Monday, June 4, 2012

Magazine Freebies - July Issue

I'm not one to buy alot of magazines, I have my favourites, Stellar and U but other than that I wouldn't be rushing out to get one. I do feel that certain magazines these days are taken up with more adverts than articles which I find pointless. Saying that I did buy a couple this month as they included some gorgeous freebies which I couldn't resist.

The four magazines I picked up are Marie Claire, Glamour, Instyle and Red. I have to admit the latter two I hardly ever read. In Red magazine, there was a choice between a Jemma Kidd mascara and eyeliner. I went for the I-Glamour Define Eyeliner. This product has gotten good reviews online so I'm looking forward to testing it out. With Instyle, there was a choice between a mascara and eyeliners also. I went for the mascara this time, I've tried The Body Shop's Big & Curvy in the past and I really liked it. I'm going to keep this for my trip to Manchester as I do have alot to use up. I picked up my second Ciate nail polish with Marie Claire. I got my first one with this magazine and I use it all the time. I went for the shade Bon Bon which is a gorgeous for everyday. These polishes have been almost impossible to get in Ireland in the past. They are available here now so I can see myself buying a few more. Last but not least is the Benefit freebie that alot of bloggers are talking about at the moment. I'm sure you've seen enough posts on this to last you a lifetime so I won't go on too much I promise. Glamour magazine was so hard to come by, I spotted it on my lunch break and I went for The Porefessional primer. I bought this when it first came out and I loved it, I just wish it wasn't so expensive. The price of the full sized product is the only problem for me. I was actually going to pick up a few more Glamour magazines to get a few more of these but when I went back to the shop they were gone. Just my luck! I'm going to keep this miniature for my travel bag as it is the perfect size.

Have you picked up any of these magazines?

Laura<3

Friday, June 1, 2012

May Empties

My mission this month was to finish a few makeup products. I've been doing empties posts a while now and I never seem to use up any at all. I finished three makeup products this month which is an achievement in my eyes. Makeup products aside, I've used up a ridiculous amount of stuff throughout May. To save you from being bombarded with loads of pictures, I've decided to split all the products into groups.  So there's only five in total which seems a bit easier on the eye.

I'm going start off with the makeup products I've used up. It seems to take me forever to use up mascaras for some reason so this is a monumental moment. The One by One Volume Express mascara is definitely my favourite Maybelline mascara. I was a big fan of their Falsies mascara when it first came out but when I tried this I changed my mind completely. The oval shaped brush captures every lash and gives my lashes that extra bit of volume without clumping. Another small detail I love about this mascara is the packaging who wouldn't like that colour. I can see myself repurchasing this again after I finish some more mascaras. Another eye product I finished up this month is MAC's Fluidline in Blacktrack. I've had this for ages so I couldn't wait to finish it. I never leave the house without a bit of liner and mascara on so I was surprised with how long it took me to use this use. I do think Fluidline is a bit overpriced seeing as there is so many cheaper alternatives out there. The last of my makeup products is Chanel's Vitalumiere Aqua, I've used every last morsel of this foundation and I can't wait to repurchase it. I use the shade B20 and it's the perfect match for skin tone. I love how it gives a nice natural looking finish. I've tried this foundation in the new compact form, I can't say I'm too gone on it yet. I much prefer the liquid foundation it's easier to apply, for me anyway. I will be repurchasing this before my Manchester trip as I don't think I could go two months without it.

I've only tried a few product from Redken in the past as I do find their products expensive. All Soft wouldn't be my favourite shampoo and conditioner, it does leave your hair moisturised and looking silky but I much prefer the Extreme range. I have heat damaged hair so I feel the latter works for me much better. I love Soap & Glory's Pulp Friction, it's such a lovely scrub that has a gorgeous fruity scent. I got this in a set at Christmas time so I'm not sure on the price but nothing from this brand is usually too expensive. I actually rushed out and bought a refill of the next product  as I love it so much. I first spotted L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil on Vivianna's blog, she raved about how good it was. I'm glad I tried this as it's such a lovely product and smells amazing. I'm going to try and pop up a review soon.

Here are all the smellies I used up. I'm not going to go into much detail about the body sprays as I'm sure alot of you have tried them already. I always have a Impulse spray in my bag, my favourite scents are Goddess and Tease. Very Very Pink isn't my favourite scent so I doubt I'll buy it again. Attract for Her, the first women's deoderant from LYNX was nothing to special in my opinion. I really didn't like the packaging as it does look rather masculine and it didn't have a unique scent. You can read my full Attract For Her review here. The perfumes I finished this month were two of my favourites. Both were presents from my Mom and Sister and I've has them for ages. Lola is my favourite Marc Jacobs fragrance, I know this is a refill but I've repurchased this a tonne of times. My Mom got me the handbag size which came with a purchase as well as another refill. It's good to know I'm not all out of this yet. Viva La Juicy is such a nice Summer scent it smells gorgeous. Isn't the bottle beautiful? I'll be hanging on to it as it's just so pretty. I didn't like the original Juicy Couture but this is something different. I may not repurchase for a while as it is expensive. I may try to pick it up in duty free in July.

I love Vichy's Calming Cleansing Micellar Solution, this size comes with a pump which I prefer as I feel like I'm not wasting any product. I went down to my local shop to repurchase it only to see that this was a promotional size so it's not available any more which was pretty disappointing. It was such a bargain too and lasted ages. I'm on a look out for a new Micellar Solution to try so if you have any recommendations let me know! The next skincare product is a small one but I do enjoy using it. I haven't tried too many sheet masks as there not available in Ireland. I got a couple of these in a swap and I really like them. They do make me look like Mike Myers from Halloween H2O but I can deal with the cause there great. The Aloe Mask left my skin feeling so refreshed and it does smell quite nice too.


My empties post wouldn't be complete without a few miscellaneous products thrown in. I always carry hand sanitisers in my bag, these ones from Bath & Body Works are great. I received these as part of my swap with Chie. There such a handy size and don't take up whole lot of space at all.  My favourite out of the two is Lunchbox, it has a really nice fruity scent. I wish Bath & Body Works products were more easily available in Ireland as I'd definitely pick up a few more of these.

Have you tried any of these products? 

Laura<3

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Sunny Days in Dublin

The past few days in Dublin have been scorchers. We don't usually get the nice weather here but when we do it's amazing. There's so many things to do in Ireland but with the weather being terrible pretty much all year round, your not really given much time to take it all in. I've been making the most of it, my boyfriend and I have been going on so many Dart trips. I can't say I got a tan or anything to show for it but we had an amazing time.

Here's a few pictures of our travels to Dun Laoighre, Dalkey and just around the town in general. I hope we get more nice days like these so we can get out and about more often. Dun Laoighre was such a contrast to my birthday were there was nothing but horrible grey skies.

What have you been doing to enjoy this beautiful weather?

Laura<3