Everyday Makeup

The best part about Winter is getting to play up your day to day make up look. I love going for vampier lip shades that you normally wouldn't get away with during Spring / Summer, and playing them down with a neutral eye. As I'm doing a post on my favourite lip shades for Winter, I thought I would share with you my 'everyday base'. To keep the focus primarily on the lip, I like to keep everything else simple. Light pinks and minimal eye make up.

Foundation: I'm currently using Benefit's 'Hello Flawless'. I was matched to the shade 'ivory' back in September when I was still pretty tan from holidays so this is no longer a 'perfect' match unless I'm wearing tan, but I really like the coverage. It's not a matte finish either, more dewy which is perfect for the colder months because my skin does get really dried out from the cold, harsh weather. I mean, doesn't all of our
Concealer: Still pretty much infatuated with Benefit's 'Erase Paste'. It's so good for covering up spots and blends really well with the 'Hello Flawless'. They make a really good combo.

Eyeshadow: I've recently started using this color tattoo in the shade 'pink gold' from Maybelline and I'm still undecided on whether I like the actual product and not just the shade. I find it feels quite heavy on my eye and creases pretty easily, however it does work great as a base beneath 'Sin' from the first Urban Decay Naked palette. I used to be wary of pink tone eyeshadows, to quote my friend Ellie "it kinda makes you look like you have pink eye tho?". I find once you apply it right, you avoid the pink eye effect and it looks really subtle for a day to day look.

Blush: Topshop blushes still mesmerise me. They apply like a cream blush but finish like a powder. It's a little awkward to apply, but I've been using the flat brush from the Real Techniques 'Core Collection' and it works like a charm. Winter and rosy cheeks go hand in hand and this blush from Topshop is perfect for creating a lovely glow without having to brace the cold.
Bronzer: I'm a contouring addict. I contour everyday without fail. Sadly, I don't have predominant cheekbones so I hardcore fake them thanks to Benefit's 'Hoola' bronzer. 'Hoola' is great for me because it's dark but not too dark. It's also buildable so I f I'm wearing tan I don't have to worry about using another bronzer. Contouring looks like it's about to replace eyebrows as the new statement for 2015 so if you haven't mastered it yet, YouTube tutorials guys.

Brows: Eyebrows are still having their moment (contouring is on yo tail), thank you Cara. I feel like, if your eyebrows are on point, then the rest of your make up falls into place effortlessly. I get my brows tinted and threaded at 'The Body Shop' but sometimes they need a bit of filling in. I go back and forth between this Rimmel eyebrow pencil and the Seventeen 'Brows That' eyebrow kit (review here) to fully enhance my brow. I love a thick eyebrow with a sharp arch and this pencil is brilliant for helping me achieve that. The brush on the end is pretty useless but the pencil is fab. It's not too insanely pigmented either, I'm massively anti the 'sharpie' brow.

Mascara: I'm a recent convert to Maybelline's 'Falsies' mascara. It's been raved about on many a blog and magazine, but I only picked up my first tube a couple months ago and honestly, I do regret not purchasing it before. Obsessed, doesn't cover it really. It's perfect for everyday makeup as you can build it up to apply as much drama as you fancy. The wand is my favourite part. It has a slight curve in it which really helps grab your lashes and blow out volume at the same time. I am going to do a full review on this in the next few days so keep an out for that.

So there you have it, these are the products I've been using to create a ~flawless base for an everyday look. It's pretty simple, but that's where the lipsticks come into play and boy do I love a bold lipstick.

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The Lush Haul

Over Christmas I went a little loony for Lush. I don't think I've ever purchased this much Lush, well ever. But I mean, gurl deserves to smell like rainbows and cinnamon right? Some of this was bought online, some was bought in the post Christmas Lush sale. I actually bought a bunch in the sale in Lush Dublin and arrived home to find my online order had arrived that day too. I've been drowning in a bubble bath of Lush and I've never been happier.

I picked up a few products I've never tried before like 'Hot Toddy', the 'Ayesha' face mask, etc etc. Everything smells so good, I'm torn between what to use first. I'm thinking the xx, he's such a cute little snowman, I'm curious to see how the blue comes out in the water. It's also the only non pinkish product I bought. I'm a sucker for pink and clever marketing.
The one thing I wanted to stock up on, like the whole Lush fangroup, was 'Snow Fairy'. I think I have enough to tide me over until at LEAST July. After that, I'll just cry and try to get on with my life for the short time it's no longer available to me. Pathetic, yes.
One of the items I picked up in store was the 'Little Snow Fairy' gift set. It was 50% off and I was pulled in by the cute, pink packaging. I've never picked up one of the giftsets before and they're actually fantastic value, you're saving quite a few euro in comparison to buying the products seperately. If you have younger siblings who enjoy bubble baths, any of the gift sets would be fantastic as future Christmas or birthday presents.
I threw this into my basket because I wanted the mini 'Snow Fairy' and I had no clue what 'Pink Fun' was and still kind of don't.

'Pink Fun' reminds me a bit of playdoh, only it smells a whole lot better. Like, a lot. It's sickeningly sweet, even more so than 'Snow Fairy' but I can deal with that. There's four uses for this handful of doh and I figure I may try all of them. One is a shower wash, two is shampoo (??), three is for laundry and the last is just throw it in the bath and wait for it to go. Apparently it doesn't work well as a solo bath product but i'll soon find out.

.Finally, the funnest product from Lush that I just had to get again, the 'Magic Wand'. It's so neat. I love swirling it around in the bath and watching as it leaves behind it's dust like magic star dust. It smells like 'Snow Fairy' which is an obvious selling point for me. I know, I know 'give it up Jess'. But I don't think I can, it's an oddly addictive scent, and you're only saying that because you have yet to smell it's brilliance. At least the Valentines day stock is released soon, something new to keep the mind occupied.

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Little Mix 'Jesy' Press-On Nails

When I think of Little Mix, I think feisty, embowered, sassiness and black, lots of black. One of my favourite colors. So when I heard that Little Mix were collaborating with Elegant Touch to bring out their own line of press on nails, naturally I got a little excited. I'm not a massive Little Mix fan, but the second I saw the design on these nails I knew I had to have them.
Each of the girls has their own box of nails which stays true to their own personal style and clearly if you have a favourite member of Little Mix, you can just buy their nails.
Jesys nails grabbed my attention the most and too me FOREVER to find. They're monochrome, on trend with bulging skulls and houndstooth prints. Key for aw14.

I'm a sucker for black and white and with hounds-tooth print and just monochrome in general being incredibly on trend right now these look great. I've recently struck up a fondness for false nails and upon purchasing these nails, I didn't realise theywere in fact press on nails and didn't come with any glue. Considering their tween fan base this was a clever move on Elegant Touches behalf, parents don't want their young tweens messing around with nail glue and press on's are an easy way to boost up sales.

There's a number of different sized nails within the box which caters for all nail sizes. I found some of the nails were actually ridiculously big in comparison to other false nails I had used and I had to spend a lot of time filing them down. I don't know what Elegant Touch were thinking with this considering the Little Mix fanbase are quite young and as a result would have tiny little hands? Maybe they weren't targeting the Little Mix fan base at all, who knows but definitely something to remember if you buy these nails, set some time aside.

I found the press ons to be quite awkward and not durable in the slightest. The stickers were awkwardly shaped and difficult to size. I tried cutting them in half with a scissors but that didn't work either. Once i got the nails onto the sticker they barely lasted 6hrs before one fell off and I grew fed up and pulled the rest off as i was afraid i would lose one of the nails.

 I  grew fed up and opted for applying them with some nail glue i pulled from a primark false nail pack which did the job nicely. After some filing the false nail fit my nails perfectly and lasted as well as expected before i had to remove them before work.

The white nails were a little awkard, and discoloured quite quickly but the others lasted very well and i was surprised at the sturdiness of the skull on the thumb finger which I was sure would become loose after a couple hours. The Jesy nails are incredibly stylish and by far my favourite design from the Little Mix edition. I've had lots of compliments on them.
I've picked up the other packs and i'm excited to give them a go, they're so quirky and stylish. I won't be using the press on stickers though, thats for sure.

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Styling a crop top

(Crop Top - Topshop, Skirt, Coat, Bag - Primark, iPhone Cover - Claires)

Firstly, apologies for the instagram pictures. It was these pictures that inspired me to write this post so unfortunately this is the best quality I had :(. I recently purchased a long sleeved crop top from Topshop that I've been wearing to death and I always see people saying they have no idea how to style crop tops, so I thought I would share my take with you guys.
 1.) The Skater skirt: (above) This is definitely the ~girliest out of the three looks and the one with the most color, even if it is tartan. I paired the high waisted skater skirt with some tights considering it's winter and some boots. I find the skirt to be very flattering with a crop top. It pulls you in at the waist and shows off a tiny bit of your tummy, flaring out over the top of your legs. The suit coat gives the overall look that little bit of structure and completes the look in a way which I really like.

(Crop Top - Topshop, High Waited Trousers - Tally Weijl, Boots - Primark)

2.) The High Waisted Trousers: Crop tops and high waisted trousers go hand in hand. A simple Google/Pinterest search for either confirms this. I chose to go for the one color palette - black and finished it off with some booties from Primark. Casual but finished all at the same time. You can pick up high waisted trousers for cheap as chips in Primark these days. They're kind of the fail proof companion for crop tops at this stage. Basic but stylish all at the same time.

(Crop Top and Shoes - Topshop, Blazer - Warehouse, Shorts - Forever21)

3.) The Night Out: This look is probably my favourite out of the three, I think it's very ~chic. I wore it out on Stephens night and had many compliments. It was actually a last minute ensemble as the dress I bought from Missguided was a little too see through for my liking and I had to go back to the drawing board. I've never really seen anyone step out in a nightclub with this kind of look but I was originally inspired by two looks from Emma Watson and Miley Cyrus.

Both girls had rocked blazers at separate events and I wanted to recreate their looks with my own spin on it. Where as Emma had gone for full on tailored, Miley opted for a risqué blazer dress. I choose to have the two meet half way. Taking Emmas, structured black and mixing it with heels, shorts and a crop top. Flirty, but nothing too crazy but not for the faint hearted.

I feel like if you're going to buy one key piece for 2015, make it a blazer. I really think they're going to be a big deal for next year so if you haven't got the perfect blazer yet, you definitely need to.

So there you have it, my three different spins on styling a crop top. Do you have a favourite look? Comment below.

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Fujifilm Instax Mini

Let me introduce you to my Fujifilm Instax mini 8 Polaroid camera. I thought it was time to share with you guys just how freaking amazing this bad boy is. I bought mine on Ebay during the summer for 70€ including P&P and 50 films. An absolute bargain which I'm no longer able to find and one that isn't offered by Argos who has recently started stocking them.
Everyone seems to have gotten one for Christmas which was nothing short of annoying because it means I haven't been able to find film for my little baby for over 5 weeks now. :( I normally stock up in Argos who, naturally have been out of stock for years. The only film they had left was wedding film and trust me, I was so tempted but that's neither here nor there. Hopefully Argos restock soon :)
The instax mini 8 comes in a wide range of colours from black to yellow. I went with this minty blue one.

The instax mini is the best thing you can have on a night out. I bring it out with me every night and all my friends love it. I brought it out Stephens night and had so many people asking me where I had got it. They thought it was pretty cool and hadn't a notion of how to use it which was really entertaining.
The camera is actually pretty simple to use once you get the hang of it. It takes two AA batteries and the film pack pops into the back, there's even a little dial which tells you how many more Polaroids you have left to use. Most Polaroid packs only come with ten in them and trust me you go through them pretty quick.
On Ebay you can buy a lot of nifty accessories for the instax mini such as a carry bag and lenses but I have yet to buy any of them but they look really handy.
If you love taking pictures and sticking them around your room then this is definitely for you. Not only do you get the instant gratification of having the picture in your hand, but you can share them with your friends who love them just as much.

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