New necklace

Last week I took advantage of the http://www.accessoriesonline.co.uk/ 30% off flash sale for twitter followers. I had browsed the site before and had a good idea of what I fancied. I picked out this Alex Monroe necklace. It is a little Reed warbler bird in a gold hoop and I love it. I think my addiction to this site and their jewellery has started. I've worn it a couple of times this week and had so many compliments on how pretty it is. It goes with anything! If you haven't had a look at this website I would urge you to have a look you wont be disappointed! Also follow them on twitter and you will be kept in the loop about sales and discounts as they often just release a discount code on twitter - @Accessories_uk

Revlon Equave 2 phase!

As my hair is coloured and highlighted I always like to use something after I wash and condition it before styling it. In an attempt to make it more managable. I have tried many products over the years with one of my favourites being kerastase resistance ciment anti-usure "smoothing care for lenghts and ends", this is a brilliant product which always leaves my hair smooth and tangle free. I also feel that I am somehow protecting my hair (even a little bit) from the blowdrying and straightening! I normally purchase this in my local salon but it is quite expensive so when I finished my last tube of it I felt like a change (so did my purse). But first I used up all the scraps and ends of bottles and samples of serums, lotions and potions I had lying around!!!

I returned to my chi silk infusion and then Biosilk but I don't find the results great at all. I have to be so light handed or after a day my hair was greasy and very unkempt looking at the back!!

On Friday I had a revelation a true light-bulb moment. I was thinking back to what I used on my hair around the time I was getting married, as my hair was in tip top condition as I gave it so much tlc!! I remembered a product I used religiously and one that I loved! Revlon Equave.

I went to sallys with the Revlon Equave 2 phase green bottle in mind. This is a leave in liquid conditioner with two parts that you shake together and spray all over your hair. I love the smell of this, its fresh and summery and has a grapefruit smell (says grape and green tea on the bottle tho!) I always used this on holidays too, I would spray my hair before hitting the beach and either tie it up or cover with a scarf and in the evening wash it out and style my hair as normal - it always made a huge differnce to me and I never suffered from discolouration or parched hair in the sun.

Anyhow on Friday I couldn't find my beloved green bottle in Sally's but I did spy a purple version called "perfect blonde conditioner". The jargon says "It detangles,repairs and moisturises the capillary fiber, leaving it shiny and silky. Its active illuminating ingredients neutralixe the yellowish tone of blonde, bleached highlighted or gray hair." It was around €10 so works out at about half the price of the kerestaste for me!

I tried it on my hair this morning and the results are truly fantastic! I remember why I loved this product so much all those years back and can't quite believe I neglected it for so long!

My hair was silky smooth and tangle free all day, even when I was out all afternoon in a fair breeze! I have just washed my hair for a second time today (after exercise, not normally this ocd about hair!) and once again my hair is like silk! My hair does have a tendancy to go straw like if I over-style it or if I've been out in the elements but this product seems to be working its magic!

Next time your in Sally's check it out. They also have shampoos and conditioners in the same Revlon Equave range, so I may have to go back and try those. If you don't have blonde hair then definately try the green one and they also have a special orange version for hair exposed to sun so that will be a holiday essential for me!

Saturday's Outfit!

On Saturday we had a family celebration as my niece made her First Holy Communion! Thanks to all who helped me decide on my final outfit, shoes etc. Here's how it looked:

I couldn't really get a decent full length picture, I was trying to my Dad to take me and my little man but he has just learned to walk and won't stand still for a second!! You get the idea though!

Here is the little lady herself in full swing!!!!

We had a fabulous day - it is at times like this that I always feel we should get together more as a family, but then I think maybe that's why these days are so special because we don't do it all the time!!!

Illsmasqua makeup lesson!

I had a makeup lesson today at Illamasqua! The brilliant part of it is that they record the lesson and you get to take it home to recreate the look at home! How many times have I had makeup applied or lessons only to forget all those little tips as soon as I walk out the door swinging my little bag of goodies!!

Before:

I had a sneak preview of the Illamasqua range in Dublin a couple of weeks ago, where I picked up a cream foundation inCF215. I actually went in to buy the rich foundation as Mizzworthy and Saskia the salsa fairy spoke so highly of it but the girl assured me that it would be far too heavy for me and hard to work with if you have oily skin (I do!) so I was happy enough to go for the cream foundation. I have been trying this out and loving it. I have actually worn it everyday since I got it and for me that is praise indeed as normally I swap my foundations on a near daily basis.
Anyway on to the makeover or should I say makeunder! I felt like I was meeting pod from the show Snog, marry, avoid, as the girl told me I did not need so much foundation and that I was probably applying too much (says she with her face caked in the stuff!!!) Anyhow I was probably her worst nightmare as I wanted her to do a fairly basic everyday look and I am always convinced that these makeup girls want to experiment with splashes of colour and drama! I just feel that if I am going to buy these products and actually get use out of them I am better off buying wearable colours. I mean there is no point in her working her magic with a rainbow of colours because I have to go be happy to recreate the look everyday. I did promise her that I will return and give her free reign to let her imagination and colour palette run wild - lashes the lot!!!

I really enjoyed the lesson and the makeup artist was really easy to talk to and really built up my confidence in applying my makeup especially my eyes and my buffing technique (or lack of!!). I did feel under a bit of pressure as she did one side and I had to do the other side each step of the way! Here I am in action filling in my eyebrows:

The finished look was quite simple and really is what I asked for an everday look, she did show me how to deepen the eye colour to add a bit of drama to change this look into a night time look!

Here's what she used:

• Matt Primer (along my t-zone)
• Satin primer (on rest of face)
• Cream foundation in cf215
• Undereye concealer in uc210
• concealer in cc210

On the eyes:

• Slink all over and as a highlight
• Trollop (what a name) a gorgeous coral colour in the crease
• Bronx in the outter v
• Tango to deepen the look for night time
• Sorceress eye pencil to line eyes
• Eye brow cake in Motto

Cheeks:

• Rude cream blush

lips:

• Rude cream blush with clear gloss

What I bought:

• Sirens bronzing duo in glint and burnished
• small powder brush (works like a mac 109)
• rude blusher
• matt primer

I loved how the satin primer made my skin look so dewy but she recommended I go for the Matt primer as I complained of my makeup sliding off my face throughout the day.

Rude is the most gorgeous cheek colour. I always use a powder blush but I love this cream one and love how versatile it is, it can be used on lips and eyes too!

The brushes are all to die for. I got the small powder brush that I use to buff in my foundation it can be used in the same way as the mac 109 but I prefer this as there is zero shedding!! I will definately be building up a collection of illamasqua brushes as they are gorgeous, just so soft!

I have yet to try the bronzer duo from the sirens collection. I went for the lighter of the two bronzers called glint & burnished. There is a highligher on one side and a bronzer on the other!

That's it from me, my illamasqua experience was a very positive one and I appreciated that the makeup artist did exactly what I asked for and didn't push me into doing an ott look! I was happy with the goodies I bought and will definately be buying more! I can see a new obsession starting already. Oh dear watch out......

Shoes shoes and more shoes!

In my last post I asked for some advice on shoes and accessories to go with this dress http://allmadeup-av.blogspot.com/ for tomorrow's family occassion! I had a quick rummage through my shoe collection (must do some photos of this) and found these:

This pair have never been worn (hanging my head in shame!!!).

Which ones should I opt for????

First Holy Communion

Tomorrow my little niece Abigail is making her First Holy Communion! This has turned into a huge deal in Ireland with people trying to outdo each other with dresses, cakes, entertainment and even invitations! Thankfully we have a very small family and we like to keep these occassions immediate family only! So tomorrow we will all attend the mass - where she is doing a reading (will be such an awwwwhhh moment!) and then we are heading for a family dinner to a nice hotel.

My delima is this, I have the dress and the cardi (its lashing rain and cold here today so assuming cardi will be essential!!) but I have no bag and no shoes! I refuse to buy a bag and shoes especially for the occassion as I could sell shoes to Imelda Marcos!! I just need some help deciding what colour, style etc to go for! Any ideas on bags, shoes and indeed jewellery would be much appreciated!

I will take plenty of photos tomm of my final ensemble and maybe even one of the young lady herself in all her (mini-bridal) glory!!!!

Recent Purchases!!

I have been very good on the makeup front lately, as in not buying much at all. I have realised (for a while anyway) that I have loads of makeup, there is only so much you can wear and I want to start really using up what I have. I am not on a complete makeup ban so don't shoot me if I go out at the weekend and hit Illamasqua!! To supplement my lack of makeup buying I have been investing my time and money in some new clothes, accessories and shoes! I have rediscovered my love of fashion and I am enjoying planning what I will wear each day to work!!! Amazing how the little things can make me so happy.......

I blogged about these a few weeks ago, I initially saw these shoes on the topshop website and fell in love with them. I couldn't justify the 100+ euro price tag (£70) though! Then JD sent me a msg on twitter to saw that she saw my shoes in the sale and they were half price. I rang my nearest store in Newry (just over the border ) and got them to hold them for me. A steal at £35!!! I am yet to wear them, but plan on pairing them with a long top and skinny jeans!

I picked up this top in River Island, having seen it on the website. It is listed as a dress but to me ans with legs like mine it is a top!! I absolutely love the bird print!! I will be wearing this with a white vest underneath and with skinny jeans, navy leggings or treggings (as dressjunkie calls those jean/legging things) and a pair of ballet flats.
I picked up this dress in Dunnes Stores. It was 25 euro but with a 10euro off voucher I got it for 15!! I love the shape of these type of dresses and thankfully this one is not very short.

I got this orange dress and chain in River Island too. The colour of the dress really stood out to me and I think it will be gorgeous with a tan! I am not sure whether to wear this with a belt or to just leave it as it is. I plan to wear this here over skinny jeans with my new heels and on holidays with gladiator sandals as a dress.

I picked up this stripy dress in Primark for about £4 if I remember correctly. Am already planning my holiday wardrobe! Thought this would be fab to sling on over a bikin heading to the beach or for a walk or with some flipflops in the evening to go for dinner!


I bought both of these bangles in oasis. I love the peach set as they go with so much of my wardrobe and seem to give any outfit a lift. I love the chunky black and gold one and will get so much wear out of this one too!!

Hair Growth Progress!

Like many girls on here and on twitter at the minute I am desperately trying to grow my hair at the minute. I have been doing a combination of things:

1. Not getting my hair cut (hasn't been cut since Christmas)




2. using Lee Stafford for hair that won't go past a certain length cream about twice a week




3. taking Perfectil for skin hair and nails every day.

As for not getting my hair cut my hair is longer but in shabby shape. I am booked in tomorrow to have it cut. Now you may ask why am I cutting it if I am trying to let it grow??? Good question indeed! My side fringe has got way too long and the layers at the back need to be cut and I am going to get a pinch off the ends to get rid of the scraggly split ends. I just feel my hair needs a bit of shape as when I blow dry it there is no real style in it.

The Lee stafford product its hard to tell if it is making a differnce but it smells good and feels nice so why not. The perfectil I have used before and swear by it. My skin is in great condition at the moment so much so that I am ditching my heavy foundations in favour of a tinted moisturiser, my nails are also growing like wildfire so I assume my hair is growing too!

Here is a picture of my hair taken in December just before Christmas and underneath a picture of it today:

Bob Dylan - I'm converted!!

Last night we went to see Bob Dylan in concert in the O2 arena in Dublin. My husband is a HUGE Dylan fan and I am not! I got him these tickets as part of his Christmas present so he has been really looking forward to it for ages & ages. I am not a fan of Dylan - the main reason being that my Husband goes through phases of listening to nothing but Dylan for about a week and to me his music is just so moany and down, there is nothing uplifting at all about it. He just strikes me as a miserable git!! Don't strike me down just yet for being a complete philistine!!!

Last night completely changed my mind! His concert was actually quite good!! Don't get me wrong I will not now be going around sporting his t-shirt or buying his albums (we have them all anyway!!) but I think I just won't mind so much when his music is on. He played last night with his band and they rocked, literally rocked. His music seems to have taken a recent enough turn to the uplifting side and this is a welcome change in my books. I probably only knew about 4 or 5 of the 20 or so songs he played last night, like Blowing in the wind, Highway 61, Like a rolling stone, and All along the watchtower! I have to say I went with an open mind and was pleasantly surprised. At least now I can say i've seen a legend and he wasn't half bad!

He is still a miserable git though - he never uttered one word, but sure hey, thats Dylan!!!

Bronze Goddess

Ever since seeng Pixiwoo's video on the Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess collection I have been dying to get my hands on some of it! The Bronze Goddess look is absolutely everything I LOVE about makeup - dewy bronze skin, nude lips, and a pop of blue - it spells SUMMER to me and I am all about the Summer I love how good my skin looks when tanned, I love the feel of the sun on my skin and I love letting my skin breathe!!

I was thrilled to see the collection hit my local Debenhams last weekend having had to wait while others could shop at house of fraser! Having heard a few mixed reports of the eyeshadow pallette (thanks for your honesty dressjunkie!) I decided to give it a miss although I do love the colours I'm fairly sure that the colours are dupable. I picked up three things - the first being the bonze goddess liquid bronzer. I have used this in two different ways so far I mixed it with my foundation in the hope of creating a dewy bronzed goddess - the results were ok nothing special. The next day I applied it as a bronzer, dabbing it on my cheeks and down my nose, chin and forehead and buffing it in with a mac 109 brush, I love the effect it gives and the colour is gorgeous! I look forward to using this product on holidays alone over a natural tan!

The next thing I picked up was the duo eyeliner pencil in aquateal, this is gorgeous and I have been using them almost daily to line my waterline and to give just a pop of colour with a fairly nude eye!

Finally on my second visit to Debenhams (yes I had to back to get this!!) I picked up the Bronze Goddess skinscent one word AMAZING!!! This smell just reminds me of holidays. It smells of coconut and yummy stuff (I'm so descriptive). It doesn't last all day so I find myself spritzing it on about 3 times during the day, so I am fairly getting through this already but it definately will be the scent to get me right through the summer!

I also wanted the nude lipgloss from this collection but they were out of stock, so I will hopefully pick this up this weekend. Also has anybody tried the blusher/bronzer yet I tried some on in the shop but am not sure, any quick reviews would be brilliant!!!

p.s. I bought Laura Mercier oil free tinted moisturiser yesterday and wore it for the first time today. My initial reaction is its gorgeous, my skin only wayyyy nicer. Will try it for another couple of days then post a review and pics here.

Outfit of the day.

Today there was a hint of summer in the air so I decided to add a hint of summer to my wardrobe!

My top is from Dorothy perkins as is the red belt. The jeans are from Pennys (primark) and the shoes are from River island. The red hairband I have had forever and don't even know where it came from!!!

On the makeup front: I have mac studio scultp foundation on, Estee Lauder bronze goddess liquid bronzer and blush (just tried this in debenhams today but didn't purchase - yet!), On my eyes, shroom all over the lid and urban decay adored (navy blue) on outer v and crease both blended up to the lid with macs kid. I have the double ended Estee Lauder blue pencil on my lower lash line! Lips are au natural!!!

Friday treats.

Yummy..... enjoying some Friday night r&r with a beer and some snack a jacks (tasty but low fat!!)

Do you think if they see this they might send me some free beer and crisps to test out????

Outfit of the day!

I absolutely love these posts and love seeing what people wear as clothes are probably my first love (I know even before makeup). So I have decided to do one every so often (obviously just on the days I look semi-decent, not tracksuit days!!)

Today I wore dark blue skinny jeans from pennys as we call it here in Ireland (primark). They were only 13euro, they do look pretty awful at the top but as I intend to only wear them with long tops they are absolutely fine and do the job perfectly!

My shirt is also from pennys and underneath is a really long white vest from zara. The brown belt is from River Island as are the flat boots and the mac is from an Irish chain called awear!

My bangles are also from pennys and were only 2euro, they do look a bit skimpy so I may go back to buy another one or two sets to bulk them up and for that price why not!!

The reason behind the boots is this, on Tuesday I wore sandals for the very first time this year to work. I have a thing about wearing sandals too early - I just think they look daft before the summer has really set in. Well Tuesday morning was so gorgeous I decided to take the plunge, to my horror it started to rain around lunch time and I felt daft trotting around with my toes out. so this morning we had serious rain so the boots came out and of course the sun came out this avo and I looked daft again trotting around in boots. I just can't win. Calm down weather please my feet don't know whats going on!!!! Phew....

Didn't go to specsavers!!!

No I didn't go to specsavers and boy am I glad! I went online and saved myself an absoloute fortune. I bought my prescription glassess from http://www.wantglasses.co.uk/ and they are truly excellent, I couldn't fault their serivce at all. I was told it could take up to 28 days to deliver my new specs but they arrived today after only a week!! Yay....

I was a little bit aprehensive opening them as I wondered would I still love them as much as when I first tried them on and would they have gotten my prescription right and would I even be able to see out of them but they are perfect! - it was months ago!! But yes I do love them. They are very different from what I've ever had before but I think I can just about get away with them.

My husband is my harshest critic (in a caring way - I think!!) and I couldn't wait to hear what he had to say.... he loves them, thinks they're very cool and says they make my face look "skinny or something" well hey that's good enough for me!!!

These are the new specs I'll be rocking...

Excuse the goofy photos and funky sticky up hair!!!