Nimue – skincare worth investing in

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Anyone who has read my blog for a while now will know I struggle with my skin having written previously about how to deal with hormonal skin and how to cover it all up. I have battled with bad skin pretty much all my life, I can barely remember a time where I haven’t had at least a couple of spots, that usually being a good skin day. A good few months ago now a group of us Continue reading

The importance of SPF in moisturiser

Up until recently I pretty much diagnosed my own skin type – and for the most part I was right, an oily t-zone that is really prone to hormonal and wine related breakouts. But there’s one thing diagnosing what you can see but it’s what lies below the surface that is truly interesting. I went for a fabulous treatment in The Heritage Killinard Spa recently and before we began the facial I had a skin analysis. This involves a UV lamp being placed near your face to expose area’s Continue reading

What do you know about Sulphates?

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My article in The Irish Times this week features a brilliant Irish company called Elave. I thought I would add a follow up post to my article because there is literally only so much I can fit into 250 words and some topics warrant more details.

You know those conversations that spark a Eureka moment? Well I had one of those moments while chatting with Joanna Gardner, MD of Elave. She was firstly, extremely generous with her time in talking to me and secondly, very informative. Elave is a really interesting company that does a huge amount of research into making their products really effective yet extremely kind and gentle on skin. Continue reading

Wet n Wild Valentines Collection

I’ll be honest, when I first spied Wet n Wild, although I heard lots of really good reviews regarding the quality of the products, I just thought it was a brand that was too young for me. I don’t know if that makes sense but then I thought the same about essence as they had had some collections that just weren’t my style but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by both brands. PLUS the price, I mean, it just makes experimenting with colours so much more accessible. The Valentines Day collections are dropping for lots of brands at the moment so here’s a heads up on what Wet n Wild have to offer. I have never tried anything from this brand so I was eager to put these bits to the test. Continue reading

Fuschia Makeup Face Kit

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Anyone that reads this space on the internet will realise that I’m a woman who likes a beauty product that earns its keep on my dresser. If it has multiple uses then it’s my friend. I don’t have time to be pulling out a pile of different pots and bottles in the mornings to pull together some sort of presentable face. When this highlight and contour palette from Fuschia Makeup landed in the door last week I literally gasped. I’ve mentioned Fuschia a couple of times before and I’m always impressed by the shades and tones used in products like the nude lipsticks and the foundation, they suit pale skintones really nicely. This facekit is a gem of a product. Continue reading

Beauty Blender – game changing makeup application

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I got this Beauty Blender after MUCH deliberation. Like many people I had decided I would try out the trend of sponge makeup application by using a cheaper alternative, namely the Real Techniques sponge. To cut a long story short I found it soaked up half the makeup I was putting on my face and basically the girls commandered it and used it as an indoor football. So I was hesitant to further invest in a sponge as I was so put off by. Anyway, it became hard to ignore the numerous good reports on the beauty blender so before Christmas I bought the original beauty blender on beautybay.com. It’s not cheap for a sponge, €22 went on my credit card so I had high expectations… Continue reading

Pamper yourself

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One of my favourite things to do at home is to steal away for a half hour, treat myself to a little indulgence and pamper myself. The bulk of this is basically spent by passing about 20 minutes in a roasting hot shower just enjoying the peace and quiet. But I also like to be productive so I try to do a hair mask once a week. I’m still struggling to get my hair and head back to normal after using the Aussie range of shampoos for far too long, they totally and utterly dried out both my hair and scalp. I’m using the Mane N Tail Deep Moisturising shampoo and conditioner now and have definitely seen a huge improvement.  Continue reading

Supporting Irish beauty brands

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I wanted to highlight my latest column from the Irish Times as I don’t usually share the full post here but I want to spread the word on this one. For the past 6 months I’ve been writing the Tips and Tricks column weekly bringing people the best in what the beauty industry had to offer along with tips and tricks on everything from winged eye liner (which FYI I’m still perfecting!) to combating dry hands. I wanted to use the platform I had to support Irish beauty brands and businesses, having met so many over the past year of blogging I’ve been so blown away by the work they do and the incredible products they produce it came to me like a no brainer.  Continue reading

Current beauty product reviews

It takes me quite a while to get around to giving beauty products a good review at the moment so I thought I’d do a short post to give you all an insight into what I’m playing around with now. These are products that are for the most part new on the shelves so think of this as a visual press release into the latest beauty products. I won’t pass comment on them just yet as I like to give products a good trial before I recommend them here. Some of these products aren’t new but they’re new to me so I’ll include them all the same. Continue reading

How do you wash your face?

Nip + fab nip and fab review

It’s not often I would pass comment on skincare products mere weeks are buying them online but I’m so blown away by the three products I bought from Nip + Fab (or Nip and Fab) I feel compelled to comment. The change in weather temperatures coupled with the fact that I basically sit between a burning radiator and a drafty window my skin has gone so weird the past couple of weeks. Throw in some typically female hormones and a bit of ‘finishing up work’ stress and you’ve got a recipe for skincare disaster. Continue reading