It's Not Just The Weather That's Wet n' Wild

First of many forays to the freshly stocked Wet n Wild stand ...

Wet n Wild was up there with Lucky Charms, Tootsy Rolls and Sephora when it came to stocking up while on holidays stateside.

The penultimate budget beauty brand their products, eye shadows in particular, was hailed as a holy grail of buttery pigments and stand out pay-off.

But now, the panicked days of impulse-buys in the airport and raiding a lonely Walgreens stand because Wet n Wild have landed on our shores and they're here to stay! Hip, hip, hurray!

Get Your Glow On - Everyday Dewy Foundation

I am a girl obsessed with many things. To name but a few, they would be things like bushy brows, ashy blonde hair, Irish wolfhounds and dewy foundation.

My go-to for a long time was YSL Touché Eclat foundation but I generally keep that for special occasions. So I've been on the lookout for an every day, drugstore alternative.

Dear RTE ...

Subject: Promotion of Discriminatory Views

January Detox - Hair Edition

There came a point in January when I felt rubbish. Generally rubbish from head to toe. Granted a lot of that was to do with the over-indulgence on foods my stomach repeatedly reminds me I hate. But it wasn't just that, like I said, from head to toe I felt rubbish. Hair included.

Lip Balm Low-down

La Roche-Posay and Nuxe lip balms

Christmas might be over but winter is far from finished. It takes its toll on just about everything. Skin, hair, hands, lips - you name it, and there's nothing I hate more than sore, cracking lips.

A year ago I stopped using any and all lip products that contained petroleum, which has done wonders all in itself in helping my lips stay naturally moisturised and reducing my dependence on constant reapplication.

In recent weeks I made a point of seeking out my ideal lip products, and tonight, the results are in.

One of my first beauty-blog-buys was Nuxe Rêve de Miel. Very much a lip treatment in my opinion. A very rich balmy texture, it's almost slightly grainy when you apply it but whatever that is melts away on application. This little frosted pot of pout perfection lives exclusively on my bedside table where I liberally apply it before drifting off. In the morning my lips are soft and smooth and often times I barely need to apply any lip balm during the day, or at least not until after lunch. Even the most weather-worn lips are brought back to life in a matter of hours with this little wonder. The texture is non-greasy, almost semi-mat so dabbing a smidgen under your daily lip colour and you're only laughing.

Cicaplast is a range within La Roche-Posay well-known for being, well, brilliant. Baume B5 has a cult following for being an all-purpose wonder product, I named it last year as one of my Dry Lip Superheros (also featuring Rève de Miel) as a great emergency treatment for sore, swollen lips. Now, somehow, the magical properties of Cicaplast has been channelled into a neat barrier repairing balm which fills in cracks and creates a soothing barrier that repairs and protects long suffering lips. La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Levres came into my life only a few short weeks ago but I've already repurchased a new tube and re-gifted a tube to my sister, who sings its praises to the tune of "you don't have to apply it as often as other lip balms and it's particularly good overnight."

As my first tube of Cicaplast Levres began showing signs I ventured out to repurchase and got drawn in, in the name of blog research, to Nuxe Rêve de Miel Lip Moisturizing Stick. Could it be that honey-scented miracle I knew and loved was available in a handbag friendly twist-up? Well, not exactly. But it's close. The formula isn't a rich, obviously to allow for the new application method, but it is effective. I find it's the perfect accompaniment to it's more luxurious sister as a top up during the day.

On the same day, my eye was drawn to La Roche-Posay Nutritic Lips. Nutritic is the range that produced the moisturiser that saved my skin, and to which I owe nearly two years of flake-free face so when I read "transforming care for very dry lips" my heart skipped a beat. As a standard stick lip balm goes it does exactly what you need. Keeps lips soft, moisturised and generally satisfied. It will remain in my collection as my "oh crap I need lip balm" lip balm.

Nuxe Rêve de Miel comes in at just under €12, Cicaplast Lips €6.50, Rêve de Miel Moisturizing stick €6.99 and Nutritic Lips at €4.

Do you take lip balms as seriously as I do?

Lots of love

Lisa

xXx

Colour Week - Day 5 - Seeing Red

Red lips at the from the iconic, to the vampy to the bitten

Red lips were my first love as far as makeup was concerned. As soon as I moved away from tinted moisturiser and clear mascara, it was red lips that stole my heart.

For a long time red was the only colour I owned, and to this day it still dominates my collection. Still, when faced with a selection of colours for any lip product, my eye automatically scans down the line to the far right and fixates on the rich red shades that reside there.

Let's face it, in most lip colour collections there are the nudes, the pinks and the reds. I'm a red. This time of the year lends itself perfectly to a chic red lip. Be it a stain in the day time or a perfectly painted pout over cocktails - t'is the season eh? So here's the low down on the reds you can expect to see on my lips for the foreseeable future.

Straight in with the classic pillarbox/orange red, Lanôme have completely won me over with their lipsticks as of late. As price points go, MAC are just under 20 and Lancôme just over (€26) but they're worlds apart as far as luxury and quality go. 132 Caprice is pictured above in the gold bullet, a best seller and part of the Kate Winslet collection. First off, it smells gorgeous and what's more the colour pay off is second to none. Three strokes and your done. Bottom, top left, top right. A classic vermillion  red (read very red) it has the tough of bright orange to mimic the class 1950 red we all know and love.

I've spoken about Giorgio Armani CC lipsticks before, but 410 Hot is too good to not to bring up again. Where Lancôme has a hint of orange, Hot has an ever-so-subtle hint of taupe - by that I mean, it's not the classic pillar box red, rather a sophisticated, true red. The lasting power of this lipstick is a blessing. It's so easy to wear in how easy it goes on, stays put and required minimal fussing over. Lasting through fancy party nibbles and cheeky rum-and-cokes alike.

Moving on to the dark stuff, Rimmel again feature heavily, producing 3 of my favourite budget reds. Moisture Renew in Diva Red and Apocalips in Eclipse and Across the Universe. Depending on how dark you want to go, these shades are very much the gateway. Dive Red is a beautifully rich blood red, with an unbelievably luscious finish and impeccable colour. Across the Universe is a really unique red-brown. Not too dark, but certainly not a bright red either. It's the kind of red not many brands do, I don't find. Eclipse is getting firmly into purple territory. Deep, mysterious luxurious, vampy. Everything you're expecting from the moniker.

Now I will admit, red can be a scary colour to wear. Even I, a die-hard fan, don't feel like wearing it every day. But if I simply must get my hit that day, that's where e.l.f Barely Bitten and Revlon ColourBurst Lip Butter in Wild Watermelon are perfect for just enough red, without needing to commit to a statement lip. The Lip Butter is a particular favourite of mine for a my-lips-but-redder look.

Ah go on. Let's have some swatches

Eclipse, Across the Universe, Diva Red, 401 Hot, 132 Caprice, Barely Bitten, Wild Watermelon

Will you be seeing red this season?

Are you a fan of red lips at all?

#ColourWeek is getting there! I promise! Better late than never!

Lisa

xXx

Colour Week - Day 4 - Violet Eyes

- Elizabeth Taylor watch out, we can have violet eyes too -

Purple has to be my absolute favourite wildcard colour when it comes to eyes.

Sure bronze and burgundy are in the running, (and Blue of course) but nothing says POW like a pop of purple on your peepers.

Okay, I promise the P puns are over (okay now they are), so instead I'll get cracking on a run down on my favourite purple products. (You can't blame me for that one)

Colour Week - Day 3 - This is Pop, Baby

Adding a pop of colour to brighten up the darker days

Well colour week is turning out a bit sporadic, but I'm persevering nonetheless!

I refuse to believe that bright colorus are purely a summer thing. The duller the day, the brighter I wanna make it and these are the products I reach for to do just that!

Colour Week - Day 2 - Autumn Leaves

Perfect on fair skins, take inspiration from the world around

Trying to bring in a bit of extra colour into your everyday makeup doesn't need to be complicated. At this time of year there is plenty of inspiration all around us, and fairer skin tones glow when teamed with warming orange shades. And in a strange turn of events ... they're all matts.

Colour Week - Day 1 - Ole' Blue Eyes

Bringing Blue Eye Looks Back with Inglot, Essense, Maybelline and Lancome

If you told me the idea of blue eye shadow scared you, I wouldn't blame you.

Images of 80s music videos and 90s B-movies are pretty terrifying all on their own without re-living them in your makeup mirror when that subtle blue eye look backfires.

That said, the runways this past season have had us reconsidering. And these are just a few products to ease us into the trend...