Mac Primped Out Eye Look Bag in Drama Taupe

So this Christmas, Mac came out with a large range of sets as they do every year. I got given the Mac Primped Out Eye Look Bag in Drama Taupe as a gift and was super excited to see what was inside!

               

So the gift set comes in a really cute little green/turquoise cheetah print box. Inside it includes a little makeup bag of matching print, an eyeliner, an eyeshadow duo, a mascara and a brush.

           

The first thing I'll talk about is the eyeshadow duo. It includes the shades Filament and Black Tied, both of which I think are permanent colors so can be bought individually. However, only one of these I would buy on its own. Black tied is a beautifully pigmented black shade with silver sparkles in it. It would a fantastic shade for eyeliner or if you're brave enough, a dark smokey eye would look amazing using this. The second shade, Filament, was very disappointing. It looks like a beautiful shimmery silver in the pan but when swatched it literally just shows up with no pigment other than silver glitter. I definitely would not wear this on its own but it would probably be nice put on top of a matte shade to make it shimmery.

      
         
                L-R: Filament, Black Tied, Engraved eyeliner

The brush is a 275SE Medium Angled Shading Brush. It is a nice soft brush that I think would be best used in the crease. It is good but I don't think I would purchase in full size.



The mascara is Mac's Opulash in 'Bad Bad Black'. I have terrible eyelashes (blonde and short) so there are very few mascaras I am wowed by. This is a nice mascara, nothing amazing but it is good. It's very black which is always a good thing and is a nice big brush which I generally like. It really reminds me of Benefit's Bad Gal Lash which was a favorite of mine for years. It creates a decent bit of volume and I'm sure would look fantastic on someone with nice eyelashes. It does however transfer a little bit after wearing it for a long time so if you have oily eyelids, it may create panda eyes.


The eyeliner included is Mac's Powerpoint eyeliner in Engraved. This is fantastic. I'm pretty picky about eyeliners but this is one of the best (maybe even the best) I have ever used. It is a very black colour and is very very pigmented. It goes on like a dream and is beautifully creamy. (See swatch above with eyeshadows). With other Mac eyeliners, I usually have a problem putting them on the waterline but this one went on very easily. it is waterproof and stayed on the waterline all day and didn't leave that horrible smudgy look under my eyes. It can also be blended out to create a smokey feel if you wish to do so and it sets really well. It alIt seems similar to me to the Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliners, but I actually think this is better. This is my standout product of the set      

Overall, it was a decent set. It was 58 euro, which I think would be worth it if the Filament eyeshadow was replaced with something you could wear on its own. It did however, introduce me to the Powerpoint eyeliner which I would never have bought otherwise, so that on its own made me happy.

Let me know if you've tried this or any of the other Holiday sets!

XOXO,
B

Beauty Tag

Was thinking it would be a nice idea to do something a bit different today. Was browsing through a couple of tags and thought this one was nice. It was taken from the lovely Glossed Beauty at www.glossedbeauty.com. Hope you learn a bit about me here, let me know if there's any other good tags you've come across

1. Is your hair naturally curly or straight?

Currently it's wavy! It has been both straight and curly at one stage though..thanks ever changing hair!

2. What is your natural hair colour?

It's a dark blonde/light brown colour

3. Do you dye it yourself or go to a salon?

I get highlights at a salon

4. How often do you wash your hair?

Every other day :)

5. Do you wear the same hair style every day or change it?

It's nearly always down but I like a variation between curly and straight!

6. Do you do your own mani/pedi or go to a salon?

Usually my own. If I'm in America though, I get my nails done in a salon coz its such good value

7. How often to you change your nail polish?

I'm a terrible nail biter so it chips really quickly. If I am wearing nail polish I'd change it every few days

8. Do you polish your toes in the winter, too or just in the summer?

I like a good french pedicure all year round.

9. How long does it take to put on your makeup?

I will honestly take up as much time as I'm given. If I'm in a super rush, I can do a full face of makeup in 5 minutes, but it can take me an hour on a night out if I'm giving myself pampering time!

10. What do you do first? Face or eyes?

Face!

11. Do you "collect" makeup or just buy what you need when you need it?

I say to myself I just buy things I need but I don't think I'm fooling anyone.

12. How often do you wear false eyelashes?

Rarely...I wear contacts and my eyes are super sensitive so I don't like putting anything on that would make them more irritated

13. Do you do a full face of makeup every day?

If I'm just lazing around the house I won't wear any makeup, but if I'm going out I do.

14. Do you wear makeup when you are home alone (or with family)?

Nope! I have acne prone skin so like to have my face clear of makeup whenever I can.

15. Will you leave the house without makeup?

It sounds bad to say but I rarely do.

16. How many high end products do you have?

I'd say 70%  of my makeup is high end. I do, however, like drug store mascaras and lip products.

17. How often do you wash your makeup brushes?

I am terrible at washing them...really only every couple of weeks..eek!

18. Do you plan your OOTD every night or decide when you are getting dressed?

When I'm getting dressed.

19. How often do you change your handbag?

I use the same handbag for college every day, but otherwise I just grab what goes best with my outfit.

20. What time do you get up & go to sleep?

Depends on my college timetable 

21. How often & when do you workout?

I use the treadmill about 4/5 times a week for 20 minutes

22. Left-handed or Right-handed?

Right

23. How tall are you?

About 5'7

24. Do you speak a foreign language?

A little bit of French...and an even smaller bit of Irish

25. How many pets do you have?

I've one doggy!

26. How often are you on Blogger?

A couple of times every day!

27. Do you read the comments posted on blogs?

Yes! 

28. Do you keep a list of products to try as you see other posts?

I do indeed, its through reading these posts that get me buying products

29. How did you come up with your blog name?

I tried looking up various words for beauty/beautiful and liked the sound of Bellissima. It also is a play on my name!

30. What kind of camera do you use for photographs?

Fujifilm Finepix

31. How often do you clean your house? (Daily, weekly, other)

I still live at home so my parents do most of the cleaning (lucky me) but my room is cleaned about once a week because I rarely have time to do a good clean

32. What is your favorite colour?

I love Tiffany Blue

33. What is your favorite beauty/fashion magazine?

It's not specifically beauty/fashion but these are a large part of it...Nylon! I love the way it includes a decent bit of alternative style

34. Do you swear?

Not very much

35. What are you doing with the rest of your day?

It's 8pm now so just relaxing and watching TV!

Battle of the Face Primers

I'm not one of those people with a ridiculously oily face but when I'm applying a base, I would appreciate it lasting for a decent amount of time!

l-r: Korres Vitamin E Face Primer, Tarte ReCreate Silcone Free Primer, Urban Decay Primer Potion for face

             

My first foray into the world of primers came with Urban Decay's Primer Potion (the Pore Perfecting version). On applying this I really did not like the silicone feel to it, but I guess that's what to be expected with the majority of primers. Other than that, it's simple to apply and really does the job. It makes foundation easier to apply, and definitely increases how long my foundation stays put. This is the primer I use when I go on nights out or know I'm going to be out for a long length of time. The only issue I have with it is that due to the silicone in it, it breaks me out quite badly so it really is only for those times in need that I use it.

                

Having decided I realistically needed a silicone free primer if I was going to be wearing primer more, I invested in Tarte's ReCreate Silicone Free Primer. This primer felt a lot nicer to apply and didn't break me out at all. It did increase the wear time of my foundation but not to a huge extent. I don't think it would be much good to those with very oily skin. I did, however, have an issue with it. My pump seemed to be cut in half so that when the bottle was halfway through, I had to open the top of it and get it out by slapping it against my hand. Needless to say..not ideal! It is/was however my favorite primer for every day use, and so I was disappointed to find out it was discontinued just at the time I finished my bottle.

                   

Due to this disastrous discontinuance, I went on the hunt for a new silicone free primer. The ladies in Sephora were unfortunately no help whatsoever, handing me product after product containing silicone. So I did a bit of research online and ended up purchasing Korres Silicone Free Vitamin E Face Primer. This product is a delight to apply. It's nice and moisturizing with a pleasant smell. However, while it may slightly improve the smoothness of my skin, it really doesn't provide much lasting power at all. I was quite disappointed with this product.

              

If anyone has any silicone free primers they can recommend to me I would be super grateful if you let me know!

XOXO,

B

Glossy Vixen- Revlon ColorBurst Lipgloss in Fire

During the holidays, red was my color. I had used a variety of red lipsticks which all lasted fantastically but they left my lips cracked and flaky looking after a couple of hours, despite having exfoliated and moisturized my lips first.

I was in Boots at the beginning of January, having a look in the deals and came across Revlon ColorBurst lipgloss in a beautiful red shade called 'Fire'. I've learnt in the past not to buy from a drug store without swatching, so that's exactly what I did. Immediately, I fell in love. It was the most pigmented lipgloss I have ever seen and yet was extremely good value.

                      

Being a beauty freak, I couldn't wait to get home to try this and so there I was in my car in the carpark doing exactly what I had previously made fun of people for doing..looking in my mirror applying makeup. I was so impressed as soon as I put it on. It had a nice paddle shaped applicator, was extremely smooth to apply and was so pigmented that I only needed one swipe of colour for it to be perfect. It also has a delicious sweet vanilla scent.

               


Now onto how it wore. It lasted incredibly well all day, especially for a lipgloss and did not cause my lips to crack at all. However, it did wear off at the centre of the lips when I ate or had a drink.

I then tried this with a lipliner, and again with a lipstick and it lasted much better in the food/drink test.

             

Overall, I would definitely encourage anyone to buy this product. For best results, wear over a lipliner or lipstick, but it does work quite well on its own too.

XOXO,

B

Garnier 2-in-1 Anti-Dark Circle Eye Roller

You know those mornings where you are so tired that you wake up with dark under-eye circles that look like you've been punched? If not, I envy you so much. But if so, I may have a solution for you!

         



Garnier describe their 2-in-1 Anti-Dark Circle Eye Roller as:

 enriched with caffeine to stimulate tired eyes, lemon essence to soothe and brighten delicate under-eye skin, and mineral pigments to instantly cover dark circles. The cooling roller ball alleviates signs of fatigue, while the concealer adapts to your skin tone to provide natural and long-lasting coverage. Immediate results reveal eyes that are radiant, refreshed and dark-circle free.

          

I have tried both shade 01 and 02 and had drastically different results with both. Being uber pale, I thought the lightest shade (01) would be for me. It matched my arm almost perfectly so I went ahead and bought it. On applying, I loved the coolness under my eye and felt like it woke me up. But in terms of covering dark circles, it only accentuated them. When I tried shade 02, things were different. While it would be too dark for a normal concealer for me, the slight peachy tint to it cancels out the blueness under my eyes that causes dark circles. It's by no means a miracle worker as it is quite light but I hate having makeup caking under my eyes so this does the job perfectly for me and is part of my everyday makeup routine. Even if during the day I'm starting to look a bit tired, I pop this under my eyes and it does the world of good. It doesn't cake no matter how many layers of it you add.

L-R: Shade 02, Shade 01

I do wonder, however, what this product would do without the pigment in it. I know they have an under eye roller with no concealer in it and although I do enjoy the cooling effect the product gives me, I feel it's not very beneficial for dark circles without the pigment. I would, however, advise those with puffy under eyes to give this a try.

XOXO,

B

Jo Malone English Pear and Freesia

Sorry for the lack of posts lately guys, Irish weather is making it almost impossible to get enough light to take any photos! Anyway onto the post!

My most recent fragrance addition is Jo Malone's English Pear and Freesia. I had been eyeing it for a long time and finally got it as a gift over Christmas. Jo Malone describe it as "a scent that is inspired by a walk in an orchard and captures the luscious scent of just-ripe pears, cooled by the autumn air, ready to twist free from the tree. Experience the surprising, sensuous freshness of sweet pears, wrapped in a bouquet of white freesias, on a subtle background of scrambling wild roses and skin-warming amber, patchouli and woods"

While it appears that by the description Jo Malone are describing it as an Autumn-like scent, I think it's much more Spring/Summer. I would however agree with the rest of the description. On first scent, it is incredibly fresh and I get a lovely light fruity pear scent, mixed with rose and a touch of freesia. I can also get the amber but not very much. The scent really makes me want to drink a cold glass of whatever is in it because it smells that delicious and refreshing. 

While it is a light scent, the lasting power is decent enough. I can still get the scent 4/5 hours later and it lingers on my clothes and hair so that when I move I can smell it.




The bottle I have is the smaller one (30ml) but I rarely ever finish a whole bottle of perfume, but I rarely ever finish a bottle of perfume so this is perfect for me. It also is super handy to fit in your purse! It does, however, come in a larger size (76ml) which I will probably end up getting once I finish this. It's an expensive enough fragrance (about 45 euro for the smaller one and about 90 euro for the larger one) but it really is so delicious that I think it's worth it.

Hope some of you give it a try! If so, let me know what you think!

XOXO,

B

Sonia Kashuk Hidden Agenda Concealer Palette (#holgrail!)

During the summer I'm fond of a bit of fake tanning as my already unnaturally pale complexion just looks ridiculous if I'm on holiday in a warm country. Therefore, I use a darker foundation and used to just usemy pale concealer under my foundation as opposed to over it so that I wouldn't have big white spots on my face (never a good look!). When I was in the drug store in America I came across the Sonia Kashuk Hidden Agenda concealer palette which had rave reviews in the blog world and on youtube. I thought now would be a good time to try it since I was tanned and thought the pale shade would never match me when I was my natural shade. 

Usually any kind of face product from the drug store breaks me out like crazy so I was pleasantly surprised when it didn't cause any kind of reaction with my skin. The product was amazing quality. It covered up even my most stubborn pimples and didn't leave a flaky finish like my previous concealer did.


(clockwise: pale concealer, dark concealer, powder, green concealer)

The palette has 3 different shades of concealer (a dark one, a lighter one and a green one to cancel out any redness) and a powder. When I was fake tanning I would mix the dark and light ones together and it was perfect. I was delighted to find out that the pale one actually blended pretty well into my pale foundation too (despite the fact that it looks way off color when swatched on its own), so have been using this ever since.


(l-r: pale concealer,dark concealer, powder)

I find the best way to use it is to use the green concealer on any red spots under my foundation and then if after applying foundation I need an extra bit of coverage I will apply the lighter shade. The powder is something I never use but that's just because the skin around my spots is usually quite dry anyway.

The only issue I have with this product is that you can't get it in Ireland so I have to order off ebay or wait until my trips to America to stock up. It is also a fantastic price at approximately 10 dollars. I'd recommend this product to anyone.

XOXO,

B