Young Blood Cosmetics Launch

Last week I was invited along to the launch of Young Blood Cosmetics- this is an American brand that's already huge in the U.S and is now launching in the U.K and Ireland!
Now I've been living in Dublin nearly all my life but embarrassingly enough myself and my friend took about half an hour trying to find the Closer2Fabulous Studio where the event was held! I thought that the studio was such a lovely place to hold a function like this as it wasn't too big- this combined with the cosy décor created a really un-imposing and relaxed environment for the launch.

 

 

 

 

The launch included a 30 minute make-up tutorial from Philip Luque- one of Young Blood's leading make-up artists. This was so interesting as we got to see all the products in action as he talked us through what he was doing. He created a beautiful deep midnight blue smokey eye that I would never normally try, but now feel inspired to do so! For me personally, I have never used a mineral foundation so getting to see the correct techniques on how to apply one was really helpful. Philip Luque was so entertaining and also very knowledgeable about the brand. Pauline Youngblood originally set up the brand as a result of her own skin problems- she suffered with acne and wanted make-up that wouldn't clog pores or be bad for your skin. All of Young Blood's products are talc free and don't clog pores.

 

 

After the demonstration one of  Young Blood's Irish make-up artists tried some of the mineral foundation on me, I was so surprised- I loved it! I have quite dry skin so would have never dreamed of applying a mineral powder foundation but I really like how it looked. I was already wearing my Mac Studio Fix Fluid foundation so I already had a lot of coverage. The finish of the mineral foundation was beautiful, incredibly glowy for a powder with an almost HD/Photoshop effect to the skin.

 

 

Overall, I found the event extremely informative and interesting. We were all lucky enough to receive a goodie-bag afterwards with some products for us to sample, so far I'm loving the Mineral Rice powder (the finest/least cakey setting powder I've ever used!) and the Mineral Primer. However, I will be doing a more detailed review of these products on my blog over the next few weeks!

 

 

 

If you want to see more about the Young Blood launch check out my You Tube channel:

 

 

 

 

The Balm Nude 'Tude Eyeshadow Palette- Review.

So I have a little confession to make.....I've been cheating on my beloved Naked Palette, shhhh don't tell! I've been using Urban Decay's staple palette for over three years now (I'm on my second one!) and I love it. However, recently I've found that I'm reaching for The Balm's Nude 'Tude* palette that bit more....and here's why;



Particular favourites for me are;

Silly- a gorgeous colour for a dramatic smokey eye- as its  a dark brown with lots of gold glitter!
Seductive- a beautiful, very warm toned bronzey gold.
Stand-offish- a lovely salmon pink/champagne colour that looks great in the inner corners or all over the lid.
Sultry- a warm toned matte brown that look perfect blended into the crease.
Sexy- a red toned brown that I thought would be more like Mac Cranberry, but is still a gorgeous colour. A nice one for a rich smokey brown eye.

The other colours are lovely as well, these are just my particular favourites at the moment! I still need to experiment a bit more with this palette as I think there are so many looks you could achieve with it! Its great for travelling as its a nice thin palette and you can get both everyday looks and more dramatic evening eyes with just the one palette. Its also worth noting that the shades are super pigmented but do have some fall out much like the Urban Decay ones so leave your concealer until last when using the darker shades.





*PR SAMPLE

The Casual Vacancy Review.

So its been a long 'aul while since I uploaded anything book related and I thought I'd start doing some more book reviews!
First up is The Casual Vacancy by J.K.Rowling.
Hope you enjoy. X

Whats in my Bag #1 I Crumpets and Marmalade

So last week we saw me rooting through my bin in an Empties Video- and this week is me rooting through my handbag! I hope you enjoy seeing what crap I lug around with me on a daily basis, I know I do!
 H x

Prisoners- Film Review

Now, if I'm being completely honest I wasn't overly bothered about going to see Prisoners, although being a huge Criminal Minds fan it did look like something I'd like. Despite this, I ended up sitting in the cinema munching away on my popcorn watching this for two reasons; A: my boyfriend really wanted to see it (and it was his turn to choose the film) and B: Jake Gyllenhaal (need I elaborate?).

I ended up seriously enjoying this film, it far exceeded my expectations. As I already said it does appeal to fans of shows like Criminal Minds (can you tell I love it?) in the sense that its a lets-solve-the-case story. However, it is so much more than that- the film is about two children who go missing. We watch the search of these children unfold from the perspective of the lead investigator on the case, Loki (Gyllenhaal) and the children's parents- mostly Keller (Hugh Jackman). Firstly, this was a real stellar cast and the acting from both was incredible. The characters are incredibly frustrated and desperate in their search and they portray this throughout the film with subtlety on Gyllenhaal's part (with one desk-smashing exception) and with violent outbursts from Jackman. However, both these portrayals although different are both believable and emotional to watch.

Now any other Criminal Minds fans out there (I know again!) will understand the agonising tension of some particularly well crafted episodes, Prisoners was on another level. Described as a dark, suspenseful thriller it really does- excuse the cliché- leave you on the edge of your seat. My boyfriend found me particularly amusing fidgeting around and hopping up and down on my seat for the later parts of the film. To me, this just showed how emotionally involved with the film I was- it really is one to suck you in, whilst filling you with a sense of dread throughout.

Overall, I found that it was quite a long film, with perhaps a slight lull in the middle, but it was never boring. I haven't said too much about the plot as its difficult to do so without giving away too much of the story! What I can say is that there are plenty of twists and red herrings to keep you guessing and elements of the film will make you question what we call justice. The ending, is great in my opinion-lots of people have criticised it- it doesn't tie everything up too neatly and isn't overly sentimental which it easily could have been. Its an intense and emotional film that I would highly recommend anyone to see!

P.S. The only thing that would make this film completely perfect is of course Shemar Moore. ;)

Empties Video #1

My first Empties Video! These are all the skincare and makeup items I've used up recently. Hope you enjoy! X

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer Review

It seems almost strange to write a review on this concealer as I feel like I've made my feelings for it quite obvious over on my You Tube channel! Also, this concealer gets so many rave reviews all over the internet that it seems almost redundant to write another review on it.

Despite this, I thought that this concealer deserves yet another review as it really is an amazing product.  The best bit about the Lasting Perfection Concealer is the shade, us pale gals find it uber difficult to get a high street/ high end concealer that isn't too orange in colour. As far as I know they only have three colours in their shade range and I wear 1-Fair. This is a perfect match for my very pale skin and I find it blends in perfectly, even around my jawline without looking too dark.
It's also got the most fantastic coverage and is my go to product when I have a breakout as it covers redness really well. Its thick and creamy making it easy to blend into the skin seamlessly.

The only downside to this product is that things can get a bit cakey and heavy if you put too much on. I've found that less is more and I like to blend it out with the warmth of my index finger to make things as light and smooth as possible.
Due to its heaviness I don't find it great under my eyes as it can look too thick for the delicate eye area and settles in any fine lines I have. Other than that this is a holy grail product for me that I can't live without, and at around €6/7 it's an absolute bargain!

The Balm Blushers- Review.

 Left- Frat Boy Blusher. Right- Down Boy Blusher.

Anyone who has watched my most recent video will know that The Balm Cosmetics were kind enough to send me some make-up to review. Along with numerous other bits they were very generous and sent me three of their blushers!
First up is Frat Boy*- the one I've heard the most about here in the blogging and You Tubing world- clearly for a reason. It's such a gorgeous shade- a lovely peachy pink that adds a really natural flush to your cheeks. This is definitely  my favourite of the bunch!
Next is Down Boy*, the brighter of the two. A lovely girly pink that looks really great swept onto cheeks for a pretty and fresh look.

Lastly is Hot Mama*- definitely my favourite packaging! This colour is gorgeous- my Mum has stolen it off me already! A kind of a mixture of the other two shades but with an added bit of golden shimmer that adds some colour and a sheen to the skin. This one really reminds me of Nars Orgasm.


From using all three of these for the past week I can say that they are now firm favourites for me, they are super pigmented so a little goes a long way, I can see these lasting me for ages! Also, they have surprisingly long lasting power on the cheeks- something I've never had with my MAC or Sleek blushers, I've always needed midday top ups with those! These blushers can also be used as eyeshadows, I think Hot Mama would look particularly good on the eyes blended in with a dark grey!

If you want to try these for yourself- go online at Feel Unique, Koan UK and Amazon. Or check out The Balm's entire range at http://www.thebalm.com/



*PR Samples.

The Balm Cosmetics First Impressions!

The lovely people over at The Balm cosmetics sent me some products to try out! This video is my first impressions of the products and a way for you to see them in action. Make sure to check back on here over the next few weeks for some more detailed reviews! Enjoy! X

Una Brennan Super Facialist Face Mask

Another product review for you guys, and today its the Una Brennan Tea Flower Deep Clean Pore Purifying Clay Mask, bit of a mouthful, huh?
 I love love love this product. To be perfectly honest I never really used to bother with face masks- I'd do the occasional one with friends or a long time ago I used to make my own! However, I never religiously used one-until I got this. if you've watched my recent haul video I've already talked a bit about this, but basically my skins gone a bit haywire recently. I've had a lot of breakouts and they've been fairly consistent over the past few months. So I decided that my skin needed something to give it a lil' boost to clear everything up and I picked this up.
 I've been using it for about three weeks now and it seems to be working! It contains salicylic acid and loads of other ingredients good at clearing up problem areas and it has definitely helped! I like the fact that its a clay mask so its very thick and dries rock solid on your face- it also makes your skin tingle which is quite nice as it feels like its really doing something.

I'm really impressed with everything I've tried from this range so far and can't wait to try the creamy cleanser!

Fashion & Beauty Haul I Crumpets and Marmalade

If you haven't already seen it, here's my latest video! A haul of all my favourite fashion and beauty buys over the last few months. I've decided that I'm going to be filming a lot more now so expect to see a lot more videos! Enjoy! X