Disappointing Products from Brands I Love

It's not that often that I end up disappointed by products that I buy because I do a lot of research first and love to read reviews from bloggers I trust,  but sometimes a dud slips through the checks and I have four of them here today. What makes these products even more disappointing is that they are from brands that I generally love!

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Charlotte Tilbury Legendary Lashes Mascara, Disappointing product, Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Mask In Oil, Hourglass foundation, Natasha Denona Contour Powder

The products that make washing your brushes a doddle: The Brush Bar

I know that a lot of people hate the chore of washing their makeup brushes and would actually prefer to just buy lots of brushes to avoid having to wash them very often, but it's important that they are washed regularly because of bacteria build up. I don't hate washing my brushes but don't love it either. It is a time-consuming task so anything that will make it faster and easier is always going to grab my attention so when The Brush Bar got in touch with me to try their products, I had a read and thought they would be really helpful and that I should give them a go!

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Brush Bar, Brush washing, BrushBar, discount, Moo Goo, review

Some recent budget beauty favourites all under €10/£10

I'm aware that I feature mainly mid to high end products on my blog most of the time but the truth is that I'm not a beauty snob and will just as happily use budget products once they work well for me. Over the summer, I have discovered some amazing budget beauty gems that I want to share with you today - there aren't any skincare products here but I do have hair, body and makeup goodies that I think you will love and are all €10/£10 and under so let's get started!

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Budget Beauty, John Frieda Luxurious Volume, L'Oreal Paradise Extatic, Maui Moisture Hair Mask, Nivea Rose Lotion, NYX Micro Brow Pencil, Pantene Micellar Water Shampoo. Wet N Wild Photofocus Foundation

My favourite rose scented products...

I love how a scent can instantly evoke memories and transport you to a particular time in your life. For me, as soon as I smell roses, I am immediately transported back to summer in my Granda's garden as a child. He had a really big garden that covered a few acres and definitely had over 100 rose bushes in so many varieties and colours and the scent just filled the air. I visited him at least once a week and he would always give me a bouquet of roses when I was leaving (one for my Mam too) and the rose had remained my favourite flower as a result. I know that some people think that rose-scented products are "grannyish" and maybe some that smell very synthetic are, but the products that I am sharing with you today all have a soft, rose scent that is real, natural and subtle enough to be worn daily.

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cruelty free, Korres, Nivea, Omorovicza, Ouai, Ouai Rose Hair & Body Oil, Pixi, Pixi Rose Oil Blend, Queen of Hungary Mist, Wild Rose Advanced Brightening Oil

Worth the hate? Anastasia Beverly Hills Subculture Palette

Has there ever been a more controversial palette than Anastasia Beverly Hills Subculture? If you've read my Brand Focus post, you will know that I am a huge fan of the brand in general so when I heard this palette was being released, I knew I would have to get my hands on it and I was lucky enough to receive it for my birthday. Obviously I had seen the photos and videos of people hitting pan on first use and seen scathing reviews on youtube but I hadn't seen any from bloggers/youtubers whose opinions I trusted. I couldn't fathom how people were hitting pan on first use and from my experience of ABH products, I didn't believe that they would release sub-standard products but of course, I wouldn't really know until I tried the palette myself. Before I received the palette, I read my friend Leanne's review and she wasn't disappointed so I hoped it would be the same for me....

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Anastasia Beverly Hills, Anastasia Beverly Hills Subculture, eye shadow, Eye Shadow palette, Modern Renaissance Palette, review, Subculture

The ultimate nourishing mask for dry skin - Clarins SOS Comfort Mask

Regular readers will know that I am a skincare lover - I love nothing more than pampering myself and taking care of my skin. I have a good routine going so for a product to make it into my regular lineup, it has to be pretty amazing but that is what has happened since I received Clarins SOS Comfort Mask. Clarins recently added three new masks to their line up: SOS Hydra for dehydrated skin, SOS Pure for oily and combination skin and SOS Comfort for dry skin, which is the one I chose as my skin is more dry than dehydrated, although I must admit that I am tempted by the Hydra mask too. 

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clarins, Dry Skin, face mask, review, skincare, SOS Comfort Mask

New fragrance releases with Fragrance Direct

Each season brings a flurry of  new fragrance releases and this summer has been a particularly good one because there are so many to choose from so no matter what your taste, there is something for everyone. Fragrance Direct kindly sent me four of the newest releases and I want to share my thoughts on them with you today. Fragrance Direct is always my first port of call when I am buying perfume or aftershave because everything is always discounted and they offer free UK delivery on orders over £20 (free overseas delivery on orders over £75) with the code FREEDEL20. They sell so many brands from celebrity fragrances to Marc Jacobs to Tom Ford - something to suit all budgets.

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Emporio Armani Because It's You, Fragrance, Fragrance Direct, Kenzo World Eau De Parfum, Perfume, Prada Candy Gloss, YSL Mon Paris

5 brilliant foundations for dry skin

All skin types face problems when it comes to finding a foundation that works. Oily skin faces the battle of foundation becoming shiny and not lasting longer than a few hours, for those with combination skin, it can be difficult to find a foundation that is even all over and lasts in the t-zone and for dry skin, like mine, it can be difficult to find a foundation that doesn't age the skin, cling to particularly dry patches and cake. I have spent many years (and a lot of money) trying lots of foundations and have compiled a list of five that I find work really well on my dry skin, which I want to share with you today. I tend to favour a dewy finish but some of these are more satin or luminous than dewy but if you generally like the "lit from within" look, you will like all of these foundations. Obviously, skincare is very important no matter what your skin type and all bases will apply better to exfoliated, moisturised and primed skin.

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Becca Aqua Luminous Perfecting Foundation, Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk, Givenchy Teint Couture Balm, L.A. Girl PRO Coverage HD High Definition Long Wear Illuminating Foundation, Natasha Denona Face Glow

Spoil yourself with Molton Brown Exquisite Vanilla and Violet Flower Gift Set

It's not that often that I get to pamper my body with luxury products as I tend to spend my money on skincare and use budget products on my body, so when I get to try some luxury brands, it always feels like a real treat. Molton Brown is a brand that I quite often gift to my mother as she loves their products but I have only used them occasionally myself. What I didn't realise until now is that Molton Brown products are up to 25% cheaper in World Duty Free, which is very tempting you must admit? I was kindly sent the Exquisite Vanilla and Violet Flower Gift Set, which I am going to share my thoughts on today - unfortunately for my mother, it's only my thoughts that I'll be sharing as this one is all mine! 

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Body Lotion, Candle, Exquisite Vanilla and Violet Glower, gift set, Luxury, Molton Brown, review, Shower Gel

Brand Focus #8: Too Faced

It's brand focus time again (check out my other brand focus posts here) and this month it's Too Faced. I know that this is a brand is quite divisive due to the kitsch packaging but I would urge you to get past the packaging if it isn't to your taste, because the majority of the products are excellent quality - the eyeshadows being some of my favourites ever.

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Better Than Sex Mascara, Blush Palette, Born This Way, Brand Focus, Bronzer, Chocolate Bar palette, Concealer, foundation, Hangover Primer, liquid lipstick, Melted Lipstick, Semi Sweet, Sweet Peach, Too Faced

Five products that I have repeatedly repurchased for 10-17 years!

No matter how many new products I add to my collection, there are five that are constantly repurchased - I'm talking staples that have been in my life for between 10 and 17 years at this stage and will be for the foreseeable future! If that isn't testament to how amazing they are, then I don't know what is. They have all appeared on the blog several times but today I thought I'd compile them into one post and tell you why I love them so much.

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clarins, Clarins Beauty Flash Balm, Faux Cils, Favourites, Giorgio Armani, Holy Grail, Luminous Silk, Nars, Nars Laguna, Touche Éclat, ysl

Alpha-H Liquid Gold Vs Liquid Gold Rose

I've been a big fan of Alpha-H Liquid Gold for around 4 years - it's one of those products that has become a staple in my routine due to its effectiveness so I must admit that I was very intrigued by their new limited edition release - Alpha-H Liquid Gold Rose and when I mentioned that I bought it, a lot of you were too and were eager to hear my thoughts but I needed to give it a good testing before sharing my thoughts -  two months later, I'm ready to do so!

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Alpha H Liquid Gold, Alpha-H, Alpha-H Liquid Gold Rose, review, skincare

REVIEW: Kat Von D Shade & Light Glimmer Eye Contour Palette

I am a huge fan of the Kat Von D Shade & Light Eye Contour Palette so when I saw that she was releasing a shimmer version, I knew I had to get my hands on it. I kept checking the "New In" section on Sephora and as soon as it landed, I ordered it because, as far as I am aware, it won't be available this side of the Atlantic until November and I couldn't wait that long! I used MyMallBox to ship it to me and within a few days, I had it in my hands without any customs charges. If you want to buy products that aren't available outside the U.S. then I would highly recommend using MyMallBox because they offer a range of shipping fees but also offer repacking (into smaller boxes or padded envelopes to reduce shipping costs) and consolidation (if you place a number of orders, they will consolidate them into one parcel so you only pay shipping once). This was my third time to use them and everything has always been quick and easy. On to the palette itself!

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cruelty free, eyeshadow, Eyeshadow palette, Kat Von D, review, Shade & Light Eye Contour Palette, Shade & Light Glimmer Eye Contour Palette, Vegan

My MAC Lip Pencil Collection with swatches

Much like my lipstick collection, MAC is also the brand that I own most of when it comes to lip liners. I have always worn lip pencils because my bottom lip is fuller than my top lip so I like to even it up with liner without going too Kylie Jenneresque. I really like MAC lip pencils because they aren't too stiff in texture so they don't drag on the lips, are pigmented, comfortable to wear, pretty long-wearing and they offer a huge variety of shades. 

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Boldly Bare, Cherry, Edge to Edge, lip pencil, MAC, Oh Honey, Pro Longwear, Rebellious, review, Ruby Woo, soar, Spice, Stripdown, Subculture