out the darkness under my eyes, I instantly looked more alert and awake! These were again only something like 1 or 2 pounds, sure I couldn't leave them there!

        

Velvet Matte Lip Pencils: These were the things I was most excited to pick up. I've seen plenty of people talking about them so I was mad to give them a go. I picked up two, a Red, and a Brown/Nude,

 which is that kind of colour the one and only Kylie Jenner seems to love! I've tried the brown colour so far, and I've to say, I'm not sure if the colour is for me, but the texture is nice. It's matte without being extremely drying, but I always use a bit of balm because no matter how hard I try my lips are chapped. These remind me a lot of the Maybelline Lip Pencils which I love, which are also comparable (apparently) to the Nars ones. So if they're something you'd be interested in, you may like to try these. 

So ladies. they're some of the bits you can pick up in our favourite shop at the minute. There's a lot more, like foundations, nail polish, eyeshadow, and also brushes, (some of which I've tried and I'll talk about in their very own post soon.) 

Like I said, I'll give everything a good go and if there's anything worthy of it's own blogpost, I'll be sure to do it. Have you lovelies tried any of the Penneys/Primark make up?

What did you think?

Thanks for reading, Alisha xxx

Flormar 'Haul'

Hi Ladies,
I hope you're all enjoying the ahem 'Summer'...
Today I'm going to show you a few bit's I picked up from a new make up brand called Flormar. Now I say new, but it actually isn't. They're actually around since the 70's, having been born in Milan, and also having been extremely popular in Turkey, but imagine, it's taken this long to get to us!
Well when I say us, I actually picked up these bits in Lanzarote a few week's back, but fear not, they are on the way to Irish soil very soon I do believe!
I could've gone nut's in the shop so very easily. I mean there was so much of everything! Multiple nail and lip colours, eyeshadow, blushes, you name it they had it! They even had staff on hand to give make-overs, which I genuinely would have loved, but in 36 degree heat it would've just slid right of my face! The staff in there were so pleasant helpful as well, which is always a plus!
So finally, I'm going to show you now what I bought! I haven't done any swatches for the products, but I'll more than likely be doing individual blog post's on all the item's, so I shall add in the swatches to those posts.

• High Performance Rotating Volume Mascara: Yep, you read that right, A rotating mascara, which I believe the girl in store told me is battery operated! I was a bit dubious that it would do anything, but after having it tried on one of my eye's I had to have it. It instantly made my eyelashes appear longer and thicker, without that clumpy look! I haven't used it properly since because I've such a huge amount of mascara to get through, but I look forward to using it! 

• Sheer Tinted BB Cream with SPF 15: This I have yet to try properly, but once I do I'll definitely let you guy's know how I got on with it. Some day's I just can't be bothered with a full face of make up, but it's still nice to put something on when I have to go out and run some errands and what not. From the little bit the sales assistant tried on my hand it seems to have a decent amount of coverage, even though the name is 'sheer tinted'. I'm not a fan of really full coverage bases anyway, so this will be nice to have in my ever expanding collection! Colour wise though I did struggle to find a good match, but then again I was in Spain where the ladies are a lot more bronzed than me, but I'm sure they'll cater to us pale skinned lassies when they arrive on our shores!It doesn't actually give a shade name on this, it just says 01, so I'm just assuming it's the lightest shade! 

• Extra Colour Lip Lacquer Shade 04 Peace Out: I have given this serious usage since picking it up, I'm absolutely loving it! For me Lip Lacquer's have a tendency to be extremely drying and leave my lips in a heap. Not this chap! It's so creamy and comfortable to wear, and it lasts forever! The pigmentation is amazing as well, like you literally only need the smallest amount. I really love the colour of this, it's like a light pink/peach colour, but to be honest, I don't think it really suits me. But ya know, YOLO and all that. :P

• Terracotta Blush in Shade 45 Touch of Rose: This is a baked blush, and it's absolutely gorgeous! It kind of reminds me of the Mineralized Skin Finishes from MAC to look at, I can't say if it performs the same as I don't own any of them :( But this is a beautiful pink, with hint's of brown and gold glitter. I find that when I apply it that it nearly does the job of a blush and a bronzer all in one, and we all love a product that's multi purpose! However if you don't like glitter I wouldn't recommend this, as it is very heavy on glitter, and I find as the day goes on and the colour fades a bit, the glitter is more prominent. I don't care though I still luurrrve it! 
• 
  

• Puffy Eyeshadow 03 in Its My Headband: This is a lovely burgundy, rusty kind of shade, It probably won't suit me at all but the colour was so pretty I just had to have it! I haven't tried it properly, but one swipe in the shop resulted in such pigmentation, and it seemed to be really smooth, so once this post is up and pictures are taken I'll be sure to give it a good go! I'm thinking it would be perfect for a statement eye look on a night out! 

       
 So these are the few items I picked up. I really could have bought the shop but I was good and            restrained  myself, but I definitely will be picking up a few more bit's when it gets to Ireland.              The prices are fantastic, think somewhere along the lines of Rimmel and Maybelline, and the               packaging is a lot more luxurious than the prices would lead you to believe! If I can find prices           I will add them in for the item's, but I would advise getting out and trying the brand because for           the price you can't really go wrong! 

        Have any of you tried Flormar? What did you think?

        Thanks for reading,

         Alisha xxx

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

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

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

Rimmel Match Perfection Blush

Hey everyone, happy Friday! Today I'm back with a review of something in my collection that I absolutely LOVE, but I haven't seen too much talk about it in the blogosphere, so I thought I'd change that with my little opinion!

It is  the Rimmel Match Perfection Blush in 01 Light. It is part of the Match Perfection line  from Rimmel that is made up of a number of other products, including the well known Match Perfection Foundation, Concealer, and Powder.
First of all for me the packaging isn't great. Its the same as the Stay Matte powder, the product is encased in a plastic bottom, and its a plastic lid the screws on to protect the product from getting damaged. I've had no problems with it yet, but I would be afraid to pop it in my handbag as the last time I brought something similar to this packaging in my handbag, my bag got destroyed! But as it's a drugstore product, I won't dwell to much on the packaging, just something to be aware of! :)
The product itself is made up of 2 shades of blush although online it says 3, but I can only see 2, which can be used seperately or together. My preferred method of use is to grab my Real Techniques Blush Brush, swirl the colours together and then pop on to my cheeks. I find it gives a really nice natural flush of colour to the cheeks, which is what Rimmel say in their blurb for the product anyway. I was having a look on the Boot's site just to see the general consensus on the product, and some people seemed disappointed because they say it has very little colour pay-off, but if you look at the colours in the pan, they are very muted, understated colours, which is why I like it. It goes with any make up look. For the day time its perfect if you're just popping to the shop for a few bits and don't want to go ott with your face, for the night time its perfect if you're going out and are going for something a bit heavier, say a smokey eye and a red lip, because it instantly just adds a pop of colour to the cheeks, without distracting from the main elements of the look! The powder itself is nice, I find it easy to apply and blend, and no fall out, which can often happen with a blush after tapping your brush into it.
I had been intending to use this today and to take a picture to show you all what it looks like, but I had my make up done when I realised I'd used another blush! Sorry guys! :( I will add in a picture the next  time I use it though promise!
Overall I really love it, but if you're someone who likes noticeable colour on your cheeks, then I would probably give this a miss! But if  you are like me and sometimes like to look a bit more natural but don't want to skip out on the blush then do give it a try! Its only around the 6 or 7 euro mark so you can't go wrong.
Its available from all usual Rimmel stockists! :)

Thanks for reading everyone,
Alisha xxx

NYX Wishlist

Ok I have to apologise, but my trip away is getting closer and closer, and because of this, my shopping list is getting longer and longer. Oops! With Inglot, Mac and Sephora at my disposal in Times Square I am going to be up to my neck in high end make up. However, sad as it may seem, I'm more excited about drugstore make up, a lot of which we can't get here. I'm not going to do a wish list for every single brand I want to buy bits from, but I thought I'd do a post on NYX, mainly because its so hyped up here, and also for the fact its not readily accessible. So no matter what happens, I'm not coming home without NYX make up!! :)

First up is probably the most obvious one of all, the Butter Lip Glosses. Raved about by beauty bloggers across the globe for being non sticky, super pigmented, and smelling delicious, I will definitely be picking up a couple of shades of these to try out!

Next up is the HD Eyeshadow base. I've actually had this before and I loved it! Any time I used it my eyeshadow did not budge, but unfortunately I tried to buy it from the site I had bought it from previously and it wasn't there!! NOOOOO!! So I shall definitely be stocking up on this when I get to a stand! :)

I'm useless at contouring. Like absolutely useless. I'm just so pale I can never seem to get a right shade of bronzer that's not too orange on my Casper white face. So seen as the Powder Blush in Taupe is meant to be the perfect contour shade for paler ladies like myself, I'll be giving it a try. And maybe one or two other shades, just for the blog of course. ;)

I'm a blush fiend ok?? The newly released Baked Blushes just look so beautiful I have to give them a go? It would be rude not to... Wouldn't it?

And lastly, a base. I don't hear a lot about NYX base products for some reason, but this Invincible Fullest Coverage Foundation sounds really interesting. It claims to offer full coverage, but with a natural looking finish! I don't have hugely problematic skin, but I'd love to try this for days I get really bad breakouts, which to tend to happen once a month... :(

There is lots more I could add to this list, and being truthful, when I get to a stand I will probably buy loads more than this! But for now this is what I definitely have my eye on, and will go to hell and back to make sure I get them!

Have you tried any NYX?
Thanks for reading,
Alisha xxx

Dandelion Blush Review

If I had to pick my favourite make up product of all time it would be without a doubt blusher. I just love how a simple sweep of a certain colour over the apples of the cheeks can change a look completely and instantly make you look more alert and fresh faced. In fact I love blush so much that I have an insane amount of it in my make up collection. I am yet to hit pan or anywhere near it on any blush I own, in fact, I don't think I ever will I have that many of them.
So even with the insane amount I have, there's only one that I have been reaching for on a daily basis over the last few months, and it is Benefit's Dandelion Blush. I was in Dublin before Christmas and decided to treat myself to a 'Box O' Powder' from the quirky high end brand, and one of the girls with me was raving about Coralista, so I was originally going for that. However, after telling this to the make up artist, he gave me a disapproving look, and said 'not for you love, you're far too pale' and recommended Dandelion instead.
Me being one to do what I'm told, brought it back to good old Galway with me..... But what did I think? Let's find out!

As you can see from the picture, it comes in the same cute packaging like a lot of Benefit's products. Its in a light green box, with a picture of a cute little dandelion on the front. (Anyone else used to pick these and pretend they were fairies and blow all the seeds away in the wind?) It contains 7 grammes of product, which from what I'm aware is in line with most of the other Box O Powder products.

All the Benefit boxed products also come with a little brush like this one in the picture. I honestly can't tell you what it's like because I never use any other brush bar my trusty Real Techniques Blush brush! But still, its a nice touch. I was actually watching Katie Dee on Youtube, and she actually recommended using these little brushes for contouring. So that's an idea!
Benefit describe it as a 'brightening face powder that takes you're complexion from dull to radiant with buildable colour and just a hint of shimmer'.
Its a really natural but pretty pink colour, which does have a slight shimmer in it, but nothing too crazy, it just makes you look like you have a natural glow, which is always good!
A little does go a long way with this though, you really don't need too much of it to get effective colour payoff. If you did use too much of this I think you're cheeks would end up looking more on the sweaty side of things as opposed to glowy!

It was really hard to actually try and get a good picture of this on the cheeks, but I think you can see the slight pink colour, and the hint of shimmer in there too. Before I bought this I wouldn't wear highlighter on a daily basis, but this does the work of one anyway, so if you're someone who does like to use highlighter everyday, this is a time saver as it takes that extra step out of your routine and gives you an extra few minutes in the leaba, which I don't think anyone would refuse!
Over all I have to say I am really impressed with this little box of loveliness. I held off buying one of Benefit's blushes for so long, mainly because they are pricey, but I have a feeling this will last for ages so I don't have to worry about running out of it any time soon!
Dandelion is available from Benefit Counters priced at 34 euro.

What do you guys think of Benefit?
Have you tried any of the products?
Thanks for reading,
Alisha xxx

January Favourites!

So thankfully January has come to a close! I'm sure I'm not the only one who finds January to be so long and boring and basically just a fairly depressing month. But to cheer you all up I decided to come along and tell you all what I've been absolutely loving this past month, and maybe encourage you to try some of these during the months ahead...

Soap and Glory The Righteous Butter: I had used this constantly for a couple of years, and then I just got distracted by other products in my collection and forgot how good this was!s. The consistency is amazing its nice and light and melts into the skin almost instantly, and leaves your skin feeling soft and hydrated for the day. And the smell! Its the typical Soap and Glory smell, so if you generally like that smell then you'll be happy with this. On some days after using the Clean On Me shower gel teamed with this, I haven't needed any perfume at all, the scent just lingers for the day! The scent is made up of beautiful  fruity scents such as bergamot and mandarin, and some more grown up slightly musky scents such as oakmoss and amber. I'm glad I rediscovered this and I'm never going to let it out of my sight again! 

No 7 Beautiful Skin Hydration Mask for Dry/Very Dry Skin: This has been an absolute saviour for my skin this month, and to some that may sound like a very large claim to make. But after the Christmas and the excess food and drink, and the cold weather my skin was feeling excessively dry. I had got this before Christmas as part of a gift set I treated to, and can't believe how well it worked on my dry skin. It does say to leave on for 3 minutes or else 10, so I tend to pop it on when I'm heading in the shower and letting it really sink in! I have mentioned this before in previous posts so I won't go into too much detail, but if you do suffer from dry skin I think its worth giving this a shot! 

CK IN2U Perfume: I have been a fan of Calvin Klein perfume's for a few years now, and I think this one is quite possibly my favourite out of all the scents I've had. Its a very sweet and girly scent, but yet very grown up all at the same time. It contains notes from pink grapefruit fizz to bergamot to vanilla souffle so there's a bit of everything in there! This bottle is a 150 ml size which will last me for ages, but its my second time buying this perfume, and I don't think I'll ever be sick of it! 

Benefit 'Dandelion' Blush: I have a feeling I've mentioned this in a favourite's post before, and if I have I'm very sorry but I can't help how deeply I've fallen for this blush, really. It's the most beautiful shade of pink with a slight shimmer going through it, and it just adds a nice pop of colour to the cheeks without going over board. I've really been loving it for days when I'm going for the really natural looking make up look. 

Benefit 'Sun Beam': Everybody raves about Benefit liquid highlighter 'High Beam' but I have never heard Sun Beam get a lot of love. Well let me tell you, its getting it now, from me! OK so I only have a teeny tiny size bottle, but its going to last me for ages, because a little goes a long way with this bottle of gold liquid goodness! I dab a little bit on to the highest point of my cheeks and blend it in with my Real Techniques Stippling Brush. It just gives the most beautiful effect to my cheeks, it almost makes me feel like a supermodel. If only I was really tall with legs that go on forever. I can dream I guess!

Rimmel Lash Accelerator Mascara: I have mentioned this in a Make Up Monday, so I'm not going to go into huge much detail again, but seriously this stuff is amazing! It makes my eyelashes look so long and fluttery and gorgeous! (May be a bit bigheaded, but seriously just try it and you'll understand). This mascara also contains 'Grow Lash Complex', which claims to help lashes grow and appear up to 117 percent longer in just 30 days! I'll keep ye posted.. ;)

So there you have it ladies and gents, 

this months top picks. I know there's not a lot of make up in there, but sometimes its nice to have a break from the norm isn't it? 

What have you all been loving?

Thanks for reading,

Alisha xxx

Wet N Wild Haul!

So every beauty obsessed lady in Ireland were delighted to hear that Wet N Wild had crept into some Dunnes Stores in Dublin unknown to us. I had given up hope of finding it in Galway for another few weeks, (the official launch is next week), so I'd resigned myself to waiting patiently. Until last night!
After work myself and my better half headed into get dinner in the city, and after stuffing ourselves with chicken in KFC, we went for a romantic stroll in Dunnes. The first aisle we headed for was the beauty aisle, but no sign of it there so just incase we headed upstairs. (My other half was just dragging his heals behind me, can't blame him really). After a bit of wandering I came across Rimmel, and there was a stand the far side which I thought was Catrice, until I walked around and nearly jumped out of my pants, WET N WILD WAS HERE!!!! Needless to say I picked up a couple of bits, so I thought I'd show you all what I got, incase like me you want to hotfoot it down there straight away! ;)

                                                  My stash of Wet'nWild

Wet'n'Wild's best known products are probably the eyeshadow palettes. So of course I had to pick up 3! Comfort Zone is probably the most well known, so even though I definitely did not need another neutral palette I picked up anyway. The right hand side appealed to me more because I don't really have any green colours for my eyes, so thought it would be nice to try. The next one I bought was Poster Child, which is made up of 8 bright and fun shades. I really stick to the same colour eyeshadows all the time, so I thought this palette would be a nice way of trying bright looks for my eyes once the warmer weather hits. The yellow and turquoise look like a really interesting combo! These are great value at only 6.49 each!

I also picked up one the trio's of eyeshadow's because I just thought the colours were so pretty. I have actually used this today and it seems lovely so far! Its called Sweet As Candy. The name alone just sold it to me! The price of these again was so reasonable at only 4.49!

 I had heard that the blushes were also very good, so I picked up the shade Heather Silk. Again I tried this today, and all I can say is, go easy with your brush! Its so so pigmented, and I had a lot of work to do to try and tone it down after application because I went in to hard with my brush! Oops.. But don't make my mistake and you'll get along just grand! There was a great selection of colours and it didn't break the bank, again at only 4.49!

 Another thing I had heard a lot about were the lipsticks, so I had it in my head when I heard Wet'n'Wild were in Ireland to try them. I picked up two colours in the MegaLast Lip Colour, Mauve Outta Here and Rose Bud. I couldn't not really try them, they were only 2.99!! They both seem like really natural every day colours, so when my lips heal up a bit as they are very cracked on both sides, I'll definitely be trying them out.

And of course I had to try the Megaslicks Balm Stain. I don't know what it is with me and lip crayons! This was the only thing I didn't swatch on my hand, so I don't really know what it'll be like, but it just like it'll be a nice fun Barbie pink! It was only 3.99, so not the end of the world if I don't like it!

So that's all I got! I was so delighted to see it in Galway I got slightly excited and wasn't really sure what I wanted, but in the end I calmed myself and picked out what seem to be the stand out products! It was great to see the stand pretty much full, and no products opened and tested bar the actual testers, which always gets on my nerves! I picked up my bits in the Dunnes in Briarhill, so I would assume it would be in the other stores in town now, or else soon enough!

Thanks for reading,
Alisha xxx

Make Up Monday... On Tuesday....

Maybe I should rethink this whole 'Make Up Monday' thing. I mean Monday's are stressful enough without giving my self a headache trying to decide on my favourite items, its just too hard!!!
However, this week though I must say it wasn't too difficult. In fact, it was rather easy because the item in question is one I reached for without thinking about it, EVERY SINGLE DAY. What was it you ask?
Well it was Sleek's blush trio in 'Pink Sprint'. (I just love the name). I had bought this of Cloud10Beauty a few months ago, and it got put to the back of my blush drawer, (yes I do have a blush drawer, so what) in the midst of a tidy up of all my make up.

I rediscovered it a coupld of weeks ago, and I've been loving it ever since. It comes with 3 varying shades of pink, 2 slightly dark, and one that's so bright, its almost iluminous! The trick with these though it to apply them with a very light hand. They are so pigmented that if you do overdo it with the blush brush, you will come away looking rather clown faced! So folks... A little goes a long way!!
In particular I've been getting great use out of the shade at the far right of the palette.
In fact, I had been wearing it recently when my aunt told me I was looking rather flushed, which I took as a compliment, because it just looked so natural on the skin!
I've raved about Sleek and their products before, so I won't do it again. Just go and try their products.... NOW!!! :)

What have you been loving this week?

Thanks for reading,
Alisha
xxx

What's new in the Drugstore! (Or Chemist) for January '14

Happy Sunday to all you lovely people out there! I hope you're enjoying it whatever you're getting up to! I went for a wander around town like I usually do on a Sunday, but for the first time ever I bought very little. In fact all I bought was shampoo and a nail polish remover! I must be getting sense! I did however go for a wander in Boots as always, and after a nose on their website too, there is a couple of new bits that arrived in store that I'll find it very hard not to buy!

Bourjois Happy Light Foundation: I think this has been out for a good bit now, (correct me if I'm wrong), but I haven't seen it at any Bourjois stand near me! However, I have seen it online HERE so its technically the same thing! I've heard rave reviews about this foundation, and I've fallen in love all over again with the Healthy Mix offering from this brand, so I may have to give this a go when I have used up a couple of my other foundations! Its 16.99 so its not a bad price either.

Revlon Colourstay Matte and Lacquer Balms:

Every beauty obsessive has heard and tried the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains. Except me, for some unknown reason! The first drugstore brand to take a step into the lip crayon world after Clinique and there Chubby Stick, every beauty blogger has sung their praises from the rooftops! But now Revlon have gone and released these versions! One with a matte finish, and one with a lacquer version! The colour selection looks great with a selection of neutrals to really brights, but the thing that's really catching my eye is the packaging! The matte packaging is just that, matte, and the lacquer packaging is really shiny to emphasise the lacquer effect! These are 11.20, so in line with the Just Bitten version.

Maybelline Baby Skin Pore Eraser: This is probably the release I'm most excited about! I had heard of its release in Asia months ago, and didn't think anymore of it, but now I'm raging because I bought the Benefit Porefessional not that long ago, and I would gladly have given this ago first, mainly because of the 11.99 price tag of the Maybelline primer! Sigh... Anyway, this does look interesting, and does claim to erase pores and give baby-smooth skin, so again I think I'll give it a go once I've used up the Benefit one.

Sleek Blush Trio: (Garden Of Eden Collection)

Sleek are renowned for their blushes, and I have to say I have a fair few of them already. But nonetheless, that does not mean I won't want this one when its released! Part of the 'Garden Of Eden' collection which will be released soon, the colours are perfect for Spring/Summer, whenever it rolls around. There is also a blush trio of coral colours, and an eyeshadow palette with some fantastic green colours too! The blush trio's are 12.99 and a little goes a long way with the Sleek blushes as they are so pigmented! Sleek is available on Cloud10Beauty, or Boots.ie.

These are just some of the new releases that will be or already have hit stores this January, and I don't know about you but they will definitely brighten up a dreary month for me!

Thanks for reading,

Alisha xxx