Lancome Christmas Collection 2015 | La Palette 29 Faubourg Saint Honore Review

Hi Everyone!
Hope you all are well :)

It is finally December my favourite month of the year and I'm nothing short of over the moon. I could go on and on about why I love this time of year. My birthday is in December, I adore the lights, and the festivities in general. Also in the months of November and December two of my loves combine in the form of makeup Christmas Collections, which is what I'm talking to you about today.

At the beginning of November Lancome launched their Christmas Collection for 2015 and I was drooling over the range. In the collection there are some nail varnishes, a lipstick, a mascara, and a face powder but what really grabbed my attention was the eye and lip palette.

Prior to this palette I had never tried any makeup from Lancome so I suppose the range intrigued me in itself but I was very curious about the way in which the lip colours in the palette were stored. I'm yet to come across a single eye/lip combo palette that I have enjoyed. I just find they generally don't work. When you pick up a little eyeshadow on your brush 90% of the time you will have excess product in the pan. The problem then is having a cream product next to the eyeshadows, it usually ends with the two textures mixing which can be extremely inconvenient. Not to mention the aspect of cross-contamination!

However, that won't be the case with this palette as there is a swing lid which adds a layer of protection for the lip products. Such a simple concept but extremely effective!

For the price I had expected the palette to have been a little larger, I was slightly surprised when it arrived to be completely honest. 

The palette houses six eyeshadows, a hydrating lip base and two matte lip colours. There is a dual ended eye and lip brush contained in the palette and also a decent sized mirror. Stuck onto the mirror there is a step by step guide showing you how to create a day and night time look using the palette. The shadows and steps are numbered so it is very easy to follow, a great guide for beginners. Being that the palette is small and contains a brush and a mirror it is handy for on the go, especially if you need to top up the lipstick.

As you can see the eyeshadows are contained to the left hand side of the palette while the lip colours are towards the right.

Eyeshadow 1: Matte cream coloured shade

Eyeshadow 2: A shimmery golden coloured eyeshadow

Eyeshadow 3: A bronze shimmery eyeshadow

Eyeshadow 4: Slightly grey toned pink with a shimmer finish

Eyeshadow 5: Medium plum toned shade with a pearlescent finish

Eyeshadow 6: Dark purple eyeshadow with flecks of glitter running throughout

Lip A: Hydrating lip base

Lip B: Cherry red lipstick

Lip C: Burgundy lipstick

I rarely use the brushes that come with eyeshadow palettes because a lot of them generally aren't great. The limited edition Lancome palette comes with a dual ended eye and lip brush and it's pretty good! I love the angled eyeshadow brush it's great quality, nice and dense and packs eyeshadow onto the eye really well. It's also great for blending the edges of the eyeshadow to ensure no harsh lines.

The lip brush is also good, its not revolutionary but it gets the job done.

The only thing I feel that is missing from the palette is a dark matte shade to add depth to the eyes. I found the dark purple with the glitter in it a little too chunky and not ideal for creating depth. I just found the look too shimmery then overall. I would have preferred a matte black or brown eyeshadow in place of the hydrating lip base as I can't see myself using that too much.

Other than that its a really nice palette for creating a glamorous smokey eye. The lip colours in the palette compliment the eyeshadows nicely and when worn together I think they create a nice party ready look for the festive season...or for any season for that matter!

I've filmed a step by step tutorial showing you how to use the palette which includes all products in the palette! If you would like to see how I created the look then just click on the play button below :)

The Lancome Christmas Collection 2015 is available now at select counters in Debenhams and the La Palette 29 Faubourg Saint Honore will set you back €55. The range is limited edition for Christmas so if you see anything you like snap it up quickly!

Until next time :)

Eimear x

The Body Shop Ginger Sparkle Body Butter

Hey Everyone!

Hope you all are well :)

What feels like only yesterday, in November I picked up quite a few products in The Body Shop. Its hard to believe that we are heading into March already…where does the time go at all! Anyway, I decided to pop in after seeing some of my favourite bloggers blogging about the new ranges for Christmas 2013.

I had my eye on a few products from their posts so it was only natural that I went in and had a little sniff and swatch for myself.

In that visit I picked up the '4 Step Smokey Eye: Smokey Brown' eyeshadow palette and also the '101 Color Crush' lipstick, you can see those both in action here. When I went up to the counter to pay for my items the girl behind the counter told me if I spent 'X' amount more I could avail of the offer on the body butters. I think the offer could have been if you €30 or more in store you could get a body butter for €5.00! The Body Shop are known for their body butters, I adore them so at this price I couldn't pass up that offer.

I ended up picking up something really small like a nail buffer to make up the price difference and off I went to select my body butter.

The girl that was serving me brought me down to show me the range of butters that were on display. Before I even went to look at the butters I knew I wanted the Coconut one, I think its the only one I have ever purchased.

 I am obsessed.

However, after having a little sniff of some of the other butters I thought maybe just maybe I would try something different for a change.

I decided I would pick up one of the limited edition butters from the Christmas range. It didn't take me long to come to a decision, for me the ginger body butter stood out a mile! I popped back up to the till and paid for my items, I left the store bag in hand grinning like a Cheshire Cat. It was a good day :)

Can we all just take a second to appreciate how cute the packaging is?

I adore the little gingerbread man, massive thumbs up from me!

I was sold on this body butter before I even knew what it smelled like, damn packaging gets me every time!

If you are familiar with The Body Shops body butters you will know that they are thick and creamy body moisturizers that vary in texture. As I briefly mentioned above, this 'flavor' of body butter was limited edition for the festive season. Fingers crossed it will be back again for this Christmas because it absolutely divine.

The Ginger Sparkle Body Butter has a warm, rich, spicy ginger aroma to it…as the name suggests. On that point actually with regard to the sparkle I noticed little to none in my tub anyway. Sparkle or no sparkle though it didn't matter to me either way, I just love the scent and moisturizing properties haha!

Suitable for all skin types, I love how creamy and luxurious this butter is.

I always apply it at night time, after my shower I will slather a generous amount over my body. I have dry skin and it definitely hydrated my skin leaving it feeling silky smooth. I also love how the scent lingers on the skin, I could still smell the butter on my skin the next morning. I would say it lasts around a maximum of 10 hours on the skin which is amazing.

Coming into march now, I have been using it regularly since I bought it and its still going strong. I haven't even hit pan yet!

They may seem pricey upfront, but a little goes a long way so you really get value for your money with these body butters.

On the whole it was an amazing edition to the range.

Please bring it back again this Christmas *cheesy grin*

Were you lucky enough to pick up this butter when it was available?

What did you think of it :)

Eimear x

Festive Fun: Christmas Party Makeup

Hey Everyone!

Hope you all are well :)

Today I bring to you the very first of my Christmas makeup tutorials for the party season. Once December is upon us then I will decorate my YouTube background for the tutorials! I just couldn't bring myself to do it in....

 November

am I a grinch? oops!

Recently I popped into the Body Shop to check out their Christmas range and I came across the most beautiful eyeshadow palette, I just had to pick it up!

The shadows are simply perfect for the party season, anyone who is a fan of neutrals will get use out of it all year round...I know I will! 

Beside where the eyeshadow palettes were stocked there was a couple of red lipsticks on display, you can never have enough red lipsticks so I bought that too! No Christmas look is complete without a pop of red, right? :)

4 Step Smoky Eye: Smoky Brown

I will have a full review up of the palette once I play around with it a bit more but so far I adore it! Here is the look I created recently :)

The colours are so flattering on all eye colours in particular blue and the shimmer off the shadows is something gorgeous!

To finish off the look I used '101 Colour Crush' from the Body Shop. Its such a beautiful glossy shade of red and the staying power is fantastic, I can't fault it!

If you would like to see how I created this look then just click on the play button below :) Hope you guys enjoy!

Eimear x

Lush Secret Santa Review

Hey Everyone!

Hope you all are well :)

No no you are not seeing things, this is a Christmas post!

With todays post you could think I am starting really early, or I am a little late..

If you read my Lush haul you will know I picked this gorgeous little package up just before Christmas and I am just getting round to reviewing it now!

I must admit I bought this based on the packaging alone, what was inside I didn't really mind too much I just thought it was packaged so beautifully!

'Secret Santa' from Lush includes one bath bomb and a soap which retails at €8.95. Its an absolute bargain at that price and is an ideal Christmas gift!

I have only ever tried a couple of bath bombs from Lush so I am open to trying anything, they are yet to disappoint!

Included in this set is the 'Cinders Bath Ballistic' and the 

'Honey I Washed the Kids Soap'. Along with producing quirky packaging Lush have come up some with great names for their products.

I must admit as much as I was looking forward to trying out my goodies inside, I was dreading tearing the little santy wrapping...it had to be done. 

Least I have nice photographs of it :)

Another thing I love about Lush is the fact the attach these stickers to their products. These stickers show you who actually made your Lush item for you!

I think its just a really nice touch and makes the Lush experience a little more personal. As you can see my gift was hand packaged by Lekky's team, and boy did they do a great job. Super impressed!

Inside the cardboard box as you can see my goodies were well packaged,

I'm pleased to say there were no breakages. I didn't even have to open the box and already the smell of these delicious goodies was lingering in the air!

Included inside was an information leaflet as to what is actually inside your gift.

The little brochure includes an array of products that Lush has to offer along with all of the ingredients listed in these products.

This will be helpful to anyone who is new to Lush or anyone who enjoyed the gift they received and were interested in trying more from the range.

Already I have made a little list of things to pick up the next time I'm in town!

This will have devastating effects on my bank balance..

The cinders bath bomb is a warm fruity and spicy bath bomb that is ideal for Christmas as it gives off a mulled wine scent.

I gather the idea behind the Cinders bath bomb is to mimic that warm cozy feeling next to the fire, with the addition of the red crackling particles.

I'm not sure about the mulled wine, or the crackling for that matter as I did not hear any but I did pick up traces of vanilla and cinnamon which was absolutely gorgeous.

Unlike the other bath bomb 'Butterball' that I have tried from Lush, this one didn't fizz around the bath it merely sunk to the bottom and dissolved there.

It was actually kind of amusing to watch this one dissolve, it reminded me of honey comb and coral at times!

After it had completely dissolved I swooshed my hand around the bath to disperse the bath bomb throughout the entire bath. The water then had a yellow/orange tint to it.

I was a little disappointed as the scent of this bath bomb didn't last too long.

 Recently I cut my 'Honey I washed the Kids' soap in half, one half is lying proudly at the side of my basin the other in the shower. 

I love how the sweet smell of honey comb lingers on the skin which is why I've been using it as a body wash too.

With regard to the performance of the soap, it definitely didn't dry out my skin however it wasn't too moisturising either. Its quite average.

This was my first Lush gift set and I most certainly will return to purchase more, whether it be a treat for myself or a gift. They are simply too gorgeous to pass by!

Have you tried any sets or products from Lush?

Let me know! 

Talk soon:)

Eimear x

Kiss Me Under The Mistletoe

Hey Everyone!

Hope you all are well :)

Its 10 days until Christmas......are you excited, I am!

So today I have a very vibrant festive tutorial for you.

For my first Christmas tutorial of this year I decided to go all out.

Lashes, liner, lipstick..the works :)

You might have noticed in the video too I have a new background for Christmas.

The two snowmen I bought in Argos and I recycled the cobwebs from my Halloween tutorials. 

I took out the spiders and I'm now using it as snow haha!

Products Used:

Eyes 

Nyx Jumbo Pencil 'Milk'

Inglot Amc Shine 63

Inglot Amc 50

Inglot Matte 384

Inglot Amc 63

Nyx GOG17 Lime 'Glitter On The Go'

Nyx BEL06 Liquid Black Liner

Inglot Gel Liner Amc 77

New <id i-lash false eyelashes

Mally Beauty Volumizing Mascara

Face

Revlon Color Stay 200 Nude

Blank Canvas Cosmetics 6 Powder Contour Blush Palette

Lips

Bourjois Levres Contour 20 Rouge Soyeux 

Nyx LSS 511 Chaos 

If you would like to see the tutorial to this look, just click the play button below :)

Thanks a million for tuning in!

I'll see you in my next post :)

Eimear x