Today's Make Up

Hi there. I was doing my make up today and I thought I'd share how I applied everything. So I'm going to list what products I use then explain how I applied them.

Face:

Foundation - Rimmel Stay Matte in 010 Light Porcelain and Wet n Wild Coverall in 816 Fair/Light

Powder - Mac Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light Plus

Bronzer - W7 Honolulu

Blush - NYX Bourgeois Pig

Concealer - Essence Stay Natural concealer 03 Soft Nude

Eyes:

Shadows - Sleek Oh So Special palette shades Organza, Wrapped Up and Bow

Liner - Wet n Wild Mega Liner Black

Mascara - Rimmel Glam Eyes Lash Flirt Volume and Flirt 

Brows - Wet n Wild Ultimate Brow Kit in Ash Brown

Lips:

Lipstick - Mac Creemsheen in Creme Cup

Lip gloss - NYX Mega Shine in Salsa

Brushes:

Real Techniques Stippling brush

ELF Blending brush

ELF smudge brush  - not pictured

Bare Minerals blush brush - not pictured

Claire's brush for bronzer - not pictured

Other brushes from Ebay 

Personally I go back and forth between doing my eyes first and doing my face first. Today I started with my eyes. I used my ring finger to apply a thin layer of foundation and set it with my mac powder. I applied Organza all over my lid and blended Wrapped Up into my crease with a little bit of Bow under my brow. At first I lined my lid with Noir from the Oh So Special palette but then I decided to go over it with my Wet n Wild liquid liner. I applied the mascara but this mascara is a bit more than I like for  day time look. I prefer something a little more natural but it does the job. For my eyebrows I use my ELF smudge brush to fill in my brows. I used the lighter shade of the Wet n Wild eyebrow kit.

I have a lot of redness in my cheeks so today I wanted to try something I haven't tried before. I put a pea size amount of the Rimmel Stay Matte to the back of my hand and used my Real Techniques brush to apply a very thin layer on the cheeks and anywhere else I thought looked red. Then I used a small amount of the Wet n Wild foundation all over my face. Alone I don't like either of these foundations. They both feel quite heavy and the Rimmel one creases but I quite like them layered like I applied them today. I applied a little Essence concealer under my eyes. For my bronzer I start just above my tragus and blend towards my mouth. I really like the W7 bronzer in Honolulu. I think it's really good and it's very affordable I think it's around €3. Lastly I swept my NYX blush from the apples of my cheeks towards the top of my ear.

Here is the finished look

NYX stay matte but not flat foundation review

Since NYX came to Ireland I've only picked up 3 things one of which was this foundation in the shade 04 Creamy Natural. The package says: oil free, water based, full coverage, mineral enriched and matte finished. I was so excited to try this product.

I was very happy with the colour match. At first I was using it with my Real Techniques stippling brush but it looked a little flaky at times so I tried it with my Blank Canvas F20 brush. I think the application was smoother and had a nicer finish with this brush. I really like the coverage. It does a good job covering the majority of my redness and spots.

I really wanted to love this foundation. I will admit I like it a lot more with my F20 brush but I'm still a little disappointed with the lasting power. I set it with my MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light Plus like I do with all my foundations since I got the powder but this foundation still doesn't last that long. This foundation easily transfers more so than other foundations. During the day I try not to touch my face but when I do I can see this foundation on my hand something I never really noticed in any of my other foundations.

I think it was €9.95 so for that price I should probably be happy enough since it actually matches me unlike some of the other foundations I have had recently but I think it may be time to just pay that little bit extra for something like the Revlon Colorstay. I very rarely repurchase foundations and this one probably won't be an exception unfortunately. Saying that it is a good day time foundation if you don't mind touching it up during the day.

:)

Top 5 Day Time Lip Combos

Truth be told a lot of the time I'm a disaster when it comes to lip products. I love them but since they are the last thing I do when I'm in a rush I tend to forget about them. Lately I've started leaving one in my bag but since I change my bag so often doesn't always work. Anyway for day time here are my top 5. :)

5. Wet n Wild Megaslicks Balm Stain in E127

 4. Peach Parfait 

 3. ELF Studio Matte lip colour in Natural

 2. MAC Creme Cup with NYX mega lipgloss in Gold Pink

1. NYX Soft Matte in Milan and Mega Shine lipgloss in Gold Pink

Here are swatches of the combos starting with #1 on the left.

 

                                             1                      2                  3                     4                       5

New York Haul Part 3

Hey! So this is gonna be the last part of my New York haul, beauty wise anyway. I haven't decide whether or not to do a post on the clothes and shoes I bought over there. I bought so many beauty products over the summer it's crazy! 

Starting with eye products. Even in that category I don't know where to start. I guess I'll start with NYX products. I know I mentioned in the 1st part of my haul the lip part I got my NYX products in Sears when they were 50% off. Since they were cheap and all I picked up a couple of eye products too. I love smokey eyes so I picked up two NYX Ultra Pearl Mania. One is white the other is silver. I don't know the actual names. I guess I accidentally took the names off when I took the price off. They are so handy. I really love the white. 

Another NYX product I picked up was one I saw a youtuber talking about. I really wanted to get my hands on the NYX roll on shimmer in Salmon. So when I found it in Sears 50% off I just couldn't pass it up. I use it as an eye shadow even though the packaging says eyes face and body. It goes on so easy but sometimes I have to roll in on my hand for a second to get the product to come out. 

Then I got some Wet n Wild Coloricon trios. I absolutely love these products! They are pigmented and they last a long time without creases even without a primer. I got one in Walking on Eggshells (the first pictured below) and one in Silent Treatment (pictured second below). They have become my everyday eye shadows. I wish I bought more when I was over there! I was so excited when I heard wet n wild is coming to Ireland!

I picked up a Maybelline Color Tattoo in Barely Branded. I saw a youtuber talking about it in a video and it looked absolutely amazing. So when I saw it in New York and it was cheaper than over here, I decided to pick it up. Personally I am not to fond of it. I think it will be more of a base for me than a shadow on its own. Its a champagne color and it is really nice. I love the color tattoos because they stay on my lid for hours without a primer. I have worn Barely Branded with a dark brown or black in the crease and it is a beautiful color but I probably will stick to the my coloricons for day to day wear.

Another Sears purchase (again 50% off makeup how can anyone resist!) I got this Maybelline Eyestudio in Silver Spark. So handy for a quick smokey eye. It's so easy just throw a bit of the silver on the lid and the black in the crease done and dusted. 

I have ranted to a few people already about this next product. Not the product itself the price. The Rimmel Scandaleyes Eye Shadow Stick/Crayon in Blackmail. I haven't used it as a shadow but I love putting it on my lower lash line and smudging it out. It is so creamy. It just glides right on. I love it! Now to the rant part. I picked this up in Target. It was $4 (roughly 3 euro) in boots the same product is €5.95! Pretty much twice the price to buy a product that comes from an English brand in Ireland than it is to buy the same product in America. Granted some shops that sell Rimmel in America charge a little more. I think I saw the Scandaleyes eye shadow stick/crayon in CVS for $4.69 (roughly €3.50). I find that so frustrating. The worse part is I meant to pick up one or two more before I came back and I never got around to it.

Another ELF product I picked up was the Eyebrow Treat and Tame in light. I usually forget to use the treat side but I use the tame side a lot and I love it! I love this product it's so easy and fast. I just run it through my brows when i finish my makeup and run out the door.

More ELF haha. I was in either T.J. Maxx or Marshall's I forget which. I spotted three ELF eyelid primers and I picked them up. I never used to use eyelid primers so I have nothing to compare these too but I do love them. My eye shadow last longer when I use these products. No more worrying about my shadows creasing throughout the day. 

I heard somewhere that the Wet n Wild Coloricon bronzer in Reserve Your Cabana was a good highlight so I decided to pick it up. I can't recall how much I paid for it but in my opinion it's more of a powder to set my foundation rather than a highlight. As a face powder I quite like Reserve Your Cabana, I was very disappointed it wasn't as good of a highlight as I thought it would be but I'm glad I found another use for it. I actually dropped my Natural Collection powder a few days before I picked this up so it worked out pretty well.

Not to long after the disappointment with the Reserve Your Cabana not being the kind of highlight I thought it would be I picked up the Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips in Vegas Strip/Light bronzer another Sears purchase if I remember correctly. I love it! I use it on the top of my cheekbones. I love the color. I had a sort of highlight before but it seemed to yellow. I am so glad I found something that giver that bit of shimmer without being to yellow.

I got this product for $1 in Target. I wasn't sure whether or not to pick it up but since it was only $1 and it was in front of me I decided why not. Plus if I regretted it afterwards I didn't know how expensive the ELF shipping would be. I haven't actually used it yet. I've only swatched it on my hand so far, but I am looking forward to trying it out one of these days.

Now for a couple of blushes! :D I picked up A NYX blush in Bourgeois Pig I absolutely LOVE this blush. I use it all the time. It's my favorite blush at the moment. I am trying to use some of my other ones but I just can't keep away from the NYX blush.

 I heard somewhere that the Wet n WIld Coloricon blush in Pearlescent Pink was a dupe for Nars Orgasm I think I can't remember now haha. I used it at first but then I picked up the NYX blush and Pearlescent Pink kind of got pushed to the side.

I picked up this ELF duo when I started contouring. It is in the shade St Lucia. I love this bronzer. Its so cute with a little shimmer in it. I love the blush too. Then again this blush also got put to the side because of the NYX blush.

When I was in the ELF Studio store in New York City I picked up this Complexion Perfection compact. I wasn't sure what to think of this product or how to use it but I tried using it under my foundation and I am happy enough with it. I don't use it everyday or anything, mainly because I forget half the time haha. 

At the beginning of the summer I was planning on getting myself a MAC foundation but then I had picked up a couple of other foundations so I decided not to pick up a MAC one. Instead I decided to pick up the Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light Plus.So far I am happy with it. I am petrified of dropping it though. The joys of powders haha.

When I went over to New York I was almost out of my Max Factor 3 in 1 foundation but I decided to wait until I got to New York to pick up more foundation. I ended up buying 6 foundations over the summer. I really wanted to try the Revlon Colorstay foundation. The picture below is actually my second one. Sadly the second one I picked up wasn't the same as the first one. The second one has SPF 15 and is a little darker but I still use it everyday. Its my favorite foundation. It just stays in place and I just love it! I'm not going to like spending €18-19 on it when this one runs out since the first one I got was $13 I think and the second was $7.50 but it stays put all day and matches my skin I think anyway haha. 

 I also picked up a Revlon Colorstay Whipped I was intrigued at the idea of a whipped foundation. I was going to pick up the Covergirl version but I watched a few youtube videos and decided to go for the Revlon instead. I love mixing this with my other Revlon Colorstay foundation. I used to apply it with my Real Techniques stippling brush but I found the brush got cakey quickly. Lately I wash my brushes once a week but when I use the Colorstay Whipped foundation the brush needs to be washed almost every other day.

I picked up this Covergirl foundation in Sears, it was $4 I think not sure. I only used it a couple of times. It is a very thick consistency so it's hard to get out without a pump. I used the pump from my Max Factor 3 in 1 foundation a couple of times. I haven't used it very often lately mainly because I've been using my Revlon Colorstay foundations.

I picked up another Revlon foundation. This time a PhotoReady foundation that was 75% off in sears when I picked it up. I was looking at it earlier in the summer but I decided not to pick it up at the time but 75% off I just couldn't pass it up. It was hard enough to pass up makeup at 50% off but 75% is like impossible for me haha.

On to the nail polish. I wasn't a huge nail polish person because I am to impatient and end up messing my nails up before the dry and my nails chip after a few hours a day max. I picked up a bunch of Wet n Wild nail polishes. I love the range of colors and for such a cheap nail polish they lasted long enough. First I saw the Spoiled collection by Wet n Wild in CVS. When I saw the white I couldn't pass it up. I love white nails and in Ireland I find it hard to find a white white nail polish. There are so many that seem white but end up more shimmery or something. The white is called Correction Tape. The blue is called Plenty of Fish in the Sea. And the purple is called Magic Carpet Ride. Magic Carpet Ride is a lovely color but it is very opaque. I don't like it on its own but I love how shimmery it is. 

I picked up a couple of the Wet n Wild Megalast nail polishes. On the left is Heatwave. In the middle is Sugar Coat and on the right is On a Trip. I find that Sugar Coat is also very opaque but I like it with the Spoiled nail polish in Correction Tape underneath. I love wearing On a Trip under Magic Carpet Ride. They are just lovely polishes. and for $1.99 you can't go wrong!

 More Wet n Wild nail polishes haha I picked up Metallica (left) and Sparkled (right). I can't remember how much these polishes were. I think they were either $1.99 or maybe even $0.99. So inexpensive. I also picked up a Wild Shine clean nail protector.

I got all 4 of these Sally Hansen nail polishes on offer. The Crackle one is called Wave Break. I got if for like 75% off in CVS. I think it is a beautiful blue colour. I love it. The pink one (Fuchsia Power) and the white (White On) I got both of these in Sears for 50% off. And then there is the magnetic one. I was very curious about magnetic nail polish. I really wanted to give it a try. I picked up Silver Elements the same time I picked up the Revlon PhotoReady foundation for 75% off in Sears. I just love it!

So many purchases over the summer. So much money spent on makeup and beauty products! Money well spent!

:)

New York Haul

I spent this summer in New York and I went crazy shopping! As you do. ;)  I bought so much I think I'm going to split this into a few parts. Now to get into the good stuff, starting with lip products. Some of the stuff I got you can't get in Ireland and some of it was just cheaper over there hence why I went insane! SO let's jump right in.

Up until this summer I was more into eye makeup than anything else. However, this summer I decided to branch out of my comfort zone and bought a bunch of lip products even a couple of bronzers and blushes but I'll get into all that in my next blog post. I caved and bought 2 mac lipsticks while i was over there. I got 'Creme Cup' (left) and 'Hue' (right). I just fell in love with 'Creme Cup', to me it's the perfect colour for day time or night time. 'Hue' was a bit of a different story. Technically it was my last purchase in New York. I bought it in the airport at the MAC store. After looking in duty free and seeing the higher end products I was a little disappointed that there were no more affordable makeup products (even at the airport all I can think is makeup haha). As I was heading towards my departure gate I spotted the MAC store and I was in heaven. At first I couldn't decide what shade to pick up but then I remembered one day in Brown Thomas in Galway picking up 'Hue' again and again. When I swatched 'Hue' I loved it however on my lips there is less colour payoff than I was hoping for. I've only used 'Hue' once or twice so I'm trying to keep an open mind on that one for the time being.

I got 2 elf matte lip colours, one in 'Natural' and one in 'Tea Rose' i love them both. They are so handy and last so long. And for $3 like how could you go wrong! I got them in the elf studio store in New York City. It is so handy being able to actually test the products rather than guessing from the pictures online or the tube in store. The only thing I didn't like about the elf store in New York was that the majority of the store was the elf studio line as you may have guessed from the name. I was really looking forward to trying some essentials and minerals products but there was a very limited selection in the elf store. I was lucky enough to pick up a few other elf products in Target one of which was an elf essentials jumbo lip gloss stick in 'Pink Umbrellas' and a few other bits but I'll get into those in my next post. :)

When I was in Sears (which was quite often truth be told) they had 50% off cosmetics. 50% off like how can anyone resist! So I decided to purchase a Rimmel lipstick in 'Nude Delight' because I saw someone on youtube wearing it and it looked amazing! :)

 I also picked up a couple of NYX products. I was so excited to try NYX after seeing bits and pieces in youtube videos now and again. At first it was pretty hard to find NYX I thought it was a popular brand that would be in plenty of shops, I was pretty disappointed at first when I couldn't find the brand in any of the stores near me. Eventually I found it in Sears for 50% off! I was so lucky not only did i eventually find NYX but I got it on sale. I picked up 3 mega shine lip glosses in 'Salsa', 'Gold Pink' and 'Crystal Soda', 3 retractable lip liners in 'Peony', 'Fruit Punch' and 'Nectar' and a matte lip cream in 'Milan'.

During a couple of my very frequent trips to CVS I picked up 3 wet n' wild lip products. The first was a mega slicks lip gloss in 'Sweet Glaze' (560A). I wanted something that just added a bit of gloss for over any lipstick but I hate the way clear lip glosses with a brush applicator go pink or whatever colour the lipstick you apply them over is, so I decided to get a lip gloss that was already slightly pink in colour but that wouldn't be pigmented enough to outshine the lipstick I was wearing. I also picked up a very cute lipstick in 'Smokin' Hot Pink'. I just fell in love with the shade even though this particular shade is a bit bolder then I used to wear I couldn't resist. The final wet n' wild lip product I picked up was a lip liner lipstick duo in 120. Truth be told I haven't used this product that much. I just love the idea of it. It is so handy. No rooting for several products on a night out to touch up the old lips after a few drinks just one product and you are good to go for the liner and lipstick.

My last lip product is a Maybelline Colour Whisper in 'Mocha Muse'. I'm in love with the Revlon lip butters I have about 3 of them haha. So when Maybelline came out with the Colour Whispers I just had to try one. I didn't know what colour to go for so I decided to go with 'Mocha Muse' kind of a safer bet than some of the other colours. After picking up so many lip products several of which were bolder colours than I was used to I decided to go for a more natural colour this time. Next time may be a different story though ;)

So that's the end.....for now. Lots of lip products, most of which I'm pretty fond of so far. Thankfully :) I will say it is so much cheaper in New York than it is to purchase lip products in Ireland. A lot of what I got was on sale but with the exchange rate even the full prices are cheaper than here. It was good for me when I was over there however being back a lot of makeup seems more expensive now. I guess it's a good thing I bought so much over there haha.

:)