Blend Skin Focus Sponge

Sorry I know I've been away for a while, the youngest decided to tap dance across my laptop need I say more, I have to use my phone to write and it's just not the same hopefully Santa will be nice to me and bring me a shiny new one. 

So I wanted to come back on and talk about the buff & blend skin focus sponge, I normally don't use blending sponges as I don't like them they seem to remove my makeup more than blend it, but the buff & blend skin focus sponge is amazing and latex free, I have never used anything like it I thought it would be like every other blending sponge but it's really not, it does exactly what it is supposed to it has a flat side so you can really blend around the eyes and nose with ease and when I was done my makeup was perfect and flawless, I have been using it now for 2 months and It has become my holy grail of blending sponges, I love it.

I would recommend this sponge to everyone it's not mad expensive and works like a dream 

It's available to buy from Buff & Blend for €7

FOUNDATIONS AND SPF

Ok girls we all know how important it is to find the right foundation for our skin type, and I can tell you I have like many girls have gone through my fair share of foundations, trying to find the right one for me.

But I always end up coming back to my good old faithful Estee Lauder double wear,  I suppose the reason behind it was, I started wearing it about 10 years ago and it lasted all day, especially in the salon where it can be hot and sweaty and I felt like a hot mess, but to look at me or my makeup you would never think it, as always my faithful double wear was perfect and flawless so it stuck with me all these years,
but it has one major flaw which I call the Casper face, yes girls you all know what I'm talking about, you get ready to go out put on your tan, makeup, you look and feel stunning, flawless, amazing, you have a great night, well until you look back at the pictures and boom you have a big white face and here is why.

(Here's the technical science bit)

Now the most common reason for this is Titanium Dioxide which is an ingredient used as a colorant to add whiteness to color cosmetics, Used mainly for the face so it can help to better help cover flaws and imperfections, it is also a very effective ingredient in sunscreen that protect from all UVB and UVA rays, so how it works is by creating a barrier on the skin that scatters the light away, therefore protecting it, now the other ingredient that can cause it is called Zinc Oxide, which is used for the exact same reason as the Titanium Dioxide, only it protects on its on from the entire UV spectrum, but don't worry it's easily solved with a simple solution.

Go for a makeup without an spf, and use a stand alone sun screen specifically designed for under your makeup as a base and primer, I believe clarins and clinique have some excellent products to help along the way.

Any question just leave a comment below or you can contact me via Facebook my details are all here xxx.

PAMPER DAY

The hubby surprised me with a pamper day and I'm not going to turn down a few hours of kids free relaxation no way, so on Friday the 30th of September of I headed for my day of me time, I headed to

Lucan Village to a brand new place called Julia's Day Spa, I arrived a 3 o'clock and was greeted by Carla my therapist for the day, Carla was so friendly and professional she led me into a beautiful beauty room where I filled out my client consultation forms, afterwards Carla then went through the consultation form and explained all treatments to me and then we began, I started with a full body massage and went on to an Indian head massage and a facial to end it was 2 hours of pure relaxation, and when my treatments finished there was tea or coffee and chocolate waiting for me talk about heaven, and to be honest it was amazing I had the best Indian head massage I have ever had in my life.

Carla went above and beyond to make my day as relaxing as possible and she really did, the day spa is beautiful decorated with soothing music playing to help aid your relaxation.
Everything about this spa is perfect from the moment you walk in till the moment you leave, I would highly recommend Julia's Day Spa, 

At the moment they have vouchers available on pigsback Click here and are valid until the end of November.

There Facebook has all their information check it out her click here  pop over and have a look.

Nkd pre shower tan

We all like to be a golden goddess when it comes to fake tan and I have had my fair share of tanning disasters like most of us which I think is fair to say, once I got a spray tan for wedding and I turned into an umpa lumpa I was bright orange and to top it off I then took an allergic reaction, I started blistering across my back and chest it wasn't pretty and there is photographs to prove it, I can laugh now but my skin was raw from trying to scrub that tan off and that was he morning of the wedding so when it comes to tan now I'm so careful about what I use and I always patch test it first.

I decided to try a new tan the nkd pre shower tan, as usual I shaved/waxed exfoliated and moisturised etc... 

I then followed the instructions and applied the tan using the palm of my hand to rubbed it in to my skin in circular motion, I then set my timer for ten minutes and waited, I have to admit it was the longest ten minutes of my life once the timer went of I jumped into the shower now it says on the back not to use any kind of moisturising shower gel or cream so I didn't to be honest I just rinsed it off until the water ran clear as it says,

I then still following the instructions patted myself dry it was all so easy and from start to finish took 30mins how easy was that, well it was to good to be true because it is supposed to develop then over the next few hours but mine didn't, it didn't develop at all I was the same pale milky white Irish skin color  8 hours later as I was before I started which really disappointed me, I wasn't expecting to be a golden goddess but I was at least expecting to look a little sun-kissed but only my palms looked tanned even though I had scrubbed those clean, now this tan is a gradual tan and can be built up but for it not to take at all it was so disappointing, I just wouldn't use this tan again not happy with it.

                                                               

Salon coloring

This might seem like a boring post but recently after experincing a salon not doing it correctly, I feel it's important for you all to know why salons do patch tests.

So the story is I decided to treat myself to a color cut and blowdry and went to a salon near me to have a patch test as is common practice, the girls were very nice and asked me to have a seat and someone would be with me shortly which I did I know how busy they can be, I was waiting for about 10 minutes and was watching what was going on around me, a stylist who had been doing highlights approched my with some left over color and proceeded to do the patch test and told me to wait 48 hours, if no reaction occurred I could come back and have my color done no problem.

Only there is a problem as I am a hairdresser I knew what she was doing was wrong and here is why, first thing she didnt take any of my details so no record of me having had a patch test, then she used a color that was left over which is wrong, so it could give a false outcome, when a salon patch test's it for health and safety reason's your safety as an allergic reaction is not pleasent and in extreme circumstances can lead to hospitalisation, so I decided inform as knowledge is power.

Don't be afraid to ask the stylist to explain what they are doing,try and avoid having your color done if you have had a tattoo or henna  within the same ten day period as this can cause a false reaction, as tattoo's and henna have p.p.d.(p.p.d. is a chemical found in hair color, tattoo's and henna among other thing and thats what causes the reaction) having both done within ten days can cause a p.p.d overload causing a false reaction, a patch test should be applied to clean dry skin either behind the ear or in the inner crease of arm, only the hair color should be applied and not a mix of the color and developer together, it should be left for 45 minutes and then rinsed and pat dry and watch for a reaction, make sure the salon takes your details either by client card or computer so they have a record of your patch test, and most importantly return to the salon after the 24hr period and show the salon/stylist the results so they can also be added to and your record can be updated.

Please dont risk your safety make sure your salon know what they are doing always get patch tested insist on one when visiting a new salon.

Leave in conditioner

With summer coming it is time to pay special attention to our hair girl's, prevention is better than cure, throw in a holiday here some hair color and highlights there and not to mention the heat styling to, we need to be using something to help protect our hair from it all and have some budget friendly products that can help.

my first is an oldie but a goodie I absolutely love these 2 little products from HASK it's the Argan oil and the Keratin protein oil, I love these oils I use them in my hair wet for help with frizz, heat styling protection and then dry to keep my hair smooth, I use them all the time no matter what other products I'm putting in my hair one if not both of these go in my hair when wet and a little bit of argan oil when dry to help control the frizz I adore this product and have been using them for years I would highly recommend them, (TIP when using any product oil or wax based products on your hair place in the palm of your hand and rub together to warm up to room temperature then apply to your hair it activates the product and created even distribution) you can pick them up in most chemist's and all Penny's nationwide.

I have 2 leave in conditioners that I love to use the first is my GARNIER Ultimate Blends, heat protection milk, I love this product it smells amazing it not only detangles and conditions but it protects the hair up to 230 Degree's heat styling but with out that that stiff or sticky feeling which some heat protection spray's can leave behind, you can get it in boots at only €7.29 its a great buy and again a little goes a long way.

My next leave in conditioner is my hair saviour it's Revlon Uniq One leave in conditioner this is my one and only have to have can't live without leave in conditioner, it has 10 benefits, its repairs dry and damaged hair, provides frizz control, provides color protection with UVA & UVB filters,to name just a few I can't brush my hair without this product its amazing, two or three spray's is all it takes and I'm sorted til my next wash, this is my no.1 go to highly recommend I normally pick mine up in capital hair and beauty supply in park west the 150ml bottle ex.Vat is €8.95, but it's available in all Revlon salon's stockist nationwide and worth the investment.

Both of these leave my hair feeling soft nourished and help keeps the tangles at bay they are are top beauty buy in my book let me know what you think or what you favourites are.

Magic Root Retouch

Sorry I have been away for a little I have been unwell, I'm back with a new product to review, I found I have been reviewing a lot of makeup lately so decided to go back to the hair side of things for a change.

So I found the new l'Oreal Magic Root Retouch the instant root concealer spray, and decided to give it a try, been a hairdresser I have used tons of different products in salons for clients to help cover and conceal those nasty grey's in between color appointments, or if a client has an event and needs to wait prolong the her color application but needs to hide those pesky roots what do we do to help, well we have try the usual suspects water rinses, color mousse, cover sticks, among many others.

Problem is water rinse's can be very translucent on the hair but people like them in salon but not really for home use, but for home use what is quick and easy, well the cover sticks are really good great coverage easy to apply its basically a lippy for your hair, but it's wax based so I find it leaves my hair looking greasy even when freshly wash and styled. but clients ask what can I recommend for at home use as well? I have found the answer and it is all here.

Ok so I have tried the the new l'Oreal Magic Root Retouch and it comes in a range of shades I really like it, you wash, dry and style your hair and normal shake well of course, hold the can 10 cm from you hair and spray but dont over spray your hair a little goes along way and it dries in 10 seconds and voila, of you go it lasts til you wash it out, I love this product its a life saver in a can and I don't know how my hair and survived without it for so long.

JUST ONE LITTLE SPRAY ON MY PARTING MADE SUCH A DIFFERENCE 

In my opinion the Magic Root Retouch is a god send you just spray and done and is my new go to product in between color applications.

The l'Oreal Magic Root Retouch is available from all major stockist its currently on special for €3.99 but RRP is €12.99.

Let me know if you have used this and what you think or what is your favorite root cover up in between color applications.

Saturated color

I have seen this brand about on social media and decided to take the plunge and give them ago, and I am so glad I did I have fallen in love with these products.

I ordered the essential lip set, the set contains 1 locked lips, 1 lip scrub, and 1 color switch, and was £14 which is roughly €18
I also ordered the volumetric lust mascara which came with a free full size lipstick in the shade birthday suit, which was £9 Which is roughly €12 and I ordered a double ended lip brush which is £5.50 which is roughly €7.50.

The locked lips is amazing just apply a small light layer to the lips, and voila lipstick is sealed for the night.

The lip scrub stick is so is easy to use and no mess just apply desired amount and work into your lips, then remove with a damp cotton pad.

And my favourite product is the color switch lipstick, apply before your lipstick and it changes the color to a brighter lighter color perfect for creating the perfect ombre lips, and the lip brush is brilliant one end is for applying your lipstick the other for lining and definition, it is lightweight and really easy to use.

The color switch is a white lipstick that you apply before your lip color of choice perfect for the perfect ombre lip.

My ombre lip created by using nude pink and color switch and sealed with the locked lips.

My top 2 are birthday suit and naked pink 

I really liked the volumetric lust mascara it gave me big bold lashes and the brush was easy to work, with it separated all my lashes and didn't dry out or go flakey through out the night,

All in all I love this brand and I would recommend to everyone and it is so affordable and one of my favourite new go to brands for fabulous lips.

They have just launched a new product called make me matte it's a top coat that will make not just there brand but any lipstick matte I can not wait to try this and its only £8 which is roughly €11 that amazing value.

Inglot freedom system flexi palette

I bought this a few week ago and love it, it is definitely one of my best buys.

Its the Inglot freedom system flexi palette and its amazing, it's a completely empty palette with no restrictions, you can mix and match to your hearts content, I have it stuffed with my everyday favourites.

I love how its so easy to chop and change what you put into it, I have a different makeup routine and products for winter and summer,
so this pallette makes it so easy to accommodate that I can just remove and replace what I need to when I need to.

No searching for different pallete's to create the look you want, I have a couple of different palette's all in one it's so simple and easy.

And lets face it anything that can make life easier is a winner in my books, and to be honest I'm going to buy another one and fill it with my night time makeup, I will have a freedom palette for every occasion.

You won't regret purchasing the flexi palette,
they are priced at €22.00 and can be bought in store or online @ www.Inglot.ie

Pennys P.S. LOVE range

As most of us know penny's has released there own range of products called P.S. Love and it seems to be taking off,

But how good are they i decided to pick up a few bits and give them a go, I have been using them for the last 2 weeks,
some I  loved and found really good and others well were a disaster, so lets get started.

First up was a lip liner and lipstick, I loved both of these the lipliner in shade nude is fab lasted really well on my lips and color was amazing,
the lipstick in shade dare to bare the color was fab but didnt last as long, I have heard the matte version is better so will have to get my hands on that soon to try.

Next up was the P.S. waterproof mascara which was completely waterproof and lasted well but it did start to flake a bit,
but I had been wearing it a soild 10 hours before this happened,
but I got the day out of it for day wear.

Then i tried the P.S. brow kit you get 2 powders and 1 cream color plus a brush and tweezers I love this set its amazing and you can build up the color its lasted all day i was really impressed by this set and would recommend it to everyone.

I tried the P.S. double ended eye shadow brush one end is fluffy for blending out your eyeshadow I found it to be ok a little bit on the big side for me but thats my personal preference,
The other end is a slanted eyebrow brush, which i really liked and I used it with the eyebrow kit instead of the small brush included in the kit,

I also found it good for doing a bit of liner on the top lid for a soft day time look.

Nearly there, next I used the P.S. makeup setting spray,
which i have completely fallen in love with,
I found it brilliant I sprayed it on and it felt refreshing on my skin,
It's not really wet, drys instantly and my makeup lasted all night and didn't move an inch this is a keeper for me.

So I tried the P.S love your hair sea salt and seaweed texturising spray,
Ok this I didn't like,
as I have naturally wavy/curly hair and naturally wavy/curly hair is coarse which leads to it been frizzy,
so knowing this a put some serum in to combat the frizz as I normally do,(I put more in than usual just in case and knowing my own hair and how it can have a life of it's own)
but as soon as I put the sea salt and seaweed spray in,
my hair went unbelievable frizzy and nothing I did helped to combat it, I wouldn't recommend this for anyone with wavy/curly hair.

Last but not least was the facial cleansing brush, they bristles were soft,
cleaned and exfoliated my face really well without scratching or scraping my skin,
I really like this brush and will be keeping it in my beauty regime.

So if you have any P.S. products that you have tried and liked let me know xx.


All prices are below.
And were correct at time of publish.

Lip liner €1.50

Lipstick €1.30

Mascara €2.00

Eyebrow kit €2.50

Eyeshadow brush €1.50
Makeup fixing spray €1.50
Sea salt spray €1.50
Facial brush €1.50

Cocoa brown dry oil

So I have been using cocoa brown golden goddess shimmering dry oil for 6 weeks now and I have completely fallen in love with it, its amazing and the glow is unbelievable, I honestly can't get enough of it one of the best products I have ever purchased, but in fairness all the cocoa brown products are amazing and we have come to expect nothing less from Marrisa Carter, I feel she has revolutionized tanning for all women, I love using it to highlight my cheekbones but it can be used anywhere on the body to highlight or add shimmer, can be used alone or on top of your tan, weather you put it on your legs cheeks or collarbone, it is in my opinion a product we should all have in our beauty bag of tricks,

The rrp is €11.95 and I think that's a small price and a big pay off, and is available at all the usual stockists nationwide, next on my list to try is the one hour tan which I'm looking forward to.

Spring shades

So spring has arrived and shades of lipsticks are beginning to brighten so I have picked a few of my favourite shades for spring and summer, so you can wear alone for a more sheer color or you can double up to enhance to color, my first color is the Flormar waterproof lip pencil in shade 224 it is a wine color but not to deep I normally pair this with p.s. liquid lipstick in 05 for a more intense color, next I have the Flormar lip gloss in L401 pink blush its quite sheer on the lips and gives a high shine nice for summer, my last ones are Flormar L410 coral champagne I love this gloss it so beautiful and I pair it with W7 Sahara which makes it the gloss pop on top of it,

 

Leave me a comment with your favourites for spring and summer.

Shade adjusting drops

We all know the now hard it can be to match our foundation perfectly or when wearing false tan our foundation doesn't match, and we only realise it when looking back at infamous photos of our night out and a white face looks back at you like it's on the wrong body, well I found this little gem that solves all that from the body shop its the darkening shade adjusting drops, and they are amazing 1 drop darkens your foundation by half a shade so you can adjust to your perfect shade its that simple, they also do a lightening drops that lighten up your foundation if it's to dark, so its win win either way, I love this product and it has earned a permanent place in my makeup bag.

The shade adjusting drops are priced at €17.00 from the body shop nationwide and online 

Give them ago you won't be disappointed

Primer

My makeup doesn't last and slips when wearing a silicone primer, so I have been on the hunt for a good primer, I have used no7 in the past and liked it so I popped in to boots liffey valley to see if I could get the same primer, but to my disappointment it has been discontinued, but it has been replaced with a new primer its called no7 Airbrush Away, and it is brilliant better than any primer I have used my makeup didn't move it lasted all day and nights out too, you only need a small amount I like to let it sit and absorb into my skin (and it does absorb it doesn't just sit on top of the skin) for 5 minutes before doing my usual makeup routine,

I would recommend this primer to everyone it really is amazing, it retails at €25.25 and is worth every penny,

Let me know your favourites.

The power style

Been a hairdresser for 16 years I have seen many products pass through the salon some great, some good, and some not so good, but a few months ago I seen 2 products the first is called the power styler and it is a brilliant product, it's 2 ceramic clips that attach to the nozzle of your hair dryer for a smooth flawless blowdry and its amazing, it eliminates frizz and having to use a straightener on your hair, that's because its like blow drying and straightening your hair all in one go, saves time and the use of multiple tools.
I honestly love this product styling my hair is so much easier and it lasts this is definitely one of my favourite products to come across.
Available to purchase in sally salon services at varied locations in Ireland priced at €15 plus vat or outside of Ireland you can purchase from www.daroko.com 

                                                                                       

The second product is a set of brushes called the kodo lock and roll set, in the set you get 1 pin tail comb 6 brushes with 1 handle that is removable, it's brilliant for doing curly blow drys in salon or at home you can easily do your curly blow dry section by section, remove the handle and leave the brush is til the hair cools and sets creating a fabulous curl, only problem is I like to leave all brushes in til the end of the blow dry wait for a few minutes til all the hair has cooled and set, that's in salon styling a clients hair and at home doing my own hair, so 6 brushes is not enough I feel I need at least 12 to do the perfect curly blow dry, and at €34.99 plus vat per set a lot of money but I personally feel it's worth this set is available to purchase from salon savers and capital hair and beauty in parkwest.

Lipsticks

So I'm on the hunt for the perfect red lipstick, not a bright red a deep red almost wine in color,only problem in trying to find the right shade is the deeper the red/wine I go it becomes a plum/purple color, so I had to try and test loads but its not easy when you have your mind made up on a certain color, so I had to expand my boundaries so to speak, and start looking for the perfect long lasting non drying lipstick and as deep red as possible, so here is what I found loved and liked.

So far the maybellene 975, the sleek matte 791 and the nyx hvls16, the maybellene 975 is long lasting and didn't dry out, the sleek matte 791 was nice long lasting but a little bit drying, and the nyx hvls 16 was a moisturizing lipstick didn't dry out but didn't last as long as the others, the inglot 175 is a lovely color and wears really well but I would prefer it in a matte, which you can't get at the moment and finally the nyx hvls 09 is a deep purple and wears the same as the other nyx. 

These are my 5 top picks and now that its coming into spring, it's nearly time to ditch the deep lipsticks and get out the bright and beautiful shades, but I feel that the a red lip is a classic statement the will never go out of style, so perfect your shade and please feel free to share your favourites with me.