My Statement Jewellery Obsession

In the last month I’ve been having a bit of a major online shopping addiction and for the most part it has been for statement jewellery. There has been 3 companies that I’ve been loving ordering from, Pink Sugar Sparkle Shop, The Button and Bow Factory and Karmisa and all 3 are Irish companies.

Statement jewellery has been everywhere recently on and off the catwalks, they can brighten up and completely change an outfit. I don’t really have a preference to what style of necklace I like but as long as it catches my eye then it’s in the shopping basket and on its way in the post to my house. I’ve also bought a couple of earrings and a ring too but the main thing I was interested in were the necklaces.

To start we have the Pink Sugar Sparkle Shop, run by Lisa of Pink Sugar Sparkles blog. It is a new site only set up in the last few months and has been a hit especially with some Irish Showbiz figures, I even got my friend to buy some pieces from the website and if I’m honest I preferred hers to my delivery. I chose The Pearl (€15) and Is It a Bird (€26). I wasn’t too impressed with The Pearl if I’m honest and I didn’t love the Is it A Bird when I first got it but after a few times of wearing it I love it. Check Pink Sugar Sparkle Shop on Facebook and Twitter as they have discount codes and offers every now and then.

The Button and Bow Factory are a well-established Irish company but if I’m honest I only came across them when I was going through my online craze. Most of the items I bought from the site where on their sale section so I didn’t feel to bad but I probably bought more because of it. I got the Tamara Necklace for €8, Pretty in Pink Necklace for €4, Marie Long Necklace €2, Rose Gold Sparrow Ring €4. As you can see I did by a load but because they were in the sale it’s not too bad although I don’t think my boyfriend would understand that logic.

Finally we have Karimsa, they are another new company that started this year. I got a few things from them but my favourite necklace and my favourite out of all 3 companies has to be their White Cluster Statement Necklace (€24). It’s such a classy piece and can really dress up an outfit and also comes in different colours. They have some gorgeous pieces on the online store and once my bank balance starts to look a bit more positive I’ll be back on it and picking up a few more pieces.

With all 3 of the sites there are some overlap in the products so I would shop around as prices can vary with each company. Some necklaces can seem quite expensive so if you want to try this trend but don’t want to spend the money on a trend that you think might not suit you then Penny’s has some gorgeous statement pieces that are very affordable.

Thanks for reading!

Love Sarah xoxo

Review | Lime Crime Opaque Lipstick

Here’s another goodie that I bought at IMATS London a few weeks ago.

I had my eye on Lime Crime from watching YouTube beauty videos and just became obsessed with getting my hands on their products, and because they don’t sell in Ireland I knew IMATS was the way to go. By the time I got to the stand there weren’t that many colours left but this gorgeous red caught my eye.

 

Firstly can we talk about the packaging; it’s just so pretty, sparkly, pink and Hello!! It has a UNICORN on it!! Even if I found out that I didn’t like it it’s still a lipstick I knew I’d want in my collection. Luckily though it is a good lippy!

It’s not a red that I usually would go for, I much prefer darker plumy reds but this colour in Retrofuturist just screamed to me when I saw it.

 

I’m not sure how this colour would look on darker skin but on paler skin like mine it really pops. It reminds me of that perfect classic red that you see in that old Hollywood era.

It’s also a blue toned red, which means it should make your teeth whiter which is always a plus!

 

To get a proper full red lip you need to apply two generous coats, I’ve tried it with a thin single coat just to brighten up my lips and it just made them that little bit perkier and didn’t give that in your face red but almost a subtle pinkie red. It doesn’t last for too long after eating and drinking but it does stain your lips so if it does wear off at least it doesn’t completely go.

 

I waited to get this in IMATS as I knew it would be slightly cheaper than paying for it online, I think it cost about £10.50 but you can buy it on Love Beauty for £12.50.

I’ll be showing a few more bits that I got from IMATS London over the next few weeks I’m still trying to get around testing the different products that I bought.

Happy Tuesday!!

Love Sarah xoxo

Beauty Box Wars | Chic Treat Club Vs Glossybox

        VS 

If you have never heard of beauty boxes they are monthly subscriptions where you receive a surprise box of beauty goodies with usually 3-4 full size products and 1-2 samples sized products.

Back in February I signed up with Glossybox, they are a British company who ship to Ireland and cost roughly €16-€17 after the exchange rate.

In each box you get a magazine, 3 full size items and 2 samples. With Glossybox you fill in a questionnaire at the beginning and based on that they send you beauty items based on your preferences from the questionnaire. On the odd occasion you will get a special edition box with 5 full size products I think I only received one box of full size products since February and because you fill in the questionnaire not every box will be the same.

Chic Treat Club is an Irish based company operating since 2013 and cost roughly €15 a month depending on which payment option you choose. I decided in April that I wanted to spread my beauty box horizons and signed up for the 3 month option with Chic Treat Club. You don’t need to fill out any questionnaires as each monthly box you receive is the same for everyone. Just like Glossybox you will receive a magazine and 3-4 full size products and 1-2 beauty samples.

This month I stopped my subscription to Glossybox, after 6 boxes I just wasn’t happy and out of the 6 I only received one that I was blown away with. I follow a lot of people on twitter that receive Glossybox’s both from the UK and Ireland, it appeared that the boxes sent to Ireland where different to the UK boxes and that the boxes sent to UK customers got the best of what was on offer. The special American Stars and Stripes box for July was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me as each box was supposed to receive a specially made nail polish and also there was Tarte Cosmetics mascara available that I was dying to get but never came in my box, as I had received a few mascaras before I figured it would be the same. After doing some research it looked like the Tarte mascara was only given to UK customers. You were also to receive all American “All Star” products from the beauty world but I had only heard of one or two products. In my box I received:

·         Carmex lip balm

·         Impress Nails

·         Nicka K NY Eyelid Primer

·         Bellapierre Lipstick

·         Pur Face Mask

I had only heard of the lip balm and the Impress nails, mostly because I can pick them up in pretty much any Pennys store. I’m sure now that I have left Glossybox next month’s box will be amazing.

My Chic Treat Club box came last week and even before I opened it there was an amazing aroma coming from the box. When I opened it it was bursting with goodies:

·         NeoStrata Bionic Face Cream

·         Physicians Formula Blush

·         Yonka Quintessence Aromatherapy candle + samples of their Cleansing Milk and Invigorating Mist

·         I-Envy Lashes

·         Burts Bee’s Foot Cream (not in the picture because my mam stole it!!)

What I love about Chic Treat Club is that everyone gets the same products, they also champion a lot of Irish products and introduce new products that are starting to come into Ireland. I’ve received all 3 of my boxes and I’m definitely signing up again, I think this time I’ll get the 6 months. I haven’t been disappointed with any of the boxes I’ve received and looking back on the ones that I have missed out on it looks like each box is consistently good. You also know that if you want to buy anything that came in the box that it will be sold in Ireland.

If you want any more info on Chic Treat Club just click the link here J

Thanks for Reading!!

Love Sarah xoxo

My Big Boots Haul

I was given a Boots voucher for €50 the other week and yesterday I decided to spend it. At first I didn’t think I was going to spend it all in one go but Sarah being Sarah I managed to spend €74 in total, I don’t even feel like I bought that much but I must have, but because I only really spent €24 I don't feel too bad.

In this post I’ll just be showing you what I bought and I’ll be doing a few posts from this haul over the next few weeks.

Here's what I bought: 

I bought 2 Collection Lasting Gel Colour polishes, these are €3.99 each but if you bought 2 you got them for €6.50. I got them in Raspberry 7 and Vixen Red 3. I’ve tried the Models Own gel effect nail polishes and didn’t think they were worth the money so I’m hoping these will be worth the price if not more.

 I got 2 of the Rimmel Moisture Renew lipsticks, I’ve never bought these before but I liked the colours that were on offer. These where €7.95 each and had an offer of buy one get the second half price. I chose 260 Amethyst Shimmer and 360 As You Want Victoria. I don’t think these are new but I do think they have just redesigned the packaging, but seeing as I’ve never tried them before they’re new for me.

Boots have finally started to fit permanent Sleek Makeup stands in their stores, it used to be that you could only get them in the Liffey Valley Boots but they are now in Dundrum and Jervis Centre too. I’ve a good few products from them already so I just picked up the Matte Me Gloss in 431 Fandango Purple as I haven’t tried the matte glosses before and the colour really caught my eye. The Glosses cost €6.49 each.

I love my volumising mascaras especially ones that are super affordable so I’m dying to try this Seventeen Falsifeye HD mascara. It promises “lash by lash separation, corner to corner volume and length for HD Impact” so I’m hoping it does exactly what it says on the tin (or at least box). Because it’s only new it has an introductory offer of €5.98, after it will cost €8.89 so if it lives up to the hype you still get bang for your buck. Silly Sarah was too excited though and just grabbed the first box she saw and ended up getting it in Brown/Black so it will be interesting to see what the colour is like when I get it out if the box.

Another mascara and another piece from Collection. This is the Colour Lash – All Day Wear Colour mascara, as the name suggests it’s a coloured mascara and I bought it in blue as you do. I’m not sure where I’m going to wear it but it only cost €2.69 so I’m not too worried if I only wear it a few times.

Bourjois where doing a 3 for 2 offer plus a free pair of glasses, I bought 2 of the Rouge Edition Velvet Matte lippies (€10.49 each) and one the new Color Boost Glossy Finish Lipsticks (€10.99). I’ve already bought one of the Rouge Edition Velvet Matte Lipsticks a month or so ago and I’ve wanted to buy more since, they have recently brought out a few more colours in the range that are a bit more darker than the ones they had on offer first. I chose 7 Nude-ist and 8 Grand Cru, I do love the darker colours. The Color Boost intrigued me, it says on the lipstick “comfort & Hydration with SPF15 for 10Hrs” it also says its waterproof and that’s the seller for me, I  can’t wait to see if this is true or not. I’ve a feeling the free glasses won’t suit my face but I haven’t tried them on yet but as my dad says “if it’s free, take it”.

I went over to the Soap and Glory stand to look at the new blush sticks that they have but wasn’t impressed by them, I looked around the rest of the stand to see if anything caught my eye (of course something did, I’m a makeup magpie). I picked up the Archery Brow Tint and Precision Pencil (€13.00), I’ve never seen a brow pencil like this, it has a tinted pen that you’re supposed to fill and shade your brow with and the pencil you use to shape your brows, it sounds very intriguing to me and it’ll be a bit different to what I’m used too. €13.00 seems a bit much for a drugstore brow pencil so it better do the business.

Finally I bought two Barry M polishes from their Aquarium Collection. They’re two toned which I don’t think I have any polishes that are two toned and I have a lot of polishes so I needed to get one for my collection. I got one two toned polish in 417 Arabian and a glitter polish in 412 Mermaid and they both complement each other. This was another multi saver offer of buy one get the second half price and they’re €5.99 each.

Hoping something caught your eye in this post and if you see anything that catches your eye and you want me to do a post about it before another product then leave a comment below.

Thanks for reading :)

Love Sarah

Top Tips for Tip Top Lips

Some people were born with perfect teeth, glossy hair, bigger chested and somewhere "naturally" gifted like Kim K or Nicki Mina in the rear area, I myself have been blessed with full lips (all natural I assure you).

To keep my lips in tip top shape I follow 3 important rules:

1.       Stay Hydrated

2.       Exfoliate

3.       Moisturise

In this hot hot weather I try to drink as much as possible, even in the winter it’s  more important as you have dry air from heaters trying to turn you in to a piece of dried fruit! Anything above a litre and I’m doing well, but I aim to have between a litre and 2 litres a day.

Secondly I exfoliate, I recall telling friends that I exfoliate my lips and I just remember them looking at me funny, but you lips are skin too and need to be exfoliated to stay smooth and soft just like any other bit of skin on your body.

I use the Lush Lip scrub in the flavour Popcorn; it’s so sweet and tastes like toffee popcorn. I rub it on my lips about once a week – while I do think lips should be exfoliated the skin in that area is very thin so you don’t need to be going overboard.  I just do it in the mornings when I wash my face and make sure that my lips are wet when I do it as rubbing it in dry is just too harsh.

If I don’t have my lip scrub I also use my toothbrush which works just as well!

To finish I moisturise using any lip balms that I can get my hands on. I’m loving coconut at the moment with it being the summer so I’ve been using the Body Shop Lip Butters and the Balmi lip cubes, both in Coconut. A little tip for you – I keep a pot in the fridge so that it when I apply it, especially on hot days like today , it cools you down immediately and it also stops it from melting, I don’t know how many times I have put my whole finger into a melted tub of lip balm.

So that's how I keep my lips in tip top form, everybody has a part of their body that they love more than the rest and I love my lips so it’s important that I keep them in good nick!

Enjoy the weekend girls :)

Love Sarah xoxo

Beauty for Bloggers Meet Up with Buff Make-Up and Review

A week or so ago I went to the Westbury Hotel with Miss Bright With Delight aka Karen. We were invited to the Beauty for Bloggers meet up to look at Buff Makeup and have the chats with some other bloggers.

I had heard of Buff Makeup but never had the opportunity to try any of their products out so I was really excited to see what they had to offer.

As well as having a table full of Buff Makeup to ogle over, we had two gorgeous models for the girls to work their magic on. The first look was a black smokey eye and the second look was a bit more natural but still smokey and glam.

There were two products that really caught my eye. Firstly it was their Sheer Glo Lotion (€32) in Paradise; it’s a gorgeous bronze highlight that can be mixed into the foundation or to the tops of your cheeks to highlight your cheek bones.

My second favourite of the night was their blush in Big O (€21.50). This is the mirror image of the Nars blusher in Orgasm but with a hint more of a glow. This is definitely on my shopping list.

We also got to take home some fab goodies. In the bag I got was their HD Liquid Foundation (€30), I was pretty impressed with it at the event and couldn’t wait to get home and try it out.

The foundation comes in 6 shades and each shade should be able to match up to 3 skin tones. It can be used to get a light coverage or can be built up to get the coverage that you desire. The foundation is very long wearing and doesn’t transfer on to clothes, it also covers really well.

It says it’s for all skin types but as I am very oily and I found that it did get very greasy. I used is for the first few days with my MAC prep + prime primer which I always use with my MAC foundations, I then changed it up to the Bourjois Happy Light Matte primer and it made such a difference I only had to powder my face once the whole day which for me is a result, so top tip - if your foundation isn’t working for you then play around with your primers as it can make such a difference.

I really like this make up and it smooth’s out the skin camouflaging any imperfections and for a girl with large pores like myself, it smooth’s them out completely, you can’t even tell that I have any!  

It's on the higher price range but the quality you get makes it well worth the price.

You can purchase their makeup online here or you can pop into Hessions in Drumcondra or Clontarf to buy the products there or you can book in and they can do your makeup for you.

Love Sarah xoxo

UFC Fight Night 46

Not exactly what you’d expect from a beauty blogger but last night I went to the UFC fight night in the O2 in Dublin.

I’d only seen one or two fights previously while watching them with my boyfriend. He wanted to go so I decided we’d get tickets and have a date night.

I love boxing so I’m not too fazed when it comes to watching people fight, I had seen on my twitter feed last night some people being really disgusted by it but it’s not something that I’m bothered about.

Tickets where pretty expensive but when I look back on it I think it’s worth it, we arrived early and got to see all 10 fights.

All the Irish who fought last night won their fights so it was a great night for the Irish and as Conor McGregor said “We’re not here to take part, we’re here to take over”.

I took my camera with me and got some great shots of the night so keep scrolling down if you want to take a look.

Love Sarah xoxo

Vichy Dermablend Fluid Corrective Foundation | Review

I picked up the Vichy Dermablend Fluid Corrective Foundation when I was looking for a good going out makeup. I was heading to my friends 21^st and had gotten a spray tan that made me look like I had just walked out of the Sahara so none of my foundations matched my newly bronzed skin. I was in boots searching for the right foundation when I stopped by the Vichy stand, I remembered I had seen a Vichy ad popping up just before watching a video on YouTube showcasing the foundation so I started to swatch and one of the colours matched my skin it also appeared to give a great coverage so I decided to buy it and had enough points on my Boots card so I didn’t feel like I had to spend anything extra.

It costs €20.99 in Boots and currently is on offer for only €15.74. It’s slightly more expensive than some brands but I think it’s worth it.

Left side of my face has Dermablend Fluid Corrective Foundation, Right side has no product.

Not to blow my own trumpet but I like to think I have good skin, apart from the a blemish during the month and having some rosy cheeks I don’t think I need to wear too much make up and most of the makeup I have is very sheer anyway. Even though I do tend to wear sheer makeup on a daily basis I think for a night out or special occasion I do like that little bit more coverage.

Before 

After

The Vichy Dermablend Fluid Corrective Foundation can be slightly off putting at first as it can come out looking like it will be very high coverage but the more you blend it in it does get lighter looking while at the same time covering any imperfections that needs to be covered.

It covers up every imperfection and gives you such a smooth airbrushed finish that I haven’t seen in any other foundation. As it says in its blurb online it is a “camouflaging makeup and conceals minor to moderate skin imperfections” and it definitely lives up to that. It also has a high SPF of 35 which is the highest I’ve ever seen in a foundation and great especially in these hot summer months.

I did read that it can cover up tattoos so I asked my friend if she would help me to test this theory out as I don’t have any tattoos. I put in on the tattoo and as you can see in the pictures it didn’t cover it up entirely. I didn’t put any concealer underneath so maybe if I did it would have helped it to get completely covered.

My Lovely assistants Tattoo

Hasn't covered the tattoo fully, but with some concealer it might have been covered completely 

It is very long lasting and there isn’t too much transfer, although I did notice that after ringing someone on my phone the screen was left with a bit more makeup than usual.

I have oily skin and after a while it did get a bit more greasy and shiny than other foundations, also around my cheeks where I’m a bit dryer it can catch and gather in patches. That being said I still think it’s a really good makeup and when my skin is behaving it does actually work well, I think I just need to play around with different primers, I found that one of the ones I have work better than the others.

It won’t leave you with cake face and isn’t heavy like other makeups so you skin will still be able to breath so if you do have problem skin it won’t be getting clogged and made worse.

There’s a few other products in the Dermablend range that I would like to try like the concealer and powder.

It wouldn’t be my everyday foundation but for a night time or special occasion I will be wearing it, I would consider buying it again, especially as it matches my tan.

Have you tried any of the products from the Dermablend range? Let me know what you thought.

If you want any more information just click HERE

Love Sarah xoxo