November Favourites!

I am so happy that we are FINALLY into December! I can finally openly enjoy Christmas without people giving out to me that it's too early to be talking about Christmas! :P

My favourites for the month are just hair care and a few makeup products! So, let's get started!

Like I've said in previous blog posts, right now, I have ombré hair. The only thing that I don't like about ombré hair is that the bleach leaves the ends of my hair very dry. I try to keep it has hydrated as possible. I use the John Frieda Highlight Activating Moisturising Conditioner to help with this! I try to keep the blonde part of my hair as bright as possible without it being brassy and this is great for doing just that! Another favourite for brightening up my hair is the John Frieda Lightening Spray. This has lightened my hair considerably! At €10.87 per bottle, it had better be good, eh?! :)

The next item is a little gem I've just recently found. It's the Schwarzkopf Got2B Power'ful Volumising Styling Powder. When I wash my hair, I lose all volume. Why, I hear you ask? Well, through sheer laziness and how crap I am at drying my hair, I can never add volume back to my hair using hair tools. That's why I LOVE this product! This adds instant volume. Whether it's a simple or glamorous hairstyle, this product is my new holy grail product!

Now, on to the last of my favourites for this month!

After reading reviews online about the L'Oréal Nude Magique Eau De Teint Foundation, I had to try it for myself! This is the perfect everyday foundation for me. It gives enough coverage to even out my skin tone but, it still leaves my skin looking natural. I will be following this up with a review very soon!

Next is the L'Oréal True Match foundation. I accidentally picked this up before I bought the L'Oréal Magique Eau De Teint Foundation, meaning to buy the latter. I was pleasantly surprised by it though! It is a little too pale for me and the Magique is a little too yellow so, I like to mix both foundations together, especially on those days when I need a little more coverage from my foundation! Perfect! :)

This month, I got new glasses. I need to wear glasses all of the time. Wearing glasses all of the time has made me more aware of the dark circles under my eyes. Because of the shadow that the frames cast, sometimes it can make that area look even darker. So I decided I needed a decent drugstore concealer that brightens that area up pronto! I really liked the Maybelline Fit Me concealer but I find when it oxidises on my skin, it makes that area look grey and makes my dark circles appear even darker over a short period. With that in mind, and after hearing some good reviews, I decided to give the Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer. It does exactly what it says on the tube! I'm loving it at the moment! :)

So, that's my favourites for this month! I'm keeping it short and sweet! :)
What's been your stand out product over the past month?

Linda, x

Festive/Party Makeup, Part 1: Winter Cranberry

I know that I have said this before, but can you believe that it's almost Christmas already?! It feels like this year has flown by!

As we're getting closer to "party season", I am starting a series of Christmas/Party makeup ideas and I'm starting with "Winter Cranberry". Usually I stick to fairly neutral/nude tones but when it comes to this time of the year, I love adding cranberry/burgundy tones to my makeup.

The products I used:

Face:

Foundation: Rimmel Stay Matte Mousse Foundation in 100 Ivory

Concealer: Essence Match 2 Cream Concealer

Powder: Maybelline Fit Me Powder in 120 Classic Ivory

Contour: Rimmel Natural Bronzer in 022 Sun Bronze
Highlight: Catrice Prime and Fine Highlighter

Eyes:

Primer: Inglot Eye Primer in 001
Highlight: MAC Satisfy (from Infatuating Rose palette from years ago!)
Browbone: Urban Decay Naked
Lid: MAC Bon Fete
Crease: MAC Cavort
Outer Crease: MAC Feast
Outer Corner: MAC Deep Feelings
Tear Duct: MAC Satisfy
Brows: Catrice Eye Brow Set
Mascara: Maybelline The Colossal Volume Waterproof Mascara
Eyeliner: Essence Gel Eyeliner

Lips
Essence Soft Rose Lip Liner

As there is so much going on with my eyes, I decided to keep the skin and lips fairly simple. I love using cranberry and burgundy colours during this time of the year! 

What's your favourite look for this time of the year?

Linda, x

FOTD: Natural Everyday Look

My everyday makeup routine usually involves some neutral eyeshadows, flawless skin and a little bit of contouring to the cheekbones. Sound like a lot? It's actually not and takes under 5 minutes for me to do.

Products used:

Rimmel Stay Matte Foundation in 100 Ivory,
Essence Cream Concealer,
Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in 003 Peach Glow,

Catrice Prime and Fine Highlighting Powder,

Urban Decay Naked and Buck eyeshadow as a contour.

Catrice Eye Brow Duo,
Urban Decay Naked and Buck eyeshadows,
Essence Get Big Lashes Volume Boost Mascara.

I don't wear makeup everyday but this is what I wear if I'm going somewhere important or if I have something planned.

What's your favourite everyday makeup products?

Linda, x

Rimmel Stay Matte Mousse Foundation REVIEW!

When I saw the newly formulated Rimmel Stay Matte Mousse foundation, I could hardly contain myself! I picked this up for €6.99.

I wasn't a fan of the original Stay Matte foundation so I had high hopes for this newly formulated one! The original texture of this foundation was a liquid but they've changed the texture to a mousse. Not a massive fan of mousse foundations but I was willing to give this baby a go!

There are six shades. The shade that I chose was 100 Ivory. Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation is available in Boots, Superdrug and pharmacies nationwide.

Right...let's get down and dirty! The claims that come with this foundation...

"A Feather-light, liquid mousse that blends flawlessly for natural-looking and an all day shine control
Silky smooth formula for a perfectly matte, baby-soft finish.
Lightweight texture won’t feel heavy or greasy.
Minimises the appearance of pores."

So let's tackle these claims! When blended into the skin, it definitely is feather weight! It does blend beautifully on the skin, leaving the face looking natural but beautifully flawless. Regarding the all day shine control, I disagree. After a short time after applying this, shine began showing through. It definitely doesn't feel heavy or greasy but the more foundation that I applied to the skin, it began to feel a little tacky on the skin. On first application, it definitely minimised my pores but I needed to apply a primer beforehand though because without it, the foundation settled into my pores.

So on to the review! On first application, I was impressed. Initially, I applied this with the Real Techniques Stippling Brush and then gave a little extra blending using the Real Techniques Buffing Brush. However, I preferred using the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge. It gave an airbrushed finish to the skin. This evened out my skin tone beautifully and covered up redness around my chin and my nose very well. An added bonus too, I needed to use less concealer with this!

So before I go on, I should say that I have combination skin but it tends to be more oilier than dry. It's not extremely oily but I can't get away with not applying powder to those parts of my face so this foundation was formulated for people with my skin type.

Back to business! I have used this foundation everyday for a month and I can honestly say, I'm disappointed. When initially applied to the skin, it leaves the skin looking flawless and beautiful but that's where my love affair with this ends. It didn't leave my skin completely matte which, was disappointing. Obviously, if you apply a face powder to those parts of the face, you will mattify that area but as the foundation claims to be a matte foundation, I definitely expected it.

After an hour, I noticed that my face was beginning to get oily. By the second hour my face was considerably more oilier and the foundation had started to fade from those areas of my face. Plus, it had settled into my pores and the drier areas of my face. Let me tell you, this wasn't a pretty sight! By the fourth hour, it had completely worn off of my face. So disappointing!

With that being said, when I applied face powder to my face, the foundation lasts a little bit longer but not a lot longer. I only wear this foundation during the day, when I don't need to be anywhere important because there's too much touching up to be done with it.

So there you go! But, hey, that's just my opinion. What doesn't work for me, may be your holy grail product!

What tried and tested products are you disappointed with?

Linda, x

PS: I apologise for the quality of the lighting in these pictures. I'm still getting used to all of this! :)


Picture of Product Credit: http://ie.rimmellondon.com/

NOTD: Beige Style! 💅

Now that winters made it's debut here in Ireland, I usually love painting my nails darker colours. This year though, I'm leaning towards nude colours.

The colour that I'm loving at the moment is Rimmel Lycra Pro in Beige Style. 

What are your favourite nail polishes for Autumn/Winter? Any recommendations for me? 

Linda, x