My Rant-Product Prices

If you have read my New York Haul Part 3 you might remember me ranting about prices in relation to the Rimmel Scandaleyes jumbo eye pencils. It is something that, as someone on a tight-ish budget when it comes to makeup, really bothers me. 

The drastic difference in prices recently came to my attention again a few days ago. On a whim I decided to find an American drugstore that stocked Real Techniques brushes as I have had my eye on the Core Collection in Boots. I ended up on the Ulta website where the Core Collection which is €28.99 in Boots is a mere $17.99 which converted is roughly €13.64!

The crazy price differences can be seen in many products. Even elf is much cheaper in America. On elf's American website their studio hd mattifying cream foundation is $6 which converted is roughly €4.55. On the co.uk version of the website the same product is €9.96. Why such a big difference?

Maybe this is why Abercrombie & Fitch and other brands' websites automatically redirect to the EU version of the site. Does anyone know why there is such a difference? A few euro here or there I could understand but €5-15 differences for makeup products and that is still only the lower end. A non-beauty example with a larger price gap is a Michael Kors rose gold Mini Skylar watch. This particular watch is €279 on the Brown Thomas website is $250 on the Macy's website which is roughly 189.50. An €89.50 difference. Granted I don't know much about the prices of this watch Brown Thomas may be a more expensive place to purchase it I just used this as an example.

Don't get me wrong I love these brands, that is why I am so frustrated. They are brands that I have had my eye on several of their products. I have been looking at different websites which stock them a lot recently. There is most likely some very logical economic or legal explanation for these differences, however from a brief look it seems pretty ridiculous in my opinion. All I know is next time I am in America I will most likely have a very long list of things I'm better off buying over there than here.

:)

Liebster Blog Award Nomination

This little surprise made my weekend! I was on twitter on my phone for the first time in a few days and I had a few notifications that for some reason never came up on my computer. Shannon from shanz101beauty nominated me for Liebster Award! :D Thanks Shannon!

 

                             When I was nominated I googled the award. The rules seem to vary a little but the general rules are: 

-You have to answer all questions that are given to you. 
-You have to link back to the person that nominated you. 

-Nominate 11 bloggers who have less than 200 followers. (Some posts says 5-11)

-Give your nominees 11 questions to answer. 

-You can't nominate the person who nominated you. 

-You have to tell nominees of your nomination. 

-Finally link your post to the nominees for more info.

So here are my answers to Shannon's questions:

Q. What's your favorite thing about blogging?
A. It's hard to pick one thing but I guess I'd have to say sharing tips and tricks I've picked up over the years.

Q. Favourite starbucks drink? 
A. I'm a bit of a plain jane when it comes to starbucks - hot chocolate is my go to.

Q. How did you choose your blogs name?
A. My brother actually helped me come up with the name, I couldn't decide so he suggested Keenmakeup as a play on my last name.

Q. How long have you been blogging?
A. About a year now. It really doesn't feel like it though.

Q. What is your dream job?
A. I wish I knew. This is something I've been trying to figure out over the last few months.

Q. Favourite youtuber?
A. I'd have to say Tati at GlamLifeGuru. I've really been loving her videos.

Q. Favourite blogger?
A. That's a really hard one....hmmm....I really can't decide there are so many great bloggers.

Q. What type of music do you like?
A. Anything really. Mostly chart music though.

Q. What do you like to blog about?
A. Makeup I love writing reviews on new purchases. I do hope to branch out a bit though :)

Q. This time next year, do you still see yourself blogging?
A. Yea I hope so anyway. 

Q. What is your favourite tv show?
A. Another really hard questions. I watch so many tv shows. I'm gonna cheat a bit on this one :P Favourite finished show is The OC. My favourite show still running is a really hard one, it's probably Pretty Little Liars.

My nominees are:
1 Grace from Grace'd
2 Eleanor from Eleanor Mae
3 Amy from Everyday Unicorn
4 Stephanie from My Beauty Obsession
5 Natalie from Natalie Keane MUA  
6 Catherine from Catherine Sarah
7 Cat from Big Blonde Girl
8 Beth from Beth Young Makeup
9 Alexandra from Lipsticks and Heels
10 Steph from Stephs Place

My questions are:
1. What made you want to start blogging?
2. What 2 products can you not live without?
3. Who is your favourite blogger?
4. What is your biggest makeup pet peeve?
5. What shop can you never seem to leave empty handed?
6. What is your favourite movie?
7. Who is your favourite youtuber?
8. What do you hope to be doing career/school wise this time next year?
9. What is your favourite snack?
10. What is your favourite makeup brand(drugstore and/or highend)?
11. What is your favourite time of day to blog?

:)

Wet n Wild Mega Liner Review

I picked up this eyeliner a few months ago. This is the first liquid liner I've purchased in years. I used to hate liquid liner because it always ended up smudging above my crease so I switched to gel liner. At first I used the Physicians Formula one but I had to get it sent over from America (this was about 2 or maybe even 3 years ago before the brand came to Ireland) then I found the Essence one but when my last Essence gel liner ran out and I couldn't find another one I decided to try the Wet n Wild liquid one.

 

At first I was pretty worried the applicator would be hard but I was pleasantly surprised. The brush is soft and easy to work with. I got an Essence liquid eyeliner a few years ago and I switched it with the applicator brush of another liquid liner because I couldn't stand the hard plastic applicator.

I think the long handle helps control the thickness of the line. And since the brush is soft you can make the line thin or thick. Personally I like a thinner line for the day time and a slightly thicker line for night time.

Like any liquid liner, I advise you to be careful and try to keep your hand steady which I find difficult at times. Over the past few months I've had more than a few bad eyeliner days. I really love this one though. I use it as part of my everyday makeup routine. Have any of you tried it? What do you think? 

:)

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.

:)

July Favorites

1. Wet n Wild Mega Liner
   

 I got this eyeliner a few weeks ago because my gel one ran out and the old liquid one I was using was a little dried out. I wasn't to sure if I'd like this. I was worried the brush would be hard or awkward or something. Thankfully I was wrong. I love the brush it is perfect. It's shorter than the brush of my last liquid liner which I think makes it easier to control.

2. Boots Vitamin E Eye Cream

I rarely used eye cream before I picked this up but I really like this eye cream. It's like a little TLC for my eyes :)

3. Clean and Clear Dual Action Moisturiser

 I've been using this moisturiser for quite a while now, as in longer than an other moisturiser I've had haha. I really like it and I think it does help with the spots. I was skeptical of that at first but I was pleasantly surprised. :)
 
4. Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water

 I picked this up a while back on offer in boots for around 4.20. It lasts so long! Normally I use it after cleansing to make sure there is no bits of makeup or anything left behind. Last week I picked up a bottle for 3.80 in Penneys. :)

 5. Friends

 So I never watched Friends - weird I know - so my friend let me borrow the box set and I've been obsessed with it! I'm already on season 6, nearly finished it actually.

6. Nescafe Mocha

 I love mochas probably because I have a big sweet tooth haha. When I found these I decided to give them a try. They are so good. And the sachets are so handy. It tastes like a mocha you'd get in a cafe to me anyway so I was very happy :)

My NYX Collection

Since NYX cosmetics has recently launched in Ireland I decided to do a post on my NYX collection. I picked up a few of their products last summer in New York and I got a few as presents from relatives. I'm so excited to get my hands on more of their products especially the lip products!

Starting with eyes I have two NYX ultra pearl mania shadows. One is white the other is silver. After seeing a youtuber talk about the roll on shimmer in salmon I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I think it's a lovely shade and since it is a roll on so handy if you don't have a brush on hand. I have two jumbo eye pencils one in Oyster and one in Pacific. Truth be told I haven't used these very often. Looking at them now I hope to come up with some looks using them in the near future.

On to lips. I love love love the NYX mega shine lip gloss. They are my absolute favorite lip glosses! I have three shades Crystal Soda, Salsa (not pictured) and Gold Pink. I love pairing these glosses with different lipsticks. They are also lovely on their own for days when I don't feel like lipstick or can't decide which lipstick to wear haha. I also have three retractable lip liners in Peony (not pictured) Fruit Punch and Nectar. And my final NYX lip product is the soft matte lip cream in Milan. Really can't wait to get my hands on some more NYX lip products!

The last product in my NYX collection is the blush in Bourgeois Pig. I really like this blush. When it comes to blush I go through phases but this one keeps popping up. I think its a great shade.

So that's it my small NYX collection. Hopefully it grows now that the brand has launched in Ireland!

:)

Boots Order

First off I want to say most of what I ordered was in the 3 for 2 offer on in boots at the moment. Last week I decided to risk the Decolour hair colour remover. I tried to go blonde on an whim and lets just say it didn't turned out like planned. Afterwards I was talked into going brown even though I still wanted to try and go blonde. It was only a semi-permanent brown and it was starting to fade a bit so I decided I wanted to try the Decolour which was the main reason for placing the order because my local Boots didn't have it. I'll have a post on my experience with Decolour soon. That was the first thing in the basket anyway. This was 16.99.

Next thing in the basket was the Schwarzkopf got2b beach matt mermaid look texturizing spray. Normally I use the L'Oreal Studio Matte and Messy salt spray but I wanted to try something different this time. I've only used it once but so far I am very impressed. This was 4 euro. Not bad in my opinion.

Next is another hair styling product. I used to be obsessed with this. Like really obsessed I don't even know how many bottles I went through over the years. It's the Umberto Giannini Flirty Curls Scrunching Jelly. I used this so much. Not really sure when or why I stopped using it but really looking forward to trying it out again. This was 6.49. Normally whenever I bought this it was on offer in Boots. I think the offer I used to get was 3 for 15 or something really good like that. (I also found the Umberto Giannini natural curls styling spray amazing!)

The last two things I picked up for myself were a L'Oreal hair mask for frizzy hair and a Pro:Voke Touch of Silver conditioner. I've never tried either of these but they were in the 3 for 2 boots offer so I decided to give them a try. The last few months I haven't been the nicest to my hair so I figured it could use a treat. The L'Oreal mask was 8.99 but I got it free in the 3 for 2 offer. The Touch of Silver conditioner was 2.89 but it was also free with the 3 for 2 offer.

 

I also ordered a few bits for a friend. First off was a No. 7 Protect and Perfect serum which was 30.50 but you get 6.50 off when you spend 30 or more on No. 7 online so it came to 24. Then I got a Simple cleanser. I regretted getting the cleanser because I did not check the size of the bottle I was ordering. My mistake I'll know better for next time. It was a 50ml for 1.79. If only I had been paying more attention I would have waited and got a 200ml Garnier cleanser in Cara for 1.99. My own fault I know but such a difference. I know they are different brands etc but sufficed to say I not impressed with myself on that one. And finally I got a boots cucumber toner (150ml) for 1.99. The more I think about it I probably could have got something bigger and or better for that if I looked around. The cleanser and toner were the only two products not in the 3 for 2.