Hello and welcome to my blog! I have always wanted to do this and I can't wait to get started. I love anything to do with make up and nails, and I am constantly trying out new products. While I do treat myself occasionally to luxury high-end products, recently I have started playing around with budget cosmetics which I find are just as good as the expensive ones! Not everyone can afford Mac or Benefit all the time, and there are many cheaper alternatives out there which are excellent as well.
For my first post, I will show you some of the items which I have purchased in the last couple of weeks.
Essence is my new favourite brand. It is very cheap and the products are really lovely. If you can find an Essence stand near you, I highly recommend trying them out! While I was in Dublin recently I purchased some items from the huge stand in Pennys on Mary Street! I picked up three of their Kiss Care Love lipbalms. From left to right, they are 04 Caribbean Sunrise, 02 Purple Berries and 01 Fruit Crush. They are almost completely sheer, and the scents are just lovely. The purple one is actually my favourite. They are very moisturising, and you can still feel them on your lips even after over an hour.
I also got a Catrice Made to Stay eyeshadow, in the shade Lord of the Blings. I never thought I could find a cheap alternative of my beloved Benefit Creaseless Creams, but I am so impressed with this. I did not have a crease even after a full day. It is a lovely neutral colour with a bit of shimmer.
Before Christmas I treated myself to three of the China Glaze Holiday polishes. From left to right they are Champagne Kisses, Glistening Snow and Pizazz.
I don't really believe in buying expensive polishes (my favourite brands are NYC and Essence) because I always end up chipping it. I must admit I am a little disappointed with these polishes. The colours are fantastic, don't get me wrong. They apply nice and smoothly, and dry quickly too. But they feel quite grainy and chip so, so easily. Pizazz was probably the most long-wearing, I layered it over a silver polish and it looked really festive and sparkly. I am wearing Glistening Snow now. Though my favourite shade was probably Champagne Kisses.
I discovered this Essence Nail Art Stampy Set, which I also picked up from Penneys. It contains one image plate with nine designs, one rubber stamp and one scraper. I think it costs about €4. It is very easy to use and for the money I am so impressed.
I am a huge Sleek fan, their palettes are so amazing and so reasonable. They released the Sparkle 2 palette for the Christmas period and I had to get it!
The colour selection is just amazing and very pigmented. My only criticism is that they do not appear glittery once they are on your eye. I have tried many different techniques to apply the colour, but I just cannot achieve any glitter payoff. In the palette they look so beautiful, and my photo above was taken with no flash. The sleek palettes cost around £7.00 and I am still a huge fan of them.
I picked up two mascaras to try. The Collection 2000 Big Fake Ultimate (£4.99), and Essence Get Big Lashes (£2.00 I think?).
They are both quite good for the price, but if I had to choose I would honestly go with the Essence one. The Collection one, while it does lengthen your lashes, it leaves them looking a little thin even after numerous coats. My lashes are long already, so I just like a little volume. The Essence mascara is quite comparable to Benefit Bad Gal Lashes, which is my ultimate favourite mascara (and it is a fraction of the price!). My lashes look super full and volumised. Although the Collection one says "Triple your lash volume and add length", I really did not feel that it lived up to its expectations.
I just picked up the Essence white tip painter because I don't have one at the moment. The application brush makes it really easy to apply, and I am so bad at painting white tips!
I also really wanted to try these Express Dry Drops, I was curious as to how they work! Quite often I apply my nail polish and am too impatient to wait for it to dry. These drops are fantastic! You apply one or two drops to each nail, and after about two minutes, the nail polish is fully dry. The only thing that I don't like is that the drops run onto your fingertips and you realise how oily the formula is. However, I think this product is excellent and I don't know how I ever lived without it!
I went into my local chemist who have a small Essence stand. I was hoping to find the new Vintage District collection, but instead they had this range of hand creams. They cost £1.29 each and there are three different scents. I had to go with the apple and cinnamon as it reminds me of Christmas! I have to say, I really think this was a great buy. The formula is not greasy or sticky, it is very moisturising and the smell is just lovely!
I also got the Essence Shimmer Powder from their Twilight collection as it was the only thing that I didn't have from this particular collection. It is a really nice silky powder, it gives a nice glow however I would not use a lot of this product as it can look quite "gold" on your face.
Finally after trying numerous brands in search of the perfect glitter eyeliner, I found it! It's Collection 2000 Glam Crystals in the shade Funk. The difference between this liner and other budget glitter eyeliners is that the glitter is in a tinted gel as opposed to a clear gel. I think it cost around £3.00. When applied, it is so sparkly and eye catching. It's absolutely perfect as a finishing touch to your going out make up!
And last but not least, since I am addicted to glitter nail polishes I found this Essence Special Effects Topper in the shade Glorious Aquarius. I layered it over a turquoise polish and it looked stunning. I can't wait to wear this one more.
That is all for me today, I hope that you enjoyed reading!
