Christmas haul 2013

I was kinda unsure about doing a Christmas post at all this year as most of my gifts were intentionally non beauty related, but sure a bit of show and tell never hurt anyone. 

My poor mother god bless her hadn't a clue what to get me, so asked me out straight so there were no surprises in that department. That said, as always the presents from my parents were absolutely lovely. I got two dresses, a floor length dress from H&M to wear over Christmas, and a stunning black dress by Scarlett and Jo for Evans (above). The black one is being put up for a family wedding next year, so hopefully it'll give me some added incentive to kick my ass into gear in the new year.

There was a Babyliss curling wand, which I'm absolutely obsessed with. It give my hair beautiful, defined, long lasting curls.

My last little surprise was a gorgeous satchel style bag, I love it, it's very me! I don't know where she got it, I never do, she has a great eye for things like that.

My brother got me a flight case for all my nail gear, which will come in very handy in the new year please god!

The two gifts that really knock me for six, purely because they were so unexpected were the Urban Decay Smoked pallet that I got from my brother's girlfriend (along with a bottle of vodka, wahooo) and a Naked 2 pallet that I got from a very dear friend. To be honest, I haven't really gotten around to playing with either of them yet as I've been too lazy for the last few days to bother with make up, but I can't wait to get stuck in to both of  them.

Christmas was a bit of a weird one this year with my nan passing so close to Christmas itself. We all kinda struggled to find our festive spirit. But thanks to family and some very important people we managed to pull together and pay homage to the woman herself on Christmas eve the only way we know how- A stonking good sing song in the pub on Christmas eve.

I hope everyone had a really lovely few days spent with their nearest and dearest x I'd love to see all your goodies too so feel free to link me on Twitter or just pop a comment on this post and I'll be sure to have a look!

SBBC Day 10- My pet peeves

Ohhhhhh, where to begin! Im normally quite a tolerant person, we all make mistakes, but when it comes to make up there are certain things I just can't abide. When I occasionally fall guilty of them myself it's all I can do not to run home and weep into my make up remover. So let's have a look at a few things that make my toes curl with embarrassment

Eyebrows so large they should have their own postcode- some people can pull off the bushy brow, try picture Cara Delavigine without her signature brows, it's hilarious! Most people, however, cannot. Pick your brow shape to suit your face, not to follow a trend!

Drawn on brows- Drawing eyebrows on babies and pets- HILARIOUS. Drawing eyebrows on yourself as part of your super serious make up routine makes baby Jesus cry. On behalf of all people everywhere, please stop that. 

Spider lashes- there's a fine line between adding that extra layer of mascara that makes your lashes look full and fanned out, and the layer that makes you look like you have 3 lashes.

The ring of shame- we've all been guilty of it at one stage. Thankfully most of us grow out of it when our mother/sister/stranger on the street slaps us and teaches us how to blend. Alas Horatio,  not everyone pays attention.

Marshmallow head- also known as the reverse ring of shame. It can actually be tricky to bronze your face up right if you're not used to wearing tan, so im slightly more lenient on this faux pax. But seriously!.... draft in some help if needs be. Looking like you went on holiday but left your head at home has never worked. For anyone. Ever.

The attack of the mascara wand- eyeshadow-perfect, eyeliner- beautiful, foundation- stellar job you did there! Would be a shame if something came along and ruined it all, like, I dunno..... a mascara wand RIGHT ON YOUR EYEBALL!!!!! Give me strength.

Rain sabotage- nothing worse than having an uncharacteristically good hair day, and just while your getting used to basking in your good hair glow BOOM!! Rain. Rain everywhere. And of course you don't have an umbrella because that would just be too sensible

Pink tooth- Lippy is lovely on your lips, not so lovely on your pearly whits. And how would you even know if not for the kindness of strangers? Oh the hugemanity :(

Leaky eye syndrome- You know those beautiful summer days where the sun is shining, the birds are chirping and the pollen is sky high? They suck!! Many days I have left the house with fabulous eye make up, and returned looking like an escaped panda. Nothing is truly waterproof. Long live autumn!

Oriflame blogger meet up in Avoca

This afternoon I had the absolute privilege of heading along to the Oriflame event held in the beautifully quaint surroundings of Avoca in Dublin. A lot of you may have heard of Oriflame, but not know an awful lot about it, I know I didn't! Funnily enough, my mam knew a lot about it, and when I mentioned them said she hadn't heard of them in years! Oriflame is a make up brand similar to Avon in that it's only available to order and not in store. Since Avon pulled out of Ireland there's been a HUGE gap in the market for a catalogue make up brand, and the long standing Oriflame are really upping their game to fill that gap.

Upon arrival we were greeted by a glass of prosecco and extremely friendly staff members and given a brief overview of the company, as a lot of younger bloggers in particular wouldn't know a lot about the band. We were encouraged to have a look and play with some of the products, which were displayed beautifully I must add. Seriously, whoever was in charge of laying out the room deserves a very hearty pat on the back, it was really stunning and showed off the products in the best light.

After a drink, a chat, and a bite to eat we were sat down to a demonstration by a make up artist. She showed us 2 looks, nude and a dramatic smokey eye, using all Oriflame products. Fair dues to the make up artist, who's name has just escaped me, she did an absolutely stellar job. She was personable and bubbly, but still professional and made the already stunning model look absolutely fantastic. Seriously, this model.... I've never felt eyebrow envy like it in my life!

After the demonstration we were handed empty bags and told to go around the room and take whatever products we wanted to try. They had laid out everything from foundation to cleanser, there was really nothing more you could have asked for. Handing a beauty blogger an empty bag in a room full of cosmetics is an EXTREMELY dangerous thing to do, so kudos to Oriflame for that! I have never received such a generous goody bag in all my blogging life!

You can rest assured that my blog will heavily feature Oriflame over the next few weeks. I have so many products to sift through, and I'm really excited about having a play with every one of them! I have to say a huge thank you to Oriflame for their hospitality and generosity. I may not have known a lot about the brand going in, but I am definitely a lot more interested in them now. As is my mother, who has ransacked my goody bag and staked her claim on some of it!