2014 Beauty Favourites ❤️

Hi girls, a very happy new year to you all! 

Sorry I haven't posted in quite awhile, I've been so busy over the last few months but I'm finally back with a 2014 Favourites post for you all which hopefully will help you with your beauty buys in 2015😃

Below are just some of the products I found myself reaching for alot in 2014. Feel free to ask any questions regarding the products💕

Skincare

-Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water (a dupe for Bioderma) contains micelles which act like magnets, gently lifting away makeup and impurities from the skin. I like to use this to remove the majority of my makeup before cleansing my face.

-Elemis Skincare range: I have loved Elemis skincare ever since working in my first job as a Spa Therapist where we used all Elemis products. They are a quite luxurious skincare range, however they are definately worth the money in my opinion. They have different ranges for complex skintypes and feel & smell divine on the skin!

MakeUp

Drugstore-Loreal True Match Foundation: This is a great everyday foundation which comes in an array of shades to cater for all different skin tones. It is a medium coverage with a luminous finish. 

High end-Estée Lauder Double Wear: This is my evening foundation of choice for 2014 and will probably continue to use it this year. It is a medium buildable coverage with a matte finish. 

*Both foundations are most suited to Normal-Combination skin.

Drugstore-Maybelliene Age-rewind concealer: I absolutely love this budget friendly concealer which is great for under eye circles and highlighting, it comes in light, medium and dark (always go a shade or 2 lighter when choosing concealer) and has a quirky sponge applicator for easy use👀👍

High end-Mac Pro longwear concealer: This is a medium to full coverage concealer which is excellent for both under eye circles and blemishes👀👍

NARS Laguna Bronzer: This is a diffused bronzing powder with golden shimmer to create an all-over warmth and contour for the face. It creates a natural looking glow which enhances the look of tanned skin. 

Mary~LouManizer: A beautiful champagne powder highlighter (cheaper dupe for MAC Soft & Gentle). It has a silky smooth texture and excellent pigment pay~off, providing a gorgeous dewy sheen to the skin👍

Eyes:

Inglot Eyeshadows: Aside from my trusted Mac eyeshadows, I have also been loving Inglot eyeshadows for the past year and have slowly been building up my palette collection. 

They are extremely pigmented and come in gorgeous shades of both matte and shimmer🎨

They are literally half the price of Mac shadows and I actually find them just as good!👀

*They now have an Online shop where you can purchase from~ inglot.ie

Eyeliner: I wasn't expecting much from this liner given that it retails for only €4.99 throughout pharmacies. However I am truly surprised at how good it actually is, it goes on smooth, has a fine tipped brush for easy application and is jet black. I would nearly go as far to say that is as good as a lot of high-end liquid liners. It also comes in a waterproof form. 

MAC Lipsticks: As a self-confessed Lipstick fanatic, I have tried & tested many brands and although I am a fan of a few different ones, Mac is still a front runner for me. They have such a diverse range of colours and finishes ie. sheer, frost, lustre, matte and are so pigmented!🎨

They are definately worth the (approx €20) investment, I must have close to 50 by now💄🙈

So those are just a few beauty bits I've loved throughout 2014 and will continue to use this year. 

Hope this has helped with some of your future buys😃

Leah 💕 xx

Electric Picnic Checklist

For those of you fortunate enough to be heading off to Ireland's biggest music festival this weekend, I thought I would write up a quick checklist/survival kit to help you all with your packing. 

These essentials have been derived from my experience of 'The Picnic' last year and I will be eagerly re-packing them all tomorrow to do it all over again this year!

1. Tickets & Money. (Most importantly)
2. Rucksack, Tent, Sleeping bag, Camping mat, torch.

3. Phone & Camera (Fully charged)
4. Clothes for all seasons.(It is Ireland after all!)

5. Wellies & Knee-high socks.

6. Raincoat & scarf.

7. Hat & Sunglasses/suncream
8. (Girls)~ MakeUp, face wipes, toothbrush/paste & dry shampoo.

9. Neurofen & plasters. (Just incase!)
10.Snacks & Alcohol! (No glass) (Coolbox optional)

* Very important to bring a care free attitude & sense of humour as the festival is jam-packed with random fun-filled & mucky moments! :-)

The most important thing to remember when going to any camping festival is not to take anything you can't afford to loose ~the less you have,the less you have to worry about! 

If you do happen to forget something it's not the end of the world, the campsite is well kitted out with shops, food/clothes stalls, ATMs and phone-charging stations.

Wishing you all a brilliant & safe weekend!

Leah x

Platinum to Ombre!

Sporting platinum blonde hair for almost 10 years now, I recently decided it was time to give my poor hair a break from the bleach & choose something a little different to change up my look.

Having become so attached to my blonde locks over the last decade, I just couldn't face saying goodbye to them for good so after scanning through numerous hair magazines~ I finally decided to opt for a brown/blonde ombre blend.

The Ombre style has been a huge trend in the world of hair lately and rightly so given the many advantages over a Platinum Blonde:

-A much softer look.

-Lower maintenance having no obvious roots every few weeks! 

-It compliments darker eyebrows & features.

-You can go a shade darker with your tan/makeup.

-Less damage to the hair.

-With a 2-tone colour you can change up your look using different hairstyles to excentuate either the brown or blonde colour.

                            Before & After photo

Left: Before (Platinum) Right: After (Ombre)

I booked into RoCo Hair, a prestigious hair salon in the heart of Derry city. 

It boasts chic & stylish interior with a relaxed vibe. Their client care & skills are excellent. I would highly recommend the salon.

(Looking nervous pre-application & pre-coffee haha)

*The salon provides a complimentary hot drinks & fair trade treats menu which is a lovely addition to your treatment.

                      -The finished result!

*Considering I was quite hesitant about the change, I am pleasantly suprised with the end result. 

I feel it is a more natural look and better suited to my skin tone & features. 

I may need to have the brown section done a few more times due to it washing out prematurely with my hair being so blonde, but I'm pretty confident the ombre is here to stay~at least for the winter months!

Thanks @ RoCo Hair.

Have you braved the ombre trend?

Leah x 

Mary Lou~Manizer!-The Balm Cosmetics

After hearing rave reviews, I'm excited to say I have finally managed to get my hands on this product!

'Mary-Lou Manizer' is a shimmery highlighting powder from 'The Balm' cosmetics and I have to say I absolutely love it! 

Being a highlighting addict I have tried and tested countless brands, I thought I had found my holy grail product in 'Mac's Soft & Gentle' which I do love but I have to say the Mary~Lou Manizer has exceeded my expectations & may have just acclaimed top spot!

Retailing for €20 from The Balm, Makeup Forever & Amazon, It boasts flirty packaging with a clever criminal description ;)

The product itself is a pressed powder compact with a small mirror attached.

As you can see from the swatch above it is a beautiful shimmery champagne shade & super pigmented.

Apply under the brow, above the cheekbones & cupids bow for a gorgeous summery glow to the skin.

Hope you enjoyed this review, feel free to ask any questions!

Leah x

Healthy Summer Smoothie!

Smoothies are one of my favorite sips to make during the summer months. 

Most mornings, I will whip up a quick & healthy smoothie for breakfast or post workout.

Below is my 'go to' smoothie consisting of a good balance of natural fruit & protein to kickstart the day ahead!

*Ingredients as per one person 

(Just double up ingredients for 2 or more people)

- 1/4 glass of Soya or (Almond Milk)

- A handful of Porridge Oats. (Can also use protein powder)

-1/4 glass if pure Orange Juice.

-x1 squirt of Honey.

-x4 desert spoons of Natural/Greek or Frozen Yogurt.

-x1 desert spoon of Peanut Butter.

-x4 Large Strawberries (Can also use frozen fruit)

-A half of a Bananna.

**Optional add x4 Ice-Cubes to make extra cold.

Start Smoothie machine on high power for 30-40 seconds.

- And Voila! 

Enjoy :) 

Leah x

Face Of Ireland

Hi all,

I have some very exciting news to share!
I am delighted to say I have been selected as a Finalist for the Face Of Ireland competition this year. 

*Face Of Ireland is an Ambassadorial search to represent Ireland along with supporting various Irish charitable causes.

The Cause: 

This years chosen charity is 'Join Our Boys' - A very touching case involving 3 beautiful young brothers: Archie, George & Isaac Naughton from Roscommon who all have a terminal illness called Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. The goal is to raise as much support and awareness as possible in the hope that a cure will be discovered for the condition. The campaign has already gained immense national support with communities pulling together to hold regular fundraisers in aid of the boys trust. 

Proceeds will also go towards helping the family financially, as they will soon need a new wheel-chair accessible home along with expensive equipment which the boys will sadly require in the near future.

I feel honoured to be apart of this competition and will do my utmost best to promote, support and raise awareness on belhalf the Naughton family.

The Competition:

My entry into the competition initially started with an online application from which to my suprise I was short listed for an interview. The interview was held in Bewleys Hotel in Dublin last month where I was delighted to be selected as a Semi-Finalist. 

The Semi Finals which included 14 stunning girls took place on Friday 16th May and what a night it was! 

The Face Of Ireland team were on hand with a warm welcome as soon as we all arrived at the venue The Red Cow Moran Hotel at 9am. Firstly CEO Brian Cunnigham gave an informative talk on the background of Face Of Ireland and the various charities it has helped throughout the years.

We all began to bond easily throughout the day which was lovely, I absolutely love meeting new people and have already gained new friends among the Face Of Ireland family.

We were then called individually to the board room where we were interviewed by a celebrity judging panel including Leah Egan (Fair City) Jay Dolan (The Voice) and Aoibhe Devlin (Irish Fashion & Beauty Blogger). 

Slightly apprehensive upon entering the room, my nerves immediately disappeared as the interview commenced. The judges were absolutely lovely giving smiles of encouragement throughout and providing a relaxed atmosphere. 

A well earned lunch then followed along with Hair & MakeUp, it was such a treat to be on the other side and have it done by someone else who I will did a fantastic job! 

Lastly and most importantly prior to the actual show, we had our onstage rehersals where we were given guidelines by the team regarding, catwalk, composure and personality on stage.

At 7.30pm excitement mounted as our family, friends and guests began to arrive to be greeted with an exclusive champagne reception.

The show kicked off at 8.30pm with host Mr.Ireland/Mr World 2010 Kamal Ibriham who kept the night upbeat and interesting having some light-hearted fun with us onstage aswell as projecting a few more serious questions in relation to the prize role.

I thoroughly enjoyed my onstage interview and finished it with a self-written poem.

I enjoyed watching the other girls just as much, each one had something interesting and unique to share in their interviews.

When the Interviews drew to a close, the judges left to deliberate only to come back onstage 10 minutes later with the result...

To my absolute shock & excitement my name was called out first, it was a very surreal moment and I was overwhelmed to see my family and friends cheering and bouncing full of pride in the audience.

I was then joined by the other 3 beautiful winners Racheal Clarke, Lisa McGowan & Tara Gannon.

I feel very privilaged to have been chosen as a Finalist in this fantastic competition with such a worthy cause at heart. I am really looking forward to the National Grand Final in October where the 4 of us girls will be joined by the Winners of the other regional semi-finals in a bid to become the Face Of Ireland 2014.

Thank you all for reading,

#keepmoving #keepmarching #joinourboys

Leah xx

Bridal Party MakeUp!

I thought I would share a Bridal Party which I had the pleasure of working on recently.

The lovely Grainne was a very easy canvas and she opted to go for a vintage MakeUp look on her special day to compliment her beautiful features.

I created a flawless base with subtle contouring, a soft ivory & brown 'cut-crease' eye with false lashes. The finishing touch was a classic matte red lip to match her fabulous ruby red shoes.

     The Trial

       The Trial Photoshoot            

   

   The lovely Bridal Party (Not forgetting the Groomsmen) 

*(Contrasting with the beautiful Bride, I created a flawless base with slightly heavier contouring, a smokey eye (with false lashes) and finished with a vibrant pink lip for her 3 lovely bridesmaids.)

   The Beautiful Bride

The happy Newly-Weds!

               

*Photography is by Pamela Bloe.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with this Bridal party, they were a lovely bunch of ladies!

All the very best for your future together Grainne & Dave xxx 

Leah x 

My MakeUp & Brush Storage Set-Up

Having an abundance of MakeUp can often lead to a mass of clutter on your dressing table and leave you struggling to find your go-to products in a hurry. 

There's alot to be said for an organised stress-free MakeUp set-up so I thought I would do a quick post on how I store my own personal MakeUp & Brushes & hopefully give you some ideas's!

 

                                            My Personal MakeUp Station 

                                         Muji Drawers

I purchased these acrylic drawers above are from Muji Online and are a duplicate for the significantly more expensive *Clear Cube*. They have a 5 drawer, a 3 drawer and a 2 drawer to choose from. 

The 5 drawer & 2 drawer are quite shallow (perfect for Lipsticks/Eyeliners/Lipliners whereas the 2 drawer is slightly deeper allowing for bulkier products such as Foundations/Bronzers/Blushers. 

The added bonus is that they are see through allowing you to see straight away where everything is!

                                        Aycrilic Lipstick Holder

I purchased this acrylic lipstick storage holder from Amazon which holds 12 Lipsticks and also 3/4 bottled products. I use this to keep my go-to lipsticks and everyday primers on display.

*In the top picture you will see I have stacked a Muji 3 drawer ontop of a 2 drawer and then the aycrilic lipstick holder ontop.

                                    MakeUp Forever Brush Holder Case

 

These brush holders from MakeUp Forever are ideal for storing all your favourite brushes. It has a wide capacity which allows for a significant amount of brushes and also has an interlocking clasp for closing to protect and keep your brushes sturdy while on the move-I've had mine for years!

                        DIY Brush Holders

For all you creative people out there, an alternative option to store and display your brushes, is to buy some plastic/glass jars and fill them halfway with some beads or dry rice (to give stability) and just pop your brushes in (as above)-Simple & budget friendly! 

I hope these tips were helpful :) 

Leah

x