Summer Skin | Lush, Tan Organics, Waxperts.

I'm a big advocate of looking after your skin any time of the year, but I really like to make more of an effort to exfoliate and moisturize like a mad yoke in the summer when I know my arms and legs are probably going to be on show a bit more. I say probably, because since I'm in Ireland, the word summer doesn't mean a whole lot except ice cream in the cloud or rain, but I thought I'd still show you some of the things I used in my holiday beauty prep routine; some new loves, some firm favourites and recent rediscoveries. 

 

Face Mask Friday | Lush Cosmetics BB Seaweed.

I'm starting off a series here on Long Hair and Lashes - Face Mask Friday, where (hopefully) each Friday I'll have a small review of a different fresh face mask by Lush. I LOVE the Lush masks, and have been using them for years. They have about 9 in the range so no matter what your skin type or skin concerns, they have something for you. I think they're such a lovely product to use as a twice a week treatment, but you do need to keep them in the fridge! Hugely important (but boring) to reiterate it throughout these posts that because they're made with such fresh ingredients, they only last a couple of weeks and need to be kept chilled. Be sure to keep your black tubs and bring 5 back for a brand new fresh face mask. 

Review | Urban Decay Moondust Eyeshadow.

I've had this review written up and saved in my drafts for ages, but I wanted to bring in the help of my friend and her fancy Canon camera because there was no way my camera could do this even an inch of justice! That being said, I hope my fellow "oooh look tinfoil is shiny!" magpies enjoy the review.
When most people hear the word "glitter" they generally wince at the thought. The herpes of cosmetics, right? Spill a pinch of it on your dresser and you'll be seeing stars for weeks after, picking it out of your hair and god knows where else. I personally love glitter, but I definitely understand that it can be a pain, and sometimes I want sparkle without huge chunks of sparkle on my eye lids. This is where Urban Decay come in. They have a range of pressed "Moondust eyeshadows" which gives sparkle, reflects and dimension but without the hassle and mess of pots of glitter. The shade I bought about 3 months ago is in the colour "Solstice" and I thought I'd show you all how absolutely stunning it is - seriously, I could stare at this thing all day.

Urban Decay Moondust Eyeshadow

Brand Focus | Wet n Wild Beauty - Face/Complexion.

Hi guys, I hope you're all well! With Wet n Wild officially launching in Ireland and popping up in more and more places, (Penneys and Dunnes being your best bet to finding them) I thought it would be a good idea to do a brand focus post showing you all the products that I've tried from the brand so far. I had intended on originally doing an overall brand focus (obviously, Grace.. that's what a brand focus post is!) but it was only when I piled all my Wet n Wild products together that I figured it would be way too long of a post to show ye everything in one go. So, I thought I'd split them up into different parts; face/complexion, eyes, lips and nails and I'd link the previous posts as I went along if you wanted to see more.

I will say that I'm overall impressed with Wet n Wild as a brand, particularly since it is so affordable. They have a really broad range of products from all categories at such an amazing price. Of course with most brands, particularly budget ones, there are doing to be duds along the way (which Wet n Wild are not without!) but having tried an array of products I can safely say that they have more gems than duds which I'm very happy about. Gone are the days when we'd write a Wet n Wild list for our family going stateside - Wet n Wild are here and here to stay!

Finds from the Emerald Isle | Nía Natural Beauty.

When Lisa Eldridge says you need a cleansing balm, you best be believin' you need a cleansing balm. So, when Lisa Eldridge says you need a cleansing balm, of course I'm all about supporting Irish beauty brands. When Nía reached out to me a while back and asked me to try out one of their best selling products I was all about it. I try and keep my skincare routine as natural and gentle as possible, and after having used their cleansing balm for most of April and all of May I knew I had to feature this in a Finds from the Emerald Isle! 

Before I get into the product itself, Nía specialize in natural beauty and skincare products for all different needs. They're also 100% Irish, so it feels so nice putting something on my mug at the end of the day that was made practically down the road. P.S. if you're like me, and were curious (but equally was crap at Irish in secondary school) Nía means "Radiance" #TheMoreYouKnow

Nía Natural Beauty.

The Calendula and Orange Blossom Cleansing Balm is a solid cleanser/balm free of parabens, synthetic fragrance, mineral oil... that kinda thing. The packaging is simple but super cute and has a little "you're amazing" on the box which I thought was lovely - it's all about the little details, guys. It comes with 3 cleansing cloths (100% bio-degradable) and a little wooden spatula for scooping out the product. I found the cleansing cloths a bit too thin and flimsy to use, but others might find them nice to have. I personally prefer to use this cleanser just with a warm thick face cloth from good aul' Penneys. 

Pastel Locks | Schwarzkopf Pearlescence 2015.

Pastel hair is something I've been a fan of for years. Something I'm not a fan of, though? The price and the upkeep! Anyone with colourful hair will tell you that dyes from Crazy Colour, Directions and Bleach London are great to experiment with, but costs definitely add up if you want to keep the colour long term. Schwarzkopf have got you covered with their stunning new Pearlescence range; 8 shades with a shimmering texture and iridescent finish. Although I'm a fan of pastel hair in general, I have to say I think these shades are seriously sophisticated whilst still being striking and fun. The idea of the range is that they are permanent (well, as permanent as pastels and bright metallics can be!) colours which I think is so innovative and right up my street. Schwarzkopf were so generous and sent me all 8 colours for me to play with - safe to say I'm in My Little Pony hair heaven. For this post, I thought I would briefly go through all the shades with you and share some of the amazing promo images which have seriously inspired me!

Over the next few weeks I'll be posting plenty of blog posts with photos and reviews of the colours as I use them. Be sure to follow me on Bloglovin' if you want to keep updated on my Pearlescence pastel hair journey with Schwarzkopf! Alternatively, you can follow my blog and updates via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram - the latter is probably best for sneak peak hair photos! :)

Empties #3 - Mini Reviews.

I know it seems so boring, but I really love a good empties post. I never knew looking through people's rubbish could be so fun - it's probably the easiest way to do it without getting a restraining order. I thought I'd share with ye 5 products I've used up completely, what I thought of them and most importantly; if I would repurchase them in the future!

Empties #3

New | Urban Decay Summer 2015.

When it comes to new releases, Urban Decay do not mess about. Summer 2015 is no exception with a mix of completely brand new products, textures, formulas and an expansion to their mucho mucho loved eyeshadows (The deluxe shadow palette was my first ever big makeup purchase at the age of 13. I wore Fishnet shadow all over my eyes and thought I was only gorgeous). Embarrassing makeup stories aside, when this bag of goodies landed in my letterbox last week I knew I had to share them with you, because I am all heart eyes emoji'd out looking at these products in my makeup bag.

Urban Decay Summer Nights 2015

I'd also like to take a minute to say that I feel like Urban Decay are really listening to their customers with striking a balance between the Naked neutral lovers, and the Electric colour fanatics. I love both aspects of the brand, but I got a bit bored of the whole Naked train for a while. The 2015 range (which by the way isn't limited edition, just expanding on their current collection) has the perfect mix of summer brights and gorgeous but never boring neutrals with amazing formulas, so I think there's something for everyone! These new brights, though? That's the Urban Decay I fell in love with at 13... Did I mention I used the sponge tip applicators to apply that Fishnet shadow? Why didn't the makeup poh poh shut me down?!

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!