A Blogger Recommends- A Cherry Sue Tag Post!

I love a good blog tag, it gives you the opportunity to see what a variety of bloggers think about a specific topic. The lovely Sue over at Cherry Sue Doin' The Do created the A Blogger Recommends tag where you share your ultimate favourite products. You know, those ones you always repurchase, you make sure you've got a back up of and are perennially close to hand. I've narrowed mine down to six although if I'm honest, since I made the little collage below I've thought of a couple more. Doh! 

Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze and Glow Palette

I became a contouring queen this year and although there's plenty of excellent alternatives on the market, for me, this is my number one. The bronze has no red tones so is perfect for my paler skin and provides a subtle yet obvious cheekbone effect, where none existed previously (god bless you CT!). Equally, the highlighter provides a warm glow with a softening effect- no glitter here, that's for sure! You can read a full review HERE.

Nuxe Reve de Miel Lip Balm

If anyone ever asks me what to do for chapped lips, I recommend this fella. Costing around €12 per little glass pot, I've heard several people exclaim that it's rather pricey for a lip balm. However, this will last you an entire year, only a small amount is needed to leave your lips soft, smooth and in tip top condition. I use mine every night as a treatment and then during the day if needed (although that night time application will actually last over an 8 hour period so I generally find I don't need to use it throughout the day). Full review HERE.

YSL Shocking Mascara

My all time favourite mascara, which is saying something as I've tried many at this stage. This gives the illusion of false lashes without any of the hassle or added, well fakeness and doesn't leave behind clumps or flakes. Again this is pricey but I find that it just works for me and changes my entire look. Love it!

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth cleanser

It doesn't matter how many cleansers I try out, I always come back to the is one. I've used LE for years now and my skin still loves this. It's unbelievably comforting after a long day to take off your make up and soothe your skin with this beauty- the scent is delicious, my skin feels super soft after use and squeaky clean too. Perfect for dry/dehydrated/sensitive/older skin types. Full review HERE.

Nars Radiant creamy Concealer

I searched for years for the perfect concealer, one which would take care of both under eye bags and blemishes and I finally found it with this one, from Nars last year. I've been through several tubes at this stage and my love for it has yet to wane. Full review HERE.

Cocoa Brown One Hour Tan

And for that matter, Cocoa brown Gradual Bronze. I've been using this now for about two years and although I was previously not a big fan of self tans, I have been converted by this. I couldn't in all honestly recommend a tan unless I myself found it easy to use and that really is the case here. No streaks, no dodgy patches, no horrendously awful smell (it does have a scent as it develops but it's not a traditional "soggy biscuit" aroma) and most importantly; no orange after-effects. I've recently graduated to the darker version for events or nights out and really love that too. For a lighter glow I use Gradual bronze at nights, applying just like a daily moisturiser. For me, I feel more confident when I'm a bit less blindingly white and I always get told I'm looking great when I'm wearing tan. When I'm au natural people often tell me I look tired..funny that! I've gone through cans of Cocoa Brown and will always be well stocked!

What are your ultimate beauty buys? Would any of these make your list? Let me know in the comments! Also, fellow bloggers- please do your own post on this too if you'd like! There's too many of you whose blogs I love reading for me to tag!

XX

Space.NK. Christmas- ALL The Pretty Things!

Last night I attended an event in Space.NK. Dublin, showcasing their Christmas gifts for 2014. Beauty lovers consider it their mecca and it's easy to see why; ceiling to floor shelves packed with some of the more higher end cosmetic delights and at this time of year in particular it's just that little bit more special. I could easily not bother writing any wish list ever again and instead just write blog post after blog post with only the shops address and that would be more than enough because you see, I pretty much want everything they sell. If you're looking for a gift for a loved one or indeed for yourself (I think I'll be buying myself a "well done for surviving the year, ya big trooper!" present) then this is where you need to be going. I've only a limited selection of what you'll find in store here as I was rushing on my way somewhere but I did spot plenty of make-up palettes, nail polish sets, gloriously scented candles and super comforting body lotions. Just to point out that I didn't get all of the prices so these are mostly in sterling (but to be honest the Space.NK. conversion seems to be spot on from what I've checked) and there's a few in euro too. Peruse the photos below and let me know in the comments what you'd ask Santy for!

Stocking fillers/Tree Decorations:

Eve Lom Kiss Mix Lip Balm (love this stuff!), £16.

Aromatherapy Associates London "The Star", mini bath oil, £10.

This Works 2 mini sleep aids. £10.

Laura Mercier eye transformer trio (£25), Lipstick Queen "Chinatown" set of three lip crayons (can't find a price for this one, apologies).

Nails & Hand Care

The cutest gingerbread house ever! Four sparkly Christmas polishes from Ciaté, £25.

Caudalie set of three hand creams (in the background), £12, Laura Mercier set of four hand creams (at the front), £25.

A Spellbound book of three stunning nail shades, that middle sparkly blue is just gorgeous. €28 (a single bottle is €15, so big saving there!).

Body Lotions/Skin Care

Oh Eve Lom, you beauty. I love her cleanser!! This would be a gorgeous gift and cheaper than buying these individually. £65.

Great sets from Ren, including their best seller Rose Otto on the left (£34) and an exclusive Rose Otto set on the right (£49), containing award winning products.

SWOON. Laura Mercier set of 6 Patisserie Souffle Body Creme collection. WANT. £45.

Life Jump Start Zest For Life- body wash, sugar scrub, candle and body lotion. This will be a much appreciated addition to anyones shower come January! £28.

This Works- Perchance To Dream, set of 4 full size products to aid sleep- candle, bath soak, dream cream and pillow spray (I have both the candle and pillow spray and if you know someone suffering from Insomnia I think this would be a really thoughtful gift). £65.

Candles

Stunning candles that all smell amazing (I can vouch for that, I gave them all a good sniff!). The Diptyque set of three (£78) are great for Winter but not overpowering in a cinnamon/sugar/pine tree kinda way.

Make Up Palettes & Sets

Laura Mercier Artist's Eye and Cheek Palette, £45.

By Terry; Give Me 5 Smoky Eyes kit. 5 full sized eye products with gift bag, £96.

Kevin Aucoin The Look Book Eye, Cheek & Lip palette. Love that packaging and the two eyeshadows on the right..gorgeous! £38.

Set of 6 Laura Mercier Caviar sticks eye collection, €55. These guys are raved about by bloggers!

And the much lusted after Hourglass Ambient blush palette. So purdy but pricey at £56. (it is back in stock though in case you were thinking of getting it!)

And that's your lot. Apologies that I didn't get all the prices but you can check out the Space.NK. website HERE for more details, or pop along to Grafton St- just prepare to do some drooling!

XX

Love/Hate And The Response to *That* Rape Scene.

*Trigger warning; discusses sexual assault*

I can't believe that I'm writing this in this day and age but here we are. This is going to be short because I think the point is actually pretty obvious so no need to labour over it. 

Last night saw the series finale of popular Irish drama Love/Hate and undoubtedly, most of the country were tuned in. As usual, it was an hour long blast of violence with characters tortured and murdered and included a disturbing rape scene involving Fran, a prisoner in Mountjoy jail. 

We're shown his initial attack and his broken body afterwards, as he lies in a pool of his own blood, clearly in agony. 

Instantly, memes and jokes about these scenes sprang up across social media. I unfollowed those on Twitter who felt the need to share these comments but this morning I noticed my Facebook and Instagram feeds were also filling up with crass "jokes" too and as these were also people I'm friends with, I thought it would be better to just address it here rather than go through each individual and repeat myself several times. 

So for those of you who find it hilarious that a human being (fictional or not) was violently sexually assaulted with a piece of splintered wood, let me just point out this glaringly obvious fact; rape is not funny. It never has been and never will be. To laugh at suffering of that level instantly makes you less human. If you can watch something like that and not feel physically ill, fair enough. Good for you and your steely constitution. lf however you can watch that and then go on to make incredibly crude jokes, memes or comments about it then you're not only lacking a sense of humour but also any slight vestige of empathy or decency. 

Just in case you're also confused; rape involving a male victim or the use of an object is still rape. Would you laugh at a female rape victim? Did you also laugh at the rape of Siobhan last series? Maybe you did, maybe that's your thing. I don't know your (messed up) life. I do know however that people's justification for this on twitter have been nothing short of an epic grasping at straws; "it's only a tv show", "the rapist isn't gay so it can't be rape", "there was no sexual attraction so it wasn't rape", "sure he's a criminal himself anyway", "because it was an object people weren't aware of what was happening" etc. 

Seriously, just stop.

Yes, this was a work of fiction but one that was designed to show the degradation and humiliation of this character, something I think the actor and makers of the program captured perfectly. And really, it doesn't matter that this is a fictional character, things like this happen to real people in real life. Mocking and trivialising it when it happens on a television show (especially one with as great a cultural impact as Love/Hate) makes it harder for real life victims to speak up. Even setting that aside, if after seeing something that harrowing, your first instinct is to laugh about it, then you really need to reevaluate why you find something like that funny in the first place. 

That's just my two cents on the matter, if you have anything to add, please pop it down in the comments below. Sincere apologies if this was upsetting for any of you, if you need to talk to someone about your own experiences, the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre provide a great service; (01) 661 4911.

XX

Come, Look At My Trash! #2

It's that time again where I root through my empty beauty containers, photograph it like a big weirdo and put it on the internet. These have been collected for the last few months. I've no empty make-up bits today, just skincare and nail treatments oddly enough.

Soap & Glory Flake Away Body Polish

This is actually just a mini size but even at that it lasted a surprising amount of time. I've been using this, The Body Shop Argan Oil scrub (HERE), Ziaja Shea Butter scrub (HERE) and Cocoa Brown Tough Stuff (HERE) simultaneously (I like to mix it up a bit when it comes to body scrubs, clearly) and like them all equally. I just decided to focus on this fella first to make more room in the shower. I'd gladly buy this again, I love Soap & Glory and this works really well. It's quite thick in texture but exfoliates excellently because of that. I really want to try the Lime Crush range from the brand next- I don't even know how I haven't, given that I make a point of smelling it every time I step into Boots!! Soon..

Origins Starting Over Age-erasing Moisturiser

I spoke about this pot of loveliness HERE and have scraped every last little bit possible out of it. I stopped using this for a while to try a different moisturiser and I feel like my skin actually missed this. When I went back to it I felt my face relax a bit from the relief- I don't get that awfully tight feeling that using an inferior moisturiser gives my dry skin so this really does work for me. Again, this works nicely under make-up and absorbs well. I would buy a new one but I actually can't afford it (sob) plus I, like most beauty bloggers am eager to try something new. If you have any inexpensive yet amazing moisturiser options for me, do let me know in the comments.

Ziaja SenSitive Soothing Day Cream.

I reviewed this HERE as part of the Ziaja SenSitive range and this, along with the micellar water were my favourite from that line. This is again, brilliant for dry/sensitive skin and worked really well under make-up. My skin loved it; it's very soothing and comforting plus it has SPF 20. I will definitely buy this again but may wait til Summer as it's on the light side- I feel like I need something a bit heavier in Winter thanks to cold weather/central heating issues.

Lancôme Bi-Facil eye make up remover for sensitive eyes.

This is my second or third bottle of this, it came out on top in a review of four different eye make up removers I reviewed HERE. I'm already onto a new bottle of this; it takes even the thickest mascara off with ease, no eye redness or soreness and it's non-greasy. Big fan.

OPI Nail Envy Matte
I got a double pack of these last year- a regular bottle and a matte version and I used this one up first. I always have a bottle on the go as my nails are prone to weakness and breaking easily and I find Nail Envy works well to keep that at bay. I just started a new bottle today!

Dior Nail Glow
I'm so sad I finished this. I used it practically every day since I bought it and it gave my nails a really lovely pink sheen. They looked so pretty. Sigh. I will buy a new one once I can justify the price again. Full review of it HERE.

Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask

This isn't actually fully empty but I've had it for the recommended two years and oddly, once that 24 month stage hit, the scent changed (it's normally a peachy scent, now it just smells a bit..off, if that makes sense) and I didn't feel like it was working as well. Thankfully, there's only a small amount left but I think it's better to just chuck it now. I did love it though; it's ideal for those of us with super dry skin, it worked really well for me and I may well repurchase it some day. I'm currently using La Roche Posay Hydraphase Intense Mask (review HERE) that works in a similar way and I'm happy with that at the moment.

Soap & Glory Hand Food 
I love this stuff, it smells incredible and is just a really good hand cream. I always have a few different ones on the go but I'll definitely repurchase this one. In fact, I have a new one all ready to go!

Have you used any of these? Any you want to try?

XX

NYX Christmas Gift Guide 2014

I know, I know, it's only just November but as I've stated previous years, I start my present buying early. It's weird obviously but I like to have as much sorted as possible so I don't find myself in the unfortunate position of roaming Grafton St like a lost soul on Christmas Eve. Besides that, all of my favourite make-up brands are bringing out their Christmas gifts now so really this is the best time to talk gift shopping, before they all get snapped up. 

NYX came over to these shores this year and have become a firm favourite for many, featuring "holy grail" products at a decent price point, they've now brought out these fab gift sets which I think most of us would be delighted to see under the tree. 

Wicked Dreams Palette, €17.99.

Boheme Chic Nude Matte Palette, €19.99.

Nude On Nude Palette, €29.99.

Butt Naked Palette, €29.99.

Smokey Look Kit & Bronze Smokey Look Kit, both €12.99.

Purple Smokey Look Kit & Nude On Nude Natural Look Kit, both €12.99.

Anything catching your eye?

xx