When it comes to lip products, I would rate Rimmel as one of the best drugstore brands for producing top quality lipsticks. Their latest launch is a matte liquid lip colour that claims to deliver high intensity colour with a velvety matte finish. There's 15 shades in the collection and it's an impressive colour selection - they have everything from nudes (which is obviously what I went with - no surprises there!), to deep purples and even a grey and black.

When it comes to lip colours, I'm a nude girl through and through - I try to venture out and wear brighter lips but I always find myself coming back to my old faithful nudes. You just can't go wrong with a good nude lip, so I went with the shades Be My Baby and Moca. Be My Baby is more of a pink-nude, whereas Moca is a brown toned nude. There's also a shade in the range called Latte that's an excellent in-between version of these two shades.

Top: Be My Baby Bottom: Moca

The pigment of these lip colours is incredible - they apply smoothly and opaque with one layer. They're really comfortable on the lips and they don't leave that horrible residue around your lips that some liquid lipsticks do. Although they're matte they don't dry out the lips, they definitely have that velvety texture that you'd get with more expensive lipsticks. The shape of the wand also makes it really easy to get a precise finish without a lip pencil, which is a major bonus if your lips are non-existent like mine!

The wear time on these is also majorly impressive - they almost stain the lips so even after eating and drinking you don't lose the colour. They remain opaque and comfortable pretty much all day so they're a great option for a night out lip especially.

The Stay Matte Liquid Lip Colours are available on Rimmel stands now and retail for €7.99 each. They're also on buy one get one half price in Boots at the moment so if there are a few shades you have your eye on, now's the time to purchase!

New In: NYX Lid Lingerie Eyeshadow Palette Review and Swatches!

NYX is probably my favourite drugstore brand of all time - they continually bring out the best products at the best prices. For me the big thing that separates them from other brands is that they're constantly launching the products that makeup obsessives actually want - they seem to know how to hit it right on the head when it comes to launching new and innovative products.

Today's review is of their new Lid Lingerie palette - six matte neutral shades that are the perfect companion for their Lip Lingerie liquid lipsticks (you can find my review of those here, I'm obsessed!). There's no messing about with this palette, it contains the six shades you need to create a simple everyday look, or you can incorporate the darker shades in for night time glam.

In terms of formulation, NYX do some of the best shadows in the business (particularly love the prismatic range), and these shadows are no exception. All six shadows are buttery, pigmented and have absolutely no fall out. My favourite shade is the warm brown on the top right, and I think it's also the most pigmented of the bunch. They blend so seamlessly and the shadows aren't too powdery either. In terms of longevity, I would recommend using an eyeshadow base of some sort - regardless of the shadows I always do this as I have oily eyelids, but I found that the shadows popped more with a base under them.

This is the perfect everyday, go-to eyeshadow palette if you love neutral, easy to do makeup looks. It has all the shades you need to take you from day to night eyes and it's exceptional value at €10.99.

The Lid Lingerie palette is available on NYX counters now.

Kat Von D Alchemist Palette Review and Swatches

When it comes to highlighters, I'm firmly in the 'more is more' camp - I want to be seen from the high heavens, please and thank you. Now that we're coming into festival season, I wanted to look for more ways to ensure that my highlighter is so popping that my friends don't lose me in a crowd - enter Kat Von D's latest launch, the Alchemist Palette. Seven years in the making, the Alchemist palette consists of four holographic powders that can be used on the eyes, lips or cheeks to create the most incredible iridescent glow.

As you can see from the swatches above, this isn't going to be your go-to, everyday highlighter palette. It's absolutely perfect for festival season to really finish off your look and I'll be drowning myself in it this summer! However if you're looking for ways to incorporate it into your everyday looks, the powders are perfect for using as an inner corner highlight. My favourite is pink opal in the inner corners paired with a matte brown eye and a winged liner. You can also put them on top of your matte shadows for a pop of colour. As a highlighter though, I think that's best reserved for nights out or bold makeup days.

The powders are ridiculously pigmented and blend out so smoothly on the skin. The powder is so finely milled with no chunky pieces of glitter. It's quite a small palette but the powders really pack a punch so you'll find yourself using very little at a time.

If you're into subtle makeup, I'd give this palette a miss, but if you're into bold makeup, this is an essential. It's so versatile and an incredibly unique palette. It'll set you back €32 and is available on Kat Von D counters and online now. It's a hard one to get your hands on, but definitely worth the wait.

Benefit Cheek Parade Palette

When it comes to blushes, very few brands do them quite like Benefit. Between the quirky packaging,  the sugary scent and the colour selection, Benefit have got blushes down to a tee. The beauty world is going bananas for their latest launch, Galifornia, but Benefit has another trick up their sleeves - meet the brand new Cheek Parade palette!

The Cheek Parade contains three of Benefit's best selling blushes and bronzers as well as two brand new launches - Galifornia, and Hoola Lite - which actually doesn't launch in Ireland until June. Needless to say the quality of this palette is incredible - the powders are soft and buttery, blending into the skin so seamlessly. I adore Benefit's blushes, and the only powder I'd tried in this palette is Dandelion, which is one of my all time favourite blushes.
Usually I hate when brands include a brush in their palettes as I just find them annoying and I tend to lose them in about five minutes of opening the palette, but I really like the little brushes Benefit give you. It's a perfect shape to use for contouring or for sweeping blush across the cheeks.

 All five powders are full sized too, so you're getting a huge amount of product in this little guy. That's the most incredible thing about this palette - it's only €63. Essentially, you're getting five full sized powders for the price of two. I honestly don't know how Benefit are doing it - you're getting €170 worth of product for €63. No wonder it's limited edition, it's actually one of the best value palettes I've ever come across!

(L-R) Hoola, Galifornia, Rockateur, Hoola Lite, Dandelion

The Cheek Parade palette is on Benefit counters now, and as I said it's limited edition so make sure you snap one up before they're all gone! 

New In: Charlotte Tilbury Goodies!

My famous last words - I'm only going for a look. This is what I kept telling myself when I recently visited Brown Thomas' incredible Charlotte Tilbury counter. Twenty minutes and a whole lot of money spent later, I left with my little bag, delighted with my new purchases. I feel like when it comes to luxury beauty, Charlotte Tilbury just cannot be beat. Her packaging, the quality of her products, her brand is iconic.

Although she has a few new releases coming this month, nothing I picked up is new to her range. They're some of her most well-known products that I finally decided to treat myself too and so far I'm absolutely loving them. I know the product on the inside is what you should be buying for, but can we just look at that packaging?! 

First up is the Kissing Fallen From The Lipstick Tree (what a mouthful!) in the shade Hepburn Honey. My all time favourite lipstick is Charlotte Tilbury's Matte Revolution lipstick in the shade Very Victoria, and I'm nearly finished it so I thought I'd branch out and try something from one of her other ranges. Hepburn Honey is a brownish-nude, with a hint of peach. It's the perfect everyday wear shade that compliments every makeup look. It's incredibly long-wearing and so comfortable on the lips. It's a satin finish which is a nice break for my lips as I'm normally all about the matte lips! My two favourite lip pencils to pair with this shade are MAC's Stripdown or Charlotte Tilbury Iconic Nude. This will set you back €32.

Next up is the Eyes To Mesmerise cream eyeshadow. There's no in-between with me when it comes to eyes - I either want full on glam, glitter and lashes, or I just want a simple, no-fuss wash of colour over the lids as I hate not wearing eye shadow. So many people rave about these shadows so I thought it was about time I added one to my collection. All the colours are so beautiful, it was an ordeal for me to settle on just one! I went with Mona Lisa, which is a stunning bronze shade. It's so easy to work with - I just pop it on the lids with my finger then blend it out with a Morphe blending brush. It doesn't crease and it stays put all day, I feel like it's going to be a staple in my everyday makeup bag! The Eyes To Mesmerise pots are €26 each.

I'm a self-confessed blush addict, so I've always wanted a Charlotte Tilbury Cheek To Chic blush, but at €39 a pop, I had to be sure I was picking a shade that I was going to wear to death to justify the price tag. I decided to get Ecstasy, a warm coral-orange with a beautiful shimmery centre. The idea of these blushes is that you swirl your brush on the outer colour first, then use the centre shade on the apples of your cheeks to provide a youthful glow. The shade is absolutely stunning, the product is really finely milled and applies so smoothly.



Finally, my big splurge - the Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze and Glow. This has been on my wishlist for so long, but it was one of those products that I just couldn't justify buying. At €65, I am fully expecting it to transform me into Kim Kardashian herself. Anyway, I finally decided to treat myself to it as I was running out of my current favourite contour which is Harmony blush by MAC. While I'm not quite Kim K when I use it, I am absolutely in love with this kit. It's so pigmented, but it blends so smoothly that it's quite difficult to go overboard with it. The highlight is beautifully subtle and perfect for everyday wear. Although it's very spendy, I couldn't recommend this palette enough - I'm obsessed!

I'm loving my latest Charlotte Tilbury treats - her products never fail to impress. Although they're incredibly expensive the quality is outstanding so you're certainly getting your money's worth. It'll probably be a while before I take another trip to her counter, but for the moment I'll be writing another wishlist of products for my next visit!

SoSu Eyelashes Review!

For as long as I've been into makeup, I've always been obsessed with false eyelashes. I've never been one for the semi-permanent ones as I love being able to change up the style of my lashes to compliment the eye look I'm wearing or the mood I'm in. Finding good lashes for a decent price can be quite a challenge, so here is where Suzanne Jackson comes in. I'm sure you've all heard of Suzanne from her blog SoSueMe.ie, and her brand SoSu has got everything from nail polishes to contour kits, but it's her eyelashes that really caught my attention.

There are three lash collections within the SoSu range - the Premium lashes, the Deluxe lashes and the Luxury lashes. Each range has a different price point, but are all equally beautiful lashes. I genuinely couldn't even choose which range I prefer the most as the quality certainly isn't compromised for the cheaper lashes. 

The Premium range consists of eight styles, and they retail at €5.95. They're human hair lashes and they are by far the most comfortable eyelashes I've ever worn. They're incredibly soft and lightweight, and they have a lovely thin band so that you don't even need to layer eyeliner over them to disguise the lash band. My most worn styles in this range would be Sara and Katie as they're quite natural looking but they add lots of volume and length - love! 

The quality of the lashes is absolutely incredible. One thing I love about them is how you can reuse them so many times. Generally I would only use lashes one or twice before glue starts to harden on them or they just lose their shape, but I've found that I've gotten so much wear out of these are the glue peels off them straight away and they stay in perfect condition. I put them straight back on the lash tray to help them keep their shape but I read that Suzanne is actually releasing a lash case to keep them in soon, so I'm looking forward to picking that up! 

The Luxury lashes are designed for a more dramatic, Kardashian-esque lash look. I picked up two styles in this range, the Kim (pictured), and the Rosie. The Rosie lashes are a little more natural so I've gotten more use out of them, however look how stunning the Kim lashes are! I'm saving these for a special occasion as I feel like they'll be the focal point of my makeup look. These lashes are a little heavier than the Premium ones, which is understandable as they're a fuller lash. These sets of lashes are €19.95, and can be reused up to 20 times. 

To me, the stars of the show has to be her Deluxe range that were designed exclusively for Penneys. These are the Belle lashes, and they're by far my all-time favourite lashes. In any pictures you see on my Instagram page, these are my go-to lashes for a night out! They're absolutely beautiful, and so easy to wear. There are three different styles to choose from in this range, and they're a mere €6 each. I actually have a drawer full of Belle lashes as they sell out so quickly. I always have to stock up when my local Penneys has them! 

None of the lashes come with a lash adhesive, but I personally recommend Duo glue, in my experience it's the best lash adhesive out there. Most pharmacies stock it too, so you'll be able to pick it up when you're shopping for your SoSu lashes! 

I can't recommend these lashes enough, there's really no faulting them. In terms of selection, price and quality, Suzanne has really hit the nail on the head when it comes to the ultimate set of false eyelashes. 

Urban Decay All Nighter Foundation Review

When it comes to base products, Urban Decay have really upped their game recently. Their Naked foundation was my go-to for about a year, but I love a good medium/full coverage foundation and I just felt it needed to be built up too much for the coverage I wanted. The All Nighter Foundation claims to be the answer to your prayers if it's a flawless full coverage base you're after.

Urban Decay describe this foundation as a full coverage foundation with a modern matte finish that never looks overdone. They claim that this 'revolutionary' formula is also comfortable enough for everyday wear. This was the main reason I wanted to try this foundation out - as much as I love a flawless base, I don't like looking like I'm wearing a mask of makeup during the day (even though I usually am, but that's not the point!).

The foundation has quite a thick consistency, but it blends very seamlessly onto the skin and really locks in place. My go-to foundation is the Too Faced Born This Way foundation, however I find that it has a tendency to sit on the skin rather than actually blend into it and act like a second skin. As expected, the coverage is absolutely incredible - it's not heavy nor does it look cakey, but you definitely won't be going back in with extra concealer. A little bit also goes a long way, one pump of foundation is more than enough to deliver a flawless base.

In terms of application I like to use my Beauty Blender as I feel it gives the most natural yet flawless coverage. I've tried it with a buffing brush and I found it left my skin looking a bit heavy and that the foundation didn't settle as well on my skin. Using your fingers is also a good way of applying it, I just personally prefer using a sponge rather than using my fingers.

Even without a primer the foundation stayed in place all day with no touch ups needed at all. It doesn't get shiny throughout the day, but it also doesn't give you a flat looking finish like some matte foundations do. It gives a sort of demi-matte finish, which I love. Sometimes if I want a little more of a dewy look I just put a bit of MAC Strobe Cream on before I apply the foundation.

I really can't fault this foundation. The shade range is brilliant (I wear shade 1.5), it's long-wearing and the coverage is perfect. I wouldn't expect any less from Urban Decay though, their complexion range is really excellent. The All Nighter Foundation is on counters now for €34, and it's definitely a foundation you need to have in your stash!