Primark PS Love Beauty Pearly Queen Highlighter

There’s nothing more I love in life than an absolute bargain and Penneys never fails to come up with one.

A few months ago pictures from the Penneys/Primark A/W collection started to emerge and amongst the photos was a PS Love Beauty Highlighter. Since then I had been on the lookout for this highlighter which had gotten some amazing first impressions from bloggers that attended the A/W showcase.

The highlight in question is called “The Pearly Queen” and costs only €2.50, it appeared in Penneys in the last few weeks and when I saw in store I grabbed it.

I was slightly sceptical at first as the Penneys makeup can be a bit hit and miss but after using it for 2-3 weeks now I love it.

When I used it first it didn’t put much product on my brush but after a few goes on it the product loosened up a bit. The colour is a pearly pinkie gold along the lines of MAC Soft and Gentle.

It’s a buildable highlight that lasts all day. I like to pack it on as I like the ultra-glowing look.

It wouldn’t be the same quality as MAC or Becca highlights but for €2.50 I haven’t come across a highlight this cheap that still gives you a good glow and that lasts all day.

Definitely worth picking up next time you’re in Penneys.

Thanks for reading.

Love Sarah xoxo

PS. Primark is known as Penneys in Ireland 

Primark - P.S Liquid Foundation

A few weeks back I was in Penneys doing the usual of going in for one thing and coming out with 2 giant bags 20 minutes later. While I was there I spotted some Penneys own makeup brand foundations. At €3 a pop I figured why not try it out if it sucks at least it wasn’t going to do any damage.

There are 3 colours to choose from – light, medium and dark. I chose light and medium as there were no samples to test to check out the colours.

When I got home I discovered I was neither light nor medium. The light colour is extremely pale and pink toned and the medium is a deep tan yellow toned. Mixing them together I did manage to get the perfect shade, I’m usually a NW15 or NW20 with my MAC foundations.

What drew me to the foundation was that the formula was oil free and semi –matte. I live for matte foundations – although this summer I’m trying to dew it up a bit.

On application it blends really well, it’s a medium coverage but feels very light. The foundation dries into the skin matte.

The pictures below where taken after nearly 11 hours wear and without powdering all day. There is some wear around the nose and chin but that happens with the majority of my foundations.

Left - Not powdered and Right - Powdered, both after nearly 11hrs wear.

For €3 it is a good foundation it does what it says on the package but the odd shades are a disappointment as I could get one Rimmel foundation for nearly the same price as buying 2 of Penneys. I probably won’t ever wear the foundations separately, the light is too light and pink and the medium would be a bit too much like putting Nutella on my face.

Thanks for reading.

Love Sarah xoxo

P.S Love Lip Gloss - Penneys/Primark

Penneys have just blown my mind in the last few months with the release of some amazing hair and beauty products all under their P.S Love range. Years ago I looked down on Penneys beauty products; you’d be afraid of what you’d be putting on your skin and if you might break out with a hive or rash. Luckily in the last few years they have come out with some pretty impressive products and at super cheap rates.

I picked this gloss up a few weeks ago and have worn it a few times and have been really impressed by it. What’s more impressive is the price, hold on to your knickers for this one, this little amazing gloss will set you back .90cent.

I usually hate glosses, I think it’s because I always end up wearing them on a windy day with my hair down and long hair, wind and gloss just doesn’t mix at all!!

The quality of the gloss is really good, I’ve tried many others in the past that have cost a lot more and I’d probably go for this one over them in an instant. Firstly it’s not a sticky texture; it feels creamier on the lips. It’s really pigmented and leaves a slight stain on your lips so if you’re eating or drinking you still have colour on your lips.

I can’t remember if there are other colours but the next time I’m perusing the makeup section in Penneys I’ll pick more up.

Thanks for reading.

Love Sarah xoxo

London Beauty Haul - Primark & Kiko

Last weekend I went off to London for a girl’s weekend, I thought I would have bought a lot more but the exchange rate killed me. I won’t show everything I got but here are a few of the makeup pieces I bought.

Firstly I went to Kiko, twice actually, the one in Westfield and the one in Regents Street. I’d never been to any Kiko so I might have gone slightly over board and there was a sale on but I think I could have done a lot more damage if I had more money.

In the Westfield store I picked up a few shadows, they didn’t have a great selection but when I went to Regent Street they had loads on offer, annoyingly they had things on sale in Regent Street that I paid full price for in Westfield. I can’t understand why stores do that!

The Clic shadows where £2.80 each, so I picked up 9 of them, I also got the palette to pop them in which was £4.50. The qualities of these shadows are amazing for the price, so pigmented and not chalky at all. I also picked up two of their Water Eye shadows which are just like the NARs Dual Infinity shadows which where £4.40 and can be used wet or dry.

I also got 3 of the Colour-Up Long Lasting Shadow Sticks which where £3.00 each and I’m loving them at the moment, they literally last all day and they are highly pigmented.

I thought I would go mental in Selfridges but the lack of pounds really put a stop to that. Luckily Primark was there to save me! They have so many new products that you can’t get here in Ireland; I really hope they come to our shores ASAP.

I picked up 3 lip pencils a nude, pink and a red, they’re not too creamy but they give great colour and make the lippies last for a good while, they’re a bargain at £1.00 each. I also got 2 of their Liquid Lipsticks (£2.00 each), one swipe and you have an amazing amount of colour, they are definitely one for a summers day with no wind though as your hair will be stuck to your lips like glue. They have powder blushes in loads of different colours but I chose to get the Blush Stick, I haven’t tried this one out yet but when I swatched it on my wrist it does give a nice peachy colour. The winner of the bunch has to be the Deep Colour Ultra Shine Lipsticks, I wish I picked up more but I got the nude shade and I am in love with this, it hasn’t been off my lips at all, out of everything I bought I really hope these come to our Penneys and they were only £1.50.

I had seen so much I wanted to buy but I had to restrain myself, luckily I’m back in London in July just in time for IMATs so I might start saving for that now so I won’t leave anything behind.

Thanks for reading.

Love Sarah xoxo

Primark/Penneys - PS Love This Make-up Brush Cleanser

Last week I started to see the new PS Love This Makeup Brush Cleaner from Penneys pop up on my Instagram and Facebook. With all the buzz from it and good things I was hearing about it I knew I needed to try it out.

The first few times I went into Penneys they were all sold out but luckily I found some in the Mary’s Street branch in Dublin, I obviously wasn’t the only one to be drawn in by all the buzz. At only €2.50 per bottle it’s hard not to see why they wouldn’t be snapped up.

The bottles have a spray applicator and come in a cute little black bottle with 125ml of product in each bottle. It is an alcohol based cleaner, suitable for synthetic and natural bristled brushes. The spray isn’t perfumed and smells a little bit like windowlene, so if you have a sensitive nose it might be a little irritating.

I filmed a little video of myself cleaning the brushes with a mix of natural and synthetic brushes to see how it worked on them. I obviously wasn’t using very dark colours the last week so as some of them weren’t that dirty.

The directions on the back of the bottle tell you to spray the brush and wipe it into a paper towel. I tried spraying directly onto the brush first but found later that spraying the paper towel helped clean the makeup off the brush a bit better.

The spray did help get the dirt off the brushes but I think I would still have to do a deep clean after 2 weeks. I think this cleaner would be good for when you’re in between deep cleans.

The brushes dry extremely fast, you would be able to use them again within minutes. If you’re an MUA starting out or have a load of brushes like me this would be really good to have in your collection.

This is a good one to have in your bag but I won’t be retiring my Beauty Blender Solid or baby shampoo any time soon.

Keep an eye out for them in any good Penneys/Primark as I’m sure they’ll be off the shelves soon.

Thanks for reading.

Love Sarah xoxo

Penneys Haul

If you don’t know already I’m heading off to Florida on Wednesday. I’ve been saving like mad but I popped into Penneys yesterday and the whole spending ban kind of went of the window. I did buy stuff for the hols and a lot of it was on sale, all those €3’s seem to add up very quickly though!

When I went in I went over to the sale rail as they were selling off their summer clothes. I grabbed this striped maxi dress which was only €3.00. I love the spaghetti straps, I’m just hoping the horizontal stripes don’t make me look huge.

I then found this denim dress for €7.00. It’s a light fabric which will be great in the heat and love how it’s a bit longer at the back.

The denim shorts weren’t in the sale but I couldn’t resist, I haven’t tried them on yet so fingers crossed they look alright on me. These where €13.00.

I have a few sandals and runners for the holidays but these cute little runners where only €4.00 and looked very summery. Fingers crossed they don’t cut the feet off me walking around the parks.

I then went round to the beauty section which is where I think I did the most damage.

I picked up this roller ball perfume for €2.50, I’d never seen it before and thought it’s cheap enough that if I didn’t like it then it won’t have caused too much of a dent in my purse. It’s a lovely fresh yet musky scent but you need to get close to it to get a proper sniff of it.

These revitalising eye pads looked really interesting, I can’t wait to see use them. If they work out good I might bring them to use them on the plane.

I then got these toothbrush holders, I just thought they were handy to put on my toothbrush and chuck into my case.

I don’t need any more nail polishes but it wouldn’t be a haul for me if there wasn’t some nail polish in the mix. I couldn’t say no to this little box of 12 mini polishes just look how cute they are and only €3. I think they’re for children but I’m a big kid and just couldn’t resist.

I’m trying not to pack so much and I know my skincare will take up the most space in my bag so I had to get these travel bottles to but my face wash and creams into, these where only €1.50.

To save even more space I got these oil balancing wipes to take off my makeup, I usually use a cleansing oil to take my makeup off but I think that will be too messy to bring the oil with me so I’ll use the wipes to take off the first layer of makeup and then go in with my usual routine. These where only €1.50 for a two pack – bargain!

I don’t know when I’ll use these but these lashes where only 50 cent each.

This ombre polish topcoat was really intriguing to me. You put different layers on your nails and it creates a graduated look. It was only €3.49 and I can’t wait to try it out when I take my Shellac off to see if it works.

I’ve been trying out a foundation that will be in an upcoming review and it hasn’t really worked with any of my foundation brushes so I decided to get a blender to try something new. It’s only €1.50 so we’ll see if it makes a difference.

Finally I got this PS Love Beauty lipstick, I got it because I don’t think I have this colour from their collection. It’s only €2.00 and smells like the fizzy stuff inside of a Refresher bar.

That’s it, I bought one or two things extra like socks and boring stuff like that. Just have to pack up everything now and I’ll be all set J

July Favourites

Looking back on July I seemed to have fit in a lot in such a short few weeks!

It started off with my birthday on the second and it was the start on a week of busy concerts. The night of my birthday I went to Kanye West and I was so pleased to say that I got ID'd and seeing as I had turned 26 that day and I was feeling like an oul one this made me extremely happy. Then on the Friday I went to see The Kings of Leon which was just the best concert I think I've been to, at least top ten, mainly because it had fireworks at the end which I don’t think I’ve ever seen at the end of concert.

On both occasions I wore what are my new favourite wellies. They are €20 from Dunnes Stores, I’m not sure if they still have them or not. They look like biker boots and only go have way up the calf which is far cooler to me than looking like you've just come back from milking a herd of cows.

Penneys/Primark also have a similar pair for €18.00.

Ice Cold Baby!

On these long hot summer days and being stuck in the office while it seems that everyone and their mother are out sunning themselves there was nothing more I want after work was a drink and a laugh and for a few days during the summer I got to get my lips around some cocktails and my favourite has to be a strawberry daiquiri. They are so refreshing and cooling and sometimes just a little too easy to drink (Remember kids always drink responsibly).

I’ve also discovered Iced Caramel Macchiatos and Butlers do the absolute best ones. I’m trying not to have them all the time but they are so addictive. If you haven’t tried them yet then you’re missing out.

Bourjois Volume 1 Seconde mascara

I’ve been loving this mascara in July. I’ve played around with a few this month but I’ve seemed to always come back to it. It’s so black and long wearing and instantly volumises your lashes. I’ve written a post already about it so check it out here.

Crown Brush UK Metal Madness palette

Another I’ve written a post about (click here). I picked this palette up at the Crown Brush UK stand at IMATS London. I instantly fell in love with it, the colour pay off and pigmentation is crazy and used with MAC Fix+ makes the colours pop even more. I’ve used the palette a good few times this month for day and night looks, it’s was easily one of the best buys from the many things I bought at IMATS.

Fix+ MAC

This has been my saviour this month, not only does it make my eye shadows from my new Metal Madness palette pop but it cools and sets my makeup. It’s been so hot this July that as soon as I’ve stepped out of the shower I’ve been in near collapse with the heat so I’ve reached for my bottle of Fix+ and sprayed it all over my face and it instantly cooled me down. It was great for setting my makeup too, it seemed pointless in doing a full face of makeup only to have it half melted down my face by the time I’ve reached the house door, so a couple spritz of this and I was flying.

Victoria Secret Bombshell

Every time I go to the States or to London I always find myself in a Victoria Secrets store and I’m a sucker for their fragrances. My absolute favourite is Bombshell, I always get it in the spray rather than the perfume as its way cheaper. I think I have about 2-3 bottles floating about my room. I hadn’t worn it in a good few weeks and when I came across it I fell in love all over again. To me it smells like a man’s after shave but in a good way, along the lines of Abercrombie & Fitch Fierce but more girly. I just love it.

I’m sure I have more favourites but these are the ones that have really been my obsession all month. I’m sure I’ll have a good few favourites next month as I’ve been trying not to spend much this month but until then have a great Saturday and thanks for reading. If you have any comments just pop them below.

Love Sarah xoxo

NYC Expert Last Lip Color | Review

If you haven’t copped it already I love my lippy! Every girl needs a bit of lipstick in their lives and for me a bit of lipstick will always make me feel more confident and top a look off.

Anytime I go into Penny’s I always make a b-line for makeup section and always manage to find something to buy and when there is so much choice and such bargains it’s hard not to walk away with bags of makeup.

For the last few weeks I had seen on Instagram a load of posts from a girl who had bought the NYC Expert Last Lip Color lipsticks, the swatches really caught my eye and usually when something catches my eye I have to go straight out and get whatever it is!

When I went to the stand in Penny’s they had some but not all of the collection, I think there are 15-20 colours in total, so I picked four of my favourites. I failed to mention that these lipsticks are €2.49, I’m surprised that I only came away with 4 colours, but it did look like a lot of the colours where very similar.

Red Rapture

Now these guys claim to last up to 6 hours which I think is pushing it, at most I would say 2-4 hours and that’s without doing too much eating or drinking, but when they’re that cheap I don’t think that really matters. The good thing is that they unlike a lot of lipsticks that say that they are long lasting they don’t dry out the lip, they do say that they are moisturising but not totally moisturising. 

Purple Crush

On application the colours go on pretty heavy and a lot of the time you have to pat any excess off with some tissue, but I don't like to feel a lot of product on my lips so each to their own, but this works for me.

Air Kiss

The colour payoff is really good for such a cheap product with some of the lipsticks beings just as pigmented as highly coloured as brands like MAC. The only problem I have with them is the smell, it's a sweet berry but it reminds me of the smell from makeup I had when I was a kid.

Blue Rose

I think that I’m a bit late in the game with these ones I think they’ve been out in Ireland for nearly a year but only out in the states a few months, hence my Instagram timeline being filled with swatches from the collection the last few months. Go out and get these guys, especially if you want to try out a few colours this summer that you might not usually try as they are so cheap, if you don't think it works for you its not like you have broken the bank!

Cocoa brown: Dark 1 Hour Tan

Well I caved I ended up buying the Dark Cocoa Brown. I have said previously that the Original 1 hour tan was dark enough for me so that's why I wasn't going to buy it, but with the sunny days after appearing I felt like having that little extra darkness. 

I'm currently a Cocoa Brown junkie and love everything Cocoa Brown. When I’m prepping for my tan I always use the Tough Stuff exfoliator (I use it nearly every time I’m in the shower which stops any dramas if I ever have to do a last minute tan). I love this exfoliator, it’s so easy just to grab it in the shower because it’s in a tube, but you can use any exfoliator that you want, I love the Soap and Glory ones too. It’s also important to use any exfoliant when you shower after you have applied your tan to create an even tan and avoid patches; it’s also great to get rid of any mistakes you might have made during tanning application.

Left: Before application, Right: After application

So normally I would use one of my Soap and Glory moisturisers but when I’m tanning I always use the Cocoa Brown Chocolate Whip. It looks like chocolate pudding and smells like it too but when you rub it in it goes white and dries in really quickly. A word of warning though, a little goes a long way with this stuff; it’s as if the amount doubles when you start rubbing it in so go easy and add more if you need to. I use the Chocolate Whip before application and I use it for the full week that I have my tan on. As far as I’m aware using any oil free lotions will prevent any of the dreaded streaking.

When it comes to the actual Darker 1 Hour Tan it is so much darker, if you’re really pasty I wouldn’t recommend it, it might look a bit cray otherwise.

I always put a bit of Vaseline around my elbows, in between my fingers and around my wrists or anywhere that the skin is a bit drier.

On application you can see the tan come up instantly, I’d try and buff it in as much as possible and as quickly as possible. I’ve noticed that if you leave it for any longer than a few seconds it will dry in so buff, buff, buff!!

I noticed that when I put it on it did take a bit longer than usual to dry, and it was still slightly tacky after a while, but that didn’t have any effect on how it turned out.

You could leave it on for an hour but I always leave it on for a full night before washing it off, the longer the better with this stuff.

Left: after application, Right: A day after application 

Overall the result was really good and any streaking was up to my bad application (for some reason I completely missed my fingers). It was a lot darker than the other tan, it still looked natural though which can be hard when you have a darker tan, luckily you do look brown and not orange which is always a bonus! 

If you like your tans dark and are fed up like me having to layer it on the get the New Dark 1 Hour Tan! You can get your tanning mitts on all Cocoa Brown products in all good chemists and Pennys/Primark.

Love Sarah xoxo

Facebook Competition

Good Morning Girl's!!!

I finally have a picture up of the goodies that you can win on my Facebook competition. 

If you haven't entered yet just click the link and like, share and don't forget to follow as well :)

You can win the new Cocoa Brown Travel Set, the Oh So Special Sleek Palette and a little nail polish set from the PS Love Beauty range from Penny's.

Enter Here :)

March favourites

Hey Guys, I've been sorely lacking in the posts recently, it’s been a hectic week or so and hopefully I’ll be able to put up one or two posts extra this week.

So these are my March favourites, some of these products I purchased in February but I got the full use out of them for the whole of March and looking back over them they are all super affordable, I don't think I spent more than €10 on each of the products.

Starting off we have the Schwarzkopf Essence Ultime shampoo and conditioner created by Claudia Schiffer. They have a few different types of shampoos in this range; I got mine in Diamond Color which is for coloured and highlighted hair. Firstly it smells amazing, I can't put my finger on it but its noting like I've had in other hair products so that's bonus number one. The shampoo lathers so much, I also think that if it doesn’t lather then it’s not a proper shampoo, usually if I have one that doesn’t lather my hair always gets greasier quicker.

Now for my favourite part of this pair is the fact that it makes your hair super soft and it doesn’t knot at all. The knots just fall out even before you've put a comb through your hair.

I chose the shampoo and conditioner as over the years I’ve gone from blonde to brown to Cheryl Cole red to brown and back to blonde so my hair has been pretty damaged over the years and also with winter and being around heaters all the time my hair has dried out big time but the Essence Ultime shampoo and conditioner has brought life into my locks. I definitely recommend it if you have coloured hair.

This is my surprise favourite of the month which is the Rimmel BB cream matte foundation. I bought this in a 3 for 2 offer at Boots with a few other Rimmel products including their Stay Matte mouse foundation. I first tried the Stay Matte foundation and I really didn’t like it, you can see my review on that in one of my previous posts. But this foundation is really good, I’m not sure if the BB cream has any effect on the skin and it isn’t the most mattifying of foundations and they do have only 3 colours to choose from but apart from that I have fallen in love with it and have been using this foundation more than my MAC and the way my skin has been recently it's looking a lot nicer on my skin than the MAC has been. After using it for the month and getting to know it, I found that applying it with my fingers rather than using my brushes makes the application much better. The light colour is a shade or too darker than my pale Irish skin but I’ve managed to make it work for me with a super amount of blending.

Now I have the oiliest skin in the world and hate to have even a little bit of shine and at the beginning of using the foundation I was touching my skin up with powder a lot but after buying a mattifying powder it has worked perfectly with the foundation. The foundation does last throughout the day and it doesn’t dry out the skin I suppose that’s part of the BB cream in it. It’s a great little foundation, although it isn’t properly matte but I’ve found a way for it to work for me. It’s super cheap and great for days when you don’t want to waste the good stuff.

Just to add on, it’s a sheer makeup and not too buildable and it’s not the best if you want to contour with powders but as long as you just wear it as a normal makeup with a simple bit of blush then your good to go!

I was out one night and had forgotten to powder my face so I asked a friend if she had any, she handed me an Essence loose powder and after hours of dancing my skin was perfect. I was on a mission I went to every Penny's possible but they didn’t have it, but I kept seeing the same one only in a compact. I gave up and bought the compact. It works the exact same though, its translucent powder and really mattes the skin for hours. 

My final makeup March favourite is the Scandaleyes Rockin' Curves from Rimmel, I've done a blog post already on this one so you can read more of it on their. This was only launched a month or so ago but it has taken precedence over my other mascaras this month. What I love about this is the wand, it's a curved wand which I had never seen before and in one swipe it gets every lash and the tip gets every little bottom lash. It doesn’t clump and it stays on all day without losing any height. 

So this isn’t anything to do with makeup but I am in love with these two songs. All of me by John Legend and Magic by Coldplay, both of them are constantly on replay the last few weeks. I usually don't love Coldplay but I love this one and listening to John Legend got me listening to his Love in the Future album. I hope he comes to Dublin this year!

Only a small bit of March Favourites but I haven’t been allowed to spend that much this month.

Thanks for reading

Love Sarah xoxo