Essence Limited Edition 'Fruity'

When it comes to Essence and Catrice I adore their Limited Edition products. The new Essence Limited Edition to hit Ireland has just been announced! Ireland get ready to get Fruity! 

First up in this new Limited Edition is an eyeshadow sorbet. It is a sorbet mousse in brilliant spring colours. Sorbet for your eyelids! Available in 1.one kiwi a day 2. banana joe and 3.peach beauty. 

Also in this range is five new nail polish. Perfect for spring these nail polishes are designed to bring spring to your nails! They will be available in  01 banana joe, 02 peach beauty, 03 very cherry, 04 one kiwi a day… and 05 mashed berries.

Fruity also comes with a blush sorbet and nail fruit designs for your nails. Blush Sorbet looks very like the blush that was in the Ballerina Collection. It is an intense pink-red shade that is designed to give a natural flush. It will be available in one colour 01 smoothie operator. Nail Fruits are fruit designs for your nails. They can create eye catching nails in seconds and come with a handy nail glue. Available in one colour 01 fruit punch to go.

Along with the nail polishes are two top coats. The first 'fruity scented top coat' is a strawberry scented top coat for your nails. It gives your nails a 'seductive fresh strawberry scent'!!??? (Strange!) It will be available in 01 smells like strawberry... The second top coat is 'nail art sealing top coat' apply to nails after nail art for long-lasting results. Available in 01 stay fruity.

Finally the last two items of this Limited Edition are Fruity lip balms. They will be available in two fruity colours 01 peach beauty and 02 very cherry. They look quite nice and are supposed to 'pamper your lips with the delicious taste of spring'. I quite like these!

So will you be buying anything from Fruity? I want the lip balm. I'm hoping they will be a cheaper version of Revlon's Lip Butters! Time will tell when I get my hands on them!

Larry xx

MUA Pretty Pastels Eyeshadow Palette

I am a huge fan of MUA eyeshadow pallets. So far I have collected Heaven and Earth, Glitterball and Poptasic palettes. So you can guess I was quite happy when my Mam brought me home a new palette 'Pretty Pastels'. One look at the colours and I decided this palette will be perfect for spring.

Pretty Pastels like the other small MUA palettes costs £4. It comes with 12 pastel coloured eyeshadows. My first impressions were disappointing as it is not like other MUA palettes.

It is not as pigmented as the other palettes I own. The colours also look different on the eye than they do in the palette. They are good if you are looking for a simple very neutral eye. I suppose they are pastels not intended to be too bright! I just like my eyeshadow to be a wee bit brighter! They can be used as good highlights though!

Swatches, As you can see they are not as pigmented as other MUA palettes

Overall sadly not my favourite MUA palette. You would not be missing out much if you didn't buy it. However, don't let this put you off other MUA palettes especially Heaven and Earth which I LOVE!

Larry x

St. Patrick's Day: Easy ways to go Green!

With St. Patrick's day only 10 days away I'm starting to get a bit excited. I LOVE St. Patrick's Day. (Any excuse to paint my face and go a bit mad with colour!) I love the parades, the colours and the national pride that takes over Ireland for one day. (And other places throughout the world!) It's so easy to get into the St. Patrick's Day spirit. It can be something small from green nail polish to going all out with green jeans, crazy eyeshadow and a leprechaun hat. It doesn't have to break the bank either with great bargains from €1.49 there is no excuse not to join in!

Leprechaun hat, Dealz €1.49

Orange belt, H&M €3.95

Green High Heals, Dunnes Stores €20

Cardigan, H&M €24.95

Jeans, Penneys €13

Sleek Acid I-Divine Palette, Sleek.com €8.50

Green Bag, H&M €9.95

Ornage Nail Polish, Catrice €2.79

Irish Princess Tiara, Dealz €1.49

The Sleek Acid I-Divine Palette has the perfect colours for St. Patrick's Day!

Colours Swatched. No primer was used. For a more vibrant colour use Urban Decay Potion Primer before applying.

On my own nails I'm going to wear MNY 753- Lime Green/ Electric Green. It's a gorgeous green with a pearl aspect to it! This will be teamed with an orange dress from Penneys. I have no doubt that a huge leprechaun hat will also be worn!

Will you be getting into the St. Patrick's Day Celebrations this year?

Larry x

Essence Marble Mania!

Essence Ireland announced on Facebook today their next limited edition trend. I LOVE the limited editions so was very excited by this! The last edition, the circus range came out just before Christmas. I only bought one nail varnish from this range as the rest didn't really jump out at me. (Click here for a look at my review on the circus range.) However, this new edition Marble Mania is really catching my eye!

First up we have three baked eyeshadows. These eyeshadows look amazing! They all have triple marbling and can be applied wet or dry. They are very similar to the Catrice shadows in the Nymphelia range. (The Essence version is also over a euro cheaper at €3.29) I think these shadows look amazing and can't wait to try them! They come in the following colours: 01 seriously mixed up, 02 let's get twisted and 03 swirl it, baby!

This blush is one of my favourite items from the Marble Mania range. It just look gorgeous! It is a mix of four rosé shades blended together into a stunning marble blush. I will definitely be buying this! It only comes in one colour sadly 01 swirlpool. I wish there was more as I'm loving the look of it! Price is €3.99.

There are four nail polishes included in the Marble Mania range. They are designed to create marble designs with the Marble Mania nail art kit. Each polish is €2.29 and are available in the colours 01 raspberry swirl, 02 who is mr. brown, 03 silver twister and 04 peaches.

There will be two marble lip glosses in this range. The marble effect merges into one colour when applied to lips. These will be available in 01 coral whirl and 02 peach and mix. Price is €2.29.

The Marble Mania mascara is rather strange looking! It is ultra black marbled with sliver. The tube is transparent so you can see the marbled effect inside! (I think this is pretty cool) Price is €3.29.

Finally in Marble Mania is the nail art kit. I'm very excited about this one! I can't wait for the Essence nail stamps to arrive in Ireland but this will keep me amused till then! The kit contains a professional brush, two professional sponges and two wooden sticks. The brush is perfect for helping create lines and dots on your nails as it has an ultra fine tip. The sponges can be used to create an airbrush effect or marbled nails. I think I will get a lot of use out of this kit so it will be well worth the price of €2.79!

Unfortunately this range won't hit Irish shores till March or April. Will you be buying anything form this range?

Larry xx

Catrice Limited Edition 'Nymphelia'

The new limited edition pictures for Catrice have been released! The new line 'Nymphelia' will hit Irish shores around February or March. I'm LOVING the look of it! I have not been this excited about a Catrice limited edition for ages. The one that is in shops at the moment is a bit snooze This range however is very eye catching and I'm already lusting after many items. Catrice describe this range as: 

'Soft and feminine yet strong and sensual – this is the perfect description for the world of nymphs. A mysterious world that hovers between nature and mysticism – a world shaped by goddesses and embodied by natural forces. This is reflected in the colour scheme of the Limited Edition “Nymphelia” by CATRICE. Warm red, orange and brown shades from the forest combined with green and nude tones bring the spring season to life in February and March 2012. The result: a natural yet modern and sensual make-up collection inspired by the international catwalks. The ideal make-up for delicate but strong ladies. Nymphelia – mystical and mythical.'

Eyes wise this limited edition is very strong. The mascara 'Lashes to Kill Mascara' is a black green which is quite unusual. This is designed to create 'amazing eyes'. The False lashes are very dramatic. For €4.49 they are cheap enough to experiment with dramatic eyes! The Smokey Eye set includes four eyeshadows for €4.99. I won't be bothered to buy this as I have a million eyeshadows! It's a good price however, if you don't have much eyeshadow and want to try a smokey look. Despite not needing anymore eyeshadow I'm lusting over the 'Intensif Eye Wet and Dry Shadow'. They are €4.29 each and can be used as the name suggests both wet and dry. The colours have a beautiful marble effect. There are three colours intertwined to create a gorgeous finish. I also love the names of the shadows 020 Charly’s Chocolate Factory and 040 Have You Seen Alice?. Names like this and the appearance of the shadows make them appear a lot more expensive than their bargain €4.29 price!

'Unbeleaf'able Blush' is a gorgeous marbled blush. It has three shades in intertwined red, orange and nude It's designed to give a natural fresh look. 

For lips there is three Lip colour creams. I think they are more cream than gloss similar I would say to the Collection 2000 Cream Puffs. 

Finally there is the nail polishes. They look quite plain compared to the rest of this edition. Although I adore the name of the light pink shade 'Salmon & Garfunkel' I think this is brilliant!

So what do you think? Will you be buying anything from this limited edition?

Larry xx

H&M Eyeshadow Palettes

I worked in H&M for years during my student days. I loved when there was a new delivery of make up! (I just had to make new testers for the *cough* customers... not for me to play with oh no) Some of the cosmetics are terrible and some of them are actually really good! A manager once told me they were made by the same company that makes Estee Lauder (I don't know how far I would believe that though!) There best make up products are probably their make up palettes. They are surprisingly not bad for how cheap they are.

The make up palettes are about €5/€6. They are in sturdy cases that click close. The first palette is a 36 eyeshadow palette. This product is not bad, you get 36 colours for €6! The colours vary in pigmentation but some are surprisingly good! It's perfect if you are looking for a cheap palette to throw into your bag for travel and not really care if you loose it or break it. It's also a good buy if you are new to make up and want to try out some new colours without breaking the bank.

Next up is the Glitter Eyeshadow Palette. Strangely despite it's name it's not really all that glittery. This palette is also about €5/€6. It contains 10 eye shadows about the size of a €2 euro coin. I really like this palette. Most of the eye shadows are really pigmented apart from a few of the lighter shades. They are a bit chalky but considering how cheap this would not bother me too much. Again it's perfect for throwing in a bag without worrying about breaking it.

A word of warning I would stay away from the Hello Kitty eyeshadows as they are awful. Stick to the big palettes or ask a member of staff for a tester. For bronzer lovers out there the H&M bronzer is supposed to be amazing (I don't wear bronzer so I CAN'T confirm this!) It did used to sell out within a few days of delivery with people buying 4/5 at a time to stock up! If you love your bronzer maybe check it out!

Larry xx

Sleek Acid i-Divine Palette

Sleek is a make up brand I have been lusting at for some time now. I'm always seeing it on other bloggers pages and in magazines. As it is not available in Ireland (apart from online) I had been become a green eyed monster looking at all the lovely products I couldn't get my hands on! As my parents live in the U.K. my Mam said she would bring some back for me. This will be the first of a few Sleek posts/ reviews. Starting with a look at Sleek's 'Acid i-Divine Palette'. (€8.50)

The Sleek 'Acid i-Divine Palette' is a palette that certainly stands out. It contains a mixture of vibrant neon bright colours and some more muted colours for those who are not feeling brave enough for the neon! There are 12 colours in this palette a mixture of both matte and shimmer eyeshadows. They are highly pigmented apart from a few of the neon colours but most neon eye shadows are like this.

Swatches on hand

My favourite colours in the palette is the blues, the grey and black. I have so many eye shadow palettes, but I don't have any grey colours so I'm loving the grey in this palette! The blues are also gorgeous and work well with the grey colour.

Some of the colours are very 'out there' and I don't think I would be brave enough to wear them on a normal day to day basis. If only I had this as a teenager I would have LOVED it! (I was like a rainbow back then with colour). There are some shades that are perfect for certain times of year however! I know I will be turning to this palette come St. Patrick's day! The Green, White and Orange will be perfect for creating a St. Patrick's Day look! 

Perfect for St. Patrick's Day!

Overall I'm really impressed with the pigmentation of this eye palette. I also love the packaging. I really like the black case because it's sturdy and closes firmly. I also love that there is a mirror inside. It's also a perfect size for sticking in your bag. (unlike some of my Urban Decay Palettes! I would nearly need a suitcase they are so big!) 

I'm hoping Sleek come to Ireland soon as there are more products I'm dying to try out. Keep an eye out on my blog as I will have more Sleek reviews soon!

Larry xx 

Review: Avon Products

My boyfriend’s Mam sells Avon, so whenever I’m in his house I read Avon to keep me amused (while he watches football…) Before I started buying Avon I didn’t think it was good quality. However, I must say my mind has been totally changed now! There are some lovely products available. In this post I'll show some of my favourites.

I received Reece Witherspoon’s perfume ‘In Bloom’ as a gift. The bottle is so pretty! The lid of the perfume is a big flower that comes off when you spray. I found this very unusual and it really stands out next to my other perfumes. The scent is a light floral scent which is not over powering and very wearable. Reece Witherspoon said the following at the launch of the perfume:

“In developing In Bloom, I found myself drawn to the scents of my childhood in Tennesse. We had a great big magnolia tree in the backyard and it’s that beautiful white blossom that inspired the perfume. In Bloom is indicative of where I am in my life today. I’m feeling very strong and independent, and so happy, so full of life. The fragrance truly captures that feeling – it’s very sensual, very romantic and alluring.”

I am really impressed with Avon’s lipsticks. I do think they are quite expensive, but there are a lot of special offers when you can get them for cheap. I picked up two for €10 in a promotion. The first I picked was Avon Ultra Colour Rich Moisture Seduction Lipstick in ‘Fuchsia Fever’.

This is a Rich, ultra-creamy lipstick intertwined with ribbons of hydrating moisture. It also contains SPF15. I love the concept of this lipstick in that you can see the white moisture intertwined in the lipstick. The colour I picked ‘Fuchsia Fever’ is extremely pigmented and is a shocking pink. I love to wear this if I’m not wearing much eye make up. The lipstick also has a gorgeous scent. Brilliant buy for €5 as it worked out in the promotion.

The second lipstick I purchased in this offer was Ultra Colour Rich White Gold Lipstick ‘Platinum Pink’. This is a Rich, creamy moisturising lipstick infused with glistening pearls of gold that is very sparkly! It is called platinum pink but is quite a sheer pink. However, the sparkles in this lipstick are what really makes this lipstick stand out. It gives your lips a lovely sparkle without a very noticeable strong colour. This is good if you want a more neutral looking lipstick. I paid €5 for this in the promotion but don’t think I would spend its full price of €11 euro if I was to repurchase.

It's MUCH more sparkly in real life, photo does not do it justice!

Lastly I also picked up this make up palette for €3. Inside is four cream eye shadows and two lip glosses.

I don't usually use cream eye shadows, but I like to use the sliver/white colour as a highlight. It's a pretty palette for the price!   I will definitely keep buying Avon products! :)

Larry xx