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!

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.