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!

Mary Lou Manizer Highlighter.

All hail the worlds best highlighter. EVER.
If you watched my December Favourites video you'll have heard me have a little rave about this already. I had this highlighter before and unfortunately it smashed in my handbag after about a week; so unbelievably tragic, I've really never quite got over it.
A recent re-purchase has made me remember just how amazing this highlighter is and how I should never have gone so long without it! First of all I love the shade- like a pearly-champagne colour. This particularly suits my pale skin- as highlighters that are too gold in colour just don't quite match my deathly tones.
I will warn you that if you're in any way afraid of highlighters then be careful with this as its very intense. Its not packed with glitter or anything, just very shimmery, but in a nice way. As long as you're light handed with your brush this will make you look so glowy and healthy. It also looks fab on the inner corner of your eyes- it will make you look super perky and awake, trust me!
If you've never tried this and are in the market for a new highlight definitely check this one out- its not too expensive especially when you look at how much product you get- just please don't smash it in your handbag, ok?

& Other Stories Body Scrub.

I love a good body scrub. I also love rose-scented things. Combine the two and I pretty much turn into a heart-eyed emoji. So you can imagine I was excited to get my hands on this & Other Stories scrub.......

Since buying this I've been into an & Other Stories, however at the time I'd only shopped online. Eyeing up skincare online is so tantalising as all you want to do is swatch and sniff! I hardly ever buy anything like this without having had a good sniff of it first but I knew I'd like it when its described as beautifully as 'Pressed pink rose petals in an old cedar chest'. How fabulous does that sound?

I really enjoy using this scrub as it doesn't ever feel as though you are wasting product. Its very like a sugar scrub, made up of lots of fine gritty particles without much liquid holding it together, which I really liked,. Some scrubs are just far too gloopy and before you know it half of its down the drain before you've even started on your scaly legs. The texture of this is quite sticky-almost like a gel mixed with sugar so it really sticks to damp skin, which is exactly what you need in a scrub. I really like the smell- its not overly rose scented, so for any non-lovers there's still hope! I also love the packaging- its quite minimalist and slightly industrial looking but is somehow still very cute. & Other Stories have a whole load of bodycare and they offer this rose scent in lots of other formulas such as body sprays and moisturisers.

& Other Stories is opening in Dublin in 2015-date still to be announced- so I have a feeling I'll be stocking up on a lot more of this range!

2015.

You have no idea how tempted I was to title this post 'New Year New Me'- but out of terror that people would take it seriously I just went with '2015'. I genuinely do go around for most of January saying 'New Year New Me' in what starts out as a sarcastic manner and unfortunately begins to slip out in a somewhat more serious tone. Please do ignore if that ever happens. I mean well.

Ah 2014, it was actually a pretty good year for me, especially in comparison to 2013. I started a new job, hit over 1,500 subscribers on my You Tube channel, went away with my boyfriend for the first time in a long time and overall became a lot more settled and confident.
I'd love to achieve so much more in 2015. Sometimes the best way to help with this is to write it all down so here goes! (deep breath)....

1. Reach 2,000 subscribers on my You Tube channel by the end of January. This could be slightly ambitious, but I want to get the year off to a good start! I'd love to increase my subscribers by a lot more this year and grow my channel so I'm aiming for little goals like this each month. If you're reading my blog and you aren't subscribed to my channel then get over there and do it!

2. Start running. Last year I flirted with the idea of running. I was heading out with my brother 2-3 times a week for about two months until I started my new job and unfortunately running fell to the wayside. This year both of us are super determined to pick it up again and actually get good at it this time! We're hoping to do the Electric Run this Spring as its a short enough race, only 5k, so its a good place to get started!

3. Work on my blog. I used to love blogging and writing so much but I've neglected it so much the past few years. I really want to get back into the swing of writing a post every couple of days and keeping this blog updated.

I'd like to think this list is relatively realistic and something I can achieve this year. I'll keep you updated throughout with how the running is getting on and you'll see from my blog and my You Tube channel how everything else is going!

What are your resolutions this year? Are any the same as me?

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Polishes.

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned here before how horribly weak my nails are. Years of working in retail and the fact that they aren't very strong anyway has left me with nails that peel and flake- gross I know. As they are so weak I find that no nail polishes have ever really worked for me, as when you have flaky weak nails the polish chips so fast! The only ones I've ever found to work are a recent discovery, the Barry M Gelly Hi Shine Nail Polishes. These did the rounds of the blogosphere last year and the year before, but I never thought they'd be that good on my nails.

These are really brilliant- they come in an amazing colour range, really bright and pigmented. They're easy to use, the brush is nice and straight and just wide enough that you can paint each nail in two swipes-meaning no streaks! They last really well on me- if I get 2-3 days out of my polish I'm lucky as normally I'd have chips after one day! I've heard of these lasting much longer on other people- but I'm happy with just a few days. They really are high shine polishes, I was asked the other day if I had gel nails on they looked that glossy. I do top mine off with a top coat but you could skip this step as they're so shiny already-I just do it to make them last that bit longer.

The colours I have are (from left to right): Kiwi, Coconut and Pink Punch.
Kiwi is definitely my favourite, I wore it on my toes over the summer and it lasted for ages and was lovely and bright! However, now that its definitely more tights and boots appropriate weather I wear it on my fingernails and I always get so many compliments on the colour.

If any of you have ever tried these let me know what colours I should get next!

Nightcrawler Review.

As a lover of Jake Gylenhaal I knew I was going to have to see Nightcrawler. My boyfriend and I went last weekend so I thought I'd let you guys know what I thought of it. 

From the trailer and movie posters it looked as though it had a bit of a Drive vibe going on- and I sort of had to get that out of my head quite early on as its a very different type of film. 

The movie follows Lou Bloom- whom at the beginning is a guy struggling to get a job and stealing from building sites to survive. Circumstances soon change as he becomes a Nightcrawler- something I had never heard of before. We see Lou driving at white knuckle speeds around L.A following police radios to try and get footage from the scenes of car crashes and attacks around the city. As that description suggests its a grim and morbid job that at times feels quite sickening, with other Nightcrawlers stating that "if it bleeds, it leads". They then sell this footage to the highest bidding news stations- the more affluent the victim the more they pay. The film is a very negative portrayal of the media, something that just keeps cropping up in films at the minute, as it shows the bloodthirsty ruthlessness of these stations. Possibly the best quip from the film is when Lou gets some advice on what to film;

"...the best and clearest way that I can phrase it to you, Lou, to capture the spirit of what we air is to think of our newscast as a screaming woman, running down the street with her throat cut."

 Although I did enjoy this film, for me personally I felt that something was missing. I'm a sucker for a film with a likable yet flawed character which is something you most certainly won't find in Nightcrawler. However, that is not to criticise Gyllenhaal's performance- he's fantastic. Lou is a manipulative, cold-hearted anti-hero. These traits are easily portrayed, Gyllenhaal excels at creating a character that is also chilling and borderline manic- he is superb.

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Overall, I would recommend you go and see this if you haven't already. Its a suspenseful and at times humorous noir,and Gyllenhaal will leave you on edge with his depiction of Lou. This film has left me excited to see what he'll do next, as I feel he keeps choosing more and more interesting and dynamic roles. I think we have a lot more to see from Jake Gyllenhaal.