Accessorize cosmetics review & swatches

With Love Golden Sand baked bronzer and Gamble Illusion Card palette with primer.

I am absolutely in LOVE with the bronzer which I clearly use as a highlighter (see previous post to see what it looks like). I like how it's very sheer so you can build it up however much you like). If you swatch this in the shop, don't be fooled by the pigmentation, it's not THAT shimmery in one swipe when you brush it on your face, you don't instantly turn into a disco ball. Plus it's super soft!

without flash

with flash

I'm kind of 50/50 on the palette and prmer(I bought these online, it worked out A LOT cheaper for me then to buy them here in a shop, rip off Ireland for ya...). I probably wouldn't have bought it had I actually bothered to go swatch it in the shop before hand....
The pigmentation is quite good, except for the middle colour, which is basically non existent. In the photos here I had to build up the colour probably about ten times...
The first and fourth colour aren't all that different at all, the fourth is just slightly darker. The highlight colour is really nice. I tried to catch the beauty of the second one but I couldn't, it's golt a slight but GORGEOUS golden kind of sheen.
As for the primer: it's way too runny, after you apply it DON'T open your eyes or it will crease(a primer that creases?!) and be careful with the amount, just a tiny little or your shadow will crease like crazy. Staying power is quite good, although not as good as UD Primer Potion obviously.

FOTD: festive wonder around

I know Christmas is over an' all but I didn't get the chance to post this before. Sowwy..

This was my FOTD the friday before Christmas, I went to check out the posh Dublin shopping center mainly for the atmosphere and lights, it's not like I had money I could spend or anything..
So, here goes

For my face:
Lancome Tropique Minerale smoothing loose bronzer
GOTbeauty powder
Accessorize With Love Golden Sand baked bronzer as a highlight (I ABSOLUTELY love this!!!)

For my eyes: Maybelline waterproof The Falsies mascara
Maybelline line definer liquid eyeliner for the upper lower lash
Lancome Waterproof Khol in the colour Raisin Noir for the lower lash line and over it
Maybelline waterproof khol express in metallic blue

Paleness is Couture

From today's Daily Mail Online:

Pale... and very interesting: Givenchy casts albino model in latest ad campaign

By Tamara Abraham

Last season he made headlines for casting transsexual muse Lea T in his autumn campaign.

Now Givenchy creative director Riccardo Tisci has broken the style mould again, with a striking series of ads starring albino model Stephen Thompson.

Inspired by a Robert Mapplethorpe print of a white Roman bust on a piece of leopard-print fabric, the image shows Thompson posing alongside supermodel Daphne Groeneveld, whose hair has been bleached white to match his.


White hot: Albino model Stephen Thompson appears with Daphne Groeneveld in the new Givenchy campaign

Further photographs in the series, shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, feature supermodels Mariacarla Boscono and Iris Strubegger.

Tisci told industry title WWD that he had always admired albino people, and explained how pale flesh tones were a key feature of his designs.

'They’re very near my world,' he said.

Thompson was previously represented by the now defunct Ugly modeling agency, which represented unusual faces.

The campaign will make its print debut in the January issue of L’Uomo Vogue, published this month, before appearing in Vogue Paris in February and several other fashion glossies from March.

(...)
___________________________________________

I think it's a great step forward in exposure and acceptance, however I think both models are way too skinny.
What do you think?

FOTD & OOTD: Dec, 14th '10

GOTbeauty powder
Lancome Tropique Minerale smoothing loose bronzer
Accessorize With Love Golden Sand Baked Bronzer
Lancome Waterproof Khol in the colour Raisin Noir
L'Oreal voluminous waterproof mascara
Catrice soft eye shadow duo in 160 Silver star on the lids
Accessorize Gamble palette, the lightest shade on the brow bone

Jacket: Rinascimento http://en.rinascimento.info/
shirt: Terranova http://www.terranovastyle.com/
jeggings: Miss Selfridge
Boots: I've no idea, I've had them for years, bought them in Italy
Bag: Leopard http://www.leopard.it
Scarf: no idea, present from Paris

Vichy Aqualia Thermal Fortifying & Soothing 24Hr Hydrating Cream review

This has been my face cream of choice since july and I couldn't be any happier!
As you know I have the most sensitive(and dry!) of skin so finding the right face cream is REALLY hard.
extremely disappointed with the limited choice Boots gave me regarding face creeams for sensitive skins, I got fed up and decided to go to the chemist's. Turning to a chemist for beauty is something I would often do back home but for some reason I haven't got into that habit yet over here. And I really should because I couldn't have been advised any better!
I went in and I asked for a face cream for VERY sensitive skins, light and possibly with an spf; she focused on Vichy straight away (I had a very bad burnt hands experience a few years ago whilst trecking in the Alps and Vichy was the one to sooth and alleviate pain a bit), so I was quite happy with that.

Vichy says:

"Ingredient Innovation:
Vichy Thermal Water + Activ Hyaluronine™, patent pending, combination of hyaluronic acid and lipidure proven for lasting moisture. Micro-encapsulated and delivered in a "sprinkler-like" system for 24Hr hydration. In a comforting yet refreshing cream that melts into skin. Non-greasy. Non-sticky.

Results:
For up to 24 hours, skin is intensely hydrated with moisture, feels soothed and comfortable, visibly fortified, with increased radiance.

Dermatological Standards:
Allergy tested. Formulated for sensitive skin. Tested on sensitive skin under dermatological control. Paraben-free. Non-comedogenic.."

I say: "HELL YES!!".
My skin DOES feel hydrated all day long, it is VERY light weight and it does dry pretty quickly, you just have to be careful not to apply more than needed or it'll take ages to dry and feel greasy. A very little goes a very long way and one jar will last you for ages!
The soothing effect is VERY good I have to say after a long day outside, be it in the sun or wind exposure.
And hey, it is also paraben free!

Great product!

Lil

POTD: Catrice "the pinker the better"

(following 3 photos without flash)




(following 2 photos with flash)

I've had this on for a couple of days but the weather has been miserable and because I live in a dingy apartment, the light has been horrible so I couldn't take any photos.
Because I've had it on for 2 days you can see it's a little chipped, especially around the cuticles, but that's because I didn't put any top coat on; I guess it's the only con of this polish that I found.
I have to say I REALLY like the brush and the great control it gives you.
If you have shorter nails one coat will do but if you have longer ones like me I would suggest 2 as the white tips tend to show a little.
It takes a little longer to dry but when it does it's rock hard and you don't have to be careful what you do for the following 2 hours.
It's a bit hard to explain what colour it is: it's between a red and a fuchsia with a hot pink sheen.
As you know I'm not usually a pink kind of person but this was amongst a few little goodies a friend sent me as a little Christmas gift.

She also sent me this hand made card

How GORGEOUS is it?!
If you're in need of cards, for whatever occasion, she is the woman to contact!
You can find her on twitter as @Shannairl and tell her I sent you :-)

Ciao for now,

Lil

NOTD: metallic berries

For this nail arti I used 17 Cosmetics nail polishes, High Gloss in Wicked and Fast Finish in Peacock.
First a quick review of the 2: they both dry really really fast, didn't really see much difference in the 2 to be honest. I LOVE both colours and how they change "hue" according to what type of light you are under. They are both REALLY opaque so one coat is enough for perfect thick coverage. For both polishes it takes a lot to chip; I had Wicked on for 7 days before it chipped very slightly. But what I love the most about them is the brush, the perfect kind of stiffness and it's got an amazing control as well...LOVE IT!!!
Would definitely recommend both colours.

(never mind the colour of my nails, I had a colour "accident" during the summer") Of course as always start with your base coat of choice. I am almost out of my one so please feel free to suggest your fave one.

Lay your base colour and make sure it's really opaque. Wait till it's completely dry

If you don't feel too confident with your painting skills or are not too sure about free hand painting, cut 5 short strips of scoch tape. First play them on your finger tips to make sure you remove most of the glue, then place it on your nails. We are going to paint one portion of the nails with the second colour, place the tape according to your own taste, if you wanna go from corner to corner or whatever.

Paint the portion of the nail and remove the tape. To jazz it up a bit I inverted the 2 colours on one finger per hand.

Next we are going to use the dotting technique. If you have a nail art dotting tool you can use that, if you don't, like me, there are titems around the house that you can use.
You can use a ball pen that you don't use any more for example. Or you could use a tooth pick or a niddle: with these 2 you can vary the size of the dot by dipping the tip in the polish and then wait til it's dry and do it again. The more you re-dip, the bigger the dots!
Then you will need a small non absorbing surfice on which you will dab a few drops of polish.
And start dotting! I chose to paint purple dots on the metallic aqua side, you can the other way around, or you can do both if you have big nails.
Apply your top coat if you wish et voila the result!

I hope you enjoyed it and let me know what you think or if you try this yourself.

Lil

Dear scammers, yous don't fool me!

Ah scammers, you gotta love them! What I love about them? Nitpicking their emails, well the very very few that manage to make it to my inbox instead of the junk folder.

Dear scammers,
let me give you a few pointers so maybe in the future you WILL manage to scam someone?!
Here;s a short analysis of the latest email I received.

"Subject: Friend 7 5": this looks dodgy, you've lost me already. How about "Mega offer, you won't believe your eyes!!!" or something like that...
"Honorable sir or ms": what do you mean "sir or ms"?! Don't you know what sex I am?! Phrt, I'm offended!
"Our company is Large-sized China foreign trade companies." : this is so grammatically incorrect I want to cry. Why Large-sized with a capitol L?! Is it REALLY THAT large?! Other than that it doesn't make sense AT ALL: your "company" can't be "companies" as well. What? You don't know how many you run?!
"We sale cellphone, computer, TV, GPS，MP3 and Motorcycle and so on.": first off the verb is SELL, not sale. Secondly, notice how the items listed are all singular: you only have ONE tv, ONE GPS, ONE mp3 etc etc for sale?! Well ya might wanna start working on your stock guys, one item only it's really not good.....
"We have our warehouse and shopping centers.": first you don't know if you have one or multiple companies, then you tell me you have a VERY limited stock, you seriously want me to believe you have ONE warehouse and many SHOPPING CENTERS?! Nope, sorry, I'm not falling for it....
"we have very good price and credit.": price? ONE price? for all the items? they ALL cost the same? I dread to imagine an MP3 costing the same as a TV or even a byke. Credit? What's that? You give me money?! Why, thank you, I won't say no!
"We will ensure our product 100% eligible.": well they seem to love their singular...or they never learned how plural work?! Eligible?! Eligible for what?! An election? A marriage? ELIGIBLE FOR WHAT!
"Hoping we can have long-time cooperation.": cooperation?! We're not discussing a treaty here!
"E-mail: wfacai @ 188 . com)": notice how they spaced out the email so the spam filter doesn't pick it up, oh you clever grammar less scammers, you think you're clever! If you were a serious "companies" with all your "warehouse and shopping centers" you would have your own domain email and wouldn't have to rely on a BETTING website for that.

So lads, unfortunately for you, ya didn't fool me. You won't "sale" me anything and there will be no "cooperation" from me.

Thank you for reading,

Lil

TAG: my imperfections

I didn't get tagged for this -don't you know, I'm not cool!- but who cares I'll do it anyway!
The concept is: the 3 traits you like the least and the most about you.
Discuss.

MY DISLIKES:
Jeez...where do I start from? There's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too many...

- Eyes: not just because they basically make me legally blind, but aestetically because they aren't bloody straight! This should have been addressed when I was a wee baba with a simple eye training with prisms, but I guess my parents were too busy worrying about my brother's better vision. I was told by my ophtalmologist back in Italy he wouldn't be able to straighten them up but I don't know if it was because of his limited equipment(it was a pubblic hospital after all) or because my eyes are inoperable -ooooh get me and my fancy words, HA!-.
I KNOW perfectly well that by using eye make up I make them stand out even more but what's a make-up loving ghostly skinned girl to do?! Between my hair and my face I need some flipping colour amidst all this general whiteness!

- Skin: I don't like its whiteness! I don't like how hard it is to find a good colour matching foundation without breaking the bank, or a good self tanner without looking like an oompa-loompa! Not to mention how clothing wise so many shades and colours look "meeeeh" on me.
I also don't like how "difficult" sensitivity wise it is, almost everything will irritate it, and usually the more "safe" stuff is the more expensive....gggrrr
Having skin cancer when I was a teen really burned me(please excuse the pun...), and I hate how I'm now almost constantly worried when I'm in the sun.

- My hips & the top of my thighs: no matter how much weight I lose or how hard I try, they're just not going to go away. Example? Despite losing about a stone and a half in the last 10 months, because of my hips I'm still the same bloody trousers size! Talk about frustrating! I guess it's in the Mediterranean genes along with bum and boobs but JESUS can they not bugger off?! Not to mention the cellulite and the stretch marks I got when I was 14; in the space f 2 months I grew about an inch and a half in height and lost about a stone. I wasn't bothered about them back then and when I started to bother it was too late...

MY LIKES:

- Hair: it has got to be the one thing I absolutely love THEE most about my appereance. Until I was 17 it also used to bother me as much as my skin, but then I was at last allowed to experiment with my hairdresser's help. In these 9 years I think at one stage or another I've had low lights of every single colour of the rainbow! At some stage I had at the same time purple, ginger orange, browns and blondes going on and it still looked very funky! As of recently I' ve settled for more tame shades of dark and golden blonde, but I still love it all the same! I'm also quite lucky that I can get away with washing it every 4 days and it still doesn't look like I could fry chips in them, despite living in a big city.
My hair is the one thing I get complimented the most along with my skin's clarity. Strangers in the street will often compliment me on it and women will often ask where I get it bleached -the "bleached" part is all natural, Darling!-. Because it's so long and thick I often get asked where I get my extentions from....I'm still debating weither this is a compliment or not...

- My skin: the ONE thing I like about it is its clarity. Give me an HALLELUYA for whoever invented Diane!!! Yes, cleansing, exfoliating and all that help, but the pill is my ONE secret for amazing skin! I used to completely hate my skin up to my early 20s because of severe cistic acne, not only was it awful to look at, but it was also painful! My gyno had me do tests and also with an eco we found I had a reeeaaallly big problem! Thankfully for me Diane would hopefully ease it. Despite it not being an actual birth control, it also has this "side effect". Despite it being the heaviest hormones wise, I was super lucky I keep myself very active and eating the right things, so I didn't put on any weight, even though that would have been a very natural cause (it does make losing weight EXTREMELY hard though....).

- My bum/muscles: I LOVE my bum! yes it might be 1 or 2 sizes bigger than the rest of my body, but I LOVE it! it's not big at the sides, it's just nice and firm where it's supposed to be!
I know muscles may not be very lady like, but I especially love the "lines" they create on my forelegs, abs and shoulders, it shows I'm fit! Give me muscles over flab ANY day!

What about you ladies? What are your likes and dislikes? Drop me a comment or do your own blog and post a link to it.

Lil

TAG: skincare routine

From A Paradox Of Ego & Self Doubt

✿ How many times do you wash your face daily?

Usually twice

✿ What is your current make-up remover?

Speedy Care wipes for the face(and eyes when I'm travelling, AMAZINGLY gentle on my super sensitive eyes) and also The Body Shop Camomile eye make up remover, it's AMAZING on waterproof mascara.

✿ What skin type do you have? (dry, oil, combo)

Dry despite the aount of moisturising and water drinking, and it's also super super sensitive

✿ What is your current facial wash?

Garnie Body Tonic and exfoliating gloves

✿ Do you exfoliate?

Yep, I use exfoliating gloves plus Garnier Body Tonic, or my shower gel mixed with sugar, or often the gloves are enough. Once every 3 or 4 days

✿ Which moisturiser do you use?
For my body I use Palmers butter, for my face I use Vichy Aqualia

✿ Do you use eye cream?

I use Garnier Ultra Lift roll on

✿ Do you, or did you, have acne prone skin?

I used to have very bad acne, often resulting in cists, but it wasn't a skin problem, it was deeper, an hormonal inbalance. It totally cleared when I started taking the pill

I tag EVERYONE!!!!!!
Leave me a comment with the link if you decide to do it.

Lil

Collection 2000 Metallic Liquid Eye Liner

(in the colour Punk, photo above)

Collection 2000 says: " Water resistant precision eye liners in a range of metallic shades. Give an edgier twist to the traditional liquid liner. Includes precision brush for easy application.".

I say... I was SO disappointed by this! I really did have high expectations for this as the colours are so vibrant and rich.
Where do I start.... The tip, yes it is very thin and precise but it picks up SO much product you end up with a very thick and unprecise line. If you try and wipe some product off the applicator then you're left with nothing really, I tried with a thin angle brush...pretty much the same result really.
So I thought I'd try it as a shadow: applied all over the lid without smuding it, with a base, it takes FOREVER to dry and eventually creases like crazy. When applied and then smudged, the vibrancy of the colour goes away and it's just a dull colour I have in one of my palettes.
The only upside is, it didn't cost me much...

OOTD & FOTD

...although these are not "of the day" but "of the night", but seeing as I never go out I don't really need a "of the night" tag...

It was just a relaxed night at the pub, nothing uber fancy...
And here's my mug...

for my eyes I used my trusty L'Oreal Waterproof Voluminous in black and Lancome waterproof Kohl in Black.
The gold is Barry M's Fine Glitter Dust in the colour 10 Yellow Gold (even with a very sticky base this is starting to be a bit of a hassle to wear for me because the little particles keep falling in my eyes during the night making them very watery and often smudging the make up too much). The blue, also applied along the lashes but not all the way in, is from Naj Oleari and it's called Blu Oceano.
Concelear is the usual MAC Select in NW15 under my eyes, on the bridge of my nose and on my chin, add a bit of Lancome Tropique Minerale smoothing loose bronzer and voila!!

Help A Talent

This is just a little post to ask you guys for a little favour, it's not for me though, so don't worry.

The wonderful Katy from Make Up by Katy has been nominated for the Annual Wedding Ideas Awards in the UK.
Katy is a super talented make up artist who's been involved with make up for the last 15 years, working both free lance and for brands, the latest being the great Laura Mercier. She's SO great she's even done shows for the London and Paris fashion weeks!

She has posted some photos displaying her fantastic skills here.

So head over to the Awards website, it only takes you 2 minutes to register your vote for her in the Special Touches Category.
Please please please pretty please with batting lids !!!

Thank you lovelies !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Too much info?

I am always up for supporting newcoming little brands, especially if they're local.
So I was recently intrigued by a new product I spotted in a few Irish beauty features so I thought to give it a go.
Magazines all directed to the brand's website for info and stockists. Only to find for stockists you had to either e-mail or phone.
The product is available to buy on their website... on which you can ONLY pay through Paypal(which I found slightly amateurish, but anyway...). I tried to buy it, but my card was rejected...nice!
Fair enough, I did e-mail them then.
My email, polite as ever requested a simple list of salons/stockists where to find the product, signed "Laura from Dublin". One would think that was enough detail, right? No.
Three days later(again, very unprofessional) they emailed back saying they needed to know what area I lived in("Laura from Dublin" wasn't probably clue enough for them), to which I replied Dublin City Centre.
Well guess what....it was still not enough precise for them, another three days later they answered asking which area exactly(for those of you who are not familiar with Dublin, the city is divided in numbered districts for easier area identification in numbers from 1 to 20-something I believe). At this point I was quite annoied.
Isn't city centre enough info? I mean.....you're a really new brand, I find it hard to believe you supply so many chemists thit's not like NYC or London, plus whatd'ya know, I could live in one area, work in another, shop in another still or simply be prepaired to travel to the ther side of the city to try your product. I might have, but definitely not after those e-mails.
So after replying giving them a choice of 3 districts(just for the craic, to see what they'll say) I took to the Internet and after a lot of digging I managed to find a salon supplies website selling the product at €7 less than the brand's website(VAT and postage included). And guess what, my card wasn't rejected!
I placed my order on monday, I got it today.....and three days later I'm still waiting for a stockists list for those 3 areas.

Lil

Wish list

I went window shopping the other day and I bumped into a Jane Norman shop for the first time and this baby in the window just shouted at me "come in!!!!!"

Unfortunately for me it was €117 ...and I already have one winter aviator jacket which, for the record, I've had for 3 winters now, way before the aviator frenzy of this season.

Whilst I was in there I also fell for this €60 baby

of course it caught my eye, what with my obsession for butterflies an' all!

That's it really, just thought I'd share them with you. Ya like?

Lil

OOTD's

Just a couple of OOTD's from the last few weeks

The focus of this outfit was my waist, chest and to lengthen my legs (although I am aware of the fact it does emphasises my hips and bum).

Instead with this outfit the emphasis was on the waist but trying to disguise the hips with the empire line and the dress being not too tight. (please excuse the awful mug)

It's HOT !

VO5 Heat Protect Styling Spray
VS
TRESemme Heat Tamer Protective Spray

I don't personally use a huge amount of hair products, I don't need to. But one basic essential I ALWAYS use is a heat protector. Plus these products are ace at controlling frizz and living in Ireland and in a house mostly with carpeted floorss, my hair would be an unruly big voluminous bush without any kind of tamer.
Only since moving I have been using it because for some unknown to me reason, they aren't sold in Italy. I recently purchased the above products to send home to my hairdresser as she was interested in trying them.
I always used VO5 up until now but I thought just out of interest I'd try the TRESemme once and here's my verdict.

When spraied on the hair they pretty much both have the same scent, although VO5 is slightly stronger. Whilst drying my hair it was very hard to constantly run my fingers through it with TRESemme, and a lot of hair came out because of the stroking, where as it was completely fine with VO5.
Also with the hair drier blowing on the hair, I could smell Vo5 a lot more.
Immediately after I was done and even 1 day after, TRESemme did calm frizziness and statics a lot more than Vo5 and hair is softer. However I can smell Vo5 on my hair even after 2 or 3 days of washing it where as I couldn't smell TRESemme after 3 hours; it's a plus for me as I don't really use much perfume and I like when my hair gives out a nice scent, maybe someone that like to wear a lot of perfume would prefer TRESemme as you can't smell it at all.

So whilst drying TRESemme was a nightmare to work for me, post drying softness is better with TRESemme but Vo5 nice smell stuck to my hair a lot longer.

I think I will stick to Vo5...

Lil

Italia Ti Amo

If you follow me on Twitter or if you read my prev post, you will know I was in Italy for a couple of weeks between the end of September and the beginning of October.
Before people start thinking I'm well loaded for being able to afford a 2 week holiday in Italy, let me just reassure you: I am the furthest away from loaded you could imagine.
I was only able to afford it because I just went back home, yes I am Italian. I staied at my family's little beach cabin, I only went out for meals with my parents a couple of times so they were paying, and the cabin is in a little village where nothing happens from early september to late may.
I won't get into great detail as to how much fun I did or did not have, it would take too long to explain, and you probably don't even care. I'll just say I was SO glad to see my friends again and treat myself to a few little goodies.
Since moving to Ireland I had not treated myself to one new clothing item or shoes, just stuck to my beauty essentials with a few exceptions here and there, mainly because I am surviving on my own savings and I am still unemploied despite the MAJOR efforts (big fat THUMBS DOWN to that). Plus to be totally honest, I'm not a big fan of shopping here because I don't exactly fancy walking around with something half a million girls here and in the U.K. are wearing, and because what to me is good quality clothes, are VERY expensiive here compared to Italy and I will demonstrate this during my post.

I tweeted yesterday asking if anyone wanted to see what I'd got while in Italy and a few of you said they did so here goes.

Extra Volume Lipgloss by KIKO Make Up Milano in the colour 02 Navajo White. I didn;t buy for the super extra volumising and moisturising claims but just simply because I really liked the colour. I don't often buy lip glosses and I basically never buy lipsticks because my lips, like my skin, are very sensitive and I never know in advance which are going to make them explode, look like an inflated doll or like tarmac under Italian sun in mid August at mid day; also because despite the amount of liquids I drink and lip balms I use, my lips get almost instantly dehydrated when I try lip glosses or lipsticks.
KIKO shop assistants and their website can tell me all they like that this lipgloss is going to make me have botoxed extra super hyper hydrated lips, I just simply never believe any of that malarkey.
So the colour is REALLY nice, it makes my lips really soft for about one hour, when my lips start to go really dry. It's not sticky when I talk but it most definitely fails the hair caught on lips test. Also it's got a mild toffee scent to it, not too overpowering.

Smart Eye Pencil by KIKO Make Up Milano in the colour 103 Pearly Wisteria. (I wish the photo could do it justice). Not much to say really, it's just an eye pencil, very blendable and glides on very easily without having to warm the tip first. the colour nor the subtle sheen are too over powering. Plus it makes my eyes pop brilliantly.

The flash actually washes out the colour a bit. This is a really nice long cardigan for winter, if my bum wasn't so big and didn't peak under it, I would actually wear it as a dress with just leggings. I will be wearing this with a plain top underneath and jeggings or pencil jeans. I must get a cheap bel in Penneys(Primark) to break up the big block of colour and highlight my waist even more.
Going around shops here I haven't found something kind of similar for the same quality especially in the finishing, for any less than €40, when I paid €19 for it, and I haven't seen it in a variety of colours, just the season's camel, black or dark blue, unlike where I got it, where it was available in dark purple, emerald green, red and white as well.

I personally really like shirts but this will be the third I own at the moment(long and short sleeved); the problem is it's always very hard for me to find a shirt that will fit my athletic shoulders/arms and my chest, and when I do of course the rest of the shirt is too long and baggy instead of nicely tailored. So I didn't let the chance pass by when I spotted this utterly gorgeous dark blue one for only €16 ! I do admit it's slightly tight around the chest and upper back but nothing too bad, and for that price I wasn;t gonna let it go!
It looks kind of creased but it's not, it's very lightly gathered all down the front, a different touch to what would have been just a boring dark blue smart shirt.
I challenge you to find something like this of this great quality and finishing for €16 in Dublin...

This I was particularly happy about because I have been looking or something similar for a couple of years both here and in Italy but every time it would be too filmsy or not fitted or I wouldn't be able to button it up or move my arms. This one is in kind of a denim material, it's "thick", I like the fake cute little pockets(not sure you can work them out in the photo) and I really like the stretchy panel on the back. And it was only €16 !

These I think were the bargain of the holiday: only €20 ! Because of my wanky knees result of years of various sports/physical activities, I wouldn't normally go for such high heels but when I tried them on I was surprised to feel how VERY comfortable they are thanks to the wedge on the bottom! The little buttons on the side are roses, and they fit thanks to a zip on the innner side.

That's it really, I got a few more beauty goodies but they're from minor Italian brands anyway.

I would love to know what you guys think of my little buys, and be honest :-)

Ciao for now,

Lil

First Light Cosmetics review

I have to be honest people... this post was ready to go on-line about 2 and a half weeks ago.
For those who were wondering where I've been, I went home to Italy for a couple of weeks. I did have a few posts typed up and ready to be posted(this review included) so you guys would have something to read whilst I was gone, but that evening Blogger decided to throw a massive strop and when I went to publish them....they all "magically" disappeared! I was leaving the morning after so I didn't have the time to re-write them all again.

Before I start with the review I must admit this is a sponsored post(which I am uber excited about!!!). You guys know how uber sensitive my skin is so I was really glad to be given the chance to test some of their products fr free.
First Light Cosmetics are a mineral make up brand completely free of chemicals and preservatives (my skin says thank you!) with a wide range of choice of colours.
I found this really interesting: "Test the products at home and save time and money. We offer free postage on sample sized products then deduct the price of up to 2 samples against the purchase of a full size jar. Write to us at info@firstlightcosmetics.com once you have bought the full size product and we will refund the cost of the samples."

As you can see the products come in a cute little pouch which the web site states is "produced by the Mabinti Center in Tanzania. For more information on the Mabinti Center please click here. "
I got to try the foundation and 2 eye shadows.

I picked the lightest shade of foundation: "First Frost: A light, pale shade for delicate porcelain skin tones".
As usual with foundations I was a bit skeptic colour wise, but the shade absolutely delivered!
I did try this both dry and wet.
Dry it's very very light, buildable coverage and you don't feel caky at all. I usually prefer mineral foundations in the wet application but for some reason, with this one I prefer it dry.
When applied wet, just one layer gives you a medium coverage.
Goes without saying a perfectly hydrated skin is of utter importance with mineral foundations, or you'll end up looking horribly ashy and patchy.
A jar of 10g is £12.99 and a little 2g is £1.50

Here are the 2 eye shadows.
I did try to swatch them but I found that Cobalt Sea is such an amazing colour that it keeps changing depending on the lighting. It's VERY shimmery, I would say almost glittery, but despite that it has close to no fall out at all when applied dry. When applied wet it has a little bit of fall out but no big deal, and it's super super intense!
Sunkissed disappointed me a bit, it looks a lot darker on the website, hence why I picked it, but as you can see it's a very light reddish brown which I think really doesn't go with my skin nor eye colour. I didn't notice much of a difference in colour intensity when applied wet or dry.
They both are £5.99

You will be able to see the products in future FOTD's. If anyone is interested I can do a video review.
Ciao for now,

Lil

Not so much lost in translation...

You know what they say "when one or more of your senses don't fully work, you over develope the others", which in my case is TOTALLY true!
Throughout the years my body has pushed me to make up for the lack of vision: my smell and taste are very acute, my ears hear stuff they shouldn't, and I am very touchy....and not just with people.
So much so that one of my fave past times when I'm out somewhere is listen to other people's conversations; not so much because I am nosy, but because my eyes get "bored" of not seeing much so my body entertain itself by listening to every tiny little sound.

I was recently in a park, relaxing on the grass and enjoying the breeze. My eyes pretty soon got "bored" of the tree in front of me and the 3 pigeons sunbathing on my left, so my ears thought "hey, why not listen in on to this bunch of Spanish on the right!". Well my dear ears, I despise you.....and I also temporarily despised the fact I can speak a bit of and perfectly understand Spanish.
The group of 2 girls and 2 boys were sitting there happily talking about me and laughing at me. You see that day I had decided to walk out the door with no make up on, I very often do that, so that made me an even easier target for derision.
I shall not repeat the comments, but let's just say it wasn't anything I haven't heard in 26 years of almost daily verbal abuse, sly comments etc etc.
It went on for about 15 minutes, and when they went to get up and leave, I burst out a "I am REALLY loving Fernando Alonso with Ferrari this year" in my best Spanish. Well.... they didn't look too impressed by my Spanish knowledge. Oooops....

I went back to enjoying the birds singing and the distant sound of the tram's "ding ding", when I noticed a small group of young women claiming the spot where the Spanish had been sitting.
As soon as they were within ear shot I thought "oooh... Frenchies! Girlie talk about fashion and beauty perhaps? Please?". Did I mention I can speak French too? No? I do.
Well let me tell you they were the most boring group of Frenh women I have ever met; they were talking about somebody's brother's girlfriend who couldn't decide what car to buy. You know me, I'm a complete and utter petrol head, but listening to most women discussing cars makes my blood boil. Besides, they were French, they were MEANT to discuss fashion and/or beauty, for godness sake!
So I disconnect my ears and almost fall asleep when...holy moly, they are laughing! But...hold on a second, they are not just laughing, they're laughing at me! How dare the boring fashionless, beautyless Frenchies laugh at me?! Tsk!
So I let them have their little pathetic fun and when I saw them gathering their things to leave a while later, I spat "so who do you prefer between YSL and JPG?", in French obviously.

Making ignorant people feel small is priceless... for everything else there's Mastercard! (if your bank is nice enough, that is)

POTD: nom nom

Barry M - Lemon Ice Cream.
This is a GORGEOUS colour! A couple of coats were enough for it to be very opaque.
Personally I think it's more of a cream colour, when I think of lemon I think of more of a lime-y yellow.
(thumb looks a bit weird because it was tea bag repaired)