Avene Soothing Hydrating Serum

About two weeks ago I was contacted by the lovely Emma of Escentual and was asked if I was interested in trying out the Avéne Soothing Hydrating Serum*. I jumped at the chance because I've heard this brand raved about and when it comes to skincare I'm an avid learner! In fact I blame Alix of I Covet Thee and Kate from Gh0st Parties or my ongoing obsession. 

The serum itself claims to help the skin become soft, and hydrated. It's also suitable for sensitive skin.This product is made with a large quantity of thermal spring water to provide a calming effect as well as added moisture into the skin. It seemed to the perfect product for me! 

A bit of background on my own skin, after years of suffering with terrible acne, I now have okay skin... it's combination to oily at the best of times, with a tendency for a dry nose on occasion - this really bothers me. I also suffer with slight redness too.

After all the promises this product made, I was stoked to get it in the post. I've been using it every night since I got it, and it' fair to say, its love. I work in an office meaning I'm stuck in doors at a desk for 8 hours a day, so my skin does be in need of a little pampering in the evenings. I always cleanse, tone and moisturise and now I've added this into the mix (along with some other bits & bobs) I can feel the difference that it has made. My skin has been brighter, and more balanced. I will defiantly keep using it & see where I end up but for now, yes, it's a winner in my eyes - even my Mum has been trying it out!

I can safely say that when this is finished I will be repurchasing. So worth it.

For the nice bit, Escentual has offered readers up to 1/3 of the popular French Pharmacy category for the rest of March including this Avéne Serum at 25% off!

Here's what else they have on offer -

- Vichy, La Roche-Posay and Nuxe at 33% off RRP

- Avene, Klorane, Rene Furterer and Pierre Fabre at 25% off RRP

- Caudalie at 20% off RRP

- A-Derma at 10% off RRP

Feel free to check out Escentual -

Twitter: @Escentual
Facebook: facebook.com/Escentual
Instagram: @Escentual

Wishin & hoping

Wishlists are great aren't they?

They allow to go virtual shopping without the guilty feeling of splurging too much!

Below are a few thing's I've had my eye on lately....

Silver Brogues

Velvet Chunky Boots

Dress

Blazer

Floral Jeggings

Watch

A girl can dream can't she?

Beauty Blogging Bargains

I own a lot of eye shadows... a lot. 

Palettes are a weakness of mine really, but these two are rather special.

NYC and Wet & Wild are two very affordable brands therefore I didn't expect miracles from either of these. After seeing Lily Pebbles talk about NYC eye shadows on her blog recently I decided I may as well pick some up - especially after falling in love with a mascara from the brand recently.

The NYC one was a mere €4.99. For four shadows, a primer and a highlighter, how on earth could you go wrong? I think there is around 5 different ones to pick from but I have this one in 'Union Square' and I am 100% picking up more from the range.

This Wet & Wild one in 'I'm getting sunburned' is another one that I really like. A gold, brown and pink choice from this one, and I love how each shadow tells you where you should use the shade i.e the brow bone, the crease or the eyelid. I think its cool for someone who has literally just started with eye shadow, as it's like a guide. Of course you can wear them whatever way you want though! For the small price of I think €2.99 this is an amazing product! The larger palettes for €6.49 come with 12 colours and I am itching to get my hands on a few of those too!

All in all, you can get both these palettes.... 7 shadows, a primer and a highlighter for under €10? In my opinion, it doesn't get much better than that!

Delving into the nude

Last weekend at the Irish Beauty Show I picked up this Fuschia lipstick in the shade 'pink ice'.

Its a colour I never thought in a million years I'd buy for myself because it's a 'nude' and I cannot for the life of me pull off nude shades, they do not suit me at all.

My sister picked up this colour at the Fuschia stand and persuaded me to buy it. I figured it was only €5.. hello show prices.. so I got it. I never thought I'd say this but I love it. It's more of a peach toned nude rather than a pink like the name suggests, and it looks quite pretty matched with peach cheeks and soft brown eye make up.. at least that's the way I like it.

Maybe I should embrace the nude look more often?

The Pale Girls Best Friend

 A while back I went on a hunt for a new foundation, I needed something a lot paler than what I was using and I needed something long lasting. I spend a lot of my time working, and patchy make up is just a no no. I hit up Twitter and asked the beauty blogging lovelies there what I should go for, and I got got loads of responses. You guys are the best! 

Now I have list of foundations as long as my arm that I want to try out! However, my lovely friend Charlotte reccommended this L'Oreal True Match foundation, after I saw it on sale in a local pharmacy in my town I decided it was faith and picked it up. I got it in the shade 'ivory' as it was the lightest colour and it's perfect for me. The texture is so silky, and although its quite a light foundation its defaintly buildable and can give a great amount of coverage. 

I'm so glad I listened to Charlotte on this one - it's an amazing product!

Life Lately

• My Sister & I heading to a play last weekend 
• Pancake Tuesday - first time to ever have them, yummy!
• Been tweeted by Suzanne Jackson.... idol much?
• Monday face. I hate Mondays.
• Leopard print & chunky rose gold.
• My ladies & I at Ellie Goulding earlier this month.
• Blogging... as usual.
• Little treats from Paris.
• My baby, Benjamin Button. Isn't he lovely
• A fabulous illustration of me by Holly Shortall (google her!)

I like these kind of posts, I think I'll do them more often - Keep smiling x

Oh La La

Oh La La is right, I adore this colour.

 Its the only Topshop lipstick I own but I'm dying to get my hands on more. I wish I had a Topshop closer to me......

Another perfect Spring/Summer colour, its a mixture of peach and a coral with an almost neon effect in the tube. It applies smoothly, and it's lasting power its quite impressive.

I can't remember how much these are but I feel like they're around the €12 mark? don't quote me on that though!

I can't wait to rock this colour once the weather decides to stay sunny!

Alex & Ani

A brand that has become extremely popular in the last few months is Alex & Ani, and I can totally see why. Dinky, quirky and cute jewellery all made with positive energy. They come in gold, silver and coloured bead form.

I currently have three in my collection, all gold. I love gold!

The first one I got back in September 2013, just before I started my new job and the little pendant on it says "everything happens for a reason". I love the quote and the meaning behind it, and wearing it just reminds me of that everyday, and helps me worry a little less. I rarely take it off.

The second one I have was a gift from my Mum on my Graduation in November 2013. I graduated with grades I was proud of and with a degree I worked hard to get and she got me this bracelet with a simple flower pendant that says "daughter" on it. Its gorgeous, and its very special to me.

The last one I own is another gold one with the claddagh pendant on it. The claddagh is an Irish symbol, and my friend Aislinn got it for me for love, loyalty & friendship. It's shockingly cute and again, I love the meaning. Easily one of my favorite gifts from this Christmas!

I plan on picking up some more of these, there easy to wear and stack and there actually really affordable. I think prices start at around €30? That's brilliant in my opinion!

Another thing to mention, while not directly relating to the jewellery themselves, the Alex & Ani social media team are AWESOME. The guys & girls that handle there Twitter are so friendly! I love when a brand connects with their customers like that.

If you want to have a look at the Alex & Ani site you can do so here

Spring Pinks

Its March, meaning Spring is on its way in Ireland which means its time to put the dark lips to the side for now, and embrace the lighter colours. Pinks, peaches & corals are perfect for this weather I think, so today I've rounded up my fave pink shades to share with you.

L-R

Maybelline; Hot Plum

Wet & Wild; Mauve Outta Here

Catrice; Frozen Rose

MAC; Girl About Town

MAC; Candy Yum Yum

Maybelline - Hot Plum

This is the perfect pink/purple barney shade of purple. I own nothing else like it and I always go for it when I want something fun, quirky and not too out there! I think its around the €10 mark too, so affordable too! This whole range is actually lovely but this is my favourite. 

Wet & Wild - Mauve Outta Here

A while back I dedicated a post to the excitement I felt when Wet & Wild landed in Ireland, I picked up some eye shadows and a few lipsticks and this shade is, in my opinion, the best of the bunch. It's such a different pink? it has a purple undertone, while still been warm and a great everyday colour. The best part is that this range of lipsticks are €2.99! Amazing quality for such an amazing price.

Catrice; Frozen Rose

I'll admit I'm still a bit of a newbie when it comes to Catrice products in general, I own a few different bits from them and I really like them all. I do own a few of their lipsticks and the texture of them are really nice. This pink one is the nicest one I've come across, it's my version of a nude, its light, girly and so smooth. I got this one on sale but usually they retail for under a fiver... bargain much?

MAC; Girl About Town

This was one of my first ever MAC lipsticks, and it's still one of my favorites. Its bright without been obnoxious, I would describe it as a mature pink? If that makes any sense. I feel rather grown up with it on.

MAC; Candy Yum Yum

This isn't one for the faint hearted! It's super  bright and really out there, and I LOVE it. I think its so fun, and funnily enough, I think its an easy one to wear. The formula is a little drying but to be honest I like it that much I don't care. I think it looks perfect with a tan and my smokey eye, its my all time favorite way to wear it.

Sleek - Blush by 3

I've owned this blush palette in Lace for a while now, since before Christmas anyway.. but it's only in the last few weeks I've started to really like it! To be honest, it scared me.. These Blush by 3 palettes are so pigmented that I was worried I'd end up looking like a clown. However, recently I have found a way to make this work for me (hello Real Techniques stippling brush...) and I think its perfect for this time of year. 

With a mixture of matte and shimmer colours it's a very versatile palette and did I mention I love peach/orange blushes? I am fairly pale, and I think these colours really compliment my skin tone.

I have another one of these in a different colour I may have to get a little braver....

Have you tried any of these? What colour should  I look for next?

Irish Beauty Show 2014

WARNING - This is a very picture heavy post.

Hello!

I'm back today with a post about the weekend! On Sunday I headed off to the RDS for the 2014 Irish Beauty Show with my bestest Lisa and my baby sister, Katie. I had such a good time, but my god, it was so busy and I'm not the best with crowds. 

The exhibition itself is open to the public for everyone in the beauty industry and everyone remotely interested in it. It was on Sunday & Monday but I only managed to get there Sunday myself! It literally had everything from tanning, nails, hair, skin and beauty! It was a beauty bloggers paradise! There was loads of demonstrations, and so much information one could learn, and of course shopping.

I picked up a few bits from Fuschia, Blank Canvas & a few other places but I'm sure they'll all appear in Wonderland in due course!

I also got to meet Marissa Carter and basically had a fangirl moment, Lisa decided the best way to deal with this was to walk right up to her and say mind taking"Hi Marissa, my friend has a blog and loves you, would you mind taking a picture?" which of course she didn't and she was so lovely! I was still in a state of shock though.... Smooth Natasha.

Anyway, I snapped a few... a lot... of photo's so I just thought I'd share them!

Garnier - Fresh Refining Toner

Hi lovey's!

I'm going to start off by saying I don't think I've ever slated a product here in Wonderland before; as in I've never dedicated a whole post to something that was awful. This little slice of the internet is for happy, pretty and lovely thing's, and not for nasty thing's that set your skin on fire. With that been said, I feel that this post is necessary.

A couple of weeks back, my local Boot's were having a 2 for €5 on all their Garneir products. Now, if you've been reading for a while you'll know my thought on the Garneir cleansers, I love them. That day, however, I was in need of a new toner and decided to try out one of the Garnier ones, I picked up this one but it had kind of fallen into the never ending box of products I own because I've been religiously using my Boots own brand toner that I am honestly in love with and have been for about 2 years now. 

I decided I should give this bad boy a go though seeing as I had it really, and my god. Never again, never. After my normal routine of make up removal I applied it and almost instantly my skin began to tingle, which is never a good sign, but by the time I got to the bathroom to wash it off my face was full force burning. It was so horrible! I washed my face and applied some moisturiser and even a face oil over it but my skin tingled for hours after. I honestly think this stuff is made from acid!

Really not impressed, not cool Garnier, not cool!

Have any of you tried it or am I just loosing my marbles?

SoSueMe enabled

I'm not sure about anywhere else in the world but in Ireland.. or at least in my little world.. when Suzanne Jackson say's something is worth buying - it's worth buying. No, scratch that, its worth walking the town checking in every shop to see if the product has been sold out yet!

So when SoSueMe wrote a review on this NYC Mascara, I was like, yep. I need me one of those! The mascara itself is a bit of a mouthful its called the Big Bold  Volume by the lash. A mouthful, indeed! Anyway, the wand itself is short and thick, and grabs the lashes really nicely. Its so black which I love,  and the curl holds quite well. It's been compared to the Maybelline Rocket mascara which is one of the most popular mascaras in the drugstore, and across so many blogs too. 

The great thing about this... wait for it... it's €3.49! Yes, you read that right!

Unreal.. Have you tried it?

How to look the best at everything

A little while back my sister headed off to London & Paris for a week.. jealous much. If you've been following me on Twitter you'll know I tweeted saying you know you're raising your baby sister right when she comes home with the Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette and two Benefit sets! One of those was a gift for me which I was pretty stoked about because Benefit isn't that easy come by where I live!

Katie got me the 'How To Look the Best At Everything' in the shade light which is essentially a flawless complexion kit. As I said it was a gift so I didn't ask about prices or anything like that.. little rude I think. However I can tell you about all the little goodies that came inside!

The products include:

The ever so raved about Porefessional Primer.

Hello Flawless foundation in Ivory 

Boi-ing concealer in shade 01 & 02

'I Love Me' powder in Ivory too.. How cute is that name?

A mini Benefit brush - much like the ones that come in the boxed blushes.

First of all, I can say that hype around the Porefessional is well deserved, it's an amazing nude primer that really does minimise my pores and helps my foundation last much longer. I'm lucky enough to have received an extra sample of this from Benefit themselves so I'll be sorted for a while!

The Hello Flawless foundation looks shockingly dark in the tube, I was almost scared to test it but it is a really good match for my skin tone. It's very blendable and it's lasting power is pretty impressive, I work most days and it's been a lifesaver - I've also been loving the L'Oreal True Match one too, but more on that another day!

Boi-ing is a product that I've read about so many times on tons of different beauty blogs and it's reputation seems solid! I haven't tried it yet because I'm still having a love affair with the 17 Phowarr Paint but I'm feeling optimistic! The fact that the kit allows you to try two different shades is great too depending on your undertone. I can see myself reaching for 01 more, and 02 when I'm a little more tan.

The powder, with it's adorable name, is a great little product too. It matches everything else in the kit really well, it's just annoying that you can't take it out and carry it around with you like you can the other products. That's the only complaint I have really!

All in all, I think this kit is a really great way to try out Benefit's base products without having to fork out the full price for everything. My sister got herself a different type of kit, I might pop a post up about that one to show you the difference and her thoughts on it?

Have you tried any of these products? Holy grail potentials?