My Top 3 Favourite Brands

Number one favourite brand…of course, Cocoa Brown. It is the only fake tan I will ever use. It gives the most perfect colour for Irish skin tones, it applies beautifully and basically is fool proof. Also Cocoa Brown have the best tanning prep products and I have been enjoying playing around with the Golden Goddess oil (can't wait to use this in the summer). 

Number two favourite brand is MAC… they just have got it all, haven't they! Their lipsticks are amazing, their eyeshadows are brilliant and I use the foundation and concealer every day. Also love fun products like their glitters and limited edition things (I just love looking at the Cinderella powder pictured - it's so stylised Disney looking!). They are also not the most expensive brand out there I don't think and are really accessible to all. 

My final favourite brand is of course Clarins. You have heard me rave about Clarins on this blog many a time before so I won't bore you with more of that. I just love the elegance of their products. Their bases are amazing (if you haven't tried the concealer yet you must!) and they also make lip products like no other brand. Also for Summer they always bring out the most amazing collections! 

Honorable mention goes to Lancome and Too Faced, I love those brands as well but I just haven't tried enough of their products to say that they are my favourite "brands".

Simple Christmas Make Up

Hi! Long time no see, right? I have taken a little blogging hiatus for a while. Life just got a little busy and of course with Christmas coming up and the horrible weather we had been having I just did not have time to blog. But today I wanted to show you quite a simple make up which I intend on wearing on Christmas. Nothing too fancy, I have really come to the realisation that "less is more" when it comes to make up. I really don't suit a whole big plaster of make up on my face and I have been enjoying simpler looks. By that, I mean no highlight, no contour, no bronzer. Anyway… here is what I have on.

Too Faced Born This Way foundation (shade Vanilla)

MAC Pro longwear Concealer (NW15)

Illamasqua Cream Blush (shade Dixie)

Clarins Loose Mineral Powder

MAC Painterly Paint Pot

Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette (shades Salted Caramel, Milk Chocolate, White Chocolate, Semi Sweet)

MAC Blacktrack gel liner

Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara

MAC Reflects Pearl

Clarins Joli Rouge Lipstick (shade Joli Rouge)

I really like how it all looks together. For my eyes I like to use the matte browns in the Chocolate Bar palette just to give my eyes some definition. But then I remembered I had the Reflects Pearl glitter in my drawer from the MAC Cinderella collection which I have never really used. No better time than Christmas, right? I sprayed a little brush with MAC Fix+ and just dabbed it really in the centre of my eyelid. What I like about the Reflects glitter is that it really is quite subtle (despite being sparkly glitter! It's hard to describe). You don't see any big chunks of glitter, just a nice wee bit of sparkle. 

For my lips I just couldn't wait to use this Clarins lipstick for Christmas. I don't think I suit reds very much as they clash with my hair but for me this is such a classic true red, it makes me feel very old Hollywood movie star! Plus it's very creamy and nice to wear. 

Oh and for my hair I used the Remington Pearl curling wand and did really tight curls, then I just brushed through the curls with a big paddle brush.

Sorry I do not have a better pic of the make up actually on me! The lighting was so bad and it was just taken on my phone as I was heading out the door!

If I don't get speaking to you before then I hope you all have a lovely Christmas and wish you health and happiness for the new year xx

MAC Cinderella Collection has arrived! See what I got..

I am too excited about this collection! I was really looking forward to the release of this collection from MAC and when I got the email to say that it was available online last Friday, I quickly logged on and ordered myself a couple of things. I knew I really wanted the powder. The eyeshadow palette looks lovely but I already have a few of the shades, and the lipsticks look a little too light for me. I only bought the glitter on a whim! Here is a closer look…

This is the Iridescent Powder "Coup d'Chic". It is so, so beautiful. I love the stylised packaging, it looks incredibly Disney. The iridescent blue with the gold inlay definitely is very Cinderella. The product itself is extremely shimmery. I was looking for a new highlighting powder and I couldn't be happier to own this one. It didn't swatch too well to be honest, but I will do a more detailed post on these products soon.

This is the Cinderella glitter Reflects Pearl. I absolutely love the look of this! It is so sparkly, perfect for Cinderella! I have never owned a product like this before, currently I am researching on what kind of adhesive would be suitable to use this with on my eyes. I pressed it onto my eyes with a flat eyeshadow brush but I would like a little bit more intensity, and something to hold it in place all day!

Iridescent Powder Coup d'Chic as a highlight

Cinderella Reflects Pearl in inner corners 

I couldn't be more excited about this collection, being a lover of shimmery things, beautiful packaging and of course Disney! I can't wait to have a proper play around with these products - I only got them yesterday so still kind of getting to grips with them, especially the glitter. I am hoping to do a full look with them in a post soon!

Is there anything that has caught your eye from the MAC Cinderella collection?

Bargain Christmas False Nails from Primark

A couple of weeks ago I went to Primark and while I am not usually a fan of false nails, I saw that there was a huge selection of festive themed nails, and at only £1 per pack how could I resist? In fact I liked the sparkly snow scene nails so much that I picked up 2 sets of them! 

 I like these red ones that I got, but first I wanted to try out the sparkly blue ones!

They don't look too bad for only being £1! The only thing I will say about them is that the shapes and length of them are a little erratic. I couldn't find a decent sized one in the pack for my thumbs, and while the rest of my nails looked nice and long, I had to make do with a short, square thumb nail! Still, that is  a minor complaint I suppose!

It's hard for me to get used to wearing false nails, it has taken every effort to type this post up while wearing them, but of course they are perfect for over the Christmas season!

Festive Make Up!

It's that time of year again! Christmas parties will soon be coming up and I happened to take some photos one day when I was playing around with make up, and I thought it might be an appropriate look for a Christmas do.

I used some old favourites as well as new products - I was really dying to try out the Tanya Burr eyelashes and I got a gold Stargazer glitter too that I wanted to play around with!

Firstly I put Half Baked from the Naked palette all over the lid with a bit of Darkhorse in the crease.

I added some of the glitter on top of the eyeshadow and some lashes - I am a fake lash novice so I only put on a couple of individuals on the outside of my lashes.

I used the Clarins Extra Comfort foundation (I love this foundation!) subtle contouring with the Chanel bronzer and golden highlight with the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick (Apricot). Clarins Soft Peach blush and a Clarins Lip Balm Crayon in Sweet Cherry - I didn't want too much lip action since the eyes are so glittery!

It's a lot more make up than I would usually wear but I thought I would try something different! I had been wanting to experiment with glitters for a while and the festive season is the perfect time to do so!

Hope you liked this look! Tell me what make up you like to wear around Christmas!

Chanel - Illusion d'Ombre - "New Moon"

I have been obsessed with this ever since I got it! I spotted it in duty free before my holiday (at 4.30am…) and I knew i couldn't leave without it. I tested nearly all the Illusion d'Ombre eyeshadows but "New Moon" stole my heart the moment I laid eyes on it!

The colour is just phenomenal. How can I even describe it! It's like a purpley cranberry, and wow, that shimmer! I cannot get over how sparkly it is. I could look at it all day!

I used to be quite fond of cream eyeshadows, particularly the Benefit Creaseless Cream eyeshadows. But New Moon is not like them in any way. In the pot, it has a mousse / spongey texture. There is a tiny little brush supplied but I prefer to pick it up on my fingertip and tap it onto my eyelid.

I wore this every single day on my holiday and loved it. I wore it on it's own, no primer, and it held up throughout a good portion of the day, despite the intense hot weather. In the evening time I would notice it creasing ever so slightly, but by that time of the night I didn't really care!

Now that I'm back home, I've been trying different ways to use it. I still like to wear it alone with just a flick of eyeliner and mascara, but now I do put a bit of primer underneath (my trusty ArtDeco eyeshadow base) just to give it a bit more intensity and longevity.

But after playing around with it a bit, I think I have found my favourite way to wear it. It requires the help of my old faithful Naked palette!

I used the shade "Toasted" all over the lid, and "Hustle" in the crease. Then with my ring finger I tapped a bit of "New Moon" over it to give it that lovely shimmer. I love how this looks!

Have a great day everyone!

Isadora Sugar Crush Nails - the nicest nail polishes ever! :)

I got my first Sugar Crush - "Coral Crush" last summer, and wore it almost constantly. Now I feel the Spring coming, I resurrected my summer favourite and while on a recent trip to Debenhams I decided to pick up 2 more.

This is Ocean Crush, a lovely turquoise blue with gold shimmer. This shade actually reminds me of the ocean! It is the most unusual and beautiful colour, and I think it looks incredible on.

This is Candy Crush! I think this one is my new favourite! I don't usually wear pinks but I thought this looked divine. It is the cutest, girliest shade of pink. This one actually has chunkier glitter particles too. It looks absolutely flawless on your nails, and it seems to have the best wear time out of these three polishes.

And here is my first love, Coral Crush! Beautiful orange with gold glitter. For me, when I first saw this last year, it just looked so different and unlike any polish I had ever seen. I adored this polish last year, and sadly I am almost finished my bottle. I will definitely repurchase if these are still available. This shade just epitomises summer for me.

I do not usually like "textured" nail polishes and at first I didn't like how they felt gritty on my nails, but nevertheless, the shades are so breathtaking and striking that I do not mind the texture. And for such glittery polishes, they are incredibly easy to remove which makes them a winner for me! I hate the struggle of removing glitter polishes!

So to sum up why do I love these polishes - amazing unusual colours, excellent wear time and easy to remove. What more could you want in a polish!

Favourite Urban Decay NAKED Combinations - part 2!

Hello everyone and happy Saturday! Here is another one of my favourite looks using the Naked palette. This is something quick that I do for wearing during the day, and I guess you could also "dress it up" with a bold lip if you wanted to wear this on a night out! This is the look that I wear most frequently using the Naked palette.

The shades I use are Sidecar (all over lid), Smog (crease) and Darkhorse (outer corner).

What do you think? I love this so much, yes it is neutral but it also has a little glitter in there so it is most definitely not "boring"! As always, I finish the look off with my favourite ArtDeco liner and Lancome Hypnose mascara.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

My favourite Urban Decay NAKED palette combinations - Part 1

I thought this might be a fun series to do. I love my Naked palette, and it is more or less the only eyeshadows I have been using since I got it in September. Although I think all three Naked palettes are beautiful, the original Naked is definitely my number one choice. I do not have the other two palettes, while I do think they are lovely, they are quite similar and I do not think there is as much variety within the palettes as there is with the original Naked palette.

I love that there are pinks, golds, bronzes, taupes, and even blues in here. It is everything you could want. Although I love every single shade in here, I have worked out about three or four combinations that I wear all the time.

I'm having kind of a lazy Sunday, and I don't really plan on going anywhere, so I thought I would keep today's make up rather simple and go for a nice purple toned look.

I hope you like how this looks. Lighting is a bit of a nightmare this weather! For some reason in the photos it is showing up a more brown/grey shade! But in real life, it looks more purplish.

Here are the shades used..

Toasted - all over the lid

Hustle - crease

Sin - inner corner/tear duct

Virgin - to blend out crease

Pink and purple shades are my absolute favourite to wear on my eyes. These shades in the Naked palette are the best I have ever tried. They are lovely and shimmery too, which I adore! Sometimes I will tap a little more Sin in the centre of my lid too, just because I love the glitteriness of it!

Hope you all have a great Sunday! :)