Autumn Pintrest Style Inspiration

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How to Know You've Got Your Life Together #1

You know you've got your life together when:

#1 Your nail polish matches your new shoes...

Primark Make-Up Review

After seeing a lot about the new range of "Ps Beauty" I decided to try them for myself. The shade I picked was a deep plum colour to help ease myself into a darker Autumn/Winter palette.

First up is the Lip Liner at only €1.50 in colour "Plum". The pencil gave a nice crisp line around the edge of the lips, but wasn't as soft as some other brands when it came to filling in the lips, so it did drag a bit.

After filling in my lips with pencil, I applied the all over lipstick "Ladies Day". At €2 the lipstick is a matte, long lasting formula, which like the lip pencil does not glide over the lips, the consistency feels very dry & it tends to drag the skin. However when it is applied, it is long lasting. I wore the pencil/lipstick combo for a full day & only had to re-apply once (after eating).

Cons: The consistency is very dry & drags the skin as it is applied.

Pros: The price is definitely one of the biggest pluses, €3.50 for both is an unbelievable bargain. Long lasting, which is very important with such a strong, dark colour. The colour was exactly the plum shade I had been looking for & will be perfect for the up coming autumn colour palette.

Benefit They're Real Gel Liner Review

I wear liquid eyeliner everyday & I have done for years so I've tried many of them out. I actually do like the Benefit one, but I find it a little bit fiddly, so if you're not used to applying it, I'd say it would be a hassle. 

It can be hard to get the quantity right, but through trial & error I have figured out that on one of my eyes two "clicks" covers from the inside of the eye to the outside & after that another "click" does the little flick on the outside corner.

 If you open your eyes too wide before it dries it can transfer onto the upper lid, but if you're careful, once it's dried it lasts ALL day & the colour doesn't fade which is why I like it.

In summary, I love it, but it does take a bit of practice to get a smooth line so I don't think it would suit a make-up novice. 

Soap & Glory Beauty Haul

As Pay-day arrives so does the obligitry splurge... Soap & Glory featured heavily today as they were on a 3 for 2 offer in Boots.

First up was the "Calm One Calm All" Bubble Bath. Just a capful gave a bath over flowing with gorgeous smelly bubbles which lasted the full duration of the bath. One of the best things about this product is that it has lotion added to it meaning that it does not dry your skin out, which is a problem with a lot of other brands.

Price: €8.00

Next up was "The Righteous Body Butter" moisturising cream, the smell of this cream is amazing and the softness of my skin after using this was incredible and did not leave any greasy residue.

Price: €13.00

The "Righteous Butter Body Lotion" is a lighter version of the moisturising cream, ideal for using when tanning or in the morning, also the handy pump helps reduce any mess. This still has the same fresh scent as the heavier version, but not as moisturising.

Price: €13.00

Last up is the body spray "Mist You Madly", the scent ties in nicely with the rest of the products in the range and lasts longer than most body sprays, my only criticism of the spray is the packaging. It come in a cheap looking thin plastic spray bottle.

Price: €9.99

Penneys Individual Falsh Eyelashes

I generally go for strip lashes when I'm applying false lashes but after hearing Rosie Connolly from Hearts Heels & Handbags talking on Snap Chat about how to apply the Penneys individual false lashes I thought I would give it a go... 

At only €1.50 you can't really go wrong; the Penneys strip lashes are also €1.50, great value for Saturday night lashes. But for important or posher events I prefer the Eyelure Petite lashes.

So this is me before, wearing only Rimmel mascara (no other make-up):

I didn't use the lash glue which came with the lashes as I can very sensitive skin, so I used Duo lash glue which I know doesn't give me any reaction. 

-First I applied mascara & let it dry

-Then I squeezed a small bit of Duo glue on to a pallet 

-I took one of the longest lash groups with a pair of tweezers & dipped the end into the glue

-I then applied directly on top of my lashes in the outside corner

-As I worked my way in towards the corner of my eye I used shorter lashes

-In total I used approximately three groups of the longest lashes, two of the medium & two of the short.

So I definitely found applying them a lot more fiddly than the strip lashes... I'm definitely going to need more practice applying them. For me the effect wasn't dramatic enough for a Saturday night, but for during the day they do give a nicer effect than just mascara.

Removing Gel Nail Extentions

So after having Gel Nail Extentions continuously for the past year, I decided it might be time to give my poor nails a break, as you can see from the below picture, they are badly in need of a bit of TLC!

Despite the large selection of nail care available these days, I decided to keep it old-school & try Sally Hansen "Hard as Nails"

Nails before:

After the nails extensions were all removed, I buffed the surface of the nail gently & pushed back the cuticles. I then lightly filed the nails into an oval shape as this helps peeling as the nails get stronger. My nails are now paper thin & sore to the touch, so I applied three coats of the "Hard as Nails", two coats of Inglot Nail Polish & then two coats of Sally Hansen "Mega Shine" Top Coat. 

 Nails after Extentions were removed & nails were buffed:

I am planning to repeat this process about twice a week & keep my nails short until they regain some strength back.

Finished nails:

Wednesday Gym Session

As I have recently started a new job, it's harder to plan my training days. Therefore I'm trying to incorporate more compound/total body exercises into my sessions so I won't miss out on entire muscle groups if I need to skip or switch up my days.

Today's session:

-7km intervals on Cross Trainer

-10 minutes on Rowing Machine at max weight

-5 x 12 upright rows with 10kg kettle bell

-5 x 12 Deadlifts with 20kg kettle bell

-5 x 12 swings with 12kg kettle bell

-3 x 12 ab pulls with 20kg added weight

Runners: Asics Gt2000 

Capri Pants: Puma

Headband: Dunnes

Zip-up top: Adidas @ Lifestyle Sports

Top: Nike

Sports bra: Nike

How to Get The Perfect Red Lip

-Gently exfoliate lips with an old, soft toothbrush & non-glossy lip balm

-Line just outside the rim of the lips with NYX's Wonder Pencil (I have used WP01 Light) and blend outwards slightly to make sure there is no harsh line.

-Apply MAC Prep + Prime lip primer all over top & bottom lip. Wait a few moments.

-Line all around the lip edges with Rimmel Exaggerate Full Colour Lip Liner (Shade 024 Red Diva) and make a cross at the cupids bow to make it more pronounced. Use the liner to fill in lips.

-Apply Kate Moss Lasting Finish for Rimmel (Shade 111 Kiss of Life) carefully over top & bottom lip.

-Blot lips on tissue being careful not to smudge lipstick.

-Seperate a facial tissue so that you only have 1 ply, place over lips & gentle apply a small amount of translucent loose powder over tissue.

-Apply another coat of lipstick.

-Using the NYX Wonder Pencil again, line outside of lips, for a crisp, clean finish.

Voilá!

New Shoes Alert!

How amazing are my new Adi Fluxes? Bargain at €60 from the junior section of Schuh, sizes 3-5.5. It's times like this I'm grateful for my tiny, child-sized feet!

Planning to wear these babies with skinny jeans and a plain tee. This leopard print pattern needs no competition in my opinion!

Cosmos in Westport

Cosmos in Westport with two of my favourite girls. Fab night dancing to 90s cheese in Heneghans, lots of Hens & Stags but actually not too crowded.

Jumpsuit: Zara 

Shoes: H&M

Necklace: Primark

Inglot Nail Polish Review

As I was at a loose end this week while in Cork for work, I purchased three bottle of Inglot nail polish at a price of €10 each or 3 for the price of 2. These ones were from the Oliver Plunkett St branch, where they had a very generous colour selection, which from what I've seen from there other branches seems to be fairly consistent.

Product codes are: 858 (colour reviewed) 969 & 332.

Pros:

-Opaque coverage with one coat (picture shows nails after two coats)

-Has proven to be incredibly chip resistant so far

-High shine finish

Cons:

-The brush was very thin (I prefer a thicker brush for less brush strokes & fuller coverage)

-More expensive than drug store polishes 

-The brush could sometimes hold too much product resulting in pooling at the cuticles

Result: