Lots More Giveaways

Lots of the beautiful bloggers that I follow are having giveaways at the moment... and I would strongly advise checking their wonderful blogs (and generous giveaways) out :)

A Little Obsessed - Monthly Giveaway

Sabrina is having a giveaway on her blog... the prize is a bottle of St. Moriz fake tan.

I have always been a big St Tropez fan, but I'm stone-cold broke at the moment so I cannot afford to pay a whopping €40/bottle. St. Moriz is a wonderful substitute, and it's affordable too! To enter Sabrina's contest you just have to write "enter me" in the comments. You can go straight to her post about the giveaway by clicking here... but you should definitely check out her amazing blog after you enter!!

Peonies and Waterlilies - 6 Month Anniversary Giveaway

Fei, over at Peonies and Waterlilies is having a wonderful giveaway to celebrate her six month blogger anniversary. Click here to go directly to her giveaway. To enter, all you have to do is type "Enter Me!" into the comments section, and you can tweet or blog about the giveaway for extra entries!! There will be two winners and the prizes are great:

First Prize

Second Prize

Enjoy these wonderful blogs and check back soon for my giveaway xx

Mini Haul

I'm really broke at the moment so I haven't been shopping much (at all) but today I went to Boots and picked myself up a new foundation because I'm running low. I picked up the Bourjois Mineral Matte foundation, following a recommendation from one of my friends. 

She said that it's really mattifying and that it gives really great coverage. At €18, it's slightly pricey for drugstore makeup, but my friend has assured me that you only need a little bit at a time so it lasts for ages. I will be trying this out for the next while, and I'll be reviewing it here... so stay tuned :)

Also, I'm working on gathering prizes for a giveaway but I'm broke at the moment so it's happening very slowly. I would love a few ideas about what you ladies would like the chance to win, so I'd be delighted if you left a comment below with your ideal giveaway prize. Ciao xx

75 Followers - WIN!

 Hi Ladies (and Gents)

So, I made a bet with my boyfriend at the start of March that I could get to 75 followers before the end of March. He didn't believe that I would, and so he agreed to buy some prizes for a giveaway if I won. Today, March 19th, I made it to 75.... so keep your eyes peeled for a giveaway for all my beautiful followers, both new and old.

Love you gals xxx

20 Questions Tag

I know this is an old, old, OLD tag... but I didn't do it when it did the rounds, so I'm doing it now!!

1. What can't you leave the house without?

Phone, keys, purse... I have them with me all the time!!

2. Favourite makeup brand?

Mac and Benefit... I love Mac but something about Benefit draws me in every time!!

3. Favourite flower?

I love roses and lilies... hope my boyfriend reads this!!

4. Favourite clothing store

River Island, Zara, Primark and BT2 (which is only in Ireland)

5. Favourite perfume?

Chloé for Women by Chloé and Chance by Chanel

6. Heels or flats?

Flats during the day and heels when I go out. I live in Uggs during the day :)

7. Do you make good grades?

Yeah, I guess I do - I'm a bit of a nerd!!

8. Favourite colours?

Pink, cream.... how very girly of me!!

9. Do you drink any drinks?

I drink coffee in the mornings in college... those 9am lectures are a pain!! I sometimes have Red Bull around exam time, when I need to study, but I don't like them!

10. Do you drink juice?

Yeah, I love cranberry juice especially!!

11. Do you like swimming?

I adore swimming. I'm an Aquarius - us Aquarians love our water!!

12. Do you eat fries with a fork?

That depends on the situation!! I'd eat a bag of chips with my fingers but chips with sauce need a fork (too messy otherwise).

13. Favourite moisturiser?

I'm still on the fence about this one... at the moment I'm using the Body Shop's seaweed day and night creams.

14. Do you want to get married?

I think so... but in the future because I'm only a baby right now - 22 is not old enough to decide something like that :)

15. Do you get mad easily?

If I'm tired, I'm quite the grouch, but usually I'm fairly laid back... 

16. Are you into ghost-hunting?

Can't say I am, no!

17. Any phobias?

I am terrified of birds, especially crows - they're evil. I got hit in the face by a crow's wing when I was younger and it scarred me for life!! I'm also a bit nervous of heights and spiders. I used to be afraid of flying but I got over that one... taking off still makes me nervous though :P

18. Do you bite your nails?

Only when I'm really, really nervous or stressed.

19. Have you ever had a near death experience?

Erm, not near death but I have had a few accidents - I'm clumsy. The worst ones were when I got smashed in the head with a hockey strip and it split my head open, and when a huge basketball net was dropped on my head and knocked me out for a while... ouch!! My poor head :P

20. Do you drink coffee?

I lived in Paris for a year... I wouldn't have survived if I didn't :)

I've been in a serious blogging mood this evening... if any of you fancy doing it, like me your posts in the comments :)

40 Beauty Questions

Skincare!!

1)How many times do you wash your face daily?
Twice - once in the morning and once before bed

2)What skin type do you have?
I have combination skin - dry and kinda flaky on my cheeks and oily on my T-Zone... but strangely enough, my nose is dry.

3)What is your current facial wash?
I use Lush's Angels on Bare Skin in the morning and Ultra Bland in the evening

4)Do you exfoliate?
Yeah, I exfoliate every second/third day, usually in the shower (it's less messy that way)

5)What brand do you use?
St. Ives Apricot Scrub

6)What moisturiser do you use?
I use moisturisers from the Body Shop's Seaweed collection - in the morning I use the Mattifying Day Cream and in the evening I use the Clarifying Night Cream

7)Do you have freckles?
Yeah, unfortunately - I don't really like them

8)Do you use eye cream?
Nope... but I should!!

9)Do you or did you have acne prone skin?
I wouldn't class my skin as "acne prone" but I do get the occasional spot breakout (especially on my chin)

10)Did you ever have to use Pro-Activ?
No

Make-up!!

11)What foundation do you use?
At the moment I'm using Benefit's Play Stick.

12)How about concealer?
I worship Mac's Studio Finish concealer

13)Do you know your undertone colour?
My undertone is a pink/peach colour

14)What do you think of fake eyelashes?
I don't wear them very often but I do love the look the give!!

15)Did you know you were supposed to change your mascara every 3 months?
Yeah, but I don't do it!! I usually keep min for 4 or 5 months, depending on the size of the container.

16)What brand of mascara do you use?
My favourites are Benefit's Bad Gal Lash and Bad Gal Brown :)

17)Sephora or Mac?
Mac

18)Do you have a Mac Pro card?
Nope :(

19)What makeup tools do you use in makeup application?
Brushes, brushes, brushes... no sponges for me!!

20)Do you use makeup base/primer for the eyes?
Yeah, I use Urban Decay's Primer Potion... but I really wanna try out Benefit's Stay, Don't Stray

21)For the face?
I use Benefit's Dr. Feelgood normally... but lately I've been trying out Primark's Prime of your Life

22)What is your favourite eyeshadow?colour or shade?
I love all my Mac eye shadows but my favourite shadow to wear alone is Shroom

23)Do you use pencil or liquid liner?
Both... :)

24)How often do you poke your eyes with an eyeliner pencil?
Not very often at all... I'm really careful (poking my eyes really scares me!!)

25)What do you think of pigment eyeshadows?
They look pretty, but can be messssssssy

26)Do you use mineral makeup?
Nope, but I'd love to

27)What is your favourite lipstick?
I don't wear a lot of lipstick but I love Benefit's Good To Go

28?How about lipgloss?
I don't use it very often but the one I reach to most is a clear Dior gloss

29)What is your favourite blush to use?
I love Mac's Cubic and Benefit's Coralista

30)Do you buy your makeup on Ebay?
Nope...

31)Do you like drugstore makeup?
Yeah, it's usually great quality and much cheaper than high end brands

32)Do you go to CCO's?Cosmetic Company Outlet?
Nope... none in Ireland

33)Did you ever consider taking makeup classes?
Nah, this is just for fun.

34)Are you clumsy in putting on makeup?
Not usually - unless I'm in a rush

35)Name a makeup crime that you hate?
When girls don't blend their foundation into their neck - tide lines are not a good look on anyone!!

36)Do you like colourful shades of makeup (lipstick or eyeshadow) or neutral ones?
I usually wear neutral colours but colourful shades are more fun... if only I was brave enough!!

37)Which celebrity always has great makeup?
Jennifer Aniston always looks perfect.

38)If you could leave the house using just ONE makeup item, what would you use?
Mascara!!

39)Could you leave the house without any makeup on?
Yeah, I often do (if I have to) but I prefer wearing makeup

40)Do you think you look good even without any makeup on?
Nope!! My boyfriend always says he prefers when I wear no makeup at all... but I think he's lying!!

41)In your opinion what is the BEST makeup line?
Mac (cliché, I know)

42)What do you think of makeup?
I love it :)

Wow.... that was a lot of answering. And really, this should be called 42 Beauty Questions!! Hope your enjoyed this. I'd love to read your answers so link me in the comments if you do it :) xx

Sunshine Award

I was tagged for the Sunshine Award by the beautiful Steph (check out her blog here)

Thank you, Steph :)

The rules are simple:

1. Post the award on your blog
2. Pass the award on to 12 bloggers
3. Link the nominees within your post
4. Let the nominees know they have received this award, by commenting on their blogs
5. Share the love and link the person who gave it to you

The beautiful bloggers that I'm tagging are:

Milly

Joanna

Claire

Gemma

Zoe

Boo

Tali

Holly

Cassandra

Sinead

Laura

Kelly

I love all of these ladies and their wonderful blogs... so definitely check them out <3 xx

Review: Bad Gal Lash & Bad Gal Brown (Benefit)

My holy grail mascara has been Benefit's Bad Gal Lash for as long as I can remember. I absolutely love it. It adds length and volume, without clumping. I literally cannot fault it!!

However, over the summer I was at my local Benefit counter and the makeup artist suggested that I try out their new mascara: Bad Gal Brown. She assured me that it was basically the same mascara, except for the colour!! As I have brown hair, and relatively pale skin, I thought it might suit be better and warm up my skin tone a bit more than the black one does!!

As you can see from the next photo, they are not "basically the same"... not even close!! The brown mascara has a much smaller wand, with far fewer bristles/hairs (I should have guessed this from the thinner tube - Bad Gal Lash contains 0.3oz of product while Bad Gal Brown only has 0.19oz.)

The first time I tried the Bad Gal Brown, I put on my usual two coats, but I felt like my eyelashes were sticky and clumpy about an hour later. I was totally unimpressed and ready to go back and ask for a refund, but I said I'd give it one more chance.

Thank God I did!! The second time I used it, I only applied one coat, and it worked a charm! The smaller brush makes it easier to coat your bottom lashes, and, overall, it's easier to control. The colour of the mascara is a beautiful, chocolate brown, and it is much warmer than the black mascara.

I alternate between these two mascaras, depending on the occasion, and my outfit, and I have repurchased both... and I'm pretty sure I will continue to do so!! Have any of you ladies ever used these mascaras? What do you think? Leave me a comment, or do a post about this yourselves and link me to it!! 

Ciao xxx