Tom Ford Heaven.

Apparently today is the most depressing day of the year- Blue Monday. Or at least that's what everyone is saying about today, we have the post-winter blues and are already sick or have given up on our New Years resolutions. So I thought I'd inject a bit of glamour into your Blue Monday by reviewing probably the most luxurious product I own- my Tom Ford lipstick I got for my birthday.

 

Behold it in all its glory, (bit over the top? I think not!) really though, have you ever seen such amazing packaging? Its gold, and so heavy for a lipstick-it really feels expensive (well it is, but we won't go into how much, its almost horrifying) it also has a satisfying click when you pop the lid back on, which for me is a selling point and I really don't know why!

                                         

I have the shade Bruised Plum- a real 'me' colour. As the name suggests its a vampy, blackened-purple, quite similar to my trusty MAC Rebel but darker. The texture is rich and creamy and it just glides over the lips leaving a beautiful sheen which I'm not normally a fan of but I can definitely make an exception here! As of yet I have only worn it three times- I feel like I need to use it sparingly! Two of these occasions, I wore it for a long period of time with eating/drinking involved and I was very impressed with how it held up. Given the creamy formula it doesn't rub off too easily, although I did need to reapply more frequently than I usually do (you know by now I'm a matte lipstick girl).

Overall I love this lipstick- lovely formula and colour, and just don't get me started on the packaging again! Such an amazing present to get someone as you would never buy one for yourself !


If you want to see what it looks like on- check out my latest video here!

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:

 

 

 

 

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.

Bioderma

Surprisingly enough, after reading beauty blogs and following beauty YouTube channels for a number of years I have never tried Bioderma. I do have an excuse, seeing as it isn't readily available in Dublin yet- I think House of Fraser in Dundrum is the only place you can get it!
So after a recent trip to Germany, I spied this cute little bottle in a pharmacy. At €6.90 for 100mls its not exactly cheap, it was definitely more sensible to get a bigger bottle but I couldn't get a large one in fear of my case being overweight for the flight home!
So far, I can really see what all the hype was about- something I didn't think would happen. For a product that seems so simple- its just a make-up remover, it really is someting I've fallen in love with. I very rarely use facial wipes to remove my make-up as they completly dry out my skin. However, occasionally if I'm home late and am feeling lazy I reach for the wipes. Bioderma is a great way of taking your make-up of in a rush wihout feeling guilty for your poor skin by using wipes!
It definitely needs to be stressed that this isn't a replacement for your cleanser but a nice way of effectively and speedily removing your makeup before you cleanse.

As it is such a small bottle I'd say I'll be running out very soon, Dublin needs to start stocking it or I'll have to buy online!




*All products mentioned in this post were purchased  by me.