Who doesn't love a MAC Haul….

So….yesterday I spent the day in Dublin - I was going to see a show in the evening but I thought I would take the day out of it and go shopping as well. I kind of planned in my head some things I would like from MAC but to be honest I got a little carried away with myself and I have the guilts for buying all of this. Especially when my car insurance is due next month…oops! At least I will have nice make up, right? Anyway, here is what I got…

I have been really unhappy with how my makeup sits on my face so I thought I'd give the Skin Base a go. I've never used a primer in my life so it will be interesting if this will make a difference for me. I've wanted to try the Pro Longwear concealer for a while so I got it in the shade NW15. I needed a new gel eyeliner so I got Blacktrack (I used this today and oh my god! It's so creamy and easy to use!) and of course I couldn't go without getting a couple of lipsticks. I also got Fix+, I had been meaning to get this for a while so that I can spritz my brushes with it and enhance certain eyeshadows. I didn't know that MAC have just come out with scented Fix+ so I got the lavender one! It smells really nice!

The lipsticks I got are Syrup and Peach Blossom! I wore Syrup straight after I bought it and I really love it! It really is such a gorgeous neutral shade and it doesn't come out as purple as it looks. Haven't tried Peach Blossom yet but after seeing it feature on makeupmonster.ie a few times I knew I had to have it!


So there you have it, that is what I got in MAC. I have to be honest, it was really busy in the store and I didn't quite enjoy being in there but I am really happy with what I got, even if I did spend a little bit more than anticipated! I could have gone even more overboard, I'd love to try one of their blushes and even experiment with some pigments or something!

The Best of 2013 (Beauty Edition)

It is so difficult for me to believe that 2013 is at an end. I have to say that it has been a wonderful year for me, and I hope 2014 will be just as good. I wish everyone a very happy and prosperous new year.

I started this blog in January 2013. I have always tried numerous, varied products but ever since I started blogging I find that I have bought things that I wouldn't normally have looked at, thanks to everyone's great reviews and blog posts. 

I had to think long and hard but I have chosen seven products which have entered my life in 2013 and hopefully will never leave!

1. Clarins Instant Eye Make Up Remover - This is one item which will now always be a staple in my skincare routine. This eye make up remover has an oil and water layer which you shake together and which really cuts through all eye make up with one swipe. It is so gentle on your eyes, there is no need to tug or pull on the skin. It is £15.00 a bottle which normally lasts me about 10 weeks. It is worth every penny!

2. Cocoa Brown 1 Hour Tan Mousse - I never used to wear fake tan, until I discovered this. Now I wear tan every single day. Isn't it funny how things change? I don't know what I would do without my Cocoa Brown. I don't look normal without it. Actually I don't even remember what I look like without tan. It is just the most natural looking tan, so easy to apply and it is dry almost instantly after applying. Sure it is so handy, why wouldn't you wear it all the time?!

3. Lancome Teint Idole Foundation - I decided to invest in a good foundation back in May and I am so delighted I chose this. I have not spent this much money on a foundation before, but I can tell you that you can actually feel the difference in quality compared to other foundations. This is without a doubt the best foundation to ever land in my make up collection. It is so light yet gives great coverage. It has a nice scent, and I love the glass bottle with the pump.

4. Art Deco Dip Eyeliner - I used to be so crap at applying liquid eyeliner. I don't know how I can apply this little beauty so easily, but I can. The formula, the brush, everything about it makes it so easy for me to line my eyes. And it has lasted so long too and hasn't started to dry up or anything. Although, I am incredibly upset now that I have just realised Debenhams do not stock this anymore! I don't know what I will do when this runs out!

5. Lancome Hypnose Mascara - After trying my first Lancome mascara earlier in the year (Hypnose Star) I can confirm that out of all the brands of mascaras I have tried, nothing even comes close to the quality of Lancome. I love the formula and the wand. My lashes are so amazing looking when I use this!

6. Illamasqua Cream Blush - Remember the Illamasqua 50% off sale everyone went crazy for? The only thing I bought was this cream blush in the shade "Dixie". I didn't really get on with it at first, but I have worn it every single day and have not even hit pan yet! I like to apply it with the Real Techniques Stippling Brush or I tap in on with my fingers. Even if I am wearing a powder blush, I always put on a bit of this underneath as a base. It is absolutely brilliant and well worth the money,

7. Urban Decay Naked Palette - I snubbed this palette for such a long time. I didn't like the idea of "nudes", I mean what is the point of wearing eyeshadow at all if you are going to go nude? But when I first saw this palette up close in real life, I quickly realised that my assumption was wrong. These shades are all so beautifully shimmery and in my opinion they are not what I would call "nudes". I love bronzey, gold shades and this palette is packed full of them. Since I got this palette I have worn no other eyeshadows! I like the idea of Naked 2 and now Naked 3, but in my opinion, the original Naked palette is the best.

Do you like any of these products? What products have you tried in 2013 that you love? Please let me know in the comments below.

ArtDeco Dip Eyeliner

 ArtDeco are absolutely fabulous. Everything looks so glam, and so incredibly 1930s. I just love their sleek designs. The lovely Yav from Makeupmonster.ie sent me these beautiful eyeliners so a huge thank you for that!!

The applicator is so precise and incredibly easy to use. I have difficulty with applying liquid eyeliners that have the long kind of tip on them, so I am delighted with these!

 I love the turquoise shade! It is such a beautiful colour.

 The black liner is just fabulous, it is one of the best I have ever used! A quick flick of this and you are good to go!

For a pop of colour I applied the turquoise liner over the black. I adore this so much!

Both of these eyeliners stayed on all day, no problems there at all. Also they were quite easy to take off with eye make up remover. I had some issues with an Essence pen eyeliner once where it left a "stain" of eyeliner no matter how much you tried to remove it! These ArtDeco ones tick all the boxes for me. Easy to apply, stay all day and easy to remove! The colour payoff is amazing too. Definitely check these out if you can!

Essence Superfine Eyeliner Pen

So I got this as part of my Essence haul. I cannot remember the price but I think it was around £2.50. I only use my Clinique gel liner at the moment, and I am rubbish at trying to apply liquid liner. I liked the felt tip pen style of this liner, so thought I should give it a go. 

It was actually very easy to apply! I was pleasantly surprised. The thicker style tip was much easier to use than a regular liquid liner. It was really easy to do a cat eye flick too. 

The only thing I do not like about this liner is that it is extremely hard to wash off! Even if you think you have removed it all, there is still a faint mark from where you had lined.

Look what I got! Urban Decay Glinda Palette

Well, I did it, I bought it! I saw it while I was out shopping yesterday and couldn't resist. Debenhams had 10% off all beauty products so it was £31.50.

It is very well presented, and so beautiful. My only criticism is that in the palette there is no space to put the lip colour, it just slots in inside the cardboard box as you can see.

These are my favourite shades, I think they look so unique and look so striking.

This is just a look that I tried which I followed from a Youtube tutorial. It is a little more dramatic that what I would usually wear, but I really do like it. The shades are very pigmented and very easy to blend out. I think Urban Decay must have changed their formula in recent years as I had an old palette of theirs and I threw it in the bin! I had read a lot of reviews saying there is quite a lot of fall out especially with the most glittery shades, the silver and the gold. But I really did not think it was that bad, in fact for me I noticed barely any fall out at all.
The eyeliner is fabulous, I love it - it is a lot darker on the eye than I expected - I used it on my lower lid. The lip colour is fine, very neutral but I think a more pink/peach shade would have been more suitable to include with this palette. It is nice to apply and it is kind of a lipstick/lipgloss combo. It is as pigmented as a lipstick but there is a little bit of stickiness to it.

I can't wait to try out more looks with this palette! I will post more when I do.

Essence Collection - Oz the Great and Powerful

Well, i guess it's easy to see that I love Essence cosmetics right now and I have a lot of their products. I just found out they are releasing this lovely collection to coincide with the release of the new Disney film, Oz the Great and Powerful!

I can't wait to try out the Cream blush! Apparently it has a pump dispenser, it will be really interesting to see what this product is like. The only disappointing thing is while the colours of the nail polishes are all absolutely beautiful, they are just crackle-effect toppers which I am not really all that fussed one. I wish they were just normal polishes!  This collection will be coming out at the end of March.

The Wizard of Oz is my favourite film of all time! I cannot wait to see Oz the Great and Powerful, and I am also going to see Wicked when it comes to the BGE Theatre in Dublin!

I love Sleek!

As you may have seen in my previous posts, I use Sleek products quite a lot so I thought I would show my collection. I love Sleek, it is a brilliant affordable brand and their products are amazing. Nothing in my collection cost more than £7.99, and their products are of excellent quality too.

I have three eyeshadow palettes - Oh So Special, Glory and Sparkle 2.
I have the Creme to Powder foundation which you may have seen in my previous post, I have the Luminous powder, the Eyebrow Kit, Blemish Balm, two of the Pout Polishes, a True Colour lipstick, a glitter eyeliner and the Molten Metal cream eyeshadows.

Left to Right - Oh So Special, Glory and Sparkle 2

I created this eye make up just using the Oh So Special palette, and the glitter eyeliner. I used the Creme to Powder foundation as concealer.

And this is the gold Molten Metal eyeshadow..

Sorry there are so many photos in this post!

I cannot recommend Sleek enough! Especially their palettes. I want to get the Storm palette next time and the contour kit. My local Superdrug has some stock, but not all. I have ordered from their website too and their delivery is very efficient, but it is hard to figure out what shade will be right without testing it first!

The only thing they don't do is nail polishes!