May Favourites

A little bit late with this one, just a few things I have been loving and using throughout May. Some things I have mentioned/reviewed on here before so I won't go into too much detail on those but I will leave links for anyone who would like to read more. 

No7 Beautiful Skin Gel Cleanser

So this one I have reviewed before. (No7 Skincare Review) I only tried this product recently as No7 is never a brand I very often buy. I really love the consistency of this cleanser, it really leaves my skin feeling very refreshed without leaving that feeling of product build up on my skin. It leaves a smooth finish and that feeling is still there the next morning. I have been using this everyday since I bought it and I have noticed a big improvement on my skin!

L'oreal Super Liner Perfect Slim

So far I have always been pretty happy with my liquid eyeliner. I have been using Rimmel Exaggerate Liquid Eyeliner for ages now and I really like it. I mentioned this in my post on my everyday makeup how I prefer the more solid brush than the 'floppy' ends. I seen this eyeliner mentioned by Zoella on YouTube and I liked the sort of felt tip end on it. This eyeliner is great for precision. It is so easy to create just a slim straight line across the top of your lid. It is perfect as well for anyone who likes to do a small flick to the outside of their eye. Another thing I love about it applies in an intense black colour but it stays like this throughout the day, not fading which I find a lot of liquid liners can do once they dry in. 

I Love...Strawberries and Milkshake

(Excuse the almost used up bottle) So I have mentioned here before, how much I love anything that smells good and am a big lover of the Soap and Glory products. I got bought this shower gel as a gift and I am in love with the smell of it! It is so sweet but still kind of refreshing, which might be hard to believe, but it really is! This is an exfoliating scrub but I think because the gel is so creamy it isn't overly harsh on your skin. I use this as my everyday shower gel and I really love it, really want to try some of their other scents!

Real Techniques Expert Face Brush

I have mentioned this on here also before in a review so I won't go into too much on this. I have been using this brush everyday for my makeup and I love it. The finish of my makeup is so much smoother and I even find my makeup lasts better through the day because the makeup is being buffed into my skin. Real Techniques have such a good range of brushes for a really reasonable price. I don't think I would ever really go back to using my old style of make up brush. 

Henera Hair Treatment

I bought this product last year but I only recently got around to repurchasing. I have quite bad split ends and my hair can be quite dry so I am always pretty open to trying new products to improve my hair! This only cost me 2-3euro which is so cheap for a hair treatment. It leaves my hair feeling really conditioned and healthy. I leave it on for around 10 minutes after I have shampooed my hair then just rinse it in the shower. The effects of this don't really last for a long period of time. It is more of a quick fix product, lasting for maybe around a week but even so, only a few euro for quite a big tub is decent.

Cobalt Blue

I have always been one for, when I fall in love with a colour I end up with quite a bit of it in my wardrobe,etc. This nearly always happens around summer time for some reason. This year I have had a few, I have been loving bright orange and yellow also but blue is definitely my favourite. It is such a striking colour and I love how much it stands out. I definitely will be looking out for more items in this shade!

Paisley Shirt - Topshop

A line Skirt - Topshop

Essie Nail Polish - Butler Please

Rose Gold

So over the past few months I have build up my jewellery collection quite a bit (mostly consisting of rings) The majority of my jewellery is gold, as I don't really wear silver very much. More recently I have started buying rose gold jewellery. I really love the colour, I find it to be slightly more subtle than gold. I find rose gold so easy to work with when it comes to statement necklaces, etc. You never really have to worry about it looking tacky. I like the rose gold also because it is a bit of a change from gold but perfect for anyone who, like myself, don't really wear silver. 

Necklace - Wallis

Rings - Topshop

Smoothie Making

So this is a little random one. During the month of May I decided I wanted to start eating healthier and exercising more. I like fruit but I never really eat it very often, I quicker go for sweet or savory snacks out of complete habit really. Instead of snacking between meals I have converted to having smoothies. It is such a good way to get your intake of fruit, especially for anyone who doesn't eat it very often. My usual mixtures aren't very easy to share with anyone as I don't go by measurements at all, I mix until it tastes good! I like to put blueberries and pineapple into these then mix a bit of natural yogurt as well. I plan to keep this up now, especially during summer as a good way to stop me drinking to much tea as well! 

L&A

A Little Taste of Summer

Summer is probably our favourite time of year! We always get so excited, having very high expectations every year that the weather is going to be unbelievable and often get let down a bagful. It is typical Irish weather for this to happen so I think we really only have ourselves to blame, if come the end of summer we are disappointed with our time off! 

This year, we had planned to go on a holiday, a girls holiday, for a week or two, which turned into us attempting to plan a summer abroad on a working holiday. However, it pretty much completely fell through. I think now, it is only really hitting us how much we would love to be jetting off especially seeing so many people leaving for America, etc.

Seeing as we are not doing any of those things we had hoped, we really just have to make the most of the summer from home! We have talked about weekends away to moving out of home and living together in our own house. We are working off a pretty tight budget so not everything we have talked about will be happening but we think it is definitely good to plan. We are hoping to get jobs for the summer, just part time, so we have money to fulfill some of these plans. I (Lauren) am hoping to get back to college in September which is going to cost quite a bit but I don't want this to hold me back from doing really anything this summer. 

We live in a really small, rural area and complain that we never have anything to do, as I am sure most people do if they live in any kind of similar area. Only recently, when we went on our little 'castle hunting' adventure (which we blogged about on here) did we realise that there is probably a lot more to do than we think. So many people come from all over Ireland to visit Donegal and the majority of these touristy places, we probably have never actually been to. This summer is pretty much the perfect opportunity for us explore a little more of our area.

Saying that, we aren't just planning to say within 'the hills of donegal' (little taste of lifestyle around here) the whole summer. We do hope to go a bit further than that! We actually recently discovered the Harry Potter Studios in London and have made it our mission to go to it! Literally never heard of this place until recently, a lot of the youtubers we watch visited it. We both absolutely love Harry Potter as do our friends so we think it would be a really exciting experience to travel to London for a few days and even explore a bit of London as well. Anna has been to London before and loved it so I'm pretty sure we all would! 

As I said, we realize we won't get to do everything we have talked about but even if we do a few of those things we will be happy! Other summers, we did simple things like going to the beach or even local gigs and those days are really enjoyable! You don't have to be travelling the world to enjoy the summer. Obviously, we would love to, but we still have plenty of time for that so we won't get too upset that now, at this very minute, isn't our chance. As my granny likes to say 'Whatevers meant for ye won't pass ye' haha

We will be spending a lot of time together this summer and have already planned a few exciting blog posts, so even those little things are something to look forward to!

Make the most of the summer ♥ 

L&A

  

Nails of the Day (NOTD)

It has been quite awhile since we have actually posted on here so just back with a little nails of the day. Absolutely love this colour. I picked this up a while back in a local supermarket. It's an own brand product in the colour 'Sherbet Fizz'. Loved this when I bought it, but sort of forgot about it until recently.

This nail polish only cost a couple of euros but the downside is that it chips quite easily. Saying that, I am not too disappointed seeing as I didn't necessarily splash out on it! I always finish with a top coat anyways so it does make a difference to this nail polish. And I do love the colour so I definitely will make do!

It is a really similar colour to Essies Van D'Go, a really vibrant baby pink with a peachy tinge.  Love wearing pastel colours on my nails at the minute and really want to try more of the Fruit Pastel range from Models Own. So far I have tried the yellow shade 'Banana Split' and loved it, so I really wanna try some of the other ones especially 'Blueberry Muffin' 

The fact that they smell unreal too is a bonus!

L&A

Skincare Review | No7 Beautiful Skin

I am never very experimental when it comes to skin care. It is definitely a case of sticking to what I know. I really like the Simple products, as there as cheap and cheerful and I like the idea of not having any fragrances or colourings added. It is pretty much the case that I started out using these products, so it has become a habit to pick it up whenever I go into Boots, Superdrug, etc. I love to experiment when it comes to face masks, and I have tried a lot of different ones. When it comes to face wash I have only used a couple. I recently seen this product in Boots and decided to give it a try.

No7 is never one of those brands that I look at straight away (even though everytime I buy anything I seem to receive a voucher for it) My mum has quite a few of their different skincare products and any I have used, when I run out of my own, I have really liked. 

I would have pretty normal skin, only slightly dry around my nose and chin. When I seen this was a gel based product I was really keen to try.

I really love the consistency of this product. It has quite an oily feel when first applied, which I find can be very refreshing on skin giving your skin a more silky feel. It wouldn't be very well suit for anyone with oily skin. You feel this working into your skin as you use it and it takes on a more milky texture, when mixed with water. I love this about it because, it doesn't leave the feeling of having a lot of product on your skin after you rinse it off. It gives quite a healthy glow to and also a super smooth feel! 

There is also some rosehip oil added giving a really fresh fragrance. 

I prefer to use this before I go to bed, because I feel it really works on my skin and in the morning, I still feel refreshed. Using it in the morning, I wouldn't apply just before putting on makeup. 

Although it doesn't feel like there is a product build up, I always prefer with most products I use to let them develop into my skin before applying makeup. 

It is so reasonably priced at only £9.00 a pop which isn't too much of a shock to the system, especially when I am used to buying Simple products! 

I really want to try a few different products now I have finally branched out slightly but this is definitely going to be part of my night time routine for awhile anyways ♥

L&A

  

Would You Rather - Beauty Edition

Image from weheartit.com and edited my me

Would you rather loose all your mascaras, eye liners, lipsticks and lipglosses or all of your palettes and eyeshadows?

I think I rather keep my mascaras, eyeliners, lipsticks and lipglosses. Out of all my makeup, eyeshadow is probably one of the things I could most easily live without. I like to add definition to my eyes but that can be accomplished even just with eyeliner and mascara. Plus I love wearing lipstick at the minute and I wouldn't like that to be removed from my makeup bag.

Would you rather chop off all your hair or never be able to cut it again?

Well, it has been a ridiculously long time since I last got a haircut but never cutting it again would be pretty horrible! I suppose if I did cut it all off it would eventually grow back haha, ok I will go with that!

Would you rather have a coral cheek or a pink cheek?

I think coral. I never really wear pink on my cheeks,I prefer to wear a more subtle blush and find pink only suits certain complexions. I also prefer the more warm tone of coral as I like to have a more bronzed finish and that looks better with warmer toned blush.

If you had £1000 to spend would you rather buy clothes or make up?

Realistically, I would probably spend it on both but that doesn't answer the question haha! I think, as much as I love makeup I would probably spend it on clothes. It seems everyone never really has enough clothes! 

If someone gave me that money right now I would love to spend that on a holiday!

Would you rather apply lipstick as eyeliner, or eyeliner as lipstick?

I first read this I thought I couldn't pull off black lips haha but I would definitely go with eyeliner as lipstick. You could use any colour and it would just be like wearing lip liner or even a lip crayon. Plus lipstick as eyeliner sounds pretty messy!

Would you rather only shop at MAC or Sephora?

This one is pretty easy for me, I have never actually shopped at Sephora so it is pretty much  ruled out straight away. I do like a lot of MACs products so it wouldn't be the worst brand to have to stick with forever! 

Would you rather only use one eye shadow or one lip colour for the rest of your life?

I would choose one eye shadow to wear. I mostly stick with quite neutral shadows on my eyes, golds and browns so it would definitely be a lot easier to stick with only one colour! I love wearing a bold lip, and also love wearing different tones at different times of the year.

Would you rather wear Winter clothes in the Summer, or Summer clothes in the Winter?

Well, going by summers here, it doesn't differ too much from Winter, same amount of wind, etc and maybe a little less rain (debateable), so I would choose to wear Winter clothes in the Summer. Also, wearing shorts and sandals, etc. in the snow wouldn't be the most pleasant thing!

Would you rather wear dark nails or bright nails all year around?

Ooh, this is a hard one. I love wearing nail polish, never really go without having my nails painted. If I had to choose, I think I would choose bright nails. There would be more of a choice with colours and I could wear bright reds, etc. still in Winter and be suited to the season!

Would you rather give up your favourite lip product or favourite eye product?

I probably wouldn't be fussed either way. With makeup, there is so many different variations of similar colours that if I gave up one I could probably easily find a replacement. Having to pick one, I would say I would give up my favourite eye product (which would mean giving up my Naked 2 palette, agh!)

Would you rather only be able to wear your hair in a ponytail or a messy bun?

Definitely wear a messy bun! They are so quick and easy to do, plus I have a natural kink in my hair so to put it into a bun is a lot easier than in a ponytail.

Would you rather never be able to paint your nails again or never use lipgloss?

When it comes to lip products, I only really use lipsticks. If I want to add more of a shine to my lips I apply some Vaseline on top or as a base to my lipstick. So I think I would rather do without lipgloss. I really hate not having my nails painted!

Would you rather shave your eyebrows off and have none at all? Or sharpie them in everyday?

Both of these sound pretty awful! I have seen that celebrities without eyebrows twitter page and it is safe to say, not too many are looking too great without brows! Also I remember my early makeup days, before I discovered eyebrow pencil and thought it was attractive to get the majority of my brows waxed/tweezed off when it really,really wasn't! So I would have to choose using a sharpie to fill them in! Could possibly be a look I would grow to love haha.

Would you rather live without makeup or nail polish?

As much as I have said I hate not wearing nail polish, I would definitely rather not wear it than not have any makeup! I wear makeup any day I am actually going somewhere so I think it would be really difficult to go without. Maybe if I never actually started using makeup it would be a different story.

Thanks for reading ♥

L&A 

My Everyday Makeup

 Products

Mac Prep and Prime - Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation - Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer - Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette - Mac Mineralize Skin Finish Natural Powder - Gosh Bronzing Powder - Rimmel Exaggerate Eye Liner - Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil - Soap and Glory Thick and Fast Mascara - Topshop Lipstick

I start off by using Mac Prep and Prime. I only started to use primers at the start of last year. I never really thought they would make much of a difference to my makeup. I used Gosh Velvet Touch Primer first off and really liked it. It made my skin have a more silky feel giving a smoother surface to apply my foundation. However, it didn't really help with making my foundation last any longer so I wasn't completely happy with it. One day I was in the Mac store I decided to try this and I really like it! I find it gives my foundation a more even and flawless finish and I also find it helps my foundation last longer throughout the day.

Wake Me Up Foundation in 'True Ivory'

Wake Me Up Concealer in 'Ivory'

I seen this foundation talked about a lot when it came out so I kinda had to try it! I really liked the natural glow it gives my skin and it has just the right amount of coverage for daytime. I never really like to wear heavy foundation during the day so this was perfect. I decided to try the concealer a few months ago and I also was really happy with it. I only really use a small bit of this for around my eyes but I think it really brightens my eyes and gives that little bit more coverage wherever/whenever needed. 

Powder in 'Medium'

I first started using this powder a couple of years back. I don't have a Mac Store nearby so it is never really easy to get my hands on the products! I have used a few different powders in between this but I always seem to come back to this one. I am quite picky with powders as I find some of them give too much of a 'powdery finish and can make your foundation look kinda dry. This, as it says in the name of it, gives a natural finish and when used with the Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation looks really well. My makeup usually has quite a dewy finish using these two products which I really like!

Naked 2 is definitely one of my favourite palettes. It has such nice colours for either day or night. I love using golds and browns on my eyes so it's really perfect for me! When the first Naked Palette came out I never actually got around to buying it. It was talked about so much and loved by a lot of bloggers so I wasn't really hesitant to try Naked 2! I love that there is a good mixture of shimmer and matte shadows in this palette! During the day I usually apply 'half baked' across my lid and a small bit of 'tease' through my crease. I use 'bootycall' as a highlight in my inner corner but I also love this as a highlight on my brow bone or even as a cheek highlight!

Eyeliner in '100% Black'

This is definitely my favorite liquid eyeliner! I usually like to keep my eyes quite bright for during the day not using eyeliner in my waterline. So to give a bit of definition I apply a thin line of liquid eyeliner above my lash-line. This eyeliner has more of a solid brush making it so easy to apply. A lot of other eyeliners, I find have too much of a 'floppy' end and can turn out quite messy when applying above your lash-line. I have also used this in the brown colour when I want a more natural look.

I did not actually intentionally buy this mascara. I got it free in a Soap and Glory gift set for Christmas. I have only recently started to use it (ran out of my other mascara) and I really like this product. I don't have a mascara I buy on a regular basis, I jump around trying a lot of different ones. I love the thicker brush on this, at first, I thought it would of been quite clumpy but I think it adds a thick layer of mascara to your lashes giving them a lot of definition. My eyelashes are naturally quite non-existence so I need a mascara like this even during the day.

Lipstick in 'Ohh La La'

I love to wear lipstick during the day and at the minute, I am loving orange! I found this in Topshop after I seen a friend of mine, Donna, using a similar shade. I have only recently started to use their make up products and I really enjoy their line of lip colours! This colour is very pigmented however not too in your face if you prefer a more subtle lip. It lasts quite well, only fading lightly as the day goes on. They seem quite moisturizing on your lips, not leaving them dry at all which is usually a big downside to a lot of lipsticks. 

To finish off my make up I use Gosh Powder to contour my cheek bones. I use this is in the colour 'Natural Glow' I don't often wear blusher during the day, when I do I usually use my Benefit Sugar Bomb blush. I didn't photograph these two items as they have both been dropped and broken and I have already cleaned those messes up once! 

L&A

Jewellery Cake Stand

I came across this pretty little cake stand in TKmax and spontaneously bought it. Just totally had to it was really pretty. I had it in the kitchen for a day and just hadn't the place for it ! Lucky my lovely Lauren had the perfect idea, throw my jewellery on it ? I think she saw this idea on Pintrest before but I thought it was a creative way of displaying the pretty plates and also having a place for your bits of jewellery. 

€9.99 in TKmaxx

 

I have chunky jewellery on bottom half and the smaller ear cuffs, rings and such on the top. I think the cake stand works really well before I just had these things in various boxes or even just on top of things ? Its a tidy way of storing things even if its just throwing them on a plate.

I love the little detailed patterns. They are bright and colourful yet quite soft and pretty.

                                                  L&A