The Lo Down - Essie Button/Estee Lalonde Bloom Book

Hey Guys and Dolls,

As you all know I love when bloggers are doing well for themselves. Another beauty blogger I adore is Estee Lalonde, most people will know her as Essie Button. I've been a huge fan of hers since she broke into the YouTube scene a couple of years ago. It wasn't long til her views were going up in the thousands and she grew in popularity. Her and her boyfriend Aslan do amazing YouTube videos and I love when they come up in my subscription box. From day to day vlogs to how to beauty videos, everyone is always kept entertained that's for sure. I was so excited when she decided to launch her own book. I knew right away that this would be something I'd love. I hadn't got time to purchase or to be honest the funds so I held back on getting it for a while. That changed a couple of days ago and I bought it on Easons website. Just to let you know the postage was super quick in that site aswell. I don't think it's one people think to use that much, well I haven't. 

So back to the book, it arrived yesterday so I haven't had time to read it as of yet so this is going to be somewhat of a overview post but I'll definitely do another post which of course will be a review once I finish reading it. First off can we just appreciate the cover of this book. It's beautiful! I love the colour of it and I think the cover photo of Estee is so pretty.

The book itself is jam packed, it includes sections on travel, fashion, food and of course beauty. I'm only a couple of pages through so far and I find this book so interesting. It's full of snippets from Estee's life and it has beautiful pictures aswell. It's definitely a page turner that's for sure. I'm really enjoying it so far and I can't wait to see read some more. It's such a miserable day here in Dublin so day will pretty much consist of reading some more of this and watching Season 2 of Once Upon a Time I think. It seriously sounds like the perfect day to me a good book and a great tv series that I'm loving. I'm actually going to bring it over to Daragh's house later aswell so he'll be stuck with it too but I think he'll like it like how couldn't you it's amazing.

I like how this book is a perfect coffee table book. Daragh and I are talking about moving out maybe the end of this year/early next year when I eventually get a job so I'm already building my collection of coffee table books. Well I have most of them for a long time and this book will definitely be added to that collection. I think being hardback it makes the book look really fancy. I bought this book for €22.99 which I guess isn't so bad as it looks like it's going to be a good read and it just looks amazing. I don't mind forking out on books because if it's a good one I always cherish it as there's nothing better than a good book for me. You can always catch me chilling out most days with cosy socks reading one of my favourites that's for sure. As I'm a avid reader I'm definitely going to be doing more book review posts in the future so if that's something your into check back soon.

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

A Rather Eventful Day in Dublin

I had quite a eventful day yesterday, after work I decided to pop into town to meet Paddy. The weather wasn't the worst out, it was still freezing but with Winter upon us it's best not to let the bright days slip by. Last Sunday we were going to go to the Dublin which I haven't been to in years! They've opened up alot of new enclosures and made it bigger since my last time there so I've heard. Unfortunately the weather was horrendous on Sunday so we just didn't bother going in the end. After the long trek out to the Zoo yesterday, we found out the last entry was at 3pm and the whole place closed at 4pm. We arrived in Phoenix Park at 3.02pm so let's be honest I was a bit disappointed to say the least. I was kinda glad in the end though as we would of been rushing around the place with only an hour to see everything I guess. Of course we didn't want to leave right away after dragging all the way out there, so we took a stroll around the park. 

The Phoenix Park is massive, it's one of the largest walled city parks in Europe. If your ever in Dublin, I'd definitely recommend you visit! There's so much to see and the park is just full of history, I seriously don't think you'd get around it in day. I remember going on many a trip to this park when I was younger, I loved the forts and seeing the deers. Over the past couple of years they've also held concerts in the Phoenix Park and big International acts have played there. I personally haven't gone to any of the gigs but my brother went to see The Stone Roses last Summer and he said it was a great gig and they couldn't of chosen a better venue.

When we eventually got back into town I headed into some shops of course. Being a Thursday it meant late night shopping YAY! I headed to Easons were I picked up a couple of books as you can see. When I first saw that Lauren Conrad was coming out with a Beauty book I added it to my Wish List. I love her, not just because she was the star of The Hills but because she's made a name for herself since then. After flicking through this book once, I was sold and snapped it up. It contains step by step guides on how to create certain looks which I always find super helpful. The book itself is split in two halves, Prep and Play. Prep focuses on Skincare, Haircare, Finding Your Beauty etc, while the latter delves into Party Makeup, Nails, Everyday Hair and the like. I'm sure there's plenty of tips and tricks in this book so I can't wait to start reading it. The other books I picked up were on 3 for 2 which is always a good offer. I don't need to go into the reasoning behind buying Lauren Conrad's Starstruck. I've read the other books in her series so after buying her big Beauty Book I couldn't possibly leave this behind. What's Left Of Me was featured on alot of blogs lately so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about it. I'm really looking forward to getting stuck into it soon. The Silver Linings Playbook just made up my 3for2, I was lost on what other book to get so I went for this in the end. I think is Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence signed up for the film adaption of this book it's bound to be good, isn't it? After a good browse in Easons we went into Arnott for a bit. The Ojon Shampoo/Conditioner Trade In Day was on, I brought in a empty Herbal Essence shampoo (Hello Hydration) and was given a free full size set of their Damage Reverse Restorative Shampoo and Conditioner. I haven't tried anything from this brand yet so I'm excited to give these a go. Of course I'll a review up in due course. My boyfriend treated me to this gorgeous Philsophy Christmas Gift Set. It contains a showergel and a lipgloss in the scent Sugar Plum Fairy which smells amazing, I love it. The box the products come in is so pretty aswell and very festive indeed. Maybe a little early but I don't care, I love Christmas!

After what seemed like such a long day already, I rushed home to change out of my work clothes before heading back into town to see The Cribs gig in The Academy. I'm so glad I did as it was such a good night. I wouldn't know the bands stuff too much. my boyfriend is definitely the bigger fan out of the two of us. I do know a few songs though from mix tapes Paddy has made for me in the past so it was great when they played them. The Academy is a small intimate venue so it's always nice to go to concerts there now and again. The gig was all standing, which some people hate but I love as I find you get a much better view. After an hour & a half, dancing in the packed out Academy it was time to finally go home and go to sleep after such a long day. I'd definitely go to see The Cribs again the next time they play here as I had such an amazing time. Florence & the Machine is a little more than a month away so I  can't wait to go and see her perform next. It's a fancy dress concert which is definitely something different so I dunno what to expect from it. I need to start thinking of costume ideas so if you guys have any good ones let me know in the comments.

Laura<3

A Shopaholics Journey #1: Brown Thomas and Other Surprises

On Thursday I went shopping in the City Centre and I bought these goodies. When I go shopping I like to browse around different stores. I bought a few different items from Brown Thomas, Awear, Easons and McCabes.

The first shop I stopped by was Brown Thomas. If you haven't heard of Brown Thomas already it's a upmarket department store which includes many fashion boutiques and beauty brands. I bought the following four items their:

MAC Brush Cleanser €12
I think this item is always a must when cleaning make up brushes as it has such quick drying time.

MAC Bulk Wipes(100 wipes) €29

I think these wipes are replenishing and leave your skin feeling so refreshed.

Lancôme La Base Pro Perfecting Make Up Primer €33.50

This product leaves your skin feeling so smooth and perfect for make up application.


M.A.C Tinted Lip Conditioner in the shade Petting Pink €17.50

I love, love, love this product as I am prone to many a dry lip moment this conditioner leave my lips feeling so smooth. I also love the vanilla scent.

The next stop on my shopping trip was Eason's Bookstore, where I picked up the book I've been waiting for.

Summer And The City By Candace Bushnell €13.99(but there is like 20% of at the moment in Easons which is very handy.)

This is the sequel to The Carrie Diaries which was also the prequel to Sex And The City. I can't wait to read this book and see does it live up to my high expectations.

I also visited Awear where I bought this bracelet which I adore. As I love Charm Bracelets and this is just like one and it is so versatile I can wear it with just about anything. It was such a bargain for €8.

Last but not least, I went to McCabes where I purchased my final four products from this haul. I have never used any of these products so I can't wait to give them a go!

Gosh Liquid Highlighter €10.99

This is a product from the Spring/Summer Collection which I find is like a dupe for Benefit High Beam.

Bourjois Volume Fast & Perfect Rotating Mascara €10.99

This is said to give your lashes a false lash effect in 30 seconds.

Treacle Moon That Vanilla Moment Body Scrub €3.65

Treacle Moon That Vanilla Moment Bath and Shower Gel €3.65
Finally I bought these two products as the smells are really nice. It reminds me of honeycomb ice cream and they were such good value. So if you like sweet scents this is definitely two products for you:).

Look out for my post soon which focuses on reviewing some of my fave products from this post.

Laura<3