#SBBC Day 3: Makeup Travel Essentials

Honestly when I go travelling I tend to bring everything but I usually go travelling for a good few weeks /months rather then short periods of time. So I had to sit down and have a think about this topic. I had to scale back and just think of the necessities and stuff that would easily pack away in a small suitcase.

Firstly I decided on brushes, easy part I know, I only have one face so I knew I would not need that many. I decided on my Real Techniques expert face brush for my foundation and maybe cream blush, my Real Techniques Powder Brush, and  Royal and Langnickel Angled Blush Brush.

For eyes I choose my Crown  badger hair IB119 Deluxe Crease Brush, my larger Crown blending brush that I got at Imats which can be seen here in my Imats Haul.

Another Crown Brush I would bring along is my C158 Angle Liner/ Spoolie brush. By bringing this brush I can use it for not only my gel liner but with a bit of spot cleaning can also be used for eyebrows as well.

Last but not least I would bring a lip brush for application of my Lime Crime Red Velveteen.

For Face I would bring my MAC N2 Face and Body and also for night time application I would mix in some Revlon Color Stay in 110 Ivory for a full coverage. 

I would bring two concealers my MUA Cosmetics Cover and Conceal for under the eye in fair and Collection 16hr concealer in fair 1 for blemish covering.

Fit Me face powder in 125.

For contouring MUA bronzer in shade 3.

10 pan Blush Pan that I bought from Crown but can be bought elsewhere check out my blog post on it here.

For eyes I would bring my Urban Decay Basic Palette for basic eyes during the day and can be easily  changed into a smokey eye on the night. 

Also I would bring my 10 pan Inglot Eyeshadow palette so I have some colours to play around with.

Gel liner I would bring my favourite Inglot in 71.

For Mascara it would have to be Pur Cosmetics Big Blink Mascara.

For Lips I would bring just 3 colors a red, nude and dark purple also I popped my MUA cream blush in the bag as I can use it as a lip and cheek colour.

For moisturiser I choose my small size Kiehl's Skin Rescuer which can be easily packed away in my travel bag.

Also packed my Merumaya Melting Cleansing Balm for my makeup removing and daily cleanse.  Its quick and easy to use and last thing you want while away is to spend ages before bed taking off makeup so this is great.

Pür Minerals Big Blink Mascara Review

* I have been trying to commit to the 6 month mascara rule i.e mascara only have a 6 month once opened sell by date and then you should bin them. I was trying really hard but when I was not getting the results I wanted from Cargo Texas Lash Mascara I had to open another one.

I am so glad I did, I am in love with this mascara. The packaging is super cure and girly with its pink bottle and silver lid. The wand is a plastic one with short bristle with some pointing left and others right. It has a few short bristle at the tip, I presume their for the shorter lashes on the corners of the eye, but I find them too short for this and end up poking myself in the eye.

So whats different about this mascara its the first one that claims to be clump resistant that actually is clump resistant. Its cruelty free which we all love. But above all this it contains an ingredient that till now I have only seen in haircare. Lashes are hair though so is it technically haircare? 

Big Lash contains Argan Oil which Pür states;

"A revolutionary ingredient loaded with vitamin E, antioxidants and omega 3 and 9 fatty acids to hydrate, protect and repair lashes."

The one con about it I always end up with black dots on my skin because my lashes get so long and curled, not a con I should really complain about eh?

As promised a comparison of the Cargo Texas Lash and Pür Minerals Big Blink. As you can see the lashes are much more separated and fanned out. Also considerably longer!

At the moment I have only been able to find this mascara on the Pür minerals website. http://www.purminerals.com/Big-Blink-Mascara which by the looks of things they do not deliver outside of the U.S. Which makes me believe this is not available yet on our Irish shores. 

Cargo Texas Lash Mascara Review

*Cargo was the brand I was most impressed with at the Wizard PR event. There range of makeup and clever packing on some of their products had me from the word go. I received a sample of the Cargo Texas Lash Mascara in my goodie bag to review.

As from the above picture Texas Lash guarantees longer and voluminous looking lashes. Sure you know the saying ''Everythings bigger in Texas''

The brush is a regular bristle brush rather on the large side. not my favourite kind of brush if I am honest. The packaging is extremely plain black with white writing and stripe. Simplistic to say the least.

So what do I think about the mascara? Well its just ''Meh!'' I do not find my lashes to be any longer or voluminous. Its kind of just coats them and gives them a little lift. I usually find with a good mascara they make my eyes almost doll like with length. Texas Lash fails to do this and basically makes my lashes darker.

I have been using this for a day mascara as I do not want to waste the mascara and seen as they only have a 6 month shelf life I really hate to waste it. Cargo Cosmetics is available on the Debenhams website, the Texas Lash Mascara is 15 euro.

Tomorrow I will have a review of another mascara and I will have a comparison photo of the two mascaras in the post also.

NYC Big Bold Curl Mascara Review

What NYC had to say about the Mascara;

"No more games, it's time to get noticed!

Skyscraper high, outrageously thick and super sexy. NYC's Big Bold Curl mascara gives your lashes up to 12 times more volume and up to 99% more lift. One stroke multiples your lashes by up to 147%. There are no clumps, just full-on drama and turned-right-up impact. Lashes get curled from corner to corner."

Oh NYC no no no no no no no! Just no.

I got so excited last week when I made my first beauty purchase in months. It was my birthday so I decided treat myself to a few bits. One of them being the new NYC Mascara, I had not heard much about it but in saying that I have been out of the loop for a bit. Their stand was advertising the mascara big time and only had a handful left in stock so I thought why not sure it was only €3.50.

Now I am a firm believer in high street brands and they come out with some quality stuff at a fraction of the cost, unfortunately they can make a few mistakes also.

Cue NYC's newest mistake!

First lets start with the pros, it is not all bad. Well OK the cons way out way the pros but at least there is pros.

The packaging is stunning I love the green and purple/pink its very eye catching and sleek.

Also the shade I got 855 Extra Black and it is definitely is extremely black. Which I love in a mascara.

Freakishly big brush

Now for the cons;

The size of the brush scares the beejaysus out of me its bigger then my eye. I keep poking myself in the eye with it or rubbing it off my skin and ending up smudging black all over my newly done eye. It's impossible to get into your small lashes in the inner and outer corners of the eye.

The Clumps!!

The clumps oh the clumps! I have not had clumps on my lashes since the first ever mascara I had when I was 13 which was from the Maybelline mascara with green lid. When I look through my lashes I can see the black balls hanging off my lashes. EUGH!

Layer one: Some lashes joined together, hmmm wheres the curl? I know what I will do, I will put on a second layer and see what happens. Now look at picture below!

Now for the worst con of all and an extreme pet hate I have. It gives you spider lashes.

Aghhhh! Spider Lashes!

I dread to even attempt a third layer.

All in all I am extremely disappointed with this latest edition to the NYC range. There is no lift (maybe because the clumps are weighing the lashes down. The brush is too big to get from corner to corner. My lashes are definitely not 12 times voluminous. They definitely need to get back to the drawing board on this one.

A Little Something For Halloween! Black Widow Inspired!

This is a very quick and simple look I did the other day while I was playing with some makeup, its not perfect some of the details need tiding up but taught it was worth showing if some of you still need ideas for this All Hallows Eve!

Everything I used will be in your makeup bag already so no need to head out and buy new makeup and anything you may not have i.e purple lipstick just improvise with a different color, a red lip will look good here also.

Products used:

Face: Elf Flawless Finish Foundation in Porcelain

Essence Fix and Matte Powder in Translucent 

Contour: MUA Pressed Powder in Shade 4

Highlight: MAC Pigment in Vanilla

Eyes: Sleek pigment in Livid Lilac (light purple)

Sleek Pigment in Fantasy

Inglot Black Gel liner( also used for web and spider)

Lashes from Ebay

Lips:Liner MUA Eyeliner Pencil in Black

Inglot Lipstick in  Shade 282

Essence Clear Gloss

Hope your all having a great weekend!

A Nice Little Prize From Ms.Fluff and Fripperies!

About two weeks ago I was having a bit of a lucky streak and won not one but two competitions! One of them been from the lovely Emma from Fluff and Fripperies. The competition was over on her Facebook Page and it was just a like and share competition. So here is my prizes

Check out Emma's Cute Card!

Two Lovely NYC products, High Definition Separating Mascara and Liquid Lipshine 

The shade I got was 575 Brighton Beach Peach. Its a shimmery peach shade that applies sheer.

First thing I said when I saw it was this is going to be sticky, it says non sticky on the packaging but I was like YEAH Right! I was proved wrong no stickiness at all, very moisturising in fact. I will say the smell can be very sickly sweet but it goes away after a few minutes of applying it.

Next up is the High Definition Mascara, I have not own a mascara with a small wand in years, I am all about the volume and big brushes! But I recently got some spectacles and big volumised lashes do not work with glasses so this mascara is perfect!

As you can see it does exactly what it says on the tin! Separates and Defines, its not clumpy at all and has good staying power!

So thanks Emma for my lovely prizes!!

xx

OOTD- Wind Blown

Last week I was announcing the Irish summer on the blog as I said it lasts a week and then were back to crappy weather. Well its now snowing in parts of Ireland I know crazy rite? 

There was like gale force winds this morning so my very pretty doughnut bun got destroyed in the winds, so excuse the hair! Got a tripod for my new camera yesterday and I am still trying to figure it out hence the tilted pictures and still trying to figure out the camera hence the closed eyed pictures but I took a few and these showed the outfit best.

Top: Penneys

Grey string top(underneath): Forever21

High-waisted jeans: Vila

Scarf: Penneys

Sunglasses: Dunne Stores

Picked up this scarf for 1 euro during the week BARGAIN!

Another Bargain from Penneys got this at Christmas for 0.50cent

 This arrived on Monday I am so in love with it will hopefully have a haul up on Friday so I'll tell yous all about it then!

Face of the Day!

Mac Face and Body C1

Makeup Artelier Concealer Palette

MUA Pressed Powder Shade 4 (contour)

Rimmel Pressed Powder Clear Complexion in Transparent

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Eternal Gold

Inglot Gel Liner in 77

Avon Perfect Eyebrow Pencil in Blonde

Avon SuperExtend Extreme Mascara

17 Lip Pencil in Valentine

Maybelline Lipgloss in Freshly sliced

MUA Blusher in 2

March Favorites!

I am super sad to see March go one of my favorite months of the whole year for obvious reasons! I have a few favorites this month not all beauty related but I have been loving none the less!

Sorry for crap ipad photo ! All the other photos are taken with my fab new camera!

Say hello to my new badboy! My birthday presents from the rents, it was in no way a surprise I dropped some not so subtle hints i.e opened the Argos catalogue and said I want this one! There was a toss up of this and a camcorder but this not only records in HD but takes amazing pictures so this won hands down.

Sleek Rose Gold, I just can not express how I much I love this blush. Its gold flecks, vibrant coral/pink its just the perfect for spring summer. Its a 2 in 1 product gives you that flush of color of a blush and gold gives a nice highlight for the cheekbones aswell. I got mine from beautyemporium.ie for 7.00 euro

Soap and Glorys The Righteous Butter, I have been applying this every night and after showers and my skin is as smooth as a babies booty! Not only am I nice and smooth but it leaves a lovely fresh aroma behind. The great thing about this also is that the tub is huge so it lasts a good while, not sure how much it costs as I got it in the big splendor bag at Christmas but I know it does not break the bank and available at all Boots.

MAC Nikki Viva Glam, I have already done a blog post on this here, one thing I will say about it though, is it looks different on everyone! I have not seen it look the same on any other bloggers posts so you really have to try this out for yourself to see if it suits you. Also the color gets diluted in pictures and videos its much more vibrant in real life. 17.50 from all MAC counters.

Last but not least Avon's SuperExtend Extreme Mascara. I showcased this on the blog a few weeks ago (Here)before its release in brouchere 7 and since then it has blew up and it deserves all of its hype. Its my go to mascara and I will defiantly be repurchasing!

Avons dupe for Benefits They´re Real

As well as the nail polish, Avon's new Mascara arrived also. Introducing SuperExtend Extreme Mascara.

 Avon says it lengthens lashes up to 87% and does not flake clump or smudge micro precision brush captures even tiniest of lashes. First thing I noticed was the brush! Nearly identical to Benefits They´re Real mascara, the only difference is Avon´s brush is slightly squarer.

Picture sourced from magicmakeup.co.uk

As you know I worked for Benefit over Christmas, They´re would always sell out in a matter of hours anytime we got in a delivery. Women everywhere were crazy for the hype, and yes it is a nice mascara it did nothing spectacular for me.(I must be the only person in the world!) My mother blessed me with long lashes ( I am forever grateful), so with They´re Real in did not give me any more length. I will say it did work wonders on ladies with short lashes but I have seen regular cheaper mascaras do that also! One thing I did like though is its precision brush on the top it was great for getting in the inside corners and coating the bottom lashes easily.

Avons Brush

But look this brush has it also and its great for getting in them inner corners! I am pretty impressed with the mascara it coats the lashes nicely and gives them a nice curl its not clumpy or gloopy in any way. There is been no flaking or smudging so far.

No Flash

With Flash

As for the packaging its pretty basic which I like, just a solid yellow color and black writing. It would certainly be easy to find in your handbag!

SuperExtend Extreme Mascara will be launched in Brochure 7 at an introductory  price of €6.50 and will normally  be €13 thereafter. Benefits They´re Real is €24.50. 



You can order Avon from your local Representative , if you do not have one you can request one here!