Wish List | Spring Make Up Essentials

Okay okay, so they might not be "essentials" per se, but I've managed to pick out some of my favourite items that are out at the moment or being released for Spring/Summer 2014. We've managed to make it through dreary January (almost) and it's time to look forward! What better way to pick yourself up than creating your very own Spring 2014 wishlist. Essentially I am looking for justification for these purchases and if I put them "out there", no one can be surprised or shocked when I come home, bags full. You've been warned!

MAC Viva Glam Rihanna Lipstick         NARS Guy Bourd Cinematic Lip (Full Frontal)

            WetnWild - Trio - Cool as a Cucumber               MAC Veluxe Brow Liner

Urban Decay - Naked 3 Palette

       

Barry M NP318 - Bourjois Violet Couture - NARS Wind Dancer

Have you already got any of these products, what do you think of them?

What is on your Wishlist for Spring 2014?

The Blogger Tag

Welcome everyone to The Blogger Tag! I decided to create a tag specifically for bloggers, I didn't come across anything similar, so I don't think it's been done already. But as with any tag post, the rules are simple:

1. Answer all the questions below
2. Tag fellow bloggers in the post
3. Link back to blogger who tagged you
4. When you post your response and you're advertising it, use the hashtag #BloggerTag

It's for a little fun and since it's January, it also touches on some of the ambitions we all have for our blogs in 2014. It is also a great opportunity to find fellow bloggers along the way. There is no restriction on the content of your blog to get involved. So let us begin...

1. When did you start your blog?
April 2013, so not even a year old yet, but the time has flown by!

2. What encouraged you to start?
I read loads of other blogs and watch plenty of beauty gurus on YouTube that I find helpful and I was always sharing tips with friends, I thought it might be nice to have a centralised place for all those tips.

3. What was the first blog you ever actively followed?
Fleur De Force is where it all began for me. She is based in England and I really like her style of blogging, she also has a YouTube channel which I'm subscribed to and watch regularly.

4. What types of things do you blog about?
Mostly about beauty (i.e. makeup, skincare, reviews, monthly favourites and that type of thing) but I do add in little bits of fashion, tv and general lifestyle

5. What has been your biggest revelation since beginning to blog?
The community spirit out there. I have only been to one meet up so far, but the encouragement and comradery is second to none. I feel I have already started to make some genuine friendships, which is something I never expected.

6. What do you find toughest about blogging?
Without doubt my biggest obstacle for me is time. I am working full time and completing a masters part time, when you include the fact I need to eat, sleep and socialise in there somewhere too, time is a rare commodity.

7. What is your favourite thing about blogging?
When you get a comment or feedback from someone that they found your post beneficial or helpful. It is great to know (and hard to believe) that some of my ramblings have helped someone out in someway. I know I'm not writing any ground breaking stuff, but it's always nice to make some kind of impact!

8. What are your blogging ambitions for 2014?
I would love to get more involved in Bloglovin' as it's an excellent platform for blogs, so really promote that social networking platform. Then outside of that I would like to release a minimum of one post per week (but ideally 2-3 posts) and really strengthen my viewership through Twitter and Facebook.

9. Recommend 5 Blogs for anyone reading this to follow...
Fleur DeForce, Tanya Burr, All the Buzz, At the Beauty Desk & Blushful Beauty
(there are of course sooo many more I could chose, but I had to stick to 5)

10. Who do you tag?
I tag Samantha Johnston, Sarah Hamersley, Avril Murphy, Filomena Kaguako, Lisa Molloy, Make Up Monster, Megan Daly & Lisa De Jong.

So that's it, even if you haven't been tagged and you want to get involved, feel free. Make sure to use #BloggerTag so everyone can see each others' responses.


Happy tagging...

Brand Obsession | Cath Kidston

I was pretty late to the Cath Kidston party, but now that I've caught up I'm in love. I managed to restrict myself to only two purchases so far. But I'm always keeping an eye on the website for any bargains! As the company is celebrating their 20th birthday this year I thought I would give them a mention today. To find fellow Kidstonites and maybe convert a few others who may have never heard of Cath Kidston.

I would like to preface this post with the comment, I have no connection with Cath Kidston, this post is no way sponsored, I am just in love with the brand!

So Kidston herself was born in England in 1958. It wasn't until 1994, that the brand itself began, her first shop in London. Her vision was to merge the traditional prints of her English countryside childhood with a more modern twist. She started out just selling small items like cushion covers, ironing board covers and second hand furniture which she customised herself. Then she began to branch out and create more products with her signature prints including washbags and swimsuits. After she began attending trade fairs and selling her products wholesale, she garnered much deserved media attention and things escalated from there. Cath Kidston now produces handbags, accessories, home wear, clothing, kitchen wear and curtains. The company has grown considerably and much deserved as far as I'm concerned. Today there are 59 Cath Kidston stores across Ireland and the UK, with a further 54 across Spain, Japan, Republic of Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China.

I thought I would share with you all the couple of purchases I've made so far (stress on the "so far", I intend to buy much more on my next trip to the store...)

Daisy Rose Hand Bag

Polka Dot Washbag 

As you can see the open Washbag has a hook on the top, so you can hang it anywhere from the back of the door, to hidden away in your wardrobe. It's great for travel or even as a place holder for your makeup at home. The separate compartments make it easy to keep track of everything.

Have you bought anything from the Cath Kidston range?

What is your favourite brand?

Review | Úr Beauty Sponge & Mascara Wands

So I received a little package this week which was kindly sent to me from Úr Makeup*, which is an Irish make up brand created by Nichola Graham, MUA.

After giving the Beauty Sponge and re-usable Mascara Wands a go, I thought I would share my thoughts with you all.

Firstly I used the sponge to apply my usual Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum foundation (which by the way I'm using year round now). 

Initially I felt I had to use a little more foundation than usual, as a small bit got absorbed by the sponge (as is the nature of a sponge, so I wasn't too worried). But then I found my foundation blended incredibly naturally with this sponge and more importantly, it helped me seamlessly cover up the breakouts I'm currently experiencing along my jaw line. Then when applying my concealer, I also used the beauty sponge to blend it all in. While I am a big brush lover and usually shy away from sponges, I feel with continued practice I could get used to this sponge since I was definitely impressed with the finished result!

When it came to mascara I chose the curved wand without doubt I have to say I was in love with the results. It applied the mascara like a dream and the curve really helped with easily gliding the mascara onto the inner and outter corners lashes. It really is one of the best mascara wands I've ever used. Dare I say it, it might even trump my Rimmel Lash Accelerator wand! As the wands are re-usable I gave it a clean afterwards and was impressed with the cleaning capabilities, however it did take me quite a good scrubbing and some time. I think if I needed to use these on a regular basis with lots of different people I would need to invest in a proper cleaning brush to really take off all the product. As a comparison, the one on the left is the wand I used to apply black mascara, after a bit of a clean, this is how the wand looks. I honestly didn't think it would ever be pink again, so it's great to know the wands can handle a good clean.

Overall I am impressed with the sponge and especially the wands (particularly the curved one) and I would certainly recommend them to a friend. I am also excited this is an Irish company as I'm always eager to find Irish make up brands. 

Have you tried the Úr Makeup range yet?

What are your thoughts?

Favourites | The Best of 2013

Okay okay, it's been a couple of months, instead of boring you with the details, let's just get 2014 off to a productive start! What better way to begin the year than a quick look back to 2013 and what products I reached for time and time again! There are loads of products I could have included, but I really tried to keep it to the bare minimum of what I used almost everyday.

So I touched on some of my favourite face, hair, lip and eyes products along with two of my favourite tools. There shouldn't be any major surprises as most will have featured in my monthly favourites throughout the year.

What were your favourite products of 2013?