First Purchases of 2015

1. Fitbit Flex

This probably seems like a typical new year purchase, new year keep fit etc but it's actually not. This year I decided not to make any resolutions because let's face it I never stick to them. I never heard of a Fitbit until just after Christmas when a relative showed me their one. Now I seem to see them everywhere go figure. I thought it would be a good incentive to keep moving and was intrigued by the sleep tracker. I toyed with the idea of getting one for a few days as they cost around 100 euro depending where you buy. I ended up getting it in Argos on new year's day (90.99 euro). So far I really like it. There's a few little things that I'm not to keen on but nothing major. So far it is doing its job of keeping me moving!

2. Step Up collection

I love love love the Step Up movies. I think the 4th is my favourite for now anyway. When I saw the box set for all 5 in HMV I was like OMG need! It was 24.99 but there was 10 euro off so I was easily convinced! :D I've already re-watched them once and am trying hard not to over watch them. Don't want to get sick of them or anything.

3. Boots Botanics Cleanser

I was nearly out of  my L'Oreal oil cleanser so I decided to look for something else to try. When I saw this it was on sale so I said why not. So far I really like it. It leaves my skin so soft.

4. L'Oreal Skin Perfection correcting day cream

I was out of moisturiser and wanted to try something different this time around. This was on offer in Boots it was only 9.99 from 19.99 so I decided to give it a try. Hoping for the best now.

5. Soap and Glory Hand Maid sanitizer

 This stuff smells amazing! It is so handy to have in your bag. And...it just smells sooo good!

6. The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks

So my bestie said we were going to see the movie. (looks soo good especially Scott Eastwood :P) So when I saw the book I decided to pick it up to read before seeing the movie. I really like Nicholas Sparks books in general so I was very excited to read it.  So far I am really liking it.

:)

Sligo Haul

Last week I went shopping in Sligo. I can't even remember the last time I was in Sligo but I was very excited to do some shopping there! My first stop had to be Cara Pharmacy. I was disappointed at first because I went into the small one but then I found the bigger one in the shopping centre so I was happy. There were so many Christmas sets, I wanted all of them!

Despite my disappointment at the small Cara I picked up 2 nail polishes. I think both of these will be great coming up to Christmas. The first was by W7 it's called Moondust the second is a Sally Hansen xtreme wear polish. I can't actually see the name of the shade though. I have 2 other shades in this range that I really like. There was another shade in Cara that regret not picking up. It would have been a lovely colour for Christmas. It was red with a bit of gold going through it.

I also went to TK Maxx. Normally I get bored with TK Maxx. I think you have to be in the mood to shop there. For me it is very hit and miss. Thankfully the TK Maxx in Sligo was a good hit! I got a really nice dress on sale.

I got this little gem in the big Cara. So far I have only used the lip butter but it feels soo nice. It's not sticky or anything. I can't decide if I like the smell though. It is supposed to be Hot Chocolate.

As usual I had to hit Penneys too. I was so glad I did. I got this top which I was eying in Athlone but the line was too long. When I saw it reduced in Sligo I was so happy! I just had to have it.

I picked this last item up on a whim. It was also reduced. I can't wait to organize my room and find a place to put it.

:)

October Favourites

This month has been quiet on the favourites front but the few in it I am loving so much I had to share them.

Wet n Wild Eyeshadow in Nutty

I love love love my Wet n Wild Silent Treatment trio, but I hit pan a few months ago on the lid shade. I was hoping to get something similar so I decided to try Nutty. Of the single shadows, it seemed the most similar. I absolutely love it. It's not the same but I have been obsessed with this shade this month.

Wet n Wild Color Icon Blush Pearlescent Pink

I go back and forth between blushes but this month I have been constantly reaching for this one. It's a really nice shade. A little goes a long way for me with this product. For daytime I lightly dust my cheeks but it's a very build-able shade for occasions where you want a little extra oomph. 

Garnier Express 2 in 1 Eye Make-up Remover

 

Normally I don't like eye make-up removers. The ones I've tried in the past leave a oily kind of greasy feel. This one doesn't feel as bad as most and for that I love it! It takes my eyeliner off so easily. For me, taking my eyeliner off is the part that leads me to pull at my eyes the most. 

Rimmel Scandaleyes Pencil

This pencil is so creamy. I use it in my waterline and along my lower lash line. I used to use gel liner to do this but since my last one dried up and I switched to liquid liner it's not an option anymore.

That's all my favourites for October. Have you tried any of these? What do you think?

:)

High Expectations

I've picked up a few different things in the past month or two that I have high expectations for. I decided to share them. I really hope they all live up to my expectations now. 

1 Technic False Eyelash Applicator

I love the look of fake lashes but the few times I tried to put them on it never seems to go well. When I saw this on the Boohoo website it looked like it would make application really easy. I haven't tried it yet but fingers crossed. It was €2.99 so it's very affordable. Now I just hope it works.

2 Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder

I have heard so much about this powder in the blogosphere I decided to pick it up. I recently broke my Wet n Wild powder. It got one too many knocks in my bag. I don't want to risk breaking my MAC powder so I wanted to pick up a drugstore powder. This one seemed like a good choice.

3 Sleek I Divine Palettes

These palettes were in my collective haul which you can check out here. These palettes look amazing in youtube videos so I couldn't resist picking a couple of them up. I'm still playing around with the two I purchased Oh So Special and Vintage Romance. There are a few shades that were a bit disappointing when I applied with a brush. They applied better with my finger but like I said I am still playing around with them.

4 L'Oreal  Cleansing Oil

I picked up this oil when I ran out of my Sephora one. It smells soo good! I've only used it a few times so far and I am loving it.

Have you tried any of these? I'd love to know what you thought of them.

:)

My Hair Journey

I have put my hair through a lot in the past year. Way too much really. My poor hair doesn't know what is going on anymore. When it comes to my hair I like to change it up every now and then. That used to involve getting it cut pretty short at times. Thing about getting it cut short was once it was cut I couldn't wait for it to get long again! A few years ago I decided no more cutting my hair and waiting what seemed like forever for it to grow back. Instead I decided to dye it. At first I dyed a section under my hair blonde. I was doing this for quite a few years. It wasn't the most noticeable unless my hair was up or my hair was just cut and the blonde came out under the layers. Eventually I decided to dye it all. I gravitated towards brown. I dyed it brown let it grow out a few summers ago. Last year I decided to dye it brown again. I was happy with that for a while but that I started to think it didn't take properly or something so I dyed it brown again. Looking back it ended up nearly black which was not my intention. That was fine for a couple of months. Then on a whim I decided I wanted to go blonde. My big mistake was trying to do it myself. Not smart but what can I say, I didn't want to pay to get it done professionally. Not a good idea in hindsight. My hair ended up very blonde on top and the rest turned very ginger. I believe what happened was the blonde took to my roots where the previous dye had grown out and mixed with the other dyes in the rest of my hair. It was a bit of a disaster. At first I tried to dye over it again so it wouldn't be as bad. Eventually I decided to try Decolour remover from Boots. I hoped it would remove the leftover dyes and help even out my hair. It was definitely improvement, but in certain light I still thought it was uneven and I wasn't happy with it so I dyed it blonde again at home a couple of times within a 2 or 3 month period. I think it has improved a lot since I first tried to go blonde but at times I can still see a kind of line which really frustrates me. A few weeks ago, one of the girls said brown suited me better so I started to think about it. I went through old pictures and tried to decide which I like better. Unfortunately I couldn't find any pictures when my hair was brown before it was nearly black.

 Ages Top l-r 18 19 20 Bottom l-r Dec 21 March 21 Aug 21 and Sept 21

As you can see my hair has changed a lot over the past few years. I plan to dye it again soon. Back to brown and then leave it alone. That is the plan anyway. This time I am going to do it properly i.e professionally.If you know any good affordable treatments or anything for coloured hair please leave a comment below.

:)

Perfume Wishlist

I was in Boots, nothing new there, normally I don't pay to much attention to the perfume section. I don't really know why. I guess I just gravitate straight to the make-up haha. I sprayed a couple of different perfumes and now of course I want them all!

First is Lola by Marc Jacobs. I am a sucker for adorable packaging. All the Marc Jacobs perfumes have adorable packages. I think this just smells so good! I stayed away from the others to be on the safe side. I just couldn't get enough of this one. The picture is the 50ml bottle and its €60.

(picture from boots.ie)

Next is the Calvin Klein Reveal. It smells soo good! I sprayed it on my wrist and I didn't want to get in the shower cause I knew I wouldn't be able to smell it anymore. A 50ml bottle of this is €66 in boots. One thing I love about this just from trying the tester was that normally after an hour or less sometimes I can't smell the perfume anymore but a couple of hours later this was still going strong.

(picture from boots.ie)

The last one is one that I got for a present a few years ago and absolutely love! Sadly there's only a tiny bit left in the bottle. It's Jean Paul Gaultier Ma Dame. It just smells soo good. When I get a perfume I really like I normally wear it the whole time then when the bottle is nearly empty I just stop wearing it in an effort to save it. Strange little habit of mine haha. So when I reorganised my room some of the perfume bottles with a little drop in them got put in a box under the bed and when I went looking for my hot water bottles I saw the box and ended up pulling this one out. Now that I've seen and smelled it again I really want another bottle.

 So that's it. My little perfume wishlist. Hope you enjoyed.

:)

Collective haul!

OK so in the last week and half or so I've done WAY more shopping than I should have. Oh well I couldn't help myself! It's a bit of a mixed bag a few skincare, a hair product, some makeup and a couple of magazines.  Some of these products I have tried a bit so there's a bit of a first impression the rest I got today so I'll just show you those ones. Here it goes hope you enjoy.

First off I was in the Boots in Athlone which as far as I know is the closest Boots with a Sleek stand. My local Boots doesn't have one, I don't know if that a good thing or a bad thing though. If it did I might not be able to stop myself from buying everything haha. I was so excited to get my hands on some of the i-divine palettes after seeing a few different youtube videos and blog posts on them. I decided before I got to Boots that I wanted Oh So Special and since it was buy one get one half off I ended up picking up Vintage Romance. I was going to get Storm or the original but when I was at the stand Vintage Romance just looked so pretty!

I mean don't those colours just look gorgeous! And I love the names too!

Next thing I bought was a Tangle Teaser. Again youtubers and bloggers made me do it! I've heard so many people talking about this and I just really wanted to give it a try. I got it in my local Cara Pharmacy for the very reasonable price of €9.05. Considering Boots charge €15.99 I was very happy with my purchase. At first I thought it felt so strange but after using it for a little over a week I can't imagine going back to a normal brush or a comb I love it so much.

Next purchase blame/thanks goes to my friend. She spotted this mask and said it was really good so of course I had to pick it up. It was on sale for €6 I think it was €12ish not sure though. I just loved it. It made my skin feel so soft. It is the Sanctuary Spa Convent Garden Deep Facial Cleanse 5 Minute Thermal Detox Mask. I've only used it twice but my skin feels so soft after it's amazing. I've never tried a thermal mask before I love the feeling!

Those were the bits I got last week. When I was in Boots I got a double points voucher so I decided to go in today and pick up a few things. I'll start with the hair product. I picked up the Batiste Dry Styling XXL plumping powder. I was watching one of my favourite youtubers, Tati, I can't remember if it was on her channel or the Allure one but she was talking about plumping powders and lately I feel like my hair looks a little flat in some pictures so I wanted to give one of these powders a try. I hope the Batiste one is good now.

Next thing I picked up was the L'Oreal Skin Perfection Miracle Cleansing Oil. It was on offer in Boots save 1/3 on selected L'Oreal skincare. It was reduced from €10.49 to €6.99. My Sephora cleansing oil ran out recently and I started using my Garnier Micellar Water to take off my makeup but I prefer getting the majority of the makeup off with a cleanser specifically a cleansing oil and then using the micellar water afterwards. I hope this is as good as my Sephora oil. I used it once and so far I'm pretty happy with it.

The other skincare product I picked up was the Garnier express 2 in 1 Eye Make-up Remover. I heard good things about this product, but the main reason I purchased this was because I feel like I've been pulling at my eyes more than I should when removing my eye make-up. I hope this lives up to my expectations now. This was also on offer in Boots save 1/3 on selected Garnier so I got it for €2.86.

 

On to make-up. Rimmel has an offer 2 for €12 on at the moment. I was using my Rimmel Scandaleyes jumbo pencil to line my water line but jumbo pencil + water line = bad. I had a few other pencil liners but they were scratchy and just uncomfortable so I decided to pick up the normal size Scandaleyes pencil. It feels very creamy and smooth on my hand and I've heard good things so fingers crossed. Sadly I had another liner that felt smooth on my hand but was very scratchy so hoping for better results this time around. 

 

The other Rimmel product I picked up was the Scandaleyes Retro Glam mascara. I like the mascara I have now (which also happens to be Rimmel coincidentally) but I feel like it is better for nights out or dramatic looks. I wanted to try something new. I was going to pick up the Wonder'full, but the lovely girl that was working at Boots said people weren't happy with it and often came back for another new mascara. I may have dodged a bullet on that one. I love the look of this brush though. I'm looking forward to testing it out tomorrow.

Moving away from Boots I wandered through my local Penneys. There's no nice way to say it my Penneys is crap. It's small and the stock is not a patch on Athlone or most other Penneys. Despite this I often come out with something. I'm a shopaholic what can I say. Today I picked up the french false nails. I love fake nails. I've never really been happy with my own nails. For €1.50 you can't go wrong with these. I personally think they last longer than or at least as long as the Broadway nails which are roughly €9-12. I also picked up fake lashes. I don't usually wear fake lashes but my graduation is coming up in about a month so I wanted to try out a pair of these and possibly wear them on the day. For €1.50 what could it hurt to give them a try anyway. I was going to get the natural ones but I have ELF natural lashes and they are definitely natural. I wanted to try something a little more noticeable.

I haven't read a magazine in quite a while so I decided to pick up Stellar and Glamour. I got Stellar in Easons for €1.95 and Glamour in Tesco for €1.47. I had my eye on a few other ones but didn't really want to spend €4-7 on a magazine. I normally like Stellar so I wanted to get my hands on the newest edition. Truth be told I only picked up Glamour for 2 reasons 1 it was cheap and 2 I recently read a post on tips to overcome blogging blocks and I figured it wouldn't hurt to have another magazine around the house. I'm really looking forward to reading the Glamour Beauty Power List though.

Hope you enjoyed this haul. Have you tried any of these products? I'd love to know what you thought.

:)