My secret to a flawless face

Hi Guys!

Ok so we all love a primer underneath our makeup so our foundation will last longer and we will look flawless, but we hate having to pay a ridiculous price for one. Well girls if you haven't heard about this budget primer by now, you're seriously missing out. You can buy it in any local pharmacy and it costs..... wait for it......€6.79 yup you read that right €6.79 and it's no other then Nivea Post Shave Balm for MEN.

I know, I know its a mans product but honestly it's amazing. I was hesitant about trying it because it was a man's shaving product but after all the reviews I seen about it on Youtube and after I seen my girl crush Jamie Genevieve using it I had to try it and I wasn't disappointed.

So Nivea Post Shave Balm, it's alcohol free and is perfect for sensitive skin if you're a man, ha but for the ladies it too is alcohol free and is perfect for sensitive skin but it's also an amazing primer, it has a manly smell to it, which actually doesn't bother me it's actually quite nice.

I have oily skin and it's a tad bit sensitive, this primer works for my skin and doesn't irritate it at all.

So when you go to apply it make sure you do your usual steps before you apply your makeup, don't be scared when you go to pour it out because it does come out quite runny,  but when you start to apply it to your skin you need to gently rub it in until it gets tacky and it will get to a tacky, sticky feel and that is when you apply your foundation and let me tell you, your foundation will apply beautifully on top of it and will last all day.

So like I said above this primer or post shave balm is only €6.79 and can be bought in most pharmacies and supermarkets and it comes in a 100ml bottle, I KNOW the price and the quantity what more could you ask for.

Guys if you haven't tried it yet, go try it I love it and it won't break the bank, let me know what you think and if it works for you skin type..

Claire xxx

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Inglot Cosmetics Dundalk Review

Hi Guys!

So those of you who are reading this and are from Dundalk know that Inglot Cosmetics recently opened their doors in The Marshes Shopping Centre on Thursday 10th March.

I first heard of Inglot through Youtube, I seen loads of top youtubers using the brand and from watching them I always wanted to try out their products, I knew there was a shop in Dublin but for some reason I never went next door near the shop and it's not that I didn't want to I just always forgot it was there because it was never in plain sight like Brown Thomas would be or maybe it was just because I love Brown Thomas and I never had a bad experience in it and they have a range of different brand under the one roof.

So when I finally heard that Inglot was coming to Dundalk I was super excited, the store opened on Thursday 10th, so on Friday at lunch time I couldn't wait anymore, I left work for my lunch and headed straight to The Marshes. 

I knew once I seen the shop and all the girls that worked there that I was going to have a great experience and I wasn't disappointed, So I walked in and was met by the lovely Laura Johnson (MUA) and awh she was lovely and so helpful, and so pretty I actually at one stage asked her could I buy her face because her makeup was AMAZING, I think I bought nearly everything she was wearing Haha.

The store was pretty small compared to all the other Inglot stores around Ireland from what I have seen on their social media sites but it's cute and they have everything that all the other stores have it's not missing out on anything, all the girls are lovely, well I only got talking to two but they were so nice and complimentary I left buzzing about myself haha, came out full of confidence.

I bought a few products and when I say a few I kinda burned a hole in my bank card, I went  in looking for the HD Foundation but God when you see the Makeup artists that work there, their makeup is flawless and that poor girl that served me I just wanted her face so I more or less bought it, well the makeup she was wearing, not her physical face. 

Inglot HD Foundation No:77 - €33.00

Inglot sculpting Powders: 502 & 501 -  €10.00 each

Pro Palette for the Powders - €12.00

AMC pure pigment: 85 - €15.00

Inglot Duraline - €12.00

Inglot HD Corrective primer: Yellow - €26

Inglot Eyelashes: 30N - €12.00

Duo Adhesive - €12.00

I also bought two brushes which are dirty because I used them, so I wasn't gonna take a picture of dirty brushes but they were:

Makeup brush 11S - Flat Shader Brush - €18.00

Makeup brush 31T - Eyeliner Brush - €14.00

I put the prices of what I bought in just so you would know what way their products are priced and in my opinion I think it's reasonable and cheaper than some brands such as M.A.C and Nars Cosmetics. Their foundation and their pigments are priced somewhat similar but then again you pay for a good foundation but that could be just me you could think different, so I put the prices in so you could make your own mind up.

So seen as I only bought them on Friday I'm not going to give a review on the products just yet as I want to use them for a few days to see if I truly love them but so far I have to say I am very impressed but I will give a full review in a few days.

So guys if you're from Dundalk or the surrounding area pop your lil ass into the store in The Marshes shopping centre, the girls are amazing and are so helpful and so far I am loving what I purchased and I have a feeling this shop is going to be the death of my bank account.

Claire  x x x

This Post was not sponsored in anyway, this is my own opinion and review of my experience.

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Makeup Geek Eyeshadow Review: Good Quality & Affordable

Makeup Geek, Makeup Geek, Makeup Geek....

Hi Guys!

So I am sure you have all heard of the new craze of eyeshadows which is Makeup Geek and if you haven't where have you been hiding??? Seriously

Makeup Geek is a brand created by the beautiful and one of YouTube's best loved Makeup Guru's Marlena AKA Makeup Geek. Guy's if you haven't checked out her YouTube channel yet, after reading this get your lil ass over to YouTube and watch her.

So Marlena created her own Makeup brand which includes eyeshadows, Makeup brushes, Contour and blush products and Pigments. The whole YouTube beauty world raves about her shadows and I'm not one to give into hype straight away, I like to hold off and do my research before I spend my money, but after all the amazing things I have heard I decided to give into temptation.

Now I have only managed to start building my collection of eyeshadows so I haven't got all the shadows which she brought out but from what I have collected all I can say is Wow they are AMAZING. I have been playing around with them for awhile now, I love them that much I even bought backups of the colors I already have.

So as I said before I am a total M.A.C girl and I love their products as you will know from my last blog post (My Favorite M.A.C Lipsticks), I used to only use M.A.C shadows and nothing compared to them, until now. These Makeup Geek shadows are so similar to M.A.C and some of them maybe a lil better.

I own 14 of these babies and they are beautiful, I can't rave enough about them, they are ridiculously pigmented and some of them blend like a dream. Some of the colors are identical to M.A.C but one thing that isn't in anyway shape or form similar is the price, guys no joke these shadows are €6.50 a pan were M.A.C individual pans are €12.50.

Makeup Geek products you could only buy from her direct site but now you can purchase them from Here, (Beautybay.com) this is a great website guys, I listed it in a recent blog My Favourite Eyebrow Products, it has some amazing products.

I bought mostly all nude and brown shades (shock) but I love my warm browns and my neutrals for the crease which you will see below.

Shimma Shimma - A great highlight color for the brow bone and the inner corner, very similar to M.A.C's Shroom, a champagne color with a beautiful shimmer to it can also be used as a cheek highlight.

Drama Queen - Dark purple with a shimmery finish can be used as an all over lid color are to darken the outer corner to create a dramatic smokey eye.

Cocoa Bear - Matte Warm brown, can be used as an all over lid color or I use it as my transition color which is my fav way to use it and this is one of my favourites and I think everyone's favourite out of her collection.

Cherry Cola - Deep brown with a hint of red undertones and is a matte finish, can be used as an all over lid color are to darken the outter corner, beautiful to use to darken a matte brown smokey eye.

Mocha - Deep brown color with a matte finish kind of similar to Espresso from M.A.C but a little lighter.

Grandstand - This shadow is from her foiled collection it's a Medium Rose gold with slight taupe undertones and a foiled finish, this color is so beautiful this picture doesn't do it any justice. Its great shadow to add a pop of color to any eye look. M.A.C's Honey Lust is a great dupe.

Americano - Dark brown with purple undertones and a matte finish. If you want to create a look with just one matte eyeshadow blended out, this would be a great one to work with and will make a great smokey effect. M.A.C's dupe is blackberry.

Peach Smoothie - A light peach beige with a soft matte finish, beautiful color and one of their most popular shades which is used for blending out harsh shades. M.A.C's dupe Samoa Silk.

Frappe - Medium Caramel brown with a matte finish, can be used as a transition color for those with darker skin tones are can be used with darker colors to create a soft brown smokey eye.

Creme Brulee - Light medium brown with peach and sand undertones again another great transition color. M.A.C's dupe Soft Brown.

Latte - Medium Matte brown, nice to use as an all over lid color and just blend it out or use a darker shade on the outer corner to smoke it out a little, its also nice to use to blend out dark colors. I don't really think M.A.C has a dupe for this color, some people say cork is similar but to me I don't think it comes close.

Bitten - Deep Maroon Red with a matte finish, this is such a versatile color and is one of my favourites, beautiful color to blend with especially with cocoa bear and chickadee, This is hands down my favourite MUG shadow, it's one of those colors that will suit everyone no matter what skin tone they have, BEAUTIFUL. I don't think there is any shade out there that will match up to this.

Corrupt - Intense Matte Black with very subtle sparkle, which you can barely even notice. M.A.C's dupe Carbon.

Chickadee - Matte Yellow Orange - Another one of my favourites and another beautiful transition color and adds depth to warm looks.



Now guys just because I love these shadows doesn't mean that everyone is going to love them, some of them are hard to blend out but once you take your time and blend, blend, blend the end result is gorgeous.

If you have any MUG shadows let me know what your favourite is and how you like to use it, leave a comment in the comment section so I can experiment.

Claire x x x

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My Favourite M.A.C Lipsticks

Every girl and man loves a good lip and what way do you make a man or woman want that lip is by having that perfect color to draw them to it.

I don't care what anyone says M.A.C Cosmetics have one of the best line of lipsticks out there and it's what made M.A.C Famous and no matter what skin tone you have they have something to match everyone. They come in different finishes, Matte, Retro Matte, Satin, Lustre, Amplified, Cremesheen and Glaze. 

Personally my favs would be the Satin, Cremesheen, Amplified and some of the Mattes.

I know myself once I go into a M.A.C counter I am automatically drawn to the lipsticks and I just want to keep growing my M.A.C lip collection I just love to have different colors to choose from even tho most of them are probably near enough the same color they are all different in their own way. ( I like to tell myself that anyway so I can buy more ) How annoying is it when you're buying a lipstick and you have someone with you and they keep saying you have that color already, eh NO I DON'T it might look like the same color BUT IT'S NOT.

So here is some of my personal favorites and they might look the same,  but their not OK haha.

So here we have the colorful bunch from left to right, we have 

• Girl about town - Bright blue fuchsia (Amplified)
• Rebel - Midtonal Cream plum ( Satin)
• Craving - Burst of plum (Amplified)
• Lady Danger - Vivid Bright Coral Red ( Matte)
• Pretty Irresistible -  Raspberry Red (Matte) This lipstick was from the Holiday collection 
• Amorous - Lovestruck Cranberry ( Satin)
• Viva Glam 1 - Intense Brownish Blue Red (Matte)

This is my nudes (Lipsticks, don't think if you scroll down you will see something else ) every girl loves a nude, they all look very similar, but look how pretty. My all time favourite Nude is Pillow Talk from Charlotte Tilbury, if you want to know about her products check out my blog on "My Favourite Charlotte Tilbury Products"

So again from left to right we have

• Kinda Sexy - Neutral Pinky Rose (Matte)
• Coral Bliss - Frosted Light Coral (Cremesheen)
• Velvet Teddy - Deep Tone Beige (Matte)
• Faux - Muted Mauve Pink (Satin)
• Angel - Soft Pink (Frost)
• Twig - Soft Muted Brownish Pink (Satin)
• Creme Cup - Light Blue Pink (Cremesheen)
• Brave - Pink Beige with White Pearl (Satin)
• Viva Glam II - Muted Pink Beige with Shimmer (Satin)

Guys if you love Lipstick and you haven't yet tried any of the M.A.C line yet save up and buy one, they are a little pricey at €20 but they are well worth it.

If you are lucky enough to have some of the lippys what is your favourite color and let me know what I should try if I haven't mentioned it above.

Claire x x x

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Oreo Cheesecake

So guys I was at it again (baking that is), even on my sickbed I just can't sit doing nothing or I will go off my rocker, so Oreo cheesecake was on today's menu. Awh man if there was a button you could press that would let you smell a picture, you would die, the smell of Oreo's coming from the cheesecake would make your mouth water, that's only if you like Oreo's but come on who doesn't.

This takes literally about 15 minutes to make and it's like eating a slice of heaven.

So what you will need:

For the Base:

• 150g melted butter (add more if needed), plus extra to butter the cake tin
• 400g of Oreo Biscuits (about 2 and half packs)

For the Topping:

• 800g Cream Cheese
• 200 ml soured cream
• 200g icing sugar
• 2 drops of Vanilla extract
• 100ml double cream
• 250g roughly crushed Oreo's (about 1 and a half packs)

For Decoration:

• 154g of Oreo's roughly crushed (1 pack)

Method:

• Ok so first you start into the base, grab your oreos and use a food blender to crush them until they look like crumbs.
• Get your butter and melt 150g of it , once melted pour it into your crushed oreo's and stir, get your cheesecake tin and butter it so the cake doesn't stick.
• Cover the base of the tin with the crushed Oreo's and make sure they are tightly packed in so it will set, do this my pressing down with the back of a spoon. Place the tin in the fridge while you get the topping ready.
• Put the Cream cheese, soured cream, icing sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl and whisk together until combined.
• In another bowl whisk the double cream until it forms medium peaks and pour it into the the other cream cheese ingredients.
• Crush the Oreo's until you have about 250g or as many you would like and than add them into the mixture.
• Take the tin from the fridge and tip the creamy mixture over the top of it, spread it around to level and bang the tin a couple of times so the mixture is even and has no gaps.
• Place in the fridge for an hour or two to set.
• Once set, get your Oreo's for decoration, Crush until you have about 154g and spread around the and place come whole and broken ones in the middle.
• Then get a knife and slice yourself a nice good piece and put some ice cream or whipped cream on top and enjoy the heavenly goodness,

Enjoy guys,

Claire x x x

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My Favorite Eyebrow Products

Oh Eyebrows how we adore and hate you at the same time. 

Eyebrows is what we all spend the most time on when doing our makeup, I no myself I can send up to 10 - 15 minutes on my brows and that is on a good day. They frustrate the hell out of me especially when you cant get the other twin sister to look the same. But oh when them girls or on fleek they make the rest of your face look like a dream.

So there is many different products you can use for your brows, ranging from pencils to dip pomade, but its to your preference what you prefer to use, then it ranges from different brands, every makeup brand have eyebrow products and again its what brand you prefer and can afford to buy.

Then some people including myself like to re- shape and tidy up my brows once I have them filled in and to do that I like to use a pencil or concealer.

See below for my list of favorite's, how to use them and where to purchase them:

Anastasia Beverly Hills:

The Queen of Eyebrows, lets take a minute to appreciate this lady ( Pause for a moment... lol)

Two main products from this brand which are my ultimate fav, 

• Brow Definer in Soft Brown:

This is a triangular pencil which fits perfectly in order to fill in the eyebrow due to the shape, the way I use this pencil is I Start of first outlining my brow with the sharpest part of the pencil and then I Fill the brow in using the back side of the pencil creating hair like strokes.

• Dipbrow Pomade in Soft Brown

This is a thick creamy like substance which is waterproof and fast drying, I use this by again firstly drawing the outline of my brow first and than filling it in with a light hand, going heavy at the middle and end of the brow and easing into a softer motion at the top of the brow.

Mac Cosmetics:

Mac never disappoint with any of their products and their brow products are just as amazing as ABH,

• Mac's Fluidline in Deep Dark Brunette

Guys this is just like the ABH dipbrow pomade only difference is that the formula is a bit more drying than the ABH but is still amazing, again  I use this by firstly drawing the outline of my brow first and then filling it in with a light hand, going heavy at the middle and end of the brow and easing into a softer motion at the top of the brow.

Cleaning up the brow, reshaping after been filled in &  HD Look:

NYX Cosmetics:

• NXY Wonder Pencil

This is a great product, its just like a conceal in pencil form, I use it to reshape my brow to how I want to look after I have them filled in, I Just simply trace the shape above and below my brow and soften it down with a flat eyeshadow brow like a MAC 212 or the tip of a beauty blender and also its a great way to clean up any mistake which were made when drawing on the brow and for making the brow stand out giving it the HD look.

MAC Cosmetics:

Pro Longwear Concealer:

One of Mac's Best known products, I use it for the exact same thing as the NYX pencil I grab a flat eye shadow brush, dip it into the product, now you only need a small amount as this product is thick and creamy it goes along way, and I trace it above and below my brow to reshape, tidy up and give the HD effect.

Once I have the brows on fleek I use the benefit gimmie brow just to finish them off and set in place and than you will be rocking a beautiful set of twins on your face.

Now if you are interested in purchasing any of the above products check the list below to find out where you can purchase them in Ireland.

Where to Buy:

• Anastasia Beverly Hills - www.beautybay.com
• Mac products - Brown Thomas instore and online at www.brownthomas.com
• NYX Costmetics - www.asos.com & www.nyxcosmetics.co.uk if you live in Dundalk guys you can purchase NXY in Hickeys Pharmacy in Tescos Dublin Street.

Hope this was of use to all you brow lovers.

Claire 

xxxxx

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Death by Chocolate Cake

Hi Guys,

So its the boyfriends Birthday and being the good girlfriend that I am, I decided to make him a birthday cake.

Both of us are very healthy throughout the week, we are very much into the healthy eating and keeping the body clean but come on everyone needs to have a cheat day at least once a week, ours is usually on a Sunday. So this week we our spoiling ourselves with homemade Death by Chocolate cake.

I never used to be into the whole baking scene but over the last year I have really started to get into it and enjoy it especially when you get to make cakes that turn out looking like this.

Guys if you want to know how to achieve this Death by Chocolate cake just continue reading and give it a try and like me you will get a great sense of satisfaction when it turns out looking so delicious.

Death By Chocolate Cake:

So your going to need the following:

Cake mixture:

• 11 ounces of Caster Sugar
• 8 eggs
• 7 ounces of Flour
• 4 ounces Coco powder
• Tsp of baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 3.5 ounces of Stork ( Butter)
• tsp Vanilla Extract

Chocolate mousse:

• 3 large bars of Chocolate (I like to use the Lindt Extra Creamy bars)
• 6 eggs
• 6 ounces unsalted butter

For decoration:

• 5 boxes of Kinder maxis
• Box of flakes
• 2 Bags of small kinder eggs
• Large bag of white buttons
• Large bag of Mini Eggs
• 1 Large Kinder egg

Method:

• First of all your better starting off  with preparing your cake tins, line them with grease proof paper and a little butter to make the tins non stick. 
• Than start into making your mousse as you need to leave it to set for an hour or two.
• Boil the kettle and pour the boiling water into a pot and place it on the cooker at a low heat.
• Break your chocolate bars into a bowl and place that bowl on top of the pot to let the chocolate melt.
• while that is melting separate the egg whites and place the yolks into the melted chocolate and leave the egg whites to one side until later. Stir until eggs yolks have fully melted into the chocolate.
• When this is done add the 6 ounces of unsalted butter to this mixture, you will be better off cutting the butter into squares before adding as it will make it easier to melt. 
• When all these ingredients have combined leave it to sit while you whisk the egg whites.
• Mix the egg whites with your hand mixer until you can hold the bowl upside down and they don't fall out. 
• When they are done add the chocolate mixture to the egg whites until it is fully combined, leave it on the counter until it is cool and than place in the fridge until it is at a good sticky combination.

For your cake mixture, 

• Start off by mixing together your 11 ounces of Caster sugar and your 8 eggs, use a Kitchen Aid or if you don't have one a hand mixer will do, mix these ingredients for about 10 minutes until you can make the figure 8 appear onto of the mixture and it stays.
• Than in a separate bowl mix together all your dry ingredients, which is your 7 ounces of flour, 4 ounces of coco powder 1 tsp of baking powder and your pinch of salt, mix them together with a spoon.
• Grab your sieve and sieve the dry ingredients into the eggs and sugar mixture and fold them in with a wooden spoon or a baking spatula or what ever you have available.
• Add the mixture to your two prepared cake tins and place them in the oven at 160 degrees for about 25 to 30 minutes. 
• When done remove them from cake tins and place them on a wire trays to cool.

Decoration:

• When your cake has cooled down and your mixture is set, its time for the fun part and that is the decorating.
• Now this can get a little messy so make sure you have something under the cake, Place your two cake slices upside town and get your canned fruit and drain the juice into a bowl and than spread it over both sides of the cake as this will keep the cake moist.
• Than place some of your chocolate mousse into the middle of the cake and put the top part on top of the bottom and layer the mousse all over the cake.
• Now depending on what sweets or bars you are using to go around the outside of the cake, here I used Kinder maxis and when I have them all surrounding the cake I quickly grab a ribbon and tie it until the cake is in place and the bars don't move. Than get your flakes and cover the top of the cake until you cant see the mousse than get the rest of your sweets and decorate to your hearts content.

when complete and looking amazing leave it for an hour or two until the cake and all the sweets have set.

Than grab a plate and enjoy the heavenly goodness and a cup of tea of course.

I hope you can follow this step by step and if you take on the challenge and make it tag me in your pictures on Instagram as I would love to see how you got on or leave me a comment if you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them.

Happy cooking Guys. :)

Claire

xxxx

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