Benefit Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow/Liner - RSVP and Skinny Jeans

I had heard a lot about these eye shadows especially from MissGlamorazzi on youtube and when I stopped by Brown Thomas last week I couldn't resist playing with them. I did a swatch on my hand of both and then went away for a walk around the other counters to see how they set. 

Invariably I just HAD to go back and pick up one. I picked up Skinny Jeans that day: 

It may look a bit silvery in that picture but in reality it is a very hard colour to describe. I guess it is a brown based, olive, bronze colour. I know that doesn't really compute and it's why I felt I had to go and see it in the shop. 

The consistency is a creamy texture but there is a lot of product in the jar AND it dries to a soft, gentle powder texture. I have used this a lot since I got it and it is absolutely AMAZING. I use it under some of my Urban Decay and Glamour Doll Eyes eye shadows. (especially under greens and browns it is beautiful) 

It provides a perfect base for blending. I will say it does set quite quickly so if you are trying to press loose powder into these you need to work very fast. I have used this colour on it's own as well and it is beautiful on my brown eyes. 

Then last week I was having a terrible day and needed a pick me up so I trotted into Debenhams for a look and came out with another one RSVP.

As you can see RSVP is a lovely champagne colour. It has a lovely sheen to it as well, which I love. I use this under any of my colours and I would absolutely recommend this as a primer or as a beautiful brow highlight. 

Nothing is creaseless right?

Shockingly I haven't had any creasing with these and I was very sceptical about them because I have the worst eye lids for creasing but nope no creasing. 

Benefit describe these as shadows and liners. I have to admit I haven't tried them as liners as of yet but I do plan to try out the Skinny Jeans one when I get a chance. 

There are some application recommendations here on the Benefit Site. 

Also I would recommend storing these upside down as that will stop them drying out as much as if they were upright.

All in all, even though they are expensive here in Ireland, (€22) I would recommend them if you have the extra few bob because they are beautiful and do "What they say on the tin". 

Ted Baker Glistening Body Lotion

I got this as a birthday gift from my cousin and was surprised when it had a tint to it because I thought it was just a body lotion. In fact this product is so much more!  This is basically a temporary, wash off glistening tan. I have to admit, I was a bit afraid of the shade when I pumped out the first pump because it was quite dark. I shouldn't have been so concerned, however, as this is a beautiful product. I don't think it is marketed as a tanning product but I don't understand why not because it easily could be. 

I use it when I get out of the shower and exfoliating and it gives a beautiful golden glow to the skin, as well as feeling hydrating to the skin and unlike other tan products it doesn't pose any problems in application. It literally glides on and has a pleasant scent, I mean, it's not overpowering or horrible like other tanning products. 

Now, you still have to scrub the hands once you are finished as it can leave some brown residue but nothing any worse than any other tan products. It works well on legs, arms and torso and works on all pale, medium skin tones, I unfortunately don't know how it would work on darker skin. Even if you are tanned it adds a deep golden sheen to the skin, it also has a very fine glitter to it which is what adds the glistening part but is not in the slightest bit gaudy. 

I adore this product but if you are looking for it in Boots then be careful because it has the same packaging as the "ordinary" body lotion and it is very easy to walk out with the ordinary one and this is very disappointing. (It has happened to me more than once.) 

Here is a picture of the colour it comes out of the bottle so you wont get a shock when you take it out. 

Concealing Rules!

There are two general types of concealer: Liquid concealer and stick/cake concealer.

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The liquid one is light and, well, liquidy in consistency and usually used for under eye blue/black circles. It usually has a light peach tone to it as peach is opposite to blue on the colour wheel so it helps to conceal the blue under the eyes.This product should be a shade lighter than your skin tone too.  A good example,of a drugstore one of these is Rimmel Match perfect concealer.  I actually use the MAC Pro Longwear Concealer. I have a review of this product here.

The stick/cake one is usually creamier in consistency and is used predominately to cover blemishes. I would never use this for the under eyes as it can settle into fine lines and makes them more visible. I use the No7 stick one it is good but I don't use it very much as I don't really get blemishes. 

There are also coloured concealers if it is redness you are looking to cover then a green concealer is the best and as I said for bluish areas peach is the best. 

General tips for applying concealer: 

• Moisturise!!!! Seriously, especially when using stick/cake concealer. It can be very drying.
• Use a light hand, don't put too much on initially, you can always add more but it's harder to take away. 
• Use clean fingers (best to use the ring finger as it doesn't put too much pressure on say the delicate under eye area.)to tap it in to the skin rather than rub it in because the heat of your fingers will help it settle better.
• Make sure that the colour is right for you.
• Remember blue under eyes require peach tones and redness needs green based tones.

 If anyone has any recommendations of concealers or have any opinions on any of the products mentioned please let me know. 

Queen of... Ooh la la Shaving Gel

I had been having some allergic reaction to Veet, which I had been using for ages, so I decided to go out and try something new for hair removal. In with me to Boots in search for the holy grail, something easy but effective that wouldn't react to my very temperamental skin. 

I passed the long helves of shaving foam, because I find that messy and annoying and at the bottom I saw a lovely little bottle of shaving gel  from Queen Beauty... I immediately picked it up and smelled it, the eucalyptus scent was amazing so I decided to get it. It also has, soothing, Aloe Vera in it which is always welcome in my opinion.

When I got home I was dying to try it out and I have to say I wasn't disappointed. It's an almost clear gel which you apply to the skin before shaving and it made my shaving experience so much better. It says it has no added perfume to clog your pores, which is always welcome. I didn't nick or cut myself at all, which I am prone to doing a lot, which is why I was using Veet for so long. 

It left my skin feeling soft and smooth and smelling lovely. All in all I will be repurchasing this product before I repurchase a shaving foam. I don't remember the price off hand but it definitely wasn't mental expensive for the result and for what it is. 

Have you had any experience with this brand? I had never seen it before.

MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation and Pro Longwear Concealer.

So I took a trip to MAC just after Christmas to try to find a good foundation. As I have quite dry skin, especially in the winter, I was very aware what I wanted from a foundation, HYDRATION! While I recently started to get big on the auld moisturisation and face care I still felt I needed extra hydration from my foundation. I find so many foundations dry out the skin.

The lady on the counter sat me down and asked me a few questions:

1. What kind of coverage I was looking for?

2. What my skin is usually like?

Once I had told her I was looking for full/medium coverage (because I have very, VERY pigmented cheeks) and that my skin is pretty  dry she immediately reached for the studio sculpt foundation in NC20 and put it on my face.

I found it almost immediately hydrating and soft but was still sceptical because I had never used it before. Then she grabbed the Mac Pro Longwear  Concealer in NW 20 and applied it to my under eyes, which I will admit are very dark. 

So I left MAC and went for a wander to see how it wears and as you can see from the above photos I now own both of these products. 

I have to say I struggled to apply the Studio Sculpt for a while. 

I wouldn't suggest finger application for this foundation. I found that it needs to be buffed into the face a bit more than any other foundation I have tried but for the coverage and finish I am happy to put in that extra bit of effort. It is almost like a mousse in texture and very rich.  The coverage is definitely medium but what I love about this foundation is that it is VERY easy to build up to the coverage you want. I would of course use a light had around any fine lined areas as it can set.  

I was advised to purchase the 187 brush from MAC to aid application but I just couldn't justify €45 for a tool when the foundation cost less so I now use my Sigma F80 and it works a dream. 

The MAC Pro Longwear  Concealer is amazing. I absolutely adore it. I would not be without it. Although the pump is a little over excited and sometimes you get a bit too much product in one pump, it is a fabulous product. It really does lift my under eyes, which I said before, are pretty dark. 

All in all a very successful trip to my local MAC counter. 

Have you had any experience with these products? How did you find them?

This Evenings Dinner - Yoghurty Grilled Chicken Wholemeal Pitta Pockets

Grilled chicken breast with half a fresh green pepper a little bit of raw onion on two baby wholemeal pitta breads with a teaspoon of no fat natural yoghurt with cayenne pepper and cinnamon to moisten.

I was actually surprised how this tasted and filled me up.

So what I did was:
I sprinkled a little cayenne pepper and black pepper on the chicken breast and threw it on the grill.
Chopped half a green pepper and a wee bit of onion.
Took a teaspoon or two of fat free natural yoghurt and added a tiny sprinkling of cayenne pepper again and an even tinier amount of cinnamon and mixed it up.

(NOTE: Use a light hand with the cayenne pepper)

I  threw the pittas on the grill for a few minutes when the chicken was almost ready I would say about 20/25 minutes or so in a medium to high oven (I guess about 190 degrees)

I assembled all the ingredients into the two nicely toasted, little baby, wholemeal, pitta breads and I really enjoyed it.

If you prefer different seasonings in your yoghurt and on your chicken then go ahead. these were just the ones I fancied tonight. If you make it with a different spices or find any nice variations on this please let me know.

Bouts of Creativity and Hats

Do you, like me, go through bouts of creativity? Like, it comes like waves and then ebbs a bit only to come back?

I love being creative but sometimes I just cannot find the motivation or the head space for it. I love to paint and I love to get in there with my needle and thread and customise things. My longest bout of creativity was with dressing hats. I really enjoyed this a lot.

I would love to know what you do to keep the creative juices flowing and in what way you are creative.

Here are a couple of my more ornate decorated hats.

Lancome Genifique Nutrics Moisturiser - Review

I feel like I have been searching for the right moisturiser all my life... anyone else feel like that? It's like dating, you meet are instantaneously attracted to each other, fool around, spend loads of time together and then all of a sudden it's not right for you any more and you couldn't be bothered and are having fights left right and centre..

Well that's my feeling on moisturisers and it's why I am such a failure at my skin care regime - at least that's what I tell myself but then I was one of those lucky teenagers that never got acne or spots so never really had to worry about my skin all that much.

With the big 30 a distant piss up I wanted to start this year taking care of my skin so I popped into Brown Thomas, Grafton Street for a look with my Mam. I am going to explain in the next paragraph about my skin feel free to skip it.

(Background bit) 
I had thyroid problems for most of my life and had a total thyroid-ectomy almost two years ago. Which I am very happy about, and am much healthier since, but it means that I don't really know what type of skin my skin is, if you get me.  For years I had horrible rashes on my legs and my skin on my face would get really dry for no reason, just out of the blue I would go a bit scaley. Not pretty at all but yeah, that's why even though I am 30 I still don't really know a lot about my skin. I also had eye disease so my eyes are very sensitive to products.


So I stumbled into the Lancome section because, being honest, I knew my Sister-in-law uses the Genifique range and I thought, well at least I know it doesn't burn your face off. The lady at the Lancome counter was very lovely and didn't even blink an eyelid when I knocked over a whole display of testers. So I explained to her my predicament with moisturisers and she pointed me in the direction of the Lancome Genifique Nutrics Moisturiser. 

She also gave me two little sample sizes of the product to try out before I opened the product so that I could be sure that it would not cause irritation. Hard as it was I did not open the pretty Lancome box for over a week as she told me to do.

I have to say I found this cream rich, creamy, luxurious and it has a pleasant enough scent. I started to use it religiously and I found that my dry skin became softer, nicer to touch and a bit more supple and I had no irritation whatsoever. It is such a treat to apply it (it makes me feel happy - sad I know) and I use it as part of my skincare regime everyday.

I would not recommend this moisturiser for younger or for oily skins, it could just make the oiliness worse but for me, for right now, this is my moisturiser that I hope proposes and I wish we live a long and happy life together so I don't have to continue my search for the perfect moisturiser.

I will be going back to try the eye creams soon. Do any of you have any recommendations for eye creams actually? Leave me a comment if you do. :)

My New Breakfast

I am trying to get myself healthy these days. Now don't get me wrong I am not going to be mental strict on myself for this but I am just trying to be healthier with what I eat. That is not to say that I will be restricting myself  in any crazy way, just eating better for the most part. With that in mind I just wanted to share with you what I have been having for breakfast which seems to be filling me right up for a very long time. Apologies in advance for my measuring of recipes. I just can't be arsed measuring it all out every morning.



Ingredients

A good dollop of natural/fat free yoghurt (about a cup)
Slightly less than the good dollop of porridge oats (about a half a cup)

My favourite is adding cinnamon to this and maybe a sliced banana, handful of red berries or grapes or apple or even a teeny spoonful of gooseberry jam. (I know there is sugar in jam but sometimes needs must.)

I am starting with breakfast and making myself up through the day so as I go along I will be updating on new yummy healthy meals I have found that keep my interest.