Favourite Bronzers

June 2016

Favourite Bronzers

Hello! It's been so long since I have blogged, and I feel this is an appropriate time to come back and do a post on, Bronzers! As it is June and unfortunately living in Ireland we are not blessed with sunshine, so faking it as much as you can with a ton of bronzer is the best way to go, in my opinion.

 I wanted to share a few of my favs for both daytime and evening, from cream to powder! 

So enjoy :)

Firstly onto cream bronzers, I have two that I am currently loving for both day and night, one is an oldie that I have been loving for a year now, and the other is a recent purchase that I have really been enjoying!

To begin, Chanel - Soleil tan de chanel. If you are using creams for the first time and want to try something that is easy to work with, a dream to blend, and does not budge....this will be your best friend. I love this product, it was the first liquid (besides from foundations) I had ever put to the test. I was nervous to first try it out...I definitely had a fear of liquid bronzers, only imagining how wrong it could go, but honestly it's the best. I apply mine as during the day with a Real Techniques Buffing brush and just buff it on the points of the face where the sun would naturally hit. I would usually not go over it with a powder bronzer for day times, as I like to keep it 'as subtle' as possible! 

For the evenings use, I would go all out! I use the Real Techniques foundation brush and fully contour. Hollows of the cheekbones, around the forehead, under the jaw. The full shabang! Although it is quite a warm tone and technically it is a bronzer, looks great as a contour, I would usually use an ashy colour on top to get the full chiseled Kim K look! 

Although it will set you back €39.00 you still get 30g of product and you only need a tiny amount for each use. So definitely worth the spend in my opinion.

CHANELSOLEIL TAN DE CHANEL

Chanel- Soleil Tan De Chanel.
€39.00 In Brown Thomas.

To finish up with the cream bronzers, this one is more of a contour shade. It has that Ashy/grey contour tone that works wonders to carve out killer cheekbones. I would prefer this for more of an evening look as it is quite intense, but can be used for both day/evening!It is the Clinique Chubby Stick - 01 Curvy Contour. 
I haven't had this product for too long, but I have been testing it out a lot and I am really enjoying it. If I had to chose I would prefer using the Chanel- Soleil Tan, Although they are very similar products, I just find the Chanel one a lot easier to blend. The Chubby stick has a large tip so it can be harder to get the super fine line. In saying that, it is a really good product, it retails for €23.00 and you get 6g of product. It is super practical and so easy to travel with, it is basically like a contour marker! I have been using a beautyblender or the Artis Oval 7 brush to buff this in, then setting it with a bronzer on top i the evenings, or just setting with a translucent powder during the day to make it last as long as possible!

''CLINIQUE'' Chubby Stick Sculpting Contour- 01 Curvy Contour.
€23.00 In Brown Thomas

Moving on from cream products... I am going to talk about two really nice day time bronzers i have been really enjoying, for a luminous/bronzy glow. One I originally bought thinking it was a highlighter, and when I applied it to the high points of my face....It looked like mud. Not great! So recently I have been using it as an all over bronzer, and it works a charm.
Mac Mineralize Skinfinish - Global Glow
If you have darker skin it would a beautiful highlight, It is a bronzy finish with gold flecks throughout and it makes your skin look so healthy, glowing and luminous.  I apply this all over with the Real Techniques Blush brush, on all the points of the face the sun would naturally hit, it is dark enough on me as I am severely pale, so I usually apply a light coat of tan to my neck and decolletage then apply this to my face and down my neck and it looks fabulous, It wears really well with both light-full coverage foundations, or even on its on just to give you a sunkissed glow. 

''Mac''Mineralize Skinfinish - Global Glow€31.00  Brown Thomas

The next luminous/glowy bronzer I have to mention is

      TOO Faced SWEETHEARTS BRONZER  BAKED LUMINOUS GLOW BRONZER - Sweet Tea

 I am really loving this, unlike a lot of their other products recently, this is not scented! But it is a beautiful product. There are two sides, ones a medium bronze shade with a gold hue, the other half has more of a pearlescent finish. You can either use one side, or the other. But, I love to mix the two together, it gives a far nicer end result. Super long lasting, blendable etc etc etc. If you have ever used Too Faced products before you know they are an absolute dream, and this is no exception!!

 

TOO FACED SWEETHEARTS BRONZE- SWEET TEA
€29.00 dEBENHAMS

The last 3 products are more of evening, matte bronzers that I love using to contour!

I am going to begin with a palette I love, you get 6 shades. 3 Highlight, 3 Sculpting shades. I bought mine in Sephora Sydney Australia. I am sure it can be bought online for anyone who isn't in the Us or Australia who is not near a Sephora.

It is off course...

Kat Von D Shade + Light Contour and Sculpt Palette.

There are off course only certain shades I can use on myself, but if you are a MUA and have clients with all different skin tones this would be a perfect product. For setting my under eyes, I use the middle shade 'Lyric', I use either a damp beauty blender which works a dream, or a flat brush to really dab it on. It is very full coverage and can leave your under eyes a bit dry so I usually would use this in the evening time because it can look too much for day time use.

The two contour shades I mix to achieve the perfect colour, is 'Sombre' and 'Shadowplay' which are the two bottom left shades. Sombre is that typical grey tone contour colour, where as Shadowplay is a more bronzy tone so when you mix them together you get the perfect mix. I apply this with the Real Techniques Contour brush, and then I bake underneath using Ben Nye White No Colour Powder and I apply it with either the Blank Canvas F30 Sculpt brush or a damp Beauty Blender to clean up any mess I would have made when doing the bronzer, and to get that perfect clean contour. The only negative is these bronzers/highlights are very powder and highly pigmented...so be careful of that. The tiniest bit goes the longest way!!

Kat Von D Shade + Light Contour Face Palette
AUD $64 - Sephora Australia

My second last bronzer, I bought on a bit of a whim. I am not a major fan of this company's products. I have a few of their eye shadows and I don't think they have fabulous colour pay off. But I had heard a lot of good things about their Bronzers....not like I needed another one but I bought it and I really love it.

Bobbi Brown Bronzing Powder - Golden Light

Most people that I had seen using this product used the Shade Medium, but I found Medium to be very red toned which I wasn't a massive fan of, so I chose Golden Light. It is a matte bronzer, really nice shade for contour. It is not overly pigmented, so you just just the right amount of product when you swirl your brush around in the pan...It does not look cakey or heavy. I bought mine in David Jones in Sydney, but Bobbi Brown Is available worldwide, so definitely swatch this beauty if you ever pass a Bobbi Brown counter!! It is also super sturdy and great for travel as it is super compact!!

''BOBBI BROWN'' Bronzing Powder - Golden Light
AUD $60.00 - David Jones Sydney
€37.00 Brown Thomas

Lastly, This is such an old staple I think everyone has tried once in their makeup wearing days.

Its is Benefit Hoola Bronzing Powder. 

I am not going to go too into this product because I can almost guarantee everyone has heard everything possible about this product. It is just the most perfect contour colour I think there is, I always end up going back to it. It is definitely a bit OTT for me for day time, but, in the evenings with a strong tan it looks incredible. One major con for me is... the packaging. Mine always seem to crack and break, other than that. It is such a staple, if you are searching for an incredible contour shade. Look no further!!

''BENEFIT'' Hoola Bronzing Powder
€34.00 In Brown Thomas

Hope you enjoyed this post!! 

Niamh xx

September 2015 Favourites

September Favorites

Hello Hello Hello! J Welcome to my blog! I honestly cannot believe we have come to the end of September! It is officially Autumn here in Ireland…crazy! I love Autumn/Winter, It is my absolute favorite time of the year, I am so excited it is here again and that Christmas is so soon!

To start off my Favorites video, I need to mention a drink I have discovered and cannot live without, it is my every morning drink on route to work. It is the ever so yummy Starbucks Caramel Macchiato. It is so delish, I was never a coffee drinker up until recently and I am now officially hooked. Also because it is now Autumn, the cups are very autumnal which are the cutest! This is definitely a drink I shouldn’t be having everyday but it is such a guilty pleasure.

Starbucks Autumn Cups

 Next is a scent, I am a funny one when it comes to perfumes, I will spend crazy money on makeup, clothes etc but when it comes to perfumes I just cannot justify spending over €100 on one. Am I the only one? This scent is crazy money, but it is my favorite. I wear it all year round, but it really is an autumn winter scent in my opinion. Its is Jo Malone Dark Amber & Ginger Lily Cologne. It is very hard to describe any scent, but this one is a musky deep smell (if that makes any sense) If you are near a Jo Malone counter, go have a smell! It lingers for hours after I spritz it. Jo Malone just have the most incredible fragrances, you would never find the scents anywhere else, they are so unusual. Another two I love are Blackberry & Bay And Wood Sage & Sea Salt.

Jo Malone Dark Amber & Ginger Lily Cologne 

This product is one I have been testing out for a while now, I originally put off getting it for ages, but finally bit the bullet after hearing just about everyone rant and rave about it! It is Chanel Soleil De Tan. For it being Chanel, it isn’t actually overly expensive. This is the first cream bronzer I have ever used so it has definitely taken me some time to figure out how I use it and just to play around with it. I love this stuff, you can get a super contoured chiseled cheekbone look, or an everyday bronze and it looks so good. I apply this with my real techniques foundation brush, it is super slim so it is perfect, and then buff it out using the Real Techniques buffing brush. A little goes a very long way, Don’t be scared to try this, it is a lovely product!

Chanel Soleil De Tan

I mentioned this product is a recent empties post. It is Bio Oil! This stuff is great, I can’t actually say enough good stuff about it. I love applying this to my face before bed and I wake up the next morning with the softest, most hydrated skin. I Much prefer this to my Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery concentrate and it is more than half the price!

Bio Oil

This is random enough, but I have been non stop wearing cosy jumpers/cardigans this month! They are just the best things ever, you can wear them whether you are going super casual or dressy and they are so snuggly and fab! My favorite is a zara one I got about 3 years ago and it is the best!

Autumn Winter wardrobe staples!

Now onto the media side of things! Every morning when I am on the train to work, I love listening to FM104. They literally have the best morning show and they help me get through the awful hour journey to work each morning!

Fm104

A Youtube channel I only found recently (I didn’t know what I was missing) is the gorgeous Jaclyn Hill. Oh My God! How did I live without seeing this girls channel. She is everything. She is soooo gorgeous. She is probably the best makeup artist I have ever seen. She also gives me serious relationship goals with herself and her husband John. If you were like me and had no clue about Jaclyn Hill, you're missing out!! Please go watch her. She has 2 million subscribers and she deserves triple that. She recently teamed up with BECCA and brought out Champagne Pop Highlighter, This is nowhere to be found in Ireland…but I need to get my hands on it. It looks A M A Z I N G.

https://www.youtube.com/user/Jaclynhill1

Jaclyn Hill Champagne Pop

Jaclyn Hill

My last favourite is such a guilty pleasure, but the best thing ever. The Jenner/Kardashian apps. Love these, you can see everything from Kim’s makeup to Khloe’s workout, Kendall’s best travel picks and Kylie’s everything! I love it. Only thing is you get a 7 day free trial for each app and after the 7 Days it is €2.99 per month per app. I definitely do not think I will be continuing with the subscription. In my opinion the app should have been €2.99 and free throughout, but it is still great! Definitely go for the 7 day trial, Kylie’s app is my fav! Love her

Kendall, Kim, Khloé & Kylie Apps

Thanks so much for reading! I didn’t have too many new favorites this month, but I wanted to get back into the swing of blogging and share a few bits with you all!

Until next time,

Niamh xx

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation Review

I have a mini review for a foundation I have been soooo excited to use. I am probably Charlotte Tilbury’s biggest fan and have tried nearly all of her products and have loved all of them. But….I hate even saying this, I was so disappointed. I bought this foundation in Shade 2 the day it came out on her website. It was €40.00 for the foundation and I got a few samples with it as well. I am queen full coverage, and this foundation is super full coverage. I love the colour as well, perfect shade not too pink not too yellow. It looks beautiful on the skin and if you have seen any of her Youtube videos about the foundation she says, it becomes one with the skin etc etc etc, and I do agree with her, it really does. BUT…

Actually before I tell you let me just inform you of the foundation's ‘purpose’ and why it was 5 years in the making, from the amazing Charlotte Tilbury herself.

My Magic Foundation is a miracle in a bottle that transforms skin for all ages, skin tones and skin types. I have worked with laboratories for five years to create a “hyper-intelligent” formula that gives full-coverage yet feels completely weightless, with all the anti-ageing and protective benefits of a luxury skin cream. It conceals imperfections, glides on like a dream, and literally feels like a second skin. Whether your skin needs just a bit of perfecting, or you struggle with a frustrating issue like acne, melasma or rosacea, my Magic Foundation will give you a perfect looking skin day, every day!

-Charlotte Tilbury

  I first applied this foundation with my Real Techniques buffing brush, it was WOEFUL. I had to remove it all. I started again using the Real Techniques expert face brush….Again horrendous. So then I tried a foundation brush, again….no chance of it working. Finally I settled on using the Blank Canvas F20 brush. I could finally apply it properly and it looked great, all but in one area. Around my nose….aka around my pores/blackheads. I honestly can’t even describe how awful it was. I just left it because I was running to work and I thought I could put some concealer over and it would be ok.

Over the next few days I tried with concealer and powder, with no powder just concealer, stop using my primer etc etc etc. Nothing I did worked. I have never been so self concious of my blackheads, everyone has them they aren't a massive big deal, but the way this foundation accentuated my pores around my nose area was just horrendous. They looked twice the size and I could literally have played join the dots. It just sat on top the whole day no matter what I did. I have resorted to just not putting any of this foundation near my nose or T zone area because it looks so bad. I do not know why it does this. I have never had this kind of problem before. If this has happened to anyone else please let me know!!

Besides from that, I actually really like the foundation. Which probably sounds a bit silly, but it lasts all day long and seems to stay in place everywhere else and also keeps my bronzer and blush in place all day. I just need to come to terms with not being able to apply it anywhere near the centre of my face and that it is hard enough to apply! Haha..! Sounds like a disaster, but if you can also work around all of the above, I am sure you will love it!!

Please let me know your thoughts on it if you have tried it!!

Until next time,

 Niamh  xx