We 'Grammin

Every time I hear somebody say the word instagram, the first thought that pops into my head is Bob Marley's song "Jammin". So then a dance must follow. As well as speaking to a reggae beat. Anybody else?? No, just me?? Ok then.

I decided to do one of these posts because I know I enjoy them. Instagram gives

a little taster of  a person's everyday life. 

1. Nothing in this world compares to this.

2. Friday/Payday treat

3. Ripping inspiration from magazines on Saturday night in

4. A rainy Sunday drive back to Dublin

5. Chocolate goodness

6. My set of drawers has been taking over by products

7. Hangover day in bed

8. Prosecco with the ladies

9. My gluten- and dairy-free diet

Payday Catastrophe

I'm sure you all know that feeling. That last week of the month before payday where Erin Hotcup Soup in Mushroom will have to contribute to your 5 a day or handbags are emptied onto the tables to gather every last bit of change for a carton of milk. On repeat in my head for the week is the mantra " I will NEVER let myself get to this point again" or the favourite "I WILL write a budget this month and STICK to it". 

Then the morning of payday rolls in and all those coherent thoughts just fall out of your head. I'm the type of person that fools myself into thinking that I deserve a treat. By the end of the day, I'm calculating in my head if my bills will be covered for the month and what's minimum amount I can live on. It's a vicious circle that I have yet to beat.

So yesterday was no exception to this law of nature and a few (un)necessary purchases were made in BTs. 

When I see what I bought collectively, I can see I had an overall Spring/Summer theme going on. Despite the fact Dublin was miserable. I've managed to convince myself that the summer will be warm and I will spend all my free time wearing summer dresses and bright lips in beer gardens. Sipping glasses of Bulmers, like a lady. 

1. MAC Sheen Supreme Lipstick in Blossom Culture

I've noticed these lipsticks for a while but never thought to buy them and usually always stay faithful to their classic formula. But once I swatched this, I was instantly drawn to it. These half gloss/ half lipstick formulations have been increasingly popular over the last two years. I have two from Chanel that I absolutely adore and I know YSL and NARS have had similar ideas.

The website describes it as a "soft pink with pearl" but I would be leaning towards a soft coral. It's quite a warm pink with a gold undertone shooting through. Inoffensive and easy to wear.

2. MAC Eye Shadow in All That Glitters

This was a repurchase of a firm favourite. One of my first ever MAC eyeshadows to buy and an all round cult classic. EVERYBODY should own this colour. I bought it in pan form as I use it my MAC pro palette.

3.  MAC Lip Pencil in Lasting Sensation

This beauty caught my eye as soon as I walked in the door. I love strong lips. I spent a lot of winter wearing colours like MAC Rebel and Girl About Town. With this, I can see myself wearing it throughout the season. It's a bright coral which I'll probably apply all over the lips with a little gloss on top.

4. MAC Eye Brow Pencil in Spiked

Nothing too glamorous about this product, I'm afraid! Lately, I had a greater interest in eyebrows. Something that is overlooked by many, with myself included in the past, in terms of colour. Never underestimate the power of a strong, shaped brow. I've using brow powders up until now and decided to give this a whirl. 

5. MAC Power Blush in Immortal Flower

A Limited Edition product that came out with The Tres Chic Collection, this is LOVE. Immediately, I was head over heels. This is my favourite colour in terms of clothes, jewellery, bags etc so when I saw sitting up looking at me, I knew it had to be mine. It's a light, bright peach (does that make sense?!). 

Apologies on the quality of the photos, the iPhone is my only source to a camera at the moment. Maybe next month, if I'm feeling kind to myself, I'll buy one on the next payday session.

Dior Smoothing Plumping Lip Balm

Lip balm is something I need constantly by my side. I remember back in the later years of primary school, one had to be consistent with your Vaseline application. God forbid if you had anything but glossy lips in 6th class.

My usual companions in recent years have usually been Carmex. A dry-lipped girl's best friend. At last count I had *finger count*, SEVEN scattered between my room, handbag and office. However a while back, I received a package from Dior in Paris when they were returning a replacement bottle of foundation. Along with the new shiny bottle of Dior NudeSkin (my beloved!), I got a little pot of their lip balm. A cute addiction I think.

I've not heard much about it but who here can say they hear anything about any high end brands lip balm selection but it was instant LOVE. In its white packaging, it contains a pink, rose-scented balm. The texture would be much richer than your standard pot of Carmex therefore throwing in that word "luxury". Can a simple lip balm be described as luxurious? Well, yes I think so.

How much it retails for? I'm not too sure. More than likely something completely ludicrous for a bog standard lip balm. But I do think it is something I might want to repurchase. It was well loved!

(it's approaching payday, I tend to have these crazy €€€ notions this time of the month)

Clinique SuperBalanced Makeup

A product that's been on the back of my mind since I began my course back in January (it was highly recommended for combination skin), I finally had the opportunity to buy when I used up the last scraping of my beloved Jemma Kidd Light as Air. My only reason to stray from the Jemma Kidd is because I find it a little bit of an inconvenience to purchase in Ireland as it seems to be only available online.

Anywhoooo, the Clinique foundation was finally within my reach. As well as recommendations from my tutors, one of my favourite YouTubers Tanya uses it regularly so that was enough for me. I picked it up in Brown Tomas in the colour 03 Ivory along with their High Impact Curling Mascara (which I detest).

Described on the website as a "liquid foundation with adjustable, oil-free coverage provide moisture and absorbs oil when and wear needed". I thought this would be the ideal foundation for me as my skin changes with the weather (and living in Ireland, it does seem quite moody). It can vary from being dry around my nose and forehead one week, and the next suffer from excess oiliness on my T-Zone. So I thought this would tick all the boxes.

Firstly, the colour is wrong for my skin which, to be fair, is my own fault as I still can't seem to come to terms with how pale I've actually become this year. So I do have to work it more into my skin as well as blending it down my neck. It's never a fast application unless I'm wearing my fake tan. I understand this is an unfair prejudice but this is the kind of fickle being I am unfortunately!

Like with all my foundations, I do tend to set my skin with a translucent powder. This is usually sufficient enough to set my make-up for the day along with the standard top-up after lunch. With this foundation, I find it's not lasting on my skin as well as I would have hoped. By lunchtime, I've been applying more than I usually would after lunch.

With those negatives aside, I do think it could be a great foundation for people with a drier skin type to mine. I would describe it as a good medium coverage foundation and the colour range does seem to hit that neutral ground in tone that I like. I detest the colour range in MAC foundations as I strongly believe, in this country at least, that majority of skin tones here are neither extremely pink nor yellow toned.


If anybody is using a foundation they loooove please let me know, I like to change it up clearly!

My Life in Photos- Week 1

Yamamori right in Dublin's city centre (Asian food is a biiiiiig weakness!)

After seeing this post, I became inspired to cook my own.

Photo-shoot prep

During the photo-shoot (My first!)

Some of the creative images made for the St Patrick's Day parade

Battling the elements on St Patrick's Day in Dublin 

A much deserved drink after an early start (5.00am) that morning.

The "hangover" fry up that followed the day after.

Annnnd of course the detoxification needed after a busy week, pheeew!

The High(lighter) Life

I am an absolute fool for highlighters. After lipsticks, they would be my most purchased/ogled at beauty item. For me, they are an absolute MUST in make-up application. I truly believe the routine of "contour, blush, and highlight" is of vast importance. Images like this is exactly the kind of look I love for day time; healthy and, dare I say it, glowing. Ugh, I really feel that word is overused in the world of cosmetics especially this time of year. It is one of those products that I feel I need and tend to get compliments when wearing. 

So as you could imagine I've accumulated quite a collection of highlighters. All different shapes and sizes. Between powder, cream and liquid, there's not one type of highlighter I'll skip on buying. Here's a few of my favourites.

1. MAC Mineralize SkinFinish in "By Candlelight"

This was part of a limited collection from about maybe two years ago and is one of those products that never fails to satisfy me. I would almost describe the colour as "rose gold". It's very warm in tone with an overall pink/peach colour with a very slight warm gold running through it.

(Ehhhh, yeah a small accident with this one!)

 In comparison to other MSFs I've seen, especially those in the Permanent collection, the glitter content in this product is minimal. It has the right amount of shimmer which leaves a gorgeous sheen to the skin. To some it still could be a little too much for daytime, but I would still whip this beauty out regularly regardless. 

2. Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow All Over Radiance Creme in No 2 "Rose Gold"

After seeing a video by this beautiful lady I looked up this collection on Feel Unique and fell in love. I'm happy to see that the range is getting more coverage of late (at least in Ireland), and have been more than satisfied with any product I've tried. This product would be a similar colour to the MAC one, but with it being a cream product, it is much more sheer and natural. This product would be more ideally suited for day time. Smooth application and a firm favourite.

3. MAC Pigment in "Vanilla"

This is one of those products that has floated around for quite sometime however I never felt the urge to purchase until I started the Make Up Artistry course. A stunning iridescent  loose powder with multiple purpose. White in colour but once buffed into the skin, it becomes a stunning golden colour. It also seems quite universal to all skintones and inoffensive. A definite must for any lover of highlighter. I mainly use it on cheekbones, on the brow bone and the inner corner of the eye. Photographs fantastically as well as it picks up the right amount of light. 

4. Benefit Moon Beam

An oldie but a goodie, Benefit got this right from the very beginning. I have both of High Beam and Moon Beam, 

with the former being my first high end cosmetic purchase. There was nothing quite as thrilling as having that beautiful pearly pink liquid. I easily wore it everyday for my last year of school and only finished the bottle over a year ago. With Moon Beam, it is more golden (started to see a pattern here) but would pick it over the other. I don't use this as much as my others as it was a product I mostly used to mix in with my foundation. Since then I have chosen more dewier finishes in my foundations so this has been left to the back of the drawer. Not saying I don't like it, but it would be on the more sheer side of the spectrum which is something that wouldn't appeal to me as much. 

There are a few more in my collection but I think the few above give a wider view on the different types available. I even purchased this baby during the week but I want to give it a longer test run before I voice my opinion on it. So far so good, it's been quite positive! 

As I do not seem to have any self control, recommendations are welcome. One can never have too many!

Forgive and Forget...?

So, I've been "faffing" around with this blogging business for a few years now. Hasn't been easy, let me tell you. A series of obstacles have stood in my way. 

****WARNING, pathetic excuses will follow****

"I just don't have the time, I need to focus on my career"

"What could I possibly write about? Who CARES what I have to say??"

"Sure, I'd LOVE to spend my entire weekend with a bottle of vodka"

*stares* "Oh my god, look a gear bag! What's that carrying it..?"

I'm only human. I'm easily distracted by pretty things (including rugby players) but I'm back and I'm here to give a good lash. 

On a serious note, even though I've gotten sidetracked by the little things in life, blogging combines my two passions in life; writing and beauty. I've been lucky in the last few months to be given the opportunity to pursue my love for make-up and have enrolled in Ireland's most well-known Make-Up Artistry course. I've been extremely fortunate to be given this chance. 

So here's my attempt at this again. Please have faith!