Small Skin Care Haul!

I went in to Boots with the hope of only picking up the essentials.. That obviously never happens.

I got what I needed and proceeded to make sure I dashed straight to the tills past the make up and skin products. As what I was picking up was at the opposite end of the store in comparison to the tills it's safe to say I made a few stops along the way.. Oops.

My skin lately has done a total 180, here's a little backstory.

When I was 21 (just over 3 years ago) I developed eczema around my eyes. My case was pretty bad and my eyes were in constant pain. Then my skin began to become very dry on the surrounding areas and eventually my whole face was quite dry. This caused me to have to rethink my complete skincare routine and make up products. I used really thick moisturisers to keep my face hydrated through out the day, primers, satin finish foundations and even dewy finish finishing sprays which I topped up through the day. I then proceeded to do this and even add oil into my foundation to keep my skin soft. This was my main problem. I changed everything to suit my skin type. 

My eyes have since cleared up, I still apply creams etc to keep them at bay, and I couldn't be happier! But over the last few months my skin has completely changed. My intensely dry skin is now oily?! I know. I noticed that my skin was becoming slightly shinier throughout the day a few months ago but nothing a little powder couldn't fix up throughout the day. Since then though it has got worse. I've been changing my moisturiser to oil free, wearing matte finish foundations, baking, more face powder and even changing to a mattifying finishing spray! My face is starting to break out more, I never really had a problem with blemishes before and now it's getting pretty bad. I even find that I'm getting a lot more black heads. 

Therefore, the next while will be me trying to get my skin back under control and find products to enhance it!

While at Boots I picked up a few skin care treats to try out and see if any work for my skin. To be honest for me skin care is trial and error so I will report back in a few weeks to let you know how these have worked for me!

The first product I picked up was a Boots Quick Fix Facials Exfoliating Scrub Mask for blackheads and blocked pores. My skin has been feeling pretty congested lately and I'm hoping this will help to clear it up especially around my nose and chin area!

Next was Boots Tea Tree & Witch Hazel Cleansing & Toning Lotion. This I got to cleanse my skin, fight against blemishes and hopefully tighten my pores slightly! (Hopefully around my nose area)

I then picked up two Neutrogena products. I always reach for this Visibly Clear range whenever I break out and have since I've been a teen! It really helps clear up my skin. Using my Garnier Micellar water to remove most of my make up followed by the Visibly Clear Wash/Mask has left my skin a lot clearer in the past so here's to hoping! While I was browsing I noticed a Visibly Clear Blackhead Eliminating SOS Cleanser which I'm going to try out as well and I will report back!

That's all the skin care I picked up yesterday but I will keep you all posted on how the products are and how I liked them! If you want to pick up any of the products they are linked above!

M xo.

Garnier Summer Body Moisturising Lotion Review

As mentioned in my previous post, Ireland hasn't been the sunniest of places lately. I think we've got one good day of sun this month. *sigh* As I will not be abroad in a sunny country this summer I've become very pasty as of late! As I have quite dark features and hair I like to keep myself with a golden glow even if I'm not in the sun.
I'm personally not a fan of sunbeds, they kind of scare me if I'm honest with all the horror stories you read so I resort to self tanning.

Now, I'm definitely not a pro when it comes to this. I've had many incidents of streaky hands and the hard task of finding someone I trust to tan my back!

But, one product has made this VERY easy for me and that's the Garnier Summer Body Moisturising Lotion. I use this in 'Deep Sun-Kissed Look'. It's been my saviour for the last few months and in comparison to other tanners I've used it's amazing, not got that awful self tanner smell and definitely not broke the bank - score!!

I use this daily to keep myself a healthy glow and not be too embarrassed to stand beside my friends whenever they return from holidays!

I just use my hands to apply this and it works fine for me - providing I remember to wash them afterwards. On the first application it doesn't give me too much of a colour change but it is so buildable. I like to use it at night as it can (like any moisturiser) take it's time to sink into your skin. I apply a thin layer all over and get into my pjs which are usually loose anyway. I find if I use it after my shower it can take a little long to dry which results in me sitting awkwardly in my underwear for a while before I can change. Not a perfect scenario.

It smells like apricot when you apply it. The scent isn't overpowering and I really like it. Using this means my skin is always super soft and as a moisturiser it definitely does the trick. The bigger bottle is 400ml and would last me about a month - absolute steal!

The tan I have at the end is a gorgeous natural looking tan and you wouldn't know it isn't real. I've used so many moisturising tanning lotions and hated them before this. I couldn't hype it up enough.

So, if you're feeling a little pasty and need a little prepping up this would be the one for you. I always find that personally I feel better with a tan and this product has helped me keep mine gorgeous and glowy all summer!!

If you want to purchase this you can get it on the Boots website (and others), I'll leave links below. I urge you to keep an eye as Boots and Superdrug regularly do deals on it and I recently got 400ml for half price and stocked up on a couple!

The 400ml one is currently half price on the Boots website for £3.89 links below.

Light Sun-Kissed Look
Deep Sun-Kissed Look

M xo.

Top 10 Rainy Day Films

I live in Ireland, therefore, I am unfortunately not blessed with the great weather the rest of the world seems to be experiencing lately. Today was a grey gloomy day, what happened our summer?!

But, not to complain that just makes today a perfect film and duvet day and boy did I take full advantage.

So, here's my top 10 rainy day films.

1. The Perks Of Being A Wallflower. This is one of my favourite books of ALL time. So much so I even have one of my favourite quotes from the novel tattooed on my foot. (I got it at 18 I was that in love with the book.) It stands the test of time as 6 years later it's still one of my all time favourites and I've easily seen this film 30+ times. No word of a lie. I've also rewatched it in the last 24 hrs. <3



2. The Diary Of A Teenage Girl. I watched this recently and it was one of those late night scrolls through Netflix to see if there was anything that caught my eye. This was my pick for the night and I loved it. It's a naive look at love through a teenage girls eyes as she loses her virginity for the first time with a twist. I love these kinds of films. Something that's not your usual and predictable love story. It also has great eye candy in alexander skarsgård.



3. Scott Pilgrim Vs The World. If you're into anything with a slightly nerdy feel to it this ones for you. I love how it's so like my favourite graphic novels and is such a fun film. Whenever I watch it I feel like it's over in the blink of an eye. It's kind of got to the point where I know this film word for word which is slightly worrying but also a testament to how much I love this one.



4. The Longest Ride. I'm not into most romantic films but this one gets me every time. This is another film I've watched numerous times and I love it. I love how the two love stories are paralleled and the ending of this film makes me so happy. It's not predictable at all! Also, Scott Eastwood is so gorgeous in this. I guarantee you'll want yourself a cowboy by the end of this film.



5. Donnie Darko. This film's really interesting. I love it but me and my friends have all taken different things from it and part of the fun of this film is reading up on all the theories online. It's a brilliant film and really makes you think. I also relate to Donnie, a lot. This film also has an amazing cast!



6. The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I love lazy days with my friends watching this and singing along. This is a cult classic and I've yet to meet someone who's watched it and not liked it. It's weird, wonderful and fun.



7. Pretty In Pink. I'm a HUGE fan of all the John Hughes/Brat-pack films. They're some of my all time favourites. Pretty in Pink is a great film and I absolutely love the 80's fashion in this. The cast is great and has some of my favourite scenes ever. (Duckie dancing through the record shop in particular.) It's a story of teenage romance and status in school/life. Something most people can relate to. It's a great lazy day pick.



8. Romeo and Juliet. This film is one of the coolest adaptations of the play I've seen. I love how it's set in a more contemporary era but the language used is straight from Shakespeare's play. Also, a young Leonardo DiCaprio never hurt anyone. *Swoon*



9. Whiplash. Anyone who likes music, has ever played an instrument or had a music lesson will love this. It's an amazing thriller with an ending I definitely did not expect. It's intense and had me on the edge of my seat the whole way through and kept me so intrigued. This film I cannot recommend any higher to anyone.

 

10. Big Hero 6. In comparison to the rest of the films this one mightn't necessarily fit but I just adore this movie. When it came out I went to see it and fell in love with Baymax. This film deals with loss and motivation and it's just all round a great film to watch even if it is probably aimed at a younger age group. I just love it (and baymax) so much!!



That's my list! Hopefully this helped narrow down the times spent aimlessly scrolling through Netflix before you pick something to watch and maybe gave you some inspiration! (Seriously though, I could have doubled the amount of time I spent watching stuff on Netflix if I didn't scroll for HOURS.)

M xo.

Snapshot: 19th July 2016

This is a bit of a throwback but I totally forgot to post about this!

I spent this day with my friend, it was the warmest day here in Ireland in forever. I felt like I was in a foreign country, the sun was shining and we went to see the coolest temple and had a chill day/short road trip!

I love doing things I've never done/seen before. I have such a big list of things I wanna do here in Ireland! (Maybe I'll post about all those sometime!)

We left in the afternoon and headed towards Castlerock to the Mussenden Temple. When we got there it was the most gorgeous day and the temple it self was so gorgeous! In the pictures you can see there's not a cloud in the sky and on the beach below everyone was sunbathing and it was so busy. We walked towards it and there are the coolest things to see (I'll post pics below). The temple itself was so gorgeous but I loved Downhill House! It was so crazy to think years ago that the temple was a library and modelled on a temple from Rome. The whole grounds were gorgeous and definitely something worth viewing!

When we were up at the temple we realised we could see Portstewart from it and decided to head that direction next!

We parked at the end of the promenade and walked along while I caught some more pokemon and made my friend stop at every pokestop! It was the most beautiful day and we stopped for ice cream and ate it on a bench before we headed back home. It was a really amazing day and I definitely want to head back soon!

HERE'S a short 7 second clip of how gorgeous the field was.

M xo

Favourite Ways To Pass Time...

I haven't had much spare time lately.. Especially as I did 60 hours over time last month. Hello money!!

But.. Saturday at 7pm was the start of my 17 day break from work. I'm unbelieveably excited to just do nothing :)

I've been having a few lazy days since and thankfully I've managed to be off when there's some good weather here in Ireland. What's the chances!

So far I've been spending my lazy days catching up on tv shows, watching a lot of youtube videos, online shopping, or should I say browsing, and reading so many blog posts and therefore adding items to my want list.

I've fully embraced the hermit life! 

I thought I'd update you all on some of my favourite corners of the internet to enter and spend a whole lot of time you didn't mean too.. (I'm pretty much a pro at this!)

1. YouTube

This website must take must take up so much of my time. I watch so many vloggers/daily vloggers which means a lot of catching up on the daily. I really like to watch so many different kinds of videos. When it comes to beauty of course I love Jaclyn Hill, NikkieTutorials, Jeffree Star, Patrick Starr, Manny MUA and so much more. In lifestyle I love Zoella's videos and her vlogs. For all other kinds of videos I love Caspar Lee, ThatcherJoe, Josh Pieters, Oli White, Pewdiepie, JackSepticEye, Syndicate (especially his vlogs) and so many more!! I spend so much time watching vlogs and being genuinely jealous of their lives.

2. Tumblr

This website I love for looking up cool aesthetics, find awesome artwork and edits. I always look out for cool ideas for my blog here and looking at cool ways to take photos and inspiration!

3. Clothing Websites

I love shopping for new styles and just looking on sites to see the newest items. My favourite websites that I usually end up rotating on a daily basis are ASOS, Missguided and Boohoo!

4. Instagram

I could scroll on here all day, to be fair I still don't know how I feel about instagram stories, but I love going on people's feeds who spend a lot of time of their theme! I always try to have a great theme but it never works and basically annoys me haha! I'm trying to up my insta game.. Follow me HERE.

5. Netflix

Oh my. I can spend hours bingeing tv shows. Lately I've been keeping up to date on Power (unreal) and Pretty Little Liars! Power is so amazing and has me hooked, thankfully Netflix have been updating the new episodes every Monday as I definitely couldn't wait until season 3 finished! Pretty Little Liars is on the last season and I feel like I'll be missing out if I didn't finish it as I've been watching for the last seven years but it definitely is losing my interest. I feel like they should be narrowing down who A is not introducing new characters/old characters back!!

6. Pokemon Go

Admittedly, I haven't been gracing the outside world with my presence lately lol, the hermit life is for me. But when I'm out and about I love catching pokemon, I'm determined to level up more as I've seen so many people over taking me lately :( I also need to hatch so many eggs!!

So that's the lazy day activities I've been up to lately. Constantly switching from my Phone, iPad and Wii U haha, making the most of my time off! 

I also might become a pro at Mario Kart 8 in my days off... Let me know some of your favourite lazy day activities and anything I should be doing on my time off!

M xo

It's been a while...

Hi, hello...

I feel like I should nearly re-introduce myself I've been away that long!

There's just been A LOT happening lately and I needed some time to me.. And I kinda wasn't sure of what I wanted to be posting about on this blog.

I decided to just post about things I love like beauty items, make up, clothes/shoes, then random favourites I wanna talk about!

I'll be following up this post tomorrow with something I've been obsessing over and I've a few posts lined up for throughout the week!

I'll try to stay consistent & post regularly... But I'm not making too many promises lol!!

M x

Halsey Inspired Make-up Look - Including my Halsey Mac Lipstick

This look is inspired by all the little things I love about Halsey's style/makeup and matching it with her collab with Mac for her Halsey lipstick! It's a gorgeous matte cool toned grey - I'm obsessed. (I just need to get the balls, for lack of better term, to wear it in public!)

Here's the finished look.. 

It's a cool toned grey/slate grey metallic lid, the colours inspired from the lipstick she created, a pop of metallic blue under the eye as a nod to her blue hair which was my favourite and her all round obsession with the colour blue, a bright futuristic highlight as I always love her looks with a dewy glow and of course her lipstick on my lips! I'll go into more detail below on what I used for this look and what techniques I used.

For the base and face:
Firstly I moisturised as I have dry skin and apply a light layer of Mac Skin Base Visage to even out my skin. I used the L'Oreal Infalliable foundation in shade 140 mixed with a pump of the L'Oreal Paris Lumi Magique Primer. This adds the most healthy and gorgeous glow. If you're on the dry side like me I definitely 100% would recommend adding this into your foundation - it's gorgeous!
For concealer I use the L'Oreal True Match La Touche Magique, it's a pen like packaging with a brush at the top but this concealer is heavy duty! I find this even brightens up my under eye area a lot more than my Mac Pro Longwear Concealer.
For contour I used my Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Palette in Medium. For my contour I used the shade Cinnamon. I then set my eye and highlight area with Ben Nye Powder in the shade Banana. For my contour I set that using my Kat Von D Shade and Light Palette and I used the middle, of the three, contour shades.

For my eyes:
On my eyebrows I used my trusty Illamasqua Brow Gel in Stare and filled the ends in with a dark eyeshadow. 
Onto my eye lids, I first prepped them with my Mac Pro Longwear Concealer and my face powder. To make sure the silver and grey shades stood out I used the metallic white shade from my Morphe Brushes 35K palette to cover my whole lids to my brow bone and used this for my brow bone highlight.
All shadows I used were from the 35K palette (thank you for recommending Jaclyn Hill!) In the crease I firstly placed a light grey matte shadow and blended it out, I followed with a darker grey shade and kept this closer to my crease this time. I then went in with a dark metallic grey and blended out the crease again going back and fourth until the three shades were perfectly blended. I then took the white shade and lightly sweeped this around the outside of the crease, and into my inner corner area for my inner corner highlight and to make sure it had an airbrushed effect blend on my lid. 
For the inner third of my eyelid I placed a metallic sliver shadow as a highlight and to brighten up my grey toned eye. I dampened by brush first to get a gorgeous foil shadow effect on the inside.
Under my eye I used a bright metallic blue eyeshadow from Urban Decay (it was in one of my older palettes) and blended this out with the white shadow. (The blue doesn't show up so well on camera but it's a gorgeous metallic royal blue!)
My eye had a lot going on so I placed a white liner on the inside of my eye to brighten it up again and bring my eyes back out! I decided with the intense shadow not to do a winged liner (shocker!!) and only a long wispy lash as I know this is something Halsey is fond of. She always has gorgeous long and thick eyelash extensions so I used the lashes closest to that I had. I used one of the pairs I got in a 5 pack from ebay I'll link them here, as I know they're not an easy find but they're very cheap!! They're not for the faint hearted though and they're definitely not a 'natural' lash.
Before applying these I coated my eyelashes in my Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara and applied them using Duo eyelash glue.

For Highlight:
I used my Sleek Highlighting Palette in Solstice. This palette is gorgeous. I used the shade Subsolar for a gorgeous light highlight and from the whole palette I felt the cooler shade matched this look perfectly! See my review here of this palette! I placed on the top of my cheeks, nose and cupids bow with a slight dusting on my chin and forehead of whatever was left on the brush!

On my Lips:
I used the Halsey x Mac lipstick and then I felt it was a little flat in comparison to the rest of the look as it was very matte so I added a little of the Subsolar highlight to the inside of my lips using my finger. I love the metallic effect it gives. I didn't use a lip pencil with this so I cleaned up the edges with concealer and a brush.

To finish off this look I sprayed my face in my NYX Dewy Finish Setting Spray to ensure I stayed flawless and dewy.

This is my finished Halsey inspired look including Halsey Mac Lipstick! Hope you liked this and feel free to recommend me any good products I should be using! 

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xo

M.