Holly & Helen's contest!!

Holly and Hele's contest entry:

Scarlett - what were you thinking with those black eyebrows!!!

This was wayyyy harder than I thought! It took me at least an hour to come up with this look and I'm still not thrilled with it but then me and scarlett - not exactly in the same league! You just gotta work with what you were given!!

On my face:

I started with mac prep and prime.

Then, mac strobe cream to create a dewy base. I mixed some more of this with my foundation, mac studio sculpt in nc25 plus concealer in nc20!

I used some benefit Powderflage under my eyes as scarlett has no black circles to camoflage unlike me!!!

Next I wenk bezerk with prestige pure shimmer highlighter basically putting it all over my face!

Next was mac emote blush to contour.

Then on the cheeks I started with msf in blonde then petticoat but none of these had that pinky cheek look so I settled on a touch of stark naked on the apples of my cheeks like scarlett.

On my eyes:

I started with mac rubenesque paint pot all over my lid and under my lower lash line.

Then I applied amber lights all over the lid and in the inner corners and dragged a bit under my lower lash line.

Then I applied some naked lunch up to the brow for just a hint of colour.

I lost the plot with mac smoulder kohl in black, lining my upper and lower waterline, my lids and about 2/3 of my lower lash line.

Next it was shiseido mascara base on top and bottom lashes then a couple of coats of covergirl volume exact.

Eyebrows - boot polish!!! Only joking just some more mac smoulder eye kohl!! Why scarlett???

On my lips:

I lined them with The body shop clover pink lip pencil.

Then I used mac syrup, then Viva glam v - hard to get a good match!!!

And just for good measure - a beauty spot penciled in!!!

My favourite perfume!

When I thought of doing this blog I was going to write about one perfume but I really couldn't seperate between 2 so this should really read my 2 favourite perfumes!

I do own quite a few perfumes chanel allure, Vera Wang, Gorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren - Romance.....

But there are two perfumes that I just cannot get past. Every time I wear either one I always get a comment on them and people are always asking me "What perfume is that?'. I just had a thought - maybe they do that because I have too much on, ah well so what!!!

The first is Mont Blanc Presence. I found this as the girl who used to do my nails always wore this and I loved it and like that she said she always got comments on it. I bought a small bottle when I was on holiday and have since bought it about 3 more times.

The second one is Victor & Rolf Flowerbomb. This perfume is AMAZING!!! In Ireland it is only sold in a couple of places and it is quite expensive but I buy it at the duty free and its a good bit cheaper. I also have the body lotion as I was once told a good tip. In Summer you should change from a perfume to a body lotion and apply it after you shower all over, then the smell is more subtle and lingers all day - plus it saves your precious perfume as its cheaper!!!

I am rubbish at describing smells, so I won't even go there, but the next time your at the perfume counter look out for these two. I guarantee you'll fall in love!

p.s. A little tip I always keep my perfume in the box, as someone once told me that exposure to the sunlight makes your perfume less fragrant and runs out more quickly due to evaporation - makes sense really!!!

***** Now I tag you all to do a post on your favourite perfume!!

6 Things that make me happy!!

Thanks Saskia for the Tag was thrilled to see my name there!!!

Forgive me in advance if this post makes you reach for a bucket, I do get a bit sentimental at times and reading it back I am a bit gushing but I'm just being honest my family are what genuinely makes me happy!!!!

1. Without a shadow of a doubt in the whole world the thing that makes me happiest is my son Donovan. He is growing up so fast and becoming a really independent little man. Every day he makes me laugh as he crawls around and attempts to stand on his wobbly legs!! He is the most curious little fella and always has his nose in everything!! I never actually imagined I could love another living thing quite as much as I love him and it amazes me!!!






2. My husband. Put simply I don't know how he puts up with me!!!! I met Donnach when I was 20 and have really just grown up with him. We were together almost 7 years before we got engaged and have now been married for almost 4!! It's funny because after all that time you would think feelings would change and people would grow apart but in fact over time the opposite has happened - I feel the same if not more now than I did then!





3. The Sun (not the tacky newspaper). As I was born in July I blame that for my love of Summer and the sun. I really do think I suffer from SADS as I only feel alive and vibrant in the Summertime.
   
   
4. Travelling. I love visiting new places and this brings me so much hapiness. I get excited just packing my suitcase and hitting the dutyfree nevermind actually getting there!!! I love the excitement of exploring a new place (especially if its sunny!!). I'm only on the plane home and I'm already dreaming up my next place to visit.







5. Going out. I love nothing more than getting glammed up taking my time getting ready and having a glass or 2 of bubbly (cava i'm afraid!!) and hitting the tiles!!! I'm not much of a dancer and don't really do nightclubs but I love going to our local pubs and checking out the fashion and enjoying a few drinks. I also love going to see a band or to a concert. My favourite night out would be a nice meal with friends, followed by cocktails in a late disco bar. Unfortunately though since no.1 has come along the frequency of my outings has been somewhat curtailed but it just means when I do go our I appreciate it all the more!!!






6. My family. I am at my happiest when I am surrounded by my immediate family, ie my son, hubby and my parents, my brothers my sister and their kids. I love a good family occasion when we all get together!!! I am especially close to my parents and think I would be completely lost without them. I actually appreciate them more now that I have my own son, I can now understand and get a better insight into just how much they must love me!!
   

Nars Hula hula up for Swaps any takers.....

Anyone intersted in a swap???? I bought this as I loved the colours but its a bit too sparkly for me. Will swap it for other nars or mac. Ha look at www.slapswap.com and www.swapsiesuk.co.uk details of how to swap are there. Such a shame as it has such potential - just isn't for me though but will be perfect for someone else!!!!

Rant & New Shoes!!!

Went shopping today and was literally dragged out of Debenhams by my husband I was just about to buy my much coveted Dior Blackout when he declared I had enough makeup in fact I think his words were you have too much makeup!! I spent the next 5 mins explaining in a not so rational fashion that makeup is my hobby I love it and I use it all every day! Just as his hobby involves running around a field after a ball 4 nights a week mine is makeup. Lets just say I was sufficiently huffed that I wouldn't satisfy him to buy it then - talk about cutting off your nose.....

Anyway in conclusion to my little rant he informed my I have a PROBLEM with makeup eh hello answer me can you ever have too much makeup?????????

I ended up spending my cash on a pair of shoes instead - like I don't have enough of those already!!!! There was 15 pounds off so they felt like a bit of a bargain and were lovely with my jeans!

My Hello Kitty Wishlist

Hello Kitty - the more I see the less I want! I hate that we have to wait weeks after the US for the latest Mac collections to be released. To begin with I wanted everything from this collection but as time has gone on and the longer we've had to wait the less I like!
So here is my list and I'm sure in the week or so this will have to be dwindled down a bit more as funds or lack of dictates!!!

• Tippy blusher


• Fun and Games blusher


• Pink fish tinted lip conditioner


• Tahitian sand beauty powder (don't really want this powder just want the compact)


• Sweet Strawberry lipgloss


• Srayin' lipstick


• The 3 brushes
  

I am not interested in any of the eyeshadow palettes or the glitters or pigments!!! Thank God think I have more than enough on this list!!

Face of the Day

Ok so I still have not quite figured out how best to photograph my face to get the best light etc. Does anyone else have this problem with their photos in some of them I just look like i'm not wearing any makeup and trust me I am - a lot!!! Let me know how you guys do it!

Anyway today I tried out my sample of chanel Pro Lumiere - iv'e seen pixiwoo using this in her videos and also Hele from Hele says uses it so when at the Chanel counter I asked for a sample. (by the way they are sooooo stingy with samples if I worked at a counter I'd be happy to give away loads!!) My inital impression of this foundation is WOW its amazing I think this may be the foundation I have been searching for..... will keep you posted.

Here were my next steps:

Face:

Mac powder in Nc25

Fix+ sparayed all over face

Nars laguna bronzer

Nars Albatross highlighter

Mac Cream colour base in Crushed boungevilla

Eyes:

too faced shadow insurance

mac 100 strokes all over lid

mac french cuff in crease

mac flip up to brow

mac teddy eye kohl

sheisido mascara base

covergirl volume exact mascara

Lips:

barry m lip paint in 129

mac ever so rich lipgloss

Barry M 129!!!

I was totally dubious about the whole "Lavender lips look", and didn't want to commit to buying the mac laveder whip as I couldn't cope with another waste of money item. I decided to pick up the Barry m lip paint in 129 just to see would it suit me and if not sure I can cope with wasting 4 pounds!!

Above, is the 129 on its own and below is with the ever so rich gloss on top!

I couldn't believe it I actually love this!! On its own it does look a bit wow!! but I pair it with my new cream team lipgloss Ever so rich and this combination = Love!!!!

Chanel nails take 2!!!

Hi all, I got my nails done tonight and brought my own polish to the beautician - my new chanel vandetta!

I was complaining about how my polish always chips and never last more than a day or two and my beautician said I should get a layer of acrylic painted on top of my polish. She reckons it will last about 2 weeks and that to get it off I just soak it in acetone!!

Result finally nice nails for 2 weeks and no nasty damage to my real nails because the acrylic doesnt have to be filed off like with the full set of acrylics. I love it!!!

(p.s.) just a quick word on the polish - I was really excited to get this as it looks so gorgeous in the bottle a beautiful purple with sparkles, but on my nails after 2 coats it just looks like any other dark almost black colour - a tad disappointing!! My advice, don't bother!

Swapping Fantastic!!!

I've been flat out swapping in the last week or two and am loving it!!! It's guilt free shopping getting rid of your unwanted and gaining something new to play with:

I had 4 very successful swaps this week and I am so thrilled with my new goodies and I can't wait to try them out!

First off yesterday I got two dazzledusts from the lovely Laura in 39 a gorgeous sand colour and 88 a beautiful plum colour.

Next I got an Emanuel Ungaro cream colour base in Crushed Bougainvillea from Oh Makeup and although this is quite a vibrant deep pink I think it will be gorgeous in the Summer as a blusher. Although I did try this out today applying it with a 187 brush on my cheeks and it doesn't look quite as scary on as it does in the pan!

Today I recieved two more parcels one from Magpie Sparkles and got two more mac goodies - a lipgloss in Prrr and a shimmer blush in Sunbasque both delicious!!

Finally I got a mac lipstick in lightly ripe.

Thank you all for swapping your gorgeous goodies with me and lets keep all that unwanted makeup flowing......

What I'm using right now Tag!!!

Hi all, its been soooooo long since i've blogged - I seem to be really lacking in inspiration lately!! My no more buying new makeup pack until hello kitty has put a stop to my buying but I am enjoying experimenting with the makeup I have!! I can't get round to taking pics as by the time my hubby gets home from work my face is past its best before date lol!!

I hereby state that I am going to try to blog more, especially with fotd or eye makeup as those are the blogs I enjoy most!!!

I was out walking today and came up with an idea for a tag - really its just a list of all the current products I am using and I ask you to do the same. It will be fun to see what everyone uses, so here goes:

MY CURRENT EVERYDAY HOLY GRAIL PRODUCTS:

Shampoo: Aveda pure abundance shampoo

Condtioner: Aveda pure abundance conditioner

Styling products: Redken 01

Shower Gel: Dove Supreme cream oil

Body moisturiser: The body shop body butter

Deodrant: Sure Cotton fresh

Fake Tan: Lancome Flash bronzer mousse

Cleanser: Biore cleansing wipes - have got so lazy re cleansing!!!
Eye makeup remover: Baby Oil

Exfoliator: Murad Aba/bha exfoliating cleanser (sample I got)

Primer: Ysl Top secrets

Foundation: Mac studio sculpt in nc 25

Foundation brush: Mac 109

Concealer: Mac studio sculpt in nc 20

Powder: Mac msf natural in medium

Blusher: Nars sin

Bronzer: Nars Laguna bronzer


Highlighter: Mac cream colour base in pearl

Eyeshadow base: Too faced shadow insurance

Eyeshadows: Fig 1 & Saddle together = love!!

Eyeliner: Mac Kohl in Teddy

Eyelash curler: sephora own brand gold eyelash curler

Eyelash base: Sheisido mascara base

Mascara: Covergirl volume exact

Lipstick: Mac Creme cup

Lipgloss: Mac Icescape

Nail Colour: Chanel Vendetta

Ok anyone and everyone should do this tag but I tag Laura, Mizzworthy, Dressjunkie, Hele and Holly, Olivia, Kerry1487, Bubblegarm, panda, Kerry marie, M*shellers, Magpie sparkles, J's Blog, Amyyox, Happy 1234...... and everyone else I forgot please do it..

Budget Hair Highlights

My nephew's girlfriend is training in hairdressing at the moment and asked me would I be her model for classes tonight. To say I was a little bit aprehensive is an understatement. But to be honest my hair needed doing and in these hard times the idea of getting it done at under half the price I normally pay was too good to pass up!


To my delight I was treated like royalty and got great expert advice colourwise from the top stylist. I told her i wanted more caramel, honey tones in my hair and to get away from the brassy blonde tones. They use Redken colours and I just can't believe the shine she managed to get from my hair - it has literally never had a real shine to it, as any of you with blonde hair will know its almost impossible to get a good shine!


I am so happy with the results I actually think that I am going to start going to this salon as my current salon is very expensive and I feel that they have gotten over familiar with me and that i don't get the same advice or time to discuss my needs. They just whack on the same colour that I always get and it sometimes feels like I'm on a conveyor belt and when you are forking out over 100 euro for the privelidge you want to get what your paying for. Ok rant over!!!! I think you get the message - I love my new hair colour!

Update

I haven't been blogging much lately but I have been really busy doing nothing!

Anyway an update on the teeth whitening - gave up after 3 days but plan to start again tomorrow. I did notice a difference in my teeth but they had become quite sensitive. I gave them a miss over the weekend as I was out on Saturday for lunch with my college friends and this lunch turned into a session of wine and cocktails!! Yesterday was a bit of a washout so am finally catching up on my blog!

I got my nails painted and filed on Saturday as I had an hour to kill before meeting the girls. It was a nails inc. nail bar and I thought they were very good. I loved the colour I choose too - a beautiful very dark navy with a sparkle. I'm pretty sure it was called Sabotage. I sort of regret not buying the polish and have since looked it up on the net and can't find it. I would appreciate if anyone has a similar colour to this they could recommend to me.

I did manage to break my no makeup rule and bought a Chanel nail varnish I have been trying to track down. It's from the new Spring 09 collection and is a very deep purple. It's called vendetta and I can't wait to try it out - once the Sabotage comes off!

CVS Brushes

I have heard great reviews of a range of brushes called Essense of Beauty that can be bought in a drugstore in the US called CVS. I went for the eyeshadow brushes as I am very happy with the face brushes I use from Mac. I do find that the mac eye brushes are a bit too big for my small lid space and had been looking out for some smaller brushes.

So far I have found these brushes to be brilliant, there has been absolutely no shedding and they are just small enough to work for me and to allow me to be more accurate in where I want to apply my colour!

These brushes are very reasonably priced ranging from around $4 - $7. I got 4 brushes in all.

The first one is a dual ended Smokey-wide brush. It has a fattish end for applying shadow over the lid and the other end is like a stiffer 219 pencil brush so a great brush for creating that easy smokey eye look.

The next brush I got is just an eye-shadow brush, it is bigger than a 239 but is so soft and seems to apply a wash of colour much easier for me than the 239.

Finally I got 2 crease brushes that came together in a pack. They are basically the same brush but one is smaller than the other. One is like the 219 pencil brush and the other one is even smaller again. I love these two brushes they make crease work so much easier!

All the brushes are short handled which is so handy for travelling or carrying around with you. These brushes have now replaced my mac brushes (perhaps temporarily) for applying my eyemakeup!

ps The pics are not great quality, and I should have photoed them next to the mac brushes so you could see the comparison