Christmas Beauty Gift Sets 2016

It's that wonderful time of the year when we get all these gorgeous sets of products to die for. This time of year a tonne of beauty gift sets are released so whether you want to treat a friend, a family member or yo'self, here are my favourite Christmas Gift Sets! 

How gorgeous is this gift set from Cocoa Brown? This is definitely my favourite set by far!

The Goddess Collection includes the original Gold Goddess, the limited edition Rose Gold Goddess & introduces the NEW Ice Goddess. This retails for €13 in Penneys, bargain! 

Benefit always knock it out of the park with their Christmas gift sets, this year is no different. These sets range from €56-59 and have 3 full size products in each and at least one mini. Available from Debenhams online & in store. 

Liquid matte lipstick are the big thing right now. But if you can't decide on a colour here is theBalm Mini Mattes set with 6 of their most popular shades, which lets you try all the shades for just €28.95 available from cloud10beauty.ie.

BBold Tan has quickly become my favourite fake tan. I came across this brilliant set with BBold Smart Mousse, tan prolong moisturiser & a glove for application all for €19.95 available from a range of pharmacies.  

You can never have too many makeup brushes and Crown Brush have perfect set for the latest craze, these Paddle Brushes are brilliant. Crown Brush have face & eye paddle brush sets which are perfect to complete a full face this Christmas for €35 available from crownbrush.ie 

Every year Boots always has a great selection of gift sets for everybody in the family my favourite is this Sleek Mini Mattes €6.50 & it is also part of the Boots 3 for 2 on gifts. This is a great stocking stuffer for the makeup addict in your life.

What's on your Christmas list this year? 

Love, A x

My Top 10 under €10

I must admit I do love my high end products but I appreciate a steal just as much as the next girl, I mean who doesn’t love a good bargain? So here are my top 10 products under €10!

Like good eyebrows or a bit of contouring, eyelashes can really change the appearance of your face and enhance your natural feature. Some of my favourite lashes are from Ardell, especially these Wispies. They are full and fluttery with a thin flexible band so they sit nicely on the eye and I have even gotten compliments and questions asking are they semi-permanent individual lashes. Possibly the best part about these Ardell lashes would be that they are now available in PENNEYS! Ardell Wispies & Demi-Wispies (which are a shorter, less fanned out version on the Wispies) are both available from Penneys for under €5! The perfect partner for Ardell lashes by a mile is DUO glue! DUO glue comes in black and clear, when applying lashes when wearing minimal makeup use the clear glue to seamlessly blend your lashes. DUO glue is available from most make-up counters but it is also available from Boots for just €5.99!

Sleek have some of the best quality drugstore products but my absolute favourite is the the Sleek Contouring Kit. The contour kit comes in a range of shades from fair/light to deep. I use the fair/light shade. I love the highlight for my pale skin, it is a light champagne shade, which compliments fair skin perfectly. I also love the contour shade because it is a matte, neutral shade that is very buildable. When contouring pale skin you need to be careful, start off with a small amount of product and build it up rather than putting too much on and trying to take it away. The Sleek Contouring Kit can be bought in Boots for €8.49.

With the right lipstick a girl can conquer the world right? Well with these Wet N Wild Mega Last Lipsticks that’s guaranteed! There is an extensive colour range so you’re bound to find your dream lippie shade. Two of my personal favourites are Bare It All (a dupe for MAC’s Velvet Teddy) & In The Flesh (that perfect ‘Kylie Jenner’ colour that everyone is after). The lipsticks are smooth and highly pigmented and as if that wasn’t good enough, they are available from Penneys & Dunnes Stores for just €2.99! The perfect excuse to own every single shade!

This one is a bit of a cult favourite, and rightly so! The Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer is hands one of the best concealers I have ever used, it has even replaced my beloved MAC Prolongwear concealer. Although the colour selection isn’t great, there are only 4 shades, the lightest shade is light enough for my pale skin so I’d mark that as a win! The collection concealer has a thick, creamy consistency so it is high coverage but it doesn’t crease under the eyes. Collection is available from Boots and the Lasting Perfection concealer is €5.79.

Anyone who knows me or follows me on any form of social media will know that I love an aul winged liner from time to time and I always get asked how I perfect my wings. The only real answer I have is practice, as they say practice makes perfect but the right tools can make that practice period a hell of a lot easier, this is where the Catrice Felt Tip Liner comes in. The felt tip nib on this eyeliner pen gives you that perfectly shaped wing with minimal effort, perfect for makeup beginners. Catrice is available from Penneys & Meaghers Pharmacy amazingly for €3.49!

So NYX is a recent phenomenon in Ireland but I have been purchasing their products online for sometime. I came across the NYX Loose Pearl Eyeshadow by chance and thought I’d give them a go. I went a head purchased some online and when they arrived I was pleasantly surprised! There are over 30 shades in the collection and I have roughly half of them so far. They give a beautiful pearlescent effect on the eye. I buy all my NYX products from BeautyJoint.com & these loose eyeshadows in particular are amazingly only €2.72.

No matter how much or how little eyeshadow you wear you should always consider wearing an eyeshadow base, this prevents wear down, transfer and smudging of the eyeshadow. My favourite budget buy for eyeshadow would definitely be the Catrice Prime & Fine Eyeshadow Base, which isn’t unlike Urban Decays Primer Potion. The colour, texture and lasting power of both are very similar so if you’re on a budget the Catrice primer is definitely for you. Catrice is available from Penneys & Meaghers Pharmacy. The Prime & Fine eyeshadow base costs just €4.49.

This might seem like a bit of a weird one but baby powder can be used for more than what it’s intended. It can be used as a substitute for dry shampoo but also for the new craze BAKING, no not cupcakes! Baking is setting the highlighted areas of your face with a light powder for a prolonged period of time. This is most commonly used with powders such as the Laura Mercier translucent setting powder but at €42 it isn’t exactly affordable. On a whim I tried using baby powder and let’s just say it’s my favourite mistake discovery to date. Johnson’s Baby Powder can be bought in pretty much every supermarket and pharmacy 500g for around €2.99. Personally I like to buy the smaller tubs, which are a lot handier to store and bring with you when needed, from Penneys or Dealz for as little as €1.49!

MakeUp Revolution is another brand relatively new brand to Ireland. I picked up the MakeUp Revolution Pro Fixing Spray to give it a try. This fixes your makeup into place and it meant to last all day. I found some of my make disturbed around my nose and chin when I wore it (I'm a face toucher) but other than that for the price it was worth giving a go. The Pro Fixing Spray is available in Superdrug for just €5.

What are your favourite beauty bargains?

Love, A x

My 2015 Favourites!

2015 has been a great year for beauty discoveries, from makeup to perfume to hair products. 

Starting off with some base products and my holy grail primer the Nivea Express Hydration Primer. This product is amazing particularly for dry skin, it plumps your skin and gives that perfect smooth appearance for a sleek makeup application. Similarly, the Botanics Radiance Balm is an under foundation product used to brighten dull looking skin and it's cheap & cheerful, bonus. The NYX blush in Taupe & The Balm Mary Lou Manizer highlighter have been my go-to contour, highlight combination for the majority of the year. The cool tone blush gives your contour a natural shadowed look and the champagne shade of Mary Lou perfectly suit pale skin. 

An oldie but a goodie, the Urban Decay Original Primer Potion is a skin tone product which helps hold your eyeshadow in place and ensure vibrant pigmentation. When using this product I like to set it with a pale eyeshadow before applying eyeshadow. This year Penneys/Primark came out with the PS Love beauty range which included phenomenonal individual lashes for just €1.50, with a range of sizes in the pack, good quality and even better price no surprise they were extremely popular. 

In the past I have been no stranger to a dramatic red lip but this year I found myself opting for a nude option more often. My favourite nude lip combo by far has been the Inglot Soft Percision lip pencil in No.63 and the Inglot AMC Jumbo lip pencil in No.14. The AMC Jumbo pencil can be a little bit drying but once you exfoliate your lips and apply a moisturising lipbalm that won't be a problem. 

Sigma & Blank Canvas Cosmetics are two of my favourite makeup brush brands. The Sigma F80 Flat Top Kabuki is densely packed which helps seemlessly buff product into the skin. The Blank Canvas F14 & F15 are the perfect partners to apply contour and highlight. The shape of the F14 fits into the hallow of the cheek nicely and the fluffy bristles easily blend out the product. The tapered F15 is the perfect shape to dust highlighter over the high points of the face. All of these brushes wash really well and I have had zero shedding from them. 

This year I downsized my perfume collection, these are two of my absolute favourites. Rihanna Nude is a vanilla & fruity scent perfect for daytime. Ralph Lauren Pony No.2 is a heavier fruit based scent more suitable to nighttime. 

The Aussie Miracle Hair Insurance is a leave in conditioner which smooths split ends and leaves a gorgeous summery smell in your hair. I use this at least once a week to make sure my extensions as well as my own hair stays healthy and smooth. I love my Tangle Teezer, it's pretty much the only brush I use. It is a God sent for extensions, this brush gets rid of any knots without damaging your hair. 

I hope you enjoyed my favourites, let me know if you found any new products in 2015 that you now can't live without. 

Love, A x 

What I Got For Christmas 2015

I love reading/seeing What I Got For Christmas blogposts (mostly because I'm nosey) so I decided to finally do my own! 

What is Christmas without new pj's & chocolate? 

Adult colouring books are the best thing ever! They are so relaxing and stress relieving.

From Real Techniques to Urban Decay to MAC, what more could a girl want? 

Every year MAC knocks it out of the park with their Christmas sets, this year was no different! 

I love this nude lipgloss and purple pigment/glitter set! 

Without a doubt my favourite present was this gorgeous chair from T Clifford Antiques in Dublin

I love these size bags, this one is from Parfois! 

Of course since I got some cash for Christmas I had to get my annual Christmas tattoo. I got this one done by Lee Brown in Live Fast Tattoo located in Dublin City Centre. 

What did you get for Christmas? 

I hope you enjoyed seeing what I got.

Love, A x

Top Makeup Tricks Every Girl Should Know!

Makeup can be a tricky, trust me it wasn't always my forte but these next couple of tricks definitely helped me on my way. 

Foundation match - we've all been there, the dodgey foundation shade that just isn't the same colour as the rest of your body. When testing out foundation shades always match to the colour of your neck rather than your face. This gives a more realistic colour match and will make it easier to seemlessly blend your foundation in.

Eyemakeup for hooded eyes - hooded eyes are the most difficult to work with purely because you don't have a lot of lid space to work, eyeliner is particularly a common problem. When applying eyeliner to hooded eyes felt tip eyeliner pens will be your best friend, they will help you keep your liner thin and as close to the lash line as possible. When working with eyeshadow, matte eyeshadow will be best to work with. If you work with shimmers you are drawing attention to the hooded eye whereas if you work with matte shades you can create a fake crease and hide the hooded look.

Smaller eyes - when trying to enhance smaller eyes apply lots of mascara on top lashes and minimal mascara on the bottom. Add a nude/white eyeliner in water line to open and brighten the eyes making them appear bigger. 

Overdrawn lips - this has been a big craze lately but if you can't commit to injections like me here's what I do. Start by over drawing the Cupid's bow and middle of the bottom lip then create an ombré lip effect by using a lighter colour in the centre of the lip enhancing  your lips to give that desired fuller look. Below I used Limecrime Velvetines in Riot & Bleached to create a fuller lip. 

Dried out mascara - Soaking your mascara tube in a cup of hot water will heat up the product and allow you get more use out of your mascara. Remember to dispose of your mascara every 6 months. The guide below will help you choose the best mascara want for your desired look. 

Inglot duraline - multi use product, once you start using it you'll wonder how you did your makeup without it ! 

1. Mix with eyeshadow to turn into a liquid liner. 

2. Use to apply pigments/glitters to prevent fallout and make them stick to your lid. 

3. Add a drop to dried up mascara, gel liners or cream eyeshadows to bring them back to life. 

(left : eyeshadow without Duraline / right : eyeshadow with Duraline) 

Heat up your eyelash curler - Use your hairdryer to heat your eyelash curler for better, longer lasting curled eyelashes. Be careful not to burn yourself, it only takes a couple of seconds to heat the curler enough for this to work. 

DIY Lip Scrub - there's no need for expensive, fancy lip scrubs when you have the ingredients to make your own right in your kitchen. Combine salt, sugar, olive oil, Vaseline and your favourite flavoured lipbalm in a small container to create the perfect lip exfoliator. 

Long Lasting Lipstick : when applying your lipliner, outliner your lips then fill in the entire lip and apply your lipstick over the top. The lipliner will act as a base and prevent obvious colour fading. You can also take a tissue, place it over your lips and apply a loose translucent powder with a large fluffy brush over the lips to mattify and lock that colour in place. 

I hope this helped, may your brows be on fleek and you highlight bright like a diamond. 

Love, A x

To What's Gone And What's Yet To Come

2015 has taught me a lot. It has taught me that so much can happen in a year, things change, people come & go and yet life still goes on but mostly importantly 2015 has taught me, well, about me! 
2015 has been a year of growth, 12 months of battling and over coming things I never believed I could, 365 days of learning who I am and starting to really like that person. 

A year ago today I was in a very different place in my life, I was a shadow of the person I am now, possibly the lowest I've ever been. This year I decided to take control of my life and my mental health instead of letting it control me. I made myself aware of the danger I was putting myself in. 



2015 taught me the difference between lonely and alone. It's okay to be alone, it's health to enjoy your own company sometimes but that doesn't mean feeling lonely. This learned I learned how to express myself and how to ask for help. The help that was always closer than I anticipated. 

This year I was reminded that blood is thicker than water. At the end of the day I can always count on my crazy & disfunctional family for love and support in everything I do. 

I learned that as you get older it's okay for your circle to get smaller. Less friends but more of the right ones. Less frequent meetings but more meaningful. To my handful of close friends (you know who you are) I sincerely thank you for the love and encouragement I have received throughout the past year. Here's to many more! 


I learned that I don't need a man or a partner to be complete. I am already complete. To the men of 2015, I thank you for the sleepless nights, the tears, the laughter and the heartbreak. Everything happens for a reason, our crossing paths were no different. Our experiences shape who we are and where we are meant to end up. This year I learned that at 22 years old, for right now, I am enough for me. 




A year changes you a lot and that's okay! 

As I sit here writing this piece, with multiple emotions over coming me, reminiscing about a year which has flown by, I have decided that 2016 is going to be whatever I want it to be, it's going to be good! 



This year I made changes for the better and I'm going to continue doing what's best for me. I have decided to make myself a priority and put my own feeling and body first for a change. I have taken steps to make my mind healthier now I'm ready to make my body itself healthier.

I want 2016 to be a year of new experiences, a year to travel to new places and a year to make new memories with the most important people in my life. 2016 is shaping up to be a good year for me! I have secured my dream internship with a company full of empowering women who I know I will learn a lot from, it has been a hard road to get here but I am ready to put the work in for my future career. I have new tattoo bookings made and travel plans with friends.

This year I want to become more dedicated to blogging, to put out quality content, to be more consistent with posts and to get more involved in the irish blogging community. For years I have wanted to set up a YouTube but I've never had the confidence, maybe this year will be the year.
I am ready for the year to come! 



Here's to the year that's gone and the year to come. I hope it brings you everything you need just as you need it. 

Love, A x 

Holiday Gift Guide - under €50

So this one is for all those people who are cringing at the thought of Christmas Shopping. Hopefully this will make it a little easier on you while still keeping the family happy and the best bit, every item is under €50! 

For Her :

Handbags and purses can be tough to pick so look to the person you're buying for, for inspritation. Have a look at a bag that they already own and pick a similar style. This River Island handbag is a gorgeous neutral with gold detailing for just €45, you can also pick up a matching purse ranging from €15-25.

Alex & Ani energy bracelets are very on trend right now, they look nice on their own or stacked together. These bracelets come in silver or gold with a range of different charms which all have their own meaning. Alex & Ani bracelets are available from Arnott's for €36. 

Aldo has a gorgeous range of watched like this Luskin Multi Strap Watch retailing for €44.12. Aldo is also available in store or from ASOS.ie.

These Deluxe Robes are from littlewoods.ie ranging from €28 - €44 and also come in several different colours. This item is perfect for any woman in your life but particularly appreciated by Mams or Nanas.

For Him :

When it comes to men they generally don't buy skincare products for themselves but they'll use products within reach, am I right ladies? This Liz Earle Men's Try Me kit from Boots is just €26 and it's perfect. This set includes a cleanse and polish face wash, a shower gel, shaving cream, aftershave moisturiser and a muslin cloth all in a handy travel washbag. 

Fashion accessories are always a good choice when it comes to the man in your life. Burton Menswear has some really good quality but affordable pieces, like this Real Leather Wallet for €30, Grey Textured Tie for just €14 or one of their gorgeous belts starting from €18.

Another fashion option is this grey wool scarf from Zara which is a steal at €25.95.

Keeping with the men's fashion theme, I have picked 2 watches which will suit a range of men. This Sekonda Men's stainless steel bracelet watch is €50 while this Red Herring Men's Brown Mock Multi Dial Watch is slightly cheaper at €37.50. This range of watches are available from Arnott's. 

For Them : 

These next couple of gift ideas could be for a man or woman in your life. They're unisex gifts that are sure to be appreciated by anyone. 

When choosing a present you can never go wrong with good quality headphones. These cool Betron HD1000 Headphones are €40 and can be purchases on Amazon.co.uk. 

Coffee table books are always an interesting gift, they are good conversation starters. This copy of "Inked" is perfect for a tattooed fan in your life and it's just €9.50 and is available from Amazon.co.uk.

This one will keep the watch fanatic in your life happy. This 12 Watch Display Box Case with Faux Leather costs €20 and is available from Amazon.co.uk. 

I hope this guide helped easy the Christmas shopping stress.

Love, 

A x