Showing posts with label Glow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Glow. Show all posts

Monday, 22 February 2016

Cocoa Brown Golden Goddess Shimmering Dry Oil Review

Hi Everyone!
Hope you all are well :)

As a huge fan of Cocoa Brown I was very excited to hear that another new product was being added to their ever expanding range. This product hit the shelves towards the end of 2015 and despite spotting it in Penneys on the day of its release I didn't purchase until a few weeks ago. The reason being was that I basically had a 'derp' moment more about that later on though!


I have only used one other dry oil prior to this one which was the Tan Organic Dry Oil, I have reviewed that here if you are interested in reading a little more about that. The Cocoa Brown one is a completely different type of oil in my opinion. It is jam packed with golden shimmer particles and for that reason I would only wear it on my face and body, unlike the Tan Organic one which I would also use in my hair, in the bath, etc. One doesn't replace the other! 
I've always been curious about the Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Gold Shimmer Oil after hearing so many people raving about it. It's a product I never purchased though purely because of its price point so it was nice to see a budget alternative burst onto the market!


Before Christmas I was up in Dublin attending an event and before I got the bus home I decided that I would quickly run into Penneys to pick up some lashes. While I was in there I spotted the Golden Goddess Dry Oil. There were loads of bottles sitting on the shelf and about 90% of them looked like the bottle in the photo above. I was a bit confused and I didn't know if they were testers or if the bottles were only half full but I didn't investigate further as I was pressed for time and ending up leaving without purchasing one. Not long after that I was scrolling through Twitter and I noticed that some people were just as puzzled as I was with the amount of product in the bottle. Cocoa Brown reassured users that you just needed to give the bottle a little shake and it was good to go. Still confused by it all I decided to put the product to the back of my mind and  I thought no more of it. That was until I was watching Marissa's Snapchat and she shed some light on it all. Side note, if you are not following her on Snapchat you need to, her handle is @CarterMarissa. On hearing Marissa's explanation I felt like the biggest eejit to grace the planet, I had never used a product like this before so go easy on me haha!


In a nutshell Marissa explained that the bottle is full to the brim with oil and then half filled with the golden shimmer. It is formulated in this way to allow the shimmer to disperse through the oil, if that makes sense. That's why you need to give the product a good shake before you use it so that the shimmer and oil will combine. Once you do that the product will look something like this!


The Cocoa Brown Golden Goddess Shimmering Dry Oil is designed to give an illuminating glow to the skin. As well as being used to give an all over radiant glow to the skin it can be used to highlight certain areas too. I like to use this product along the tops of my cheek bones, down the centre of my legs and to the décolletage area.



I'm really happy that there is pump because it makes dispensing the product very easy to do and you don't have to worry about accidentally pouring out too much and wasting product. In the above photos I have applied one pump off the dry oil to the back of my hand and then I have smoothened it out slightly so that you can see the effect it gives.


Finally then in this above photo I have spread the oil up my arm to show you the kind of sheen it gives to the skin. A little goes a very long way with this product so keep that in mind. One pump is more than enough to do my whole arm if I want to give an all over shimmery look to the skin. If I want to highlight down the centre of my legs then one pump is sufficient to achieve this effect and for adding a glow to the tops of the cheeks bones I find that half a pea sized amount of product will do the job.


The oil isn't greasy, it dries quickly, it doesn't transfer onto clothing and like the rest of the range it is scented with Cocoa Browns signature tahitian gardenia scent.

I'm very very pale so I like to wear this product when I have fake tan on. My favourite place to apply the oil is to the tops of my cheekbones but I've noticed a couple of things in doing so. If applied straight on top of foundation I've found that the oil caused my foundation to break down and separate but prior to this I loved how the oil looked on the skin and I was determined to make it work. Firstly, I apply foundation to my face avoiding the tops of my cheek bones. Then with whatever product is left on my brush I lightly buff over the tops of the cheeks just so I don't have a stark contrast between where I have applied the foundation and where I haven't. I then pat a small amount of the dry oil onto the cheekbones and that's it. I find that because I have such a light amount of foundation on the area that the oil doesn't cause it to breakdown. Not sure if anyone else has encountered this problem but that is how I make it work for myself!

Overall I'm really happy with the latest addition to the Cocoa Brown range, as usual you are getting great value for your money! The Golden Goddess Oil is available in Penneys and pharmacies nationwide. It retails for €11.95 although I think I paid €9.95 for it in Penneys. It is a little dearer in the independent pharmacies so if you want to save yourself a couple of bob check out Penneys!

Until next time!
Eimear x









Wednesday, 20 January 2016

theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer Swatches and Review

Hi Everyone!
Hope you all are well :)

My first product from theBalm was the Mary-Lou Manizer and I have built up quite the collection since that purchase. I can't remember if it was in 2013 or 2014 that Mary-Lou took the YouTube and Blogging worlds by storm, all I do know is that I couldn't read a blog post or click into a beauty video without someone mentioning the product in some shape or form. From previous posts on products that have been hyped into oblivion you will know that I don't purchase these particular products straight away. I finally did decide to purchase Mary-Lou though, probably around a year after the product first came to light (heh heh heh). I was hoping that despite all of the buzz around the product that I wouldn't be disappointed, I had very very high expectations!


Aside from hype, what initially lured me into theBalm's products was their funky packaging. The retro theme reminded me of Benefits style of packaging or even Soap and Glory's now that I think of it. It's cute, fun, and very well designed.


You get a huge amount of product in the pan, 8.5grams to be exact and you only need the smallest amount of product on your brush to get the job done. For both of those reasons I thought I would never have to repurchase this highlighter, I just couldn't imagine finishing it! The packaging itself feels like good quality. It's nice and sturdy and the lid makes a click noise when closing so you will know when the lid is closed down properly. There is also a big mirror in the compact making it convenient for travelling purposes.


The highlighter is finally milled and the texture is buttery smooth, I love how easily the product blends out. It doesn't matter if I use my fingers or a brush to apply the product I always get a flawless sheen to my skin. If you want a hardcore highlight well then this is the product for you. It is a soft champagne shade that when applied gives a gorgeous golden sheen to the skin. I'd definitely say this particular highlighter is suitable for all skin tones. However, if you aren't keen on the hue this highlighter gives, there are two other shades in the range to choose from.


Does it live up to the hype? I'll admit yes it does, 1000%. This to me is definitely a holy grail product. If you haven't tried Mary-Lou and you are looking for a highly pigmented highlighter that give a gorgeous sheen without being chunky and overly glittery well then Mary-Lou is the gal for you!


I like to dust the highlighter mainly along the tops of my cheekbones, on the tip of my nose, underneath the arch of my brow and sometimes to cupids bow. Mary-Lou is the kind of highlighter that is so strong in pigment yet you will only see it gleam on the skin when the light hits it. You can see from the photos below just how glorious it is, I'm obsessed!



The only problem I had with this product was that it shattered in the pan. I didn't drop the highlighter or let it bang off a surface. After about a month of using Mary-Lou it just cracked in the pan. I haven't heard anyone else talking about this problem so I'm not sure if I was just a bit unlucky but it was annoying. I probably would have had my Mary-Lou for life if that hadn't of happened because there is just so much product in the pan haha! When mine shattered I ended up losing a lot of the product every time I opened and closed the lid, it was all just a bit too messy so I repurchased.

Aside from that blip though I'm still thrilled with my purchase and can't sing the products praises enough. It will set you back €20.50 and is available online from Cloud10Beauty.com here, or the Make Up For Ever store on Clarendon St in Dublin are now stocking theBalm so worth checking out if you are in town!

Until next time :)
Eimear x

Monday, 23 June 2014

MUA Undress Your Skin Shimmer Highlighter

Hey Everyone!
Hope you all are well and enjoying the fine weather :)


Highlighters are the one makeup product I hoard…well, thats a bit of a lie actually I hoard a lot of products but in particular highlighters. I'm very fussy and unfortunately I am yet to find one that blows me away.
The problem is I usually find that some highlighters are too pink toned, some are too golden toned, some are too shimmery, some are non existent on the skin and the list goes on. I'm not fussy at all am I? haha! So lets see how todays bargain buy shapes up :)


A few months ago while on my stay down in Wexford, I was out and about in the town and came across a Superdrug. I didn't actually know there was a Superdrug in Wexford so you can imagine my delight. The closest one to myself is up in Tallaght so its a little bit of a journey and for that reason I've only been once. The excitement quickly faded once I realized this particular Superdrug didn't stock Sleek MakeUP but I still had an MUA stand, not too disastrous overall. Both times that I have been in Superdrug the MUA stand has been quite poorly stocked but I managed to pick up a few cheeky purchases all the same. One of which is this gorgeous little highlighter here!


The MUA Undress Your Skin Highlighter is a gorgeous champagne highlighter that gives a pinky pearlescent shimmer to the skin. The product is housed within a white plastic container with a clear lid, very simple nothing flashy. With the addition of the clear lid and the beautiful embossed design of the highlighter this will be one product you'll be proud to whip out of your handbag for touch ups. I adore it however I am quite the sucker for packaging. I wasn't expecting much durability wise (klutz alert) but I have dropped this product several times and its still in one piece…pheeew!


With regard to the product itself I'm very impressed with the finish it gives on the skin especially for the price! In the picture above I swiped my finger over the product once and transferred it onto the back of my hand. It gives a beautiful subtle glow to the skin, perfect for every day use! However this product can be layered, when it is built up the pink particles are much more apparent which I think some people would prefer to wear as part of a night out makeup look.
The product lasts extremely well on the skin, between 7 and 8 hours for myself. This bargain buy set me back €2.20 as it was on offer at the time. It currently retails at just £3.00 over on the MUA site which you can find here.
Have I found my holy grail highlighter? No, unfortunately I am still on the search but I can't fault this product its definitely one of best in my collection. If you are looking for a budget friendly highlighter I'd highly recommend giving this guy a go, you won't be disappointed!

Bargain Hunter Byrne strikes again :D
What are your favourite highlighters? Let me know!
Eimear x