February Favourites!

Ah, February. My favourite month of the year! It was an absolutely hectic one, it wasn't as good to me as I had hoped but that's life, eh?!

Fashion wise, I love February because you're past the dreariness of the dull winter wardrobe colours, and back to adding a little colour back into our lives!

My favourites from February are a bit of a mixed range. So, let's get down and dirty...

I don't know if this is just me but, during the winter, I'm not one of those ladies that likes to apply fake tan. I don't know, maybe it's just because I'm lazy. This however, is my favourite time of the year to tan - when spring is in the air and summer's so close you can almost smell it! My favourite tan of the moment is Cocoa Brown 1 Hour Tan. It is hands down the best tan that I have ever used. Being a super pale cailín, it's a pain trying to find a tan that looks natural. THIS however, is the answer to my prayers!

So, as I've mentioned before, I have ombré hair. I was thinking about dyeing it and going back to brown all over but seeing as we're heading towards summer, I said I'd give my locks one more chance! One of the reasons I wanted to go back to having completely brown hair was that, the blonde is so expensive to maintain. That being said, the products that I'm about to mention, have made a considerably big difference to the blonde part of my hair. I've been using the Bleach London Silver Shampoo and the John Frieda Sheer Blonde Highlight Activating Conditioner. I use the John Frieda Sheer Blonde Go Blonder Lightening Spray too. Using these three products has really made a difference in eliminating and preventing the brassy tones that usually come with blonde hair.

Next is skincare! My favourite cleansers always tend to be Garnier. I don't tend to use their moisturisers because they usually break me out in massive ugly spots. Trust me, I'm not exaggerating. OK then, maybe a tiny bit. I recently decided to give Simple skincare a try again as I hadn't used any of their products since I was a teenager. I bought the Simple cleanser, used it on my skin and instantly remembered why I stopped using it back then. After first application, it didn't take long for the attack of the zits! Ugh, not good! So I went back with open arms to my Garnier Simply Essentials Cleansing Lotion. And so far, so good!

And lastly, this is something that I love and I have carried around with me everywhere (well in my handbag, otherwise that would just be weird)  since I bought it. It's the Inglot Loose Powder. It takes away the shine from my skin and makes my makeup last longer than most face powders do. Although, it does tend to get a bit messy with it being a loose powder and all but I can forgive it for that - it's worth the mess!

And there you have it, my February favourites.

What have you been loving recently?
Linda, xo

NOTD: Glitter Heaven!

Hi there!

So, like I mentioned in my Makeup Haul blogpost, recently I bought the NYC Expert Last Nail Polish in 105 Lights-Camera- Glitter and Catrice Ultimate Nail Lacquer in 107 Genius In The Bottle.

I was very eager to try both of them out together. In the bottle, the Catrice Nail Lacquer looks like an iridescent colour with blue, green and gold tones in it. I thought that it would be an interesting colour on the nails but when I tried it out, it just applies as a gold colour. I'm disappointed that none of the other colours made it out of the bottle! It is a pretty colour on it's own but it's just not what I had expected it to be.

So, with that on my nails, I paired it with the NYC Glitter polish. I'm really liking this! The polish itself looks clear but when applied to the nails, it comes off as a silver colour. There are small particles of glitter that are pink and blue. There are bigger particles of blue and pink glitter too. I would only use this as a top coat. When it's paired with a colour underneath and after two coats of it to the nail, it looks so pretty!

One of the claims with this polish is that it makes your nails 50% stronger within 7 days. It also claims that the polish lasts up to 7 days but that's a bit presumptuous though! 

And here's what they look like on the nails!

What's are your favourite nail polish at the moment?

Linda, XO

Sunday Chit Chat!

Hey there!

So, how was your weekend? And your Valentine's Day? I hope everyone had a great one, regardless if you celebrate it or not! :)
Me? Well, I'm anti-Valentines Day at the moment but I'll be honest, it's because I'm single! :P Haha!

So the past week and a half has been a hectic one for me!

But...first off let me say, the best part of last week for me was IRELAND BEATING WALES in the 6 Nations last week!! I am a MASSIVE rugby fan and I can't tell you how happy I was that the lads won! It was definitely the start of an amazing weekend for me! :)

So, the real high of the week for me was definitely turning 25 last Thursday. I had the best day and weekend! I'm gonna tell you a little story, so get comfortable! :) Since becoming an adult, I've never really celebrated my birthday properly. Obviously, the day was still marked by my family and friends but for me, I didn't feel like celebrating it. My best friend died 2 days before my 14th birthday in 2003, and her funeral was on my birthday and since then, I never ever wanted to celebrate it. The thought of celebrating my birthday, always made me feel guilty. This year though, on account of turning 25, and it being somewhat of a milestone, I thought it was time to start celebrating. It's what my best friend would've wanted too.

So with two of my friends in tow, we headed to Cavan! We went to see the very brilliant Nathan Carter in the very beautiful Kilmore Hotel in Cavan. It was a dance and I'd never been to one before and I didn't know what to expect, BUT, it was THE best night my friends and I have had out, ever! Such an amazing atmosphere! A week on, and my feet are still sore from all the dancing! :P For me, it was the perfect birthday, so thank you to my lovely friends for coming all that way for me! :)

My low of the week has to be dealing with poorly trained and downright rude hotel receptionists! This week I was organising a night away in Co. Wexford. Organising the night was easy but dealing with people with no communication or people skills, was extremely frustrating! After a couple of days with dealing with these people, I was so close to just cancelling the night completely. Now, that it's sorted though, I'm looking forward to it! :)

I'm hoping that this week will be relatively less dramatic and hopefully a little more relaxing! :)

What have been your high's and low's from the past week?

Linda, xo

Makeup Haul!

Hey there!

I have never done a haul before, so I decided to give it a shot and share with you some of the things that I've picked up! :)

It was my birthday last week and I decided to get myself a few birthday presents, you know, just because! :)

I picked up the Inglot Loose Powder in number 12. I got it from the Inglot store in Dundrum town centre. It cost €22 which is amazing because you get 30g of  the product! So far, I'm loving it!

The next two products that I got are both nail polishes and both are from the pharmacy. They're the NYC Expert Last Nail Polish in 105 Lights-Camera-Glitter and Catrice Ultimate Nail Lacquer in 07 Genius In The Bottle. The NYC one cost €1.99 and the Catrice one was about €2.99. I'm looking forward to paring both of these babies together!

Because, I have such pale skin, I have a problem finding a contour colour that is just right for me. I found the perfect one for me this week though! It's the NYC Color Wheel Mosaic Face Powder in Translucent Highlighter Glow. Even though the name suggests that it's a highlighter glow, it is the perfect contour colour for me!

After hearing the amazing SoSueMe raving about this mascara, I had to try it for myself! It's the NYC Big Bold Volume By The Lash Mascara in 857 Extra Black. This is actually my second tube and I'm loving it! I paid €3.99 for this in my local pharmacy. Perfect!

So, I am on a constant quest to find an inexpensive eye brow pencil that is actually good. So, this past week, my noble quest continued! I came across this Catrice Eye Brow Stylist Pencil in 030 Brow-n-eyed Peas. It was €2.79. I'm not completely loving this at the moment but watch this space!

And lastly, I picked up Cocoa Brown 1 Hour Tan. As a super pale Irish gal, when I'm actually bothered to tan, I don't like to be too dark or an odd shade of orange, so Cocoa Brown is the only one for me! I leave it on for just one hour for a more natural look but if you prefer to go darker, you can leave it on longer. In general, I love the whole Cocoa Brown range. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on some of the new products being released in March!

There you have it! A few of the things that I've treated myself to recently.
What products have you bought that you're loving?

Linda, xo

NOTW: Ink Stain!

So, here we are. The first weekend of 2014 is nearly through. Did you make any new year resolutions? Did you keep them? I'll be completely honest with you, like I mentioned in my last post, I did make resolutions like eating healthier and exercising more frequently, but I haven't exactly started yet! There's always tomorrow, eh?! :)

OK, so back to business! Right now in Ireland, the weather is even more depressing than usual. So, my nails of the week reflect my mood! Oh summer, where are YOU?!

I'm a big fan of NYC makeup products and I've been really impressed with their nail polishes recently. The one that I'm wearing this week is NYC Expert Last Nail Polish in 115 Ink Stain. It's a beautiful midnight blue, inky colour. I prefer wearing colours like this on my nails during this time of the year, opposed to a flat matte black. It still adds a little bit of colour but it's still perfect for the season too.

(Apologies for the poor quality of the picture! I'm using my phone until I can get a new camera! :) Please excuse the polished cuticles too!)

What's your favourite colour for A/W?

Linda, x

Happy New Year!

First off, let me say Happy New Year! I hope that 2014 brings you good health and happiness. I can't believe how fast this year has gone by! Like most people, for me, this year has had it's highs and it's had it's lows, but most importantly, we're here to tell the tale, eh?! What doesn't kill you, definitely makes you stronger! :)

I'm optimistic and hopeful for the new year. In terms of blogging, I've finally found my feet. I'll be working harder this year at something that I truly love. It's such an amazing community to be apart of!

Of course I'm obviously going to eat healthier, drink more water and exercise more frequently. Well for at least two weeks anyway. :)

But in general though, I'm just going to take each day as it comes. I'm going to fill my time with the ones that I love, see my amazing friends more often and smile more and worry less. Life's too short for it to be any other way! :)

Sending love and best wishes for the coming year to you and yours.

Linda, x

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