Clarins Jolie Rouge Brilliant Perfect Shine Sheer Lipstick "Coral Dahlia"

Here is something very exciting! When this little beauty arrived through my letter box I was dosed with the flu and badly in need of a pick me up. Needless to say it definitely did the trick!

Clarins Jolie Rouge Brilliant* are stunning sheer, glossy lipsticks. I have here the shade "Coral Dahlia" which is a new shade released as part of the Garden Escape Spring collection. When I opened this lipstick, I actually did gasp! The colour is just stunning, a gorgeous coral with very subtle golden shimmer. This is the perfect shade for Spring and Summer!

The lipstick is housed in a really sturdy silver tube. I must admit it looks very glamorous indeed. I am surprised by the weight of the packaging! It feels really solid. Twist up to reveal the gorgeous lipstick. That colour! I just can't get enough of it.

I took a close up of the swatch in the sunlight so you can see the shimmer in there. This lipstick is incredibly glossy, very smooth and creamy and is oh so comfortable to wear. I am a little nervous of wearing bold lipsticks, and I tend to stick to lip glosses or lip crayons (I was obsessed with last year's Clarins Lip Balm Crayons). I never thought that there would be a lipstick with sheer glossy colour like this! It's absolutely perfect and a real novelty for me.

This lipstick has properties of a lip balm too! It feels incredibly moisturising on, which is probably why I felt it so comfortable to wear. It has a wonderful scent too, very sweet and it reminds me of strawberry bon bons! Despite being very soft and creamy, it lasts a decent amount of time too, I had a good couple of hours wear time before I felt like I needed a touch up. It wears away evenly too, it's one of those lip products which doesn't require too much maintenance!

What a brilliant product to introduce a bit of colour into your make up routine for Springtime! I can tell that this will be my favourite lip product this season. It's just the right amount of colour, with the perfect glossy sheen. This lipstick will set you back £19 and there are now 15 shades available, including the new Spring releases "Coral Dahlia" and "Rose Petal", which also looks gorgeous!

Clarins really know how to do lip products! I don't think I have ever been as excited about a lipstick before, honestly! If you get the chance to swatch these at a counter, definitely do & you will see what I mean!




*Product provided for review

My Top Products of 2014

Everyone is doing one of these posts so I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon! I try out a lot of different products throughout the year but I have chosen a selection of products/brands which have really impressed me more than any other.

La Roche Posay skincare! Ever since I took a bad reaction to a Clarins cleanser, I switched up my skincare routine (actually it was more of a complete overhaul). I went and bought everything La Roche Posay and the condition of my skin has improved dramatically. I love each and every single product I have bought, and I will continue to repurchase. The prices are kinder to my wallet too. I seem to have amassed quite a collection of La Roche Posay products over Christmas! Honestly it will now take a lot for me to stop using this brand.

This year I started using Mane 'n Tail products on my hair this year, and am so impressed. I am just mad that after several years of paying big bucks for the likes of Kerastase shampoos, I could have been using this. Mane 'n Tail just really agrees with my hair. I have found that my hair gets less greasy, and the detangling spray is a godsend for my tatty hair. Wonderful range of products and reasonably priced too.

I tried a lot of makeup throughout the year too, but only one new foundation which was the Clarins Extra Comfort. I am so, so impressed with the coverage of this product and how comfortable (as the name would suggest) this foundation is to wear. It is extremely beneficial to dry skins and contains a lot of skincare and anti-ageing properties. It was quite a spendy foundation, and the packaging isn't at all practical but it is the only make uppy product that really overwhelmed me in 2014.

Another skin care product! Clarins Instant Eye Make-Up Remover is the one and only eye make up remover which really works for me. It is kinda expensive (£18) but I have tried drugstore alternatives and they are just not a patch on this stuff. A bottle of this usually lasts me about 2 months so I have gone through quite a number of bottles in 2014! And I shall continue to purchase this in 2015. It is the best make up remover and is really gentle on my eyes too.

It is interesting that this year my favourite products are mostly skincare. I had to include some make up too. I wanted to include something that I reach for every single day, so I cannot choose between the Clarins Lip Balm Crayons and Tanya Burr Lip Glosses! I reach for one of these every day. I love the colour selection and pigmentation of the Tanya Burr glosses (and they smell lovely) and Clarins Lip Balm Crayons really were my holy grail products especially during summer. Especially the shade "Creamy Pink".  I have worn them down quite  a lot and they are nearly done - sad times! At the moment I am wearing Tanya Burr lipgloss in "Aurora" which is a lovely sparkly, pinky-nude. I wore it a lot over Christmas too. Beautiful!

Since I really got into the habit of fake tanning in 2013, 2014 was the year when I kinda laid off the tan and went for something a little lighter. Cocoa Brown Gentle Bronze is in fact my holy grail gradual tanning product! It's the total opposite to the hideous gradual tanners I used many years ago. It has a lovely light consistency, it absorbs really quickly and has a nice scent. I am left with a beautiful colour the next morning, no streaks or patches either! Just one application of Gentle Bronze has been perfect for me, when I want a little hint of tan but not too much. I have really particularly taken to this product in the Winter months. For me, this is the best gradual tan out there. I will have to stock up on a few more tubes for the new year! 

Have you tried any of these products? What do you think? Oh and of course, Happy New Year to everyone! :) 

Do you heed the "use by" dates on make up products?

Here is something that has crossed my mind lately. I had no idea until recently that the little logo on the back of your products with a "12m" or "6m" etc. beside it meant that that is the length of time you should use your products for once opened. Now, to be truthful, I cannot think of a single item of makeup that I have actually used up! So I would be a little annoyed and in my opinion a total waste of money if I were to toss a product barely used just because I had reached it's "use by" date.

For example, the products shown in the photo above have all been part of my collection for a while. The first example which I will talk about are the Tanya Burr lip glosses. I love them, but they apparently have a very short use by date - 3 months! There is no way I would even finish one of these glosses if I wore it every day for three months.

My Lancome Teint Idole foundation has a 12 month logo on the back. I have this foundation since May 2013 and although it is on it's last legs now anyway, I can't help but think what makeup artists do with items like this in their kit? 12 months isn't a long time and with the price tag on these you wouldn't want to be disposing of them if there was still plenty left!

I bought the IsaDora Bronzing Powder around Summer 2011 and have barely made a dent in it. It has a 24m tag and still as good as new! The compact is so big and has a brilliant mirror, i think I would hold onto it no matter what!

I bought the Clinique gel liner in (I think) March 2011 and the pot is just about half empty. The label has worn off the back so I am not sure what its use-by is, but I would guess around the 6-12 month mark? Anyway, there is still plenty of the gel liner left and it hasn't dried out any, the consistency is still exactly the same as if it were brand new.

I got the Kat Von D eyeshadow palette around October 2010! And as you can see it has barely been touched. It has a 24m tag. I don't think i have ever finished an eyeshadow, I only tend to wear eyeshadows at weekends so they last me forever. I really love the colours in this palette even though I haven't used it in quite a while. I'm not sure I could part with it!

The Lush lip scrub is the only thing I can find that has an actual date on it. I got this in May last year and although I use it very regularly, almost on a daily basis, I haven't even used up half of the pot yet.

I suppose my main point is - how the heck are you supposed to use up all the product in the time suggested? I guess there are people who are harder on products than I am, I seem to get absolutely ages out of everything!

The only person who uses these products is me, and I know I don't have any infections or anything, my brushes are all cleaned and I have never had any problems using some of my "older" products. I know that not everyone is gong to agree with this though! The only thing I am fussy about is lipsticks and lip glosses, I guess because I am so prone to coldsores I have a habit of tossing lipsticks after about a year. I can never be too careful about that.

So how do you feel about "expired" makeup?

Tanya Burr Lips and Nails - review

I bought myself a few things to try from the Tanya Burr collection. I think they look really fun and perfect for Spring. I am not really much of a Tanya fan, I mean I do watch her videos on Youtube but I wanted to try these products for their own merits rather than just for the Tanya Burr handle.

Lets start with the nail polishes! These are the shades "Bright and Early" and "Little Duck". These colours are right up my street and I couldn't resist them.

I must admit the nail polishes were a little disappointing to me. I just couldn't get them to work for me, they either ended up streaky or a gloopy mess, which is a shame as I do so adore the colours and was planning on adding a couple more of the bright colours to my collection. I just kept thinking that you could get an Essence polish for less than half the price of these, and I do think that Essence ones are better quality. Still, I shall persevere with my Tanya Burr polishes, especially Bright and Early because it is too fabulous a colour not to wear! And actually I think Little Duck would make a great accent nail to go along with it!

The lip glosses on the other hand... oh my god! These are fantastic, and the most fun and fabulous lip product I have tried in a while. I got the shades "Exotic Island", "Picnic in the Park" and "Just Peachy".

These are absolutely fantastic, I have really been loving these glosses. I think that Just Peachy is too pale for me, though! I expected it to be more of a neutral everyday gloss, but it makes my lips too pale for my face so I don't think I could use this. The other two colours though are absolutely heavenly. I particularly love Picnic in the Park for everyday wear. Exotic Island is bursting with colour and I love wearing it when I am all dressed up and it's perfect with a smoky eye!

They smell like strawberry bon bons and they apply really nicely. I don't think they have the best longevity, but I don't really care about that! I couldn't rate these glosses highly enough.

Have you tried anything from the Tanya Burr collection? Let me know what you think!

My new Sephora palette! A first look

I think everyone in Ireland wishes we had Sephora here! But I saw this cute little palette online (eBay) and I thought I would treat myself. I rarely order makeup online as I am always afraid it will get smashed while in transit, but thankfully this palette arrived safe and sound.

This is the Sephora Breast Cancer Awareness palette. I really do not know much about this product. I believe it was released some time last year.

It contains 36 eyeshadows, 12 lip glosses and 6 blushes. There is such a variety in here! There are shimmery and matte shades in the eyeshadows. I cannot yet comment on the quality or pigmentation of these as I have not used them yet!

The lip glosses

 Blushes

The only thing that surprised me about this little palette is how small it it! Here it is next to a Sleek palette. As you can see the eyeshadow pans are only about half the size of the Sleek ones! I guess if I find a shade I like it may not last very long!

So that is a first look at what I think is a very cute and fun palette. I am sure I will be posting many a makeup look using this palette very soon. I cannot wait to play around with all of the shades!

MUA Lip Boom Review

I have had the MUA Lip Boom for a while in my make up bag. I thought it was about time I reviewed it!

These lipstick/lipgloss combos cost £3.00 in Superdrug. I chose the shade Doin' Good as I thought it was the most neutral. I think the packaging is lovely and it's a very handy item to stick in your handbag. 

I have to say this is the driest lipstick I have ever tried in my life. It is a little difficult to apply and not very comfortable to wear. Below is what the lipstick looks like alone... 

So next I am applying the gloss over the lipstick. The lipgloss smells absolutely amazing - like vanilla. It is very glittery and quite pigmented.

The glitter particles in the lipgloss are quite chunky and as such you can feel it gritty on your lips. But I love the look of the two products together. For a very reasonable £3.00, it is a handy little product even though I don't think it is the best. I would like to try a more striking colour next time, there is a nice red one which would be very nice for a dramatic look!