Review | Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette.

I think the very fact that I'm only getting around to buying this palette in 2016 is proof that Irish people are backwards. I know the internet is saturated with Chocolate Bar palette reviews, but I thought I'd throw my 2 cents in to the mix, since I don't seem to have the same feelings about this as most people. If you haven't heard of this palette before - where ya been, gurl?! While this hasn't blown up in popularity quite as much as the Naked palettes (for most makeup wearers I mean, die hard makeup fans not included!), this is Too Faced's offering at a neutral palette with a bit of a twist. I say twist very loosely, since I don't personally feel that any neutral eyeshadow palette is all that original anymore; although shout-out to Naked Smoky which didn't reinvent the wheel but is a great palette.

The Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette boasts 16 neutral-ish shades, infused with real cocoa powder. Yes, this smells amazing and I may or may not be able to confirm that it does actually taste like chocolate (don't try this at home, kids. I was always a curious one...) I think the metal tin packaging with the chocolate bar design on the front is super cute, but I have to say I'm really disappointed with the quality of the packaging. The magnet is just not sturdy enough and I've found myself picking it up and it opening very easily. I would have liked a stronger magnet or snap closure à la Naked 2. The layout of the palette is really nice, though, and I seriously appreciate them making the two highlight shades (one matte, one shimmer) the two bigger rectangle strips since you often go through those first in any palette. The palette contains 7 mattes and 9 more shimmery shades (some with frost, some with more shimmer and glitter). Since the quality varied so much depending on the shadow, it's impossible for me to say that the mattes/shimmers were better quality than the other so I thought it would be better to go through each individual shade and tell you the stars and duds.

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. 

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)

Review | SOSU Nail Polish.

I had read a couple of reviews on the SOSU polishes when they first launched, which were equally split between the general idea that they were either absolutely amazing or very so-so. When I got an email asking if I'd like to try them, I gratefully accepted and decided I'd put them to the test myself and maybe add in my own two cents on the polishes. I do think it's absolutely amazing to see an Irish blogger and young business woman be given the opportunity to launch her own range of nail polishes, and is definitely something that should be celebrated.

I received four colours from the line which I'll review individually below. There are 25 polishes altogether so you're bound to find a shade that interests you, ranging from creams to shimmers, pastels to darks and everything in between. Available from pharmacies across the country and Penneys, retailing at €7.99 each. They're marketed as a "gel" nail polish with its selling point being it's "chip resistant" for "up to 5 days" and, as a reference, I used a Sally Hansen base coat and top coat on all the polishes, as I would with any nail polish from my collection. With all that said, let's get onto the individual polishes I was sent to try!

SOSU Nail Polish 

Brand Focus | Wet n Wild - Eyes.

Part 2 in the Wet n Wild brand focus posts is all dedicated to their eye products! If you haven't seen part 1, you can check it out here and it's all about their complexion/face/cheek products. On a whole, I think Wet n Wild do some amazing eye products, particularly their eyeshadows which you'll see plenty of in this post. I've found they have very, very few disappointing products and even the mediocre ones are either good for the price, workable, or have some redeeming values that make me still enjoy them which is exactly what I like in such an affordable brand.

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. 

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.

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. 

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.

Review | Real Techniques Bold Metals.

Makeup brushes are one of the most important things when it comes to makeup and beauty - what's the point in buying a beautiful foundation if you don't have the right tools to apply it? I'm not saying you need the most expensive brushes *cough eBay bargains here* but having a couple of different ones will definitely perfect your makeup application. So, we all know I'm a fan of makeup brushes... I'm also a fan of rose gold. Everyone and their mammy knows about the Pixiwoo sisters and Real Techniques brushes (yano, those ones... affordable, sold in Boots/Ulta, weird coloured handles?). Now, I actually only own one from their regular line (if you were curious, it's the expert face brush), which I love but have decided to pass up on buying any more because I see so many dupes on eBay which I'll eventually get around to buying.

Before I get into the actual brush I'm reviewing, I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents regarding the range itself, and the prices. If you know of Real Techniques you may also know that the blogging community went into mini cardiac arrest when they saw the release of the beautifully luxurious Bold Metals collection - 7 brushes in total; 2 gold, 2 rose gold, and 3 silver. I can't deny, they are beautiful looking brushes. Then, that mini cardiac arrest went into full blown heart failure when people saw the pricing. I won't get into all of the brushes individually with pricing, because I only have one here to review for ye today, but they are all significantly more expensive than the regular RT range. The Pixiwoo sisters have done a video stating that this is their premium line, understandably not for everyone but a more luxurious and higher quality brush which will of course, cost more to make (and thus buy). I get it, I don't LOVE the pricing but I understand. I was definitely iffy at first when I saw the prices, but I'm of the opinion that if the quality is on par with the price, then I have no problem spending my own money on it. The annoying thing is, and the difference between actual high-end brands and RT's "high-end" brushes is that you can actually feel a MAC brush for yourself and decide if it is worth it. With the Bold Metals, they're trapped in bullet-proof plastic so it's a bit more risky.

Review/Lime Crime Velvetine Dupes | Sleek Matte Me Lip Creams + YouTube Announcement!

Hi guys! Long time no see/blog… as per usual, right? WRONG! (ish). If you don’t follow me on Twitter and Instagram (which you definitely should, just sayin’) I recently ventured into the world of… YouTube! Yes, I know… WHOWHATWHEREWHENWHY?! I have one makeup tutorial uploaded on there already so make sure to give it a thumbs up and subscribe while you’re there. If you’d like to see more from me on the Tube of You, simply tell me whatcha wanna seeeee! It’s all baby steps for me, so be patient with me, please and thank you! Now that that’s over and done with… I’m sure you’re all here for the lip products, right?!

Sleek "Matte Me" Ultra smooth matte lip cream. 

Review | Seventeen Define and Conquer Contour Kit.

It's not secret that finding a good contour product can be hard, but a good contouring product from a budget brand? Unheard of... until now! I'd seen this product pop up on a few beauty blogger Instagrams and with the inner drag queen in my always looking for new sculpting products, I decided to take up the Boots 3 for 2 offer and give this a go.

First off, I love the clever name. Lame, so lame, but I thought I'd mention it anyway! I also really like the packaging. Very Nars-esque but without the horrible dirt/powder attracting rubber texture. Sleek and compact with a good mirror. I approve already.

Inside are a highlight and contour powder duo. The texture is the same for both - creamy and pigmented, not chalky and definitely blendable. I already knew after one application that this would be a good one for beginners, it's so easy to blend!

First Impressions | Lush Cosmetics Rub Rub Rub Shower Scrub.

It's not quite a shower gel, not quite a scrub. It's an even mixture of both products in one little black pot. I actually bought this for my boyfriend originally and decided to try it out myself when I was in his house last weekend. I actually found it to be a bit of a 3 in 1 product. Here are my first impressions!