Free Clinique! Worth up to £18!

Hi just a quick post to tell you about the free Clinique goodies in this months Cosmopolitan. (April with Holly Willoughby on the front!) In Ireland Cosmopolitan is just over €5. A bit pricey for a magazine but a bargain with these free products!

Clinique Moisture Surge Thirst Relief 30ml - £18 

Clinique Superbalm Moisturising gloss 7ml - £6.30 

Clinique 7-Day Scrub cream 30ml - £5.25 

Clinique High Impact mascara 4g - £8 

Pick one up before they are all gone! I will be picking up the Moisture Surge Thirst Relief. Great bargain!

Larry xx

Bargain of the Week!

It's been ages since my last Bargain of the Week, but I just had to share a brilliant bargain from Penneys/Primark. While browsing in Penneys yesterday I went into the home ware section to see if they had anything interesting and  came across this little gem!

This hot pink accessory hanger was only €2! It's so handy for hanging up necklaces so they don't get tangled. (I have a pocket organiser from Penneys already, but this is far better for storing necklaces.) It can also be used to hang up scarfs, belts or anything you can think of really! It has a velvet texture making it look more expensive than €2! The top is like the top of a clothes hanger so it's really strong and can hold up to 2kg worth of accessories! 

This is perfect for me to help organise my jewellery and to keep it tangle free! 

Will you be buying one of these?

Larry x

February Empties!

I'm always interested in products that bloggers fully finish and don't just use once and throw away. In my monthly empties posts I share with you the products I have fully finished this month. This is a great encouragement for me to actually use the products I already have and to stop buying products I don't need! (Well that I don't need YET anyway!)

Product - Soap and Glory Mini Hand Food

Price - €3.00 / £2.50

What did I think? - Lovely scent, non greasy and absorbs well. Left my hands feeling softer. Perfect size for throwing into my handbag.

Would I buy again? - I still have a huge tube waiting to be used from the big Soap and Glory set from Christmas. I think I will buy something different after I'm finished that tube. It's not that I don't like hand food I'm just getting a bit sick of the scent and would like to try something new!

Product - Umberto Giannini Glam Hair Morning After Dry Shampoo 

Price -   €8.29 / £5.61 (I bought this in a special 3 for €14 deal)

What did I think? - Smelled nice and worked well. NOT worth the price though! Batiste is so much cheaper and does the job just as well!

Would I buy again? - NO!!!!

Product -   Umberto Giannini 'Back Comb in a Bottle' 

Price -  €8.29 / £5.61 (I bought this in a special 3 for €14 deal)

What did I think? - I love this product! There is many mixed reviews on Blogs about this product, however, I have to say I LOVE this product. After many trials and errors I have found the best way to use this product for me is give it a good shake, turn your head upside down, spray , and then rub in quickly with your hands! It gives my hair amazing texture and 'poofs' it up. I'm not sure that's it's as good as backcombing but I love the effect of it. A quick blast of hairspray will make it last for the day.

Would I buy again? - YES! (It's the only Umberto Giannini product I would buy again, the rest are dreadful!)

Product -   Barry M Instant Nail Effects Nail Paint in black.

Price -  €5.95 /£3.99

What did I think? - I love this product! I always have so many people ask me about my nails when I wear it. Unfortunately this bottle dried up. I still have a good bit pf product left so that was annoying.

Would I buy again? - Yes, I really liked it :)

Product -  Primark 4 in 1 Deep Facial Cleansing Wipes

Price - €1.50 for pack of two

What did I think? - These are my favourite make up wipes. They don't irritate my skin at all. They are my favourite out of the three colours Primark make. I also much prefer these over Soap and Glory wipes. I found the Soap and Glory wipes stunk my face. These pink Primark wipes don't sting me at all)

Would I buy again? - YES! They are amazing value!

So that is my empties till March! :)

Larry xx

Oscar 2012 Dresses and Gowns!

Last night was the biggest night of the year, the 84th Oscar awards. The stars dazzled up the red carpet in some AMAZING dresses! The best dresses were definitely saved for the Oscar's! Although, there was a lot of black and white gowns, there were some brave stars who mixed it up with a bit of colour. Here is my pick of the best dressed from The Oscars 2012!

My favourite dress from the night has to be Emma Stones. She looked stunning in raspberry Giambattista Valli. It really reminded me of Nicole Kidman's amazing dress from 2007. I loved the colour, the shape and the simple accessories. Emma's make up and hair suited the dress perfectly with a glam up do and simple make up with a focus on the winged eye. GORGEOUS!

Michelle Williams and Natalie Portman also went for bright colours, both in red coral dresses. Michelle Williams in Louis Vuitton and Natalie Portman in vintage Haute Couture Christian Dior. Out of the two dresses I prefer Natalies. She just looks incredible in the polka dots! I love that she wore vintage, the dress originally from 1954 looks magnificent on her. 

Maria Menounos wore a dazzling Maria Lucia Hohan gown. I loved the ancient Greek feel to it. The mint green colour really suited Maria making her look stunning. I also love how she styled her hair. The loose romantic bun really works well with the gown.

Angelina Jolie looked amazing as always in Atelier Versace. I feel she did play it a bit safe though with black. She had so many choices to pick from that she put all the names of the dresses into a bowl and had Brad Pitt's mother pick out a dress! I do love how she styled her hair and make up. As always she looks radiant!

White was one of the most popular dress colours of the night with Gwyneth Paltrow in Tom Ford, Cameron Diaz in Gucci, Giuliana Rancic in Tony Ward and J. Lo in Zuhair Murad. My favourite of the white dresses goes to Giuliana Rancic. She looks so beautiful! You would never know she is battling with cancer. Many people online are loving Gwyneth's dress, I'm not too sure about the cape though! I also wasn't too keen on Jennifer Lopez's dress.... I think it had a bit too much going on!

Overall I think the standard this year was amazing! The best dresses from this years award season by far! What did you think?

Larry xx

Photo Credits: http://www.look.co.uk/

Primark, Boots and Superdrug Haul - Belfast

Belfast is great for shopping so I was delighted when I got a chance during the week to head up North and buy a few things! Here is what I bought!

I finally got my hands on the 17 magnetic nail polish! They have been advertised everywhere for the last few months but none of the Irish stores down south seem to stock them. I was sick of looking in Boots stores and coming out disappointed. There is a huge Boots in the main shopping street in Belfast and they had loads in stock! To make things even better there was a 3 for 2 on 17 cosmetics so I got three magnetic polishes for £12! I will do a review on them soon.

My Barry M Nails effects dried up recently so I wanted to replace it. I bought the Croc version to try out as it is new. (£3.99) I love Palmer's Body Butter so I picked up this Lip Butter (£2.54) while in Superdrug. It smells delicious like after eight chocolates!

I'm always losing earring backs so I picked up a set in Primak for £1. They will be so handy!

Ok so these might be a bit tacky but I LOVE them! It's Primark's rip off of Kate Middleton's engagement ring in both earring and ring form. I wore the earrings the other day and loads of people said they loved them. (So I'm not the only person loving tack!) The ring was £2 and the earrings £2.50. I love them!

So that's my Belfast Haul!

Larry xx

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

Bring Back Primark Make up!

Is it just me or does anyone else miss Primark / Penneys make up? I was really disappointed when it vanished from shops. At first I thought new season lines were coming in but then I learned the dreaded 'd' word had happened..... discontinued. I sometimes used to pick up some great bargains for around 50 cent! Although they wouldn't be the most used items in my make up collection I do have a good few Primark products. I miss looking at their cosmetics while browsing around the store. 

I actually really liked this blush! I have two and both are now nearly finished! :(

This is a cream highlight. It blends well and gives a nice highlight. It was great value for how cheap it was!

This was my sisters favourite under eye concealer. She loved it! It's very similar to MUA Brush on concealer pen.

This is my favourite Primark make up product. It is a high lighter called 'baked'. It really reminds me of one of The Balm highlighters. I love the way the top swivels, also underneath is a mirror which is very handy.

Primarks 'Prime of your Life' primer. This gives your face a nice glow. It's nice to wear if you don't want to wear foundation. I found it didn't really do much if I did wear it with foundation though.

So there you have it, the last of my Primark products :( Sadly since they are discontinued no more will be added to my collection. Is anyone else sad they are gone?

Larry xx

Suddenly Madame Glamour

In December Lidl launched its long awaited 'Suddenly Madame Glamour'. As soon as it was released it flew off the shelves. Unfortunately I did not get a bottle in time and was RAGING! After plaguing the poor Lidl twitter team for ages asking when it was back in store I had a bit of luck last week! Suddenly Madame Glamour was back in stores for Valentines Day! I skipped down to my local Lidl and picked up a few bottles (One for me, my Mam and my boyfriends Mam) Each bottle was a bargain €3.49!

So why did I want to get my hands on this perfume so badly? For months I had been reading in the media and online just how much Suddenly Madame Glamour is like Chanel’s Coco Mademoiselle. (The perfume modelled by the lovely Keira Knightley) A blind smell test was carried out and 90% of people tested prefered the Lidl version over the Chanel! A blind test was also carried out on Tom Dunnes radio show on Newstalk where once again Suddenly Madame Glamour beat Chanel again!

So what did I think? Did I waste my €3.49 on cheap horrible unwearable perfume? Firstly I was quite impressed with the packaging. It looks a lot more expensive than what I paid for it. Honestly when I first sprayed the perfume I was 'Oh God it's awful'. BUT! After a few minutes the scent had changed and I actually quite liked it! It has a lovely floral scent that is very wearable. The only downside I found is that the staying power is not the best. I have not compared it to Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle yet but I will shortly. (I will give an update to see if it actually is a Coco Mademoiselle dupe.) In the meantime I would recommend you to run to Lidl before they sell out of this bargain!

Larry xx

Bargain Make up Storage!

Ever since an episode of the Kardashions which showed their make up storage boxes I have been in Storage envy. However, there is just no way I can justify spending over a €100 to get a storage system like theirs! Recently I bought a storage tower in Atlantic Homecare for €10. It has three drawers and I was quite happy with it. Yesterday however I came across the most amazing storage bargain EVER. While in Dealz (The Irish version of Poundland) I came across storage towers for €1.49! To make things even better they are the perfect size for storing cosmetics. 

For €1.49 each I think this is brilliant! What do you think will you be buying one?

Larry xx

The winner is ... !

Thanks to all those who entered my 100 follower giveaway! :)

Here is what the lucky winner won!

So the winner is .....

Well done to the lucky winner! Keep an eye out on my blog as I will do another giveway soon! :)

Larry xx

BAFTA Dresses!

One of the biggest awards shows of the year hit London last night! The BAFTA Awards! The BAFTA Awards is traditionally a huge night for fashion. Here is what I thought of the dresses!

I have to say I was extremely disappointed with the fashion at the BAFTAs. There was no dress that had the wow factor for me. In fact, it was extremely hard to pick the best dressed. This is usually hard but for the opposite reasons! I usually can't decide because I love so many. This year however it was more about finding a dress I liked a bit  to make the best dressed list. This should not be the way AT ALL! 

Best Dressed

Fearne Cotton in Moschino - This dress has been slated online. I however kind of like it? I would love if it was a shorter though. I just don't think it works as a full lenght gown. I love the colour on Fearne and think her hair looks amazing. If only the dress was shorter!

Michelle Williams in H&M - I think Michelle looks stunning in this photo. Her dress is a one of a kind H&M dress (so you can't find it in the shops!) It's simple yet elegent. H&M do similar dresses in their modern classic range. They are shorter though however.

Laura Bailey - Once again I would have loved this dress if it was a bit shorter. I love the print and the beaded detail and the shoes. The dress doesn't have much structure to it however. If it had been fitted better and a bit shorter I think it could have been amazing.

Worst Dressed

Oh dear where do we start? Let me just say that many others were VERY lucky to escape the worst dressed!

Christina Hendricks in Vivienne Westwood - This dress is just awful. It does NOTHING for poor Christina. Christina has a gorgeous figure but this dress actually looks like a black sack. Awful.

Edith Bowman - I don't know where to start on this one! The dress or the gloves? The colour suits Edith but the dress is extremely unflattering. There is no shape to it at all. Not really a dress suitable for the BAFTAs!

Meryl Streep in Vivienne Westwood - Sorry Meryl this one is just not for me. The dress itself is nice but I just hate the jacket. There is just too much black. As much as I love Meryl I don't love this.


What did you think of the fashion at the BAFTAs? Is it just me who was disappointed?

Larry xx

Photo credits: E! Online, The Daily Mail and Graziadaily

DIY Lipstick Palette

I came across an old No7 eyeshadow palette the other day. I have had it for ages but never use it so I decided to put it to better use. I had a number of lipsticks that had broken and I didn't want to throw them out. I decided this was the perfect opportunity for some D.I.Y. So I turned the unwanted eyeshadow palette into a new lipstick palette.

The first thing I did was to take the eyeshadow out of the palette. I was going to keep the eyeshadow but it broke as I taking it out so I just broke up the rest. (As I never use this eyeshadow and it was old I wasn't too bothered I was throwing it out)

Next I got four lipsticks that were broken. 

- Maybelline 563 precious ruby

- Miners Red Lipstick

- Clinique Rosette

- 17 Mirror Shine in Hollywood

The first lipstick I decided to destroy was Maybelines Precious Ruby. I chopped off the lipstick and place it into the palette.

Once in the palette I squashed it with a spoon.

Next on my list was Clinique Rosette. I really like this lipstick but stopped using it after it broke. (That's why it's looking so weird in the photo above)

I was really shocked by how much product was still in the tubes after I had broken off the lipstick. There was still SO much product in the base! Be careful to check this if you think a lipstick has run out because you might be surprised how much you have left!

I kept going until the palette was filled and all my broken lipsticks had a new home. It was very messy and by the time I had finished I had so much red on my hands you would think I had murdered someone!

After a bit of a clean up we have the finished palette! I'm delighted with it and think I will get a lot of use out of it! It will be perfect for popping into a handbag as it's quite small. There is also room for a lip brush which will be very handy as I can never find mine in the mess that is in my hand bag!

So what do you think? 

Larry xx