Overview | H&M Beauty.

I have always seen a few nail polishes and lip glosses pop up in H&M but up until recently it was never something I would call a "beauty collection"... That is, until I wandered into a H&M in city centre Strasbourg and was amazed at the massive section dedicated to all things makeup, skincare, hair care and beauty. I decided to pick up a few bits from across the collection to see what they had to offer. I'm not sure how readily available all this stuff is across H&M stores worldwide, but I heard tales of their beauty section popping up in Dublin so it might be worth having a goo if anything here interests you!

Although I only picked up a handful of things from the makeup section; don't be fooled. The H&M Beauty Collection has foundations, concealers, an array of powders and blushes (cream formula, too), eyeshadows, cream eyeshadows, glitters, lipsticks, lipliners... you name it! It also has plenty of palettes, makeup brushes and bags, body creams and hair products.

Crème Eyeshadows.

Remember me? Okay, I'm sure no one noticed I was gone, but if by some miracle you did then... sorry. I really am sorry, because I've missed blogging so much and it's been too long since I've sat down to write about makeup or things that make me as happy as a pig in shite. If you were wondering why I was gone for so long, it's because I kind of sort of moved to France (Strasbourg, to be precise) and was a bit occupied with leaving my job, saying goodbye to friends and family, setting up French bank accounts and finding my way around this amazing new city/weird supermarkets. With all that out of the way, I thought I'd chat a little about cream shadows today (or crème since, yano, France and all that jazz). This is honestly probably a boring topic for most, but gaaaaat damn I love me some cream shadows. Since I don't have even a smidgen (an actual scientific term for measuring things, I'm sure...) of my makeup collection here with me in France, I thought I would just do a small post on some of my favourite cream shadows - in addition to some new ones.

Most of these I brought with me when narrowing down my travel makeup bag, so you can guarantee these are my tried and true. Most of these have also been working pretty well with the crazy humid weather too, so bonus points for that. I don't really talk about cream shadows on my Instagram or blog too too much, but I would say 99% of the FOTD posts you see of mine on Instagram have some sort of cream shadow underneath the lid colour. Cream eyeshadows work great as a quick lazy girl eye look (a.k.a my makeup on a day to day basis) or used underneath eyeshadows to help the colour stand out or prolong the powder shadow. So now that you all know where I've been for the last few weeks and how to use a cream eyeshadow, let's get into some of my favourites!

Urban Decay | Matte Bad Blood Revolution Lipstick.

If you've been reading my blog/Instagram for a while, you probably know that the Urban Decay Revolution lipstick range is one of my top 3 lipstick formulas ever made. Not the cheapest in the world, but I think they're 100% worth it and I love treating myself to one on a special occasion. They feel so so luxurious (packaging and formula wise) and come in lots of fab shades so there's something for everyone. Urban Decay recently came out with 9 new Revolution lipsticks - this time, in a matte formula. The Urban Decay Matte Revolution formula isn't as creamy looking on the lips as their original Revolution formula, but isn't as drying as a typical matte. They're met somewhere in the middle and created such a beautiful lipstick formula that the lipstick gods could do nothing but praise. Completely useless information, but the packaging is equally as fab in the new matte lipsticks, just with black casing instead of the gunmetal. 

The Nudes You Need.

I think the (makeup) world is made up of two different kinds of people; people who only feel comfortable wearing nude lipsticks or neutral eyeshadows and then those who hate nude lipsticks and fear the "concealer" lip look. I hope this post will have a little something for everyone. These are the nudes you "need" ...but then again, who really needs lipstick and blush? For the nude lovers; I hope you'll get some new  recommendations to add to your collection and for the nude-phobes; maybe these products will change your mind about disliking nude lips or cheeks. I love a good nude lip (and have definitely come around to a more flattering, deeper nude nowadays compared to 13 year old me rocking MAC Myth and concealer all over my lips... we all make mistakes, right?) and while I adore brights and colour, I think neutral makeup is just more practical for most people on a daily basis!

The Nudes You Need.

Empties | Skincare Products I've Used Up.

It's been quite a while since I've done an empties post... My little box that I keep used products in has been overflowing so I said I'd do this one dedicated to 5 skincare products I've tried and most importantly... if I'd repurchase any of them!

Lancome Hypnose Volume-à-porter Mascara | #SayItWithYourEyes

Remember how a few months back I had a good aul bitch about high end mascaras and said I never thought they were really worth the money? I am now a changed woman. What has changed my opinion, you ask? Lancome Hypnose Volume-à-porter mascara*. Mascara is not something I have any loyalties too - even among drugstore or budget brands, it's very rare that I repurchase one because I'm constantly looking for something new... Something that will give me curlier, thicker, longer lashes than the previous. 3 months ago if you had asked me my favourite mascara, I would probably just say "oh I'm using _____ at the minute and it's really good" but would never be able to give you a definite favourite. Now, I am just a little bit in love with this thing, which is something I wasn't ever expecting to happen.

In case you were curious, I had tried the regular Lancome Hypnose several times in the past (bought by myself, sent as a press sample, received as a gift etc) and never really understood the hype. Yeah, it was nice for length but I could generally get that from any other mascara. Lancome's latest mascara offering is the first high end mascara that I've tried that I can truly say I feel is worth the money - and one which I will absolutely be buying again in the future.

The packaging is fab, the formula is nice and black and most importantly, doesn't flake which is something I encounter quite a bit with mascaras. The wand is a plastic (which I LOVE!), slightly fatter at the base and thins out towards the tip. The bristles are quite short and thin at the base and are almost non-existent at the tip, making it so easy to coat the lash with product and precisely comb through and get to every single lash. Seriously, lashes I didn't even know I had were popping up after I used this.

The name would suggest it's purely a volumizing mascara, and it definitely does do that. However, I found it was great for giving length and holding a curl so that my lashes looked super "swoooooshy" and pretty all day long. I can curl my lashes to the highest degree, apply my mascara and by the time I'm finished layering it my lashes are straight as a ruler again. This kept the curl amazingly (especially for a non-waterproof mascara) and I think that is to do with the feather-light formula not weighing the lashes down. Because the formula is so light, it means you can very, very easily layer it up even hours after you've first applied it and my eyelashes never felt crunchy or dry, always feathery and soft to touch but still dramatic and defined. 
I feel like comparing a mascara'd eye to a bare lash is completely useless because you could put any mascara on one eye to show how good it is in a photograph and any mascara would look amazing next to your base lashes... yano? So, pictured below is 2 coats of the Lancome Hypnose on the left eye and 2 coats of the Rimmel Kate Moss Rockin' Curves on the right - both with no lash curler. The difference is insaaaane to me. I definitely go for a clumpy lash look but you can very easily achieve soft, "pretty" lashes with the Lancome mascara in one coat, too. 

Lancome (left), Rimmel (right)

€27.50 definitely isn't the cheapest for a mascara, but I know a lot of people who will only buy high end mascaras and really feel they're worth the money so if you are one to spend a little more on a mascara, then this is one I would highly recommend. On the other hand, if you haven't tried a higher end mascara and were looking to pick one up, this could be the one to go for. After all, it converted me! x

Review/FOTD | Urban Decay Naked Smoky.

Another year another Naked palette to grace (geddit?) our shelves and Instagram feeds. This time around Urban Decay took their Naked train to the smoky side (minus the 'e'... but we'll forgive them for that) and I was lucky enough to receive a press sample to play around with and let ye all know my thoughts on it. Now, I have to admit, when I first saw photos of this online my opinion was completely split. Shade wise, because it is a largely cool toned palette (with taupes, greys and blacks) the warm toned lover in me was like "meh". Equally, however, the Urban Decay obsessed Naked palette collector in my head was happy dancing and doing my best Godfather "Welcome to da fah-muh-leeeee" impression. I'm not sane. I know this.
There was so much hype around this palette - over 8,000 people on the waiting list in Ireland alone. Urban Decay don't mess around. I won't be comparing the Naked palettes in this post (Temptalia has lots of comparison posts to check out) but I will say that the original is warmer, number 2 is cool in tone so probably closest to Naked Smoky but definitely not identical (though I will say straight out that if you only own the second one then you probably don't need this) and the third is nothing like Naked Smoky because it's all pink and rose gold in tone. 

With all that boring stuff out of the way, let's look at the palette. The packaging is a huge step up from the original flimsy cardboard that attracted dust from all corners of your room. It's definitely my favourite casing and I love the smoke detail across the front. It has a magnetic closure and overall feels streamlined and sturdy. It comes with 4 "how to" lookbooks which, for once, aren't completely crap (hurray!) and a beautiful synthetic double ended brush. I'm always a fan of the Naked palette brushes but I think this might be my favourite one yet. The soft yet slightly tapered blending/crease brush and the detail smudger are perfect for smokey eye beginners and make it easy to create a pretty seamless look. 

Parisian Summer | Bronzing with Bourjois.

A few weeks ago I was sent a super lovely package from Bourjois filled with some of their newest products. Their summer collection was something I really wanted to share with ye (even though I'm a little late to the party posting this in August)... Nonetheless, I present to you... the perfect threesome of bronzing products from Bourjois!

Review/Swatches | Wet n Wild Venice Beach Collection.

What is the best way to perk up a dull day? Some new palettes from Wet n Wild based on the theme of Venice Beach, obviously. When these came through my post box I honestly let out a little "squeeeee!" - only Judy can judge me, okay?! Wet n Wild have released 3 limited edition eight pan eyeshadow palettes (€6.49 each) from their new collection and I'm here to shade all 3 with ye today! These are all brights, vibants and neons with a range of shimmers and mattes which I absolutely love to see, particularly from such an inexpensive brand. 

I'm a huge fan of the Wet n Wild eyeshadows (especially their 8 pan palettes which I've previously reviewed here) so I was delighted to see such bright colours for the summer time. As with all their palettes, I've found there to be some (but very few) misses, with most palettes having 6 out of 8 hits or really great shades. Each palette was of course slightly different in terms of pigmentation/shades which I'll touch on individually below but overall, I couldn't recommend them enough if you were looking to spend just a couple of euro on a shade you aren't going to be wearing every day (and if you are about neon blue eyelids every day, then they're still a great option!). Once you wear a good primer and sticky base underneath these, you are golden! There are definitely a couple of Urban Decay Electric Palette dupes among these, too, and you could easily pick up all 3 of the Wet n Wild palettes for a fraction of the price of the UD one. I am still head over heels in laaaav with my Electric Palette, but I understand not everyone is going to see it as being worth the money when they won't use it every day, so these ones are a fantastic option, despite the few "bleh" shadows. These do kick up a bit of powder when you swirl your brush in the pan/swatch them/apply them to the lid but like I said, a sticky base and Bob is your uncle... or something. And, for reference, these swatches are sans primer!

Venice Beach Collection: Boardwalk Boozing (left), High Flying Colours (top right), Hemporary Solutions (bottom right)