The Lo Down - Uriage Hydrating Lip Balm

Hey Guys and Dolls,

My handbag is definitely a place where most of my lip balms turn up seeing as I get really dry lips I have quite a few. No wonder my bag is so heavy sometimes the amount of makeup I keep in there.

As you know I've tried a couple of products from French skincare brand Uriage lately. The most recent product I've tried from the brand is their Hydrating Lip balm. It has such a nice consistency and does exactly what it says on the tin or should I say tube in this case.

I use this product morning and night plush before I apply my lipstick and I find it really helps with the application of my lippy. All and all I think this is a great product and as you get it with a free gift with their hand cream it's amazing!

Laura<3

The Lo Down - Catrice Aqua Ink In Gloss Lip Stain

Hey Guys and Dolls,

I like a good lip product I think they completely change a makeup look. I recently got the chance to try the Catrice Aqua Ink in Gloss Lip Stain. The shade I got to try is Pink Waterfall Swoo-Hoosh, which is a gorgeous pink fuschia pink shade.

Catrice is a budget brand I love, all their products are so affordable. My favourite products have to be their foundations. Back to the lip products, this lip stain is so pigmented and looks really pretty on the lips. It smells amazing too, it has a lovely sweet scent. I really like the packaging on this product it looks so sleek. All in all I really like this product, I feel all the products from Catrice's Spring collection is on point.

Laura<3

The Lo Down - NYX Cosmetic Butter Gloss

Hey Guys and Dolls,

As you know I'm a huge fan of NYX Cosmetics I've done a couple of reviews in the past. I'm a huge fan of this brand they have such a wide range of amazing products to choose from their palettes are amazing, I love their bronzer and highlighter one.

Today I'm going to be talking about their Butter Glosses. They are such nice lip products, I have one at the moment and I definitely want to pick up some more shades already.  Basically the Nyx Butter Glosses are a lip gloss that are really pigmented and leave your lips looking amazing aswell as feeling soft. I don't know why I haven't picked up more of these already. I've been so impressed with the products I've tried from this brand thus far.

I think NYX is such a great affordable brand and I'm delighted that you can get it on our shores now. My local counter is Boots in Dundrum and they always have a amazing range of products available.

Laura<3

The Lo Down - Yves Saint Laurent Tint in Balm

Hey Guys and Dolls,

Yesterday I attended a Yves Saint Laurent event in Loreal's Head Office in town. I love when they launch new products as they are always amazing and I love checking them out.

There most recent launch is their new lip product, Yves Saint Laurent Tint in Balm and I love it, it's such a nice product that I enjoy using. I have so many lip balms in my handbag on any given day, some can look a little grubby at times so I hardly take them out of my bag when I'm out and about. This product will change that though as the packaging is beautiful and so luxurious, I'll take this out of my handbag with pride.

At the event I was given the shade Call Me Rose and it's so pretty and wearable, it's a perfect my lips but better shade. Basically there's a tint in the centre of the product with a sheer subtle hint of colour around it which is a really good idea. There's also a lot of shades to choose from too. I can see myself using this alot in the coming months it's beautiful. They are also soo moisturising and smell amazing!

These lip products launch in Brown Thomas this month and in all other stores in April. They retail at €33.50 which may seem pricey but these are such nice lip products you won't regret the splurge. I already have my eye on a couple of other shades from the range.

Laura<3

The Lo Down - Urban Decay Vice Liquid Lipsticks

Hey Guys and Dolls,

After trying their Vice lipsticks I couldn't wait to try Urban Decay's Vice Liquid Lipsticks when I saw they were being launched. I was sent the shade 22 which is a pinky mauve shade and it's perfect for me I'm in love!

I've used this everyday since I received it and it's longlasting and beautiful. It's so pigmented and when I say it literally lasts all day it does when I put this on in the morning it doesn't budge one little bit until night time which is amazing.

There are 18 shades to choose from and they all look so pretty. I love the neutral shades from this range the most. I definitely want to try some more of these lipsticks as they retail for €18, they're not too pricey either.

Laura<3

The Lo Down - NYX Cosmetics Lip and Lid Lingerie

Hey Guys and Dolls,

I've tried a couple of NYX Cosmetics products in the past, it's definitely a brand I love. I really like when they have new launches as there usually fabulous. I was recently sent some products from their recently launched range of lip and lid lingerie products.

I was sent seven shades in total from the lip and lid lingerie range. I received Night Glow, Fame & Fortune, Gold Standard and Morning Sky from the lid lingerie range and Ruffle Trim, Push Up,  and Honeymoon from the lip lingerie range. I adore all the lip lingerie neutral shades they are my favourite, I love Push-Up in particular as it's a beautiful light neutral shade. They are so wearable and go perfectly with any makeup look.

The lid lingerie range is really good aswell they are amazing under eyeshadow but I would recommend using a primer with them. The shade Morning Sky a pretty emerald green shade would look perfect on St Patrick's Day.

These product come in lots of different shades which is great as there's more choice. They retail at in and around €10 which is good value indeed.

Laura<3

New Favourite Lip Combinations

 When I was rummaging through my lip products during the week, I came across Revlon's Sugar Frosting lip butter and Topshop's Nevada lipstick. I haven't used either in a while for no reason other than I didn't think they worked to well on their own.

Sugar Frosting would be the lightest shade out of all the lip butters, resulting in it not being as pigmented. When I first got this I used it quite a bit, but then it found it's way back into my makeup drawer. I preferred the shades of the other lip butter I own like Macaroon and Candy Apple. While cleaning I spotted a Barry M limited edition lipgloss I got free with a Impulse body spray. As I got it as a gift, their doesn't seem to be a shade number, I looked on their website and it looks alot like Strawberry Milkshake. Together they both look gorgeous. A perfect pale pink combination for the Summer, it's like both these products were made for each other. I can see myself using both products alot as they will go with any look.  Another lip combination I've been loving is Topshop's Nevada and MUA's Out There plumping lipgloss in Nude. I loved Nevada lipstick when I first bought it but after a while I grew tired of it. It's a peachy nude shade that blanked out my lips and makes them look flat. I don't know about you but that's not the look I usually go for. I swept a bit of MUA's nude lipgloss on over it and it looks beautiful. For me it just lifts the colour a little, making it look more wearable. Being a plumping lipgloss I wasn't too sure about it at first. I've had quite bad experiences with these sort of products (Urban Decay's offering I'm looking at you), they've just really irritated my lips. This problem hasn't happened with MUA's lipgloss it slightly tingles but that's it.

Topshop's Nevada and MUA's Nude lipgloss

Revlon's Sugar Frosting & Barry M lipgloss

It just shows a little bit of gloss can make all the difference. I don't think I would of used Sugar Frosting  or Nevada if I hadn't discovered these gorgeous products to go with them. I don't particularly like using gloss as it's a given that your hair can get stuck in it, but I really like these looks so I'll let that slide.

What's your favourite lipstick/lipgloss combination?

Laura<3

What's in my Bag? - Updated

I haven't done a What's in my Bag post since May last year, when I started blogging. Obviously the contents of my bag have changed so I thought it was about time to do another. Like all girls, I tend to carry way too much in my bag. I like to think everything I carry is a necessity but I may be fooling myself a little.

Messy I know but isn't everyones bag?  If they say it isn't you know their lying.

I love this scarf, I bought it along with some matching gloves in Accessorize before Christmas. Unfortunately I lost the gloves, I was so disappointed as they were so pretty. I've worn this scarf probably everyday since I bought it. We never get nice weather in Ireland so it's needed.

 I always have a deoderant and a Impulse body spray in my bag. I'm still not too keen on the Lynx Attract For Her packaging, but seeing as I bought it I might as well use it up. A new purchase of mine is the Avene's Eau Thermale Thermal Spring Water. I've been using this to set my makeup lately, so refreshing.

Nothing too interesting in this picture. Basically there's my keys, battered old purse, glasses, umbrella (it's Ireland), Ipod and Muppet's Cardholder for my Age and Travel card.

A mixture of beauty products I found throughout my bag. I'm surprised at how many were in there. I had a lot of "so that's where you went to" moments. My mom bought me the Nivea Pouting Princess tin, it contains two lipbalms. I really like it. The Chocomania Body Butter (travel size) and Soap & Glory's A Great Kisser lip balm are recent purchases. I'm going to do a review on both of them soon.

Here we have my 2012 diary, a empty tin of Glee mints (courtesy of my Mom), a pocket mirror, Travalo (Burberry Body smells like heaven) and my makeup bag. Let me know if you would like to see a What's in my makeup bag post. I don't think I've done one before.

Last but not least is the book I'm reading at the minute. Yes I got a Kindle for my birthday, but I still have a mountain of books to read. I've finished all the other books in this series, Vengeance is the last as you can see. I just started it so I can't wait to see how everything pans out in the end.

So that's everything that's in my bag. I sure do carry alot more around with me than I did in May last year.

What's a must in your bag?

Laura <3

My Recent Topshop Makeup Purchases

If you read my birthday post last week, you would of seen a picture of some purchases I made from Topshop's Makeup range. I've read so many blog posts featuring this range especially the nail polishes. There was no better time to treat myself to some new makeup than on my birthday. When I went into Topshop I noticed that there new seasonal collection was launched.  Sisters of the New Moon is the new Spring/Summer makeup collection for 2012. It consists of a magic liner (eyeliner), mascara, two lip products, four nail polishes and last but not least, nail tatoos.

I made a few purchases from this range as I seen so many nice bits and bobs.

Zodiac & Mesmerise

 After seeing lots of pictures online, I'm going to go out on a whim and say Zodiac looks alot like Chanel's Graphite (possible dupe?). I could be wrong as I don't own Graphite, I would love to know your thoughts. Back to the polish, the finish seen above was achieved after just two coats. I can see myself wearing this polish alot I really like it.

Charmed & Crystal

Both lip products from this collection caught my eye. I've been using the lip tint, Crystal alot. I've bought lip tints like this before, that supposedly react to your skin to create the perfect pink shade. To be honest I've never been a fan, the pink that comes out on my lips always makes me look ridiculous. Crystal is different, I adore the finished shade as it's not too bright and looks quite natural. On the other hand I haven't gotten on as well with Charmed. It's a bright tangerine shade which isn't to my liking. I'm not one to wear vibrant lipstick so I feel like this doesn't suit me one little bit. I can't for the life of me remember why I bought it. I'm going try to find some different ways to wear it on the lips.

Innocent

This purchade was from Topshop's permanent makeup range. I saw Innocent on alot of blogs and of course feel in love. When I spotted it in Topshop while browsing, I decided I had to have it. Innocent is a really nice everyday pink shade (can't get enough of them lately). The white packaging does end up looking grubby in my bag, but this is something I can look over as it's such a beautiful lipstick.

Have you tried anything from Topshop's makeup range? What should I get next?

Laura<3