Book Of the Month? Move OVER!!!

Now let us be clear. I LOVE reading books, I adORE reading books and I dream of the days spent in leisure reading all day long (okay, so maybe that would get tiresome and I would soon feel slothful). I used to go to a book club but instead of talking about the books they would just sit there and gossip (HUGE pet peeve!!!) so I would leave dejected and disappointed. Not to mention I had an enORMOUS amount of fabulous things to say about the book bursting in my head with no outlet. Grrr, but I digress. Another fabulous find in my issue of Allure was the fact that they have Beauty By Mail Clubs. Did you HEAR that????? You can pay a monthly subscription (about $10-$15) and receive monthly goodies by mail!!! They say that some samples are not even samples at all but FULL SIZE gems. And who doesn't love a surprise? I love it!!! I do!!! Pick ME!!!! Here are a few of the sites you can go to to get started on receiving beauty kits at your door. Now notice that these are not just specific to makeup. They have perfumes, lotions, polish, brushes even!!!! Are you going to sign up with me? Which one will you choose?

Birchbox

Beauty Bar

Glossy Box

Review: Belleme Multiplay Blemish Balm (BB Cream)

This is my much anticipated (by me anyway!) review of one of my favorite new products, Belleme Multiplay Blemish Balm from Abbamart.com

In case you didn't know, Abbamart is an online store specializing in beauty products of all kinds; they have jewelry, beauty tools,  makeup brushes, and their own line of makeup called Belleme Cosmetics.

  I've recently been investigating BB Creams and thought they sounded like a product I should try out. I've always been a tinted moisturizer girl; one of my favorite combinations was a TM with a powder foundation over top. I liked this combo because it was easy and evened out my skin without looking or feeling heavy from a ton of makeup. However this BB Cream is far superior to any tinted moisturizer I've ever tried; in fact, this product has dramtically improved my life, which sounds hokey but if you read my summary at the end of this post, you'll find out why.

The product:

Belleme BB Cream comes in two shades, Ivory and Nude Beige, which are standard shade names for BB Creams. Since my skin is pretty fair and I'm usually always the first or second lightest shade in most foundations, I chose the shade Ivory:

Product Description

* Belleme blemish balm encompasses the qualities of primer, light coverage foundation, concealer and skin protection all in one must-have cream
Yes, I have found I can use this as all of the above products in one application with good results.

* Long-lasting, natural looking coverage brightens and perfects your complexion
It does last longer than the tinted moisturizers I've tried, even on my oily skin. I don't know if I'd call it brightening, though my complexion certainly isn't dulled by this product.

* Soft, smooth texture makes application exceptionally easy to control
Sure, since it's thick it's pretty easy to apply the amount you need on the various areas of your face.

* Light feel on your skin
It does feel light, not at all heavy or uncomfortable.

* Helps improve the appearance of fine lines and blemishes
I guess they mean long-term but I'm not sure if it actually improves the condition of my skin or not.

* Slender tube packaging ensures you can get every last drop out with no waste
Yes, the packaging is great!

* So natural-looking, even men can use it!
I haven't thought about men using it but I don't see why they couldn't, especially since it doesn't have a girly smell ;)

50 g / 1.7 FL OZ

After checking the ingredients nothing alarming jumped out at me which is always a plus. I don't pretend to know what every single ingredient is or what it does, but I'm trying to at least avoid things like parabens etc. This product is made in Korea which was important to me as well since I wanted to try a true, authentic BB Cream. (If you're not familiar with what BB Creams are or how they came to be so popular, check out Phyrra's awesomely informative post!)

 Swatches; ignore the pink for now, that will be a later post ;)

With flash.
Bottom row: Belleme BB Cream unblended (left), lightly blended (middle), heavily blended (right).

With flash.

Natural light.

Pros:

-$12 from Abbamart's website, same price or slightly cheaper than most basic American or Asian BB Creams.

-No fragrance, great for those sensitive to fragrances.

-No parabens that I could see.

-Made in Korea but ships from US, so it's authentic but won't take weeks to ship if you're in the US. They also have a Korean website.

-Two shades to choose from, some BB's only offer one shade choice.

-Coverage is light to medium and buildable.

-Multitasking product can function as base, foundation, concealer, sunscreen.

-Large tube should last one person for months, even if used every day.

-Nice packaging, doesn't look or feel cheap. Convenient for travel and easy to use.

 -Dries matte and doesn't make my oily skin super oily.

-Has SPF 36. (This is actually a con for me as I don't like sunscreen in my products or find them necessary to use every day, however I know I'm in the minority on this so the SPF will be a Pro for most people.)

-Makes my skin feel very soft and smooth, doesn't feel like I'm wearing makeup.

-Does not transfer! I can blow my nose with a tissue and not get a single smudge of makeup on it.

-Does not oxidize! Remains the same color/shade even after 12+ hours of wear.

Cons:

-Coverage; might not be enough if you have serious skin issues.

-Texture; might be a little thick for some people to spread easily.

-Skintype; may accentuate very dry or flaky skin.

-Ingredients not listed on the site.

My thoughts:

I've been burned so many times by disappointing foundations/concealers/skin makeup in general, so I wasn't harboring high expectations for this BB Cream, however I thought it was a good place to start for a BB newbie. My youngest sister also wanted to test it since she too has been looking into trying BB Cream.

It arrived very quickly since it was shipped in the US, so right away we got to testing it.

That was back in the beginning of November, and we've been using it very regularly since. The shade Ivory suits both our complexions since we're both fairly light, although Abby has a bit of olive in her skin that I lack. Still, we can both use this cream without issue.  As you can see it is quite yellow-toned which is perfect for neutralizing all the redness in my face. It's also a nice thick, almost mousse-like consistency, not runny and thin like many other BB Creams and tinted moisturizers on the market.

How I wear it:

While testing this product over time I've tried wearing it alone, over a primer, with powder foundation over top, etc. Lately I've been wearing it without primer, just directly on my skin with my mark. Powder Buff pressed powder foundation applied over top with a powder puff and a little Boots no.7 undereye concealer. (This is my preferred method but if I needed to I would be comfortable wearing only this BB Cream without anything extra.)

Weartime:

My skin generally gets very oily over time, but while wearing this combination I went from about 9am to 10pm yesterday with no blotting or touch-ups of any kind, and was only mildly oily at the end of the day. My sister said my skin looked good last night, even though I wasn't wearing any other makeup besides the BB Cream/Powder Buff/Boots concealer under my eyes. Yay!

What I like:

Some things I love about it are that it doesn't smell. It doesn't transfer; my sister is a dancer and sweats a lot, but has no problems with this makeup sweating off. I have allergies and can blow my nose in a tissue and not see a single smudge of makeup. It also does not oxidize, darken, or turn orange; when I take it off at the end of the day, it's still the same color it was when I put it on that morning.

Application tips:

-First make sure your skin is clean, exfoliated, and moisturized.

-Squeeze a tiny pea-sized amount on your finger and transfer between your fingertips. I use my index and middle fingertips :)

-Choose one area, like nose, chin, forehead etc, and dot the product on with your fingertips.

-Immediately begin to smooth out the product to cover the chosen area. Don't wait to blend or dot product on the rest of your face first because the cream is thick and sets quickly, becoming harder to blend.

-Blend and/or pat lightly, don't rub it in like sunscreen, lol.

-Once you have one area covered, move on to the next. This will ensure that each area gets the custom coverage it requires depending on your skin's needs.

-I usually do left cheek, right cheek, nose and upper lip, chin, then forehead. I need different amounts of cream for each area since each area has different problems.

-If it seems too pale the first time, try using less product and targeting areas of your face instead of rubbing it all over. Also, if at first it seems not to match your skintone, wait a while and check again; you might find it has adjusted and the spf has faded, making it look more natural on your skin. (All of this happened to us when we first tried the BB Cream.)

Summary:

Overall I highly recommend this product. I think it's perfect for someone just starting to dabble in BB Creams; it's a real Asian BB Cream from Korea, but ships from the US, so it's more easily attainable than ordering an Asian BB Cream on ebay and possibly waiting weeks for it to arrive. It's inexpensive, doesn't have a lot of offensive ingredients (even Missha and other BB's I looked at had parabens!), no headachey fragrances (apparently common in other BB's), and you get a lot of product for the price.

Honestly, this product got me back into makeup. I've been having skin issues this year and was feeling too self-concious to take pictures of myself, even for my blog. This cream brought casual makeup back into my life; I no longer avoid doing makeup every day because it'll take an hour to correct my skin first and even longer to wash off afterward.
It's a great basic product for daily use and can perform multiple functions in one application. I haven't used anything else since I got it. My sister Abby also loves it and uses it every time she does her makeup. Not only that but we've gotten our other sister Becky using it now. I think we need to buy another tube or two... ;)

If you're interested in checking out this product and more, you can use this affiliate link for 10% off your first order. They also often run sales so be sure to check for other discount codes :)

I know this was long but I hope it was helpful; please let me know if you have any questions! Thanks for reading!

*Product provided for consideration, link is an affiliate link. All opinions are my own.

Some new Wet N' Wild swatches

Hey everyone, Happy New Year! I hope your holidays were awesome. :)I had a a nice Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year's with my family, with some crazy stuff in-between; sickness, travels, computer problems, and working, all of which conspired to make me unable to post much. I'm going to try and catch up on the last several weeks so bear with me! ;P

 For the first of my catch-up posts I bring you these swatches of 3 Wet N' Wild Mega Last lipsticks I bought recently. I love these lippies and have recently re-discovered how awesome they truly are.

(You should click the pics to see them best!)

 I got Cherry Picking, Red Velvet, and Purty Persimmon. Thankfully they all have the names on the stickers; I have an impossible time trying to keep them straight with just numbers.

With flash, left to right: Cherry Picking, Red Velvet, Purty Persimmon. (Taken with my Canon Rebel.)

With flash, L to R: Cherry Picking, Red Velvet, Purty Persimmon. (Taken with a Canon Elph.)

No flash, L to R: Cherry Picking, Red Velvet, Purty Persimmon. (Canon Elph again.)

 Shade descriptions:

-Cherry Picking: This is my favorite of the bunch and one of my top faves of all the Mega Last Lipsticks I own, I'm thrilled to finally have it! It's a gorgeous cranberry red with lots of pink in it. The color looks slightly sheerer in the middle of the swatch but I think that's because I'd already worn it on my lips before I swatched it, so the middle was a bit worn down.

I love these types of pinkish-reds. I think this shade would look beautiful on anybody in any season.

-Red Velvet: I got this one because it was there, and I still have this impulse to buy every red I see lol. This one is a light red that might be nice for folks who are a bit afraid of the color. When I was swatching them all for the first time, this shade appeared to have a slightly sheerer, balmier texture than the other two. It would probably make a nice stain.

-Purty Persimmon: I got this one because I'm also kind of into orange lip products lately; this shade is a very bold orange-coral-red, probably more orange than red but definitely more wearable than 24 Carrot which is a lighter carrot orange. My sister wore Purty Persimmon to a party the other day and it looked stunning with her fair complexion, dark hair and eyes, and the teal eyeliner she was wearing.

All three shades are crazy-pigmented, which is what I adore about these Mega Last lipsticks; there's so much color packed into these tubes for so little cash, you really get bang for your buck.

Me wearing Cherry Picking; looks slightly darker in person, the flash brightens it up a bit. Please excuse my otherwise bare face :)

That's it for this post! I definitely plan to buy every single shade in this line, except maybe the dark brown one. I also want to do a huge swatch-o-rama of all my Mega Last lippies once I can get lip swatches of them all.

Thanks so much for reading and please stay tuned for more posts!

2012/2013

When 2012 started I was in a pretty good place in my life, lived with my lovely boyfriend John, had a great apartment in Cork city, great friends, happy family, everything I could have asked for.

I look at myself here and it makes me said,
I was so happy back then I want that feeling back.

I didn't think that the year was going to slowly go down hill. I tried to stay positive but I lost so much of that happiness. I still tried to hold on to as much as I could, even with everything changing around me and in 2012 I realised -
I DO NOT DO CHANGE! 

I hate anything changing, something I never really thought to much but too much has changed now and I do not like it! Not one bit!

So when everything fell apart in my life on the 20 of December 2012 I think I had finally had enough and had given up on holding on to the life I once had and instead of watching change, I was going to make changes instead, Its time to take back some control in my life!

So I made a list, which come to think of it, it's kind of like a New Year's resolutions list but I am not just doing this because it's a new year I have to do it now.

• Take a break from youtube videos. This is more because I am still so upset about my dog passing away that I can't face filming, she was always with me when I did and even going into my filming room scares me. 
• Learn to drive. Gonna be a surprise for some people to know that I don't drive, I hate driving and in the city it wasn't a big deal but now I need to learn to drive. I can drive but I hate it!
• Get into shape. I am tired of feeling crappy about my shape and I want to get super fit!
• Create better videos. I really hate how bad my videos are. Bugs me.
• Look into getting laser eye surgery. I really hope I can get my eyes fixed, I don't like wearing my glasses. Especially when I'm driving. 
• Spend time with Sarah. I don't get to see Sarah (makeupbysaz) much and I really miss her! I hope I get to see my other guru girlie soon too. 
• Learn to find my way around London. London scares me, its not like the North (North of England) you can turn around and ask for help but in London if you hesitate you get push! Learnt that the hard way!
• Do some thing fun every day! 

Do you have anything that you want to change, do you want to take control??? 

I would love to hear your thoughts! 

Best wishes! Sinead x

The Girl With the Makeup Tattoos

Whilst FINALLY having the time to sit down and read through my latest (HA! try November's issue!!!) of Allure, I saw some pretty fascinating things. First of all, I LOVE Lauren Conrad and to see her be so natural sans her typical winged liner made my heart flutter. I have really been pulling for her to pull that tired trick out every now and then but not every outing, every appearance, every photo shoot. Right??? Anyhoo, that was the first reason for me to pick up the mag but the VeRy close second was the story right there on the bottom left hand side. Makeup artists revealing their tricks. Now what makeup enthuze wouldn't want to read THAT??? After I had read the article (and loved it) I started flipping through pages and came upon this little trend going on. Makeup tattoos! They are said to be SUPER user friendly. Even for the shakiest of hands. Stick em on, wet the back, peel it away and voila! You're trending ; D. A few of my favs are below (beware, before you fall in love with the REAL 24-Carat gold bracelet, not only is it temporary but will run you $120!!!). What do you think of this trend and how would YOU wear it?

Dior bracelet Tattoo

Eye Rock Eye Tattoos

Violent Lips Tattoos