Chanel Les 4 Ombres in Poesie.

It's taken me a while to get around to reviewing this Chanel eyeshadow palette as although I really liked it I didn't use it too much at first. I think this is because I have quite a few neutral/bronzey toned palettes that I was in the habit of using everyday without even thinking about it. However, after using this for about a month it's fast becoming one of my favourites!

For one, the packaging is simply DIVINE. Look at it! It's gorgeous, so very glamorous as well as brilliantly compact and easy to throw in your handbag. I find the mirror particularly good for on-the-go touch-ups as its nice and big.

On to the eyeshadows. I've only ever used Chanel's cream eye shadows before so these were a first time for me, they're lovely and buttery as well as nicely pigmented for shimmery neutral shades. The shimmer in them isn't too chunky or sparkly which I liked a lot. They add a lovely light wash of shimmer to the eyes that still looks sophisticated, not glittery! My favourite colour is the second shade on the top row which is far more gold when applied, initially I wondered why there were two light pearlescent shades in one palette but they are quite different when swatched. The orange-bronze is also pretty all over the lid and applied quite heavily under the eye with lashings of mascara.

I got this as a gift and it really is a lovely present to receive, I do think they are worth the splurge if you were buying one for yourself too! I can see myself using this more and more, especially while traveling as you can do a lot with this little palette to take you from a fresh daytime look to something a little bit more sultry!

San Lorenzo's IS the Brunch of Champions.

So I'm a bit late to this party but I FINALLY went to San Lorenzo's this weekend and it was oh-so-good. Great music, great service and even better food!

I went with two friends who also hadn't been before and we all knew what we wanted to eat straight away as we'd been eying up the menu all week. Anne Marie and myself ordered the French Toast Stack with maple syrup and bacon, and Jade ordered the Frittata.

The food really was amazing, came out super quick and everything was nice and fresh. The best thing was that the portions were really generous, there's nothing worse than getting two tiny strips of bacon with french toast and a drizzle of maple syrup. Luckily we didn't have that problem, mine was laden with bacon and syrup which was just divine! Jade said her Frittata was delicious, it looked really rich and cheesy, and again the portion size was great.

The service was brilliant which was a bonus, super-friendly and efficient staff. We were asked not only if our food was good but if we'd had fun and enjoyed ourselves which I thought was a nice touch. I also really liked the music, cool without being pretentious and quite loud which was perfect! My pet peeve is whispering self-consciously in a restaurant, you want to be relaxed and have a good catch-up, not worry that everyone can hear all the intricacies of your love life!

San Lorenzo's is definitely worth the hype, something that isn't always the case. I'd recommend it to everyone but my advice would be to make sure you arrive hungry and book in advance as there's always a queue out the door!

Stila in the Light Palette.

I'm afraid of flying. VERY afraid. On the return journey from a recent trip to Copenhagen I was not feeling the best and gazing into the Aer Lingus in-flight shopping pages I saw this beauty staring back at me. Lets just say that Denmark sure ain't cheap and I was a little strapped in the funds department so my boyfriend being the lovely guy that he is treated me to this on the plane home. What a sweetheart. It was definitely one of the better flights I've had; most involve me sweating profusely with nerves or switching manically between deathly silent/hysterically jabbering. Make-up always helps.

Stila can be quite awkward to get your hands on here in Dublin, they had a concession in Brown Thomas years ago, but now its only available in Dundrum (not sure if its House of Fraser of Harvey Nichols that stock it) or online. Despite this I've been lusting after this palette for quite a while, it did the rounds of a lot of blogs and YouTube channels a few years ago and I'd always wanted one for myself.

So lets talk about the eyeshadows shall we? The formulation is fantastic, much like the Urban Decay eyeshadows they're creamy and easy to blend. There are eight shimmery shadows, ranging from super-shimmery to just a tad and two matte shades. The star of the show is Kitten, one of Stilas most popular and raved about shadows for obvious reasons. Its a champagne coloured shimmer that is so pretty all over the eye for an easy everyday look, or blended in the inner corners of a smokier eye. The matte shades are perfect, an ivory colour called Bare and a gorgeous light crease shade called Bliss. My other two favourites are both shimmers; Sunset- a rusty red/brown and Bubbly- a true gold colour,

Since getting this palette I've used it so much and I think it would be amazing to bring away on holiday as you can do so much with it; from a dramatic evening look or something more muted and fresh for during the day. It also comes with a twist up Smudge Stick in the shade Damsel; a chocolaty brown. This is a great addition as you can really smoke up a day time look ad do a lot with it!

If you've used this palette let me know down in the comments and what Stila product I should try next!

Jo Malone Blackberry & Bay.

I don't think I've ever reviewed a fragrance on my blog before and that's probably because its so difficult to describe scent. At least with a lipstick or an eyeshadow you can see the colour and I can describe the texture but a fragrance is a lot more complex!

I'm going to try my best to describe this one I got for Christmas; its from Jo Malone and its their Blackberry and Bay Cologne. The reason I like Jo Malone is that their scents are very different from everything else. I like the freshness of their perfumes and the combinations they come up with. This one in particular is something I kept going back to smell and spray on myself as it is so interesting. To me, it really does smell exactly as you'd expect, like blackberries and bay. So it combines the sweet, yet not cloying scent of fresh blackberries with the deep fragrance of the bay to set off the sweetness. Is that a horrendous description? I tried!

My parents laughed at me because initially I described this as smelling like going for a brisk walk in the English countryside. Sounds bizarre I know; but its so fresh and out-doorsy but still smells quite sophisticated, It makes me think that this is what Elizabeth Bennet would have smelt outside as she traipses around Longbourn. Ok, now I have to stop as I'm heading into dreamy territory that makes no sense to anyone but me.

Go and give this a spritz if you're near a Jo Malone store and see if you can think of a better description than me!

Empties #3 Crumpets and Marmalade

Popped an Empties Video up on my channel this week! I warn you its very long- I let way too much stuff build up, think I;ll be doing my next one a lot sooner than my last!