Flormar 'Haul'

Hi Ladies,
I hope you're all enjoying the ahem 'Summer'...
Today I'm going to show you a few bit's I picked up from a new make up brand called Flormar. Now I say new, but it actually isn't. They're actually around since the 70's, having been born in Milan, and also having been extremely popular in Turkey, but imagine, it's taken this long to get to us!
Well when I say us, I actually picked up these bits in Lanzarote a few week's back, but fear not, they are on the way to Irish soil very soon I do believe!
I could've gone nut's in the shop so very easily. I mean there was so much of everything! Multiple nail and lip colours, eyeshadow, blushes, you name it they had it! They even had staff on hand to give make-overs, which I genuinely would have loved, but in 36 degree heat it would've just slid right of my face! The staff in there were so pleasant helpful as well, which is always a plus!
So finally, I'm going to show you now what I bought! I haven't done any swatches for the products, but I'll more than likely be doing individual blog post's on all the item's, so I shall add in the swatches to those posts.

• High Performance Rotating Volume Mascara: Yep, you read that right, A rotating mascara, which I believe the girl in store told me is battery operated! I was a bit dubious that it would do anything, but after having it tried on one of my eye's I had to have it. It instantly made my eyelashes appear longer and thicker, without that clumpy look! I haven't used it properly since because I've such a huge amount of mascara to get through, but I look forward to using it! 

• Sheer Tinted BB Cream with SPF 15: This I have yet to try properly, but once I do I'll definitely let you guy's know how I got on with it. Some day's I just can't be bothered with a full face of make up, but it's still nice to put something on when I have to go out and run some errands and what not. From the little bit the sales assistant tried on my hand it seems to have a decent amount of coverage, even though the name is 'sheer tinted'. I'm not a fan of really full coverage bases anyway, so this will be nice to have in my ever expanding collection! Colour wise though I did struggle to find a good match, but then again I was in Spain where the ladies are a lot more bronzed than me, but I'm sure they'll cater to us pale skinned lassies when they arrive on our shores!It doesn't actually give a shade name on this, it just says 01, so I'm just assuming it's the lightest shade! 

• Extra Colour Lip Lacquer Shade 04 Peace Out: I have given this serious usage since picking it up, I'm absolutely loving it! For me Lip Lacquer's have a tendency to be extremely drying and leave my lips in a heap. Not this chap! It's so creamy and comfortable to wear, and it lasts forever! The pigmentation is amazing as well, like you literally only need the smallest amount. I really love the colour of this, it's like a light pink/peach colour, but to be honest, I don't think it really suits me. But ya know, YOLO and all that. :P

• Terracotta Blush in Shade 45 Touch of Rose: This is a baked blush, and it's absolutely gorgeous! It kind of reminds me of the Mineralized Skin Finishes from MAC to look at, I can't say if it performs the same as I don't own any of them :( But this is a beautiful pink, with hint's of brown and gold glitter. I find that when I apply it that it nearly does the job of a blush and a bronzer all in one, and we all love a product that's multi purpose! However if you don't like glitter I wouldn't recommend this, as it is very heavy on glitter, and I find as the day goes on and the colour fades a bit, the glitter is more prominent. I don't care though I still luurrrve it! 
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• Puffy Eyeshadow 03 in Its My Headband: This is a lovely burgundy, rusty kind of shade, It probably won't suit me at all but the colour was so pretty I just had to have it! I haven't tried it properly, but one swipe in the shop resulted in such pigmentation, and it seemed to be really smooth, so once this post is up and pictures are taken I'll be sure to give it a good go! I'm thinking it would be perfect for a statement eye look on a night out! 

       
 So these are the few items I picked up. I really could have bought the shop but I was good and            restrained  myself, but I definitely will be picking up a few more bit's when it gets to Ireland.              The prices are fantastic, think somewhere along the lines of Rimmel and Maybelline, and the               packaging is a lot more luxurious than the prices would lead you to believe! If I can find prices           I will add them in for the item's, but I would advise getting out and trying the brand because for           the price you can't really go wrong! 

        Have any of you tried Flormar? What did you think?

        Thanks for reading,

         Alisha xxx

March Favourites:

Its hard to believe another month has just flown by in the blink of an eye! Madness isn't it! Anyway, all that 'OMG, where is time going' stuff, March was a really good month for me, product wise. I discovered some absolute gems this month that I have absolutely and genuinely loved. You may think I'm exaggerating, but you know its true love when you use a product every single day since you got it! Beauty Addicts are you with me???

The first thing I've been absolutely loving is a BB Cream from Lidl. Yes you read that right, Lidl. Its part of their Orisis range that they brought out recently, but it disappears fairly fast off the shelves. (Its back in store for Mother's Day now if you're interested.) But anyway, this stuff is AMAZING. Its light and it feels really cool and refreshing on my skin and gives a decent amount of coverage. It makes me go from looking like I've just gotten out of bed to bright eyed and bushy tailed in seconds! It comes in 2 colours, light and medium. I'm as pale as Casper, and can sometimes find colour matching difficult, but the light shade is perfect for me. And the best bit? Its only 2.99! I'm genuinely so impressed with this, its been my go to base for more or less every day this month.

Next up is a skincare product. Skincare isn't something that I would have been too bothered about before, but in the last couple of months I've been trying harder, as I'm slowly but surely heading for the wrong side of 25. And they say prevention is better than cure! Its Tesco's Pro Formula Hot Cloth Cleanser. This stuff is the best cleanser I've used so far. Hot Cloth cleansers are all the rage in the beauty world lately, so I decided to give one a go. And I'm glad I did! It literally takes every scrap of make up off my face. I even used a micellar solution after it incase there was some make up left on my face, but there was zero!! It was a bargain price of 6.50 and it even came with a little muslin cloth aswell. I find this very rough for my face though so I'll be buying a couple of softer cloths to use with it instead. But its well worth it and I shall definitely repurchase this!

Spring finally seemed to appear in March, and I got so excited I gave my make up bag a good shake up for the sun. This Sleek Blush Trio in Lace has been on my face more or less all month. With 3 differing shades of coral in the palette its perfect for sunny days and evenings. It just makes me feel happy and excited for Summer, and if I were to go on a sun holiday this is something I would definitely pack. These are also great value at around 10 euro for 3 blush shades! Can't go wrong with that! :)

I eventually gave in and picked up the Wet N Wild Megalast Lipstick in Just Peachy. I had been eyeing it up for ages, and although at 2.99 it wasn't going to break the bank, I just wasn't sure the shade was going to suit me. However, I bought it and I'm so glad I did. Its such a beautiful shade of peach, and it doesn't wash me out like I thought it would. Its rare that I wear the same lipstick every day for more or less a month, but for March this is all I've worn.

Because the weather has been so good, I've gone back to my trusty Roger And Gallet Fleur De Figeur as my scent for March. This has gotten me so many compliments over the last few weeks. Its one of those scents that is beautifully sweet and fruity, but not in an immature or teenage way. Its slowly but surely making its way to the bottom of the bottle though, so a repurchase will definitely be on the cards at some point. Its also available in a small bottle and a big bottle, and they're very inexpensive. The bigger size is 39.99 so its not expensive in comparison to other perfumes.

And lastly, I've been obsessed with statement jewelry. Anything big and colourful specifically. This one is a recent purchase from Penney's that I absolutely adore. I love mint green anyway, and teamed with the coral and the pearls its perfect to brighten up a plain outfit. And it was only 8 euro!

So that my dears is March's favourites!
Anything here that you've tried?

Thanks for reading,
Alisha xxx

Make Up Monday!

Back to Monday again... Sigh... Wouldn't it be great if there was an extra day at the weekend to get ready for the week ahead? Ah well, a girl can dream I guess. I have to admit this week I was a bit lazy with regards to make up. I wasn't doing a lot so I didn't really bother with a heavy base, but yet I didn't want to leave the house sans make up altogether. That would just be crazy, and I really didn't want to scare all my neighbours. The saviour product I used this week though was Catrice's BB Allround Foundation Multi Benefit Make Up. Ok so quite a long winded name, but basically its Catrice's version of a BB cream! I picked this up on a whim after Laura Cunningham raved about it one morning on Ireland AM. Laura Cunningham really knows her stuff when it comes to beauty products, so I figured if its good enough for her its good enough for little old me! Its a 6 in 1 product which Catrice claim offers Balancing, Correcting, Protecting, Illuminating, Covering, and Moisturising properties.
That's a lot of claims for just one product!

Some of them I don't know would I agree with altogether, such as the balancing property and the moisturising one. I do find it does a very good job of correcting and covering, as it does even out the colour of my skin and does a good job of visibly reducing redness, a lot of which I have on and around my nose. I'm also very impressed with the protection offered in this product, as its Factor 30! Which in itself is amazing as a lot of face products I've seen seem to offer at the most a Factor 15. This product also contains light reflecting pigments which give a more radiant glow to the skin. (At times I use a bit too much and so end up looking shiny, so just beware of that and use a tiny amount.)
Coverage wise, obviously as its a BB cream its a rather light coverage, but that's what  I like about it. Some days I just don't want the hassle of priming my skin and then applying foundation and then powder. This is just so quick and easy, especially for day's your not doing much and are just hanging around the house, but yet want to feel somewhat put together.
Its so handy to use, literally just this, a tiny bit of blush, and mascara and I'm good to go!
There is only 3/4 shades in this, so that is probably the only downside of this, I'm using the lightest shade and it is very yellow, and my skin has more pink undertones, but with a lot of blending in I manage to make it work.
I have a feeling that Catrice are actually to discontinue this, but don't worry if they have because they always reintroduce something very similar within a few weeks, which is partly why I love Catrice, they're always reintroducing new products for me to try! It is very reasonably priced too at 6.99, which is great if you want to try the BB craze!
Catrice can be found at selected pharmacies and Penney's stores nationwide.

Thanks for reading,
Alisha xxx

Face Of The Day

I find it really interesting to look at these 'face of the day' posts on other blogs. Usually I get some great ideas about alternative ways to wear my make up, and a lot of the time I end up really wanting to try some new products. Seen as I had no work today I thought I'd take an opportunity to show you guys what I wear on my face on days off if I fancy wearing a little bit of make up.

For my base I used the Maybelline 'Dream Fresh' BB Cream in Light. I think I got this for dry skin and on first go of this on holidays I wasn't too impressed, especially after hearing so many bloggers raving over it! However I have given it a go a few times since then, and I have definitely changed my mind! It just tones down any redness and gives a light/medium coverage, without being too heavy on the skin. 

For concealer I used my two trusty sidekicks, again both Maybelline. (I just noticed that 4 out of the 6 products in this post are Maybelline... Hmmm... Anywho! For undereyes I continue to use 'The Eraser', and I just love the way this works, especially when I blend it in with my Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge! It just gives the most flawless finish ever! 

For blemishes and redness I use the Fit Me concealer. Its light but at the same time it doesn't feel too heavy on the skin at all! 

For blush I used this little guy from MUA. I love MUA, they do amazing products, but at the same time they are so inexpensive! So much so I've just put in an order... Including two of these cream blushes! They are cream blushes, but they have a cream to powder finish, meaning they blend in flawlessly! I think this one is called Dolly, but I could be wrong with that.. They are only like 2.99ish, so a great price for a great product.

And lastly for my eyes. This is my go to eyeshadow if I want a bit of colour on my lids when  I can't decide what I want, or else when I'm too lazy for the whole blending and crease work etc. Its the Maybelline Colour Tattoo in one of the most well known colours 'On and On Bronze. As you can see it does get a fair bit of use, but its so easy to use! You can put on a light layer and sheer it out, or else you can build it up to a more intense colour! I use this a lot as a base for my eyeshadow aswell, and it works brilliantly!

I'm not a huge mascara person as I've mentioned before. A mascara is a mascara to me, they all do the same thing. So at the moment I'm just using this Rimmel Scandalise one and its grand for everyday use.

On my lips I used a bit of my Eos Lip Balm and that was it!

So what do you guys use if your having a lazy day like me?

Thanks for reading, 

Alisha xxx

Whats in my make up bag!

So for any of you that don't know or aren't on Instagram, Cloud10Beauty are doing a 'beauty photo challenge for the month of October, and I've been dying to do one for ages so I decided I'd give it a lash! The reason I decided to do this post is because one of the challenges is a 'what's in your make up bag' post, so I figured I'd go one step further and do a blog post on it aswell! I have a large quantity of make up, which at the moment is stored in my wardrobe in various different vanity bags and cases, so this make up bag is the one I keep the products I use every day in, and I try to switch it up every so often.

So first of all, the actual make up bag itself is one I got when my parents were on holidays, and it came free with a fragrance purchase from Roger and Gallet. I've only started using it recently, but its a good size, and I can fit a good amount into it, a lot more than what I have in it at the moment! 

Now, onto the good stuff! :)

First up are my make up brushes, which as you can see is made up mainly of Real Techniques brushes! I'm in love with the blush brush, its so so soft, and applies just the right amount of product! The rest of the brushes are all eye brushes, and the long black handled one is a Kiko one I picked up last week, and the short silver handled one is a Sigma travel sized blending brush, and the other two are just ones I picked up cheap! But they do the job so I cant complain! :)

And onto the face!For my days off work, or when its really hot, (which isn't a whole lot in this lovely country), I opt for a BB cream. At the moment I'm using this one from Catrice, alongside the Maybelline Dream Fresh one, and if I'm honest I prefer this one! There's more coverage without it being too heavy, where as with  the Maybelline one, it doesn't cover up any redness or blemishes or anything which is disappointing for the price of it! And this Catrice one is only 6 euro! 

My go to foundation since the autumn crept in is  this Stay Matte foundation from Rimmel, and I love it! Its a mouse foundation, so the teeniest bit will do your whole face, and the coverage is amazing!

I always use a primer before applying my make up, and I've just recently finished a Smashbox one which I adored, but I won't pay 30ish euro just for a primer, to me its mental. So I'm trying to use what I have for now, and this My Base illuminating primer from Essence does the job of keeping my make up on all day, and is dirt cheap! 

For powder I use this much raved about Stay Matte powder from Rimmel. I don't use it when I'm wearing the Stay Matte foundation because that would be much too cakey for me, but I'm using more sheer products I'd always use this to mattify my face!

I'm currently using 2 concealers, the Maybelline Fit me for any blemishes or redness, and the Eraser Under Eye concealer also by Maybelline. Apologies for the grubbiness of the packaging, but both of these are on the go a while now! 

For eyes I have these 2 gel eyeliners by Catrice in both brown and black. I used to use these every single day but during the summer I just went with shadow and mascara, so now that the winter is back in I'm going to try and get a bit more use out of them, because they are actually really good! 

I've two mascaras on the go aswell at the minute, the Rimmel Scandalise, and a random one from NYC which I cant tell you the name of because the writing rubbed off! Both of these are coming near the end of there life, so I'm just trying to get a bit more use out of them before then! 

Also in here is my must have NYX eyeshadow primer. This stuff is amazing! It makes my eyeshadow last from for the full working day and a bit more, which is great! 

I currently only have 2 blushes in my bag, 'Flushed' from Sleek and I think this cream  MUA one is called Dolly, or something of the sort! Both of them have amazing pigment and are perfect colours for the transition into autumn/winter.

These are two of the most recent additions to my lipstick/gloss collection, a lipstick by Essence and this lip gloss from W7. Neither have been used yet, so I will have to test them out fairly soon! 

Lastly I just have a few random bits! An eye cream from Nivea, a tin of good old Vaseline, (aloe vera if you don't mind), and a tin of deodorant! 

So there you have it ladies, that's what's in my make up bag... For the moment!! 

Thanks for reading,

Alisha xxx

A little haul.....

So on Friday I decided to head into town to pick up some bits for holidays. However this was a complete and utter flop as most of the summer clothes were sold forever ago, and so I ended up picking up a few winter bits! After that I then ventured to probably my favourite shop in the world.... Boots! And this happened:

Ya, I know, I know I know, I didn't really need any of it! But it was buy one, get second half off in Boots, and any girl that loves her beauty knows that's not the kinda offer you pass up!
There was a couple of things that I really really wanted, but the rest then I just decided I'd like to try because I've read a lot of reviews on them and wanted to give them a go myself!
First up is the much raved about 'Dream Fresh BB Cream' from Maybelline. Its only in recent months I've started to try Maybelline products, after trying the infamous 'Colour Tattoo's'. Miss Budget Beauty loves this stuff, so I'm looking forward to trying it for days when I don't want a full coverage make up. It was 11.95 but it also has an SPF of 30, so its like a double product really... Right???

Next up is again a much raved about product from Maybelline. The '24 hour colour tattoo' in 'Metallic Pomegranate'. I have been dying to try this colour for ages as it'll be a perfect base for burgundy looks and what not in winter, but unfortunately I've briefly tried it out and its not living up to the hype! It just doesn't come out as pigmented as it looks in the jar, but I'll hold back a proper opinion on it until I've given it fair use! With the current offer I got this for about 3.95 I think! Bargain!

The next thing I then picked up was the newest addition to the Rimmel foundation line, the 'Stay Matte Liquid Mouse Foundation'. I've tried this out already, (I've very little self restraint), and I have to say I really like it! The coverage is brilliant, and even after a full day at work it was still perfect. My only bug bear is that I tend to have drier skin in winter, so it may not be suitable for drier skinned ladies, but possibly with a good moisturiser it may be ok! Its also a great price at only 7.95! 

My next purchase that I got for half price is a goody! Recently make up stands far and wide have been bombarded with versions of the Clinique 'Chubby Sticks'. So I decided to pick up Rimmel's newest offering! I cant remember the exact shade name, but as you can see from the packaging, its red! I thought when I picked up that it was going to be a sheer, buildable, balm type, but its actually not! Its really pigmented and not balmy at all! Not that its a bad thing. This again came in around the 3.95 mark at half price, how could I refuse that!

The main thing I went in for was another one of the Kate Moss lipsticks for Rimmel. I have one of each formula, the red tube being the matte formula, and the black tube being the more glossy of the two. I had seen this amazing pink colour, but any stand I went to didn't have it.. Until I went to Boots of course! Its an amazing hot pink colour, that looks to have a slight shimmer to it, I cant wait to wear it on a night out! This was 6.95 full price, but I think this was the last item I got at half price so again around 3.50! (Sorry but my laptop is refusing to let me rotate the picture) :(

And lastly, I was trying to decide my last couple of purchases, when the apocalips caught my eye. In different shades! That's right! Rimmel have launched some new shades, I'm assuming for autumn/winter, but who knows! I decided to pick up the shade 'Aurora' which is a lovely muted reddish burgundy shade, and is perfect for day wear, unlike some other reds which are very in your face for the workplace! But this is perfect! It was 7.95, but again if you pick it up with something a bit more expensive, you'll get it for less than 4 euro! 

So that my lovely ladies was my haul! My poor boyfriend nearly fainted when he saw the amount I spent on make-up, but I do the same quite regularly when he tells me about parts he's bought for his car!

Thanks for reading,

Alisha xxx