October '13 Beauty Favourites

Yep another month has come and gone and because I didn't do a favourites post last month I have alot to share with you all this month so I will get straight into it.

Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation

I was and am still loving Matte skin. It just makes me so happy when my makeup stays flawless all day long. To achieve this my go to foundation was definitely Rimmel's Stay Matte Liquid Mousse. Absolutely adore this foundation because it gives great coverage and is so easy and beautiful to apply. You can read my full in depth review here.

Benefit's The POREfessional Primer

I am testing lots of new primers at the moment (stay tuned for a primer post) and so far my favourite is benefits Porefessional Primer. This claims to minimise the appearance of pores and fine lines while at the same time create a flawless canvas for your makeup to stay in place all day. I am not sure if it actually helps prevent or reduce with fine lines and pores but it definitely masks them and my makeup does definitely stay on longer when I use this. Very impressed so far!!

Urban Decay Vice 2 Palette

I got the Urban Decay Vice 2 Palette less than 2 weeks ago but I literally haven't used any other palette since getting this. It has such a huge variety of colours in it and you can create endless looks with it. The pigmentation of the shadows are amazing, they go on like cream but last so long. I just wish there were more matte shades in this palette because it can be shimmer overkill at times but other than that its great. Be sure to use a primer on your eyes to get the most from these shadows.

Gosh Growth Mascara

Staying with eyes I am loving Gosh's Growth Mascara. This makes my lashes look really voluminous and intense and doesn't smudge at all during the day. I did a review this month on this so for more info please take a look here .

Maybelline Masterdrama Eyeliner

I have been a fan of Avon's supershock gel pencil liner for years but when Avon was discontinued from Ireland I was on the hunt for a really intense black pencil liner, that looked like gel and lasts all day long. I think I may have found it. Maybelline's masterdrama eye liner is fantastic. The colour is super black and this will not budge throughout the day. I use this on my upper lid as eyeliner. I have also tried it in my waterline but it doesn't last as well there.

Urban Decay Venom Revolution Lipstick

I have been varying my lip colours a little this month. I adore Lime Crime's Lipstick in Geranium which is a pinky coraly colour but at the same time I am loving the berry lips this season and my favourite lipstick to achieve this look is either Mac's Rebel or Urban Decay's Venom. Both are really beautiful takes on this A/W trend and are definite staples in my lipstick collection for Autumn and Winter.

Karora's Express Bronzing Mousse

My favourite Fake Tan of the month has to be Karora's Express Bronzing Mousse. This gives the nicest glow to the skin without looking unnatural. It also wear extremely well and is so easy and fuss free to use. I have a full review here if you want to have a look see.

Indeed Labs Pepta-bright

I have been on a mission lately to finally get my skincare in line and to start working on my acne scarring. Indeed labs Pepti-bright has really made a difference to my skin. It is amazing to say the least. Again you can read my full review here. This is definitely my holy grail skin serum.

Pixy Lime Sorbet Shower Mousse

Finally I have been loving taking long shower or hot baths for the last few weeks now that the weather is getting colder and my two all time favourite products to help me on my way to bath time bliss are from the great Irish Brand Pixy.


For the shower I am literally obsessed with their Lime Sorbet Shower Mousse. This is a glass jar that has some semi solid product in the end and a shower puff which you wet and lift the product up then rub all over your body and it foams up to a beautiful creamy feeling foam that really hydrates, freshens and invigorates the skin. It is amazing to use in the morning time to wake up the senses.

Pixy Sensual Bath Oil

When I want to relax I reach for Pixys Bath Oils. You add a few drops to a warm bath and they tranform your bath into a luxury treat. Your skin feels wonderful after using these in your bath. Adding one of Pixy's bath bombs is great if you want that little something extra. Oh Bliss.

Well that's it for this months favourites. Thank you all for taking the time out to read my blog and please let me know what your favourite products are for October or if you have done a blogpost on these or Youtube video please leave the link down below.

Have a wonderful day
Take Care
Anita xxx

Update Ur makeup wardrobe for A/W '13

Alot of people I talk to get very frustrated trying to decide how they should update their makeup for changes in seasons. Just when you got it right for last season suddenly there is a new trend in fashion!!! Very annoying. We see so many makeup trends gracing the catwalks and the problem is most of the time they are too exaggerated for everyday wear so in this post I will give you some great advice and inspiration on how to change up your makeup look for Autumn/Winter '13 aswell as how to make some of those crazy catwalk looks much easier to pull off.

I would like to firstly say that not all of the looks below will suit everyone, but you sure can have fun experimenting to find the perfect one for you. Also, not all of these looks should be worn together. Just because the nights are getting darker doesn't mean we have to go crazy on the makeup to make us stand out that bit  more!!

Some of you will be happy to know that perfected skin never goes out of fashion. This is as beautiful in the summer as it is in the colder months. I personally love a matte foundation for winter but alot of people opt for a more hydrating glowy skin in the winter. Find what suits you best and work with it. Whatever foundation finish you choose be sure to use a good concealer to hide any imperfections to create that perfected canvas. My product recommendations would be Rimmel's Stay Matte Liquid Mousse foundation (review here) or Estee Lauder's Double Wear for the perfect matte look, Revlon's Colour stay foundation or Laura Mercier's silk creme foundation for medium to full coverage but with a natural finish and Revlon's nearly naked foundation for a natural light coverage finish. Makeup Forever's full coverage concealer is amazing at hiding facial imperfections and discolouration or for a cheaper alternative I would recommend Revlon's Photo Finish concealer.

On trend this season is to wear no blush. Personally I would not wear this trend as for me blush is the finishing touch to any makeup look, even if it is only a slight wash of colour.

Your perfected skin will look amazing with a just pinched look to the cheeks. Peaches, pinks and plum tones are stunning on the cheeks. Opting for a cream blush is great for this time of the year aswell as summer to ensure makeup last longer while keeping skin hydrated. Absolutely loving Max Factors cream blush in soft pink aswell as boujours cream blushes. Benefits cheek and lip stains are great for adding a wash of colour and their original Benetint cheek stain would be perfect for this time of year. If you love the reddish, plum tones on cheeks but prefer powder blush Mac's Frankly Scarlet is to die for.

Vampy lips are HUGE this season. Hues of wine, pink, purples, plum and beautiful berry's graced the catwalks. But don't be scared if you are not brave enough to wear a full on lip then a nice berry tint on the lips is also spot on trend. A great tip is to buy cheaper lipsticks if you are not sure if a shade will suit you so that you don't waste your money on an expensive lipstick that you will never wear. Great A/W lipsticks are Urban Decay Venom, Mac's just a bite matte lipstick, Mac Rebel, Mac Up the Amp, and a lovely reddish orange is Mac's Ruby Woo Lipstick.

If you are not a fan of deep lips then how about dark eyes??? Deep colours on the lid are a fab way to update your look. I love navy blues, golds, greens and purples in Autumn/Winter time. Smoking this up with a grey, chocolate brown or black is a great way to add definition and drama to the eyes. My favourite smoky shades are :Inglot Shadow Pearl 428 (navy blue) or 426 (cobalt blue), Matte 348 (grey), Pearl 414 (dark green), Pearl 439 (deep purple) and Pearl 404 (Gold). I also love Mac's espresso which is a deep brown matte shade, perfect for smoking the eye.
If you don't want to do a full on smoky eye, dusting a matte grey eye shadow across the eyelid will give a really nice smoked up effect without looking overdone. This is great for wearing during the day or pairing with those deeper lips.

Deep dark eyes are best paired with nude lips. I love Revlon's lip butter in Creme Brulee or Inglot's lipgloss cube in shade 14. These are my go to nude lip products for this season.

Bold brows are never going out of fashion and autumn/winter is a great time to wear them. Deep lips, big brows and minimal eyes are amazing for this season but bold brows are equally as nice with smoky eyes. Just be sure not to bring the eyeshadow too high on the eye as this begins to look messy if you have big thick brows.

Winged cat eyeliner is also another trend that is great this A/W. It looks super sophisticated with any look and adds so much definition to the eyes. Don't be afraid to pair this with a nice set of flirty eyelashes to add some glam. My favorite eyeliners of all time are Catrice's Liquid Liner or Inglot's gel liner in shade 77 Black. Both do amazing jobs and last ALL day.

So that's all I have to say about makeup, just remember not to wear all of these looks together and have fun experimenting.

A small note before I finish up. During the colder months our skin tends to get dehydrated as we are fighting colder weather and central heating alot of the time. To ensure your skin looks its best and stays hydrated its often a good idea to use a richer face cream if your skin needs it. If you don't want to do this during the day then use a richer cream at night and add in a hydrating serum during the day which will not make your skin greasy.
If you are going to attempt the deep bold lip be sure to use a lip scrub and lip balm on regular occasions to keep your lips plump and ready for beautiful lippy.

I hope you found this post helpful. What trends will you be trying for Autumn/Winter 2013? Let me know

Have a great day

Anita xxxx

Rimmel's NEW Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation REVIEW!!!

One of my all time favourite powders is Rimmel's Stay Matte Pressed Powder. I did try the original Stay Matte foundation (which is still available in shops so don't get confused) and wasn't too gone on it but when I seen that they had launched a new addition to the Stay Matte collection but this time in a Liquid Mousse formulation I was eager to try. 

Rimmel claims that the new Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation "leaves skin shineless yet feels weightless & cakeless" Sounds like the perfect Matte foundation right??

So does it stand up to it's claims??



-Well, it doesn't keep my skin 100% shine free on it's own but to help it stay matte for longer I do powder over it because I noticed that when I didn't I seen some shine creeping through around 11am (applied it at 8am). 

      NO MAKEUP                             WITH FOUNDATION        

-It definitely feels weightless on my skin. I was actually really surprised at how light it feels as the coverage can be built up to be medium/heavy coverage(but not full coverage). You need a really tiny amount to cover the entire face. I needed very little concealer to hide my pigmentation and blemishes after using this. The after picture above is me with just this foundation on and nothing else!!!

-As for the cakeless this is true for the most part although I did notice that it does cling to my drier areas like the area around my nose. However, I must add that it doesn't cake half as much as some other, more expensive matte foundations!!

-It blends really well onto the skin with no effort at all. The texture is kind of mousse like and feels soft and almost fluffy once you work the product into the skin. It also contains gel emulsifiers so this adds extra blend-ability!!!

Quiet a thick consistency to begin with

Dab it with your brush to soften the product before applying to the face

To apply this foundation I used Sigma's F80 flat top Kabuki Brush or Real Techniques Buffing brush from the Core Collection and both worked well. I do feel that this foundation would work just as well with your clean fingers. I don't like to use it with a normal foundation brush though. The main reason for this is when you squirt some product out it is quiet thick and needs to be worked well into the skin. I don't feel the regular foundation brushes do this well so if you have a kabuki/buffing brush use this or alternatively use your clean fingers. Also, because the foundation is thick if you use a regular foundation brush it will leave brush marks on your face....not a good look. For best results you should apply a small amount to the back of your hand, dab it with your brush like I did in the above picture to soften the product and then work it well into the skin. 

Use this ...............or this.................but not this

I have combination skin so my face isn't ultra oily but I would definitely see shine creeping through around my T-zone with other foundations. I am not sure that this would control shine for really oily skin though, it would help mattify it for a certain amount of time but as far as shine free skin all day long....I am not so sure. If you used a mattifying primer underneath and topped it with powder it would work well but that may be matte overload for some people. 

When I applied this foundation and set with powder I felt like it washed my skin out completely because it was so matte but once I added blush, bronzer and some highlight I really did like the look of my skin and it stayed in place with absolutely no touch ups for at least 6-8 hours which is pretty cool for such an inexpensive product. I don't use a matifying powder over the top of this. I used Mac's Mineralized Skin Finish Natural which is a very light powder which, if worn with another non matte foundation I would be an oily mess in a few minutes so it's not that the powder is doing the work but I just think that the foundation needs a little bit of help for it do it's job best. 

Neat and user friendly packaging

I also have to give some props to the packaging. Not the most exciting I have ever seen but none the less I love that it is a very compact little tube that won't take up too much room in your makeup bag. The packaging feels almost matte which I thought was a really cool little touch seems as this is a matte foundation. Usually I hate matte packaging because the product from your hands usually clings to it but this one can be easily wiped down and it doesn't stain the tube. The fact that it is a tube aswell is a big plus for me because it's easy to use and I feel I get to use all the product up as I can give it a good squeeze when it gets to the end. 

Rimmel's Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation is available in 6 shades. Just a little note that the shades start at 010 Light Porcelain as opposed to some of the Rimmel foundations which start at 100 Ivory. It costs €7.95 for a 30ml tube. I got mine at Boots and at the time of purchase it was Buy 1 Get 1 Half Price on all makeup so I got this for less than €4. At the time of posting this the offer is still available. 

I will definitely continue to use this product and would definitely recommend this to people who have combination bordering on slightly oily skin but not for those of you who suffer from dryness. I think this foundation would be fantastic for teenagers who suffer from acne because it gives a lovely finish to the skin that looks matte but natural and gives great coverage plus for the price its great for a teenagers pocket. I know if this product was around when I was a teen I would have been very happy to buy it. 

Have you tried this foundation and if so what did you think of it? Would love to hear what you oily skinned gals thought of it.

Have a wonderful day, Much love. 

Anita xxxxx