Urban Decay; Vice 4 Palette Review and Swatches.

Palette sent as press sample for consideration.

Urban Decays newest Vice offering, their 4th, is absolutely stunning. There, I said it. Quite the opening statement, but it has been designed beautifully, package n' all.

Inspired by the "dimensional hues of an oil slick" and one of their "vintage shades" of the same name 'Oil Slick', this contains a mixture of stunning brights and smoked neutrals for a really balanced collection of eyeshadows.

Cover FX | Total Cover Cream Foundation

Cover FX is another one of those brands that I have coveted for so long and heard such good things about (largely from Kandee Johnson who uses the brand heavily in her videos and professional makeup kit) but had never gotten around to trying them out. That is until a couple of weeks ago when I got the chance to pick out a foundation of my choosing to try out... and the foundation turned into 2 thanks to the lovely PR lady :)

IsaDora Twist up Eye Glosses

I was rather excited when these 'Twist-up Eye Gloss' Highlighters by IsaDora arrived in my mailbox (well actually my Mam & Dad's mail box!) a few months ago.

I love anything beauty related that doesn't immediately seem as if it's another version of a million other products, and these came across as somewhat unique.  While they are called eye glosses, they aren't actually glosses (in formula) but rather cream crayons with a high-shine, gloss finish.

Globally there are now 12 shades in total in the range with the addition of the 3 new shades I received which are the ones available here in Ireland, which include;

YSL 'Rouge Pur Couture Lipstick'.... No.13 'Le Orange'

Last week I was sent my first ever YSL lipstick. I have tried one of their foundations in the past and really liked it, and like millions of other ladies I have owned one of the Touche Eclat highlighters, but for some reason or another I never got as far as even trying one of their lipsticks.

Oh how I have been missing out! 

These are iconic for a good reason. The colour is divine, the packaging is pure luxury and the formula is somewhere beyond comfort. It's probably the luxury aspect that had always intimidated me a bit in the past. I tend not to splurge on uber high-end makeup for myself unless I am picking up something for my professional kit.

Italian Silver Idea; The Isi facial cleansing & exfoliating mitt!

http://www.italiansilveridea.it/

You'll be forgiven for not having heard of the Isi cleansing mitt before as it has until recently been confined within the Italian borders. I was contacted by the brands PR lady from Italy, asked if I'd like to try it out for consideration and told that I am the first blogger outside of Italy to have been sent the mitt!

I hadn't heard of it either before receiving that email. It could be compared to the 'Makeup Eraser' micro-fiber cleansing cloth that was doing the rounds on Youtube and Instagram last year, because despite the physical differences, they are both cloths that cleanse the face without the need for a separate cleansing product. Warm water is all that is needed. The Isi (Italian Silver Idea) is rather more sophisticated however as one side has silver fiber woven into the mitt; this not only delicately exfoliates, but the silver has antibacterial and antimicrobial properties which helps to kill any bacteria in the skin and prevent them making bacteria babies!!

PRO Tooth Whitening @ 'The White House' Clinic | No Bleach!

I was recently invited in for a complementary tooth whitening treatment at The White House (Teeth Whitening Specialists) Clinic http://www.thewhitehouse.ie and of course I jumped at the chance to get my teeth done as I have been really hoping to get them done since getting my train-track braces off. My teeth are one part of me that I'll never be 100% happy with so any help is much needed & appreciated.

There are clinics in Galway, Cork, Belfast and a couple in Dublin. I went to my local clinic here in Terryland, Galway last week for my 1 hour treatment which ended up being an hour and 15minutes but as I didn't have my phone or a watch to hand, I'm not sure where that extra time came from, though I did feel like I was under the light for longer than 15 minutes each time.

Within that hour, I received a consultation from the Specialist, Emma, who was so nice and helpful and explained everything in very understandable terms. Then I had three 15 minute sessions of getting the whitening gel applied to my exposed teeth and sitting in front of the UV light. (This is where I think I may have gained some time)

Emma also showed me what level of staining my teeth had before beginning the treatment for reference. 

The first two pictures here show how my teeth looked before. They were not very yellow or stained to begin with, but they were not super white either. My eye teeth tend to be a tad yellowed looking and the rest have a slightly cream/ivory tone with subtle yellow staining.

The Vintage Cosmetic Company.

I am a sucker for anything vintage or kitch and the aesthetic of The Vintage Cosmetic Company is absolutely my cup of tea.

And luckily it's not just about cute packaging with these bits, there are some lovely quality products in the pretty boxes as well. 

But back to the ridiculously cute design. We are talking vintage, floral gorgeousness here. Plus polka dots... POLKA DOTS!!! I am easily drawn in by aesthetics obviously, I blame the artist in me.

As I mentioned, there are some lovely products within the boxes but I'll start off with the one thing I don't love.

UNTIL DAWN Makeup | HALLOWEEN '15 | LetzMakeup

It's September, which means time to start my HALLOWEEN videos for the year!!! 

I will be uploading a Halloween tutorial every Friday at 6pm GMT from today until Halloween. So expect at least 8 looks from me on the run up to Oct 31st. This first video is inspired by the 'Until Dawn' video game character. 

Subscribe to my Youtube Channel to get notified of upcoming videos.

Click on the pictures below to enlarge;

NYX Colours of the 'Rain-Brow' Brow Pencils

*Pencils I was sent for consideration!

If you are in the market for a new brow pencil, have a goo at these new offerings from NYX. 

These are called the 'Auto Eyebrow Pencils' and there is an impressive 7 shades to choose from. ...that's pretty much on par with the MAC brow pencil shade range!! 

The shades are;

The EASIEST way to apply foundation!

After years of resisting these little yokes, I finally caved in and am in love! 

Definitely the best way to apply any foundation to achieve a perfect, flawless finish.

Sponges shown;

The Beauty Blender

Real Techniques Pro Blending Sponge

W7 Blending Sponge

Inglot Blending Sponge

New from Lancome #SatItWithYourEyes

Lancome's newest launch this summer is all about the eyes with new cream eyeshadow sticks, brow gels, a white liner pen and a dinky wee dual ended spoolie/brush to boot!

Admittedly, Lancome is not a brand that I am well versed in... but saying that, I have really enjoyed 90% of what I have tried of the brand. (The 10% deficit going to the bi-phase eye makeup remover that stung the bejeezus out of my poor peep-holes!)

PIPPA PALETTE for Blank Canvas Cosmetics.

I'll start off, for those of you here not from Ireland, with a bit of an introduction!

Pippa (O'Connor) is a very well-loved Irish model turned successful blogger, married to TV Star Brian Ormond, and she's a bit of a babe to boot with a strong following in Ireland.

Pippa is also the ambassador for Blank Canvas Cosmetics.

HUGE *NEARLY* AUTUMN CLOTHING HAUL! | Dressing for some weight gain.

Hey Everyone :)

It's been an absolute AGE since I did a fashion haul but now that we are coming close my favourite time of the year I was inspired to pick up some bits for the coming Autumn/Winter weather. Featuring items from Penneys, Newlook, H&M, Zara, Oasis & TK Maxx.

Hope ye enjoy the video!!

Shiv.

xx

How to Make Money on Youtube! (6 ways).. and how much you can make!

There are several ways of making money from Youtube, both directly & indirectly.

In this video I went about answering the question I get asked a LOT which is 'How to make Money from Youtube'
... and I also talk a little about blogging at the end.

Really hope it helped at least a few of you out :)

xx

Pale Skin Beauty Tips & Recommendations | Video Series

Hey Lovelies, 

Do any of you struggle to find foundations light enough for your skin-tones? Last week I uploaded 5 videos dedicated to my fairest of the fair friends out there (NC15 and paler) giving product recommendations for all base products starting with primers etc in video 1, foundations in video 2, powders in video 3, concealers in #4 and highlights, contours & bronzers in #5. 
You can watch all 5 videos here in the playlist...

BioDerma arrives on Irish shores... Finally!!

It has taken a while, but Ireland is finally catching up with the rest of the world

... and I'm talking about the Skincare and Makeup World here just incase that wasn't clear!

The French dermocosmetics powerhouse that is Bioderma is now available from selected Irish Pharmacies since last month.

The name will probably ring a bell even if you are not quite able to place it; BioDerma is the brand that brought to the world the first every Micellar Solution, Sensibio H2O, a cleansing water which is now a true-blue cult beauty product with one bottle selling every 3 seconds worldwide.

L'Oréal Infallible Foundations 24hr Matte vs 24hr Stay Fresh | First Impressions Comparison.

I had been wanting to get either of these foundation for the longest time as I had seen them get a lot of love on the internet over the past year or so, but I couldn't decide which one to get and basically wanted both but couldn't really justify getting both at full price (since I didn't really NEED the 0_o) 

BUT

EPIC MAKEUP COLLECTION & STORAGE 2015

Howdy Guys!! 

I've been even more shite at updating here, and on my Facebook and basically everywhere lately, but I am just not able to for the most part due to my ailing and old computer. (which I want to throw out the window after about an hour of failed use EVERYTIME!!) Anyhow... I uploaded my updated 'Makeup Collection/ Storage video' yesterday which has been highly requested, so if ye would like a peek into my makeup stash, have a look-see here...

Bourjois 'Sweet Kiss Gloss' 10hr Hydration

The 3 shades I received in my goodie bag, see below*

Continuing on with my Bourjois posts, up next is their new 'Sweet Kiss Gloss' 10hr Hydration formula.

It is possibly the most comfortable lipgloss I've ever tried on my lips and I absolutely love the moist formula. It is super hydrating thanks to it's "vegetable oil-enriched formula... that doesn't feel sticky on the skin"** and I can absolutely guarantee that there is zero stickiness to these after wearing them for a few days in a row now!!!

They have released 6 shades in the range which are;

01. Sand-Sation*

(A peachy Beige)

02. Rose Qui Peut 

(Light Frosty Pink)

03. As De Pink

(Reddish Pink)

Bourjois 'Aqua Blush' for Summer 2015

One of the most exciting releases by Bourjois this summer is their brand new 12hr Aqua Blush formula.

These are fluid gel blushes that I think are somewhere in-between the Makeup Forever Aqua Cream Blushes and the Daniel Sandler Watercolour (liquid) Blushes.

There are four shades in the collection including;

01 Ingé-nude 

02 Cocoricorail

(I haven't the faintest clue how this is pronounced!)

03 Pink Twice 

04 Berry Nice