The Perfect Mascara... Could this be the one?

Hello lovelies,

I hope you are all doing good. So as the title suggests, this post is about the long and winding road of finding the perfect mascara. I'm going to be really honest and say that every hyped up mascara has been a bit of a let down for me. My latest run in was with Benefit's They're Real! Such a let down. My lashes actually started falling out, and I still have a gap in my left eyelashes that you could kick a field goal through! I'm not saying it's the worst mascara I have ever tried but it just didn't live up to the hype for me.

So, after months and years of searching, I've found it. I've met what I think could be 'The One'. And like they always say, it happened when I wasn't looking. It was literally dropped into my lap. My partner bought me a bottle of Chanel No. 5 for our anniversary this year and the very nice lady at the Chanel counter gave him some samples for me. One of which was the Inimitable Intense mascara. I immediately fell in love. It did everything it promised and more...

It's a beauty. I bought the full size when I had exhausted the sample and it's worth every penny!

What it Promises: Volume, Length, Curl and Separation.

This mascara lengthens like a dream, curls the lashes beautifully, thickens perfectly and separates the lashes too. There are no clumps, none of that spindly lash effect or little fallout flakes. It's just amazing. I really feel like this is the one.

The wand on the mascara is lovely. The mascara itself isn't wet but it isn't dry either, it strikes a happy balance and dries in no time at all. I get all day wear from this mascara. I really can't say enough good things about this product. I feel like I could sweep the floor with my lashes when wearing this, I don't feel like any other mascara will trump the Inimitable Intense.

So that's it for now ladies!

Let me know what your favourite mascara's are, give me your recommendations!

Tell me your mascara disasters!

Until next time...

Aundrea

xoxo

The Body Shop - My Top Products

Hello Ladies,

Hope you are all well. My post today is about The Body Shop, and the products I'm really enjoying from them at the moment! My love affair with The Body Shop began at the tender age of 11, when I was helping my mum with a raffle for my primary school. There was a White Musk basket full of assorted goodies such as soap, body spray, perfume and powder. My brother won it and I was distraught! He was 7 at the time, so I offered to trade him 3 weeks pocket money for the basket, he of course agreed and was £1.50 richer 3 weeks later!

The girl at my local Body Shop is so friendly and helpful, she hands out generous samples of everything and is more than willing to help in any way she can, thank you Emma! All of the products below, Emma recommended and I honestly cannot find fault with any of them.

I have 6 products to talk about in total, and they are all winners!

This is the Natrulift Softening Cream Cleanser with Organic Pomegranate. It's a beautiful cleanser with anti oxidant properties. It leaves my skin feeling soft, clean and supple. It also fights sign of ageing and it firms too. I can't really speak for the anti-ageing yet, but it feels like it's doing my skin good, I've had less breakouts since I started using this.

The famous Hemp Hand Protector, This cream is for very dry skin, and contains hemp seed oil. I have dry skin on my hands and every so often my cuticles suffer because of this too. The scent of this product is pretty hard to describe. It smells very earthy, almost like clay or soil. It's not a bad scent but it's not one of their more fantastic scents, but as long as it does the job, I'm happy!

The Neroli Jasmin Body Mist. This is absolutely divine! I adore this product, it's incredible! I stumbled across this accidentally one day, I'm not a body mist type of gal... I'm a strong perfume drown myself in it type of girl. This comes in perfume form too, but funnily enough the body mist is much nicer, and stronger too. It's a really seductive scent, and I think it could pass as unisex too. At least that's what my partner tells me, he steals mine whenever its left out!

This is the Vitamin C Skin Reviver, this is one of my holy grail products, it's truly amazing. It's marketed for dull skin, I use it as a makeup primer, it smoothes and gives a beautiful radiant glow underneath my foundation. It smells like fizzy oranges and it's a real pick me up for my skin. I believe Kylie Minogue is a huge fan of this product and she has said it's a staple in her beauty and skincare regime.

The Vitamin E Facial Oil for dry skin. This is a fantastic product, I use this at night time to help sort out my stubborn patches of dry skin. A little of this oil goes a long way, the product comes with a little pipette dropper, which is fantastic to help control the amount of product you use. I find it moisturises and soothes my skin fantastically.

The last product on my 'must have' list is the Hemp Moisture High Balm for very dry skin. This is an incredibly rich balm that I use once or twice a week. I don't use it all over my face, just on my problem areas. This takes a long time to sink in but the results at worth it. Once again, a little of this product goes a long way, and it's not just for the face, it can be used on any problem areas of dry skin anywhere on the body.

So that's it lovelies, my must have list of The Body Shop products!

Let me know if you've tried any of these little treasures.

Which products have you tried and loved/hated?

Let me know if there is anything you recommend that's not on my list!

Until next time!

Aundrea

xoxo

Chanel - Soleil Tan de Chanel (Bronze Universal)

Hey Ladies,

I hope you're all doing well! My post this evening is about Chanel's infamous product Soleil Tan de Chanel.
This has been on my list for quite some time, but like other pale skin ladies, I was a bit hesitant to try it, I was afraid this might have the dreaded oompah loompah effect on me. I couldn't have been more wrong!

Unfortunately my 'local' Chanel counter is 2 hours away so any purchases I intend to make are always pre-empted. While I was in Dublin I decided to bite the bullet and head into the Chanel counter in Arnotts. The lady I always try to catch while there is Yvonne, she's amazing and will always give me an honest opinion (even if it means hurting my delicate feeling sometimes) When I asked her about it, and told her my oompah loompah fear she sat me on the chair under those really harsh unflattering lights and went to work with what genuinely seemed a huge amount of product on the brush. She advised me exactly where to place it on my face, what brushes to use it with, and to buff, buff, buff.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I looked in the mirror, my face looked radiant and beautifully structured. It wasn't dirty looking or orange or too dark for my face. It really shocked me to be honest, all my reservations faded away. I bought it and took it home, removed all my makeup and re applied it to put the product to the test. I followed Yvonne's instruction's exactly, and I ended up with the same great results.

The bronzer itself is a solid creme consistency with the tiniest amount of shimmer to it, which I only discovered when I bought it, all the reviews I had read said it was a matte, trust me it isn't, there is a very very subtle shimmer to it. So, what can you do with it? Well, Ive been experimenting with it and I have found that it can be used as an all over base for foundation, it can be worn lightly on its own, as a contour or whatever your bronzing purposes may be! It just gives a really healthy glow to the skin, I'm surprised at how much I have taken to this, and that's coming from a girl who ran a mile from bronzers of any description.

I use my Real Techniques buffing brush to apply it (is there anything that brush can't do?!) It works perfectly to blend and buff it into the skin. I really think you need a dense brush to make this product work. Add a little at first, and build to the desired coverage. As far as wear goes, it really seems to last all day, I've not had any issues so far and it's been sweltering heat the past day or two.

It's available at Chanel counters everywhere although according to Yvonne and my other sources once it sells out its very hard to get back into stock, she said 100 units were delivered last week and they had 10 left when I purchased mine. I really can see why its such a cult product. At €39 it is a bit of a splurge but, you get a huge amount of product in a pretty impressive jar, so I do believe you're getting value for money, plus... It's Chanel. I've never tried a product from Chanel I haven't fallen in love with, as you will see from my next few blog posts!

So that's it ladies, let me know your thoughts on this product.

Have you tried it? If not, do you intend to?

Tell me your favourite bronzing products!

Until next time,

Aundrea

xoxo

My Urban Decay Collection

Hey Ladies,

I hope you're all doing well and enjoying the weekend. My post today is about my Urban Decay collection.
I love UD, it's a fantastic brand, it's fun, edgy, unique and best of all it's cruelty free; what's not to love? You've probably seen my post on the deluxe shadows, so I'm not going to bore you with a big speech about how much love I have for this brand.Before I start I'm just going to warn you that this post will be picture heavy.

A quick overview of my collection

The Show Pony Palette

Top: Snatch, Mildew, Flash.

Bottom: Painkiller, Smog, Toasted.

The Sustainable Palette

Top: YDK, Flipside, Grifter, Uzi, Twice Baked.

Bottom: Midnight Cowboy Rides Again, Flash, Oil Slick, Kiddie Pool, Half Baked.

The Black Palette

Top: Black Dog, Barracuda, Jet.

Bottom: Sabbath, Cobra, Libertine.

The Deluxe Palette 

Top: Fishnet, Honey, Ransom

Middle: Graffiti, Zero, Peace.

Bottom: Shag, Scratch, Underground.

The Ammo Palette

Top: Smog, Mildew, Oil Slick, Lastcall, Chopper.

Bottom: Maui Wowie, Shattered, Polyester Bride, Grifter, Sin.

The Vegan Palette

Top: Minx, Urb, Gunmetal.

Bottom: Twice Baked, Smog, Half Baked.

15th Anniversary Palette

1st Row Down: Midnight Rodeo, Midnight 15, Vanilla, Flow, Chase.

2nd Row Down: Tainted, Omen, Evidence, Deep End.

3rd Row Down: Deeper, MIA, Ace, Blackout, Half Truth.

Book of Shadows NYC

1st Row Down: Perversion, Midnight Cowboy, Haight, Radium.

2nd Row Down: Uzi, Last Call, Maui Wowie, Snatch.

3rd Row Down: Loaded, Rockstar, Smog, Suspect.

4th Row Down: Rush, Money, Bordello, Psychedelic Sister.

Book of Shadows IV

First Row Down: Blue Bus, Bender, Midnight Cowgirl, Bust.

2nd Row Down: Gunmetal, Gravity, Sin, Missionary.

3rd Row Down: Cobra, Lost, Midnight Rodeo, Skimp.

4th Row Down: Baked, Hijack, Crystal, Zephyr.

The Naked 2

(I'm not going to list colours for Naked 1 or 2, I think everyone knows or has them at this stage)

The Naked Palette

Single shadows in Last Call and Midnight Cowboy.

Afterglow Glide on cheek tint.

Indecent

Big Fatty Mascara

24/7 Liquid eyeliner pen in Perversion

Primer Potion in Original

Super Curl Mascara

So that's my collection, if you want any more details on anything please do let me know. As I've said before I just adore Urban Decay products, if there is anything you have that you think I might enjoy, please let me know! Let me know what your favourite products are!

I'll see you all soon.

I hope you enjoyed!

Aundrea xoxo

Chanel Perfection Lumiere

Hey Lovlies! Hope you all are well. My post tonight is about Chanel's Perfection Lumiere foundation.

Let me first say, I have heard many mixed reviews on this foundation, and Chanel foundations in general.
To be honest, I have always found higher end foundations a bit of a bust. They either didn't sit right on me, or I was shade matched wrong (which admittedly isn't exactly the products fault, it's incompetent staff) The only higher end foundation I had ever found that I really liked was the Armani Luminous Silk foundation, but at €50 a bottle I cant justify buying a bottle every month!

I would have never bought this foundation for myself but my friend Donna on Twitter bought it, and it was a few shades too light for her, so I offered to swap her 2 bottles of foundations, which were too dark for me. I have to say I'm so so happy I did! Thank you Donna!

The shade is 20 Beige and it is perfect for me. I had read previous that it is a hard foundation to work with. I have to say, I really didn't find that. I had read that you should use your fingers to apply it as it tends to set pretty quick.

I used my Real Techniques buffing brush to apply it, keeping in mind how quick the foundation supposedly set, I buffed like crazy, but I honestly did not have any issues with it at all! It gave me a medium buildable coverage, it covered all my blemishes really well and it was still perfect 6 hours after application.

Another thing I have to tell you, that really surprised me was that it didn't cling to any of my dry patches.For a long wearing foundation which is recommended for combination/oily skin that's pretty darn impressive in my book and that's something that I really look for in a foundation.

The above picture is just to show you how the foundation looks on. I think that I most definitely will purchase this myself when it runs out, it gets 10 out of 10 from me so far!

Just wanted to say a big thank you to Donna again!

Check her out on Twitter: @VonFluffy
The blog she and her sister share: http://notjustontheinside.blogspot.com/

So that's it ladies, I hope you enjoyed!

Give me your foundation recommendations...

Whats worked for you and tell me some of your foundation disasters!

Aundrea xoxo

OPI Holland Collection Spring/Summer 2012

Hello Ladies,

I hope this post finds you all well! If you don't already know this, I am a nail polish junkie. I sometimes feel that nail polish is to me, what shoe's are to one Carrie Bradshaw. My two favourite brands are China Glaze and OPI, if I had to choose it would be OPI all the way.

For those of you who don't already know OPI kind of have a running theme of taking countries at random and naming their collections after them. Last years collection was the 'Touring America' collection. This year it is Holland. One thing i adore about OPI is the names of all the colours. If i could have any job in the whole world... It would be choosing names for the OPI polishes!

This year there are 12 colours to choose from! I have 11 out of 12 colours. 'Pedal faster Suzi' was sold out unfortunately but the lovely Laura from @fatshopaholic on Twitter and the same YouTube channel kindly sent me a picture of her nails painted in the above mentioned colour for you all to see!

Left to right: Red Lights ahead...Where?, A Roll in the Hague, Kiss me on my Tulips, Dutch 'ya just love OPI?, I have a Herring Problem, I Don't give a Rotterdam!, Thanks a WindMillion, Wooden Shoe like to Know?, Gouda Gouda Two Shoes, Did you 'ear about Van Gogh?, and Vampsterdam.

This is Red Lights ahead... Where? This is an orange based red, almost a coral colour. This has no shimmer at all, I think this is going to be a popular shade this Spring/Summer.

This is A Roll in the Hague, I love this colour! It's almost a traffic cone orange, it's very creamy to apply and dries almost neon.

This little beauty is Kiss me on my Tulips. This is another shimmer less creme formula its a lovely hot pink with blue undertones.

Thanks a WindMillion. See what I mean about the names? I had a feeling I had seen this colour before and I was right. It's very reminiscent of Mermaids Tears from The Pirates of the Caribbean collection. It's not entirely similar this is more of a muted green creme.

Wooden Shoe like to know? I really like this colour, it reminds me of Get in the Espresso Lane from the Touring America Collection last year. This is just a shade or two lighter. This is a beautiful chocolate brown with pinky/gold duo chrome shimmer.

This is Vampsterdam. A hard colour to pin down, a deep Burgundy wine. Very nice.

I have a Herring Problem. This is a dusty blue green with gold shimmer. It is one of two very similar colours in this collection.

This is Gouda Gouda Two Shoes. This is a dirty rose brown colour, with a minimal amount of orangey gold shimmer which is very very subtle.

Dutch ya just love OPI?. Yes, Yes I do! This is one of my favourites its a plum purple with the most beautiful red/gold duo chrome shimmer particles.

Did you 'ear about Van Gogh?. When I first saw this in the bottle I thought 'meh' This is probably one of those colours that wont suit my skin tone, and I'll end up getting no wear out of. I couldn't have been more wrong! I adore this colour... It's like nothing else in my entire collection. Its a creamy nude beige and I love it!

I don't give a Rotterdam!. This is the colour I was talking about that is very similar to I have a Herring Problem. The only real difference with this one is more of a periwinkle blue (mimics Brad Pitt in Snatch 'periwinkle blue boys' The glitter in this is gold and silver.

This is Pedal faster Suzi. This is not my hand. The picture is courtesy of the lovely Laura. From what i can see, it looks like a light pink with silver shimmer. When it does come back in stock I will update this post. Thank you Laura!

So that was it for this post. All polishes were purchased from me at Beauty Emporium from the lovely Stephanie who is an absolute sweetheart. you can find her website here http://www.beautyemporium.ie/ Thank you Steph!

That's it for now.

Hope you enjoyed, let me know what your favourite polishes are!

See you all next time.

Aundrea xoxo

Sunshine Award.

Hello Lovlies!

I was given a Sunshine Blogger award by one of my favorite bloggers Chelsea!

It was such an honor to be given this, especially because I'm quite a newbie at the whole blogging thing.

Thank you Chelsea!

http://www.throughchelseaseyes.com/

So, here's how it works...

1. The person awarded must choose and tag 7 people to recive the award 

2. Each tagged blogger must post 7 facts about themselves

3. The 7 chosen bloggers must in turn tag 7 people that they woud like to bistow the award upon, and tell them!

7 Facts about me...

My daughter Addison and my partner Aaron are my world.

I have a serious addiction to makeup and nail polish.

I would be totally lost without my iPhone

Daisy's are my favorite flowers.

I would be totally lost without my world of Twitter friends.

Capri and Sorrento are my favorite places in the entire world.

If my life were a movie, I would love to have John Hughes direct it!

So there you have it, 7 facts about me!

The people I tag are:

Sarah - http://www.adoreabubbles.blogspot.com/

Rachel - http://www.aprettyobsession.com/

Marian - http://www.highlifeofmars.blogspot.com/

Yavanna - http://www.smokeyeyesmua.wordpress.com/

Alice - http://www.brighttowngirl.blogspot.co.uk/

Claire - http://www.nocturnal-beauty.blogspot.co.uk/

Emma - http://www.elka101.blogspot.co.uk/

All the above ladies are some of the most lovely women I have ever met. I know its only through Twitter but they really feel like friends and bring sunshine into my life daily!

Thank you girls, love you all and enjoy the tag!

xoxox

Top 10 MAC Lipsticks

Hey Ladies,

I want to apologise for my absence over the last week. If you follow me on Twitter, you will know what's been going on. If you don't you can follow me @andie74439

So let's jump straight into tonight's post about my Top MAC Lipsticks.

There are 9 out of the 10 that are part of the permanent line. I really like MAC lipsticks, I like the option of having different finishes to choose from. I have a rather shameful amount of MAC lipsticks in my collection. Do I really need them all? No of course not, but they are fun to have!

Left to Right: All Styled Up, Eden Rocks, and Girl about Town



All Styled Up is a Creamsheen formula, very moisturising and pigmented. This is an almost Barbie pink.

Eden Rocks is a Frost it is a deep pink lavender, really beautiful.

Girl About Town is an Amplified, which means it is super pigmented. It is a fuchsia pink with blue undertones.

Hue, Fashion Mews and Shy Girl.

Hue is a Glaze, I really love this colour its a beautiful pinky nude with a creamy finish.

Fashion Mews is limited edition but its so pretty, it is a Glaze also, its a lavender colour with creamy finish.

Shy Girl is a Creamsheen, it is a beautiful coral neutral with beige undertone, perfect for Spring/Summer.

Hot Gossip. Snob, Madly Creative, and Media.

Hot Gossip is a Creamsheen, it is a plum tinted pink that applies quite opaque.

Snob is a Satin finish, it is a cool toned grey pink that applies like a dream but can be a little drying.

Madly Creative is a Frost, it is a rosey brown toned pink that gives the perfect amount of shimmer.

Media is a Satin, it's a dark sultry wine red... absolutely stunning!

So that's it lovlies, I really hope you enjoyed!

Let me know what your favourites are!

Thanks for reading & I will see you all soon.

Aundrea xoxo