New in Beauty Bits | Reviews & Swatches

Monday 25 January 2016

New in Beauty Bits | Reviews & Swatches
Hello everyone!
Today I thought I'd come to you and give my thoughts and opinions of some beauty products I have collected over the last month or so. After giving my first impressions and reviews of some new luxury skincare items I received (see that post here), I said why not do a makeup version?! I have been trying these products out during my very exciting study breaks and library trips lately, lets just say my life gets wild when it comes to this time of year thanks to exams and essays!

BECCA x Jaclyn Hill Shimmering Skin Perfecter in Champagne Pop
If you read my Sephora Haul, you would know that a few months ago I made a Sephora order mainly to get this product. Unfortunately the highlighter didn't actually arrive despite it being on the receipt  however the Sephora staff were very helpful and gave me a refund. Despite getting my refund I was devastated that I didn't get it however my gal Lizzy surprised me with it for Christmas! I wouldn't touch it for so long because it was just so pretty but once I did there was no stopping me. This is an amazing gold, warmer toned highlight that is so finely milled! I'm sure you're sick of hearing about this so I won't ramble on but if you can get your hands on it, get it, you won't be disappointed!

Flawless Bronzer/ Blush Brush*
After being gifted this at a Flormar event I couldn't wait to try it. Over the last while I have been becoming increasingly sick of my bronzer brush, it is just too big and fluffy! I wanted something more defined and just a brush that I could have more control with. I never thought of using a flat topped kabuki style brush for bronzer but let me tell you, it works. It applies the right amount of bronzer which enables me to build it up if I want.  

UD x Gwen Eyeshadow Palette
Ooh this palette is a good 'un. After being gifted it for Christmas I can safely say it is one of, if not my favourite palette of all time. The warm toned matte browns (Anaheim & Zone) are my favourites and most used in the palette and I love using the shade Punk to add some colour and deepen up my crease. I really like their selection of lid colours and highlights too, there is a colour for every eye look. As all of the Urban Decay eyeshadows, they are buttery and blend so well on the lids, this palette has a thumbs up from me! I also can't wait to get a closer look at all of the new products from the UD x Gwen collection which will be out very soon.

MAC Retro Matte Liquid Lipstick in High Drama
I feel like the release of the liquid lipsticks from MAC was very under promoted, I didn't hear about them until they were out a few days! However, once I saw the swatch of 'High Drama' I knew I had to get my hands on it. First of all the price, €28? Even for MAC I thought that was a bit steep! I really like the applicator as it allows you to get a precise application onto the lips. The colour takes about two layers to build it up however once applied it doesn't take too long to dry matte compared to some other liquid lipsticks that I own. It ends up being a really deep berry shade, a bit darker than Glastonberry by Charlotte Tilbury which means it's probably more suited for nights out rather than the day time. I haven't got to test its lasting power but I will keep you all updated.

Have you tried any new makeup products lately? I really want to get my hands on some more!

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Faux Fur & Fedora's | OOTD

Friday 22 January 2016

Faux Fur & Fedora's | OOTD

Hello everyone!

I decided to do a little OOTD of this outfit that I wore to an event before Christmas.
I recently picked up this dream of a faux fur coat in Penney's (Primark) which I absolutely love. It was only €40, such a bargain! I have been finding so many gems there over the last few month so I'm very excited to see what they have in their SS16 range. After seeing Lily Melrose wear this New Look top via ASOS and fedora combo I knew I had to get my hands on it. Although the wrap around front would not be something I would generally go for, she pulled it off so well and it looked amazing with a fedora. Lily bought the fedora from ASOS in a gorgeous green colour but I went with the black in the end as I knew I would get more wear out of it. To finish off the outfit I wore my trusty boots from Amazon!

And a huge THANK YOU to Ailbhe for taking these photos for me, I'm in love with them! Be sure to follow her on Instagram here.

I recently made it so you can subscribe to my blog by email and get notified every time I post! If you're interested, you can put your email address in the side bar.

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Cocoa Brown One Hour Tan | Review

Monday 18 January 2016

Cocoa Brown One Hour Tan | Review
After following the lovely Marissa Carter, aka the founder of Cocoa Brown on snapchat (cartermarissa if you want to give her a follow), I decided to pick up her 'One Hour Tan' and give it a try!

I have been looking to branch out for ages from my go- to Tan Organic or Sally Handson tans, just to try something new and see what else is out there. I had always heard so much about Cocoa Brown and it was always on my list to try so I was very happy when I (finally) picked it up!

Directions on the 'One Hour Tan' say to leave the tan on for one to three hours, depending on how dark you like your tan and then wash it off in the shower. Initially I was wary about how dark it would go so I left it on for about 20- 30 minutes and it gave me a really nice light everyday glow which I was looking for at the time. Second time round I left it on for an hour which left me with a slightly darker natural tan. If I wanted to get to my night out on the town tan aka Sally Handson 'Medium', I'd say I would have to leave it for about three hours.

It lasts a good few days before it starts to look a bit worse for wear, which is expected, I'm not looking for miracles! It easily came off with my Sanctuary body scrub in the shower or I know Cocoa Brown also have Tough Stuff, an exfoliator which apparently gets off even the most stubborn tan. 

As for smell, it doesn't have a bad tan smell, in my opinion anyway! I personally don't mind the smell of tan so it wouldn't bother me unless it was very bad.

All and all, it's a thumbs up from me Marissa, I will be repurchasing. After all for €7.99 you can't go wrong!

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The Winter Coat | OOTD

Friday 15 January 2016

The Winter Coat | OOTD

Hello everyone! 

Today I thought I would share with you my Winter coat that I bought this year as the temperature seems to have plummeted this week. The majority of my wardrobe is monochrome so this Topshop number fits right in! As I have so many casual coats, I really wanted a dressier one so I headed straight to Topshop as they had some gorgeous ones this year. This coat is really thick yet roomy so I can still fit jumpers underneath. I paired it with a simple black dress from ASOS and my boots from Amazon. Even though I don't need another coat or jacket, the addiction is real! I really want my next purchase to be one of the camel faux shearling coats.. someone needs to restrain me!

Coat (similar) / Boots

What is your winter coat like?!

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Instagram Round Up | 2016 so far!

Monday 11 January 2016

Instagram Round Up | 2016 so far!
Hello everyone,
I promised myself in 2016 I would stick to my blogging schedule but sometimes college work just gets in the way! I want to do more fashion posts but these days it has been more tracksuits than faux fur jackets unfortunately! I'm trying to organise my time better so hopefully there will be new both beauty and fashion posts for you in the next few weeks. 
Anyway on to the whole point of this post- Instagram! I'm not very good at being extremely active on social media, to be honest with Instagram I have such a high standard of what my photos should look like and if they go together that I started to hardly ever post. However in the last few weeks I have been giving Instagram a proper whirl and to be honest I'm loving it! It is such a good platform for promoting my blog along with just documenting what I'm doing each day. It has made me start taking more photos and appreciating little parts of my day that I may not have noted before.

If you want to follow me on Instagram, feel free! My username is @michelledalyxx (or I have a clickable link here!) and I'll follow you back. 

I'm thinking about making a snapchat for my blog too- would anyone be interested in that?! 
Thanks for reading everyone- Happy Monday!

New in Luxury Skincare | Reviews & First Impressions

Monday 4 January 2016

New in Luxury Skincare | Reviews & First Impressions
Recently I have wanted to up my skin care game, I have always taken care of my skin and I hope it'll benefit me in the long run.. Luckily enough, both Santa and my best friend Lizzy got the memo of me attempting to invest in my skin so over the last few weeks I have accumulated a whole bunch of new products to try out.


After hearing loads about this, I decided to take a break from my Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish and try this out. While I was in M&S a few weeks before Christmas during the 20% off weekend I spotted this mini version on the shelf and I just couldn't pass it up. After using the whole tub (which took quicker than I expected) I don't think I'll be repurchasing it. I really like the cloth that comes with it and I quite like the idea of the balm turning into a milk which you massage into your skin however it can get pretty messy. My main problem with this product was that after I started using it, my normal to oily skin started to get really dry patches in really random places on my face. If anyone knows why this may have happened please let me know but for the moment, its a thumbs down from me!

Another product that I spotted in M&S however it was sold out so I headed straight home and ordered it online. So far I really like it, it seems like it's doing the job of toning my face without being too harsh which I like. 

First of all, shoutout to Santa for this one, there is no way I could justify purchasing this one for myself. The first thing I noticed about the product was how small it was, for the price I thought you would get a bit more product! When your applying it, the oil goes everywhere but I'm sure practice will sort that out soon enough. As for the oil, it feels so luxurious on the skin, I love it! The next day my face was glowing and looked great.

KIEHLS ULTRA FACIAL CREAM
Lizzy got me this for Christmas as she new I was on the hunt for a new moisturiser (thanks hun)! Let me tell you, I'm in love with this product, hands down the best moisturiser I have ever tried. It even sorted out my pesky dry patches caused by the Emma Hardy Cleansing Balm.. It is really thick so I tend to use quite a bit of it when I'm applying it, hopefully it doesn't run out too soon!

GLAMGLOW YOUTHMUD TINGLEXFOLIATE TREATMENT
Shoutout to Lizzy for this gem too! This is a really luxurious face mask from Glam Glow- a brand that is raved about online. As I didn't do any research on this mask before using it (to be honest I didn't even read the name) I whacked it on and hoped that it would live up to the Glam Glow hype! Initially it was really tingly and the beads were a bit harsh, which I didn't expect (if I had only read the name haha). However after I washed it off my face felt AMAZING. To be honest I don't even want to look at the price tag because I may just have to purchase it when I run out.


Have you tried any of these products? What is currently on your skincare wishlist?!

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Hello 2016

Friday 1 January 2016

Hello 2016

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and I wish you all the best in the new year. I wanted to take this moment to thank everyone who supported my blog in 2015, it did so much better than I could have ever imagined!

In 2016 I have some exciting posts planned so get ready for much more fashion posts as well as the usual beauty bits. I hope to grow my Instagram too so if you're not following me, i'll leave my link down below and I'll follow you straight back. 

2015 was a good year, but lets make 2016 even better!

All the best,
Michelle x