A Little Lush Haul

I mentioned in my What's In My Shower post that I was going to pick up some new body stuff from Lush. I got 2 of the Limited Edition Christmas shower gels, a shower jelly and an exfoliator.

First up are the two shower gels. I got what I consider a 'morning' and a 'night' shower gel.

Ponche is definitely the morning one. Lush say "With orange juice and a shot of tequila. Inspired by traditional Mexican Christmas punch, this shower gel is bright,boozy, fruity and uplifting". I love the smell of this and to me it smells fruity. I don't really get any alcohol smell off it, so don't worry about your boss thinking you've been out on the lash if you shower with this before work!

The night one is Twilight, "A lavender and malt notes shower gel to calm, relax and comfort as it helps you transition from day to night". This certainly smells of pure comfort and is heavily laced with lavender.

The last body wash item I got was Whoosh shower jelly. Whoosh is the first shower jelly I've bought so I'm looking forward to seeing how it works. Whoosh is going to be another morning shower product based on the zingy, fresh smell. It's made with lemon, limes and rosemary - very citrusy.

Finally from Lush I got Rub Rub Rub which is a shower scrub. It's an ocean salt scrub but it is blossom scented and it smells incredible. Can't wait to try it!

Now although I didn't get this last product from Lush I thought I would add it in here as it seems the best place for it. It is Cinnamon Buns from Philosophy. It smells so cozy and warm and it is the perfect body wash for cold, winter nights. And the bottle is huge! I'll be using this next winter as well I think!

Did you buy anything from the Lush Christmas collections? or Philosophy?

Essence Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 2 Make-up Collection

As I'm going to see the final Twilight film tonight I thought it would be appropriate to show you the make-up I picked up from the Essence Twilight collection!

Although I enjoyed both the Twilight book series and films, I can't say I'm a 'Twihard'. Nonetheless I was looking forward to the release of the Breaking Dawn Part 2 limited edition make-up collection that Essence launched to coincide with the release of the last film in the franchise.

Being me, it was no surprise that what I was most looking forward to was the nail varnishes. 

Jacob's Protection, Alice Had A Vision - Again and Edward's Love

There were four released with the collection and I got 3 of them. Jacob's Protection is a dark blue shimmer, Alice Had A Vision - Again is a dark purple shimmer and Edward's Love is a black shimmer.  The fourth one in the collection was a gold foil style one.

I've never tried any Essence make-up before but I got four items from this collection - a blush, a highlighter, a lipgloss and a glitter eyeliner.

Bella's Secret and Renesmee Red

Bella's Secret is a beautiful golden-beige highlight powder. The blush Renesmee Red, while pigmented is not quite the shocking red it looks to be. A gentle flush is what the swatches bring.

Renesmee Red and Alice Had A Vision -  Again.

Lastly is the lipgloss and eyeliner. Renesmee Red (They like re-using the names on products!) is a red lipgloss with teeny pieces of gold sparkle. It's not opaque but it does leave a nice, heavily tinted sheen on the lips. I was skeptical of how the formula would be but it surprised me. It's quite a soft and smooth formula and thankfully the gold shimmer pieces were not gritty feeling. It was slightly sticky but not sticky enough for it to be an annoyance. The scent of it is divine.

The purple glitter eyeliner is patchy like nearly all glitter eyeliners. For the price though, it's perfectly fine. I sometimes like to add that hint of sparkle to black eyeliner and this will be perfect for layering over it.

Swatches L-R: Renesmee Red (lipgloss), Alice Had A Vision - Again, Bella's Secret and Renesmee Red (blush).

Did you get anything from this Essence collection?

New Stuff From Penneys (Primark)

I wandered into Penneys one of the evenings after work last week and as I nearly always do, came out with a few new bits. They had some lovely pieces in, so I was actually quite restrained with my purchases for change!

First up is this colourful top. I love how bright it is and it is just nice and casual to throw on over jeans. It was €7.

As soon as I saw this top, I fell in love with it. A casual, stripy, ombre kind of top, it's the perfect 'beach' look. Loose and comfy. It came in this deeper rose pink shade but also in a bright pink version. It is sheer, so you need to wear a cami underneath.  This was €9.

Close-up of ruffle

I spied this dress a while back but never got around to getting it. It is a light material, with a little cinched in waist. I'm not sure if I like the belt, I might add a different one. I love the ruffle detail at the top and it's nice to get a dress with a low neckline. So many dresses I've seen lately are completely covered up and tight around the neck. Hate the feeling of it! Even though it's black, I think it's a lovely summer dress and can easily be brightened up with colouful accessories. It cost €9.

The last two items I got were shoes. They have such a great selection of shoes in there at the moment!

The first pair I got were the raspberry deck shoes. They are so comfy and cute and perfect for an Irish summer. They had them in navy as well but none left in my size when I was there but hopefully they'll get them back in. They cost €13.

The last pair of shoes I got were a pair of rose-gold flats. I actually think my eyes lit up when I saw these haha. I'm so in love with rose-gold these days, it's just so pretty! These were between €6-€9, I can't rightly recall and I already have the tags off.

Have you picked up anything nice any Penney's lately?

Bits and Bobs

I picked up a few things in town during the week and a few things came in the post so I thought I would do a quick post.

Firstly is some Duo lash glue and false eyelashes from Ardell. I’ve tried wearing false lashes on a few occasions but I just never seem to be able to do them right. When I spied the Duo lash glue in Sally’s last week, I decided to get it to see if a decent lash glue would make any difference to my false lash applying abilities. It probably won’t but I’ve heard quite a bit about it, so it’s worth a shot.

I also got a backcombing brush because it was cheap and I didn’t have a proper one.

Next are two things from Chanel. I was in need of a new summer perfume and I’ve being sniffing a lot in preparation for getting a new one but the one I kept coming back to was the Chance Eau Tendre. It is a lovely light scent, perfect summer.

I also got a nail polish from the new summer line, which was released last week. I got Delight, which is a kind of rose gold/bronzey type colour.

I also got YSL Rouge Volupte in no 7 Lingerie Pink. It is a gorgeous milky pink. It’s my first time trying any of the YSL lipsticks.

I also got one of the new Maybelline Colour Sensational popsticks in Citrus Slice.

It is a bright orange but it is tinted balm like. Not exactly full of pigmentation!

Finally I managed to get around to going to TK Maxx to check out the Essie that everybody was raving about being there. There was quite a few left and the ones that I got were Capri, Bordeaux and Lovie Dovie. At €12.99 for 3, it really is a good deal for Essie. I think I’ll be going back for more! 

MAC Hey Sailor! Collection - Haul and Swatches

I love Summer collections. Something about them just makes me happy. When I saw the promo pictures for the Hey Sailor! collection, I knew I would definitely be picking up a few pieces. Also for some reason, the main Mac Summer collection is always released here in Europe before it is released in the States. I don't know why they do it like that but I'm not complaining!

Crew Highlight Powder

Crew is perhaps one of the most anticipated products of this collection but there was a fear that the coloured stripes were only overspray. However, they are not just an overspray so the colour will remain the same. Even though it is a highlight powder, I think it is pigmented enough to use as a blush. 

I have swatches of each of the coloured stripes as well as them all mixed together below.

L-R Lilac, Pink, Peach, All together.

Fleet Fast Blush

There were two blushes released with this collection and Fleet Fast is the darker of the two. It is a dark coral pink with a minute bit of shimmer. Perfect for that Summer glow.

Jaunty Eyeshadow

There were five eyeshadows released with this collection and I just picked up Jaunty with is a neutral shade. It has the most gorgeous satiny sheen to it even thought it is a frost. 

Blue Stripe and Handforged Eye Pencils

I've never tried any of the Mac eyeliners  apart from a white and nude for use on the waterline, so I didn't know what these would be like. The formula is extremely pigmented and creamy. Blue Stripe is a navy blue and Handforged is a gold.

Sail la Vie Lipstick

Sail La Vie lipstick is one of four lipsticks released with this collection. It is an orange lipstick but with red undertones in it, it's not a true orange. I have a few red lipsticks but nothing in the orange range so I'm excited to try this.

Some more swatches

L-R Handforged, Blue Stripe, Sail La Vie, Jaunty and Fleet Fast

I forgot to take another picture of the Body Oil but here is a swatch of it. It will be lovely to layer over a light tan in the Summer.

Seaside Body Oil

So I got quite a bit from this collection. There is also bronzers, lipglasses, lipliners, suntints, pigments and brushes with this collection, so it is a large collection. I'm still contemplating going back for some more of the eyeshadows! 

Have you picked up anything form the Hey Sailor! collection?

Payday Goodies

I managed to do a bit of splurging over my last two paydays. My nail polish buying ban has resulted in me buying too much make-up. I just can't win. And the nail polish ban should be lifted on Friday (only 3 more untried polishes to go!) but I already have a list the length of my arm of polish I need to buy. Oh well.

Onto these goodies. Mostly bought from House of Fraser.

All Together

Soleil Tan de Chanel

I've being lusting after this for a while and with Summer on the way, it was the perfect time to get it.

I can't help but laugh

Mac SkinFinish in Superb

This was the only thing I wanted from the Extra Dimension collection.

Mac Immortal Flower Blush

This was part of the 6 piece Tres Cheek Mac collection. Some gorgeous blushes in the collection but this stood out to me the most.

Top-Bottom Patina, Stars n' Rockets and Sable.

Nars Eyeshadow Duo in Kalahari

I love the 2 Nars eyeshadows singles I have and I thought this duo looked beautiful

Mac 214 shader and 208 angled brush

Some Swatches!

L-R Tan de Chanel, Superb, Immortal Flower, Patina, Stars n Rockets, Sable, Kalahari duo.

And the Mac Hey Sailor Summer collection is being released in a few days. Oh dear.

Some New Stuff From Boots!

I've been lurking in my local Boots for the past few weeks waiting for them to stock the new Revlon and Maybelline items. I was  getting angsty as I saw on Twitter that all the Dublin and larger stores seemed to have them all in stock already. Oh, the joys of country living!

Eventually, I went in last Thursday evening and there they were, the Revlon Lipbutters and Maybelline Colour Tattoo eyeshadows. And as a bonus, there was new shades in the Revlon Colourburst lipgloss range! Delighted.

I was relatively restrained with my purchases but I know I'll be picking up some more soon.

Colour Tattoo Eyeshadow in On and On Bronze, Lipgloss in Bellini, Lipbutters in Candy Apple and Cotton Candy.

Swatches - On and On Bronze, Bellini, Cotton Candy and Candy Apple.

Have you picked up any of the new items yet?

From The HOF

Since discovering that House of Fraser deliver to Ireland for a mere £3 (free if you spend over £50) I have peeked through the website on more occasions than I can remember - it has even earned itself a bookmark on my web browser. The fact that they sell MAC online only adds to the appeal. 

This particular splurge came late at night after a particularly long and arduous day at work. Did it make me feel better? Hell yeah!

So what did I cave and get this time? 

Two more lipsticks from the MAC Shop MAC Cook collection. I got Innocence, Beware and Watch Me Simmer.

A MAC eyeshadow in Blackberry. I have Yoghurt and Quarry and seemingly Blackberry is their perfect accomplice so I am looking forward to trying that combination.

A Chanel nail varnish in Particuliére. It's what I consider one of the must have Chanel nail varnishes.

L-R Innocence, Beware, Watch Me Simmer, Particuliére and Blackberry

Top to Bottom: Watch Me Simmer (Not as red in person), Innocence, Beware (Heavy Swatch!) and Blackberry. 

I love the shimmer that comes out in Innocence, Beware! I can see why it has been adored by so many people.

A Small MAC Haul

I was so excited for the Shop Mac Cook Mac collection to be released here, mostly because of the return of the Tendertones. I've heard so much about them but I wasn't as in to make-up the last time Mac released them so they went over my head. I also picked up a lipstick from the collection as well as the new Viva Glam Nicki lipstick.

I think the packaging on this collection was adorable. Such a pity it's only a sleeve and not on the actual products itself.

The Two Tendertones

L-R Hot n' Saucy and Purring.

Lipsticks

L-R Dish It Up and Viva Glam Nicki

Swatches Top to Bottom

Viva Glam Nicki, Dish It Up, Hot n' Saucy and Purring

I knew the Tendertones wouldn't be that pigmented but they do give a tint to the lips. They smell fruity which is nice but unfortunately they are a little bit stickier than I would have preferred. 

Has anything from this collection tempted you? I'm still considering getting some more lipsticks!

New Stuff!

If you follow me on twitter you may know that I visited friends in Dublin last weekend. Thankfully all those friends are as earnest make-up junkies as me so we had lots of fun buying and swatching make-up.

Most of the items I got were things I'd planned to buy for quite a while.

L-R Philospophy Tinsel Town gift set, Philosophy Purity Cleanser and Lush Flying Fox Shower Gel.

The Tinsel Town gift set contains a shower gel and lipgloss and was on sale for €6 down from €20! Bargain!

L-R Lush Buffy, Lush Tin and Lush Aqua Mirabilis

I've been dying to try the two of these out for ages!

L-R Dior Waterlily nail varnish, Shu Uemura eyelash curler and Laura Mercier primer.

The eyelash curler is something I'd always wanted to pick up but I didn't even know the brand was available in Ireland. I was thrilled when I spied the counter in BT:)

L-R Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer duo, MAC 129, MAC MSF in Redhead and MAC Lipstick in A Perfect Day.

I didn't like as much as I thought from the MAC Naturally collection but I loved the MSF! 

Have you picked up anything recently?