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

New budget beauty finds!

Cara Pharmacy recently opened its doors the the public in Galway, so when I was in there last Sunday I had to go in for a look, being the curious person that I am! I had a good mooch around, and came across this section that had a range of products from a brand called W7 Cosmetics. I'd heard of it from other beauty bloggers across the pond, but I presumed it was a British brand that I wouldn't be able to get my hands on! So when I saw it on front of me it was only natural that I'd pick up a few bits, considering the price point of the products!

So the bits I picked up were: 

Creme de la Creme cream blusher, which was only 2.00!

Super Pout Plumping Lip Gloss which again was only 2.00! 

Prime Magic Primer, which I'm hoping will be a much cheaper alternative to my Smashbox Photoready Primer which I used up recently! Price was 4.00! 

And then I picked up this nail polish remover which I think was about 1.99, here's hoping its as good as the Bourjois one! 

I havent tried any of these out yet but I'm looking forward to it! Either they'll be really good, or really terrible! But either way, for the price I wont complain! 

Thanks for reading, 

Alisha xxx

Maybelline 24 Hour Colour Tattoos

I love love love reading other blogs, and watching various beauty 'guru's on YouTube, but perhaps the only downside to this past time of mine is I'm frequently left with a serious case of blogger envy. What's this you might ask? Well its when any of these bloggers/vloggers write and talk about various products that I would give my left arm to have. So more often than not, when this happens, usually in the case of drugstore items, I just run out to my nearest Boots and pick up said items! (I always kick myself afterwards due to the fact I need NONE of these things, but I usually justify it by saying I don't smoke, I don't drink or go out very much, and we all have our vices right?
This is what happened with what I'm talking about in today's post, the Maybelline 24 Hour Colour Tattoo's. I think it was Orla from Makeupovermind that I first saw talking about these, so I decided I'd give them a go myself! Now I originally only planned on picking up 2 or 3 shades, but then I just kept picking them up whenever I saw a new colour I hadn't tried! Oops! For those of you that don't know what these are or haven't heard of them, they are a cream eyeshadow packed full of colour that literally last for ages once you apply them. Its like they turn to concrete on your eyelids!

Turns out I had another one hidden in another make up bag, that I forgot to put into this picture So altogether I have 8! 

My most used ones pictured below along with swatches are from left to right: On and On Bronze, Pink Gold, and Permanent Taupe. These 3 are the most neutral out of the lot that I own, and I find them so handy for using as a base for other eyeshadow if I'm going out at night, or else if I'm on a day off from work and I just don't want to put a whole lot of effort into my makeup! They can be built up for a stronger colour, or else sheered out for a more natural look. On and On Bronze and Pink Gold are metallic shades, where the Permanent Taupe is more matte, and because of this its slightly harder to work with, but if you work fast when applying it, there should be no problem!

It was at this point that I realised I was missing one, and so my pictures look a bit funny with 3 colours in one, and 5 in the other! But never the less we'll continue! ;) 

The rest of them are ones that I've collected during the summer and haven't got a whole lot of use from yet as you can see that most of them are fairly dark colours bar the gold one. From left to right we have: Light In Purple, Metallic Pomegranate, Everlasting Navy, 24k Gold, and Everlasting Navy. 

I thought the Everlasting Navy would be great for a change from a black smokey eye for a night out, but I'm not great at eye looks so I'll definitely have to practice a fair bit! The Metallic Pomegranate is such a beautiful shade, I kept going into Boots, swatching it on my hand and walking out, and then sighing with regret later that I hadn't bought it! I have a couple of Sleek eyeshadow palettes that have gorgeous burgundy shades in them, so this will be the perfect base for looks with these colours, and they'll last all day! The 24k Gold is a very yellow gold, but its perfect under more neutral colours, or even by itself its really nice, and its also a gorgeous inner corner highlight! Light In Purple is a funny colour, in that it says its purple, but to me its really a blue with a purple shimmer, but it depends which kind of light you look at it in!

 In the US, Maybelline have recently brought out colour pigments in the 24 hour line aswell, so I'm super excited for them to come to Ireland, because if there anything like the cream shadows they will be amazing! These are priced at 7.49 from Boots, but there is still a buy one get one half price offer in there at the moment and online, so its  the perfect chance to try some if you haven't before! 

Thanks for reading, 

Alisha xxx

Summer to Winter Make Up changes

First off apologies for being missing from my blog for the last week, I was away sunning myself in Spain! If you read my last post on Kiko, you'll be pleased to hear I picked up the majority of what was on my wishlist, and I also came across a shop very similar to The Body Shop, so I picked up a couple of perfumes! That was the extent of my beauty shopping really! I was very restrained if I do say so myself!
On to this weeks post though for now! I know we experienced a bit of a 'heatwave' this week, but usually come September, there is a fairly obvious change in the weather, and most people don't realise your make-up routine has to change aswell, along with your wardrobe! My skin seems to get a lot dryer in the winter, so I make sure to drink lots of water and use plenty of moisturisers and hydrating face masks to keep it somewhat hydrated. But on the really fun part, the make up!!
First off, foundation. For the Summer I loved my Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation, and loved the radiant glow it gave, without making me look like I had a ridiculously oily face! For the winter I'm going to be rocking more of a matte look, and the foundation I shall be using is the new Rimmel Stay Matte offering. I've tried this and its lovely! Its not heavy on the skin, which I thought it would be considering its a thick mousse textured foundation. And I don't need powder with it which gives me an extra minute or two in the morning when I'm getting ready for work! It retails for about 7 or 8 euro, and it will last ages because you only need a tiny amount to do the whole face!

Next up is blusher. I'm a huge blush fan and I think its the one make up item that I keep buying it and buying it even though I don't need it! But I cant help it! For the summer I was loving bright pinks and corals, and especially cream blush, but for the colder months I picked up this newbie to my collection from Kiko! Its one of there Soft Touch Blushes, and it comes in an amount of colours, like everything else they do, and as soon as I saw it I knew it would be the perfect winter colour! I think it was 8.99 or in and around that, so not too bad at all! I could have spent all day in the store, they had so much to choose from and all at great prices too! 

On to eyes next, and I tend to stick with neutrals for both day and night time looks, as there just easier to work with I find, but with the change in the weather I'm going to try and step out of my comfort zone and try some deeper colours. I'm starting off nice and easy with these new colours from Maybelline in there 24 hour Colour Tattoo's, Everlasting Nave and Metallic Pomegranate. As you can see from the picture they haven't been used yet, as I haven't been sure how to make these work for me, but I'm going to give them a go over the weekend, so hopefully with a bit of practice I'll figure it out! 

And lastly onto the lips! Again, I've gathered a massive amount of lip products, with the same few getting usage on a daily or weekly basis. Because of this I'm trying to 'shop my stash' rather than running out buying more colours for the season, and the first one I thought would be perfect is this lip butter from Revlon is 'Rasberry Pie'. Its a gorgeous berry shade, that isn't too dark, and because its a lip butter rather than a lipstick, its easier to work with! The colour is still very buildable if your someone who doesn't do subtle! ;) I think this was around 10 or 11 euro, but they tend to be on 3 for 2 or buy one get one half price in Boots, so it may be worth a look! ;)

So what changes will you lovely folks make to your make up bags for the winter?

Thanks for reading,

Alisha xx

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My holiday make up!

So I may have mentioned once or twice that I'm heading away to Spain on Monday for a couple of days! (I'm excited, can you tell?) For the first time EVER, I'm trying to be sensible with what I bring, and so have thought long and hard, (for possibly 5 minutes), about what I'll bring. So these babies are the ones that  have made the final cut!

So the first and probably most important thing I packed was my suncream!This is Boots own 'Soltan' brand, and its factor 50, which I need because of my red hair and pale skin, and some after sun!
Then in my little clear bag, I have some miniature shower gel and body lotion from 'The Sanctuary', which are only 75mls, so are perfect for bringing for a few days, some shampoo and conditioner which I decanted into some clear bottles, and some face cleanser and a razor. I will also bring some moisturiser aswell,  I just don't want to pack it away until I've used it after I take off my make up!
Which then leads me on to the real good stuff, and the bits I love to see when people do these kinds of posts, the make up! I had already decided that base wise I was packing light, because I don't want a heavy base, and it wouldn't last on me anyway in the heat! So here's what I opted for!

I decided to go for my Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream, as really there's no point bringing anything heavier, as I don't like heavy bases on my skin when its hot and sticky! I haven't actually used this yet, but I've heard its great! Then for blush I opted for my MUA cream blush in the shade Dolly. This blush is a lovely natural colour which gives a nice glow to the cheeks, and is very neutral so can be worn with a lot of different looks. I'm also bringing the new Stay Blushed cheek tint from Rimmel. This is a blush but obviously in a tint form, so I figured this would be nice for holidays as its nice and cooling and I wouldn't have to worry about it melting off! For concealer, I've chosen my Maybelline Fit Me concealer in the shade 15, and this is perfect for blemishes and the under eye area, and I also could have sworn I put my Maybelline The Eraser under eye concealer in this picture too, but it seems to have vanished, or else I'm losing my marbles!

Ah, now I see where it went.. My apologies! I put it in with my eye make up! So for my eyes I've decided to go with a neutral enough look, as I've decided to go with bright lips for the night time instead. So I've brought this little palette by French Connection that I got at Christmas. It has a range of colours from dark to light, so if I did want to do a more dramatic eye look I can. I'll more than likely bring my NYX eyelid primer aswell to make sure the shadows last the night.
For mascara I've opted for this Scandalise one from Rimmel. I'm not a big mascara lover, I do
 wear it every day, but to me a mascara is a mascara, so they all tend to do the same thing!

And then on to the lips! The first thing I knew I had to bring was a lip balm because more than likely my lips will dry out in the sun, so I've chosen this one from NYC. And I've also opted for 3 lipsticks, which are all in various shades of pink! The first one is 101 from the Kate Moss collection for Rimmel, which is matte, so I'll definitely need the lip balm with that one. The next one is one of the Maybelline Colour Sensational lipsticks in Fuchsia Flash (I think), and then lastly is this one again from the Kate Moss collection for Rimmel in 20, which I'd been mad to get!! I havent used it yet so I cant wait to see what its like!
So I hope you found it somewhat interesting or helpful,

Thanks for reading,
Alisha xxx

Kiko Wishlist

So I'm off on my holidays next week and I cannot wait! I'm heading to Torravieja which is just outside Alicante in Spain and there is apparently a mahoosive shopping centre not too far away from where we're staying! So me being me, of course I had to do a bit of research! The shopping centre is called 'La Zenia Boulevard', and is home to one of best friends Primark!! So of course I will be stopping off there for a look, in fairness it would be really rude not to, wouldn't it?
But the shop that excites me most is Kiko! Turns out there is a Kiko store in the shopping centre too, so I've been looking online to see what might catch my eye when I get there, because otherwise I'll get too excited and buy loads more than I probably should!
If your not familiar with Kiko, it's an Italian professional cosmetics brand which offers amazing quality products for really reasonable prices!

So first on my list is some of there loose pigments. Mac do probably the most well known pigments in the beauty world, but these ones from Kiko only cost 5.90! (euro) I'm loving the look of the neutral colours, which are number 1 Nude Beige, 10 Light Taupe, and finally 18 White Gold!

I am a complete and utter blush fanatic, at one stage I had 11 blushes in my everyday make up bag! Which is a bit extreme really considering there's only 7 days in the week, and I tend to wear the same one every day anyway!  Lately I've been really getting into cream blushes and this Velvet Blush Stick looks lovely! There's a shade called 'Verve Peony' that looks like it'll be a really nice colour for Winter, a slightly dark pink! Its 7.90 so its not a bad price either! 

Everyone seems to rant and rave about MAC's 'Fix Plus Spray' for keeping there make up in place and for freshening it up during the day. I'm yet to try that, but this Make Up Fixer looks like a nice alternative at an even nicer price! Its 7.90 and its got rave reviews on there website, so fingers crossed! 

There Smart Lipsticks look absolutely amazeballs! At 3.90 they're a fantastic price, but I have a serious problem in that there's so many different colours that I'm going to have a serious task trying to choose which colour to go for! I'm looking a nice plum shade for autumn/winter, so I think I'll have to just try them out in the store! 

I've had a quick look at the make up brushes also, and the prices are really good! I havent really seen anything that's jumped out at me in the line of brushes though, but I may check out the eye brushes when I get there! 

So that's really a round up of what I'm hoping to pick up when I get there, but to be honest I'll probably come out with twice as much! That is if my boyfriend will have enough patience to let me go in after I've raided Primark! ;)

Thanks for reading,

Alisha xxx