Hero products from June! (2013)

It's July! What? Where has the time gone? I feel SO old!! Another month, another pick of the beauty stuff that has literally got me through it! So, I just got back from a beautiful, relaxing trip to Mallorca (the quiet Cala Millor resort...no Santa Ponza for me..) and whilst I was there I was heavily reliant on a good few beauty products. I of course brought WAY too much make-up than was necessary and also two pairs of six inch heals that weren't even worn! I'll never learn! But of all the beauty equipment I brought, I used only a handful. The hero products were definately my No7 BB Lips in Blink Pink, Trilogy's Everything Balm and La Roche Posay's Cicaplast Baume B5. I picked up the new NO7 BB lips at the airport because I had a 7.50euro voucher off No7 and the pink one totally caught my eye as it looked very similar in packaging to the Clarins lip perfectors. I'm so glad I picked it up because I literally had it on my lips 24/7. It has UV protection which meant I could happily pout away on the beach (to draw attention away from my pale pasty Irish legs..) and also felt like they were being moisturised and gave a cutesy, sheer pink colour at the same time. HERO PRODUCT! I've yet to try the Clarins Lip Perfectors but I don't feel the need to after this purchase. Cheers No7!
  Ok, so the start of the holiday was a DISASTER as my flight was delayed a whopping ten hours and this left me dizzy, disorientated  and so knackered in the airport that I fell UP an escalator (I know it sounds HILARIOUS! But I nearly DIED from embarrassment!) and one of my poor legs was cut to bits ;( Boo Hoo, I know! Luckily I had La Roche-Posay's Cicaplast Baume B5 in my bag. It totally reduced the healing time for my cuts and bruishes and really soothed my dry skin. It is such a fantastic multi-use product that you can use all over really, it's quite heavy and has a bit of a dairy smell ( like funky milk?!) but my boyfriend was using it as hand cream and over some sunburn too and it did the trick. HERO PRODUCT!
  It wasn't all doom and gloom though because to cheer me up after my sudden brush with death, my wonderful boyf brought me to the Mac stand...Yes, he's husband material, I know! I needed a nice barely there bronzy eyeshadow and one in particular caught my eye and this was the infamous "All That Glitters". It is such a beautiful colour on the lids . It gives a flash of sunkissed bronze on the lids and feels so natural and pretty. It has a hint of shimmer that is barely there and can be worn on its own or can be transformed for night time with a sweep of a darker brown shade blended into the crease. It's my new holy grail of eye shadows and I can know see why it's so revered in the Blogesphere. HERO PRODUCT!
 Moving away from my holiday essentials and onto things that I've used a lot throughout June and these would be the Real Techniques Duo-Fiber brushes. From the pack of the 3 brushes the eye brush really stood out for me. It is the perfect brush for blending into the crease and because it doesn't pick up too much product, it is pretty much a perfect eyeshadow crease applicator. The Face brush was perfect for applying powder because again, it doesn't carry too much product on it, which is perfect I think because who wants a cakey-face?
 And last, but certainly not least, is a nail polish that I've actually been in LOVE with for the month of June and will not take it off is...Maybelline's Super Stay Gel Nails in Hot Salsa. It is the perfect shade of Pinky/Coral with a hint of neon orange. This with a tan. PERFECT! I had to keep looking at my toes on my hols because for once I actually liked looking at my feet! I've never worn a colour like it before and I'm actually obsessed with it :-D

Anyhows, back to life and back to reality and BRING ON JULY!

The Wake Up Make-Up Routine.

 

 

 

 

Yep. Waking up is really hard. Yes Zooey, you speak such truths. To make matters worse, looking out the window and seeing a blizzard in the Summer (Ireland, I love you) doesn't help. I try shrug off the many mental images of me jumping off a cliff and think of the morning make up routine ahead. Yes. Routine. it helps to settle my stomach and gets me moving. First, tea. Shower. Then onto the good stuff! Some people love to hear the birds singing them into awakening, getting their senses into motion. Just thinking of the powdery goodness of my Coralista blusher sets my senses into overdrive. The transformation it brings to the soul (deep, I know) is something which I think all of you make-up fanatics can relate to.

I always try to give myself an bit of time ( half an hour) to apply my make-up. I need to be relaxed and in a yoga like pose whilst doing this (optional *:-D*) and really get focused. I set out my daily essentials in front of me and then choose the lipstick of the day (I mostly grab for the Mac Hue, just to be safe). Insert singing (cute) mice folk who happen to be good at ironing (I'm still in dream mode). It was mice in Cinderlla right?! Yes. It was. There was a super cute one called Gus. You catch my drift (hopefully). Anyhows, after applying my beloved hydraluron, I start massaging my face with my mango smelling Bia Beauty moisuriser ( It's Irish and it smells DIVINE). Then a quick slather of my favourite BB cream by Dr.Jart helps to even out my skin tone and provide me with an SPF25. 

  I have opened my curtains at this stage. Windy, cloudy, ah well. I've always got my Nars Sheer Glow to illuminate my face. A soft sweep of Benefit's Coralista onto my cheeks. I'm nearly done. Onto eyes. A nice, gentle sweep of Urban Decay's Sin. My eyes are now near alive. Then, Rimmel ScandalEyes pencil in bronze to blend into my crease. The tea has now kicked in and I now have full use of both my hands. A (quick) glide of my Essence liquid liner and a couple of coats of Maybelline Falsies mascara and I'm alive! Wait, I've forgotten my eyebrows! It's the Rimmel brow pencil in brown/black with its handy little brush on the lid. My morning therapy is complete. I am me. My identity has awoken and I am, who I am meant to be. The philosophical ramblings aside, make-up makes me happy! It's the sparkly sheen of the Urban Decay palette and the creamy, dewy texture of the Bourjois blushes that awaken my spirit and my will to get involved in the big bad world out there.

 

I pack my bits back into my Minnie Mouse make-up bag (my subconscious seems to link rodents with make-up...lovely) and get dressed in a hurry. Filled with hope and gleaming from the inside out, I walk out the front door and run for the bus. Although I know the make-up will diminish throughout the day (it shouldn't though...damn you Maybelline 16 hour lipstick...hmmm) it has helped contribute to the waking up process and the opening of my eyes to the beauty of the world. This was a VERY deep first blog post. If you're passionate about make-up and skincare you will know that it's not just a nascissitic pleasure, it's apart of who you are. It's your portrayal of how you feel. It's an act of creation. It's life. Ok. Maybe not life (although I would DIE without it). How does your morning make-up routine differ? Are you as passionate about the morning make-up routine as I am...or more?Thank you so much for reading this blog post and I hope you enjoyed it. What are your morning go-to products? I would LOVE to know. Getting butterflies at the thought of it!

 

 

No mice were harmed during the production of this blog :-)