The Lo Down - Blank Canvas Dimension Series Hamper

Hey Guys and Dolls,

I love a good Irish brand and Blank Canvas ticks all the boxes. It has great quality brushes that I love and they're pretty affordable too. The F20 is amazing for foundation application, followed closely by the F06 I love both these brushes alot and use them all the time. I bought the Dimension Series Hamper just after Christmas when their sale was on. I got this set for around €50 which is unreal value. In the hamper you get  brushes, a candle and a brush holder. The products come beautifully packaged in a Blank Canvas Hamper box aswell.

I'm so impressed with these brushes, for what I paid for them they couldn't be any better. The brushes are new to the brand and have a mixture of brushes in beautiful new colours. My favourite is the rose gold and black & the purple handles. I already have my eye on a set that includes eye and lip brushes. I can't decide what handle colour to go for, hot pink or rose gold and black.

There is some great brushes included in the brush set I purchased. I love the contour brush the most as it's like nothing in my collection at the moment.

Laura<3

Cocoa Brown 1 Hour Tan

After going along to the Cocoa Brown tan launch late last year, I came out knowing so much more about the science behind tan. I find it super interesting learning the ins and outs of  certain products. Being beauty bloggers we put alot of different creams and potions on our skins, sometimes we (myself included) don't know how the product itself is technically working. The creator of this wonderful product, Marissa Carter is a fountain of knowledge and it was so nice to get the opportunity to chat to her about her new tan. I didn't realise how much work goes on behind the scenes when creating a product. A serious amount of time and effort has to go into every little detail.

I'm not a big user of tan, I use it occasionally for one thing or another. The main reason I don't use it is because of the time and effort involved. I work early mornings so I'd have no time at all to rinse it off as I'm usually rushing out the door. This problem has become a thing of the past after using Cocoa Brown*. The tan itself takes an hour to develop which is amazing and great for people that are tight on time like me. I literally apply this during the day and leave it on for a hour then rinse it off. Before I apply the tan I use my favourite scrub Soap & Glory Sugar Crush to get my skin feeling nice and smooth, ready for application. Cocoa Brown is such a lovely tan to apply as it glides on effortlessly and blends into the skin nicely. If you want a darker tan you can leave it on for up to three hours. I left mine on for an hour and I was very impressed with the results. A gorgeous light natural glow perfect for any girls like me that aren't regular tan users. My face is the only place were I didn't use this tan and that's by no fault of the product. I just stick to my favourite facial tan, Clarins Liquid Bronze Self Tanning Cream as it just gives a nice glow. I'm using a small sample I got and I've been loving it so far.

I haven't heard of any other tans on the market that develop in one hour so I believe this product is something very special indeed. Another thing to note about this tan that separates it from the rest of the bunch is the fact that it has no scent whatsoever. I was at home watching telly with the family when I applied this and they usually comment if I'm wearing tan that smells terrible. Cocoa Brown definitely gets full marks with them! The biscuity smell is something that a lot of people hate about fake tan so I can already tell that this will be a winner with them.

I absolutely love this tan, without a shadow of a doubt I'm going to pick up another when I run out. The packaging is gorgeous and girly. The creator herself said it's a product that would definitely take pride of pace on her dressing table and I agree with her completely. At €7.99 for a bottle you really can't go wrong with this one. Just two pumps gave me enough mousse for an upper body tan. With the current weather outside I highly doubt I'll be showing off my legs anytime soon. I'll be sticking to wearing tights until the weather gets a little warmer so this bottle is going to last me a long time. I'm delighted I've found another Irish brand, I've discovered a couple lately so it's always nice to give them our support.

What's your favourite tan? Will you be trying Cocoa Brown?

Laura<3

Vanity Professional Makeup Range

Being an Irish blogger I love nothing more than finding new brands from this side of the pond. Over the past few years a couple of really amazing brands have started up in Ireland so I love to give them my support. It can't be easy to start up your own business so I have to salute people that do it, there so inspirational. Before Christmas I was asked by the lovely Leanne did I want to try some products from her new makeup range, Vanity Professional Makeup. Of course I said I'd love to. Since I started blogging I have come across a couple of Irish brands, but never any that specialised in makeup to the best of my knowledge. I was really interested to see what Vanity Professional makeup range was like so I couldn't wait to try their products. After looking on their website, I've seen that they have a vast amount of products available already so you'll be spoiled for choice. One of the items that stood out for me is their customised palettes, I love picking out my own shades when it comes to eyeshadows and blushes. That way I'll know that I'll use them all and it won't contain that one shadow that is never touched, every pre-made palette has one I guess.

I don't have too many makeup brushes at present, just my favourites from Real Techniques. It was nice to try something new for a change. To be completely honest I never use flat foundation brushes. I had one back in my secondary school days and it never seemed to work for me. That's probably why I stopped wearing makeup to school in general back in the day. I would apply foundation to my face and it just never seemed to go anywhere with these brush and stayed in the one place. Never the look I'd want to go for at all back in the day, no one wants their foundation to stay stuck in the one place. Maybe it's because I'm older now or my discovery of How To videos on YouTube but I've finally mastered the technique of using this particular brush. I do think you have to put a little more time into applying your foundation when using one of these, that's why I almost prefer using buffing brushes as there quick and easy. I'm always in a rush in the  morning so they work best for me. I do like this brush it's super soft which I like and it does apply my makeup nicely, when I have a little more time to kill in the mornings I'll definitely be using this brush.

Next up is one of their blushes in the shade Bella* which is a mauvey pink affair. First off if you don't like shimmer this may not be the one for you, it doesn't bother me a all as it's subtle when applied to the skin. Again if you look close enough you will see traces of glitter so be warned.  I love how this blush gives a natural flush of colour to the cheeks. The only problem I had with this blush is that the pan fell out in transit to my house. That said I'm just happy this lovely blush didn't smash, I just had to get some glue out which wasn't a issue at all. At €15 I don't think this is too bad for a blush, it's very pigmented so a little bit goes a long way.

The only product I wasn't too fond of was their lipgloss in Heat Wave (€15)*, a red with tiny specs of glitter. Don't get me wrong the formula is great (not too sticky) and the scent is nice too, it smells pretty sweet. The shade just wasn't really for me, red isn't a colour I'd usually lean towards getting myself. I don't why I'm afraid of wearing them, I just feel that they don't suit me at all for some reason. I'd hate to get a bright lipstick or lipgloss stain on my teeth too as knowing me I probably would never notice that it was even there. It's weird every time I get my makeup done at a makeup counter, they always go for bright and vibrant shades, the MUAs seem pretty surprised that I don't use them as I have dark brown hair and green eyes. They think with that combination I can pull it off but I don't think so at all. I've decided 2013 is the year that I'm going to be brave and use some vibrant lip colours. I don't know how well this mission will go but I'll definitely keep you updated. Who knows the shade Heat Wave could grow on me!

It's nice to find a brilliant home grown makeup brand that doesn't entirely break the bank. I like how the packaging is sleek and fits in nicely together. I can definitely see myself picking up some more products in the future. I'd love to see what other lipgloss and blush shades are available.

Is there any makeup brands that you have just discovered? Had you heard of Vanity Professional Makeup?

Laura<3

VOYA Organic Voyager Travel Set

I wish I knew about this gorgeous set when I was doing my Summer Must Haves/Essentials post on travel kits as I absolutely adore it. VOYA is a Irish brand which started life as a successful family run seaweed bath  business in Sligo and from there it's grown and grown. I love finding Irish brands as I haven't come across to many and it's nice to discover  them. This Travel set contains four mini products from their range, a shampoo, condtioner, body wash and body lotion. They are all perfect sizes for travelling and come in a this gorgeous wash bag which is made from 100% organic cotton. I love this bag as it can be used again to hold makeup products as it's a nice size.

The sizes of the products are by no means small like some travel minis can be, they are all quite generous 75ml tubes. This also means if you haven't tried the brand before you'll get a really good idea of what they have to offer. I couldn't pick my favourite product from this set as I love them all. I was expecting the shampoo and conditioner to dry my hair out but I can swallow my words as neither did. My hair was left lovely and soft, with the little bit of added body which my hair is lacking at the moment. I love the Softly Does It body moisturiser, it's quite rich a little bit goes a awfully long way. I'll  probably get a lot of use out of this one tube, the Squeaky Clean Body Wash has the exact same lovely fresh scent as the moisturiser. When you think seaweed, you automatically presume the scent won't be the best but I truly love it. All the products contain essential oils so this is probably wear the nice scent come from too. This set is expensive at €40, but it's well worth every penny in my opinion. I really like the idea that you can get a feel for the brand without spending mega bucks on products. This will also make a lovely gift for friend or even as a sneaky gift to yourself. I've only seen this brand in one store in Dublin, House of Fraser but I seen on their website that it's also available in Avoca. I'm looking forward to trying more products from this gorgeous brand, I already have my eye on the skincare.

Have you heard of VOYA? What do you think of this travel set?

Laura<3

The Handmade Soap Co. Choco-Mint Lip Balm

The Handmade Soap Co. was an Irish brand I knew very little about, until I bought their grapefruit body butter (smells amazing) back in December. After using it for the past 3 months now, I can tell you that I love it, it's so moisturising. Even though I've had it for a while, I still have so much product left, so it's certainly worth the money (€22.95). I was contacted recently and asked if I wanted to try one of their lip balms. I didn't know The Handmade Soap Company did lip products too, so I looked forward to trying it.

There are three lip balms to choose from, I was sent the Choco-Mint lip balm. It smells so nice, like mint chocolate chip ice cream, definitely more on the minty side though. I tend to get lip balms that have fancy packaging so this of course is very different. Don't let the metal tin put you off though as the product itself is great. As you can see from the picture, it is a solid balm so you do have to warm it up a little. Once on the lips, it's very cooling and moisturising, great if you have dry lips like me. I've been using Choco-Mint lip balm for the past while and I still have a lot of product to go, for €4.50 this is great value for money. I really liked this lip balm, when I run out I'm definitely going to try and get my hands on the other two.

Have you heard of The Handmade Soap Company? What products have you tried?

Laura<3