COVO Intensified Lipstick - Diva

Hi!

Another product from the package I received from Shireen over at Reflection Of Sanity- I'm finally getting time to write about them two months after they were sent!

 COVO Intensified lipstick- Diva

I knew as soon as I seen the colour of this lipstick I was going to love it. I have a bit of a thing for pink lipsticks you see, and this was most definitely pink. 

The thing I love more than the colour is the packaging though. It's brilliantly thought out, with a little mirror springing out as soon as you open the casing.It's the little things that make the difference.

 It's a glossy black case with the COVO logo on it and the bottom has the name with the corresponding colour.

Shineeey

It goes on really glossy and dries down to a slight sheen after twenty minutes. It's a very moisturising formula which does mean I have to top it up every hour or so if I don't wear lip liner under it but the little mirror makes it so simple-can you tell I like it?

It's very pigmented and it wears away evenly on the lips so no horrible pink outlines.

In the winter I like layering it over a slightly deeper lip liner and matting it down with a little powder, which helps with the longevity, but come spring I'll be wearing this by itself in all it's glory.

Unfortunately this brand is currently only available in Malaysia and they aren't shipping to Ireland yet so I do apologise to anyone that's wanting one now. I'm not sure if Parcel Motel would be of any use as I've never used it myself but it may be worth a try?

However if you do happen to spot it anywhere on your travels I would recommend picking one up, the shades all look fabulous. It's priced at  MYR 49.00 which would be a little less that €12.

Thanks for reading!

Physicians Formula Shimmer Eye Strips

Hi,

I received these eyeliners from Shireen over at Reflection Of Sanity when we did our swap back at the start of December. I was immediately drawn to them as :1- they were sparkly and 2- they were Physicians Formula.

Now, Physicians Formula is available in Ireland but I find it quite hard to find as it's only stocked in a few pharmacies in Ireland and also I found the price range quite high, so I didn't go hunting them down to be honest. 

But judging from the quality of these and one of their Happy Booster blushes I also recieved I think they're not hiking up the price too much for what you're getting. 

These are twist up eyeliners in a black, a pewter and a champagne colour.

This colour combilation is for brown eyes specifically but I love them on my blue eyes as I think the goldy tones help them pop a little more.

The pigmentation is great and the shimmer isn't gritty or uncomfortable to wear or apply.

They apply really smoothly when they've warmed up a little bit but because they are so soft they break of very very easily-twist them up as little as possible while using them- and I don't find them creasing if I use them to do a cat eye, which a lot of eye pencils do as I have hooded eyes.

With a primer under them they last all day.

I can't find a price for these in Ireland but they'll be between the €10 and €20 euro mark, as are all their products. From the blogs I read all the products seem to be of very good quality so if there was a stockists near you I'd suggest checking them out.

Stockists in Ireland are :  


Image Source

Thanks for reading!

W7 In the Buff Eyehadow Palette

Hi,

I picked this palette up well before christmas when my local pharmacy had them on offer for €7 instead of the €10 they usually were. 

I'd heard a lot about these palettes being great dupes for Urban Decay's Naked palettes and I didn't see myself shelling out for one of those anytime soon so I thought I'd give this one a go.

 The "In The Buff" palette is a dupe for the UD Naked 2 and it's the one I was most drawn to because of the shades.

 The range of colours means that it's perfect for day or night time looks so it's a great all rounder. The fact that its all warm browns and gold tones means I love it even more.

 There's actually only been a few days that I haven't used this since I got it.

The pigmentation is great in all the colours, even the three matte shades and these are usually the hardest to get right. I've experienced very little to no fallout while using these whether it's with a primer or not.

 L-R : Buff ( Matte), Camel, Sand

L-R: Dust, Chocolate (Matte), Topaz 

L-R: Earth, Storm, Silk

L-R: Wave , Thunder, Onyx (Matte)

With 9 of the shades being shimmers the addition of three mattes are a welcome addition. A matte brow, transition and black really are great to have in a palette.

There is a double ended brush included, which wasn't the worst I've used but I do prefer my own.

This "In The Buff" palette is a dupe for the Naked 2 but they also have "Lightly Toasted" for the Naked 1 and "In the Nude" for the Naked 3.

I've seen these palettes priced  from €6 to €10 in various pharmacies around Dublin but you can order them from Cara Pharmacy Here for €6 plus postage.

For the price point and quality you get I really do recommend it.

Thanks for reading!

M.A.C's Violetta Lipstick

I seen this lipstick on an assistant in Boots and had to know what it was-usually I would never have the guts to ask but it looked so fantastic on her I had to have it. I was half hoping it would be something from Boots and not very expensive, but it was Violetta from MAC. This actually worked out well as the other half had gotten me a gift card for Brown Thomas so I went straight across to the BT2 store and that was that. 

This is absolutely perfect teamed with M.A.C's Magenta lipliner. I loved wearing the lip liner all through summer but found it quite drying by itself during the winter so I can get good wear out of both whatever the season now. In my opinion the blue under toned purple can look good in either summer or winter- even if it doesn't suit the season I'll wear it anyway if I like the colour.

It's an Amplified Finish and it's so creamy and easy to apply. Usually with dark colours I'll use a lipbrush but I find it so easy to apply I rarely use one, especially if I'm pairing it with the lipliner.

MAC Violetta with Magenta around the edges

I can get around 2 hours wear without reapplying with this and it wears away to leave a pinky purple stain on the lip that I love. 

When you apply it first it's quite sparkly but it's still very comfortable to wear as the shimmer isn't the least bit chunky or gritty. The first layer goes on quite sheer but it's easily built up to the colour in the bullet.

After my dissapointment with my first M.A.C lipstick, I'm very happy I gave them another go.

I do think that €19.50 is a little pricey, but as a treat or just for a fantastic shade it is worth it. I feel a little bit more special when I apply it during the day.

 No doubt I'll be adding to my collection as soon as I do a bit more research on the finishes of them.

Any shade or finish recommendations? Do you think MAC lipsticks are worth it?

L'Oreal Voluminous Butterfly Intenza Mascara

After a very long break I'm finally getting the time to blog again, and I'm so excited to be back and to see what 2015 has in store for blogging.

I received this mascara in the swap I did with Shireen from Reflection of Sanity before Christmas, and like I said then this has been in my rotation of mascaras since. I'm somewhat of  a mascara junkie..

I enjoyed using this mascara when I first received it but it's getting better and better as it's drying out for me. I do prefer dryer formulations though but it just works better. 

It's quite wet to begin with and it can be easy to end up with clumpy lashes if you're not careful, but give it a few weeks and it's very easy to work with.

 No Mascara

One coat of mascara

It's not the most volumising mascara I've ever tried even if it is marketed as one but it gives my lashes lots of length and separation which I actually like more. The wand is easy to hold and the comb grabs the majority of the lashes itself, it's just the inner corner ones you have to wiggle your way into.

 It's pigmentation is great and I didn't find it flaking or smudging onto my glasses when  had watery eyes which is a major plus.

It removes easily with any cleanser I use or eye makeup remover, so no panda eyes the next morning!

From what I can see this mascara isn't available in Ireland but it is available on Ebay for around €12 if you wanted to give it a go.

What's your favourite brand for mascara?

My first ever Swap!

A few weeks ago myself and the lovely Shireen fron Reflection of Sanity decided we were going to do a swap. After emailing a few preferences and foundation shades it happened, and here's what i recieved:

Covo Foundation

This foundation is housed in one of the most beautiful bottes I've ever owned. Heavy glass and with a pump-what's not to like? The finish is beautiful and the shade is spot on.The lasting power is fantastic as well, I can easily wear this all day at work with no sign of wear. Covo was a brand I really wanted to try as it all looked so good in Shireens posts, but it's only available in Malaysia at the minute, so you can guess how happy I was to receive this and thee most beautiful lipstick in the swap. There may a been a little dance...

 There will be a full review coming up on this and all the other products over the next few weeks so keep an eye out if you'd like to know more.

Prestige Primed and Ready Face Primer

I had never heard of Prestige before but this primer has definitly piqued my interest.

This reminds me so much of Benefits The Porefessional. It has the same  silicone-y texture to Benefits offering and I've been using it everyday.It makes my skin feel so smooth and any foundation I apply over it just glides on. Love.

Physicians Formula Sexy Booster Blush

Physicians formula has recently become availible in Ireland but I've yet to see a stand, I also think it's quite pricey over here for a drugstore brand so I never really went out of my way to find any. This and the liners I received has changed my stance on that though, I'll be doing a bit of travelling to see if the rest of the line is as good a quality as this and the shimmer liners.

The packaging of this made me squeal a little when I saw it. It's just so cute and the actual product itself is lovely. It gives a beautiful flush to my face that just looks so natural and alive.

Almay Smart Shade Skintone Adapting Makeup

This has taken the place of my beloved but discontinued Catrice BB Cream. The finish is natural and it just looks like you have great skin all by yourself, When this one runs out I'll be hitting up Ebay or Amazon for a replacement. It doesn't go a hideous  shade of orange lke other brands tone adapting makeup has and lasts really well.

ELF's Little Black Beauty Book:Warm

Elf was the brand I had said i'd love to try and a Beauy Book like this was the perfect thing to recieve. I love neautrals and warm colours and this little guy has all that and then some:

I've tried every shade in this palette except fot the blue and green, and over essence's eye primer they are gorgeous. I found some of them had more fallout than others but that's easily solved with some powder under the eyes or doing my eye makeup first- which is my normal way of doing it anyway.

This appear every so often in TK Maxx apparently and if you see one you should get it.

There are so many ways to mix and match and they all blend out really well. They blend really well with other brands of eyeshadows too.

Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips

These are absolutely gorgeous. There's a black shimmer, a bronze shimmer and a gold shimmer. These glide on my eyes and the shimmer isn't gritty at all. I love having them heavier at my lash line and then blending them up to my crease for a "low key but still made an effort" look.

Covo Lipstick

This is absolutely gorgeous. It's the most vivid hot pink I own and the shine for the first half an hour is like there's a lip gloss on top. It wears away to leave a hot pink stain on my lips and I've been wearing this an awful lot. This will be my everyday lipstick next summer for sure. And as you can hopefully see in the picture, there's even a mirror built into the case.

NYX Creamy Lipsticks

The shades Shireen chose are just beautiful. There's Eros-a coral red and Louisiana- a dusky pink.

I much prefer this formula to the matte lipsticks from NYX and I'm excited to try all the other colours from this line. they are not the most long wearing of lipsticks but as it's getting colder and my lips are getting dryer these are still comfortable and don't show up any chapped bits I may have.

L'Oreal Voluminous Butterfly Intenza Mascara

This is firmly in my rotation of mascaras. I have to rotate them as I have so many! This gives long voluminous black lashes with no clumping. I'm enjoying it even more as it dries out a little as that's just my preference but it's goood.

I also love the packaging as you can see the wand straight away and it's much more hygienic I think.

These earrings were such a cute extra in my beautifully packaged box, and I love wearing them with a smoky eye a black casual dress and my hair up. 

This was such a fun thing to do and doing it with Shireen made it even better! I got my box the day I posted hers as I am woefully unorganised and she was so understanding. I really enjoyed picking things that I thought she would love and suit her the most and her choices for me were phenominal. I couldn't of been happier with all the items she chose.

Like I said earlier full reviews will be coming up on the blog of all these products if you'd like a more in depth review of them so keep an eye out or follow me on Bloglovin here.

A huge thank you to Shireen for giving me the opportunity to do a swap, It was so much fun and it felt a little like christmas opening up the package to see what was inside. If you're thinking of doing a swap then definitely do it. It's even better if you can do it wih someone in a different county as they'll have so many different things they love and could send and you can do likewise.

Don't forget to check out Shireen's blog Reflection Of Sanity  ,I can truthfully say you won't regret it. She has an amazing way of writing that really draws you in and she is so funny. Amazing reviews with mouth watering recipes as well-the Butter Chicken recipe is my favourite and so easy to do.

Have you or would you do a swap? Would you be as delighted as I am to receive these products?

Thanks for reading!

A Christmas Party Look

So Christmas is fast approaching,bringing with it the parties and of course, the glittery looks. If Christmas isn't an excuse to go mad with the sparkle then I  don't know what is.

This is a similar look to one I wore for New Years last year and I really liked how it turned out so I thought I'd recreate again as I'll probably be doing it again this season.

Just to disclose- I am in no way a MUA, I just enjoy playing about with it and me blending skills are pretty much non-existent as you will soon see.

These are all the products I used to create this look so it doesn't take too many really.

I started by putting a strip of sellotape in the place I wanted the shadow to end. This leaves you with a very crisp line-especially if you don't leave a little gap like I've done! You can achieve the same effect by wiping it with a face wipe when your finished but the sellotape comes in handy in a little while too. Just make sure if you are using sellotape stick it on your hand a few times first to get rid of some of the stickiness as it can pull at the delicate skin around your eyes if you don't.

I then put an eyeshadow primer on and then a brown cream shadow in and above my crease to help blend the black a little later on.

I used a black gel eyeliner as I didn't have a black cream shadow on my eyelid and blended it into to brown a little. While this was still a little tacky a pressed a black slightly multi-coloured pigment on top.

To give it more dimension and sparkle I pressed a gold pigment on top with a damp brush-if you have MAC Fix Plus I think it would work great. 

I then removed the sellotape and was left with a crisp line and stuck it on the back of my hand to use again later.

I also brought the gold into my inner corner and under my eye and blended it with a tiny bit of black on the outer corner. 

I added a thin line of eyeliner - I didn't want to wing it out in case I ruined the shape as I'm a bit shaky with it still.

I cleaned up the edges near my brows with cotton buds dipped in makeup remover and blended again using a matte cream shade mixed with a tiny bit of highlighter.

Before I started on my base I used the bits of sellotape to pick up any bits of rogue glitter that had fallen down. I applied my foundation and contoured a little bit. I chose a pinky nude lip to go with my eyes as they are quite strong but a red would look nice too,I think. I then filled in my brows and that was me done.

Not the most blended eye look I've ever done but I'm putting bending blushes on my Chrismas wish-list so hopefully it will be rectified soon. I hope you can get the genera idea of it though and when the light hits it it's a lot more sparkly, just like the cropped photo above when I applied the gold pigment.

I hope you like it!

Are you all about the sparkle at Christmas? What's your go to look?