May Beauty & Non-Beauty Favourites ft. Lush, Benefit, MAC, Wet n Wild.

I usually see new 'Favourites' posts online and think "Is it into a different month already? That flew!", but I feel like this month was really dragging and I'm glad to be seeing the (proper) start of Summer 2014! I think May went by so slowly because it was the first full month at home while the majority of my friends were still doing exams. Cabin fever definitely set it and there's only so many times you can hang out with your cat/watch Mad Men before you need proper social interaction! This month was still (somewhat) eventful, though. I went to a College Ball in Kilkenny (Get Ready With Me post here) and as of yesterday, I am now employed for the Summer months! Now, all of my friends are home for 3 months and we're all reunited (cue Peaches and Herb reunited and it feels so gooooood).

I wanted to include a mix of make-up, hair, skincare and non-beauty related items in this post, whilst giving you a round-up of my month. I love blogs that give you a bit more of an insight into the person themselves - my life which sometimes revolves around more than just makeup (but not too often!). With June just around the corner, I'm hoping to have some more lifestyle/travel blog posts (documenting my trip to Italy - places to go, pasta to eat!) and have some summer makeup related entries. As always, any requests/questions/recommendations/feedback is always welcome via Twitter/email/whatever! My Twitter/Instagram is @DrnkTxtRmeo_ and my email is LongHairAndLashes@gmail.com :)

Start of Summer = any excuse to make your own flower headband. 1 sewing kit, 8 fake flowers and a whole lotta patience later... Wearing Flat Out Fabulous (MAC) on my lips with Magenta lipliner.

College Ball, Kilkenny.

May Favourites!

FOTD/Step by Step How To: Metallic Mermaid.

I was absolutely bored to tears with all the neutral looks I've been doing lately. Not that there's anything wrong with neutrals, but there's only so many times that I can handle a plum/brown crease and champagne lid ;) I was reorganising some of my makeup earlier this week and came across a tonne of MAC pigments that I never use and wanted to force myself to create a look with some of them! MAC pigments are loose eye shadows that are often very metallic and pigmented but can be such a hassle as they often cause a lot of fallout. I began to play around with them, not really knowing where the look was going and by the end, it reminded me of a very smokey metallic mermaid-esque look. I used a deep blackened blue colour on the inner and outer corners with a pop of a jewel toned teal in the centre to bring some light back to the look. I kept the shape very blown out and smokey without winged liner and of course, some lashes! This look isn't for everyone, and probably not something you'd wear every day but I think this would be great for a club night/night out with friends. If you wanted to add something else to the look (which I completely forgot to do!) would be to add MAC Reflects Transparent Teal glitter over the lid... It would definitely add to the whole mermaid thing! Also, can we talk about kickin' it old school with the old MAC Teal pigment container? This was one of the products I bought on my first ever visit to a MAC store about 6 years ago so it has serious nostalgic and sentimental value for me! Anyway, with all that said... Hope you enjoy! :)

Products Used:

• Urban Decay Primer Potion - Eden
• MAC Eyeshadow - Texture (crease/transition colour)
• Maybelline Colour Tattoo - Everlasting Navy (base all over the lid)
• MAC Pigments - Deep Blue Green (inner/outer corners, deep crease) and Teal (centre lid)
• MAC Eyeshadow - Plumage (outer corner)
• MAC Eyeshadow - Vanilla (browbone highlight)
• MAC Pigments - Deep Blue Green (inner and outer corner of lower lashline), Teal (centre of the lower lashline)
• Maybelline Colour Tattoo - Light In Purple (inner corner)
• Urban Decay Eyeshadow - Aurora Duo: Blue shade (Limited Edition) Sugarpill Lumi or a frosty white/silver shade would also work well!
• Urban Decay Zero Eyeliner and Teal Pigment (waterline)
• MAC Blush - Harmony (contour)
• Sleek Blush - Life's a Peach (blush)
• MAC Mineralise Skinfinish - Soft and Gentle (highlight)
• Urban Decay Pocket Rocket Lipgloss - Max (I hate lipgloss, so I don't really know what I was thinking when I put this on but any peachy nude lip would work with this)

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram, both are @DrnkTxtRmeo_ :)

Review: Lush Cosmetics Mask of Magnaminty

This was my first time buying Mask of Magnaminty but I'd heard so many great things about it from friends who had used it before. The fantastic thing about Lush is that they have so many different products to offer and there always seems to be something new to me that I haven't tried before. Something cool to note about the most recent batch of this mask is that it is now formulated as "self preserving", essentially meaning its paraben free! (the perks of having a friend who works at Lush and knows Lush code, she constantly has to explain it to me in layman's terms). If you're interested, I have previously reviewed Ocean Salt. I am a huge fan of their skincare products and hope to review more of them in the future!

This is a peppermint mask which helps with breakouts on the skin and all over the body. That means it can be used on the face, or the back and chest area if you suffer from acne in that region. The texture is thick and lumpy due to the aduki beans (act as a gentle exfoliator) and of course has a very peppermint smell. The peppermint present in the mask causes a slight tingle to the skin, but nothing that even sensitive skins couldn't handle - in fact, it's quite refreshing! I apply this onto clean damp skin, in a thin layer, (avoiding the eye area) leave for 10 minutes and rinse (yep, it's that simple!). I've found the best time to use this is right after a shower because the steam opens up the pores and allows the mask to, for lack of a better phrase, "do it's thaaaaaang". I follow this with a (Lush) toner and moisturiser and after rinsing, I notice that my skin feels incredibly soft and toned (without feeling tight). I'd recommend using this mask once a week if sensitive and twice if you have oily skin. I think those with oily skin would definitely benefit the most from this mask because of the wonderful ingredients that help to combat acne prone areas.

Get Ready With Me: College Ball.

Last week I went to Kilkenny city for a dinner/dance ball type thing for my boyfriend's college. It was such great fun... good music, good food, good company and above all, a really good excuse to get my roots done (eventually!) and get dressed up. I wasn't going to do a post like this, but I thought it was a nice way to make my blog a bit more personal, whilst still keeping it on the beauty spectrum. I also got a couple of questions regarding my dress/makeup etc on the night so I thought it would be a good idea to lump it all together and show you everything; jewellery, makeup, nails. Essentially, an OOTD, FOTD and NOTD post all in one. I think these posts could be good for special occasions and might even give people a few ideas for debs/prom/wedding season coming up. Hope you enjoy! :)

Shane borrowed an American's hat and thought he was the next Dirt Nasty. 

The Beauty Tag.

Some time last week I was catching up with blogs that I follow, one of them being Susan (http://whatsnewwithsuzieq.blogspot.ie/) and had noticed she'd tagged me in the Beauty Tag! I love tag videos and blog posts so I was super excited to do this (when I finally came back from the Stone Age and into the 21st Century with actual internet access) Susan is gaaaaaaawguzz, her blog is so lovely and she writes on a whole host of beauty related things - definitely check her out!

1. Would you rather lose all of your mascaras, eyeliners and lip products or lose all of your palettes and eye shadows? 
I'm pretty sure I went into cardiac arrest when I first read this. The mascaras and eyeliners I really wouldn't care about - but I would be torn between lip products and palettes/eye shadows. Some of my favourite lip products and palettes are limited edition (boo-urns) but Susan made a good point in saying that palettes etc are so much more expensive so I'll have to agree with her and take my lipsticks away from me, once I can keep my palettes!

2. Would you rather chop off all your hair or never be able to cut it again?
Like... all of it? A 1 all over/Britney circa 2007 kind of a chop? I think I'd rather chop it all off once, let it all grow and then be able to cut it whenever I wanted to. I know I'm crazy to have long hair but maybe not to much as to rival Rapunzel in later years. 

3. If you had €500, would you spend this on clothes or makeup?
I'd probably do 55% makeup and the rest clothes... WHY CAN'T I DO THAT?! There are definitely a few a million makeup bits I've been eyeing up lately but not to the amount of €500... so we'll go with clothes!

4. Would you rather only use one eye-shadow colour or one lip colour for the rest of your life?
I always struggle to ever do an eye look with just one colour so I'd probably say one lip colour for the rest of my life... I don't even know what one I'd choose! Probably creme cup by MAC. I'd miss my burgundy and reds so much. #FirstWorldProblems 

5. Bright nails or nude nails all year round? 
Probably a nude because it's just a classic nail colour that would go with everything, all year round!

6. Would you rather never be able to use lip gloss or paint your nails again?
Haha, so easy! I'm definitely not a lip gloss kinda gal so I'd rather never be able to use the stuff again!

7. Describe your perfect mascara. Have you found one?
Over the years I have definitely found a lot that I like, and a lot that I think are crap! I tend to not repurchase mascaras though, because I (like 90% of the mascara wearing population) am constantly on the hunt for the holy grail, end all be all of mascaras. However, I do really like most Rimmel and Maybelline mascaras, and I think that Supercurl (Urban Decay) and They're Real! (Benefit) are superrrrr.

8. What's your ideal coverage foundation?
Full full full. Well, medium to full. On nights out I definitely go for a very full coverage look and during the day I like a medium coverage. I'm pretty much an all or nothing girl when it comes to my makeup, I'll either wearing nothing at all on my face or go all out. In other words, you will not find a single cc/bb/zz/xoxo cream in my makeup bag!

9. Favourite high street/drugstore beauty brand?
Eeeek so many! It completely depends on what you're looking for, because like with any brand, I don't think I'd like to do a one stop shop with any makeup brand for every single product, yano? I think that Revlon and Rimmel do foundations and lipsticks very well, Barry M for nails and lipsticks, Maybelline have some very good products but I wouldn't say they're my faaaaaaaavourite but yet some of my favourite drugstore products are made by them. Wet n Wild are great newcomers to the Irish market, too! I actually think that at the end of all that nonsense, I'd probably say Sleek. They do eyeshadows very well, not something I come by easily in the drugstore, their lip products are great and their cheek products feel so high end! Love love love.

10. Favourite high end beauty brand?
I would probably say MAC. While I love Urban Decay and a couple of other higher end brands, MAC isn't so high end or luxury that you'd never be able to buy a thing from it, and the products are fantastic quality. I do enjoy their eyeshadows (mostly), love their cheek and lip products and regularly use their foundations etc. MAC was also the first higher end brand I was ever introduced to and so I would say that it's definitely my favourite. Probably not a very original answer!

11. Is there any makeup you can leave the house without wearing? 
I never wear make-up around college and I've gotten to the point where if I'm just going into town or something then I really don't mind leaving the house without makeup. I'd rather an extra 30 minutes in bed to be honest! I definitely prefer to have makeup on, but I can absolutely go without.

12. What is your most cherished beauty product? 
I'm not really too sure... I'm torn between something limited edition or quite expensive. It's not really a product but it's a powder compact that my grandmother bought me in a vintage/antique shop. It was made in the 60's and the owner of the shop actually worked in England, in the place that the compacts were made in at the time which was very cool. If I had to say an actual product though, I'd say all of my limited edition mineralise skinfinishes!

13. What skin type do you have? 
Oily oily oily. Not cute. 

14. Do you always use the same skin routine or do you like switching it up?
Some products I keep the same, some I switch up. That generally happens when new products come out that I'm eager to try, but I definitely have some long time favourites in my skincare routine.

15. Top 5 Beauty Gurus?
I love Viva Adonis and pretty much regard them as the Irish Temptalia in terms of blogging and product recommendations. HUGE fan of Batalash (massive gurl crushin' on Samantha and Angela), Sharon Farrell, Essie Button and of course, Lisa Eldridge. 

16. Which brand has your favourite packaging?
Urban Decay has such fun packaging! 


17. Which do you apply first, concealer or foundation?
Foundation.

18. Name a makeup crime you hate.
So maaaaaany... I'd have to go with the classic foundation not matching/not being blended down properly onto the neck and chest.

Quick Fire:
Blush or bronzer?
Contour!

Lipgloss or lipstick?
Lipstick always always always.

Foundation or concealer? 
Either, once it's very good coverage! 

Brushes or sponges? 
Brushes.

OPI or Essie?
Essie are newer to be and although I love them, OPI seem to have a better range of fun colours and textures/finished which I love.

Lotion or Body Butter?
Body butter!

et voilà! C'est fini! Hope you enjoyed and I of course tag anyone who wants to do this and step up to the (very difficult) challenge of the blush or bronzer life or death situation! ;)

When I'm not writing about lipsticks on here, I'm generally talking about lipsticks or cats on Instagram or Twitter so follow me there if you're into that sort of thaaaaang! both are @DrnkTxtRmeo_ :D

Wet n Wild Lipsticks | Review, Swatches, Dupes.

Wet n Wild is relatively new to the Irish market but it's a really, really inexpensive brand with a few "hidden gem" products so I thought it was worthwhile doing a post or 2 on their products! I remember finding out that Wet n Wild had come to Ireland (that anecdote is here in my April Favourites if you'd like to find out more on that!) and one of the first things I knew I wanted to try out was their lipsticks. I'd heard so many things about their lipsticks from American bloggers/youtubers and before then, all I'd heard about was their eyeshadows (a friend of mine was kind enough to pick up one of their palettes for me when she was in the states, about a year or 2 before Wet n Wild came to Ireland!) As with a lot of brands, (particularly inexpensive ones) there are going to be quite a few misses - and these lipsticks are not one of them!

I had PJ & Duncan "Let's Get Ready To Rhumble" in my head while getting started on this!

FOTD + Step by Step/How To: Reflects Rose Gold (Urban Decay Naked 3 Tutorial)

I recently wore this look to a 21st birthday party and really liked how it turned out! I knew I wanted to play around with my Naked 3 palette but didn't want anything overly pink, and this just became the end result. I did a plum-brown on the inner and outer corners with a rose gold centre. Underneath, I added some reflect gold glitter to the inner third of the lower lash line (last minute decision and I completely forgot to photograph that step, sorry!). This is a really good example of one of those looks that looks SO messy in the process, and looks pretty crap until you add the liner, lashes and concealer which really pulls the whole look together! I find that this is always the way when I'm just playing around and don't really have an idea in my head of the final product. It looks a little questionable initially, but I really love how it turned out and I think a lot of people could wear this to loads of different occasions. This could also be made a lot more pink toned, (if you were using the Naked 3) and would make the rose gold colour in the middle pop even more. I included a step by step pictorial type thaaaang in case anyone wished to recreate something similar. Hope you enjoy :)

FOTD: Ahoy, Sailor!

It wasn't a good Grace face day, so we'll have to deal with up-close shots for dayssss. In any case, I decided to upload this little face of the day to Instagram because I was feelin' like navy blue winged liner and a matte red lip. Navy liner is something SO fun for summer, definitely a nice change from a black and can be a modern take on a very classic pin-up type look. I think the navy really compliments the red lip but would also work with a matte hot pink lip and cheek, too. I paired this with minimal product on the cheeks, just a light blush and some soft contouring but if you wanted, you could add some bronzer and a gold eyeliner/shadow on the lower lash-line to further compliment the navy liner. I used a Maybelline Colour Tattoo as a base/gel liner esque product and then set it with a shadow to ensure it stayed put and was more opaque. You could do this exact same look with any navy blue liner or even another colour in the Colour Tattoo range (a bright purple would look great too if you wanted to skip on the red lip!). This look really reminds me of summer and nautical themes, I hope you enjoy :)

Products Used:

• Urban Decay Primer Potion - Eden
• MAC Blush - Harmony (Used as cheek contour and in crease for subtle definition)
• Maybelline Colour Tattoo - Everlasting Navy
• Urban Decay Eyeshadow - Goddess (applied over the Colour Tattoo to set)
• MAC Archie's Girls Pearlmatte Face Powder - Flatter Me (Limited Edition)
• MAC Mineralize Skinfinish - Soft & Gentle
• MAC Lipliner - Brick
• MAC Lipstick - Russian Red (matte)

Thank you for reading! You can follow me on Instagram and Twitter both @DrnkTxtRmeo_ (It's all filled with cats and make-up, really...)

Favourite Lipsticks for Spring and Summer.

Okay, so... I like love lipstick. I love lipstick quite a lot. I think that Spring and Summer is a great time for bright neon and pastel colours on the lips and nails. A crazy bright lipstick is something that looks great with a tan and, when paired with some bronzer and lashings of mascara, can make you look like you've put a lot more effort into your make-up than you really have. When it comes to bright colours like these, it's really all about balance when it comes to the rest of the face. Sometimes I like to go full whack and do a full coverage foundation, eye make-up and a bold lip but I think for most people, a light coverage base, mascara and winged liner would be enough with a neon lipstick. I honestly believe that everyone can wear something this pastel or neon, it's just all about finding a shade that is right for you! A good lip exfoliator and some lip balm beforehand is definitely recommended, too... pastel and neon shades are notorious for settling into lines in the lips and in the words of (any) Kardashian: seriously like, I mean, that is not cute!

Review: Schwarzkopf BC Fibre Force Hairtherapy

Disclaimer: This post is gonna be a long, picture heavy one so sit down with a cup of tea and read all about my mini hair journey and the product that saved my hair's lifeeeee. Obviously, I was unaware 2-3 years ago that I was going to be writing a post on a hair product/linking photos etc so they're not the best quality but I hope it gives you an idea as to what stages my hair went through and how the Fibre Force products have helped it immensely!

Before I get into the products themselves, I think I should probably give you a (brief) background on my hair and it's condition for the past 2 years. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to take a look at my hair colour and assume it's going to be damaged. I've used a lot of bleach and heat on my hair, particularly in the last 2-3 years. My hair was fairly thick and very strong beforehand, even when I first went blonde. This eventually took it's toll and long story short, my hair became thin, uneven and shed so much. My hair would regularly snap and it got to the point where I hated doing anything with it. In July of last year, I decided to have keratin bonded extensions put in. I dreaded the thought of having to get them out (remembering what my hair was like pre-extensions) and knew I'd have to cut my hair up relatively short to get rid of split ends and make a fresh start. The minute I got my extensions out, I looked for keratin products to help strengthen the hair, in the hopes that it would make it thicker, stronger and allow me to grow it out faster and in better condition. 

... And then Schwarzkopf Fibre Force walked into my life.

Mint Gold - Spring FOTD.

I wanted to do something somewhat neutral in the crease but with a pop of colour on the lid and gold glitter on the lower lashes. I think that gold/coppers are a great way to do glitters because you can very easily incorporate them into any neutral look to make it more fun but still somewhat sophisticated. The mint green colour is gorgeous and very spring appropriate! I paired it with a bubblegum pink lip and cheeks because I liked the contrast against the mint, but a more nude lip would also work well. I also tried it with lower lashes if that's your thing... It definitely makes it more dramatic! I later added in a mini tutorial/step by step on this look. I'm not sure how useful these are but I have been asked to do more tutorial type posts for those who want a step by step of the look in order to achieve something similar. In any case, I hope it's of use to someone! Enjoy :)

Lookin' like a Droog with lower lashes