FRIDAY STYLE: CASUAL NAUTICAL

Happy Friday folks. This week has been a bit of a busy one for me to say the least. I’ve been taken part in a challenge to climb Croagh Patrick seven days in a row, starting on Monday and finishing on Sunday, so still a few climbs to go. As you might expect, my primary concern style wise this week, is comfort; but fear not I’m not in a track suit. In fact this post shows you that you can dress nice and still be comfortable. So there goes that excuse for living in trackies and hoodies.

This nautical style cropped cardigan is from boohoo.com. The nautical trend pops up just about every Spring/Summer season, so dipping into the trend won’t be money wasted as you’ll get to wear it year after year.

Once again the jeans are from New Look, I bought a few pairs in similar colours when I realised how much I like these super skinny jeans. The perfect jean is hard to find, so if you can, stock up when you find them. The t-shirt is just a plain navy t-shirt from Penneys.

Now the necklace is a nice pop of colour. Turquoise jewellery is another trend that reappears each Spring/Summer so it’s only right that I put them together. This turquoise necklace is from Penneys. I think it looks far more expensive that its €5 price tag.

The shoes are, yup you guessed it, from Penneys. This entire outfit is made up from boohoo.com, New Look and Penneys. So now we have comfortable and inexpensive ticked, what’s your excuse?

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VICHY PURETE THERMALE 3 IN 1 MICELLAR SOLUTION: REVIEW

If I’m honest I bought this ages ago, probably before I started the blog and I had no intention of reviewing it as it wasn’t what I was expecting it to be. During the big fashion weeks, blogs were buzzing about micellar solutions and how great they are at removing all traces of makeup. I though perfect, since makeup removal wipes are now public enemy number 1, a micellar solution would fill the gap. There are loads of times when you need/want to be able to remove makeup quickly and easily. Unfortunately that is not what this micellar solution does; in fact it would take nearly the whole bottle and a pack of cotton pads to get all your makeup off with this. Imagine my disappointment when I had keep wiping and wiping and cotton pad after cotton pad were still covered in makeup and no sign of the clear swipe.

Lately I’ve noticed bloggers talking about micellar solutions and how they use them to remove some makeup before cleansing properly. I bought this looking for one quick step, if I wanted to wash my face, I would just wash my face, not turn it into two step process. So with all the makeup removal expectations removed, I gave this a go again with a different purpose.

Recently I’ve needed to be ready earlier in the morning and with building work going on in the house, I had to move into the spare room with no en-suite. This little gem proved very handy for giving my face a quick swipe in the mornings (no sink required) and presto, my face was clean in a matter of seconds. As it is Vichy, it goes without saying that this is gentle, non-drying and unscented, so perfect for those with sensitive skin. It is perfect for a quick morning cleanse. In fact now that the building work is finished and all is back to normal, I’ve continued using the micellar solution for cleansing in the morning because I really like using it, and I only need to use my normal cleanser in the evenings so it’ll last longer.

Have you ever originally been disappointed by a product only to end up really liking it later?

DIOR ADDICT LIPSTICK IN JET SET: REVIEW AND PICTURES

I recently purchased this from the House of Fraser web site but you can get them here for €31. I fancied an orange toned lipstick but nothing too bold. I was looking for something subtle enough for day time but pretty enough for night time or special occasions and that is exactly what I got.

Jet Set is peachy orange with sheer to medium payoff but it is buildable for more pigmentation. The colour is soft and subtle; it’s totally wearable for daytime. I think the colour is very pretty and flattering (not that I’m not begging for compliments or anything).

Bare lips in first two pictures, the rest with Jet Set

I’ll be wearing this a lot for both day and night over the summer. The formula is lightweight and very comfortable on the lips. It feels hydrating on. The finish is shiny but not so much glossy. Jet Set keeps my lips moisturised throughout wear time, which is about four(ish) hours (if not eating or drinking) before I need to reapply. Not that it’s that important but the packaging in also very nice. I love taking a lippy in high end packaging out to re-apply; your girlfriends are always like, ooh!  So I must say I am very happy with my Dior Addict lipstick.

Have you bought any of the Dior Addict lipsticks?

A little side note for anyone who is interested, the eyeshadow is a MAC paint pot in Rubenesque and the blush is MAC Peachykeen. Also you can see pictures of this pretty top in full in this post.

FRIDAY STYLE: DUSKY PINK BLAZER AND PUSSY BOW BLOUSE

Recently you saw a sneak peek of this blazer as an update to this post. Now this blazer is quite a pretty colour and gets a fair few compliments when I wear it so I figured it was time it got to feature in its own post. The dusky pink blazer is from Awear.

The pussy bow blouse is also from Awear. You have to admit that the quirky pink fish print is seriously cute; giving what would be a formal style blouse a modern and fun twist.

If you have been following me for a while then you won’t be surprised to find out that the jeans are from New Look. The belt is from Penneys.

The wedge heel nude courts are from Oasis and you may have seen them in previous posts here and here.

I think this is the perfect bag to go with this blazer and blouse, and it is from Guess.

ALL TIME FAVOURITE: MAC PEACHES POWDER BLUSH

This is the second in my All Time Favourites posts; you can read the first one here. I was going to leave it for a while before I posted this but after Monday’s #irishbbloggers chat I had a few new followers, so I thought it was a good time to do another post, which gives readers a better insight into me. As I said in the first one, these posts are about the products that continue to be my firm favourites long after the newness novelty has worn off and so should help you get to know me better by knowing what I really like.

MAC Peaches is my all time favourite blush, in fact it was my first MAC blush, I have a few more now but Peaches is still my favourite. Before buying Peaches I didn’t really wear blush, I usually just used a bit of bronzer on my cheeks for some colour (oh the things you learn with age). I read in a magazine that fair skinned ladies, like myself, should wear peach toned blushes as they suit us the best. So off I went to my nearest MAC counter and asked for a peachy blush. Well she heaped it upon me; she just kept dipping the brush into the pan and brushing it across my cheeks, again and again. Even though my cheeks were heavily overloaded with colour I knew the colour was perfect for me and I loved it. I just apply it with a gentler touch.

No blush

With Peaches

Peaches is a sheertone powder blush with a matte finish. It is, however, buildable from sheer to quite prominent, as I found out. The colour is what it says on the tin, its peach. Now I know many peach products can lead more pink but not this, I would say there is very little pink in it. The great thing about MAC powder blushes is that they last and last, I would never bring a MAC blush with me for a top up, I find its completely unnecessary.

So what is your favourite blush?

URBAN DECAY DIAMOND DOG MOONDUST EYESHADOW: LOOK AND PICTURES

Diamond Dog is a deep brown shadow with gold glitter. The promise is “micro fine bits of iridescent sparkle colliding with intense dreamy hues and 3-D metallics”. It’s semi-sheer when applied dry, which is what I did, but can be intensified by applying wet, which is what I should have done. Applying it wet would have minimised the fall out. A fair bit of glitter landed under my eyes, but other than that I really like this eye shadow. I could also have either applied my eye makeup first before my foundation or just used tissue under my eyes to catch the fall out.

So here is how I wore it on Saturday night.

First I applied MAC paint pot Painterly as my primer. Then I applied MAC mulch in the crease as a contour.

Then I applied MAC Embark to the outer corner to make it darker for a bit of depth.

I patted Diamond Dog all over the eye lid.

Rimmel Scandaleyes eyeliner in Bronze to line around the eyes, including the tight and water lines and then I smudged over the eyeliner with MAC mulch to soften the lines.

On the lashes is L’Oreal Hypnose mascara and to finish a sweep of Mac Phloof along the brow bone for a highlight and job done.

Here is the rest of the face with MAC Peaches blush, and Dior Addict lipstick in Jet Set.

Have you tried any of Urban Decay’s Moondust eyeshadows?

FRIDAY STYLE: PINK AND TEAL WITH A TOUGH BIKER

Well I can’t believe it’s Friday again, but I’m certainly not complaining. Ok so I have done pink and green before, here, but this is totally different. It’s teal green! Anyway, in case you haven’t noticed I like green in almost any shade and well obviously I like pink as well because I seem to have a fair amount pink clothes and accessories.

Today’s style is nothing new, we have seen many a celebrity or model stepping out in a biker jacket, skinny jeans and flowing scarf. This, however, is my shorter and wider take on it. You can also see I like to have a bit more fun with my colours.

The faux leather biker jacket is from New Look. There are loads of these biker jackets in the shops but I like this one because of all the gold hardware on it.

The plum jeans are Vero Moda’s Wonder jeggings and the top is just a plain white long sleeve t-shirt from Penneys.

I bought the scarf and the pumps on holidays in Portugal. It’s just a happy coincidence that they match. I didn’t plan it.

The bag is Love Moschino. It was a Christmas present, that I may have strongly hinted I wanted.

So what colours take up the most space in your wardrobe?