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

Sleek MakeUp Face Form Contouring & Blush Palette 'Light' Review

Hi Everyone!

Hope you all are well :)

Recently I was up in the Dundrum Shopping Centre having a little browse around and one of the places I stopped into was Boots. The Boots up in Dundrum stocks Sleek MakeUp so I was really excited about going in and having a look at the range. I usually buy my Sleek products online as there isn't a counter near me but I prefer to be able to swatch the products in a store before I buy. That way I can get a better idea of what products might work for me and what ones may not. 

There are always offers on in Boots and the day I ventured in there was a 2 for €14 sticker across all of the Sleek MakeUp range. Depending on what you picked up you could save yourself a good few euro. To give you an idea I could have picked up their 7 piece brush (€16.99) and this contour kit (€13.49) for €14 giving me a saving of....€16.48 pretty decent huh! 

In the end though I picked up the Sleek MakeUp iDivine Storm Eyeshadow palette along with the Face Form Kit, as one of my subscribers over on my YouTube channel wanted to see some more eye makeup looks using the Sleek range. 

If you have been a follower of my blog or YouTube channel for any length of time it probably comes as no surprise that I picked up a face product from the brand. My all time favourite contour kit is Sleek's Face Contour Kit in the shade 'Light'. I reviewed that a few years ago so if you missed that post you can read it here. I'm also a massive fan of their blushes, I've reviewed the ones I own here, so it only seemed fitting to pick up a product that combined my two loves.

The Sleek MakeUp Face Form Contouring & Blush Palette comes in four shades:

• Fair
• Light
• Medium
• Dark

Being that I pretty much already owned the light face form kit, I had intended on picking up the kit in the medium or dark shade. Unfortunately Boots didn't stock the dark shade in the Dundrum store and I changed my mind once I laid eyes on the medium kit. Not because I didn't like that particular kit, that wasn't the case at all it was more so to do with the products included in the kit.

What I mean by that is, in the 'fair' and 'light' kits there is a contour shade, a highlighter, and blush included. While in the 'medium' and 'dark' kits there is a contour shade, a highlighter, and a bronzer included. 

I knew I wouldn't get the full use out of the 'medium' kit because the only time I would wear a bronzer like the one in the kit is when I'm tanned and that is only on special occasions. I pondered for a few minutes over the 'fair' kit but decided in the end to go for 'light' shade. 

The contour and highlight shade are the same products that are in face contour kit 'light' and I'm almost certain the blush in this kit is sold as an individual blush called 'Rose Gold'. I own both of those products which is why I said I pretty much own this face form kit already but despite that I still bought it. I figured it was just handy to have all three products in one palette, perfect for on the go! Plus I would probably have been repurchasing my face contour kit in the next little while anyway so now I don't have to.

The contour shade in this palette is one of the only contour colours that I enjoy wearing on my skin. If you have pale skin it can be hard to find a contouring shade that isn't too warm toned, I find a lot of contour shades can appear quite grubby on paler skin tones. This product is a cool brown and works like a charm. If I want very sculpted cheeks which is usually the case, I take my Sigma Small Contour F05 and apply the product whereas if I wanted to just add a bit of colour to the face I would use it on a larger, less dense brush such as the Sigma Large Angled Contour F40. I've a full video on my favourite face brushes and their uses if you're curious! You can find that here.

The highlight shade is also very flattering on the skin, when the light hits the points where you have applied the product it gives off such a gorgeous glow. It isn't overly glittery it just gives a nice subtle sheen to the skin.

The blush in the palette will suit all skin tones but I think the blush will be the deciding factor for people of whether to buy or not. The blush is a pink/rose shade and has golden shimmery flecks running throughout. If you are not a fan of shimmery blushes then this may be a little off putting. If this is the case I would suggest to only apply the contour shade and the blush, the blush has enough shimmer in it to double up nicely as a highlighter on the cheeks too if you sweep it from the apples of your cheeks back towards your hairline. The blush is very pigmented so pick up a little product, tap off the excess and begin to apply to the cheeks. Keep adding product little by little until you are pleased with the level of intensity.

As you can see from the swatches below each of the three products in the palette are highly pigmented. They are also smooth in texture making them very easy to work with. 

I lightly applied the trio to my skin to give you an idea of how the products perform. I have the contour shade in the hollows of my cheeks, the blusher just off the apples of my cheeks and the highlighter along the tops of my cheekbones. 

Definitely one to pick up if you are in the market for an affordable contour kit, you really can't go wrong with this one!

Chat soon :)

Eimear x

Seventeen Define & Conquer Contour Kit 'Fair'

Hey Everyone!

Hope you all are well :)

Around this time last year Seventeen released their 'Define & Conquer Contour Kit'. I remember scrolling down Twitter and I spotted blogger after blogger talking about this product. Initially I wasn't pushed, I thought it looked nice but I was happy with the contour kit I was using at that time. Later on that day I was on Twitter and I saw yet another post about the contour kit but this time, I was sold. What sold me was this picture that Dee and Sinead from Viva Adonis shared.

In the picture you can see the Seventeen Contour Kit on the left sat next to a Nars product, I'm assuming it was a contour and highlighting kit too. The reason I don't know is because I'm not familiar with Nars products and that's purely because of their price point. Nars isn't a budget brand by any means so when I saw this side by side picture and the resemblance was striking....well I needed to go out and buy the budget alternative didn't I?

When I got to Boots I headed straight for the Seventeen stand, eyes peeled. This kit comes in two shades, fair and medium. I wanted to pick this up for everyday wear so I was looking out for the shade 'fair', which at first was nowhere to be seen. The row on display containing the fair kits was completely out of stock, much to my disappointment. 

After standing there aimlessly for a couple of minutes trying to figure out how not to make this a wasted journey....out of the corner of my eye, I spotted one. Some sneaky little person had hidden the last kit among the shimmer bricks on the stand. Delighted with myself off I skipped to the till, kit in hand. Success!

The packaging ticks all the boxes for me. Its black and white, instant love for me. The casing isn't too big and bulky so its ideal for traveling. It also contains a large mirror, again making it perfect for on the go!

I have been using the Sleek MakeUP Contour Kit in the shade 'Light' for a few years now. I absolutely adore that kit and use it religiously, I have a review up already if your interested which you can catch here. I couldn't wait to see how the Seventeen kit would perform next to the Sleek one as that costs less than a tenner also. Boy oh boy, I love a good budget buy.

If you are new to the world of contouring and highlighting this Seventeen kit is a good place to start. First of all its affordable, its priced at just €8.49 in Boots. The kit also comes with a handy step by step guide to shaping and sculpting the face again, making it good for beginners. Finally, the shades in the kit are matte so if contouring and highlighting doesn't work out for you, the products can be used for other purposes. For instance, if you didn't want to use the contour shade to define areas of the face you could use it to define the crease of the eye or as an eyeshadow all over the lid. The highlight shade in the kit could also be used to set foundation in place. Either way I think it's worth spending the money on, you'll get use out of the palette one way or another for sure!

The texture of the powders isn't bad, they are not really chalky or too powdery which is great. Another thing I noticed is that when you dip your brush into either of the two powders you don't get a lot of excess powder lying in the pan.

The above picture is from a tutorial that I posted on my YouTube channel almost exactly a year ago and in it I'm wearing the Seventeen contour and highlighter. I haven't worn the two shades together since. The reason being, personally I find the contour shade in the palette to be too warm toned for my colouring. 

If you want to see the product in action just click on the play button below! I start using the kit around 3.57, if you don't want to skip through the rest of the tutorial :)

On the other hand, I adore the highlight shade in the kit. I use it every single day as a face powder to set my foundation in place and I also use it beneath my contour to further define my cheekbones. If I have a little tan on I like to use the highlight shade to set the concealer underneath my eyes and that also highlights and brightens that area. 

I used the highlight shade for these purposes in one of my more recent video's so if you would like to see it in action you can skip to 4.23!

Hopefully between the two video's you'll get a good feel for how the product performs. Even though I don't enjoy the contour powder in the palette for its intended purpose, I do like to use it as an eyeshadow so it doesn't go to waste. I've repurchased this palette a couple of times now solely for the highlight shade, I just couldn't be without it!

Have you tried the contour kit?

If so, let me know what you thought of it!

Chat soon :)

Eimear x

Ziaja Marine Algae Micellar Cleansing Water Review

Hey Everyone!

Hope you all are well :)

For as long as I can remember I have always used a product in some shape or form to pre cleanse my skin. Sometimes it might have been a makeup wipe other times it might have been a specific type of cleanser but over the last year or so I have been using cleansing waters. The first cleansing water I tried out was the Garnier Micellar Water and I absolutely adored it. It worked really well at removing the bulk of my makeup prior to cleansing and it is reasonably priced too so win-win. 

A few months ago while waiting for an event to start myself an Anita from Adorn.ie were chatting away about products, as us beauty bloggers love to do and she kindly gave me one of her spare bottles of the Ziaja Marine Algae Micellar Cleansing Water. Up until that point I had only tried the Garnier cleansing water so I was looking forward to putting this one to the test especially as Ziaja products are nice and affordable too!

As the name suggests, the Ziaja Micellar Cleansing water belongs to the company's Marine Algae line of products which is best suited to those who are 30+ or those who have dry & normal skin types. My skin is very sensitive and I've always suffered with dehydration and patches of dryness too. More recently though my skin is becoming a little oily around my nose and chin while remaining very dry elsewhere on my face. Even though I'm more of a combination skin type now I still think this product works really well with my skin. The cleanser contains algae funnily enough and is packed with provitamin b5. It aims to prevent dehydration and sooth skin irritations. What I love in particular though is that it is fragrance free which suits my sensitive skin to a tee!

I soak two cotton pads in the water and then I begin sweeping the pads around my face to remove my makeup. I start with the face makeup and it does a fantastic job at removing the top layer of foundation off of my skin. Once I'm satisfied with the face I move onto the eyes and it does equally as good a job at breaking down and removing eye makeup. When that step is complete I'm ready to move on to deep cleansing my skin!

One big difference I noted between this cleansing water and the Garnier cleansing water is that the Ziaja one doesn't leave a residue on the skin. Other than that there isn't much more I can say about this product, it does what it sets out to do and I'm very pleased with it!

The Ziaja Marine Algae Micellar Cleansing Water costs €4.49 so if you see it stocked in a pharmacy near you give it a go. It's inexpensive and works a treat!

Until next time :)

Eimear x

Physicians Formula Bronze Booster Season to Season Bronzer

Hey Everyone!

Hope you all are well :)

In the past I have been lucky enough to have been able to get my little mitts on Physicians Formula makeup. My friend Louise had sent me over some various bits and pieces from the States which I'm ever so grateful for! Other than the odd bronzer here and there in TK Maxx, Physicians Formula wasn't available to use ladies and gents here in Ireland……until now. >:)

I was luckier again to have been invited to the Physicians Formula Launch party in the Morrison Hotel last month. The room was filled with delicious treats, buzzing beauty bloggers and an array of makeup products…what more could you want? I had my makeup done on the night using different products from the range which was great as I was able to try out products that I might not have picked up otherwise. We got a lovely little goody bag to take home and todays review is of one of those products, 'Bronze Booster Season to Season Bronzer'.

I'm a huge fan of bronzer and contouring products, they give such a gorgeous finish to the skin. My makeup routine in the morning wouldn't be complete without that step! However, for myself finding a bronzer that isn't too orange toned and that suits my complexion can be difficult at times. My holy grail product had been the Sleek MakeUP Contour Kit 'light' (review here) but recently I had found myself wanting to try something new, something different!

As the name of the product suggests, this bronzer features a shade for each season. My favourite thing about this product is the fact that you can customize your shade of bronzer. You can wear each of the shades individually or swirl them all together! Physicians Formula stock this product in 'Light-to-Medium' and 'Medium-to-Dark'. The one I own is the 'Light-to-Medium', personally I think this compact is best suited to someone who has a pale complexion like myself. 

The shades range from light, medium to dark so they are perfect for bronzing up the skin…no orange tones in sight! I love that I can still get use out of this while wearing a little bit of tan too, if I am wearing tan i'll bronze up my skin using the 'Summer' shade in the compact. Between the two different compacts there is a shade in there that will suit everyone!

The little gold circle you see in the centre can be used as a face highlighter which looks exceptionally lovely if paired with the 'Summer' shade of bronzer, the combination of the two shades gives such a gorgeous glow to the skin. The texture of the product is quite smooth making it very easy to work with, it blends like a dream.

Just underneath the bronzer, the compact opens to reveal a mirror and a brush so its perfect for on the go touch ups. The brush is a nice addition, its soft and does apply product well. However I prefer to use a smaller more precise brush for applying my contour/bronzer so I won't get much use out of it on a daily basis but it is handy to have on the go!

If you would like to see the product in action you can click the play button above and skip to the 3 minute mark :)

This product retails for €19.90 which is more than I would usually pay for a bronzer but its worth every cent, i'll definitely be repurchasing once I run out.

As of 1st June 2014, Physicians Formula is stocked in pharmacies nationwide.

Have you tried any of the Physicians Formula range? Let me know ^.^

Eimear x

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

Coconut Oil: The Benefits

Hey Everyone!

Hope you all are well :)

Lately I have been using Coconut Oil for everything, and yes I mean everything. Coconut Oil offers a myriad of benefits and the brilliant thing about it is its affordable, easy to get and its 100% natural.

I have listed below my 8 favourite uses of Coconut Oil, so next time your in a health food store or even your local supermarket…pick it up and give it a go!

You won't regret it :)

1. Hair Treatment: This is probably the one I use the most, its definitely my favourite anyway! I like to use the Coconut Oil as a super conditioner/hair treatment. I apply it to dry hair focusing mainly on the ends and then massage whatever is left onto my scalp. Once you have the hair coated, you can leave it in as long as you desire. For a more intense treatment you can always put a shower hat or plastic bag over your hair and leave it over night. All you have to do then is pop in the shower, shampoo and condition as normal. Your hair will feel so silky afterwards and smell gorgeous too!
2. Lip Balm: Last year in Dealz I picked up a few boxes of pill organizers so I could depot my lipsticks into them and save space in storage. The great thing about the ones I picked up was that because they are plastic you can snap sections off. I took about a teaspoon or so of coconut oil, heated it slightly, placed it into the container and left it in the fridge to harden. Not a necessary step, I just wanted the coconut oil to take the shape of the container, once that is complete you have your very own lip balm. I pop the container in my bag so I can moisturize my lips on the go!
3. Sooth Skin Irritation: I've mentioned the fact that I have very dry skin on numerous occasions, along with the fact that my skin is extremely sensitive. I suffer with eczema on a regular basis and recently I just couldn't put my hand on my cream for the life of me. Sometimes I swear some things just get up and walk in my house haha! I had read somewhere before that Coconut Oil was really good for dry skin so I decided I had nothing to lose and whacked a bit onto the areas that my skin had broken out. It worked wonders :)
4. Body Moisturiser: As I said I had heard it was meant to be brilliant for dry skin and I knew it worked well on my lips so I decided to try it out on the rest of me! I like to warm the oil up in the palm of my hands before applying to any dry patches I may have, with continued use I definitely saw a difference with the skin on my arms. My skin felt a lot softer and looked a lot more nourished.
5. Coconut Oil and Cooking: Instead of drizzling your pan in vegetable oil which is really unhealthy, try a teaspoon of coconut oil instead. Lately too I've been adding an extra little something to my smoothies! I like to pop a spoon or two in the mix to add a bit more flavor…delish!
6. DIY Body Scrub: If you have just ran out of your favourite body scrub not to worry, you can make your very own one with products lying around in your kitchen! Mix your coconut oil in with some sugar and bobs your uncle! Use circular motions to buff it into the skin, rinse off and your skin will be left feeling super soft!
7. Shaving Cream: I can't remember the last time I used a shaving cream, I think its been years. I use conditioner without fail, its cheaper and I find its so much more gentle on my skin. I decided to try out the coconut oil to see how I would get on. It worked equally as well as my conditioner if not better. The only thing is you have to apply quite a bit of it, making it more expensive to use than my €1.49 Alberto Balsalm conditioner. But it works really well and is very soothing on the skin…it helps with shaving rashes too!
8. Upset Stomach: Not a lot of foods agree with me, combine that with anxiety and my stomach is constantly doing hula hoops! My stomach rarely is settled and I suffer from heartburn like no other. While I love the smell of coconut scented items, its my absolute favourite scent, I do find it hard to eat a spoonful of coconut oil on its own. When I know my stomach is acting the maggot I try to take a spoonful to put it at ease. If you don't want to ingest the coconut oil you can always rub a little on the inside of your wrist to keep the nausea at bay, but I find eating it to be more effective.

Thats a rap!

After reading some benefits are you interested in trying Coconut Oil for yourself? Do you have any uses that you would like to share, let me know!

Until my next post :)

Eimear x

Inglot Face & Body Sparkling Dust '02'

Hey Everyone!

Hope you all are well :)

I have been posting makeup tutorials on YouTube since July 2011 and I took up blogging not too long after that. I think by now most of you will have come to the conclusion that I am a massive Inglot fanatic, and, well..I am.

It was the first makeup brand that I had tried out that wasn't from the 'drugstore'. My love for the brand, along with my collection has only ever grown since! Up until the last year or so I had only ever bought the eyeshadows in Inglot using their freedom system. After building various sized eyeshadow palettes I decided to branch out and try some of their other products. 

 I wasn't disappointed :)

My most recent purchase has been their sparkling dust powder which I think will be much loved by all this Summer. The sparkling dusts come in three shades '01', '02' and '03'..pretty straight forward like the rest of the Inglot range. Their products are labelled by number opposed to by names.

I went into the Inglot in Dundrum with the intention of buying the first shade of the sparkling dust. After seeing swatches online I figured this shade would suit my skin tone the best. Unfortunately they couldn't find the tester so I couldn't try it out for myself on the day. I decided not to take a chance on it and I purchased shade '02' instead, which I will keep to use for when I am wearing fake tan.

The packaging is simple and classic, nothing overly fancy! I really like how the bottom of it is clear so you can see the product inside. It makes it so handy to easily pick out the product if you have your makeup stored in drawers.

When you twist the top off you will see that there is a makeup poof inside. Its a nice touch which would be handy for travel purposes but I never really use the powder poofs that come with products. I would be more so inclined to use it if it came with a face powder, but not with a highlighter it gets a little messy application wise.

I was relieved to see that the product comes in a 'shaker style' pot otherwise I probably would have lost half of the product before I even used it. The Inglot face powder just comes with a twist off top so I was assuming it would be like that. Thankfully it wasn't, you have no idea how much face powder I have wasted through stupidity and overall clumsiness. Probably the most disastrous event that resulted in me purchasing a new face powder was when I decided to blow-dry my hair, forgetting I had left the powder on my dresser with the lid off. Imagine a sandstorm…replace sand with powder. 

Yep, thats how things went down.

The sparkling dust is labelled as a multi use product, for use on the face, body and eyes. The sparkling dust is a highly pigmented highlighting powder as you can see from the picture above! It looks gorgeous applied to the high points of the face such as the tops of the cheek bones, down the centre of the nose and to the tip of the cupids bow. It gives such a gorgeous healthy golden glow to the skin. As it is so pigmented its really easy to go over board, so pick up a little product at a time and use a light hand.

I have also used it on the eyes as a loose pigment to give a subtle shimmer to the eyes. For a more intense eye makeup look try mixing it with Inglots duraline, the combination is a match made in heaven!

I even tried mixing a little in with my foundation to give my skin a dewy glow, which is a preferred way by most when wearing foundation coming into the Summer. That look is personally not for me, i'll forever be rocking the matte look for life haha! 

The product retails at €18 and if you hold an Inglot pro card it'll be cheaper again. Overall not a bad price in my opinion for the product. Its multi use and a little goes on a long way. I can't fault it!

What are your favourite highlighters?

I'm still on the hunt for the perfect face highlighter!

Eimear x

Ziaja Orange Butter Body Lotion

Hey Everyone!

Hope you all are well :) 

My poor poor blog.

I have neglected you terribly this past month, don't worry you weren't alone… YouTube went by the way side too.

Its not my fault….swear! 

Its colleges fault, all those retched assignments ugh.

To ensure this little slip doesn't happen again I have organised what to post and when. Blog posts will now be scheduled to go live every Wednesday and YouTube tutorials to go live every Saturday :)

I'm looking forward to being back posting on a regular basis, starting with today's post about Ziaja Body Lotion!

After the beauty show on the 6th of October show last month, I attended a beauty blogger meet up at the Russell Court Hotel. It was a wonderful evening filled with demonstrations, speakers, chats and of course a couple of cheeky drinks all with a big thanks to Aisling from Total Makeup Addict .

On the night we were supplied with very generous goodie bags filled with goodies from various different companies.

The first item I started using from my little stash was the 

'Ziaja Orange Butter Body Lotion'

I had never heard of this company before so I was extremely eager to try out some of the range! Moisturising is something I am guilty of rarely doing…

purely because I'm lazy *gulp*

What makes matters worse is that I actually need to moisturize, my skin is extremely dry and flaky. I have no problem cleansing, toning and moisturising my face but I always neglect the rest of my body. So in a bid to have hydrated, silky smooth skin I decided last month to make a conscious effort to moisturise daily. Every evening after my shower I slathered a generous amount of the lotion to all areas of the body except for the face.

Every single lotion I have used to date has either been a cocoa butter or coconut scented moisturizer, so the fact this was an orange body lotion was a nice change!

Enriched with ingredients such as Orange butter, Omega 3 and 6, Vitamin E and olive oil, Ziaja Body Lotion claims to leave the skin soft and gentle…

and that it does! 

I noticed results about a week after using the lotion, there was a significant difference in the condition of my skin any flaky patches I had previously were now completely gone. With regard to the packaging Ziaja kept it simple and sweet, I love it! I also love how the lotion has a pump, its easy to squirt out and there's no mess. I haven't noticed any clogging from the nozzle, if that happens its not that big of a deal. The top screws off and you can pat out the moisturizer that way, its also handy because you can get every single last drop left in the bottle.

My only problem I have now is to sticking to the routine after I reaped the results I stopped moisturizing my skin and I was back to square one.

I'm 5 days back into my routine again and I'm starting to see the results once again. I have highly sensitive skin and this moisturizer worked like a dream for me, no irritation at all so I am extremely pleased.

When I searched online to see where I could re purchase the lotion when the time arises, I was pleasantly surprised to see the price! 

I found the lotion over on original beauty.ie, it retails at only

 €5.99 for 400ml of product.

I was delighted to see I could have sensuously soft skin without breaking the bank. I would highly recommend the lotion, its definitely worth checking out especially if you suffer from dry skin like myself :)

So Bargain Hunter Byrne strikes again, I couldn't have without the help of Aisling so be sure to check out her blog over on the following link, here!

For more information head over to the Ziaja website which can be found here!

Thanks for tuning in guys :)

Talk to you next Wednesday! 

Eimear x

Sleek MakeUP Face Contour Kit 'Light' Review

Hey Everyone!

Hope you all are well :)

Long time know chat!

Finally my exams are out of the way so I can focus all my attention on blogging and filming makeup tutorials...yaaaay!

Today I have for you all a review of the Sleek Contour Kit in the shade 'Light'.

As most of you all know by now I could pass as a Twilight extra, so I need a contour shade that isn't too dark against my ghostly skin.

(Highlighter: Pressed Powder 19. Bronzer: Pressed Powder 21)

I have used the exact same bronzer and highlighter combination since around October 2011, which is quite evident based on the picture above!

Once I find a product I like and that works for me, I use it religiously. I'm not too open to change but I'm getting better at putting new products to the test.

A couple of months ago I decided to venture outside the comfort zone and step away from my beloved Inglot highlighter and bronzer duo and try the much hyped up Sleek Contour Kit. 

Once I removed the packaging and revealed the palette I noticed the design was almost identical to that of the eyeshadow palettes. I adore the packaging.

Simple, sleek and sturdy!

The palette is compact and it comes with a decent size mirror making it ideal for travel.

As I mentioned above, I picked up the kit in the shade 'Light'. Sleek MakeUP also offer this product in the shades 'Medium' and 'Dark'.

The kit includes a matte brown contour shade and a pearlescent highlighter shade.

The first thing I noticed with the kit was that the contour shade is larger than the highlighter shade, opposed to a 50/50 split.

I was happy to see this as although I use both on a daily basis, I find I use up my contour shade quicker as you might have noticed in the picture of the Inglot palette above.

I am extremely impressed with this kit!

The contour shade is perfect for us paler ladies, it isn't orange and doesn't give a mucky appearance to the skin which I find to often be the case with bronzers.

Using my Sigma F05 Small Contour Brush I sweep the contour shade along the hollows of my cheeks, from time to time followed by the jawline and temples.

I then use my Blank Canvas Cosmetics F15 Small Contour/Highlighter Brush to highlight the areas of my face where the light would naturally hit. I prefer to use this brush as it tapered allowing me to glide the product over the high points of my face with ease. I generally tend to highlight down the centre of my nose, the tops of my cheeks and above my cupids bow. I have found that the highlight shade also acts as a gorgeous brow bone highlight!

I have found that the contour kit enhances my features giving definition and structure to my face with ease!

I absolutely adore this product and would recommend it to anyone who struggles to find a contour shade for pale skin. Its an absolute gem!

I picked mine up from Cloud10Beauty.com for only €9.95, another bargain buy for Eimear! :)

Here's to the next year and a half together ♥

Have you tried the contour kit?

What are your thoughts? :)

Eimear x