First Impression | Sleek Pout Polish

If you've already read my March 'Glossybox Unboxing' post then you know this stuff hasn't been in my possession long enough to give it a full blown review. So I thought I'd give you pretty little thangs my first impression of Sleek's Pout Polish. Lets get started...

First off, the packaging! For their 'Caribbean Collection' Sleek have departed a little from their usual slick packaging. Although I can totally see where they're coming from with the tropical overlay's and bright colours (I'm ready for some decent weather any time now Ireland), it's all a little busy for my taste. But, as I've said before, you prolly shouldn't judge a book by it's cover - so packaging doesn't play into my impression of products too much.

As for the product itself, I snagged the shade 'Bonaire (967)' which is a striking orange colour. As Sleek  claim that this is a 'tinted lip conditioner', the first thing that I wanted to do was play 'Pigmentation Police'. No winners for guessing that it's pigmentation is spot on! 

For those of you who tend to shy away from a vivid orange, fear not! The colour is completely buildable. Use a small amount on the edge of your finger or a lip brush and blend the colour out - you'll be left with a perfectly glossy pout that has a slight orange shimmer. If your looking for a more vivid colour, layer up! I have a feeling this stuff is gonna be an AMAZING colour for summer!

The scent of this product is FAB - a kind of light vanilla scent that isn't crazy overpowering. I've heard a few people complain about the taste of it, but I can't say I've come across any overwhelmingly strong taste. This tinted balm is full of nourishment - almond oil, shea butter, vitamin E & SPF 15 - errythang you need to make your pout look slammin' for the summer!

The only disappointment I found with this lip conditioner is that it doesn't last too long. Although it has a creamy consistency that isn't overly sticky like other balms, I found that I needed to top it up every hour or so - not so good!

With a bank account friendly price point of £4.49 it's worth checking out if you're into tinted lip balms. But if you're just fine with sticking to a regular sheer balm, I'd quicker point you in the direction of Maybelline's Baby Lips!

Have any of you tried out Sleek's Pout Polish?
What do you think?

XO, G.

Glossybox Unboxing | March 2014 Edition

After doing a bitta research online into Glossybox, I finally took the plunge and ordered my first instalment last weekend, just in time to receive the March box - tactical!

For those of you who don't know what Glossybox, or any of the monthly beauty boxes are - they are pretty much monthly subscription boxes that deliver 5 beauty samples (wrapped in an adorable box) straight to your door! The theme of the box changes with each month and the products you receive are always worth more than what you pay! #Winning

A couple of reviews I read online had been complaining of the crazy long delivery time to Ireland due to the fact that these little boxes of goodies come from the UK. Soz guys, but I received my Glossybox well before I thought I would... within 3 days of getting the 'dispatched' email to be precise!

Here's what's in my Glossybox this month. The theme was 'Beauty Blossom'...

First up, Dove Hair Therapy Intensive Repair 60 Second Treatment Shot! Hair treatments this size are PURRRFECT for taking on holiday to give your hair a quick boost when it's being attacked by the sun! Can't wait to try this out!

I also got some samples of Viva Liberata's pHenomenal 2-3 Week Tan Lotion. This tan claims to last longer than any other tan on the market. As someone that wears tan quite a lot (my poor Irish skin is so freekin' pale), I'm looking forward to seeing what this can do.

Mitchell and Peach made their Glossybox premiere this month with their English Growers Body Cream. It's full of English honey, organic cocoa, vitamin B5 and shea butter - sounds good enough to eat!

Full size products! Holla! I also managed to snatch up one of Bellápierre Cosmetics Ltd Shimmer Powders in 'Coral Reef' which is a slammin' bronze/coral colour, perfect for Spring/Summer!

And last but not least, I snagged a full size Sleek Make UP Pout Polish in 'Bonaire'. Super excited to try this vivid orange tinted lip conditioner! I've been meaning to get my hands on some Sleek products for awhile now as I've been hearing such great things about their blushes from other bloggers and vloggers, so welcome to my makeup bag you pretty thang!

Do any of you subscribe to beauty boxes?
Would you like me to review any of the products I managed to get my hands on?

XO, G.




 

Forgotten Gems - MAC Products I Forgot I Had

I was feelin' a little inspired to do something different with my eye makeup this morning and decided to rummage through my makeup storage for something a little more frisky than my everyday neutrals. 

Instead, I came across all of this... just lyin' there. I'm not saying I completely forgot I owned any of the sweet thangs above, but their existence in my makeup collection just somehow went to some section in the back of my mind that I don't visit too often.

All of these little babies are the result of one of two things - birthday gifts and impulse buys - and honestly, I can't remember the last time I used any of them. Saying that makes me feel a little ashamed as they're such beautiful products and I forgot how much I loved them until I went to swatch them for this post. 

I'ma show you these products in two separate instalments as this post would end up crazy heavy in the photograph department otherwise. 

So here are my solid shadows... 

'Jade's Fortune' - Mineralize Eye Shadow

'Cyber' - Metal-X Cream Shadow

'Beauty Marked' - Velvet Eye Shadow

Literally, NONE of these shadows swatch the same as they appear in the pots - for some, the colour is slightly different and for others you really have to build the product in order to get a more pigmented colour. So I thought I'd best provide you guys with some swatches!

Nowadays I'm more of a neutral gal (the Urban Decay Naked Basics pallet got the best of me) and let's just say, these don't really come under the title 'Neutral'. But in writing this post I'm hoping it's going to give me a bit of a kick to start using them more often!

Would you like me to do a review of any of the 3 shadows above?

Have you purchased any of theses products? 

XO, G.

It Fits!! | Maybelline Fit Me Concealer Review

I'm pretty sure I've yapped on about this concealer in a previous post but I've been asked a few times for a quick review of the product... so I'll use that as my excuse to yap a bit more!

I re-stocked my stash of this baby last week (if you missed my haul, read it here), so clearly I've got a bit of a penchant for the stuff!

The packaging isn't much to write home about, it's quite plain. Personally, I think it draws a little on NARS packaging for their Creamy Concealer (not surprising considering it's supposedly the drugstore dupe!). At the end of the day, it's just packaging and that doesn't affect my opinion on the product too much - it still manages to slip into my bag for touch ups throughout the day and in my books that's winning!

The consistency of the product is quite odd for a concealer. You might mistake the liquid-like texture for being badly pigmented but I find it gives a really nice finish. It gives me great coverage and the oddly runny consistency means it blends well! I actually really dislike when a concealer is too thick as I find it just leaves a cakey finish. For the most part I use it for brightening my under eye area (so that I look semi-awake in the mornings) and for covering small blemishes (because we've all got those suckers). The small applicator brush is fantastic for this as it only applies a small amount of the product and you can build on that if necessary.

My colour is '15'. Just a heads up - I found that when I swatched 10 and 15 (the lighter shades, I'm very pasty) side by side, 10 turned out to be the darker of the two. I'm not sure what way their colour system works, so make sure you swatch before you purchase!

So, overall, I love this shizzz. At €8.99/£5.99 I really don't think you can go wrong. For an overall natural look that both covers and perfects, I really recommend you check it out! It fits me just fine! 

Have you tried out Maybelliine's Fit Me Concealer?

If not, what is your go to concealer at the minute?

XO, G.

I Only Meant to Buy Concealer ...

I know for a fact that I cannot be the only person that has walked into a store looking for one item and walked out with a bagful of random things and a wallet that was looking worse for ware.

I'm sure you can tell by the title of this post, this very thing happened to me yesterday - but it hasn't happened in awhile, so that makes it better right?

Despite the fact that my wallet has somewhat lost it's dignity, I'm still excited to try some new products out! Here are the things that somehow found their way into my makeup bag this week:

Baby Lips Moisturising Lip Balm from Maybelline (Yes, 3 of them... Necessary). 

Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser (Primer) from Maybelline.

BROWdrama - Sculpting Brow Mascara from Maybelline in Dark Brown.

Lasting Finish Colour Rush Balm from Rimmel London in '200 Keep Mauving'.

Maybelline's Fit Me Concealer in Number 15.

Have you already purchased any of these products?
Would you like me to review any of the products I've mentioned above?

XO, G.

Mothers Day Gift Guide

With Mothers Day looming (in Ireland and the UK), I thought I'd put together a gift guide to give you guys a bitta inspo for some nice things to purchase for yo Momma's! And to make it that bit easier on you, I've even split the goodies up into categories! (Fancaay).

1-3: Gifts for the Fashion Addict
4-6: Gifts for the House Proud Mum
7-9: Gifts for the Beauty Obsessed Mum
10-12: Gifts for the Foodie Mum

If you're thinking of purchasing any of the above, I would DEFINITELY recommend having a look around your nearest shopping outlet. I've already discussed Kildare Village, for all of you in Ireland, in another blog post (Read My Post Here), but I can't emphasise how good it is for buying gifts! You are literally guaranteed to walk out of the place with a gift for Mother dearest (that was discounted by up to 70%). Winning!

If a visit to your nearest shopping outlet isn't on the cards, check out some of my Mum's favourite haunts for some great gifts:
Zara: for scarves and accessories.
Dunnes Stores: for home-wares (the Carolyn Donnelly Eclectic line is FAB, so quirky).
M&S: for their hampers (delish).

If your Mum's one of those Mums that "doesn't want anything" (but you still wanna get her something anyhow) get creative and bake one of the 3 C's - Cupcakes, Cookies or Cake.
Erryones gotta sweet tooth and she'll totally appreciate the personal touch.

Have you purchased your gifts yet?
Or are you getting creative this Mothers day?

XO, G.

Side Note: Some of the brands featured in the gift guide above are available to purchase in Kildare Village! Kildare Village offer up to 70% off all year round! 

Sweet Tooth

Waddup guys - apologies for the lack of blog posts over the weekend.. and into the week, celebrating St. Patrick's Day and whatnot! But I'm back!

Over the weekend, I took a little trip to Brown Thomas, Dublin with the fam and ventured on up to the home-ware section where I found a treasure trove of delish treats! That floor is straight up dangerous for my wallet around Christmastime.. or any holiday in general - I just wanna buy errythang!
So, in the spirit of Easter, I thought I'd pick up a few things.

I love the little green felt baskets filled with chocolate eggs! Perfect Easter gifts! And the 'Happy Easter' decorations are just adorable! Also picked up some Kusmi green and jasmine tea (one of my favs, their packaging is on point).. that cancels out the chocolate, right? Hope you guys can take some inspo for Easter gifts from these lovelies! Everything here is available from Brown Thomas if you wish to stuff your face with the same treats as me for Easter!

My eyes are on that white chocolate bunny!

See anything you like?

XO, G.

What's on my iPhone...

I don't think I'm the only one out there that's a bit nosy... slightly addicted to watching 'What's In My Bag' videos. So this kind of post is pretty much the next best thing for me. In todays world, I feel like everyones phone is almost another limb... I don't know what I'd do without mine. So here's a little look into my essential apps...

1. INSTAGRAM: I love. love. love my Instagram account. Can't get enough of this app! It merges two of my fav's - photography & social media. If you'd like to follow me, my account is @gracedenny  

2. FACEBOOK & TWITTER: I feel like these are basics on everyones phone. Twitter wins for me though!

3. BLOGLOVIN: This app is like my own personal newspaper with a list of new blog posts in one feed. If you love reading blogs and don't have this app, you need to go download it... now. My favourite thing to do in the morning is sit down with my breakfast and scroll away! 

4. TUMBLR: I don't post on tumblr a lot but I love to use it for inspo! 

5. AFTERLIGHT, SQUAREADY & PIC COLLAGE: All essential photo editing apps for Instagram lovers like me. These are the main apps that I use to edit my photos.

All of my other apps are random, from games (to keep my little cousins occupied during those 'I'M BORED!' moments) to apps to keep up to date with what's new in my favourite stores!

What are your most used apps?

Sound off in the comments...

XO, G.

Satchel Central

Yesterday, I hit a bit of a bump in the road in the middle of my 'saving month'. I'm a huge lover of satchels and River Island... and when you put the two together it usually equals a recipe for disaster for my wallet. I have to confess, I've never been a huge fan of River Island's handbags but recently I really think they've stepped their game up. They seem less interested in slapping their branding all over their bags and are paying more attention to detail and staying on trend - good for you RI! 

Needless to say, these two babies are the end product of my jaunt into the store... take a look at all the satchel goodness!

First up is this kick ass neon yellowish-green micro satchel with gold hardware - can we just take a minute. 

I've been on the look-out for a micro bag and this little gem is on point for so many reasons. Usually, I wouldn't be the type to sway toward neons, but when I was in RI, I was wearing all black errythang and this bag made the most perfect pop of colour. It wasn't too overpowering, like I'd originally thought. The length of the strap is great too, not that awkward mid-length, it sits right at the hip. It holds all the essentials - phone, purse & keys. But the best thing about it? It was less than half price! What?! €25 down to €12 - bargain!

Next up is this powder blue satchel, also with gold hardware and faux snakeskin accents. 

This colour is just ev.ery.thing. It's so delish and it's perfect for entering into Springtime! I got it at, what I think is, a really reasonable price point for River Island - €37. The strap is so soft and there are plenty of little compartments for holding all your bits and pieces. The colour theme is also carried on into the interior lining of the bag. It's about twice the size of the micro satchel - just to put sizes into perspective!

I just couldn't not have these babes in my wardrobe and caved under the pressure of the yummy colours. I have a weakness. haha.

Have you made any accidental purchases / splurges recently?

What is the best bargain you've got in your wardrobe?

Sound off in the comments!

XO, G.