Monday, 31 October 2011
Lancôme 2011 Holiday Collection Created by Abassadress Kate Winslet
Lancôme's collection for the 2011 Holiday season has been created by the brand's Ambassadress, Kate Winslet. The collection is in support of Winslet's charity, the Golden Hat Foundation which aims to "better the lives of autistic children by removing or limiting the barriers they face." The charity works to educate autistic children on how to communicate more clearly as well as providing other aids like job training and recreational activities.The collection features five shades of L'Absolu Rouge lipstick (RRP €25.00), five shades of Le Vernis nail polish (RRP €20.50) and a face powder (RRP €45.00). Each of the products featured for Holiday 2011 have been embossed with the foundation's logo and feature Kate's signature. In creating this limited edition make-up collection alongside Kate, Lancôme have pledged to donate €150,000 to the Golden Hat Foundation.
We have the powder, Poudre Golden Hat, to show to you all and we've included swatches and first impressions!
Nip + Fab: Perfectly Primed (But, Not What It Says On The Tin)
Nip + Fab seem to market themselves as the ultimate “Jim’ll Fix
It” brand. Almost every product in the range has “Fix” in the name and, in my
mind, this is something we should all take with a grain of salt.
When I set about trialling these products, I didn't expect them to plump my frown lines into oblivion or magically zap any under eye darkness. That’s just not realistic. However, I did give them a good bash to see what they do do (Giggles!) as opposed to what they claim to do and the results were a pleasant surprise.
When I set about trialling these products, I didn't expect them to plump my frown lines into oblivion or magically zap any under eye darkness. That’s just not realistic. However, I did give them a good bash to see what they do do (Giggles!) as opposed to what they claim to do and the results were a pleasant surprise.
Sunday, 30 October 2011
FOTD using The Body Shop Silver Black Quad
Today was a fairly crappy Sunday which consisted of procrastinating a lot of college work. Of course, I ended up playing with make-up! I'm going to show you what The Body Shop Silver Black quad looks like on my mug.
Sinéad's already done an overview of it here, and I think it's a great deal for €23.95 - for example, the extremely popular Benefit Smokin' Eyes kit retails for €39.50, and I really feel that the Body Shop offering is just as good. I loved playing with the shadows and will definitely be using them plenty for nights out - here's what I came up with!
Sorry about my mingin' red eye...
Face:
Clarins Beauty Flash Balm
MAC Studio Finish Concealer
Face Atelier Ultra Foundation
MAC Harmony as contour
MAC Pinch 'o' Peach blush
MAC MSFN in Light
Dior Amber Diamond
Brows:
HD Brows palette
Natural Collection Clear Mascara
Eyes:
MAC Painterly Paint Pot
The Body Shop Silver Black Quad
Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner in Black on waterline
Essence Liquid Liner on upper lash line
Essence I Love Extreme Volume Mascara
Lips:
Inglot #417 Lipstick
Barry M Toffee Lipgloss
What do you think of the shadows?
Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream
We all have our comforts. Comfort foods, comfort clothes, comfort
places. But, do you have a comfort product? I didn’t until recently. In fact, I
didn’t even know there could be such a thing until I started trialling Kiehl’s Ultra
Facial Cream.
In celebration of 160 years of service, Kiehl’s has launched
the limited edition New York Heritage Collection, comprising of four historical
formulas originally developed at the brands East Village apothecary. With
special black and gold packaging, Kiehl’s wants to bring customers the magic of
their old-world formulas including Ultra Facial Lotion (Early 1960s - €20.00
for 118ml), Ultra Facial Cream (2005* - €28.00 for 50ml), Calendula Toner (Late
1960s - €40.00 for 248ml) and Original Musk Oil (1921 - €25.00 for 50ml).
So, why, you’re probably wondering, is the Ultra Facial Cream
such a comfort to me? It’s a hark back to my childhood, to my nana’s dressing
table. It’s a nostalgic trip to a time where products were simple and fit for
the purpose intended. Yes, I know, 2005 wasn’t exactly my childhood but, the
Ultra Facial Cream is effectively* a reformulated, richer version of the 1960s
Ultra Facial Lotion and, so, it exudes the same aura and the same simplicity as
its predecessor.
Saturday, 29 October 2011
Soap & Glory Showertime Treats
This might surprise you but, these two Soap & Glory
products are the first I have ever used. Sure, I have smelled, touched,
swatched and pondered over the quirkily packaged products but, I have never
needed anything at the time and they
have never come to mind at times I do need something.
So, when a few products landed with us, I seized the
opportunity to see what all the fuss was about and incorporated the Sugar Crush
body scrub and Butter Yourself body butter into my shower routine.
Friday, 28 October 2011
Facial Oils, Oh How I Love Thee!
I have become somewhat of a skincare obsessive over the last few months. I'm not sure whether it's from having this blog or the handy realisation that taking care of skin when you’re young will benefit you in later life but, I've found myself leaving my make-up on for the least amount of time possible and being absolutely meticulous about cleansing and caring for my skin.One of my favourite skincare products that I have discovered since joining the beauty blogosphere are facial oils. These multipurpose oils can be used to treat pretty much any skin ailment, including the likes of eczema, and make for an intense and nourishing deep moisturising treatment. I like to apply a facial oil as my moisturiser before going to bed. I don’t rub it in, rather let it sit like a mask and let it soak in slowly throughout the night. The result of this come morning time is soft, smooth, rehydrated skin that looks radiant and plump! Allow me to introduce you to my Top 3.
Thursday, 27 October 2011
Review & Rave: Face Atelier Ultra Foundation
I have a few foundations that I love and trust to last me the entire day, but that doesn't mean that I'm not willing to try something new...all in the name of blogging (ahem).
The Body Shop 4-Step Smokey Eye Palette for Christmas 2011: First Look and Swatches
These eyeshadow quads are a real gem andperfect for the Christmas party season. Small and compact with two cream shadesand two powders, you can create a myriad of different smokey eye looks. But, ifyou are one who equates a “smokey eye” with spending too much time fieldingmisdirected plumes in the smoking area of a pub, then worry not as there is astep-by-step guide on the back of each box to help you on your way!
Each quad comes with a mirror, a smudge penciland a mini brush. Karim assured us that, after much feedback, the mini brushesare now made using the same quality materials as the larger brushes from the permanent line. I have the quad in Silver Black to show you so, read on for swatchesand first impressions.
Wednesday, 26 October 2011
Viva Adonis Turns 1 Year Old!
Over the past 12 months, this blog has given us so many
amazing opportunities and we have met some incredible people. Our “internet
friends” have become our real-life friends and we are absolutely chuffed to
have met you all – you know who you are!
We have enjoyed every second of our first year in the beauty
blogosphere and look forward to many more. We wanted to say a massive thank you
to everyone we have worked with, everyone we’ve met and, most importantly, to
everyone one of our readers who have made this more and more fun every single
day! We love when you come up and say hello to us in person (Even if we do giggle like morons!). We
have such a laugh talking to you all online and your comments, feedback,
emails, Tweets and Facebook messages mean the world to us so, keep ‘em coming!
To say thank you to everyone who has found us and stuck with
us throughout this past year, we have organised a series of giveaways that will
run throughout our birthday month. We have been given some amazing prizes for
you guys including Lush, Sigma, Avon, La Roche Posay, No7, Vichy, Essence,
Catrice and more so, I’m sure you’ll join us in saying a big thank you to all
the companies involved!
The first giveaway will go live on the blog on Tuesday
morning, November 1st, and we’ll continue on from there with some
giveaways running on Facebook also so, be sure to Like our page over there!
Due to the huge volume of giveaways we’ll be holding, we’ll
be using an automated giveaway form. It is pretty self-explanatory and it will
look like the one pictured below and the only two mandatory entries are to
follow the blog on Google Friend Connect (Click “Join this Site” in the right
sidebar!) and to leave a comment.
For every entry you complete, you click “I Did This” and each of your entries will be automatically recorded. When the giveaway closes, a winner will be chosen at random and we’ll get in touch with you!
Temptalia has been using this system for her 6th Anniversary giveaways and it’s worked out well for her so, hopefully it makes things easier for us and for you!
We'll also have a button (pictured below) in the sidebar which will link to all the giveaways so, if you miss one, don't worry, you can catch up there!
For every entry you complete, you click “I Did This” and each of your entries will be automatically recorded. When the giveaway closes, a winner will be chosen at random and we’ll get in touch with you!
Temptalia has been using this system for her 6th Anniversary giveaways and it’s worked out well for her so, hopefully it makes things easier for us and for you!
We'll also have a button (pictured below) in the sidebar which will link to all the giveaways so, if you miss one, don't worry, you can catch up there!
Thanks again for all your support! Good Luck!
Boots' Star Gift: Ted Baker Make It Bag
The Ted Baker Make It Bag includes a Ted Baker Bath Foam,
Body Wash, Body Lotion, two Body Sprays, a Body Scrub and a Body Soufflé, all
of which come packaged in a gorgeous butterfly motif cosmetics bag. From 28th
October until 3rd November you can get this whole set from Boots
stores nationwide for €25 down from €54.
Make-Up Tips from The Body Shop's Karim Sattar
Last night we attended The Body Shop’sChristmas Launch with Karim Sattar who took us through Winter Trend 2011. While
he demonstrated the look for the season; smokey eye and toned down lip and
cheek, Karim imparted more than a few pearls of beauty wisdom on his ever-captive
audience. We took special note to pay it forward and share them especially with
you!
- When planning on wearing a smokey eye or bold lip, always do your blush first and get this to the intensity you would usually wear with a natural look. This will stop you overdoing it to compensate for heavy eyes or lips and keep you looking young and fresh with a natural flush.
Tuesday, 25 October 2011
Christmas @ The Body Shop
A smokey eye is the call of the season and, whether your choice is a sultry warm brown or a charcoal black, The Body Shop have you covered with their 4-Step Smokey Eyes palettes. There are also cute lipgloss tree decorations which I really want to get as stocking stuffers for certain people! For those of you who love hand creams, body butters, body scrubs and lip balms, the three signature scents for Christmas 2011 are Candied Ginger, Cranberry Joy and Spiced Vanilla. We each got a beautiful gift basket to take away with us which contains an item from each scent as well as a smokey eye palette so, we'll be sure to report back to you on these once we've had the chance to try them.
For now, however, we'll let the super-Christmassy pictures do the talking!
MAC Lovin'
We all enjoy a bit of MAC, right? These are a some things that I've picked up over the last few weeks and have really been loving.
Clarins Natural Lip Perfector
It's no secret that both Dee and I kinda-sorta-really hate
lipgloss. There are many reasons why but, the crux of the matter is that we
just prefer how lipstick looks and feels. So, with that said, it may come as
something of a shock to find that I am blogging about a lipgloss for, I'm
pretty sure, the first time in almost 600 posts!
However, this is no ordinary lipgloss. No, Clarins Instant
Light Natural Lip Perfector is more of a gloss-cum-balm product that is
honestly so wonderful I'm altogether questioning my decision to retire my lipgloss collection!
Monday, 24 October 2011
Eyeliner Dupe: Stila vs Catrice
I realised that these two eyeliners were good dupes of each other completely by accident - I had been wearing the Stila and when I went to reapply, reached for the Catrice without thinking!
Read on for a closer comparison of the two.
Salt Therapy at Lemons Beauty Salon, Clontarf.
Last Friday after work, I hotfooted it to my local beauty
salon, Lemons in Clontarf. Established in 1986, this is one of the longest
standing beauty havens in the area and, under new management, the five
treatment rooms have recently been revamped to give the whole salon a modern,
luxurious and welcoming feel.
So, what took me to Lemons on a rainy Friday evening? Well,
recently my mam has been raving about their Salt Treatment. Usually €35 for 60
minutes, she took advantage of their October special offer of three 45 minute
sessions for €39. She loved the treatment so much that she bought a second set
of three and, when she heard that Lemons were offering 45 minutes as part of
their Fiver Friday deals, she signed me up straight away so I could try it too!
The staging is simple with Salt Treatment. You enter a
darkened room with twinkly lights on the ceiling and salt strewn on the floor, settle
yourself in one of six recliners with a fluffy blanket, pop your feet up and
close your eyes. That’s it. There is no rubbing, man-handling, chitchat or
pain. It’s the least invasive beauty treatment I have ever had and one of the
most beneficial.
More Glittery Nails
What do you have on your nails today?
Sunday, 23 October 2011
Tutorial: Grey Smokey Eye
Most people, myself included, are quite scared of dark grey and black eyeshadow because it is so easy to go wrong with them and make a mess. However, if you want to go all dark and smokey for a night out, take the time to start your make-up early in the day and be meticulous with it for a flawless effect.
Sinéad's New Winter Boots
While out running errands with my mam yesterday, we popped into a local boutique called Pace because she was on the hunt for some high wedged ankle boots. She didn't find any that she was mad about but, I finally found my perfect winter boot, so perfect that it was nearly precisely what was in my head!
I knew I wanted black, real leather flat boots. They had to be riding-style as opposed to biker-style (This trend will date.), hit just above the knee and with no unnecessary embellishment. I've seen loads of celebrities over the last year wearing boots just like the ones I had in mind but, I sadly couldn't afford the thousands Kourtney Kardashian's Chanel boots (Picture after the jump!) would cost and, no high street shops seemed to tick all of the boxes. I'm picky, I know!
The boots I bought are by Marika and are made of Italian leather that is so unbelievably soft. They have a good heel, just enough so you don't look like a flat-footed duck and the only embellishment is two distressed silver chains running the length of the inside and outside of each boot.
Saturday, 22 October 2011
DermaBlend: The Ultimate Concealer?
Sigh. I've been reading The Daily Mail again.
But, as much as it is an absolute pile of utter tripe, I often get good inspiration and beauty news from it and, this piece on DermaBlend concealer has boggled my mind.
You probably recognise the below subject as one of Lady Gaga's closest minions and co-star of her Born This Way video. Zombie Boy, AKA Ricky Genest, is completely covered from the waist up with tattoos that make him look like a skeleton. While it isn't my cup of tea, I do think he looks awesome.
In an advert for DermaBlend concealer, Zombie Boy has his tattoos covered with the concealer and, honestly, the results are amazing. Mind. Blown.
Friday, 21 October 2011
Winter Series: Lip Service
Beauty Emporium sent us three top lip products for winter to try out and introduce you to and we also thought that they would be perfect to include in
this series!
Avon Sequinned Turquoise
This is a gorgeous nail polish. Yes, I tend to say that a lot, but this one is truly lovely. I'm especially fond of it because it is glittery without the grit and the difficulty that comes with removing most glitter polishes. The shade is stunning, and the formula is perfect. Not much else to say, really!
New Offerings From LUSH!
Lush are launching a whopping sixteen new products, one for each cosmetic category ranging from bath treats to body pampering! The collection has only in the last few days been launched in stores nationwide and, while we do have some samples winging their way to us to review for you all, I thought it would be good to introduce you to each of the products so you can start saving/adding to your Christmas lists!
Phoenix Rising Bath Ballistic (€3.70): This one is rather reminiscent of the Vanilla Fountain ballistic but, in a gorgeous purple and gold colour way. Containing shea butter, cocoa butter, jojoba oil and essential oils, Lush say that this ballistic will have you rising from your bathwater, renewed and rejuvenated like a, err, phoenix. Geddit'?!
Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear In The Navy and W7 Blue Dazzle
Do we like?
Thursday, 20 October 2011
Bargain Alert! Boots 3-for-2 Mix n' Match on Skincare and Bath Treats
“Oh the weather outside is frightful…”
Over the last few days, Irish and UK weather has gone down
the proverbial toilet with low temperatures, stinging winds and nary a glimpse
of sunshine to brighten up our days. So, for me, there is no better excuse than
that to indulge in a little post-work pampering, wrapping up in my dressing gown
and fluffy socks and embarking on some kind of DIY facial or manicure to relax and
chill out.
Boots is clearly on the same page as me (and, I presume,
many of you too!) because they are currently running a 3-for-2 mix n’ match
offer on all bath and skin products to pamper our weary selves with!
There are any number of products in this offer to take
advantage of such as those from Sanctuary, Soap & Glory and Nip + Fab! And,
if you have your wits about you, you could be super savvy and use the deal to
pick up some Christmas presents on the cheap! Happy Days!
This offer ends on November 1st.
Wednesday, 19 October 2011
Stella McCartney and Snakeskin Love
Meet Stella. Stella is my new love.
No, not seriously. I haven't named my new jacket but, I do love it rather a lot!
I got such a serious deal on it that I couldn't leave it behind. The deal was so good, in fact, that I ordered the only size they had, an IT38 or a UK6. Now, ladies, I am not a UK6 by any stretch of the imagination and I spent the last few days fretting that it wouldn't fit and that I would have to go through the hassle and heartbreak of returning it. But, the Fashion Gods were smiling down on me and it fits perfectly. Happy out!
It was originally €685 and was marked down to €240 and, with the extra 40% off, I got it for the princely sum of €118. Now do you see why I couldn't leave it behind?!
There are loads of little details which I really love; from the faded snakeskin effect and the biker-esque elbow patches, to the fabric inserts and little zips on the back. I'll get so much wear out of this because it's black and because it can be dressed up with a dress or leather pants or dressed down with skinny jeans or leggings and flat boots.
All in the Details!
Now, at the request of Claire, I have some pictures of me wearing it but, I am a bit of Headless Horseman in them as I was still in my gym clothes- I was that excited to try it on so, excuse the facelessness and leglessness!
Hope you like!
Benefit Watt's Up: First Look
We told you a few months back that Benefit was to introduce a new highlighting product. Intended as the successor to the extremely popular Moon Beam, Watt's Up is a champagne-coloured, cream-to-powder product that is intended to bring a soft and natural luminescence to skin.For Watt's Up, Benefit have kept the roll-up, tube-shaped applicator that we associate with the likes of Girl Meets Pearl illuminator and That Gal brightening primer but, have advanced it somewhat through the inclusion of a blending sponge at the opposite end to the product. Using this lightbulb-esque sponge (Watt's Up, Lightbulb, geddit?!) with the highlighter is intended to give skin a soft, gleaming appearance.
Leighton Denny Babydoll
This creamy baby pink with yellow undertones definitely isn't my usual choice of nail polish but, I do like it when I look down at my hands. That being said I made, to put it bluntly, an absolute balls of it when putting it on.
The formula is something I'm not accustomed to; creamy, thick and very pigmented. You have to be sure to get the right amount on the brush the first time round otherwise going back with seconds and thirds makes the nail a streaky mess. This was my third try at getting the nail polish to look somewhat presentable and it's still not perfect. Any suggestions for working with polishes like this?
Tuesday, 18 October 2011
Spoiler Alert: October Glossybox
Well, in a fouler of a mood until I walked into my house that is. Seeing an October Glossybox waiting for me on the stairs was enough to banish the Tuesday Torments and put a smile on my face. I had completely forgot it was due.
October's Glossybox is a celebration of a highly successful six months for the company and they kindly included a bonus sixth product mark the occasion.
If you haven't received your Glossybox yet this month, look away now. If you are a nosy beggar like I am, keep reading!
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