Face-mask Me Please

Facemasks – the ultimate companion for a perfect pamper night. Like all my good skin care finds I am constantly on the lookout for a good one. My skin tends to be a little changeable but I find you cannot go too far wrong if you stick to the choosing a mask that fulfils one or all of the following properties, moisturising and cleansing/detoxifying and a hint of anti-aging just for good measures. Over the last few months I have been using a few different masks and here they are! Just to clarify my skin tends to be on the normal side, it is neither dry nor oily, and I am prone to the occasional breakout and hormonal difficulties. So here you have it, my current face mask picks!

Masque Doux Aromatique aux 3 Roses by Nuxe

This is a gentle purifying and clarifying mask for all skin types. It comes in a glass jar (which I find helps to get the mask really cool by placing it in the fridge 15 minutes before use). On opening this mask the first thing that hit me was the smell, it just smells so clean! There is a hint of very gentle tea tree and lavender. It contains oils and clarifying agents to leave the skin cleansed and restore radiance. I find this mask really gentle and over all really nice to use. I apply it using a flat foundation brush as I find the consistency of the mask rather light and the brush just allows for less waste and easy application. The mask has a fresh feeling on applying it to the skin. My skin is really soft after use and in no way dry. This mask is exactly as the name applies – gentle and cleansing. Priced at £18.50 or 24.99 for 50 ml it may be deemed as expensive but I find it a good purchase and worth the money.

INFO

Tri Enzyme Resurfacing Gel Mask by Elemis

This mask is part of the Tri Enzyme Skin Care Range. I have completed a separate post on this range just CLICK HERE

Since completing this post I have changed my routine a little but I continue to use this gel mask by Elemis. It is an anti ageing mask that aims to resurface the skin, renew the skin leaving it less dull and full of life. I like to use this mask at least one a week. It is a gel mask and it is potent so once applied you can feel a distinct tingling sensation, a sensation which you are advised will happen so for me this just means the mask is doing its job well. This mask does not dry the skin but I find I need to follow it with a rich moisturiser after use. If I do this I find my skin to be really fresh, even toned and bright. Again this mask is expensive at £48.00 or €56.00 but it is patent as mentioned therefore it lasts a long time. I have been using mine now for what seems like months and I find that my skin has improved and is over all better so I am contributing this improvement in part to the use of this mask.

Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm by Elemis

This little gem is multi-purpose and with each use it seems to impress me even more. I really enjoy using Elemis products in general but this product is the nicest I have used. It is a rich balm containing skin nourishing properties that just loves the skin and the skin seems to love the balm. It smells really good, it works as a treatment on the skin leaving it cleansed, radiant and really soft. I think it is pretty clear that I don’t have a bad word to day about this product. The pro-collagen element of the mask aids the elasticity of the skin so that is always a big bonus. When using this mask I love to apply it while having a bath and simply lay back and relax leaving the balm to do the work and I enjoy the aroma of the oils. Priced at £35 or €42 it is skin treat, a pamper treat and an all around great product.

INFO

Kaolin Clay Detoxifying Facial Mask by Michael Todd

Michael Todd seems to be a favourite for a fair few bloggers and admittedly I am relatively new to range (I absolutely love the toners from this range so much so I have reordered my second bottle) True Organic Range of products. I bought this mask when I was on the search for a mask with had good antibacterial properties as I was seeming to have constant recurrent blemishes in certain areas of my face. As I was very impressed with the toner (separate post to follow!) I was genuinely looking forward to trying this mask. On opening the bottle I was glad to see it has a pump for application with makes it less messy and means less wasting of the product. It is brown in colour and tick in consistency. It spreads across the face really easily. It has a very “detoxifying” aroma; again a hint of tea tree is definitely present! Unlike the above mentioned masks this one has a very potent smell. I find this mask gives a rather strong tingling sensation when applied and this lasts for almost the whole 15 minutes you leave it on your skin. It also becomes very hard so if you do not like the tightening sensation of many traditional face masks then this mask may not be for you. Removal, to my surprise, was really easy with warm water and a face cloth. After use my skin was a little tight n dry but just pop on a good moisturiser and it was back to good again. I also found after use this mask seem to push out any impurities and a little exfoliation the next morning and my skin clear and free of any imperfections or blemishes. Over all this is a strong potent face mask. I would only use it maybe once every two weeks or when I have breakouts or blemishes or when my skin needs a really good cleansing. Priced at £23 or €26 it is available online from the Michael Todd website.

INFO

Drink Up Intensive Moisturising Mask by Origins

Seeing as this winter season seems to have gone on forever I really wanted a good moisturising mask to give my skin a good lift and this is exactly what this mask does. It seems to be a favourite of many and rightly so. Avocado, Apricot, Kennel and seaweed are just a few ingredients that help the skin to build up reserves of moisture in the skin to keep it hydrated and help it look radiant. You simply cleanse your skin and pop this mask on, hop into bed and while you sleep the mask is doing the work. It smells nice and is gentle on the skin making it a really good product. Priced at £14 or €20 approx it is one of the less expensive in the Origins range but well worth it in comparison to the results received. INFO

These are the masks I am using at the moment. Alternating between them means that each mask lasts an extra long time and it also means that I can treat my skin according to its need at a particular time. I hope you found my opinion on the face masks I use helpful.

What face masks do you use? Have you any suggestions? Please leave a comment telling me below.

Thanks for taking the time to read 

Xoxo 

Bargain Finds

I love to find a little bargain or two and I love to share these finds even more!!!
On my travels I popped into Dealz to pick up something and found theses "great little finds"!!!! Don't you just love a surprise find....

First up is an iPhone cover. I love to change my cover really often so I love to find different covers that are cheap but effective (I do have plans on completing a full post on iPhone covers). The strawberry design cover is fab! Perfect for the spring. Even better is the fact that it is hard plastic so it's durable. Even better it was €1.49 ........ Oh yes please!

Next up is a double pack of nail wraps. One set is baby pink with white stars and the second is fushia pink with glossy white stars. Now I have not used that's yet but sure cheap and cheerful again at €1.49 - I will post how they are! Also in the packet came an Emory board.

Finally I picked up a packet of 6 diamanté nail charms (2 hearts , 2bows, 2butterflies) these are genuinely so cute. I have bought expensive high end charms and was delighted to find these as a cheap alternative at €1.49 again.

So there you have my little finds for today- not bad for a Monday morning eh !!!

Have u ever been surprised by a little find of your own ??? Please leave a comment and tell me.

Xoxo

Raise that Eyebrow!!

As I suggested in my New Season Post HERE  eyebrows are really on trend at the moment. Personally I have always been a massive fan of eyebrows. From the very first time that I had my brows shaped, their upkeep and appearance became top priority in my beauty routine. I also learnt at a young age that my talent for shaping, tweezing or waxing my own brows was literally nonexistent and for this reason I have always left this element of my eyebrow routine to the professionals.

I do however love my brows to be well presented and maintained. I always think that good brows literally shape the face. I have dark brown hair with a little ombre scattered throughout the ends so I like to go for a rich brown brow. I have found a few products which I love to use on my brows; I alternate between these products depending on the desired look.

•   MAC Deep Brunette Veluxe Brow Liner Crayon Sourcils

CLICK HERE for Info

This a quick fix for the brows. It is a soft texture pencil that matches my shade perfectly. It fills and shapes the brows. The formula is matt and a powdery rather than a wax texture. It applies really easily and has a good degree of pigmentation which means that it colours well. It also has good staying powder (stays put all day) but is also easily removed with eye makeup remover. One really good aspect of this product is that it has a handy little brow brush on the opposite side that helps to shape and define the brows a little more. This product comes in 5 shades so am sure the whole issue of finding a shade that suits you is not so difficult.

One little negative of using this product is that it wears down rather fast and I found that you need to have sharpener on hand.

Over all I enjoy using this product and it is just a great every day quick solution for brows.

• Eyebrow Sculptor By Tom Ford in Espresso

I have been a fan of this product for some time and have included it in my favourites – click here  to have a look.  

This product has a brow brush on one end and a shaped wax like applicator on the opposite end. The applicator is slanted meaning that application can be really precise as it goes from thin to fatter. The colour is I originally chose was chestnut but this was a little too light for me so I am now using espresso.  This is a good product but it is a little expensive and you need to apply a few coats to get my desired look.

• MAC Eyebrow Crayon in Spiked
  

This was my very first eye brow product and I have continued to repurchase it again and again because it is just a really good product and is the perfect shade for me. It provides the perfect tool for filling in, shading and colouring the brows. It needs no sharpeners and it is really long lasting. Available in 6 shades this product is a staple item in my makeup bag.

Want Info then Click Here

•    Benefits Brow Zings Brow Shaping Kit

For lots of info Click Here  

I had read a lot about this product and had been between minds about purchasing it for ages and finally decided to give in to my inner shopper.

This kit contains:

§  pigmented wax for shaping

§  natural-shaded powder for setting

§  discreet tweezers

§  hard angle brush

§  blending brush

§  mirror

Benefit suggests that you have everything you need to create perfect clean brows.

Once you get used to using all the products in this kit am sure it does provide you with all the tools to create your perfect brow look. The pigmented wax is easy to apply and the colour was ok (it has a little too much of a red hue for me to be totally in love with it). The natural shaded powder is good and easy to use. I don’t generally use the tweezers, as I mentioned I leave that whole process to the professional. I find the blending brush a little small so I use an angled brush. I tend to use this product if I have time to be careful and precise. It did take me a few tries (a fair few) to get the hang of this product. If I am being totally honest I like this product but I don’t love it. I do use it but not too often.

•  MAC Palette
  

Last but certainly not least is my MAC Palette. I put this palette together myself and I use it most days either for brows or for eyes. I am a real lover of naturals, matt shades and blending and this palette contains all the shades I find perfect for these tasks.

The palette contains (top left to bottom right)

-          Omega

-          Espresso

-          Embark

-          Wedge

I use a MAC (OK yes I am a good fan of MAC) 263 angled brush for brow application. I love espresso or a tiny bit of embark to fill in and add a dept to the colour and I like wedge to add a little tone. Really I just love to mess around and try different combination of the colours to achieve my desired brow look.

These are all the products I have tried to create my desired brow look. I have loved some and liked others. I hope you find this post helpful and maybe you too will find a product you will come to love.

Do you have any suggestions on brow products? Any products you love or you hate? Please leave a comment below.

XOXO

P.S don’t forget my competition  CLICK HERE

FUR-BABY LOVE

FUR-BABY LOVE

Today, again, I want to share a post a little different!  People say it is the small things in life that often draw the biggest smiles. This is often very true for me so I want to introduce my little bit of (well not so little these days) of fluff that draws a massive smile to my face most days ....................Biddy (“, )

Biddy came into my life over 3 years ago completely by mistake. It was Christmas time and weather was awful (insert sad music here please) I was going out to close the gates to my parents house when I saw a plastic bag move!! Inside was a tiny fur ball that is Biddy. She was very unwell as the top of the bag had been tied, basically this little kitten had been dumped!!

This is the sight I wake up to most mornings panned out at the bottom of my bed. She sleeps in her little house in the garage but she still wants to come to see me in the mornings when she comes in, or maybe she just likes the heat of the electric blanket!! She purrs so loudly. 

Biddy watching television....yep she sits herself up gangsta style! She is loving Nashville !

I have always loved animals so it was no surprise I wanted to rescue and help the little might. As I opened the bag she crawled out and when and hid. Instead of scaring her I let her be, keeping a watchful eye on her, leaving milk out for her to drink. Over the next two days she slowly came out and began coming over to me. It may sound silly but trust had to be built up. My Mother gave me a basket, I bought blankets, kitten food, toys and anything I thought would make this little fur ball feel at home. I don’t know why she ended up with the name biddy but it just seems to suit her! Almost 4 years on and this little big kitty has made my home her home!!

She still gets afraid when new people (especially men for some reason) come into the house and she is still a little nervous. Despite all this she is a great cat, she is a source of comfort and she a member of my family as she is my fur-baby!!

xoxo 

Hello – Thank You – Good Luck

Hello – Thank You – Good Luck

So this post is just a little update and a thank you!

I have been developing my blog now for over 7 months and I have to admit I genuinely love every moment I spend thinking about the blog, compiling info for my blog, taking photographs (however basic they may be in comparison to other peoples blogs)  and writing my blog posts. This was something I have wanted to do for some time now and I am so glad I have started.

I have always said I would be happy if one or two or ten or how many people took the time to read or merely glance at my posts. I am really thankful to you.

I hope to continue searching for what I call “GREAT LITTLE FINDS” and I hope to continue to share them with you.

If you are interested here are the places you can find me (“,)

Twitter =   @judithg80

Instagram =   Judithg80

Facebook  =  Click Here

Bloglovin = CLICK HERE

Last Thing

I will have a competition running on my page for a goodie bag full of great little find in the next few days.. 

To be in with a chance all you have to do is follow the instructions I will post later today .This competition is open to every one. 

Best of luck AND Thank you for reading  my post

XOXO 

VELVET MANICURE BY CIATE 

I love nail, I love nail polish/varnish, I love nail art and I love manicures!! So as a way of sharing this love I have decided to dedicate one post a week to an all things nails. I have completed a few post on nails which I you can have a look at by clicking HERE   ......

So to begin, I just want to add at this point I am not an expert on nails, it is a simple  love trying new nail trends and I get super excited with a new style, art idea or trend is introduced. This excitement raised its giddy little head when I saw the The Velvet Manicure Set in Mink Cashmere by Ciate. Velvet Manicure 

This manicure set is focused on the theme of luxury and texture. In this kit you receive a bottle of polish; in this case the shade is cashmere mink, a bottle of crushed velvet powder in a corresponding colour and a little brush to aid in the application process. This kit was super easy to use and the whole process is really fast.

·         Clean off any excess polish and ensure the nails are oil free.

·         Assuming the nails are in you desired shape apply a base coat – I really like OPI Nail Envy as it nourishes the nail as supplies a base coat.

·         Open your kit and line up your bottles! Apply one coat of the nail polish to each nail and allow drying.

·          Take one nail at a time and apply another coat of the nail polish. Then on the same nail sprinkle the crushed velvet powder onto the nail. Apply as much as you like of the powder depending on how much definite you want the texture on the nail. Continue nail by nail all the time being mindful that your nails are drying and setting.

·         When powder is applied to all nails use the little brush to sweep away all excess powder.

·         Hey presto! You now have a velvet manicure!!!!

*Please excuse my little chubby fingers in the photo's I have rather small fingers but are little chubby too. They remind me of my Mum's hands so I don't mind all that much (",) 

A really great positive of using this manicure kit is that it dries really fast and sets even faster. It is also strong. My nails did not chip at all in the 5 days that I had it on. Despite this the texture was really easy to remove with nail polish remover which is unusual for specialised manicures – I often find them really difficult to remove.

The only negative aspect of using this kit was that I was not 100% in love with the colour as the time went on as it became a little darker. This however was simply a matter of taste. Ciate in general offer very high quality nail products and  I found this kit to be no different.

Over all I enjoyed using this kit and think that the texture really does fulfill its ambition of being luxurious and velvet. I would like to try another colour in this range.

What do you think of the velvet texture for your nails? What have you been doing lately with your nails .......? Please leave a comment and share as I love to read them. 

Xoxo 

Archie's Girls Collection By MAC

 Archie's Girls Collection By MAC 

 

It is no surprise what so ever that I am a fan of MAC Cosmetics. I genuinely look forward to special or limited edition collections.  I have developed a little habit of treating myself to one or two items from the collection if I find exciting products, which I always so. I really liked this year’s holiday collection Have a lookies here  and again I found a few exciting products in the recent “Archie’s Girls” collection now available in MAC stores.

This limited edition collection is designed with a battle for “Archie’s” affections in mind, the battle being between a vampy seductive lady who wears deep rich tones of purples and reds and the girl next door all pretty in pink and pastels. For me this contrast within the collection means that the products have longevity – the paler tones of pink and peach are perfect for the spring/summer season where as the darker shades in the Veronica collection will carry you through to autumn. The collection may be limited edition but it does have the power to become a long term addition to your make up collection.  I picked up a few items from the collection. 

My Choices tended to center round the Betty collection – I think the reason for this was the fact that I purchased my items around the turn of the season and I was longing for summer and lightness.

• Pearlmate Face Powder in Flatter Me 

 

I love the limited edition face powder’s that come with these collections. I recently was genuinely gutted when I broke my beauty powder from the Glitter and Ice Collection (Stupid as I am dropping my clutch on a night out).  So I was glad to try this product out. This powder combines pearlized and satin shades. It is rich and slightly creamy in texture which means it is a dream to apply to the face. It is highly pigmented so works perfectly as a blush (the peachy/pink embossed hearts are a fabulous shade for a bright and fresh blush) or as a delicate yet effective highlighter (the lighter tone is so pearly). I have also used it as an eye shadow using a 217 brush simply swept across my lids. I just know I will use this powder lots. The limited edition packaging is also quite nice and the mirror compact is always useful.

•   Pearlglide Intense Eyeliner in Black Swan 

 

I have been moving away from the black liquid eyeliner of late just moving towards a smokier eye for night time looks and softer liner look for day wear. I have enjoyed using the Pro Longwear Eyeliner so treated myself one of these limited edition eyeliners from the collection. These liners provide rich pigmented long lasting eyeliner with a little touch of shimmer and sparkly that seems to just open the eye up. It literally glides on and so easy to apply, easy to create a defined liner looks or smudged look to complete a smoky eye. The limited edition packaging is so cute; it reminds me of colouring pencils I used in Primary School!

• Betty Lipglass

I really like the lipglass range in general and again the products in various collections have always been really nice, for example I loved the lipglass collection from the Hey Sailor Collection I have just finished the nude lipglass so of course I had to have two shades!

1.      Stay Sweet

This little gem is tinted with pink and is so glossy it literally shines. The colour is rich enough for me to wear on its own or it can be teamed with a lipstick to add shine (I have my eye on MAC’S Angle lippy at the mo as a perfect partner for this gloss) and is looks really well with the face powder above.

2.      Summer Sweetheart

A glossy peach packed with shine this is very on trend. It is really pigmented for me to wear solo. I love to team this shade with a coral blush and nude mascara loaded eyes!  I really wanted the lipstick that accompanied this shade (Betty Bright) but unfortunately I was not the only person who longed for it as it sold out really fast in Dublin. I will just have to keep an eye to see if this shade makes it into the permanent collection of lipsticks.

 

There were a few other products in this collection I would have liked but I am happy with my lot look forward to the next collection and the treats that it may contain. The collection is still on offer in MAC Stores and I recommend a look at it does contain a great range of shades.

XOXO