Urban Decay X Gwen Stefani | Palette Review

My first thought when I heard that this palette was coming out was 'another eye shadow palette!?'...
 It was released so close to the latest Naked offering that I was surprised they were churning another one out. Any reservations I had however were quashed as soon as I laid eyes on the gloriously designed palette, in my humble opinion... I say that because this palette design seems to have a marmite quality, placing me firmly in the 'love it' category.

Eye of Horus | Makeup Review.

'Eye of Horus' Cosmetics very recently made it's way to Irish shores (and bloggers' mail boxes), and this was my first time hearing about the Australian cosmetics brand.

Their tagline is 'Awaken the Goddess within' and the entire line is inspired by the beauty of the Ancient Egyptians whom they credit as "the originators of beauty and mystique".

Master Series, Palette One; Blank Canvas Cosmetics.

Blank Canvas have just released a new eyeshadow palette, the first of their 'Master Series', and upon first glance it is a neutral-warm eyeshadow lovers' dream!

This contains 10 matte super warm brown shades ranging from the palest beige (Core) to the deepest dark brown (Corruption), a pinkish vanilla matte with delicate minute sparkle (Lily) and one single champagne/gold shimmer shade (Goddess).

Urban Decay 'Naked Illuminated'

Seen as there's only 5 weeks left 'til Christmas, now's the time to seriously start thinking of all things sparkly and shimmery, if you haven't already that is!

So... Urban Decay releasing their newest shade of the 'Naked Illuminated' shimmer powder earlier this month is timed perfectly. The new shade 'Lit' joins the already existing shades 'Aura' and 'Luminous'. These powders are for the face and body though you have to use with a light hand on the face as they are quite heavy in shimmer particles (though they are teeny tiny micro particles).

All 3 shades are described as 'universal', though I do think you're better off going with either 'Luminous' or 'Aura' if you are embracing the pale, and leaning towards 'Aura' or the newer 'Lit' if you are bronzed up, a deeper skintone or tanned.

Inglot SWATCH Fest! 105 EyeShadow Swatches.

PLEASE NOTE; The above numbers are in reverse order by mistake!
So the correct number in correct order are;
15 (Orange), 413 (turquoise), 422 (bronze), 441 (purple), 482 (Navy).

PLEASE NOTE; The above numbers are in reverse order by mistake!
So the correct number in correct order are;
15 (Orange), 413 (turquoise), 422 (bronze), 441 (purple), 482 (Navy).

PIXI Makeup; My Current TOP 10 Favourite Picks!!

Hey Guys!!!

First of all, apologies for my dire lack of blogging lately. I allowed October to get the better of me and when I had to prioritise, the blog took a back seat but I am ready to get back into the swing of things again starting with my pick of some lovely PIXI Makeup products that I have accumulated over the past few months. (Sent as PR samples sporadically).

I excluded the bits I'm not mad about and decided to round it off to my Top 10 favourite items from the brand.

I'll start off with the Skin Care picks;

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