Happy Easter!!

IT'S EASTER!!!

I hope you guys have a brilliant Bank Holiday weekend and that you get spoiled by the Easter Bunny. The weather here in Ireland has been pretty crazy lately. We've basically had 3 seasons in one week. I'm living for the sun, I'm envious of people that are jetting off this weekend to warmer climates. I wish I was you guys! Ireland is a seriously nice place to live and I'm really lucky but we just don't get the weather to go along with it.

I'm in no way organised for the Easter weekend, I have picked up a couple of chocolate eggs for some people but my family usually don't tend to get each other Easter eggs, just small gifts. Seemingly we're too old for eggs, I certainly prefer it this way as I don't eat chocolate anymore. I want to buy the Zara Office City Bag, yes the one everyone has but I think it would be ideal for college and my upcoming trips abroad. My Mum and Nanna has given me some money towards it as it is pretty expensive at €69.95. A bit more than I'd usually spend on my a bag but I showed it to my Mum today when we were shopping and she said it was very me so I think we have a winner. She also bought me these hanging hearts for my room and a gorgeous Yankee Candle called Easter Bunnies which I have never seen in stores before and it smells amazing. If your a fan chocolate scented things you'll love this, I think this is the biggest candle that they do too so it will definitely last for ages. Paddy got me this cute mug from The Disney Shop. I seen this particular one when I was going to college last week and I loved it. It's Pearl from Finding Nemo, it has a line from the movie on the back too which I thought seemed pretty cool. Every character from the movie is available so who knows I may just treat myself to another one.

I got Paddy a Creme Egg Easter egg which I know is a big favourite for this time of year. I'm not a fan myself I never really liked Creme Eggs. I want the mug that's in this though it looks really nice plus you can never have too many. I have a pretty chilled out weekend planned. I got paid yesterday which was earlier than usual as the Banks were closed today seeing as it's Good Friday. I'm going to hit Boots soon and pick up some bits as they have their 3 for 2 on all Makeup products, amazing I know. First and foremost I want to get the new Revlon BB cream, I've seen really good reviews on it. Tomorrow night I'm heading out with some of the girls which should be fun. I'm predicting a tired head on Sunday so I'll probably just have a relaxing day at home with the family.

What's your plan for the Bank Holiday Weekend?

Laura<3

Leona Lewis Live Stream Gig Event at The Body Shop

Tonight I was lucky enough to attend an event in The Body Shop on Grafton Street. I headed along with my college buddy Serena, we braved the miserable snow to get into town on time. The Body Shop recently announced Leona Lewis as their new brand activist and I couldn't have chosen anyone better myself. I'm a big fan of her music and she's just a down to earth girl like the rest of us. The event itself was also celebrating the launch of her new cruelty-free makeup and fragrance collection for The Body Shop. We were treated to a live stream performance from the lady herself and it was brilliant. She sang two of my favourite songs, Trouble and Bleeding Love. I really enjoyed the live stream gig and Leona looked stunning. Her new collection from The Body Shop consists of two shimmer palettes, the fragrance White Musk Libertine, a blusher brush and a four gorgeous shades of lip gloss. My favourite product of the bunch from the collection is the Bronze Shimmer palette. The packaging is beautiful, it contains such gorgeous neutral shades. The palette itself is for the face but I think you'd get away with using this on the eyes too during the Summer months. This whole collection is going to go down a storm once it hits stores. I know I'll be first in line.

Before the event started I had a good look around at all the lovely products that The Body Shop have to offer. I've always loved their range of products and I blog about them quite a bit on here. Six months ago, The lovely store on Grafton Street got a revamp which has made browsing even easier. The layout is beautiful, I personally love it  as everything has it's own special place and is sectioned into makeup, skincare, gifts etc. Another exciting launch from The Body Shop that is making a overdue comeback is the Brazil Nut product line. I love this range so I was so excited to see that it was being relaunched in the new packaging. The product itself used Community Fair Trade Brazil Nut Oil so it's always good to hear that something is given back. The Body Shop has also launched the new Vitamin E BB cream that I had a good look at tonight. Surprisingly I haven't hopped on the band wagon for this craze yet but after seeing this product it may have changed my mind. It's very natural looking and it gives a lovely glow to the skin. Keep your eyes peeled you may see this on the blog after payday. Lastly the brand added a few new products to their ever popular Honey Bronze range. I love the bronzer from this collection, it's perfect for everyday and it comes in a couple of different shades. New products coming soon from the Honey Bronze collection is a new Bronze Shimmering Dry Oil  shade and a gorgeous Shimmer Lip Balm. The latter is definitely on my Wish List!

The new Leona Lewis collection launches in stores on Thursday 4th April (not too long to wait!) while your there checking out the new products why not sign the Cruelty Free International pledge. Throughout the month The Body Shop will be hoping to get one million signatures to end animal testing worldwide. If you can't make it into a store you can also sign the pledge online here. They already covered Europe now lets make it the world, every signature counts!

What do you think of the Leona Lewis collection for The Body Shop?

Laura<3

More Scrumptious Baking!

I blogged last weekend about our attempt at making these Double Choc Chip Muffins and this week I'm back with another yummy baking relating post. My nephew came over to stay for the weekend & of course we baked some cakes again. I think Sunday has become the official baking day in the McKenna household. I enjoy baking with my nephew it's such a nice start to Sunday plus with the weather being so horrible out later it's definitely something fun to do whilst stuck in doors.

This time around tried the Cadbury's Button Cake Mix. These look amazing on the box, so yummy! Included in the box was a cake mix, icing mix, a packet of white choc buttons and paper casings. We scrapped the latter as they were a bit on the small size, my Mom wanted to make bigger cupcakes. We used the step by step guide on the packaging which couldn't of been more straightforward. The buns took literally 12 minutes to make in the oven when they were done we left them to cool before putting a lot of icing on them. I'm surprised there was any white choc buttons left as they are Ryan's favourite and of course he took the page and devoured most of them. We managed to safe a few to finish off the cupcakes. The only thing that didn't go to plan was the icing. Something went terribly wrong there! Like it didn't look anything like the picture on the box, if anyone has tips or knows how we went wrong let me know.

I think we did a pretty good job if I do say so myself. I know we won't be opening a bakery anytime soon but these look nice nice to me. A lot of the family will be enjoying these after our Sunday dinner. I seriously enjoyed the break from working on my college assignment. This particular one has been extremely stressful for me. I can't wait to hand it in tomorrow and get it out of my hair for good.

Laura<3

Marc Jacobs for Diet Coke Launch in BT2

I love when Diet Coke come out with new limited edition packaging for their traditional glass bottles.  I already have quite the collection of them in my room, they look gorgeous plus they make fabulous bookends.The latest designer to collaborate with Diet Coke is none other than Marc Jacobs and I couldn't wait to see the new designs. Diet Coke have done really impressive collaborations in the past , remember Karl Lagerfield and Jean Paul Gaultier? I was expecting something big this time around in celebration of Diet Cokes 30th Anniversary and needless to say I wasn't disappointed.  

I headed along to BT2 on Grafton Street last week to check out the new collaboration with my lovely blogger buddy Sian. We were rushing against the clock on the way in so I was surprised we made it on time.  As we walked into the BT2, the tunes were playing and the atmosphere was already electric. There was a selection of delicious cocktails being served but I steered clear of them as I had to rush off to college straight after the event. I'm into my final month now and I can't start missing lectures at such a crucial time. Pity though as the cocktails looked so good, aw well I stuck to the Diet Coke. I did have plenty of fun in the photo booth on site, even if the pictures that came out weren't my finest. Throughout the evening there were models showcasing the new Marc by Marc Jacobs collection and they were absolutely stunning, I loved all the different looks. I was surprised to see that my work buddy was one of the models and she did such an amazing job, it was so nice seeing her. At the event I also met and got my picture taken with the Diet Coke hunk Andrew Cooper, boy is he hot! You may know him as the gardener in the new ads on TV. Everyone was eager to get there picture taken with him. I seriously don't think the guy had a minute. I look extremely short in the picture next to him and I'm wearing boots. Oh my I think I may be shrinking or I'm not as tall as I once thought!

The Marc Jacobs for Diet Coke collection consists of three limited edition designs inspired by the 80's, 90's and 00's. It states on each bottle which decade the design is influenced by. This time around I seriously can't choose a favourite, I really like them all. They're all very different and already take pride of place beside the other bottles in my Diet Coke collection.

What do you think of the new Diet Coke & Marc Jacobs collaboration? Would love to hear your thoughts?

Laura<3

Dr Jackson's 01 Skin Cream

I'm here with a new skincare product that has made its way into my everyday routine. 01 Skin Cream* is one of three products from Dr Jackson's Natural skincare range. With a name like #1 you'd expect amazing things. I'd never heard of this brand before and wasn't at all familiar with their products so when I was asked did I want to meet the man behind the brand I jumped at the opportunity.

I've been using this product mostly as a night cream and post shower when my face is a little bit on the dehydrated side. This cream is very rich so it did take a little bit for it to sink in, that's why I prefer it as a night cream. Once it does it leaves my skin feeling soft and nourished.The product contains a SPF20 which is always good to hear. It's shocking the amount of times that I forget to put sunscreen on. Even if the sun is not out shining brightly, it's still up there hiding behind the clouds which shows how  important it is to protect your skin. 01 Skin Cream is also unscented which will be music to the ears for most people as I know products with strong scents tend to be unfavoured. Being a student the one thing that may stop me from repurchasing this in the near future is the price. The 30ml  jar retails for €50 which is a bit over my limit at present. This face cream is lasting for ages though, it doesn't look like I'll be finished it anytime soon. I only need the smallest amount as it is quite thick, hoping this jar will keep me going for another month or so. Another aspect of this product that I'm on the side lines about is the packaging. Don't get me wrong I love how it's plain and lets the product inside to the talking, but if I dropped this is in my room I'd be scared that it would smash. This is also the travel sized version and I don't feel like its too practical to cart around. I do think it looks pretty and it fits in really nicely with everything on my dressing table.

All the products in the range are completely natural which is always good to know. Dr Jackson himself is a Pharmacognosist (what a mouthful) in short this is the study of medicines from natural products. Some of the extracts used in their products e.g Kigelia and Baobab etc, I'd never heard of before so I felt like I was getting a lesson myself. Kigelia is said to leave the face blemish free and is used by tribal women in Sub Saharan Africa. While Baobab helps eases damaged/dry skin plus improves the skin tone and elasticity. Dr Jackson's website is bursting with information so if you want to read up on the background of the brand and the other products in the range you should check it out. I found it very interesting! I'm surprised I hadn't heard about the two of these already on this side of the pond. I'm sure they'll take off this year cause they really do work wonders on the skin.

What products are in your current skincare routine?

Laura<3

My St Patrick's Day Makeup Look

Happy Paddy's Day everyone!

I didn't do anything too exciting today, I watched a bit of the parade on the TV but for the majority I was pretty busy getting my second last assignment done. This is probably the one I'm most nervous about as I have to give a presentation to the rest of my class. I know I'll be fine but I just find getting up in front of my peers so nerve wrecking. I speak to them all the time in college, I could literally talk for Ireland. Like a lot of people when it comes to doing a formal presentation, the chattiness goes out the window and I freeze completely. I don't have to get my part of the assignment in for another week so I'm pretty confident that I'll get it done during the week. To take a break from my college work I did head out last night to celebrate St Patrick's Day. I'm in work tomorrow so there was no way I was heading out on the town tonight. I had such a lovely night, it was nice to catch up with the girls as well as getting our dance on. I don't own any green clothes so I threw on some green eyeshadow to make up for it. I used the duo eyeshadow called Jealous from Urban Decay's Theodora palette. I love this palette, it contains such lovely shades that I do find I use way more than the Glinda palette. I also used the shade Loaded, again another Urban Decay shadow this time from their Smoked palette. I love this brands palettes so much, I'm always super pleased with the quality. There can be a little fall out but the shade selections in the palettes I've picked up in the past have never let me down. On my lashes I'm using a old favourite of mine, Volume Effet Faux Cils mascara. This makes me look like I have fake eyelashes on, it's kinda helps that I have pretty long eyelashes already though. I love the packaging on this gem, it's so luxurious. The only thing I don't like is the price and the fact that it dries up in the tube pretty quickly. I actually picked this mascara up as a part of a set (includes Touche Eclat & an Eye Makeup Remover) in Duty Free so I always pick one of them up when I'm off on holidays. I can remember it being really good value for the two products.

On my face I used Revlon's new foundation Nearly Naked, another favourite of mine this gives a light coverage and evens out my skintone giving a nice natural finish. The shade is a bit tad bit too dark for me but I haven't been able to find the shade Vanilla anywhere, the search will continue. All in all I think I kept this look pretty simple bar the dark green smokey eye. I hope you guys like it, I'll definitely do more posts like this in the future.

What did you guys get up to for St Paddy's Day? I'd love to hear how you celebrate it in your town!

Laura<3

Muffins & The Park

Waking up early this morning wasn't on my agenda but when you have a little nephew like mine you begin to expect the unexpected. Rewind back to 10am this morning and I was in my kitchen, bright eyed and bushy tailed (NOT!) making double choc chip muffins with my Mum and Ryan. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here these muffins came straight out of a Tesco's HomeCook Baking Kit, anything that makes things easier is good for me. These were unbelievably simple to make and Ryan was the best little helper getting all the extra ingredients sorted. When everything was done and in the oven, he even took some timeout to lick the wooden spoon. How I miss my younger years! The muffins themselves turned out pretty well, we could of added icing but again we wanted to keep things as simple as possible. I don't eat sweet things so my Dad and Ryan were the food critics for these, needless to say they went down a storm. I think my Mum and I will be picking up some more of these in the future, the chocolate fudge brownie option sounds yummy. Expect to see some more of these baking posts really soon!

In the afternoon we headed up to Marley Park which is the best place to go for a lovely scenic walk. I feel really lucky that it's so close to where I live, sometimes I must admit I take it for granted. Every Summer there are concerts held in the park and big international acts fly in to play at it. I have never been myself but I know a lot of people that have. Longitude is being held in Marley Park this year, I think it's such a great venue for the weekend festival. I think the atmosphere will be electric. I dunno if I'll go as I'm not familiar with some of the acts that are playing at it, though I do love Vampire Weekend. I just don't think that would justify forking out on a one day ticket. On the weekends they have a really nice Farmers Market which I've past by once before when I was out jogging through the park with my friend. It was nice to chill and look at all the stalls this time around compared to whizzing by like lightning. I didn't buy anything but my Mum  and Dad went to a couple of the food stalls and picked up some lovely pasta sauces. Ryan got some jelly babies and worms from the Sweet stand which was huge. It had so many different sweets, I spotted a lot of old favourites. It wouldn't be a trip to Marley Park without having a walk through the forest. It's such a lovely scenic walk that I use to go on so much as a child. We spotted lots of robins and swans, Ryan really enjoyed it. I'm definitely not going to leave it so long before I visit again.

I'm heading out tonight for Paddy's Day tonight. I know a day early but there's no way I'm heading into work on Monday with a hangover that would be a nightmare, plus I feel like I'm a bit too old for that sort of thing. I have my outfit picked out for tonight and no I'm not wearing green. I'll probably have some lovely green eye makeup though, courtesy of my Urban Decay Theodora palette I'll definitely take a picture to show you guys. You may see it in a post very soon!

What do you guys have planned for St Patrick's Day? Hope you have a good one!

Laura<3

A Little Help from my Loyalty Cards

My purse is literally bursting with Reward cards for different stores. It's ridiculous as some of them I don't even use, if a store assistant asks me to sign up I always end up saying yes. I just don't think I'll ever find a purse big enough to fit them all in. On the plus side the ones I tend to use like Easons, Debenhams House of Fraser, Boots, and Arnotts, always give great rewards back. Like a lot of people I do tend to forget about using my card which can be a nuisance when they can't put the points back on in store, does this happen to anyone else? I think this problem will be solved if I clean out my purse and dump the cards I never use. My favourite loyalty scheme of the bunch is Boots, sometimes they have great offers on e.g. Double Points so I've gotten quite a few goodies in the past when I build up all the points. When I was in town last week I popped into Debenhams and Easons as I knew I had rewards to spend on both cards. In the latter I picked up the latest addition of Allure magazine. This is the third issue that I've purchased so far and I really love this magazine. It's full to the brim of new beauty news and must haves, essential for any blogger. This doesn't come cheap and rings in at €6.61, probably the most expensive magazine I've bought but there's a lot a reading plus it's not full of ads like some tend to be. The gorgeous Mila Kunis is on the front of this month's issue and WOW she looks absolutely stunning. In Debenhams I picked up Urban Decay's All Nighter Setting Spray in the new handy travel size bottle. I've tried this setting spray before and I love it, it keeps my makeup looking fresh and also helps it stay in place. Debenhams had a instore promotional event last week were there was 10% of beauty/fragrances which is always a good time to pop into their store. Along with the 10% discount, I also had €5 on my BeautyClub so I ended up paying €5.80 for this product instead of €12. Looking back I do wish I had of bought the full sized bottle as I don't think I'll get too long out of this one but the funds wouldn't stretch that far. I think this will be good for travel purposes though, when I finish this bottle I can hang on to it and fill it up again.

All in all I was pretty delighted with these two purchases, I got both for a little under €9 which is great when you compare it with €19.61. I've been pretty much broke for the entire month with saving for New York so it was nice to be able to pick up these goodies. It may not of been possible without the help of my trusty loyalty cards.

Are you like me? Do you have a ridiculous amount of loyalty cards spilling out of your purse?

Laura<3

Lovely Gifts from MakeupLand2011

For the last few weeks I've been a little stressed out by upcoming college assignments and deadlines. I'm not a good person when it comes to working under pressure, I just get really anxious and can't wait til I get everything done. When I arrived home from work to resume finishing my assignments I spotted two boxes on my kitchen table. I knew that Chie aka MakeupLand2011 was sending me some packages but I had no idea they would comes so soon. She told me a little while ago that she was sending me over a belated Christmas box and Birthday gift. I was surprised I was getting another Christmas gift as she already sent me over a lovely Sephora by Opi Cinderella set which I love and use alot. The shades are really me and I've worn every polish quite a bit, Chie knows me too well. We've already done quite a few beauty swaps and she always send me over such amazing products.

Chie was way too good to me, I was shocked when I opened up these two boxes and saw what was inside. Many of the products like Benefit's The Bronze of Champions palette, Tarte Amazonian Clay 12hr blushes  and Bdellium brushes aren't available in Ireland so I can't wait to start using these. I've taken the brushes out of their packaging already and they are super soft. I'm going to use them to apply my makeup today so I'll let you know my thoughts. Chie went to IMATS earlier this year and I mentioned that I'd love to try the Too Faced No Makeup Makeup palette. This is one of their new releases and it instantly caught my eye when I seen it on their website. The packaging is so pretty, I love how Too Faced palettes come with step by step instructions on how to create different looks. I'll keep you guys posted on how I get on with this one. I'm sure that I'll be using this a lot over the Summer months when I don't want to wear as much makeup. She also sent me some lovely Bath & Body Work goodies. I have a new favourite scent from them, Warm Vanilla Sugar which definitely sits up on a pedestal with Pink Chiffon. Chie picked me up the shower gel, body lotion and body spray in this particular scent, these travel sizes last for a good while too. Leading on from bath and body products, I'd never heard of Marianella Soaps before Chie sent one to me as a part of my gift. This product smells amazing like a mixture of vanilla and coconut which you guys probably already know are my favourite scents. I'm looking forward to try this out, it's a rejuenating soap for face and body. I've never really used this kind of soap on my face so I'm interested to see what it's like.

The little blue bag in the top picture is great, it's a Minimergency kit from Pinch Provisions. This little set contains 17 beauty and personal care essentials which is pretty cool if you ask me. I have never owned anything like this so I think it would be great to have for emergencies in my handbag, it's so tiny it won't take up any room at all. I kinda wonder how they fit so many essential in here. For putting all my new goodies in, I'm loving this Sephora Makeup bag. I love how it's see through as it makes things so much easier when I'm trying to root things out. This bag is pretty spacious too so I'll definitely be using it for upcoming trips. Lastly anyone who knows me knows I love Taylor Swift. She's my favourite artist and I'm such a big fan of hers, I've already seen her twice in concert. I have tried her first perfume Wonderstruck and when I heard she had a new one coming out I couldn't wait for it to hit our shores. Chie sent me over the Enchanted Wonderstruck rollerball  and this scent doesn't disappoint. I'll definitely be picking one up when it launches in Ireland, hopefully in the near future.

I'm so happy with this package, it definitely took the stress out of doing my assignments. Oh before I forget Chie sent me the most yummiest cookies, they were chocolate peanut butter flavoured. I may have treated myself to one or two I'm not going to lie. They reminded me of Reese's, if you love peanut butter and chocolate you have to try them. I can't thank you enough Chie for your lovely gift, I'll have to send you a package very soon. Now that most of my assignments are out of the way I'm so much happier. I miss blogging, I can't wait to get back to posting regularly once the school year is over in May. It can't come quick enough.

Is there any brands from the States you'd love to have on this side of the pond?

Laura<3 

A little bit of Music - Homeboy Sandman at the Sugar Club

Last night I went along to my first Underground Hip Hop gig at the Sugar Club. I went to see Jay Z at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground two years ago but that was a much bigger scale concert than this one. I went with Paddy as he is really into this genre of music, he even writes for a well known  Hip Hop website. I bought these tickets for Paddy's Valentines Day present last month, I was surprised the gig came around so fast. He was really upbeat and excited about going, I on the other hand wasn't too sure what to expect from it. Homeboy Sandman isn't an artist I'd be familiar with at all. From what Paddy told me before the gig, Homeboy Sandman hails from Queens, New York and he's quite a popular Underground Hip Hop act. I'll listen to just about anything, you just have to see the selection of music on my Ipod to notice this but I'd never heard of this artist before.

We headed over to the Sugar Club at around 8pm when the doors opened. I went into town extremely early so to kill some time we went to see Broken City. It's such a brilliant film I'd definitely recommend it if you love Mark Wahlberg movies like I do, which is a lot. Russell Crowe also stars in this movie which I presume was filmed around the same time as Les Miserables. He couldn't look more different in this movie he plays a permatan New York City Major a far cry from   his performance as Javert. The venue itself was pretty nice, it's all seated which I definitely prefer for smaller gigs. The Sugar Club have amazing cocktails, seeing as they were only €5 I took advantage of it. 

Of course in the time leading up to the support act taking to the stage Paddy and I took some funny pictures, the result is the above picture. I caught the boy striking a pose, don't think he'll be too happy seeing this up here. After watching Butter for a little under two hours, Homeboy Sandman took to the stage at just before 11pm. Pretty late for a gig to start but he certainly got the crowd going right away with his charisma. I ended up really enjoying the gig, it went on for just over a hour. It only spotted because another act was due to go on after him which was a shame as I know the crowd would of stayed to listen to more. After going along to his show, I'll definitely be looking into his music more. I wouldn't be surprised if it gets added to my Ipod playlist.

When Paddy and I were leaving the venue post gig we ran into the man himself , Homeboy Sandman signing merchandise. He was such a ace bloke and unbelieveably nice. Paddy bought his CD to get signed, he goes to a lot of these sort of gigs so he's built quite the collection of signed merchandise. He was going to get a tshirt but they only had a S and XXL left which would either be way too small or way too big. I didn't buy anything as I'll probably just get a loan of the CD off Paddy at some point or another. I did get my ticket signed though and a cheeky picture avec Paddy and Homeboy Sandman.

Laura<3

My Trip to the Closer2Fabulous Studio

Last weekend I headed over to the amazing Closer2Fabulous studio on Clare Street in Dublin. The lovely owner Debs invited me along and I couldn't wait to go, I was looking forward to it for a while. I intended to visit ages ago but with college and the like I never got around to it. The studio itself is absolutely gorgeous, I love everything from the layout to the decor.

First thing that caught my eye and all my attention was all the fabulous beauty products, it was like makeup/skincare heaven. Some brands I was familiar with and others were new to me. It was a early start on Saturday so I went to the studio with not a trace of makeup on my face to let Debs work her magic. First off I had a skincare consultation made up that was specifically for my skin type, some great products were used that I immediately added to my wishlist. I like how Debs works around people's budgets, I myself think more skincare brands should do this and not just throw products at you with ridiculous price tags. Being a student myself my budget wouldn't be huge butI have my eye on a few bits from Nuxe, a brand I love already. Debs said that my skin was in great condition but that I maybe exfoliated too much. Apparently at my age I should be exfoliating once every 2/3 weeks which I wasn't aware of until now. Our skin naturally performs it for us so if we exfoliate 2/3 a week its leaving our skin bare. See you learn something new every day. I know how important it is to keep my skin in top condition. There's no point in wasting tonnes of money on expensive makeup when you don't have a good base to work with.

That leads me on to my favourite part, MAKEUP. I usually get really nervous when other people do my makeup as I had a bad experience at a certain well known makeup counter a while back. My face looked a mess and I quickly removed all my makeup as soon as I was out of seeing distance from the counter. I felt perfectly safe with Debs though as she knows what she's doing. I learned so many new tips and tricks along the way. This girl is a makeup genius! I loved the finished natural look she came up with, my skin was glowing and looked flawless. We decided on going for a smokey eye which would be perfect for daytime and I got so many compliments on it. The lipstick used on my lips was MAC's Lovelorn with one of the amazing Clarins Lip Perfectors on top, a gorgeous combination if I may say so myself.

Of course, being me I left with two new products added to my beauty wishlist, Giorgio Armani's Luminous Silk foundation  and the new Urban Decay Naked Flushed compact. The latter contains a highlighter, bronzer and blush, perfect for travelling which I'll be doing a lot of this year. I'm a big fan of both brands so I'll definitely be adding these to my collection come payday this month. I have a bit of a wait until then, it will give me plenty of time to finish of some of my other foundations.

I enjoyed my time at the Closer2Fabulous studio, it has such a lovely relaxed atmosphere. I'll definitely be popping back again soon for another visit and a chat. For more information on personalised skincare consultations and makeup lessons pop over to Closer2Fabulous website were you will find more details.

Laura<3