Christmas with Clarins - The Essentials Eye Palette

Hey Ladies,

I hope you are all well! I have a little something special to share with you today. The Essentials Eye Palette, limited edition from Clarins this Christmas! Clarins have to be one of my all time favourite brands for seasonal collections. Every new offering, no matter what the time of year is guaranteed to be absolutely stunning and include something for all tastes. This palette is no exception with its beautiful packaging, high quality shadows and creamy formula. Lets have a little look shall we?!

Lets talk about the packaging first, the recyclable palette is made from sturdy cardboard, with a plastic overlay to protect from spills, wears and tears. It has an elasticated band to secure it when its closed, which is fantastic. Once you open this little beauty, it will reveal a mirror in the lid, and a double ended Clarins brush as an extra perk! The palette itself is completely removable which I love! Clarins seem to have thought of everything with this palette!

 If you have ever tired the Clarins quads that are normally released with seasonal collections, you will already be familiar with the beautiful quality, pigment and longevity of Clarins shadows. The everyday shades in this palette are just stunning and there is bound to be numerous looks to be put together for even the choosiest makeup connoisseur! The wearable shades and soft textures such as satin and pearls will take you seamlessly from day to night!

From Left to Right - Peach Satin Nude, Golden Pearl, Rose Gold Pearl, Deep Rose Satin, Taupe Pearl, Golden Taupe Pearl, Deeper Brown Pearl, Warm Taupe Pearl, Deep Rose Gold Pearl, and Dark Brown Pearl. Not the official names, more descriptions of the shadow colours. Whether you prefer a simple wash of colour or a dramatic smokey eye, you can do it all with this wonder palette!

A little look to give you an idea of what this little beauty can do! This is a must have for me, whether you plan on purchasing it for yourself or for someone special, they certainly wont be disappointed. From the packaging to the high quality of the shadows, this palette is sure to become a staple in your every day routine, I know it has in mine!

That's it for now ladies,

I hope you enjoyed!

What are your thoughts on this gorgeous palette?!

Will you be indulging?

As always,

Let me know below!

Until next time

xoxo

Aundrea

Max Factor vs. Covergirl Mascara - Is There Really a Difference?

Hello Ladies,

I hope you're all well. Today I thought I'd ask the age old question that plagues beauty addicts across the country, and pond. Max Factor vs Covergirl Mascaras, are the products the same? Aren't they just owned by sister companies? Same product, just packaged differently and renamed?! Watching YouTube as much as I do and having friends in the U.S. I tend to hear big things when new Covergirl products are launched, especially when it comes to mascara's. Now I have always said that my favourite affordable brand for mascara is Max Factor, you really cannot go wrong with their mascara, they're fantastic. Recently I did a swap with a good friend of mine in America and requested 2 Covergirl Mascara's to do this comparison post and find out once and for all, 'are we missing out?'.

It's common knowledge in the beauty community that we always want what we cant have. Countless brands in America that we just cannot get here and vice versa. When I first heard about Covergirls 'Clump Crusher' mascara, the reviews were epic, I had to have it. Then I spotted Max Factors 'Clump Defy', likewise with LashBlast/False Lash Effect. So, lets have a look and see, if there really is a difference.

Clump Defy vs. Clump Crusher: Straight away you can spot the similarities, the wand, the packaging, the scent (yes, I smell my mascaras). The only difference apparent to me is the choice of colour for the packaging. Bright green for C.G and burgundy for MF. Both formula's are excellent, which is what I have come to expect from MaxFactor, and now CoverGirl. Both lengthen, separate, and coat the lashes completely clump free. In my opinion, apart from the obvious packaging differences, these two are exactly the same product.

False Lash Effect 24 vs. LashBlast Volume: Again obvious similarities. Bright orange for CG, and black for MF. The wands are exactly the same, they apply very well with little to no clumping, again they smell the same, and both give my lashes good length. Both formula's were excellent again and easy to work with, which is always a plus on my part. They're both 13.1ml and have a 6 month shelf life, just another comparison to note.

My final thoughts? Well, these are indeed the same mascaras, just packaged a little differently. So, rest easy on whatever side of the Atlantic you hail from knowing that we're not missing out on anything here. If I had to choose a winner? Max Factor of course! It's so widely available here, and to be honest I think the packaging is a little less obnoxious. I don't really have anything else to add other than I hope this helped to ease your want and need for CoverGirl here, and MaxFactor if you're in America. If nothing else, you'll sleep a little easier knowing you're not missing out.

Luxury Yule Indulgence with YON-KA

Hey Ladies, 

I hope you are all well! Some of you may think it's too early to mention the 'C' word, but in terms of Christmas shopping it's never too early to start. So as a special treat today, I have one or two pieces from the YON-KA Christmas Collection to show you! By now, you are all more than aware of my absolute obsession with all things YON-KA. I adore the brand and honestly cannot speak highly enough of it, so when I saw what they had on offer for Christmas, packaged beautifully, in a way that only YON-KA can, I knew I would have to share it with you.

Today we'll be looking at the Softness & Vitality pouches, with the brand new Neroli Massage Oil Candle, lets have a little look shall we?

The Neroli Massage Oil Candle, one word... Perfection. When I first opened the box I wasn't really sure what to expect with this, I mean obviously I knew it was Neroli, but would it have more depth to it than that? First of all Neroli oil has anti-depressant properties which drives away sadness and invokes a feeling of joy, uplifting your general mood. It's also a tonic which works to safeguard all aspects of good health, but it's most popular property is it's ability to care for the skin. The scent is beautiful, not overpowering of cloying, just delicate and soothing. You can use this on yourself or your significant other to beat the Winter blues. The little spout gives you control over how much you use at any given time, it leaves the skin feeling nourished and smelling divine! 

The Vitality Kit comes in a beautiful pouch, perfect for travel, or for use as a makeup bag. It contains YON-KA's Phyto 58 and Pamplemousse, with a sample size of the Masque No. 1. Phyto 58 is an ultra penetrating phyto-aromatic formula that offers protection against free radicals and oxygenates the skin, it works to erase signs of fatigue, clarify, de-stress and purify the complexion and restore a glow to the skin! Perfect for the party season! Pamplemousse protects from environmental aggression and helps regulate the skins moisture level, and the fruit extract works to tighten pores. A perfect addition to keep your skin happy and healthy this Winter.

The Absolute Softness Set again comes with a beautiful pouch, the Lait Corps Body Creme and Nutri Protect Hand Cream. This is a great little gift to look after your body and hands, things we often tend to neglect during the colder months. The Lait Corps which you can read a full review on here is perfect for keeping the skin hydrated and nourished, it smells beautiful and it really doesn't feel like a chore to apply, you really feel like you are doing your skin some good with this. The Nutri Protect Hand Creme is another winner in my book, you can check this out here if you want a more in depth look.I carry this everywhere with me, its a staple in my routine, it really is vital in my opinion that you look after your hands all year around, not just in Winter as your hands are one of the first areas to show signs of ageing!

I think these gift sets are ideal for even the most hard to impress recipients on your Christmas gift list, YON-KA have something for everyone this year and I am in love with all of them, you really cant go wrong with these. I know I will be stocking up on a few of these for the Aunts, friends and mother in law. They have the wow factor, and are sure not to disappoint!

That's it for now ladies,

I hope you enjoyed!

What are your thoughts on these Christmas offerings?

Has anything caught your eye?

Whats on your Christmas list?

As always, let me know below,

Until next time

xoxo

Aundrea

The Bees Knees - Honeymania from The Body Shop

Hey Ladies,

I hope you are all well! Honeymania, a new collection from The Body Shop which hit shelves recently, had me in two minds. I am not a huge fan of honey, and I am terrified of bees. Seriously, I cant even talk about it, plus I'm extremely allergic to bee stings, none of this has anything at all to do with the Honeymania collection, just some useless information for you, unless of course you plan on killing me and want to make it look like an accident... in that case, bees are the way forward.

I'm a big fan of The Body Shop's products and while I was up in Dublin waiting for a friend to get her eyebrows threaded, the golden shimmer of the collection pulled me toward it. It smelled nothing like I thought it would, which was a good thing! The products are made with Ethiopian Fair Trade Honey from thousands of wildflowers make this scent, a little bit perfect.

The Honeymania Shower Gel, is gorgeous. I use this as bath foam and shower gel, the scent is just lovely. Fresh yet sweet, and to be honest, it feels very luxurious! Once you've dried off after your bath/shower, the scent lingers on your skin, and it's hard not to have a little sniff every so often!

The Honeymania Body Butter is a dream to work with, it's creamy, rich, and a little goes a long way. The sweet scent makes this a treat to use and it leaves the skin feeling hydrated and soft. This is one I will repurchase again and again!

The Cream Body Scrub is another favourite of mine, I love a good body exfoliator, it's something I cant live without. This has shot to the top of my scrub list, and I reach for this more than anything else! Its creamy yet, decent scrubby texture, really makes you feel like your replacing some of the moisture you're stripping away whilst exfoliating! I think, this is a real winner for me, I just adore it.

So, my final thoughts on the Honeymania range? I'm very taken with it, which in all honesty, kind of shocked me. My advice to you if you are on the fence about it, would be to pop in store and have a sniff for yourself, I'm pretty sure that it's not going to be what you expect, but that's not a bad thing!

That's it for now ladies,

I hope you enjoyed!

What are your thoughts?

Have you tried it yet? If not do you plan to?

As always, let me know below!

Until next time 

xoxo

Aundrea

Redken : Diamond Oil - Shatterproof Shine in a Bottle!

Hey Ladies,

I hope you are all well! You all know some of the issues I have been having with my hair the past 6 months, but I finally feel like I have gotten my hair woes under control, this is thanks in large part to the products I have been using. Redken Diamond Oil is one of those products!

Beautifully packaged and with a scent that would make angels smile, the Redken Diamond Oil Intense, is a thing of beauty! Diamond Oil utilises an exclusive formula of silicone free oils, to strengthen from inside out! It also delivers unprecedented strength and shine. It contains a wealth of fantastic products including camelina oil, coriander oil, apricot oil, olive oil, jojoba oil and coconut oil. 

Can we just take a moment to talk about the packaging of the Diamond Oil? The beautiful faceted bottle mirrors the cut of a diamond, its luxe packaging and weighty bottle really feel like you have a little piece of luxury here. Another thing I love about the design is the push top dropper, fantastic for controlling exactly how much you dispense. 

The oil itself it a beautiful gold colour, it is scented and it reminds me of a Tom Ford fragrance, I cant pin point exactly which one, but for me it just adds to the total luxurious feel of the overall product! You can use this oil as an overnight treatment, for this you need a liberal amount and I would say to wrap your hair in a turban just to avoid transfer to the pillow and then wash it out in the morning. It leaves your hair feeling nourished, soft, silky and strong. I also like to use this on towel dried hair before I blow dry, or let it air dry, and then after styling I add a few more drops for extra shine, and to calm those frizzy flyaways! 

Over all I find this Oil lives up to the promises it makes. With regular use my hair has become, strong, soft and easier to manage and it does a great job at keeping the frizz at bay. It has become an essential in my hair care routine and I highly recommend it, I will repurchase this once it runs out. Amazing!  

That's it for now ladies!

I hope you enjoyed!

What are your thoughts?

Does this sound like something you could add to your routine?!

Let me know!

Until next time 

xoxo

Aundrea

Beat the Winter Blues - Roger & Gallet Cedrat

Hey Ladies,

I hope you are all well on this dreary and wet Wednesday. The Winter blues are certainly in the post, if they're not already here, but fear not! Roger & Gallet are here to lift your spirits with another fantastic scent! As most of you already know, I am a huge R&G fan, it has become a fragrance brand that can do no wrong in my eyes, with every new release and every old reliable I become more and more in love with the brand, and as my collection of their fragrances ever expands itself I'm pretty certain that I will never get enough!

Cedrat is a delight of a fragrance, it is citrus but there's more to it than that, it's not as straightforward as it sounds. With top notes of mint, grapefruit, watermelon and citron, middle notes of basil and cardamom and exquisite base notes of musk, vetiver, cedar and white amber, this scent is far more complex than the name would lead you to believe, and I just adore it.

The fresh notes of Cedrat mix with the deeper, make this the perfect complimentary fragrance for any season. It's crisp and refreshing like an cool Autumn/Winter's day, but yet the cardamom and basil gives it an enveloping warmth, which balance each other out perfectly. This is cosy, with the right amount of spice to make it a must have for any collection! Another thing I love is it's sharpness, without any evident offsetting sweetness this could perhaps make quite a good unisex scent! I did hold it under the male fragrance connoisseur in the house half expecting an upturned nose, but no! He said he would quite happily wear it. Something not uttered too often!

So, my final thoughts? Its a must have! Perfect for all year, all seasons, day or night. It really is a beauty and well worth the purchase. I think if you are looking for a non-offensive fragrance that is a little more than it seems Cedrat is the one for you. It's very hard to go wrong with such an unassuming scent. Its love on my part, a truly incredible scent!

That's it for now ladies,

I hope you enjoyed!

What are your thoughts on Cedrat?

Will you be trying it?

What's your favourite R&G scent?

As always, let me know below!

Until next time 

xoxo

Aundrea 

Pacifica Candles - Essential Scents for Winter

Hey Ladies,

I hope you're all well! As more than a few of you know by now, I am obsessed with candles. I cannot get enough of them nor can I ever have too many! Recently Pacifica Candles caught my eye, and I just had to give them a try... you know, for the blog. Not to feed my candle addiction or anything! You bought that right? Good. Coming into the colder months, there is no greater Winter essential for me than a good candle. It just wouldn't be Winter without them. Forget the scarves, hats and gloves, candles are the ultimate accessory for me this Winter!

So, a little about Pacifica, the soy candles are clean and natural vegetable soy and release the scent from the candles generously, they also use essential and natural oils to create the candles. These are long burning, lead free cotton wicks, and are phthalate free. Impressed so far? Well, there's more! Let's have a look shall we?

Mexican Cocoa is first up, and this is just divine. A true rich and dark scent of Mexican Cocoa, mixed with cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and notes of bitter almond this candle is just incredible. The scent throw with this 5.05oz candle is nothing short of amazing, within minutes the entire room is scented, but its not over powering and the scent has a lovely lingering factor which I look for in all my candles.

Tibetan Mountain Temple has to be the standout fragrance for me. It's just, indescribably beautiful. Vetiver and Indonesian Patchouli with ginger just makes this smell like something that should only be burned when you are totally relaxed. It's just stunning! This little guy has a burning time of 30 hours! The scent throw even for the smaller candles are great. They also come in packs of three so you can try them out before you commit to a bigger size!

Mediterranean Fig is not something I would normally go for but I'm glad I did. The first thing that hits me with this, apart from the smell of fig, is sandalwood, which I just cant get enough of! Moss, clove, palm and cyclamen are also in there to give you a beautiful earthy but fresh scent.

I know what some of you are thinking with Tuscan Blood Orange, and no, you really don't have to be a fan of oranges to appreciate this little beauty. Both juicy and spicy this candle holds the scent of strawberry, raspberry, fresh mandarin and Italian sweet orange. To me the orange in this is very subtle, not overpowering, in fact I think the spiciness really overtakes with this one, which of course I adore!

   

So my final thoughts on these? I love them and I will absolutely purchase more. The candles burn beautifully, the scent range is expansive so there is bound to be something for everyone, the scent throw of the candles are just great and I love the packaging! You really need to try these for yourself. Id rather spend a little extra and have a candle that burns good than pay a little less for a brand that keeps disappointing. There really is no comparison! I can see why they are known as the best candles in the world!

That's it for now ladies!

I hope you enjoyed!

What are your thoughts on Pacifica?

What scents will you be burning as the weather gets colder?

As always, let me know below!

Until next time 

xoxo

Aundrea

Waxperts Ingrown Hair Pads - The new Holy Grail Multi-Tasker?

Hey Ladies,

I hope you're all well. Not too long ago I attended the Professional Beauty Show Dublin, it was fantastic and a lot of my favourite brands were there, including Waxperts! The stand itself was fantastic, demos were taking place, chats, and any questions you could possibly think of were being answered. I adore Waxperts, the brand is fresh and fun, something completely different. So, when I learned that they were launching their first 'take home' product, I was excited!

So, Waxperts Ingrown Hair Pads have more than one use, but lets start with the ingrown hairs! Waxperts say that these pads are an ideal way to treat and prevent ingrown hairs on any area of the body. Now, it's something we all suffer from at one stage or another. The lumps and bumps that can become very sore with ingrown hairs are an absolute nightmare! I tend to be prone to them under my arms or the backs of my legs, so I put this little beauty to work to see what it could do! The pads contain salicylic acid, tough enough to achieve results but gentle enough for everyday use. After 3 days, any issues with ingrown hairs I had were gone. This really is a little pot of wonder.

As I mentioned above, the pads are a total multitask-er, out of part curiosity and  part desperation, I decided to try these on a solar system of a breakout I was having, when nothing else seemed to be working. The pads on one side are smooth, and the other side is textured, so using the textured side I started to sweep over the affected area in circular motions, no stinging, no irritation, and no redness. When I woke up the next morning there was a huge improvement. I was absolutely delighted. Another use for these pads is for the dreaded Keratosis - little lumps and bumps on the back of the arms. Again, these work wonders!

Honestly, it's been a long time since I have been so taken with a product, it does so much more than it says on the tin. Once these run out, I will repurchase again and again! Can we just take a moment to reflect on the packaging?! One of the reasons I am so taken with the brand is their use of pin ups, funky and fun, just like the brand itself! There are 40 pads in each tub, which is fantastic and this wont break the bank either as they are very reasonably priced! I cannot recommend these enough!

That's it for now ladies,

I hope you enjoyed! 

What are your thoughts?

Will you be purchasing these miracle pads?!

Let me know!

Until next time 

xoxo

Aundrea

Halloween Trick or Treats with Lush

Hello Ladies!

I hope you are all well. With that time of year fast approaching, Halloween is just around the corner! Lush have once again spoiled us with their spooky range of bath products! Last year the stand out product for me was 'The Enchanter' bath ballistic, and I have to admit, I was more that a little disappointed that it wasn't part of the collection this year, I was addicted! There may or may not have been a phone call to Lush to put aside 20 or so to help feed my addiction... But onward and upward, as this years collection holds some real gems!

This collection is the perfect mix of trick or treats! The Sootball, Lord of Misrule and Pumpkin Bubble Bar are all perfect little bath time offerings for Halloween festivities!

First up is The Soot Ball Bath Ballistic. Don't let this little guy fool you, it may start off turning the water black, but it quickly turns to a beautiful gold lustre! The Soot Ball, is scented with Tonka, Frankincense, burnt caramel and a touch of sandalwood to give it a more grown up feel. Don't forget to remove his eyes before you drop him in, otherwise you'll have a pair of eyes getting a free peek while you're relaxing!

The Lord of Misrule, is a little wonder and my favourite from the collection! Although the exterior is green, once in the bath, it turns from pink to a gorgeous deep wine colour, scented with vanilla absolute, patchouli, and black pepper, it leaves you feeling like you're radiating warmth from within, and totally relaxed, just incredible!

 

The Pumpkin Bubble Bar is as cute as a button, its almost a shame to crush it under running water! The sweet scented bubble bath this gives you is due to the lovely scent of ylang ylang, and orange flower absolute! It is a really great sent, almost soothing. I can see this working on a cold evening, to sooth away the winter blues!

That's it for now ladies!

I hope you enjoyed!

Will you be picking up anything from this collection?!

As always let me know below!

Until next time

xoxo

Aundrea