Prettiest Wishlist

I have a major Pinterest addiction, like I genuinely think I need to go to some sort of pinboard rehab. But the one major thing I dislike about it is the fact that it just makes me screenshot a massive list of things I want.

So now I've decided to do a monthly post of all the things I love on Pinterest. Mainly so I have an excuse to use it constantly.

1) This amazing cookie Ice-cream cake

2) The cutest desk area ever

3) A beach picnic table that makes me want a holiday

4) The Make-up storage giving me envy

5) THEE dress. Like, The ultimate dream.

6) And finally, these embellished shorts

Follow me on pinterest here.

The Perfume Edit

Perfume is one of those things that are totally personal to each person. scent can evoke strong memories in you in a way that none of the other senses can.

The first designer perfume I owned was Jean-Paul Gaultier classique. It was fresh and young, but made me feel oh-so sophisticated. I wore it all the time, and the smell still takes me back to being 16 and trying to sneak into bars, and spending time with friends.

Since then, my perfume collection has grown, and I no longer need to wear the same fragrance everyday, but i can still remember the situations that brought each beautiful bottle to my dressing table.

Lacoste - Touch of Pink £19.99-£29.99
I first got a bottle of touch of pink when I was about 17, and to my minimum wage self, it was a more purse friendly addition to my collection. I was able to feel like I had a designer input into my wardrobe, and it felt good to not have to sport a cheap celeb fragrance. (Who knew I was a snob even back then!)

Marc Jacobs - Daisy £23.50-£63.50
I bought this exact bottle of Daisy in the duty free section of the ferry on my way to uni for the first time. it has lasted me pretty well considering I wore it a lot over the last 3 years, but there is something slightly depressing about the fact that it's pretty empty now, just as uni comes to an end, as if it marks the end of my studenthood or something. but this is one of my favourites, and will forever remind me of student antics, and the amazing time I've had over the last three years.

Balmain - Extatic £36-£46
This little mini bottle is so handy to have, and perfect for carrying around in your handbag. The smell is distinctive and has a slight rock chick edge, in the kind of style you would expect from Balmain. I got this in a beauty bag when I worked at Star magazine back in March, which has definitely been one of my favourite placements so far.

Vivienne Westwood - Mon Boudoir £19.99-£38
This was also in my beauty bag from Star, and I didn't use it much at first, but now I have come to love it. It's the perfect spring/summer scent, as it's light and airy, and has some beautiful floral tones. It's one of those scents that's light enough to wear everyday and doesn't get too overwhelming.

Lancôme - La Vie Est Belle £43.50-£69.50
When this perfume came out it was one of those things where I didn't want to buy too much into the hype that it had created. I hate when bloggers and magazines big up a new release so much that I wait to buy it, and then I'm sorely disappointed and left with a big boots-shaped hole in bank balance. However, my mum wanted it, so being the generous daughter that I am I treated her to it, you know, so I could 'borrow' it. I loved it so much I went out and bought my own. Mum still has her own bottle so she's happy I haven't totally stolen her belongings.


All prices: theperfumeshop.com
Images: Niamh Stewart

Total lip saver

I suffer from very dry skin all over, but my lips are also a victim. I've searched for years for the perfect lip balm. You name it, I've tried it! Most of them seem to temporarily combat the problem, but by a few hours later my lips have just dried out again. 

Lately, with the sunshine and working in a heavily air conditioned environment, my lips have been very dry and cracked. This means I can't wear lipstick without it cracking and it can also be very painful. 

My latest - and best- find, is burt's bees beeswax lip balm. 

I know it's not a new product, but I had never tried it before and now it will definitely be a handbag staple. After just two week of daily use, my lips are soft and moisturised and they very rarely dry out on me. 

This little tube is a total lip saver! 

What's your favourite lip products? Comment below and let me know so I can try it out for myself! 

Side swept hair

One celebrity hair trend I've been loving recently is side swept hair. There's something about it that can instantly glam up an outfit, and I love how it can make mad curly hair look sleek and polished. 

I've been wearing mine side swept recently, not just on nights out, but during the daytime as well. Some mornings my hair is a bit unmanageable, but a brush through and a few clips in the back and it looks like I've spent ages on it. Perfect for the mornings that I sleep in! 

My favourite celeb rocking the style has been Taylor Swift (no surprises there!) She has worn it on the red carpet a couple of times and managed to make it look different every time. I'm definitely still fangirling over her big time, so I'm sure she could wear a Bin bag and  I'd try it out! 

I definitely do love this new style though, and it makes a nice change from my standard style with minimal effort! 

My makeup removal routine

With most things I don't really have a routine or things that I feel I have to do, but when it comes to taking my makeup off I'm pretty fanatic about it, and have to do it before I go to bed, (unless I'm a little bit drunk, because lets face it, I'm hardly perfect!)

I do have very dry skin though so I do need to be very careful about what products I actually use, as some have caused me to break out more than wearing makeup has. So I've had a few years of trial and error, but I seem to have found a few products and a routine that works really well for me.

I absolutely hate using makeup wipes to remove my makeup, especially since they dry out normal skin and mine is already dry, but I also feel they don't do a very good job of removing everything from my face.
Over the years I have sampled many cleansers, and the one I am currently using is one of my favourites. NO7 Cream Cleanser removes everything, while leaving my skin feeling moisturised and fresh. It easily removes eye makeup and dark lipstick too so that is definitely a bonus for a red lippy lover like me.

After cleansing, I use Nspa toning spray to freshen up my face and soothe any irritated skin. If my skin is especially dry I follow this with a small bit of facial oil, (it also helps me feel as if my skin has been spa treated, and not just done at home!) And then last but not least I follow this with a moisturiser. At the moment I am using my Nivea Q10+ day cream, (but am searching for recommendations of good night creams if anyone has one) which is especially good for daytime as it has SPF15 built in, and when you are fair skinned like me, every bit of SPF helps!

If I am having a pretty bad breakout I sometimes use a hot cloth to cleanse as this really helps clear my skin up, and of course a good face scrub is a total necessity. I really recommend this Simple scrub, as it thoroughly scrubs without being irritating.
I really recommend these products for dry skin as I have had a long hard search for good products which don't irritate my skin.

My Fave Five!

Soap and Glory 'Scrub of your life'// Percy and Reed Finishing Polish// Vera Wang 'Princess'// Benefit 'Big Beautiful Eyes' Palette// Topshop Cream Highlighters

I love beauty Products, but I don't often do beauty posts, so I decided to do a post on My five favourite beauty products at the moment.

1. Soap & Glory 'Scrub of Your Life' Body Scrub

I have a literal addiction to Soap & Glory scrubs, as I feel they are the best ones on very dry skin. I do suffer from extremely dry skin, and this one makes my skin amazingly soft and smooth. It comes with the signature Soap & Glory scent as well, which is definitely a bonus.

2. Percy & Reed 'Quite Frankly Flawless Finishing Polish'

I got this free with Glamour Magazine a few months ago, relegated it to the bottom of my beauty box, and totally forgot about it until I moved back home. I am now totally and officially in love with it. Is it possible to marry a hair product? because I need this to be in my life forever! (and I'll have the hottest wedding hair ever!) It is perfect for helping to control those annoying stray hairs, without making my hair look too neat, as I prefer to wear it slightly messy.

3. Vera Wang 'Princess'

This perfume is so summery and floral, that I have been wearing it constantly in the recent bout of sunshine. I bought it in the airport as a little present for finishing 2nd year of uni, and because Princess is my and my friends pet name for each other, and I won't see her for three months, so it cheers me up seeing it everyday. It is also a cute addition to my perfume shelf as the bottle is gorgeous.

4. Benefit 'Big Beautiful Eyes' Palette

This eye palette is in my everyday makeup routine, and definitely one of my makeup staples. it contains three eyeshadows, a base shadow, a shadow for contouring, and a liner shadow, in different shades of brown and nude, in order to highlight your eyes. It also comes with Benefits 'Boi-ing' Concealer, which I will be purchasing as a full product once I finish this, as I have yet to find another concealer which covers my under eye bags as well as it does.

5. Topshop Cream Highlighters

I never used highlighters, and didn't really know much about how to use them or what they did, as I never noticed much difference with or without them, but this is a product I got given on my last day at Company Magazine, and since then I have used these most days, and I can see the difference they make to the outlines of my face. I wish the packaging was as cute as other Topshop makeup, but at least these are a quality product, and not just based around the packaging.

                                    

A match made in hair heaven

I love a good beauty product, but Im definitely not big into 'Hair care Products'. I'm not really sure why, I've just never really focused too much attention on them, and have just used whatever is at hand in the shower when washing it, as well as applying some basic heat protection before drying or styling, but lately I've noticed that my hair is quite dry and damaged, and I have a lot of split ends, so I decided it was time to look into different conditioning treatments.

The first product I noticed that has made such an amazing difference to my hair, and it was completely by accident, was VO5 nourish me truly shampoo and conditioner. I got this last September from my mum, when I went to uni in a box full of "Essentials" (That came in so useful!) but I didn't use it until April, because I had others to use first.
Now, for a 500ml bottle these cost £3.59 each in boots, which I feel is a bit pricey, but Mum got them for £1 each in Pound land. Good old pound shops! however, They are worth it, and I will definitely have to buy them again!
There isn't an amazing smell to rave about or anything, but the shampoo and conditioner have definitely improved my hair since I started using them.

After I had been using these for a while I decided to look for a leave in treatment for my hair, and I cam across the Tresemme "Split Remedy" leave in treatment. Just apply a little bit to the ends of your hair straight after washing, and that's it! I have been using this about three weeks and I can definitely notice a massive difference to my hair's health.

I would definitely recommend both these products, and although they aren't made to be used together, they have the perfect complementary qualities that have done wonders for my hair.

Clinique Chubby Sticks

 I talked about buying one of these products for AGES! I never actually got round to it, but at christmas, I got one as a present and it lived up to everything I thought it would be! I really like how moisturising they are, and I think the colour is really well pigmented.


For anyone who isn't too familiar with these products, the packaging describes them as "Moisturising Lip colour balm" and the Clinique website says: 
"Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm is a lip treatment with sheer colour that relieves dry, cracked lips and provides immediate moisturisation. The unique pencil-style applicator provides easy to apply sheer soft lip colour and rolls up for ease of use. "


I completely agree with all of Cliniques comments, these are a dream! I like them for the daytime, because sometimes lipstick is just too much, but lip gloss is not enough, and these are the perfect middle ground as far as I'm concerned.


I have very dry skin, and this does affect my lips, and they often are too cracked for me to wear lipstick, but because these act as a balm, I can wear them anytime I like, and I don't have to worry about it cracking on my lips. 

The only shade I currently own is called 'Fuller Fig', and isn't as scary as it sounds or first looks. It looks slightly brown when you first see it, but when you put it on it goes a nice shade, which I can't really explain and is apparently impossible to capture on camera, especially in badly lit uni housing! But take my word for it, it is really nice!


Clinique have recently released their latest shades for summer, and I am already eyeing up most of them, mainly because I cannot wait for an excuse to wear summer shades. If the weather fails to appear, my clothes and makeup shall just have to bring summer to Ireland on their own!

Like glitter's raining on me...

Rimmel: I ♥ Lasting Finish in 500 Disco Ball - £2.99 Superdrug

Usually I am a self confessed glitter hater! if its on clothes I will not wear it! (However I am partial to the odd tacky glittery shoe!)
However, Glitter nail polish I LOVE! This Rimmel colour (500 Disco Ball) was exactly what I needed to update my winter nail shades into spring worthy nails, it just manages to make things happier!
its not an opaque glitter, but I still do not think it needs a base colour, its looks really cute on its own.

I'm slightly afraid that it makes my nails look equivalent to that of a 7 year old girls, but I dont care! Wearing it out clubbing tonight and I'm already a bit overexcited by how cool it'll look when the lights hit it. Need a Life!

Summery Nails

Continuing on from yesterdays summery themed post I painted my Nails Summery Colours. Couldnt decide on a pattern or nail art, so settled on alternating colours.

Nails in BarryM Bright Pink and Mushroom.

Elegant Touch Pre-glued false nails. Review

False Nails in O'natural x-short. Elegant Touch available at boots and Superdrug.

I don't wear false nails very often, because I like my nails painted as I've said before, but last weekend I went home, and I was going out with friends and had forgotten to bring home any nail varnish, so went out and bought false nails.

These were a completely accidental purchase, as I thought I was picking up the unglued ones, but I am so very glad I made that mistake.
These nails are amazing. when I originally saw that they were pre-glued when I got them home I was debating whether or not to try them or to just try and return but I'm so glad I gave them a chance. The Major difference for me is how the glue on these doesn't damage your nails.
the glue on them doesn't dry hard like regular nail glue, allowing for slight movement, which also means that if you bang them a few times they don't fall off as easily, which is good as I am majorly clumsy!

To put this is in Perspective I first put them on Saturday night, and I didn't remove them until Thursday evening, and that was only so that I could have Green Nails for St. Patrick's Day!

one downside: if one or two do fall off, you cant stick them back on temporarily like you can other false nails, as the glue starts to lose its stickiness, But I don't think this is a major downside to be honest!