Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bons Palette | Review, Swatches and Tutorials

Hi Everyone!

Hope you all are well :)

At the beginning of this year I bought my very first Too Faced eyeshadow palette. The original Chocolate Bar had been on my wish list for the longest time and I'm so thrilled that I bit the bullet and picked it up last January, it's now one of my all time favourite palettes! You can imagine how excited I was then to receive another eyeshadow palette in the series of chocolate inspired palettes by the brand. I had very high hopes for the Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bons palette due to how much I loved the original so let's see how I got on!

The Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bons palette is the third eyeshadow palette of a series of chocolate inspired palettes by the brand. This palette follows the Chocolate Bar Palette as I have mentioned and the Semi Sweet Chocolate Palette which I am yet to try. This palette is similar to the original in the sense that there's a selection of neutral shades with pops of colour scattered throughout the palette along with the fact that the eyeshadows are infused with cocoa powder, hence the reasoning behind the name.

Unlike the other two palettes in the collection these eyeshadows are housed within a pink tin with a magnetic closure and there's a heart design on the front. Being that the shadows are enclosed within a tin you can be sure that the eyeshadows are well protected. The palette is very durable and ideal for travelling in my opinion. So now let's take a closer look at the shades!

Almond Truffle - Mauve toned eyeshadow with a matte finish

Satin Sheets - Pink toned highlight shade with a golden shimmer

Sprinkles - Light pink with gold shimmer, almost appears rose gold

Molasses Chip - Metallic copper/bronze shadow

Malted - Deep brown with red flecks, appears mostly matte on the skin

Cashew Chew - Light beige toned pink with a satin finish

Cotton Candy - Bubble gum pink with a frosty finish

Cafe au Lait - Golden taupe with a shimmer finish

Bordeaux - Matte red toned brown eyeshadow

Mocha - Warm toned medium brown

Blackcurrant - Deep plum/purple shade with pink and gold flecks. (A little on the chunky side but a nice shadow all the same)

Dark Truffle - Dark chocolate brown with shimmer finish

Pecan Praline - Matte light grey shade

Totally Fetch - Hot pink with shimmer finish

Earl Grey - Deep teal with shimmer. 

Divinity - Matte ivory eyeshadow

Swatches

L - R

(Almond Truffle, Satin Sheets, Sprinkles, Molasses Chip, Malted)

L - R

(Cashew Chew, Cotton Candy, Cafe au Lait, Bordeaux, Mocha, Blackcurrant)

L - R

(Dark Truffle, Pecan Praline, Totally Fetch, Earl Grey, Divinity)

There are sixteen eyeshadows included in this palette two of which are larger than the rest. Satin Sheets and Divinity work great as highlight shades and I love to use Divinity as a base all over my lid to give me a nice blank canvas to start out on. There's a nice range of colours to be found, the palette consists of a mix of cool and warm tones along with a variety of textures too, mattes, shimmers, and metallics all can be found in the palette. The eyeshadows are soft and buttery to the touch and they are very easy to blend. I really feel like Too Faced knock it out of the park when it comes to their eyeshadows, they are some of the best on the market.

I'm very pleased with this palette as a whole although I did note a couple of things about two eyeshadows in particular. Cashew Chew required a little more work than the other eyeshadows, the pigmentation just isn't great unless you apply layer upon layer. Earl Grey looks like a beautiful deep teal shade in the pan but it's a disappointing shadow for me because when applied to the lid it's more of a deep grey. Other than that though I've no issues with this palette, I think it's fantastic. I do prefer the original Chocolate Bar palette in terms of shade range but that's just personal preference :) 

I've linked two tutorials using the palette down below so feel free to check those out if you want to see the palette in action!

Tutorials

In terms of price and where to purchase, the Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bons Eyeshadow Palette retails at €47 and is available from Debenhams :)

Chat soon,

Eimear x

Sleek Lip VIP Lipstick Review and Swatches

Hi Everyone!
Hope you all are well :)

You may have noticed that I went on a little long blogging break recently and there are a couple of reasons as to why. Firstly, I've been up to my eyeballs planning and filming videos for my channel. Honestly it's unbelievable how much time my YouTube channel takes up especially now that I'm incorporating new content in the form of travel vlogs. The second reason is that honestly I just lost my mojo. I've been putting lots and lots of different products through their paces over the last little while though so I've plenty of reviews due to go live on the blog and I'm starting with something cheap and cheerful, Sleek Makeup's VIP Lipstick range!

Before we go any further I should probably state that this post will be picture heavy. I really missed that part of blogging in particular I absolutely love photographing products for the blog. Anyway, recently I was invited along to a blogger brunch in the Stone Leaf courtesy of Sleek MakeUP and at the event we got a sneak peek at the company's limited edition Autumn/Winter collection. During the event there was an exclusive demo from one of the brands UK makeup artists and afterwards we got a lovely goodie bag to go home with filled with products from their new range. I'm a huge lipstick lover and as a result they were the first products that I gravitated towards so let's have a closer look.

Private Booth 

Backstage

Show Off

Walk of Fame

Attitude

There are 12 shades in the range 5 of which I own but I can tell you now, I'll be adding more colours to my collection. All of the lipsticks glide onto the lips with ease due to their creamy nature. They leave a semi matte finish so great for those out there that have dry lips like myself but still want to wear a highly pigmented lip colour. I quite liked the sheen the lipsticks gave to my lips it made them look a little more plump which was a nice bonus! They are very comfortable to wear which is down to the nourishing ingredients the products are jam packed with, vitamin E, shea butter and coconut oil to name a few. I didn't have a problem with bleeding or smudging which sometimes can be an issue with lipsticks of a creamy nature but thankfully it wasn't the case this time. The only downside I noted was that if you have flaky lips like myself the lighter colours aren't very forgiving. It's not really an issue for me because the lighter colours wouldn't be ones that I would sport often, if at all so it's more so just something to note!

Packaging wise it's simplistic just how I like it. The lipsticks have a clear bottom meaning you can see the shade of the lip colour inside. If you have a drawer full of lipsticks like myself you'll appreciate this feature because it means you can easily locate a specific shade.

Overall I highly rate the VIP lipstick range. Sleek is available from pharmacies nationwide. Boots is the go-to spot for me and these lipsticks will set you back €7.49 a pop there! Steal or what :)

Chat soon,

Eimear x

Too Faced Chocolate Bar Eyeshadow Palette | Review, Swatches and Tutorials

Hey Everyone!

Hope you all are well :)

Today I'm reviewing an eyeshadow palette that I have not been able to put down since the start of this year. I knew after the first couple of times I used it that it was love but I was holding off reviewing the palette until I had uploaded a couple of tutorials using it first. That way you would be able to really get a feel for how the palette performs! The Two Faced Chocolate Bar Eyeshadow Palette is not new to the market I think it launched in 2013 but if you don't have it already and are a fan of neutrals it is well worth checking out!

There are 16 shadows included in the palette and all are made with real cocoa powder hence the sweet smell of chocolate that wafts from the shadows...yum! Not only do the shadows smell good apparently they also have anti ageing properties due to the fact that cocoa powder is jam packed full of antioxidants. I don't know about that claim now but check back in with me in about ten years and i'll update you on that one haha!

The packaging is shaped like a chocolate bar and not only is it fun but it's very sturdy too. After I filmed my first tutorial using this palette my subscribers brought to my attention that I in fact had the new version of the Chocolate Bar palette. Initially the names of the eyeshadows were listed on a plastic overlay opposed to printed on the palette itself, which is the case with the one in my possession. I actually wasn't aware that there had been a slight change to the packaging but I'm delighted there was. A plastic overlay is a bit inconvenient and I'd most likely have lost it within a week!

There is a nice array of colours and textures in this palette including neutrals, some pops of colour, mattes and shimmers! I'm a big fan of the quality of the eyeshadows in general. They are buttery, very easy to work with and last well on the eyes. I thought the pink and purple eyeshadows were random colours to add to the mix being that the rest of the shades gel really well together. The palette could have done without the pink shade 'Strawberry Bon Bon' and to be completely honest I wouldn't miss 'Candied Violet' either. These were the only eyeshadows in the palette that I felt were duds, they just simply lacked pigmentation. I had to swipe my finger in the pink shade numerous times in order for it to show up on my skin whereas the purple shade looked fantastic in a swatch but the colour payoff didn't transfer onto the eyes. Aside from those two eyeshadows in my eyes the palette is perfect. The pigmentation of the rest of the eyeshadows is phenomenal! 

Two shadows in the palette are larger than the rest which I also thought was a little bit peculiar, but I've found them to be multi purpose products so I won't complain! Along with using 'White Chocolate' and 'Champagne Truffle' on the eyes, I find they work well on the face also. I like to use Champagne Truffle along the cheekbones to add a glow to the skin and because I'm very pale I can get away with using White Chocolate as a matte highlight too.

Swatches

L - R

(Gilded Ganache, White Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Black Forest Truffle, Triple Fudge)

L - R 

(Salted Caramel, Marzipan, Semi-Sweet, Strawberry Bon Bon, Candied Violet, Amaretto)

L - R

(Hazelnut, Crème Brulee, Haute Chocolate, Cherry Cordial, Champagne Truffle)

Tutorials

The first look I created using the palette was this gorgeous golden brown smokey eye. To see how I achieved the look just click on the play button below!

The final look I created was a burgundy smokey eye..my weakness! Again, if you would like to see how I achieved that look just click on the play button below.

The Too Faced Chocolate Bar Eyeshadow Palette retails for €47 and despite the two dud eyeshadows in the palette I still think it is well worth the money. I haven't put it down since I purchased it! Too Faced products are available from Debenhams and if you are interested in picking up the palette you can do so here.

Until next time!
Eimear x

Nía Intensive Luxury Creamy Shower Mousse Review

Hi Everyone!

Hope you all are well :)

I'm a big believer in buying and supporting Irish. I'm always on the look out for home-grown makeup and beauty companies in particular, and Nía is a relatively new one to me! Nía was founded by Celia O'Grady, a skin care expert with over 30 years experience in the field. Nía products are hand made in Limerick using Irish ingredients where possible and all products used are 100% natural.

I received their intensive luxury shower cream mousse in my goodie bag at the IBY meet up back in August. I hadn't heard of the brand prior to that day so I was delighted to be introduced to a new Irish skincare company.

I don't recall ever using a shower mousse before so I was excited to see what was in store! I had pretty much fallen in love with the product before I had even used it just based on the scent alone. Honestly, the fragrance is simply divine. This creamy mousse is infused with ingredients such as:

• Aloe Vera
• Coconut Oil
• Honey
• Vitamin C and
• Orange Oil

In the pot the product has a thick balm like consistency but once it comes into contact with water it becomes much more creamy in texture. A little goes a long way with this product, I find that you only need a small scoop because the mousse forms a nice foamy lather when worked into the skin.

My eczema has been quite bad over the last 6 months, the worst it has been in years and I'm finding it hard to come across in shower products that don't further irritate my skin. It's been a bit of a trial and error process over the last little while but I'm delighted to report that this is one of the products that suits! The mousse leaves my skin feeling rather soft and I love how the fresh scent lingers on the skin after the shower. 

A little pricey at €14.95 but as I said a little goes a long way. For me, for something that actually helps soothe my skin it's worth every penny. I'm almost at the bottom of my tub so it won't be long before I order another!

If you are interested in checking out this product or others from the range you can do so by clicking here.

Hope you all are having a wonderful Monday!

Chat soon,

Eimear x

Hourglass Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick 'Ballet' Swatches and Review

Hey Everyone!

Hope you all are well :)

Ever since I tried out one of theBalm Meet Matte Hughes Liquid Lipsticks I've fallen in love with the idea of liquid lipsticks and I have been itching to try out some from other brands ever since! Recently when I was browsing through the beauty section in TK Maxx (how unlike me) I spotted this Hourglass product. I literally couldn't believe my eyes, I had never seen anything like this in there before. Tk Maxx is my all time favourite place for beauty bargains and this was one I just couldn't resist. €9 I paid for this particular liquid lipstick I kid you not. Even though I wasn't hugely pushed on the colour sure I couldn't leave it there for that price! Any excuse haha!

First of all I was actually surprised by how small the product actually was, particularly for the RRP. The packaging is really cute though, the liquid lipstick comes in this gorgeous metallic bronze tube and it's nice and slim so very suitable for popping in your hand bag for top ups when you're on the go. There is a doe foot applicator inside the tube and this one is unlike any other I've used before. It is extremely flimsy therefore it bends when you are applying the product to your lips making it very hard to apply an even layer of the liquid lipstick. I'm not sure if this is just a problem with my particular one or if the applicators are of poor quality in general. To apply the lipstick I need to transfer the product from the applicator onto a lip brush and then apply it that way instead.

The only shade on the shelf was 'Ballet' which is a dusty pink colour. Not a colour I would often wear but it is a nice colour to wear especially the Spring/Summer months.

Freshly swatched it looks like it is a liquid lipstick that has a semi matte finish to it but after about 30 seconds the product sets completely matte.

After applying one coat of the liquid lipstick I noticed it didn't apply too evenly you definitely need two coats to build it up the colour and to give a nice even coverage to the lips. With two coats of the product I was very happy with the opacity and the wear time? Phenomenal. It didn't really transfer onto cups when I was drinking or onto food when I was eating which is usually the way with any lipstick that I apply. I didn't use a lipliner and I had no issues with bleeding thankfully, as that is a big pet peeve of mine. Hourglass claim that this lipstick has a 14 hour wear time, but I'm not sure about that now. I didn't wear the lipstick for 14 hours but I did sport the colour for 8. Around the 8 to 9 hour mark the product started to crumble and flake on the inner parts of my top and bottom lip. That was when I felt I needed to reapply!

The lipstick is very comfortable to wear and I didn't find it dried my lips out more than they already were. When you press your lips together they will feel ever so slightly tacky, not sticky though which I was delighted about.

It is a pretty price to pay for such a small product. I found the Hourglass Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipsticks on the UK Space NK website for £23 a pop. There are 9 other shades in the collection and in saying that I have already got my eye on another 2 in the range, Empress and Icon. The temptation is strong ladies and gents!

Until next time,

Eimear x

Lush Intergalactic Bath Bomb Review

Hi Everyone!
Hope you all are well :)

In my last Lush related post I had said that it had been a while since I had the time to flake out and have a bath but I'm making it my mission to start having some 'me' time once again! I'm going to review the Lush Intergalactic bath bomb for you today and this absolutely amazing product has been sitting in my unit since last October, a complete and utter sin I know. Last Thursday I stayed in the Radisson Blu St Helens Hotel and I popped this in my bag to bring with me. There is nothing I love more than having a long soak in the bath, especially if it's in a hotel. I don't know what it is I can't explain why, all I know is it's always just pure bliss haha!

Intergalactic is probably one of the most interesting looking bath bombs that I have picked up from Lush to date. It completely lives up to its same, just look at the wonderful array of colours it boasts!

The description that accompanies this bath bomb is as follows:

"Ground control to major bomb. Prepare for take off as this awesome mix of peppermint and popping candy explodes in your bath creating a scent of an intergalactic 80's rogue. Launch it into the water to become the guardian of your own galaxy."

Intergalactic contains peppermint oil, grapefruit oil, vetivert oil, and cedarwood oil. The only scent from that list that I am not familiar with is vetivert oil but out of the four oils contained in this bath bomb the peppermint oil was definitely the most prominent scent.

Rather than trying to explain how this bath bomb performs I'm just going to let the pictures do the majority of the talking!

This bath bomb is a fizzer, it shoots and spins quickly making its way around the bath as it dissolves. As it's dissolving the bath bomb releases a rainbow of colours from pinks to greens to blues to yellows! It really is quite magical to watch.

Once the bath bomb has finished dissolving the bath water will have transformed into the most beautiful shade of blue. The other colours don't fade completely though you can still see them in the foamy layer that lies on top of the water. I didn't realise that this was going to be a glittery bath bomb or at least not to this extent. This bath bomb fills the water with gorgeous golden brown glitter particles which reminds me of the stars in the galaxy. A nice touch to this galaxy inspired bath bomb!

I love this bath bomb to pieces and it's one I know that i'll purchase time and time again. Not only for how it makes the bath look but also for how it left my skin feeling, it felt really soft and hydrated. The only other thing that I will say about this is that the glitter leaves behind a residue in the bath so make sure to rinse the bath afterwards as it will be easier to clean then!

I can't remember exactly how much this particular bath bomb was but I think it was around the €5 mark! Lush products are available from Lush stores nationwide :)

Until next time!

Eimear x

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