Essence Stays No Matter What felt tip eyeliner

I generally have a lot of time for Essence products because they tend to do exactly what they say on the tin, while still being extremely purse friendly. This eyeliner, however, is the biggest load of crap that has ever disgraced my make up box. Let me begin...

While it goes on easy, and the skinny tip makes it easy to get the eyeliner shape you want, you wont have your eyeliner on for long. I have quite sensitive eyes, and a strong breeze can make them water slightly (SLIGHTLY!!) but the second even a drop of water was released from my eye I looked like I should be on my way back to the panda enclosure in Dublin zoo. Ok, fine, not all felt tip liners fare that well against the elements, but don't release and eyeliner that claims to last up to 24 hours "no matter what" and then have it fall at the first hurdle. I was left with a big black ring around 1 eye, that was a nightmare to get off (bit late for your 24 hour trick to be kicking in then), and a smudge on the roof of my other eye where the eyeliner had just rubbed off.

I hate being so negative about an Essence product, but there really is nothing good about this eyeliner. There's a very, VERY good reason it's under €3. AVOID!!

NYC Blue rose (405) lipstick

I've been going through another phase of wearing big, bold coloured lipstick. Im a demon for pinks, the brighter the better. This NYC one is one of my current favourites.

It's a real rich, deep, vibrant shade of pink with a subtle blue tint. It's quite stunning. I tend to find that because i have quite big lips any bright colours can look a bit over the top, but not this one. It's magic! And an absolute steal at just €2.49! The colour lasts hours and stays nice and moisturised. A lovely little find.

Collection 2000 EXTREME 24 hour felt tip liner €3.95

I absolutely love this!! SO MUCH! I've never used any kind of pen eyeliner before, as with the lip pens, the idea of colouring my face in doesn't sit well with me! But I will gladly make an exception for this!

I could spend the entire post listing all the reasons why this eyeliner is my new best friend.......and that's exactly what I'm going to do! Here we go!

1- It dries instantly! With liquid eyeliner I tended to open my eyes too early to too wide, giving my self a big black line on the bottom of my brow bone, NO MORE!!! Not a single smudge to be found.

2- Precision tip makes drawing my flicks super easy! They look neater and take less time!

3- It's jet black and goes on really thick and smooth, one coat and you're done!

4- It actually does last 24 hours!! Well....It may be dwindling slightly by the end, but it lasts a lot longer than any liner I've ever used! The proof was when, after a night out on the town (making cocktails n a friends house and watching crap on youtube) by eyeliner was still almost perfect on my hungover eyes the next morning!

5- It's incredibly reasonably priced, an in my opinion is worth more! (But shush, don't tell them that!)

If you're an eyeliner fiend with high expectations, like myself, then buy this! You won't regret it!

NYC 16 Hour lip tint €4.95

I've never used a lip pen before, because i can't really get my head around colouring in my lips! I know there are many different brands out there, but the price, and colours never really did anything for me.

I found these NYC ones yesterday, they have 4 or 5 different shades of pink. I bought 'precious pink', it was the most vibrant shade. It came out very pink on my skin, but was more subtle on my lips.

It claims to last 16 hours, it doesn't quite make it, but gives it a damn good try! It feels very lightweight on, i forgot i was wearing it after a few minutes. Until i licked my lips..... It doesn't taste very good at all!! But that goes after a few minutes!


All in all, for its price this is a pretty good buy! If you want a subtle, hassle free and cheap alternative to lippie, id give this a go!

Essence Get BIG Lashes volume curl mascara €2.97

This is a little gem!! I'm super skeptical of mascara's, and find it almost impossible to find one I really LOVE! Essence have brought out about 4 new mascara's, all aimed at big, bold lashes, and all under the €4 mark. This is the first one I've tried and I'm very impressed with it. I'm forever buying new mascara's in the hopes of finding that special one <3 I'm not sure if this is the ONE, but it's definitely the best I've come across in quite a while, and is wonderfully cheap!!

I have no complaints about this! I wore it all day yesterday, and it didn't smudge, clump, or start falling off in little flakes like some cheaper mascara's tend to do! It really separated my lashes, and definitely gave them a subtle, but noticeable curl! Particularly with my corner lashes, gave them a real cat's eye look!

The brush is also a nice big chunky one, which I love!! I really can't tolerate small brushes on a mascara wand. It's just.......wrong. I gave my lashes 2 coats on each eye and the look long, full of volume, and separated. I wouldn't necessarily use this as a going out mascara, I don't trust it enough just yet to put it to the test! But as a day time mascara...It's my new best friend!!

Nail Bliss Bling Nail Wraps €4.99

I'm so skeptical about nails wraps, because I have yet to find a pair good enough to warrant their price tag. I'd essentially given up on them, but I was doing the shopping a few days ago....and thought I'd give them one last try. They sell Nail bliss wraps in Dunnes Stores for €4.99, and I'd never used them before, so I decided that I would try them, and if I wasn't impressed I would never spend money on any brand of wraps again, EVER!!

Well, didn't they prove me wrong!!! They are really good! They're made of a really thin sticky film, so there's absolutely no bulk to them at all. They were super easy to apply, just press them on firmly, cut the excess and file! I even managed to get 2 nails done per sticker, which I have never been able to do with any other brand!

They stayed put for 3 days, would have been longer, but I took them off of my own accord! They have a really good selection of designs, from floral prints to leopard print! If, like me, you're getting a bit disheartened by nail wraps, invest in these and restore your faith! I highly recommend them!

Hairspray Nail Polish! S235 (Bright Orange) €2.99

WOW!!!! I absolutely adore really bright, vibrant nail polishes, almost illuminous! Unfortunately finding a brand that doesn't go on like lightly tinted water is no mean feat, but I have hit the jackpot!!

I wandered into Hairspray on Henry street yesterday (admittedly, just to kill some time before an appointment) but ended up spending a small fortune! I made a bee line for the nail polish, I wasn't overwhelmed by the colour selection, but the orange immediately jumped out at me! It looks like a highligther orange in the bottle! I had wraps on my nails at the time, so couldn't try it in the shop (devastated!) but I thought I'd be adventurous and buy it anyway. Treat myself :) At just €2.99 I thought it deserved a try.

And I'm very glad I gave it the benefit of the doubt! It's fantastic! The first coat is a bit wishy-washy, but after a second coat it gets really, really bright! I have about 4 coats on at this stage, but that's only because I'm getting curious about just how bright it can go. I'm hoping that soon my nails will be visible from space!

I was very impatient, I couldn't wait to get home to remove the wraps from my nails. There's has also been no chipping as of yet, which is an achievement for any nail polish when it come's to my nails!

I have nothing but praise for this polish!! If you like illumious colours, this is most definitely worth the money!! Going to buy the illumious pink soon, hopefully I'll be just as impressed!

17 solo eyeshadow 'Funfair'

I'm a bit like a magpie, if it sparkle's I have to have it!! 17 are one of my favourite brands for affordable, super sparkly eyeshoadow's. The newest addition to my collection is 'Funfair'. It's a beautiful pinky- peachy shade with  a gold shimmer.

It comes out a lot paler on your eye than it appears in the tub, and in my opinion is much nicer! It gives a very subtle shimmer to your lid.

If you want a deeper shade, you can just apply another coat!

This shadow gives great coverage, and last's all day!! So, if you're like me and can't be bothered with hourly touch up's- this is a must have! At  €4.75 it's a bargain!!