Review | W7 Cream Contour Kit.

I've been really into bargain beauty finds lately, particularly after finding a Benefit's They're Real Mascara dupe for €2.50 (link is here if you're interested!). Another W7 product that I had been trying to track down was this baby; their cream contour duo. (Cream) contour kits are being produced like they're going out of style (I'm actually surprised my granny doesn't own one at this stage) but W7 is one of the only budget brands I know of that have really caught on. This is supposedly a dupe for the Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate. Having only swatched that product at a counter and gazed lovingly at it from afar, I can't really call this a "Save or Splurge" post because I don't own the higher-end counterpart. That being said, they seem to look and apply very similar when on the skin/back of the hand in Tom Ford's case. I have heard Siobhan from LetzMakeup say that they are very very close dupes - so there you go, something to keep in mind!

Finds from the Emerald Isle | Nima Brush.

You can never have too many makeup brushes, right? If you're as lazy as my when cleaning them then that is 100% the case. When Nima Brushes asked me if I'd like to try some of their collection I jumped at the chance - with my buy Irish based series, and so many of my favourite beauty bloggers talking about Nima brushes, I knew it was something I'd want to test out and tell ye all about. Also, when a good friend of mine (who is working for MAC and owns about 234235643 makeup brushes... yano, roughly) said she loves them too I knew I needed some! This is gonna be a photo and word heavy blog post, but if you're interested in buying some great quality (and Irish!) brushes then stay with meeeee.

Before I get stuck into the actual brushes themselves, Nima Brush was founded by Niamh Martin, an Irish makeup artist. With her job in mind, I think these brushes are equally fantastic for the professional, the makeup fanatic or just a beginner. The brush range is impressively extensive and are both functional and beautiful (blue and gold handles for the Artistic Collection, white and dark Rose Gold for the Elite) - when my mother saw the brushes on my vanity her exact words were "OHMYGOD THEY ARE SO PRETTY WHERE DID YOU GET THEM I NEED ONE THEY LOOK SO NICE" and she is not a makeup-y person at all.

Nima brushes have all grounds covered with an Artistic Collection, the Elite Collection, Starter Collection, custom bundles and travel tubes for your makeup brushes. The Artistic Collection alone has over 20 individual brushes ranging from €10-22 which is insaaaane given the price of MAC brushes (which Nima has some great dupes for!) and even Real Techniques Bold Metals found in Boots. They also do a brush of the month where one brush from the range is half price which is absolutely fantastic if you were looking to try one out! They're also constantly having discounts (with makeup students getting 10% off all year round) so be sure to follow them on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date with their deals! 

On top of the reasonable prices and beautiful handles, they have such a unique quality whereby Niamh has actually named each brush after someone in her life who has helped her throughout her career. Such a small but beautiful touch, and if you can find your name among the group (which I did!) then its even more lovely. If the names aren't your thing, though, they do have them without tooooo. 

Save or Splurge? | Benefit's They're Real! Mascara Dupe.

Yano how people get adrenaline rushes when they jump out of planes and go chasing after twisters and tornadoes? My adrenaline rushes comes from Netflix, kittens and bargain beauty finds. The latter is probably what you're here for, and if you just so happened to be looking for dupe for the Benefit They're Real! mascara, then Gracey gotcha covered. (Sidenote: if you were looking for the former, my twitter is @GraceyOConnell and I am 100% down for chatting about RuPaul's Drag Race or Buffy)

I have to be honest, I can justify spending a lot of money on a makeup brush or a very decent foundation, but when it comes to mascara I wince at spending anything more than 15 euro on it. I go through them so quickly, leave them in my boyfriend's, in my mam's house, in my own house - I'm constantly having to rush into Boots and pick up a new one because I forgot the one I had just opened 2 weeks ago. Best believe I did ordinary level maths for my leaving cert but also best believe that in makeup maths, that's a lot of mascara and if I were to do that with high end mascaras well... that would just be too esssspensive. Also, I'm gonna say what we're all thinking here and declare that I rarely notice a difference in high or low end mascaras. Budget brands (like Rimmel and Maybelline, my FAVEZZZ if you were wonderin') have such great formulas and uniquely innovative wands that I'm happier with a 12 euro mascara than I am with a €30+ one because I'm saving money but getting good lashes out of it... Lancôme Hypnose Drama, I am looking at you, you overrated little heartbreaker.

The Chic Cheek.

Don't get me wrong, I love my corals and bright blushes, but lately I've been favouring a more "sophisticated", subtle type of cheek. I'm not sure if sophisticated is quite the right word... Something muted, but still brightening and glowy. I've recently discovered 3 products in particular that I think are the epitome of a "chic cheek". Something that would look good on any age and with any makeup look. It makes an already simple face of makeup look complete and put together, but equally won't make you look cray cray when pairing it with a glitter cut crease. I also think these products would look great any time of the year, too... although you know I would werkkk a coral blush in December ;)

Finds from the Emerald Isle | Waxperts Beautiful Body Oil.

I made a small resolution for my blog in 2015, and that was to feature as many great Irish beauty based brands as I could throughout the year. I had intended on doing one a month, starting with January, but I'm a total disaster and in typical Irish fashion I generally get around to things a little later than I'd like. Regardless, now more-so than ever I see such an importance in supporting more local, Irish brands. I probably sound like a Bord Bia ad, but surely shopping Irish should extend to our makeup bags too! Plus, I'm hoping maybe some of my other readers from abroad can find out about some smaller, but fantastic Irish companies.

First up in my "Finds of the Emerald Isle" series is a Dublin based waxing salon that I had heard so much about; specifically, their own brand of skincare products. Waxperts is the brainchild of Ellen Kavanagh and provides both treatments and Waxperts products in their salon. Their newest thing to launch is the Beautiful Body Oil (€9.99 - 100ml). This was kindly sent to me from their PR to try, and I loved it so much it sparked me to finally start my 'Buy Irish' series!

Essentially, it is a lavender based body oil with plenty of uses. I love oils for lots of different things but find that most of them just smell the same. Nothing wrong with that, but this is such a light, unoffensive lavender scent that I think anyone would find soothing. Lavender is a really nostalgic smell to me and always reminds me of sleeping over in my nanny's house, so I knew I'd love the scent straight away.
In true body oil style it is nourishing and soothing but not at all greasy. It sinks right into the skin without leaving a residue or film on the skin (does that make any sense?). Basically, I don't have to stand like an oiled up scarecrow before waiting to put on a pair of jeans... Oiled up scarecrows? This is all getting a bit GQ meets The Wizard of Oz of me... Scratch the previous mental image, please. I actually use the Lush massage bars as a body lotion replacement (although they can be very oily and slow to absorb into the skin, so I reserve them for the very cold winter months!) and I had a feeling I would enjoy using the Waxperts oil.

Waxperts Beautiful Body Oil.

Review | MAC x Miley Cyrus (Viva Glam Miley Lipstick)

Viva Glam is one of my favourite things in the beauty industry. It is at the heart of MAC's ethos and is just such a great charity. It is so rare that a company gives 100% of the proceeds to anything like this, and if you haven't looked up what your Viva Glam money goes to, then please check out http://www.macaidsfund.org/ :)

Anyway! MAC are always looking for an influential (and sometimes controversial) public figure to front their campaign. This year, they chose Miley Cyrus. Whatever your opinions about Miley or her music, I think it's a great way to spread the word about the charity. You get a nice lipstick and are helping people living with/affected by HIV, so I'm usually not bothered about who is the face of the lipstick. 

Empties #2 | Mini Reviews.

You know the drilllll. Going through my beauty bin and giving ye all mini reviews on products I've completely used up! And, most importantly, would I repurchase them! My first empties post is here if you're interested in reading some more of my smaller reviews :)

Review | MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquers + Lime Crime Dupes.

Another day another dupe. I'm back with more matte liquid lipsticks (I know, I have a slight problem). This time, from the very affordable brand Make Up Academy. If you missed my last matte liquid lipstick post, I reviewed the Sleek Matte Me colours and found a brilliant dupe for Lime Crime's Utopia Velvetine. I had heard so much about the MUA ones and picked up a few on a trip to Superdrug in the hopes of finding some more Velvetine dupes, and in general, some decent lip products. Here's how I got on!

L-R: Halcyon, Funk, Reckless, Kooky.

Monthly Favourites | January 2015.

I could sit here and type all day about how crap of a month January is, but I'd rather show you all some nice lipsticks and eyeshadows I enjoyed over the last few weeks. With yesterday being the official first day of Spring, it means I can start to bust out all my peaches and pastel shades, even if the weather is still very much in winter. I'm excited for all the peach. PEACH EVERYTHING.