December Favourites 2018

A happy belated New Year to ye all. I am going to make this intro very short and sweet, today I am going to be discussing the products I have been loving in the month just gone.

First up is the Super Facialist Vitamin C Cleansing Oil. For the last month or two I have really been into double cleansing. I am loving using this cleansing oil for my first cleanse. It feels so lovely on the skin and OMG that smell. It has an amazing citrus smell. It has Vitamin C in it.. (Duh) which is great for brightening up your complexion. When I use it I just pour some onto my hands and massage into my dry face. Then I get my damp face cloth to remove it. I got mine in Tk Maxx for €5.99 but if you can't find it there you can get it in Boots for €15. I would definitely recommend for those who love a good double cleanse.

Sticking on the theme of face, my second favourite product this month is the Lacura Clearing Mud Mask from Aldi. I have mentioned this loads over on my instagram but it deserves every bit of it! This is a charcoal purifying mask that helps clear up breakouts as well as exfoliates the skin. It has  physical and chemical exfoliating properties. The chemical exfoliants in it are glycolic and lactic acid which is great for shedding the top dead layer of skin. This is said to be a dupe for the GlamGlow supermud which usually costs €40 euro where as this mask from Aldi cost a little over €6. Bargains! Seriously though, check out Aldi's skincare range because you are sure to find some gems.

Another skincare item I am loving is The Ordinary's Salicylic Acid 2% Solution. My diet around the christmas is always so horrible so in turn my skin freaks out and I end up with a pizza face. The salicylic acid solution is perfect for those of us with oily skin. It gets deep into the pore and treats the spot. I dab it on a spot at night time and then the next day the spot had dried up. I got mine in New York but there are various websites you can get yours from such as Meaghers Pharmacy. Total saviour this month.

Another saviour and will be a favourite ever month is the Lush Cosmetics Soak and Float shampoo bar. This has transformed my horribly sore scalp. Before using this I had a dry, itchy and cracked scalp and now it is totally back to normal. It has cade oil in it which is used to treat psoriasis and eczema. I also love how these shampoo bars are packaging free and last up to 100 washes. I got mine from the Lush store in Grafton Street, Dublin for about €10. I will definitely be repurchasing this!

My final favourite this month is the Phyto Paris Phytokeratine Thermal Protectant Spray. I got send this from the lovely folks over at Cosmetics Online Ireland. Normally after blow drying my hair it feels brittle and straw like but when I use this my hair feels so soft and shiny and it just sits well. Also my hair looks thicker since using it. I normally dont use heat protectants (bad I know) but I am converted now. This is another product I am going to repurchase. You can get it from CosmeticsIreland and check to see if they have any special offer codes going, because normally they do. 

If anyone has any questions about any of the products mentioned please don't hesitate to ask. Here is  to a new year of happiness and health.

Byeeeeeeeee :) 

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 :)

New York Skincare Essentials.

Narrowing down what beauty bits to bring on your holidays is the hardest thing I’m the world! (First world probs I know..) It like going on holidays and only choosing your favourite child to come with you.. (no? just me?). I am going to New York City for a week and I have picked a few of my essentials skincare bits to come along with me. Yes I will be bringing other toiletries with me I am not smelly I swear but ye are all here for skincare, not for what deodorant I’m currently using! So here are some travel friendly things I’m bringing.

I am bringing 2 cleansers with me on my trip. I am going to double cleanse with these everyday. My first cleanse will be the Dermalogica ultracalming Cleanser. If you have seen my instagram lately you’ll know that I’m having the biggest face meltdown of my life. I’m literally a pizza face.. My skin has had a big flare up and I am sensitive AF. This Cleanser is so soft and calms down any redness on my face. I’m so tempted to splurge on the big bottle.

For my second Cleanser I’m using the Omorovicza foaming Cleanser. This is a gentle foaming Cleanser perfect for my oily skin. I feel so boujie using this as it’s so expensive for a big bottle. But if you know me I’m the furthest from boujie that’s why I’ll admit I didn’t buy this, a friend gave it to me. I’m a champagne lifestyle on a bulmers budget! Both of these cleansers are safe to travel with as they’re not liquids and under 50mls.

A serum I’m bringing is the Essano clear probiotic serum. I recently started using this to help clear up my face. The scent isn’t the best and the colour is a brown shade but I think it’s doing something. I am not selling this well. You’ll have to come back to me on this one. So what I’m really saying is I had no other serum left to bring and I had to bring a serum! 

                                             

For a mask I’m bringing the rituals cosmetics intensive moisture mask. This is amazing for a post flight pamper. It has hyaluronic acid and helps your skin after all that recycled air. 7 hours of sharing air with strangers is what I’m most scared of, not the flying!

For moisturizers I will bring a day time and a night time. For day I’m going to use the Neutrogena hydro boost city shield with spf 25. This will protect me from the sun, all the city pollutants and keep me hydrated. This stuff is great as you don’t get the Casper the ghost effect from this.

My night time moisturizer is the simple skin quench sleeping cream. This is like a glass of water for your face. It’s so light but you wake up with softest of skin! Simple really upped their game with that one.

I’m also bringing a spot treatment from boots own brand. This is to banish my pizza face. In all honesty I’m so embarrassed of my face at the moment and I know we will take a lot of pics there so I’m hoping over the few days this treatment will bring it down. I don’t want to look back and see my join the dots face.. the product itself has salicylic acid which is great for blemishes, my skin loves a bit of sally!

That’s my few bits for my face that I am bringing. I kept away from liquids as I would end up like Ross from friends when the toiletries exploded in his bag! So no toners or oils. I hope ye enjoyed that some bit. I am enjoying writing again, so as long as I am enjoying it I will continue to post on here.

Byeeeeeeee :)

Switching Things Up

Hello friends! Happy new year and all the rest. Yes, I know I go missing for a few months then I reappear but the fact of the matter is that’s life and some times life gets ya down. I’m not going to lie to you my new year started off crappy, I’ve had constant wisdom tooth problems and my mental health hasn’t been the best, but that’s ok because my “new year new me” attitude has just kicked in and I am switching things up In my life. I’ll hold my hands up and say I’m not a “do-er”, I will put things off and analyse things to the point where I’ll find a flaw and not do it and then complain that life is passing me by. Well I went out of my comfort zone and did something that will make the old me shook! I am going back to education!

As ye all know from reading this blog I am obsessed with skincare. It’s my passion and the majority of my jobs have been in the Beauty sector. I’m going to college to become a skincare specialist. I will be attending the Bronwyn Conroy beauty school in Blackrock doing their course called Advanced skincare specialist. As more beauty therapists are specialising in different areas they thought why not devote a course specially to skin. I was toying with the idea of becoming a beauty therapist but the thoughts of having to wax the nether regions of someone really put me off. This course will allow me to work in salons providing skincare analysis and facial treatments. It’s a 16 week course, one day a week so it works perfectly around my full time work schedule. Since I found out I can do this course I feel like a new me, like I have a purpose. This is just the start of my new career and already it has given me much joy.

I’m going to document as much as I can on here and my Instagram so you all can see my journey. If anyone is going through that same “funk” I’ve been going through, don’t second guess yourselves. Take chances you’re future self will thank you. So go out there and switch things up and live your life.

                                           

Byeeeeeeeeeeee :)

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 :)

Mini Penneys Haul + Review

Hey guys! Hope everyone is keeping well. Today's post is a little penneys haul I did plus a review of the things I bought. Ye seemed to love my last few Penneys' posts so I said id pick up a few bits, show ye what I got and do a review. I bought these items 2 weeks ago now and I have trialed them all fairly. I know I keep saying this but Penneys is upping it's game when it comes to beauty products, they never cease to amaze me. In the mini haul I bought Vitamin E eye patches, the PS Love Your Hair texturising spray and the Wake Up energising spray. I'll give a brief description about each one and Ill give you my thoughts on them!

Vitamin E Eye Patches.

I was all over these when I see them in Penneys. They claim to reduce under eye puffiness and god knows the last time I had a decent sleep (probably when I was in the womb). I think they were €1.50, I am such a bad blogger I ripped off the price and tore right into those bad boys the minute I got in the door. Vitamin E as we all know brightens the skin so that would help with dark circles. You get 15 treatments for the pack which is great deal.

Ill start off on what I didn't like about them and get that out of the way. The packaging is not that practical for my liking. As you can see from the pic they are all just inside stuck together and you have to peeled them off one another yourself. It just makes me think of dirt and dust getting in there. On a more positive note I did see a slight improvement in the darkness of my under eye. I leave them on for 20 mins and they genuinely look a little brighter. Now the results are not miraculous but for €1.50 it's worth it. I would purchase these again but Penneys hun, please sort out the packaging.

PS Love Your Hair Texturising Spray.

I'm not usually a fan of texturising or surf sprays, I just find that they don't work for me and leave my hair hard and sticky. It was €2.50 and i thought to myself I had nothing to lose. It comes on a lovely little black spray bottle and smells divine. It has sea salt and seaweed in it which is suppose to give you that beachy wavy look. You can use it on damp or dry hair and leave it dry naturally or blow dry it.

Lads.. I'm shook! I fecking love this stuff. It actually works for me and doesn't make my hair hard or sticky. I used to use the Sea Spray from Lush for €15 for years and It always made my hair crunchy and rotten looking. I use it by spraying onto damp hair after a shower, scrunching my hair a couple of times and then leave it to air dry. I am definitely going to repurchase it when it runs out.

Wake Up Energising spray.

These were all over facebook a few weeks back and I was mad to try them. When I went to Penneys all they had was this one but I didn't mind because as much as its hard for me to get a good nights sleep, it's twice as hard to get me up and going once I have nodded off. Not gonna lie i'm a bit devo because I thought it was a face mist when in fact its a body mist. It actually says not to spray it near your face. It's a ginger and lemon spray that you spritz onto your pulse points to help you wake up in the morning. This product was also €2.50

I'm trying to find good points on this product and all I can say is that it smells nice. To be honest I do think this is a bit of a gimmick. I felt no difference at all spraying this and it didn't make getting out of bed any easuer. I probably wouldn't repurchase this again but I would try the lavender pillow spray from this range.

So that was my little Penneys Haul. If anyone wants me to try out something and review just leave me a comment. Thank you!

Byeeeeeeeee :)

Product Review: Primark's Hot Cloth Cleanser.

Hey guys long time no blog eh!? Sorry I was M.I.A. for the month of may I was having a bit of bloggers block, but it's a new month so new me right?...

Today's blog post is on the Penneys/Primark hot cloth facial cleanser. I've never used a hot cloth cleanser before and I've been dying to try one out and when I saw one in Penneys I had to pick it up. I've been trialing it for a month now so I feel I can give ye a good review on the product.

The Product

Lads, Penneys have been upping their game when it comes to cosmetics, like a hot cloth cleanser a few years back would be total notions. First off the price is very reasonable. You get 150ml for €6 which is a fair amount compared to other brands. The popular hot cloth facial brand Liz Earle comes in at €19 in boots for only just 100ml of product and No7 comes in at €14. I haven't tried these but it is said that the Penneys one is a good dupe for the No7 hot cloth cleanser. I'm a beauty bargain hunter and when I hear the word dupe I'm all over it. Ingredients wise it has cocoa butter jojoba oil grape seed oil and vitamin e. All these ingredients help to give a brighter complexion. This is a very oil rich cleanser that is said to break down make up and well as soften the skin.

My thoughts

At first I was scared to use it as I'm oily AF but my skin loved it.  My skin looked brighter and felt softer but most of all it actually felt clean. I was pleasantly surprised by this because it is a thick cleanser packed full of oil. To use it I take a €2 size amount of the cleanser and massage it into my face, I'm so heavy handed with it but still after a month I have over have the tube left. Next I get a hot damp face cloth and I lightly sweep it around my face. This gives me a light exfoliation which I love. This has now made it into my skincare routine as a twice a week treat when my skin is feeling tight from spot treatments. I am definitely going to repurchase this if i ever get through my current tube.

So all in all this is a great cleanser. It's kind of making me want to buy other hot cloth cleansers now. I'm excited to see what Penneys brings out next. If you have any questions on this cleanser leave a comment below.

Byeeeeeeeeee :)

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 :)