Product Reviews- Benefit, Maybelline, Urban Decay and Rimmel

I thought I'd share with you my reviews of the products I bought on Friday. I took some photos of me wearing Benefit's Posietint, Maybelline's Volum' Express One By One mascara, Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Definition Gel Eye Liner and Urban Decay's Primer Potion. I'm also wearing Revlon's Fire and Ice Lipstick and Rimmel's Exaggerate Automatic Lip Liner. The reason I wanted to write a quick review of each of these products is because I find it very helpful when I read reviews that are written by people who use the products every day and have to pay for them out of their own pocket and therefore want quality for their money.

So I bought Posietint for a few reasons, I am a huge fan of Benefit make up and I use many of their products and I love them all. I had Benetint last year and I loved it! The only problem is that a few weeks after I got it (on ebay, so it wasn't as expensive as it is full price), it fell out of my make up bag and smashed everywhere because it's in a glass bottle so that's the only thing I would say, keep it in it's box to give it extra cushion and stop nasty accidents! I didn't buy a new one after that because I wanted to teach myself a lesson in looking after my make up better. Haha!

So I knew I loved Benetint and decided I would give Posietint a go because it's a nice fresh pink colour and I thought it would be a nice change for Spring/Summer. I got it for €33.50 in Debenhams which is a big department store in the UK and Ireland. It's $28 on the Benefit Cosmetics website and on places like Sephora which translates to about €20.50 give or take a few cents. So as you can see it's a lot more expensive here than it is in the States which is pretty annoying because I would have no problem paying €20 for it at all. The only thing is that Benefit's High Beam lasts a long long time and it's the same size bottle and I'm sure this will be the same so I won't have to buy a new one for a while which is great.

I'm really liking this product so far, it's very light so if you want it to stand out a bit more I'd recommend applying two layers. It's also important to blend in lightly and quickly after brushing it onto your cheeks. I've never been a blusher girl, I prefer cream blush so much more so this is a winner in my book.

The second review is for Maybelline's One by One mascara and Lasting Definition Gel Liner. I got these in Boots for €19 together. They each had €3 off the normal price as an introductory offer. I'm always excited to try the lastest Maybelline mascara because that really is their product. I don't think I like this one as much as The Falsies, but it is very nice and looks great. The formula is a little dryer than I would like, but the brush is great and I think if the formula wasn't as dry it would be a lot better and easier to apply because it does get a bit clumpy if you don't apply it quickly. I think I'll stick to the Falsies from now on! However I was so impressed by the gel liner! I've been wanting to try gel liner for so long now, I'm sick of hearing MAC Fluidline in every make up tutorial! (Just kidding!) I wear liquid eye liner pretty much every day to work so I've gotten quite good at applying it, but there's a difference between using a felt applicator and painting it on with a brush so I wasn't sure if I would be wasting my money buying the MAC one and not being able to apply it without looking like a child did my make up.

I saw this Maybelline one and I was intrigued because of the price and because as far as I'm aware it's the first "drugstore" make up brand that's made a gel liner. I bit the bullet and gave it a shot thinking if I couldn't handle it then at least I wasn't wasting a huge amount of money. Well I'm so glad I took the risk because I really love it! I can't believe how easy it is to use. The brush is great because it's so tiny it allows you to control the exact amount of product you use. I find it a lot easier to control than my L'oreal Superliner applicator. The only problem I've had is that when I've worn it for a few hours I get black marks on my upper eyelids from opening and closing my eyelids all day because I tend to like a thicker line. It's something I'd be willing to put up with for the precision that I get from the brush.

I love this product but if you haven't got a steady hand or the patience to do it right than I'd stick with the felt applicators. I'm not giving up my Superliner just yet!

I bought Urban Decay Primer Potion after seeing and reading reviews of it. I wanted an eyeshadow primer after my Benefit Lemon Aid ran out. As much as I liked Lemon Aid it was more for colour correction and I didn't need that so I wanted to get something that was solely for holding eye shadow in place and preventing creasing which drives me nuts! I read about MACs Prep and Prime eyelid primer and Toofaced Shadow Insurance but in the end I decided to go for Urdan Decay mostly because they had a two pack of the regular Primer Potion and the Sin version in Debenhams for €22 when they are normally €17 each. I can't believe how great this is. It really does work and it makes the pigments look nicer and there is NO creasing at all. Also Sin doubles as a highlighter and as a pale gold colour cream shadow too so it looks great on its own.

I'm still debating trying out a foundation primer, but for now I'm very happy with my eye shadow primer.

I finally got a new lip liner. I'm fine without one but if I'm in work it just means I don't have to reapply my lipstick at all. This Rimmel one is just what I wanted. It's a red that matches my two favourite red lippies, it's inexpensive and it's a twisty crayon thing instead of a pencil (which means no messy pencil sharpeners!) The only negative to this is that the stick itself is very delicate and I was a bit to rough with mine and the top of it came off but that's a good lesson to learn and it reforms into a slanted point pretty easily.

So that's all my make up reviewing. Hope you found some of it helpful. I always find what works for one person may not for another and just because I love something it doesn't mean you will but I always find it helpful to get an honest unbiased opinion on a product.

You can probably see the Posietint best in this photo

How do you like the look of the gel liner?

We went out to take the photos for the next Film Style Inspiration post yesterday during a break in the weather but as soon as we got to the location it started hailing! Yes, HAILING! I couldn't believe it because it was so sunny just before we left. We decided to give up and do it another day and then of course as soon as we got home there wasn't a cloud in the sky and it was gorgeous and sunny. Hopefully we'll get to take them tomorrow, I couldn't today because my mam brought me out for lunch :)


Hope you're having a great start to the week!

Emma xx

MonsoonAccessorize S/S 2011 Lookbooks

When the new lookbooks came into work during the week we were all excited to see all of the new things that would be coming into the shop over the next few months. I have to say although I normally prefer the Autumn/Winter collections, these lookbooks have some gorgeous photos. There is a big seventies look to a lot of the clothes with print blouses, high waited jeans, crocheted waistcoats and dresses and huge wide-brimmed hats. I'm not a huge fan of the seventies thing that's everywhere right now so I'm very happy that for people like me there are some gorgeous floral print 50s style dresses. I have to say I'm looking forward to picking out my Summer uniform now!

I know this flower is a bit pointless in a lookbook but you can't deny it looks gorgeous!

The S/S model is the beautiful Lily Donaldson

I really want the dress on the left.

I bought the turquoise ring on Friday (as well as some other turquoise things). I love those white frame sunglasses!

I love the glamourous 50s style of some of the Accessorize lookbook photos. They had so much new and gorgeous things on Friday, I went a bit mad!

I went to see No Strings Attached today. I was quite looking forward to this, mostly because I love Natalie Portman and I was happy to see her in something light hearted after Black Swan. I was expecting the usual romantic comedy plot and that's exactly what it was, but it had a nice heart to it and Ashton Kutcher was actually very good in it too. It also had supporting roles from Mindy Kaling from The Office, Lake Bell from Childrens Hospital, Kevin Kline (who I've had a crush on since I was about ten when I first saw French Kiss) and the lovely Greta Gerwig who was really funny and who I would watch in anything!


I just wanted to say a huge Congratulations to one of my best friends who I've known almost my entire life, Jennifer, who got engaged on Thursday. She is hoping to get married in August. That's three weddings I'm going to this year (I'll be broke by December!), the others being my friend Lisa's little sister Colette and of course my own sister Kate. The funny thing is we've all grown up together and Jennifer's sister Tracey got married last year so Lisa and I will be the only ones left now!

Hope you're all having a great weekend so far!

Emma xx

Que Sera Sera

I've been meaning to do this post all week but I haven't had the chance to sit down and do it until tonight. On Wednesday my mam and little brother brought up the rest of my stuff from home. Now that Kate is moved out my brothers moved into our old room because it's bigger so I couldn't store my things in there anymore or God only knows what would happen to them. It was so nice looking at all the bits and pieces I've collected over the years, especially reading my old diary from 1996 which was mostly about school and the politics of ten year old girls. I thought I'd take photos of some of my favourite things to show you all.

This is my Cabbage Patch Doll Tina (and friends) who was my first birthday present. She's wearing a t-shirt my aunt sent over from Florida when I was born.

A wooden doll my aunt got me for Christmas, Kate had one too. She's missing some limbs now. My Troll Doll that I got for my 6th birthday. I wanted it for ages and I was so happy when my parents got it for me (she had a veil too but I don't know what happened to that). Barbie Swan Lake Christmas decoration I got as a Christmas present one year. She's also missing some parts. And I can't remember what the little Polly Pocket type thing is called but I know she came with a restaurant.

My parents got this for me for Christmas in 1993, I loved the stories and I used to read them over and over again.

A photocopy of my hand from 1989 when I was 3!

Some of the pictures that hung on my wall as a teenager (John Frusciante, David Boreanaz and Gary Oldman). I still love them all!

I've kept all of my birthday cards over the years. I'm a total hoarder and I can't bring myself to throw them away.

This was the last birthday my Grandpa gave me. I definitely won't throw this away.

The card Kate gave me for my 5th birthday, love the handwriting!

I got this t-shirt in Paris in 1996 during our first family holiday abroad. I wore this to death and I'd probably still be wearing it if it fit me!

Can you believe it's almost March already?! I got paid today and went on a little shopping spree. I bought some new make up products which I can't wait to try out. I'll show you some of the things I got over the weekend.

Hope you've had a great week, the weather here has been so nice this week (not to make any of you snowed in people jealous).

Emma xx

To The One I Love Cherry Blossom Girl

It always makes me happy to see the cherry blossoms in bloom because to me that means Spring has arrived. Although from the temperature today you wouldn't think so! It was super windy and I was finding it hard to keep my eyes open for the photos and they kept watering up. We were going to try somewhere else for photos but at the last minute I changed my mind and decided I wanted to go to Dublin Castle and I'm glad I did because I think the Cherry Blossom trees fit in perfectly with the idea I was going for with these photos. Hope you enjoy them!

You've seen me wear everything here before except the cardigan which I got in work a few weeks ago. It really reminds me of something Elsa Billgren would wear. Oh and I'm wearing a new shade of red lipstick, Revlon's Super Lustrous Fire and Ice which is a colour that Revlon first started doing in 1952 and have relaunched recently along with a nail polish in the same colour. It's a lovely creamy coral red colour that I think will be great for the summer instead of the matte Really Red shade.

I went to see Tangled and Never Let Me Go this week. Tangled was so cute, it's the first Disney film I've seen in a while that had the same feeling as the ones I loved as a kid (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast). I was very disappointed by Never Let Me Go. I think it's downfall was the fact that it was adapted from a novel. It really felt like there was too much to explore in detail so they just skimmed over parts of it and you didn't really get a feel for who the characters were and to be honest I didn't really care what happened to them which is hard to do with me because I'm normally very empathetic with Film and TV characters. I didn't even get a little teary. That being said, it's only my opinion and I wouldn't want to discourage people from seeing something if they were planning to anyway.

I've got my next Film Style Inspiration post planned out and I'm really excited about it. Hopefully if things go to plan (ie. if the weather is good) we'll be taking the photos next weekend in a new location.

How was your weekend?

Back to work tomorrow :(

Emma xx

Make Up Bag

Make up box actually because I keep mine in a shoe box because it's easier to see everything I have and access it all! I guess this is a post that most bloggers do at some stage. I don't know about you but I always find it interesting to see what make up and what brands other people use because I know myself that different brands have different strengths and that's why I use lots of different ones. I also love watching tutorial and review videos because it's like having your own make up artist at home! It's been sort of a case of trial and error for me when it comes to make up. For example the foundation that I've been using for the past 3 years is Bourjois Ten Hour Sleep Effect and I love it and it is perfect for me. Last year they came out with a new one which I tried out of curiousity called Healthy Mix which didn't suit my skin as well so I went back to my usual one. It's been the same with mascaras. I've tried so many, expensive and inexpensive and Maybelline's Falsies is by far the best inexpensive mascara I've used. If money were no object I'd probably treat myself to a Clarins one because I love those too. So here are the products that I use every day;

1. No 7 Perfect Light Loose Powder in Translucent; 2. Benefit High Beam Skin Illuminator; 3. Benefit Lemon Aid Eyelid Primer; 4. Benefit Matte Eye Shadow in Moody (used on brows); 5. No 7 Stay Perfect Eye Shadow in Innocence; 6. Revlon Lipstick in Fire and Ice; 7. Vaseline with Aloe Vera; 8. Maybelline Falsies Mascara; 9. L'Oréal SuperLiner Liquid Eyeliner; 10. No 7 Beautiful Brow Pencil; 11. No 7 Amazing Eyes Pencil in Brown; 12. Benefit Ooh La Lift Under-Eye Brightening; 13. The Body Shop Lip and Cheek Stain (Only using until I buy Benefit's Posietint on payday!); 14. Benefit's Eye Bright Pencil; 15. Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer in shade 51- Éclat Clair; 16. Bourjois 10 Hour Sleep Effect Foundation in shade 51- abricoté clair

So there you go, those are all of the products that I use most days. They vary from time to time because I do like to try out different products and of course budget plays a part in what I can afford to buy but to be honest I don't see the need to pay hundreds of euro on make up when these products are perfect for me!

What are your favourite products?

Hope you're having a great weekend so far! New outfit post tomorrow!

Emma xx

Sweet Wonderful You

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope you are having a lovely day whether you celebrate this sacred holiday or not. Hehe! I had a lovely lunch with my friends today (and my Valentine) and we went to see Paul and True Grit (So romantic!). True Grit was amazing! It's worth a watch for Jeff Bridges performance alone, but the young actress Hailee Steinfeld who plays the main character Mattie Ross really stole the show as far as I was concerned. For an actress that young to hold their own against the always incredible Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and to a lesser extent Josh Brolin is remarkable and she thoroughly deserves all the award nominations she's received for the role. Here's hoping she stays on the right track with her life and career because judging from this performance she's just at the beginning of a potentially great career as an actress. (Oh and I totally want a hat like the one Mattie wore in the film!)

Paul was great too. I love Simon Pegg and Nick Frost together and I was really looking forward to this. It's great to see them working with some of the best American comedic actors too (Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig and Jason Bateman), hopefully if Paul does well they'll get to make more films with their US counterparts.

So here are my Valentine's outfit photos. We took them in a different part of the Iveagh gardens to where we took the last ones. There's a whole other part we have yet to explore. You may or may not notice my hair is a different colour. I got tired of the faded red colour with 2 inch roots so I went for a mahogany red colour from Garnier Herbashine. It's a semi-permanent colour so I don't have to fully commit to it. Having said that I'm liking it more and more every day.

The fur coat is the one my granny gave me at Christmas. It's faux beaver fur, she has a full length real mink fur coat too but I told her I didn't think I had the guts to pull that off! This one is great though it's so warm so I figured I should get it in some photos before the weather gets warmer. My lipstick is Rimmel 'Heartbreaker', my blouse is from New Look (do you like the little hearts on it?), the earrings are from Accessorize, the brogues and skirt are from Marks and Spencers, the tights are from Penneys, the bag is Coach from ebay and the beautiful headband is from Alexandra Grecco. I absolutely love the headband, it's so beautifully made, I can't wait to buy something else from her shop. It would make a great gift too! Alexandra has just added new hair accessories to her Etsy shop today and they are so gorgeous, I'm thinking of getting one to wear for my sister's wedding. Also check out her awesome blog if you get a chance!


I'll leave you with this song;