Can you save dried up cream eyeshadows?

So recently I got the new lavender scented MAC Fix+ and I had been researching on ways to use it. I spotted online somewhere that it can be used on dried up cream eyeshadows to restore them, and I remembered about one of my faves from last year, which was the Chanel Illusion d'Ombre in New Moon. God, I was obsessed with this thing but somehow it totally dried out despite me being so careful and always making sure the lid was on tight. So here is a little experiment to see if I can fix it!

So you can see that the shadow has shrunk from the edges of the pot…

In fact it has shrunk so much that it just falls out of the pot and looks like this little dried up disc.

So first I sprayed 2 sprays of MAC Fix+ into the pot, then I got a little spatula and just started mixing it together.

At this point it started flaking like crazy and I was so upset because I just thought I had ruined it completely!

Then I just started packing it down with my finger and it began to look a lot more smooth and almost normal again.

I was afraid that the Fix+ would water the shadow down and it wouldn't look the same as it used to, but  so far the formula was pretty much the same and the pigmentation seems unaffected, fingers crossed!

So the next part of the experiment was to actually use it on my eyes!

It felt very smooth and creamy, just like when I first got it and I applied it just using my fingertips like I normally did. I always loved this cream shadow because it was like nothing I had ever seen before. It's completely multi dimensional and has pink, purple, brown, even red tones in it. I think this shadow was limited edition too which was another reason why I was prepared to give it another lease of life! I had to take the below photos with a desk lamp shining on me so you can see how incredibly sparkly it is too! 

So there is hope if any of your cream eyeshadows have died on you! 

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!

Best of Summer Beauty 2015

I am sorry to be posting this! But to me, Summer is well and truly over! Finito! I am now preparing myself for Autumn - my favourite season. But, here are some things that I either discovered over the summer or got great use out of.

First off I will start with sun cream. I bought this Vichy sun cream when I was in France. I don't know if it is sold in Ireland or not? But it comes in aerosol form, which was so handy on holiday, I just sprayed myself with it and didn't bother rubbing it in (saved me from the dreaded sticky hands usually associated with sun cream). It is SPF 50 too. It was absolutely brilliant to use and was amazing to use on the go. Definitely the best sun cream I have ever tried! It was so hot and sunny when I was in France but my skin was so well protected, I came home as pale as I went!

Also I bought the Clarins facial sun cream and it was great to use, it wasn't sticky or greasy at all and I was able to put my make up on over top of it. It smells amazing too. I used a La Roche Posay one last year and I really wasn't that fussed on it. I thought the Clarins one was miles better!

OK, I promise I won't ramble on about this but the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette has to be my star buy of the summer! The eyeshadows are bloody brilliant, beautiful shades and there is something in there for every occasion. I have been wearing this non-stop, every day since I got it! I just think it is so cute too, it looks (and smells) just like a giant chocolate bar! Perfect for a chocoholic like me.

I am kind of embarrassed to say that only over the summer I discovered MAC lipsticks! I know, I know, I am such a crap blogger! I already have 3 of them and definitely want to add more to my collection. I used to be such a big gloss/lip balm girl and I always thought lipsticks were too high maintenance for me to wear every day, but MAC lipsticks really are something else! I can't get enough of them!

Everyone has a summer scent I am sure, and this year mine is Jo Malone Wood Sage & Sea Salt. I got this in Dublin airport before I jetted off to France so this scent just brings me right back to my holiday. I couldn't even describe it to you, but it is just so fresh and lovely.

An oldie but a goodie, I just love the Illamasqua cream blush in the shade Dixie. I actually have this blush nearly 2 years and probably is my most used blush, but somehow over Summer I have rekindled my love for it. It's just the perfect colour for me and no matter if you use it in the most intense summer heat, it stays in place all day.

Another new (to me) MAC product was the Studio Careblend powder. I have never used a powder as good as this! It's so soft and is very forgiving on my dry skin. Sometimes all I need is to wear a tinted moisturiser but I always set it with this powder and it's great for taking down the shine. Somehow it makes your skin look pretty flawless too!

And last but not least is the famous Nuxe lip balm. When I first got this, I was impressed but I perhaps didn't think it was worthy of all the hype. Turns out, I was wrong! I cannot go a day without using this. Actually this lip balm goes hand in hand with the MAC lipsticks I was using. I cannot put any lip product on now without a good layer of this lip balm. Plus it was a saviour in hot weather when my lips felt really dehydrated. I'm nearly out of this pot but I will go straight out and buy another when it runs out!

So while I had a great time going on holiday in July, the Irish weather is really getting me in the mood for Autumn!

Chanel Stylo Eyeshadow - Laurier Rose

 This is another new product I picked up on holidays. I was just randomly swatching things in Sephora and this one really took my breath away. All of the Chanel Stylo Eyeshadows looked lovely, but the Laurier Rose shade in particular just looked fantastic to me. It was €30 from what I remember, so not cheap but I knew I'd get plenty of use out of it.

I actually used to be really obsessed with pink shades on my eyes but I haven't worn eye looks like that in a long time.

Isn't that swatch just heavenly? It almost has a metallic quality to it. It's a really warm toned pink with a subtle sparkle. Actually Chanel describe the shadow as having "fresh and iridescent effects". I definitely get that, and the eyeshadow has a cooling effect too when applied to the eyelid. It's very creamy and glides across the eyelid with ease.

I have never actually used an eyeshadow in a pencil form before, but I literally just swipe it over my eyelids and blend out the edges for a simple everyday look. It just adds a little "something" to the eyes, but when I want something a little more eye-catching I deepen the crease using some shades from the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette, as below. 

I just adore this Stylo Eyeshadow so much, it's a fantastic product and I am so delighted how easily it applies. I actually would love a couple more shades so that I can play around and experiment and try out a whole entire look using the Stylos.
The wear time is really good, I got a good 8 hours wear time before it started to crease (I always wear it over my MAC Painterly Paint Pot).

I'm just so in love with this Stylo Eyeshadow. It's so incredibly easy to apply, and you can make it as simple or dramatic of a look as you like. It has definitely impressed me! Who doesn't love a bit of Chanel!

Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette

I am so so excited about this palette! I haven't been this much in love with a make up product in a while.
I had watched many a Youtube tutorial using this palette and while I always thought it looked beautiful, I wasn't that interested in it because I personally thought it was a little too expensive for me when I hadn't heard much about the brand Too Faced before. But, when a Too Faced stand popped up in Debenhams and I got to swatch it for myself, it was true love at first sight. I thought about it and thought about it and finally bought the palette in Sephora when I was on holiday in France. You know when you can't get a make up product off your mind that it is true love!

I love how there is a great selection of shades, and while they are neutral colours they are by no means "nude". Which is good for me because that is exactly what I want in a palette! There is a good selection of blending shades and highlights, and amazing eye popping shimmery shades. Also I like how out of the 16 shadows, only 5 of them are matte. I much prefer a shimmery metallic shadow over a matte!

The shadows themselves are like nothing I have ever tried. They are incredibly pigmented and so soft and easy to work with. I am getting on a lot better with this palette than I ever did with the Urban Decay Naked palette!

Also I should mention - these eyeshadows smell like chocolate! When you open the palette you are greeted with the unmistakable scent of chocolate, as these eyeshadows are actually made with cocoa powder…it's wonderful! It makes me crave chocolate so bad though!  Also the names of the shadows are so cute, when people ask what you have on your eyes and you say "marzipan, hazelnut and milk chocolate!"

 Left to right - Gilded Ganache, White Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Black Forest Truffle, Triple Fudge

 Salted Caramel, Marzipan, Semi Sweet, Strawberry Bon Bon, Candied Violet, Amaretto

Hazelnut, Creme Brûlée, Haute Chocolate, Cherry Cordial, Champagne Truffle

There are so many different looks you can create with this palette, from very basic daytime looks to dramatic evening looks. I have really had a lot of fun playing around with this palette and I actually am excited to use it when I get up in the mornings (sad, right?!). I have been wearing this palette every day which is a big deal for me because I don't usually bother wearing eyeshadow for just going to work. So that tells you how much I love using this palette!

Beauty Buys from France and Duty Free

Hi lovelies! I am back after a bit of a break. I was kind of out of inspiration on the blogging front but also I was on my holidays in France! I had the most amazing time, it was a very laid back relaxed holiday. Visited some very historic places, ate some great food and just had a lot of fun. I had to make a few stops at different pharmacies though! :) To be honest I was completely overwhelmed because I do not speak very much French and I ended up getting the same products that I can get at home, but I don't mind because I am well stocked up on my regular skincare.

I will start off with what make up I got. I was actually mad looking the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette after I finally saw it in my local Debenhams before I left for France. Don't buy it I told myself, save your money for your holidays. Yet I couldn't get it off my mind. I hunted the entire Sephora store but I couldn't see a Too Faced stand. I actually let out a loud gasp when one of the Sephora staff opened up one of the drawers and there were some Chocolate Bar palettes! So into my basket it went, along with a gorgeous Chanel eyeshadow stick. I will do a closer look at these products in a blog post very soon.

From the Loop Duty Free I got a MAC Studio Careblend Powder (the best powder I've ever used!), MAC lipstick "Vegas Volt"  and the Clarins Instant Smooth Line Correcting Concentrate! I've been using all of these religiously since I got them and I am so impressed!

Also from the Loop I got my very first Jo Malone fragrance which is Wood Sage and Sea Salt! I really love this scent, it's just so fresh and perfect for summer nights!

The three Le Gel Douche in the picture may seem like a bit of a random purchase and I would agree, but I bought the mango one when I first arrived in France because I didn't bring my own shower gel, and I couldn't get over how nice the smell was and how the scent completely filled the bathroom for hours after I had a shower. So I just picked up another 2 bottles to take home with me! I'm not usually bothered about shower gels, any old one will do but I completely fell in love with the scent of these.

I made a quick stop at L'Occitane as well and got the lime ultra soft cream (I got one of these in Paris last year and have never gotten over how nice it smells!). I also got a mini hand and foot cream and a rose lip balm. Really enjoying these. I definitely want to try more L'Occitane stuff, I might invest in some of their skincare.

And lastly, from the pharmacy I got some of my beloved La Roche Posay skincare! I had no idea there was such  thing as the jumbo sized cleansers (they had huge containers of the miceller water too, never seen them in Ireland before!) so I stocked up on the Toleraine cleanser and got a moisturiser, and I just bought the eye make up remover because I just happened to see it, I've never actually tried this one before.

Almost forgot to post these! These are the swatches of the Chanel eyeshadow stick and MAC Vegas Volt lipstick!


I hope this post was of interest to you! I am so sad now my holidays are over. I loved France so much and would love to go back there!

More new NYC nail polishes!

I am a bit of an NYC nail polish addict! They are just so affordable to me and in my opinion are brilliant nail polishes. I bought another 3 colours to add to my collection and just thought I would share a few pics with you!

This deep raspberry pink is called "NY Haute Couture" and is from the Gel Gloss range. This one is so easy to apply, it's so glossy and shiny and has a brilliant finish. It lasts me several days with no chips which is amazing! Also I've had this one on my toes for nearly 2 weeks and apart from a little wear the colour still looks good! This is a fantastic nail polish!

I adore blue nail polishes so got this one "Hudson River". This one is from the Shine in a Minute range. I have to say that this polish has been very problematic for me. I cannot apply it without getting air bubbles and I just cannot get a smooth texture with it. I do want to love this because the colour is right up my street but I don't think this polish is as good as the Gel Gloss ones.

Red polishes are not really my thing, I don't think they really compliment my skin tone but I loved the shade of this polish "Tribeca Style", also a Gel Gloss polish. This was an absolute dream to apply and wear, and it is a beautiful shade of red, not cheap or garish looking in the slightest. Wear time was fantastic and I got a good 3 or 4 days out of it.

So I am really loving the NYC Gel Gloss polishes and I think I want to add more to my collection!