My top picks of Summer 2014 (so far!)

Here we are in the midst of summer, and what a glorious one it is too! I am just back from a wonderful holiday in Disneyland Paris and as I write this, I am in my back garden enjoying every minute of this beautiful weather. 

It has been a great summer for some new make up too. I am particularly fond of the Clarins Colours of Brazil collection but I have tried out loads of new things this summer. Here is a small collection of what I have been wearing the most!

1. Skechers Flex Appeal Memory Foam - Not a make up item I know, but I bought these for going on holiday and I have been wearing them every day since! They are extremely comfortable, with a memory foam insole! It is quite literally like walking on air. I love these!

2. La Roche Posay Anthelios XL SPF 50 - I have been using this quite liberally, and despite the intense mid-30 degree heat in Paris and our beautiful weather here, it has not let me down so I would say this is  definitely one of my top picks for summer!

3. Escada Born in Paradise Perfume - This scent is just summer in a bottle for me! It is so fruity and tropical. I have been spraying this every single day and it has fast become my favourite perfume for summer. My only problem is, it is only available in eau de toilette so the beautiful scent does fade very quickly! :( But this perfume will forever remind me of this summer!

4. Clarins Lip Balm Crayon - These are the best things I have ever put near my lips! This shade is "Sweet Cherry", a beautiful but not too striking colour, which is very suitable for everyday wear. They feel so creamy and smell delicious! I recently tried a Clinique Chubby Stick for the first time and I can honestly say the Clarins Lip Balm Crayons are 100 times better! Please Clarins make these part of your permanent line!!

5. Clarins Colours of Brazil Eyeshadow Palette - I am still very fond of this palette and I wear it a lot! My favourite shades are the two brown shades, and I like to blend out with a little of the orange colour. The blue liner is really something! I never thought I would get much use out of the liner but it turns out I was wrong! I always line my lower lashes with it now, and it looks beautiful and lovely contrast with it and the orange eyeshadow!

6. Lancome City Miracle CC Cream - This is what I have been wearing on my face every day since I got it. It has such beautiful consistency and applies beautifully. It has that lovely elegant Lancome scent too (which I love) and of course has been providing some much required protection to my face with the SPF 50. I wish I had got it in the lighter shade though, as I constantly have to wear fake tan to make sure this matches my skin!

I would love to know what your top picks are for summer! And I hope you are all enjoying the nice weather! :) 

NYX has arrived! My first impressions

Good news! The US invasion continues with the arrival of NYX in Ireland. NYX is a brand I have been so eager to try, I had mentally made a wish list of things I wanted if I should ever visit the States again.
I was so lucky to be sent this great selection of NYX things to try. I have been playing around with all of these items all week and now I am here to let you know my first impressions of the brand.

 NYX Butter Gloss in "Peaches and Cream" and Lip Smacking Fun Colours Lipstick in "Indian Pink"

I love the packaging of these lip products, but I love what is inside even more! The lipstick looks absolutely beautiful, this colour is just gorgeous. It is lovely, soft and creamy to wear. It is quite a glossy lipstick though so it doesn't have the best staying power. But I can't get enough of this colour!

The Butter Gloss is just something else! I was so in love with my Tanya Burr glosses, but I think that NYX has totally taken over. Firstly, they smell delicious, like vanilla. They are super pigmented, they are very silky soft in consistency and are much creamier than the Tanya Burr glosses. They feel just a little tacky on your lips, not completely sticky like normal glosses. I love it!

 Jumbo Eye Pencil in "Rust", Auto Eyebrow Pencil in "medium brown", Eye/Eyebrow Pencil in "Sea Foam Green", Skinny Black Liner

I had a lot of fun with these eye pencils. The Jumbo Eye Pencil is fabulous, it's so easy to use & I definitely want to collect all of the shades! I think this colour would look great layered with MAC Cranberry eyeshadow.

The brow pencil is amazing! I am not one for fancy brow palettes, mascaras or waxes. I'm just happy enough with a brow pencil and this one is great. Initially when I swatched it I thought it was a very red toned brown, but it suits me with my hair colour perfectly. It's a brilliant twist up crayon with a lovely soft brush on the other end. It's the best eyebrow pencil I've ever used.

The green eye pencil is such a gorgeous colour! I don't think I would use it on my eyebrows (ha ha!) but it looks great on the lower waterline. My only problem is, my eyes are quite watery, so I find I really have to work with the pencil to get it on my eye and to get it to stay on!

Skinny Black Liner, where have you been all my life! I used to line my eyes with black pencil all the time, before gel eyeliners were en vogue! But I have never been able to use a pencil liner with such precision as this. Again it is a twist up crayon type, it is extremely black and stays put all day long! It's perfect for me in the mornings rushing out to work!

Love in Paris eyeshadow palette in "C'est la Vie"

And now the beautiful eyeshadow palette. The shades in here are just stunning, there is not a single shade in here that I would not use! Lovely neutrals - and I love to see a couple of green shadows in an eye palette! This is the product that surprised me the most. The eyeshadows are incredible - by far the best of any budget brand I have ever tried. I had the tiniest amount of fallout when applying them - but they have stayed put all day on me (I always use my trusty ArtDeco eye primer) and have not creased on me at all. In fact, at the end of each day they still look as good as though I have just applied them! These eyeshadows have by far exceeded my expectations and I would be eager to build my eyeshadow collection with them.  

If you can find a NYX stockist near you, I suggest you try out this brand! Their products are beautiful, fun and practical, and even better they will not break the bank. I think my favourite item has been the Butter Gloss, I adore the texture of it and the smell!

Let me know if there are other NYX products which I must try!