My New York Haul

Where to begin.. New York was amazing! My time over there was a unreal from start to finish. First of all I got engaged, am hello when did I become a full blown adult? We did some amazing activities while there so I might do a blog post on what to do in NY if ye want. Of course I couldn't go to times square and not do some shopping. I went to Sephora (obvs), Deciem/The ordinary shop in Soho, Blue Mercury a lovely cosmetics shop off Times Square and Target. So here are all of the beauty bits I got on my trip.

Sephora

I saw so many "Instagram" brands in Sephora and as much as I wanted to buy the lot, I couldn't justify spending $50 dollars on a face wash. So I bought some Sephora own brand products which were reasonably priced. The first item I got was the Sephora Rose Lip Balm. Look at that packaging.. I mean how cute is that. They had them in loads of flavours like, coconut, kiwi and honey, but I am a granny at heart and I love me aul rose scents. It cost $6.

The second Sephora product I bought was the Skin Detox Bubble Mask. They had a few types but after all the pigging out I did in NY I need a detox. I have never had a bubble mask before but I have seen so many people use them and they look gas. I will post pics to see if they bubble much. This also cost $6

Deciem

If you haven't seen or heard of Deciem or The Ordinary where have you been? The brand has literally blown up over the past 2 years. They're known for their cheap cosmetics, skimping on the fancy packaging to give you fine ingredients at a lower price. I knew going over that I wanted to visit their store, so after visitng Carrie Bradshaws apartment we went to Soho to give it a look. My first purchase from there was the Salicylic Acid 2% solution. A lot of people with blemish prone skin rave about this and since I’m still a pizza face currently I need buckets of this. This cost about $5.

The next thing I got was the vitamin c suspension 23% + HA spheres 2%... basically a vitamin c cream. I wanted to have vitamin c in my routine as it’s great for pigmentation and anti aging, and I’m not getting any younger! I paid around $6 for it. I forgot my receipts so everything is in or around the price. (I’m such a bad blogger!)

The last thing I bought In Deciem was the AHA/BHA Peeling Solution. This is a Chemical peel for the face. It’s for exfoliation. Again I bought this because of Instagram, I’m such a sheep following the herd I know! You put it on your face for 10 mins and wash off. With all these products I bought you need to hydrate your skin and apply SPF the next day as they are acids and can compromise your skin. I think this was about $10. I will review each product on my Instagram after a few weeks use.

Blue Mercury

I’ve never heard of this shop before but I’m glad I found it as it was a cute little Cosmetics shop that was very cheap. Think of a shop like Sephora but not as expensive. My main reason for going there was for Dermalogica’s Special Cleansing Gel. So after doing my college course and working with Dermalogica I wanted to convert most of my skincare to the brand. I chose this Cleanser as it’s suitable for oily skin. It cost $38 for 250ml. It’s the cheapest I found for Dermalogica products.

I also bought Mario Badescu facial spray. I heard great things from this brand but never bought anything because I couldn’t be arsed ordering online, like I hate ordering things online. It’s the waiting I hate the most! This spray was only $7 and it smells like rose! It’s great to freshen up your face!

Target

I think I went to Target everyday while I was in NY. Think TK Maxx and a supermarket mixed together and thats Target. While I was there I ran out of my trusty foundation so I had to purchase a new one over there. I couldn't find my Rimmel one so I went for the ELF Cosmetics Acne Fighting Foundation. I have used it already and have a first impressions on my instagram if you want to see what I thought of it. It cost $7.

So this isn't skincare I know but I always said if I go to America I am buying Crest Whitening Toothpaste. American's are known for their white teeth and a lot of them recommend Crest. I bought a single tube and loved it so I came back for a double pack which cost $6. I wanted to buy the whitening strips but they were $60.. maybe next time.

I hope you enjoyed my haul as much as I enjoyed shopping it. Stay tuned for reviews of all these products and if you have any questions about any products just drop me a message!

Byeeeeeeeee :)

Empties 2017 pt. 2

Hey guys. I hope everyone is well and hasn't melted in this heatwave we are having. Today's post is my second empties of the year. I try to do one every 3 months and with the year half way over we are due another post. As usual I will give ye a little description on the products as well as my thoughts and if I would purchase or not. Enjoy!

Hair care

Lee Stafford Hair Growth Serum

I have mentioned this product in my April favs (link)) If ye have read that you will know I loved that product so much. I'm devo that I ran out, I would buy more but I'm on a spending ban (for now). This lasts me about 3 months and I put 2/3 drops in damp hair after my shower and massage it into my scalp. No joke baby hairs started sprouting around my hairline. I have thick hair but this made the thickness go to another level. I got the boyf into it too and he loves it.

Repurchase: YYYAAASSSSSSSSSS

Lush Cosmetics Sea Spray

This is a sea salt spray from Lush that is supposed to give you textured hair. You can spray it into wet or dry hair and scrunch for wavy hair. I took me well over a year to get through that. I worked for lush for a few years and I have used it on and off. I dislike this product so much. I kept giving it second chances but for €15 a bottle I'm giving up. It made my hair hard and crunchy but without even putting waves into it. Also on a few bottles I bought the sea salt clogs up the nozzle and the spray just squirts out, not fun. I recently bought the Penneys texturising spray and I love it. Also it's €2.50, I mean come on..

Repurchase: hell to the naaahhhh

Skincare

Benefits It's Potent Eye Cream

A lot of people don't know that Benefit Cosmetics have a skincare range. It was only when I worked for Benefit that I came across this eye cream. Retailing for a whopping €32.50 it's pricey. I bought this mini in boots for €6 and it has last me about 6 weeks. Hands down this is the best eye cream I've used. It improved my dark circles so much I looked more rested than sleeping beauty herself. I would recommend getting the mini first to try but you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Repurchase: Yes! And if anyone wants to buy me the full size one I won't stop ya!

Balance Me Restore and Replenish Cream Cleanser.

This is a Cream cleanser suitable for all skin types promoting collagen in the skin and leaving you feeling soft and not stripped. I bought this in Tk Maxx for €9.99 but it retails normally for €25 and you can get it in M&S. In typical Tk Maxx fashion I haven't seen another bottle since the one I bought. It last me about three months and I loved every bit of it. It improved my skin so much and I had such soft and clear skin from it. Apparently Emma Watson uses it and if it's good for Emma it's good for me.

Repurchase: Yes!

Evoluderm Hyaluronic Anti Age Toner

Another Tk Maxx purchase. I recently have been interested in anything that is anti aging so when I saw this I thought I'd give it a go. It's a toner in an aerosol form. It was so handy to use. I love toners that spray out rather than the liquids you have to put onto cotton pads. It made my skin feel nice but nothing spectacular. I didn't see any anti aging happening after using it but I know these things take weeks to show improvements and I only had it for a few weeks.

Repurchase: yes but probably for convenience more than anything.

Penneys PS Love To Glow mask.

This is going to be brief as I have a blog post about this (link). I finished it a few days after my last empties post so I kept the packaging till now (blogger problems). We all know I love this and it's comparable to the L'Oréal glow mask. Cheap as chips but effective AF.

Repurchase: duh..

Body Care

Lush Cosmetics Snow Fairy Shower gel

Such a cult classic for Lush. Every Christmas it comes out. When I worked for lush I hated it with a passion but since I left I love it and it brings back happy memories. It's vibrant pink and smells like bubblegum, every 10 year old girls (and mine) dreams. The boyf bought it for me for Christmas and it has lasted me since then. I should have got more to last me the year.

Repurchase: it will be on my list to santa.

So that has been my empties for the 2nd quarter of 2017. I'm already finishing up a good few products as we speak so the empties might be back sooner than you think.

Thank you so much for reading!

Byeeeeeee :)

April's "Totally Alright or Pure Shite"

Hey guys! Today's blog post is gonna be the start of a new series for me. It's my Totally alright or pure shite of the month. I've picked out a few things I've been using over the past month and I'll tell ye if I love it (totally alright) or if I hate it (pure shite). I was getting bored of just talking about products I liked and I wanted to keep it real with ye all too. I'm not here to bash brands but if I don't like something I'm gonna say it. I find some bloggers hype up products to get the brands attention and the product turns out to be pure shite and we waste our money, so hopefully this series of blogs will help you save your money for the stuff that works.

The Totally Alrights

The Ordinary's Advanced Retinoid 2%

Of course this is in the favourites list of the month, I wouldn't be putting it into a giveaway if I hated it. Even though it purged my skin a bit at first I love love love this product! As I'm not a spring chicken any more I'm starting to look into anti-aging products. I heard great things about the advanced retinoid and had to give it a try. It's a derivative of retinol (vitamin a) and is known to be anti-aging. This is a wonder product as it gets rid of fine lines but also because it clears up blemishes and breakouts. I use it every second night before my moisturiser and when I wake up I don't even know myself my skins that good. Definitely a repurchase for me.

Lee Stafford's Hair Growth Scalp Serum

I've had this a few months and I've only used it constantly this month and my holy mother of god obsessed is not the word. I recently went from silver to brown (yet again!) so my hair wasn't as thick and lustrous as it used to be but after 2 weeks of using this I had baby hairs sprouting up that I never had hair. It claims to grow, strengthen and volumize hair, and it does exactly what is claims to do.  I totally recommend it to all the hair dyers out there.

Superfacialist by Una Brennan Salicylic Acid Wash

Do you know when you try something great from a brand and immediately want to try the rest of their range? Well that's me with Superfacialist by Una Brennan. I've heard about the brand but never tried it until I came across this face wash in Tk Maxx. Now this is a cleanser that will leave you feeling squeaky clean (which I love), so dry skin types be warned. I used this at night time and I love it because it get rid of all the dirt and oils from the day. It has salicylic acid in it which reduces blemishes. My skin after a few uses looked more clear. I love the smell off it, I think it's the elderflower in it but I could be wrong. If you're in the market for a new cleanser I'd recommend this one to my fellow oily skin people of the world

The Pure Shites

Garnier's Anti-Blemish Clarifying Tonic

I had such high hopes for this product. I bought this because I kept seeing youtubers give it amazing reviews. It is supposed to be this gel toner that soothes the skin whilst tightening pores and ridding the skin of blemishes. First of all this product was so difficult to use. I put some onto a cotton pad and them applied to my face, but it was hard to spread around as it completely sank into my skin on contact.  I didn't see any tightening of pores as well seeing no change with my blemishes. I've been using this since February but no results have been seen after using this. To me this has to be a pure shite item.

Charles Worthington Colour Enhancer Purple Shampoo.

I bought this when I was silver after I ran out of my trusty Touch of Silver shampoo and thought this would do the job. This was not my cup of tea at all. When your hair is dyed silver and gets brassy easily you need your shampoo to be the deepest darkest colour of purple. This was so light and no comparison to the touch of silver, I used it going on three weeks and had to stop, it did nothing for my hair. It was getting brassy even with using it. Thank god I only got a travel size because I'd be pissed to have spent almost €10 on something that didn't work. Now in saying that I recently saw they have a new purple shampoo in their range called the ultra violet and it looks to be a deep dark purple but after using this one I'm hesitant.

Earth Therapeutics Rejuvinating Collagen Sheet Masks

We all know I love a good face mask and especially I've been enjoying sheet masks but this one didn't make the cut. I bought these in Tk Maxx and any other sheet masks I have bought in there have been superb. These ones claim to leave your skin plump and rejuvenated but I absolutely saw no difference at all. There is five in a pack and I've used three and I can't see myself finishing the pack. The sheet mask is so hard to unfold it's like completely stuck together. Without fail everytime I put one on my face and tried to adjust its position it ripped on me. There is nothing worse when you're trying to get ready for a selfie in your sheet mask and it rips... not cute. I will not repurchase from this particular k beauty brand again. 

So that's it for the first months installment of Totally Alright or Pure Shite, I hope ye enjoyed and remember, if something doesn't work for me doesn't mean it's not going to work for you.

Byeeeeeeeeeee :)

March Favourites

Hey guys! Today I'm going to write about my March favourites. I haven't done a monthly favourites in so long. This is just a post about what I've been loving throughout the month of March, whether it be beauty or clothes etc

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First up is the Sensitive Scalp conditioner from the Brand Human + Kind. I reviewed this on a previous post (link here) so I'll keep it short and sweet. I've been using this all month and it has helped my scalp so much. As ye may know I went silver from root to tip this month and It hurt my poor sensitive scalp. This conditioner with its aloe vera calmed it down instantly and helped improve the condition of my scalp as well as my hair. Hidden gem there guys.

Another hair care favourite this month is the Provoke Touch of Silver shampoo. Anytime I go blonde or silver this is my go to shampoo. In my opinion it's the best purple shampoo around. It keeps my silver hair from going brassy between toner applications. A major plus is price, it's one of the cheaper priced purple shampoos in the drugstores. I'm just finished a big bottle and have a little sample bottle from Dealz. This is a perfect size for people to try out but and are afraid to commit to buying the full size.

My next favourite is the La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo +. I have this months now and I've only started using it religiously in the last 3 weeks. I was almost going to through it out because I saw no difference after using it in the past. This isn't an instant fix, you have to take your time with it. Now my skin is horrendous at the  moment as it's purging after the use of retinol products but this helps so much. It reduces the redness of any spots that appear. I pop a bit all over my face after my toner and before my moisturiser. One drawback is that it's expensive but a little goes a long way, well worth it.

Another skincare favourite this month has to be the P.S. Love To Glow face mask by Primark/Penneys. I have a review of this beauty on my blog (link here). This is one of the best dupes I have found in a while. Gorgeous glowy skin on a budget, what more could you ask for.

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Next is a body care product. I'm not one for spending time putting lotions on my body, I'm so lazy it's unbelievable but The Body Shop Black Musk body lotion is an exception. I'm obsessed! Any opportunity I have to put it on I will. I got the little travel sets in Tk maxx reduced to €1!!! Paul the bargain hunter strikes again guys!  So naturally enough I bought five sets. The smell is divine. It's earthy but still floral. They scent definitely lingers. I need to go to the Body Shop and get the full size ASAP!.

So that's what I have been loving in the month of March. I have picked up somethings in the last week or so that I'm trailing out and I know they will feature in my April favourites already so stay tuned for that. Thank you so much for reading.

Byeeeeeeeee :)

Product Review: Primark's PS Love To Glow Face Mask and Serum.

Hey guys! Today I'm going to be reviewing the PS Love To Glow mask and serum from Penneys/Primark. If ye follow me on instagram or Snapchat ye know I've been reviewing these items the last few weeks. I heard that the mask was a dupe for the L'Oréal Pure Clay glow mask so I had to see if it's true. The Penneys mask retails €3.50 and the L'Oréal mask usually retails for around the €11 mark. Your know me and bargains, if there's one to be had I'm all over it. With the serum I was looking for a cheaply priced one  and this one was under a fiver so I couldn't leave it there.

The packaging of the mask looks a little like the glam glow mask (a very expensive alternative ) with its smooth sleek jar. The colour of the mask is cool too, It's a silvery grey colour. It claims to have argon oil and Vit E in it which helps to achieve the glowy look. When using it I apply it to a cleansed face for 15 mins then wash off.  I wash it off in circular motions as it has a mild exfoliant in it. This is very similar to the L'Oréal mask where it also has an exfoliant.

What's the verdict? I love it! It is 100% a dupe for the L'Oréal glow mask. It left my skin feeling the exact same way as the more expensive mask. My skin looked brighter, more even and glowy. The light exfoliant removes dead skin the reveal newer brighter skin. I actually am almost out of the mask already but I'm definitely repurchasing.  If your strapped for cash or don't want to pay €11 for a face mask give the PS Love To Glow mask a go and you can spend the difference on a Starbucks or something!

Next up is the serum.. I'm not going to beat around the bush here, I hate it. I used it 3/4 times and after each use I broke out. I put the serum onto the high points of my cheeks, the temples and my forehead. Each place I put it on I broke out. The funny thing was that it wasn't even a heavy serum, if anything it felt just like a normal cream. A serum under a fiver.. I wasn't expecting a miracle but I wasn't expecting a breakout either. It's been 4 weeks since my last use and I still have blemishes on my cheeks. Now what doesn't work for me might not, not work for you, this is just my experience and a little word of warning.

Overall it was a mixed review. On one hand the glow mask is now apart of my regular routine and I'm loving the fact I'm saving money and on the other I have a product that I'll never put near my face again. More times than not you really pay for what you get when it comes to skincare but it's nice when you find dupes such as the mask.

Feel free to leave a comment below if ye have any questions or if there's a product ye want me to review.

Have a good day! Byyyyeeeeeeeee :)

Product review: "The Cure" Tea Tree sheet mask.

Hey guys! Today I'll be reviewing sheet masks from the brand "The Cure". I'm a maskaholic, I can't go 2 days without popping on a face mask. They are the ultimate pampering tool.

The Cure have a wide range of their Collagen Essence face masks to choose from. The one I was drawn to was the tea tree one as this caters to my skin the most. It has tea tree and witch hazel to treat spots. They have other masks such as honey, co-enzyme and lemon, just to name a few. You get 5 sheet masks in a box and for €6.99 that's a bargain! You can pick  them up at most Tk Maxx stores.

I have been using them for the past 3/4 weeks, so 1 box should last you 5 weeks. They come individually sealed In a airlocked pack. I love that freshness with sheet masks because if someone tried to open it you'd know, unlike most drugstore face masks in tubes.

So for application I cleansed and toned my face as normal. I removed the mask from its seal and popped it on my face. The nose and eye holes give good direction on where to put it on your face. I hate saying this but it was so moist... *shudders* It was like holding a wet hanky but when on the face it soaked right in. I left it on for 20 mins and after removing the mask I massaged the remaining serum into my skin. Side note, you can't not have a sheet mask on without looking like Hannibal lector.

The results were amazing after the 1st use. It gave my skin this plump glowing look to it and the redness from my breakouts and blemishes were definitely reduced. This is definitely going to be a mask I used before a big day or night out. I'm excited to try others from their range. I highly recommend it guys!

If ye have any questions on the masks don't be afraid to ask!

Byeeeeeeeee :)