Sephora, CVS & MAC Haul | August 2016

Even though being home from sunny San Diego about a week is quite depressing, there is nothing better to cheer me up than new makeup. Being broke all the time was tough when Sephora was on my door step for three months, however I made sure to put some money away to splurge towards the end of the trip. 

The Essentials 

Of course I had to stock up on some of my holy grail makeup products while I could. As they were right on front of me and cheaper than normal it would have been rude not to! I picked up a new Beauty Blender because I can't do my makeup without it these days, the Anastasia Brow Whiz in Medium Brown and my MAC Pro Longwear Concealer, all of my favourite products.

BASE

I picked up two primers as I wanted to branch out a bit from my Benefit Porefessional, the first being the Becca Ever- Matte Poreless Priming Perfector which is a similar concept to Benefit primer.  While at the checkout, I was offered a mini of the Too Faced Hangover Primer in exchange for points. I jumped at the chance of getting it because it was on my list anyway and as it was a miniture version it gave me a great chance to try it out. So far so good too, I have been loving it so far and I much prefer it to the Becca primer that I bought! Next I bought another corrector just to try something new. I got the Naked Skin Corrector in Pink which really brightens up under my eyes. The formula is the same as the Naked Skin Concealer which I have yet to try however I can't wait to get my hands on it and some other shades of the Naked Skin Correctors! To set everything I bought a mini of the Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder. I've been loving this as it does a great job in setting my face and under eyes as well as baking while not giving you flash back in photos. Just as a multi purpose product I picked up the MAC Fix Plus Spray which I have been wanting to try for a long time along with the Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray.

CHEEKS

In an attempt to try and expand my blush collection, I bought the Milani Baked Blush in Berry Amore. I really liked the formula of these blushes but I just wasn't a fan of the colour I had. I was looking for a similar colour to MAC's MSF in Stereo Rose that is discontinued and I think I found a pretty good dupe! On a whim I bought the mini version of the Nars Orgasm and Laguna Duo which I was very disappointed in. I've heard people saying that this is their holy grail product which I don't understand at all! For $24 you don't even get good pigmentation, you're just paying for the name to be honest! 

EYES

I tried to be as refined as I could with regards to eyeshadow, I don't need anymore palettes but I couldn't resist this Anastasia Beverly Hills single eyeshadow in Truffle Glitter. I wore this shade all over my lid in one of my latest Instagrams, you can see it in action here! On the Sephora website this shade is described as a titanium brown with burgundy glitter.  Although I wanted to try more I held myself back, especially after buying this MAC Pro Palette with room for 9 eyeshadows. I had never seen this before in Ireland so I got very excited when I saw this and I knew I had to have it! For lashes, my favourites have to be the Ardell Demi Whispies and the Naturals so I picked up a packet of each of them. For eye brows, I had to pick up the Anastasia Dip Brow Pomade in Medium Brown and it has quickly become one of my holy grail products. It lasts all day and makes your brows look nice and full.  

LIPS 

I bought one lip product in the US but it is one that I can't get enough of! I got the Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Bow n Arrow. This is the perfect everyday slightly darker nude which I have been loving. If you are ever going to the states, make sure to pick up one of the Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks, the formula is so so good. 

Well wasn't this a long one! I hope you enjoyed reading about what I bought while in America, I wish I was still there spending my days strolling down the boardwalk and shopping in Sephora but don't all good things come to an end. Have you tried any of these products? What are your thoughts?!

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Exploring the Kingdom | OOTD

Sometimes you need to just get up and go. On a whim my three friends and I decided to head down to Kerry for a break for a few days, just for a little catch up, some relaxation and of course some wine!

For some reason, since I came home from San Diego I have visited two parts of Ireland that I had never been to before in less than two weeks. This is quite unheard of for me, I would hardly leave Dublin twice in one year for more than a night away. I never really appreciate our Emerald Isle, but the dust and bleakness of the Southern California and Nevada desert puts into perspective how beautiful our little island is.

While we drove around the Skelligs witnessing where Star Wars was filmed, and saw the sunset over the Atlantic surrounded by rolling green hills, it was tough not to be impressed with what Ireland has to offer.

I would recommend visiting Kerry to anyone, especially down around the coast, its absolutely beautiful! To be honest if you have the chance, explore more of your country in general. Ireland has so much to offer but because I live there, I just don't go and see it. There is so much to do and see on my doorstep that I have been taking for granted.

Shirt (Sold Out- Zara) / Jeans / Belt (Penneys) / Shoes / Bag (Sold Out- Topshop) / Sunglasses (Penneys)

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Everyday Summer Makeup Routine

Summer makeup is all about dewy skin and being bronzed and San Diego definitely makes me go in that direction. Don't get me wrong, for the nights out I always stick to what I know and go for a bold lip but during the day, it's easiest to keep it simple. Typically during the day I wouldn't even wear makeup but when I'm going out for the day and just want to make a bit more of an effort, this is my go to.

//BASE

If nothing else, the heat here makes me not want to wear a heavy base. I start out with some of my newer products, my Becca Poreless Perfecting Primer all over my skin and my Urban Decay Naked Skin Correcting Fluid in Peach under my eyes just to even out my skin tone and colour correct my dark circles. For my skin, I always wear my Nars Tinted Moisturiser.. It's so light and dewy, perfect for the sunny weather as it feels like I've nothing on my skin. It has quite good lasting power but if I wanted it on all day I have to top it up after a while. I know I'll be wearing this all the time for college when I go back in September. For concealer I just use my go- to MAC Pro Longwear. I then fill in my brows with my Anastasia Beverly Hills Dip Brow Pomade because it doesn't budge all day. 

//CHEEKS 

Cream, cream, cream! I cant get enough of cream products when it's warm out. For my contour and to bronze my face I use my Smashbox Contour Sticks and blend it out. I tend to skip blush- my cheeks are red enough anyway hahah and use my Topshop Glow Pot in Polished for my highlight. It's tough for me to use anything but Champagne Pop but I absolutely love this little Glow Pot so it comes a close second!

//EYES

I never wear anything on my eyes, I just have my eyelash extensions and I'm good to go! I'm missing Louise from True Lash Extensions Dublin doing my lashes however she hooked me up with an amazing lash technician over here in San Diego which has been doing a wonderful job. I have a full post written on my eyelash extensions which you can find here if you want to know more about my experience with them along with some tips and tricks to prolong them. 

To finish it all off I sprayed my face with the Urban Decay Setting Spray to lock everything in place.

What is your go- to summer makeup?!

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Take a Step Back

In the society we live in, we cannot live without our phones. If you walk out the door you can see its effect and why phones are considered our extra limb for the youth of today. I'm probably the most guilty of this too, and the term 'well if you didn't Instagram it, it didn't happen'. Although our phones are essential today, how much is too much?!

I was so excited to come to San Diego, explore a new city with plenty of new outfit post locations and new things to take photos of. Maybe it's just the fact that I'm extremely unorganised (I need to take some tips from Emer at Penneys to Prada, because she seems on point in that department) or maybe I'm just not working hard enough to find things to blog about. I promised myself I would write at least two blog posts a week before I came here and have I? Not at all! I have the greatest intentions to get up early and do x and y but I end up going out the night before and being too tired to get up or going on a day trip exploring the city. 

Especially being a blogger, I put so much pressure on myself to post an instrgram or find a post for Facebook. I do it because i love it, my little space on the Internet is one of my favourite things and my one true passion but I need to learn to be easier on myself. A summer in San Diego is an experience of a lifetime so it's ok if I just take a step back.

It's ok to be stuck on your phone trying to get that perfect Instagram shot, if that's what you want to do. We need to take the pressure off capturing every moment and just look around and take it all in.

Playsuit- Forever 21 / Bralet- Urban Outfitters / Bag- Topshop / Necklace- Kate Spade / Fedora- ASOS

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Sephora Wish List

With Sephora being on my doorstep it is proving to be very difficult not to go in and have a browse. I had a definite beauty list of bits to buy while I was over here, but it is safe to say that the list has grown since arriving..

After hearing a million and one things about the Urban Decay Naked Concealer I decided to put the UD Naked Correctors on my list. As the concealer is such a cult product, I knew the formula would be great but I don't think it has enough coverage for me. I tried an undereye corrector before but I want to branch out a bit and try something new. 

Another base product on my list is the Becca Poreless Primer. I am a big fan of the Benefit Porefessional but it is running out and again, I want to branch out and try something new.

Another primer on my list is the Too Faced Hangover Primer. I have a gaping hole in my makeup collection for a hydrating primer and I have heard very good things about this one. 

For foundation I have been dying to try the Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue which is a light to medium coverage base. Along with that I really want to try the Nars Velvet Matte Skin Tint, not that I need any more foundation!

For powder I really want to get my hands on the Nars Light Reflecting Loose/ Pressed powder, I am running low on my current MUFE loose powder so I want to try something else because it has serious flashback in photos.

For brows I have been dying to try the Anastasia Dip Brow Pomade. I am a huge fan of the Brow Whiz so I can't wait to try out the pomade even though I have no faith in myself and don't think I could pull off brows like some of the girls on Instagram haha.

For lips all that I want is the Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Bow n Arrow.. Everytime I have gone into Sephora I have swatched it on my hand and I am determined to get is as soon as possible. It is a gorgeous light brown shade, lighter than Whirl and Dolce K, it is much more of an everyday shade. I also want to try the Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipsticks as well as the Stila ones. 

So thats all for my current Sephora wish list, good luck to me getting the money together for all of it but hopefully I'll get there before the end of the summer! What is on your beauty wish list at the moment??

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