Perfect Party Hair with Platinum

Last week I dropped in to Platinum's Perfect Party Hair event and heard about their extensions, salons, products and upcoming projects. Then we were talked through three looks that could be created for the party season using said extensions and products.

Throughout, I was fascinated. I've been considering extensions for a while now, missing the incredibly long hair that I cut over a year ago, despite having enjoyed my shorter hair since then. I get bored of my hair so quickly that I'm always thinking about what I'm going to do next and, often, am attracted to extremes: from long to short and short to long, light to dark and dark to light. By the end of the presentation, I wanted extensions even more and left that evening, thinking that I might just bite the bullet and commit. It was only in later research that I realised I wash my hair too often and am far too lazy to style my hair, making permanent extensions somewhat impossible.

Yet, I didn't come away from the event without anything that I could actually apply to my own situation and hair. In the gift bag that I was given upon leaving, there was one particular product that I have fallen utterly in love with: the Platinum Fix & Finish Fixing Spray.

First of all, I love the fact that it is a spray with decent hold that isn't an aerosol. Secondly, you get quite a lot of bang for your buck as each bottle is relatively slim but has a lot of product in it. And, finally, a couple spritzes as I brush my hair after showering is enough to ensure that it air-dries smooth and neatly. It's basically the perfect product for someone lazy, like me, who doesn't really style their hair on a regular basis but also suffers from fly-aways and hair with a mind of its own.

I was immediately impressed upon using it but, after almost a week of use, it has really become indispensable and I grab it every time I wash my hair.

If you are looking for extensions, Platinum really do offer top-of-the-range hair and application, but for someone as lazy as me, I'll have to just make do with their rather excellent range of homecare products.

(This product was given to me as a press sample. However, I was not paid for this review and all opinions are my own.)

*

Liked this post? Want more?

Follow me here using google friend connect or bloglovin.

Or follow me on tumblr - twitter - facebook - instagram.

Photo Post - October 2016

October opened to an evening with one of my closest friends and a final moment of calm before it got crazy again. We went for Korean food and some drinks and then saw "Swiss Army Man" with Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe. For me, it was the epitome of a perfect evening.

All I need in life is good food, good people and good art and the night consisted of all three. Matthew, in fact, is the perfect friend to hang out with when I want to relax. We agree and disagree in the right proportions, have a similar sense of humour and he is a truly wonderful oasis of chill. He's someone I can have night-long DMCs with and, equally, be utterly silent with. His company is engaging but undemanding.

That night helped me catch my breath following the heartbreak, celebrations and fashion frenzy of September.

The next few days were spent catching up on blog posts yet unfinished after all the blogger events in September and Fashion Week, doing chores and working on a big new project.

Midweek, the crazy kicked back in. Wednesday was both my Korean class and my siblings' birthday dinner, with pit-stops in between to buy things for their actual birthday the next day and my trip to Madrid. Thursday saw me attend an Urban Decay event during my lunch hour, an Easilocks event after work and hang out with Sarah afterwards, when we were approached by "killer clowns". Said clowns were actually just silly pre-teens but one glimpse of them sent Sarah running and the kids in pursuit, as they realised they had an easy target in their hands. When they noticed how scared she was, the two girls started apologising profusely, while I put my arm around Sarah, ushered her away and uttered the, perhaps, most old man phrase of my life: "That's enough now, kids, go on home."

On Saturday I flew out to Madrid, met my friend, got changed and immediately went out that night. The next day we tramped all over the city on an intense itinerary and then went to a gig that night. The day after I explored the Prado on my own (bawling at certain points, upon seeing certain works IRL) before flying home.

The next week slowed only slightly: I had an important business meeting after work, another Korean class, met Sarah for dinner, started my Christmas shopping, went on a gallery day with Matthew and explored (the very photogenic) IMMA and visited a haunted house with friends.

Lack of a proper sleeping pattern being a problem became apparent very quickly in the following week. On the Monday I rushed home to help celebrate my sister's boyfriend's 21st birthday, the next day I went to see "Bridget Jones' Baby" with Sarah (surprisingly brilliant - I don't know if I've ever laughed so much in the cinema before but this was helped by the very emotionally involved audience that gasped and oohed comically throughout), had class again, made a tit of myself at an Alex & Ani event, rushed home-home for a doctor's appointment, celebrated my grandaunt's 80th birthday and played with my little cousins.

All of this chaos (and fun - the emotional and energy rollercoaster, basically), meant that I crashed. The big project was draining me and not working as smoothly as I wanted, I was trying to balance work and a life, missed out on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and lost something so dear to me it felt like losing a limb...so by the time I went home-home the next weekend, I was fragile. Which all came to a head when I started crying at the dinner table for no particular reason. Tensions were high at home due to many factors from the various family members and that Saturday was mostly very unpleasant and saw me spend most of the day crying.

Everyone made up, of course, as we always do, and quickly. My family are a passionate and quick-tempered bunch, paired with some anxious tendencies, and it's often a recipe for emotional outbursts. But we also adore and really like each other, which makes for quick and happy reconciliations.

As a result, the last couple of days of the month were spent eating nice food, reminiscing with Granny, giving the family at-home facials, laughing, practicing on my skateboard and visiting the Most Haunted House in Ireland with, what has to have been, the sauciest and giddiest group ever, which made the tour campy and hilarious and not the least bit scary. One of the most personally entertaining moments had to be the look on the "gimp" and "ghosts'" faces when I emerged from the tunnel I'd been shoved into on my own, playing with my phone and drinking a carton of juice. Terrified, I was not.

*

A common conclusion I've been coming to at the end of these posts so far is that I'm extremely lucky to have a life filled with such a great family and friends and this month is no different. From being a host to being a much-needed calming influence and from being a shoulder to cry on to someone to cry until I laugh with, the people around me keep me sane when very little else in my life is.

*


Liked this post? Want more?

Follow me here using google friend connect or bloglovin.

Or follow me on tumblr - twitter - facebook - instagram.

REVIEW: Viviscal - Gorgeous Growth Densifiying Range

As much as I am a beauty-lover, I am also a skeptic. I make annoyed sounds when skincare products claim to reduce the size of pores (they can't, nothing can, they can only reduce the appearance of the size), I have a flat-out rule that I won't review skincare unless I have tested it for at least two months and juice cleanses and "beauty teas" make me angry. I don't like people being duped out of money, I hate when it happens to me and I abhor the idea of it happening to any of my readers so I take reviews seriously and I always test things thoroughly.

Sometimes, however, products really do provide the miraculous results that they claim to offer. Viviscal is one such brand for me. 

Of course, I am always going on my own personal experiences and others may have an entirely different encounter with a product but I can honestly say that Viviscal changed my hair forever. In fact, the clearest indication of this is the fact that after I took a 6 month course of the Viviscal supplements and hair growth serum, I happened to start going back to the hairdresser in my hometown where I had had my hair cut for years and they noticed that I had gone from having rather fine hair to healthy, thick hair. It really was transformed.

So, when I found out they were launching some new products, I had to pop along! These new items - shampoo (RRP €11.95),  conditioner (RRP €11.95), elixir (RRP €24.95) and repackaged (and easier applied) volumising hair fibers (RRP €24.95) - are a new "densifying" range and the perfect accompaniment to the supplements. The idea being that the supplements strengthen your hair from the inside and the haircare products from the outside. And while the supplements are fantastic, you really need to wait around three months before there is a noticeable difference, whereas, the haircare products are said to make a difference within a week.

As I was between haircuts and in dire need of freshening up when I began using the haircare products, I did notice that it gave a bit of volume and oomph back to my rather lifeless hair. I love how they all smell - kind of spicy but in a good way - and my hair is incredibly silky and well-behaved. I haven't had to deal with fly-aways or frizz since I began using them. And, since I finally got my hair cut, the combination of the fresh style and the products is seriously slick. I need to do very little other than wash and dry my hair, popping in a little of the elixir before I dry it, to have a really good hair day.

If I were to recommend just one product from this new line, I'd have to pick out the elixir, it really is the star of the show. It's small and portable but a little goes a long way. Just a couple pumps onto the hands and run through the lengths and on top of my head (where flyaway action happens normally) before I dry it and I'm good to go with perfectly shiny, smooth hair the next day.

The best endorsement for the brand, however, has to be the fact that Debbie Harry (of Blondie) is a big fan. If a woman who has been iconically bleaching her hair for four decades backs haircare, you gotta listen!

(These items were given to me as press samples, however, I was not paid for this reivew and all opinions are my own)


*

Liked this post? Want more?

Follow me here using google friend connect or bloglovin.

Or follow me on tumblr - twitter - facebook - instagram.

Beauty 2015 II: Best of My Beauty Discoveries

If you read my last Beauty 2015 post, you'll know that I was talking all about my favourite beauty launches throughout the year from my pick of Urban Decay's best palette to budget make-up brushes that seriously impressed. This post, however, is things that weren't new to 2015 but new to me - products I discovered and fell in love with and that I felt deserved a shout-out.

The biggest make-up favourite has to be Missha's Magic Cushion SPF 50 (~ €27) in the shade 21. This BB cushion has become my go-to base and it makes my skin all kinds of glowy. My mother is obsessed and laments that I don't wear it all the time because it makes me look "much better" (cheers). In fact, she'd have me ordering it for her, too, if it had heavier coverage. For me, though, that's good. It doesn't look like you're wearing lots, leaves your skin feeling happy and moisturised, is SPF 50 and is pretty reasonably priced. For me, however, the best proof of how good something is/how much I like it, is if I find myself using it all. I rarely finish mascaras or foundations/BB creams before they dry up as I'm always testing things and wear make-up so little. This cushion BB has been replaced twice now and is the closest thing I've ever had to daily make-up so that says a lot. 

The next make-up fave is a product from the Balm that I've seen hyped for so long by people I respect a lot; the Mary-Lou Manizer highlighter (€20.50). This gives you serious glow right away without looking like you've slathered it on or looking too glittery. It also comes in a super-cute vintage-inspired compact with a big mirror and there's quite a bit of product at 8.5g considering that a little goes such a long way. Best of all, it's the perfect shade for me to use on my cheekbones, the tip of my nose and cupid's bow and on my aegyo sal.

While mentioning cheek products, I can't leave out Too Faced's Love Flush blush (€26.00) in Love Hangover. Not only is the packaging so freaking cute, the product is soft and finely milled and applies beautifully. It's a really pretty natural rosy-pink shade with little tiny flecks of glitter throughout but beware: a little really goes a long way. Apply with caution. 

Seriously, though. How cute is this? It's like a Polly Pocket.

A firm skincare favourite this year has to be Sunday Riley's Luna Sleeping Night Oil treatment. I've been using this for months now, every second night and I have to say that it really lives up to the hype. In fact, my only complaint is that I can't use it every night (the ingredients are too active). My acne scars (which, admittedly, aren't that bad) are fading and I can barely see some at all any more, my overall skin texture is smoother and blemishes heal faster. It's seriously changed my skin and lasts for yonks which makes it, to me, worth the €105 price tag.

Finally, a simple but effect product that I loved this year for my hair is the Naked Style Little Miracle Leave-In Conditioner. It's got argan oil and shea butter in it, smells coconutty and generally tames my hair, and flyaways, even on its most boisterous days. Plus, I've been told my hair is in remarkably good condition but several professionals and I definitely attribute it to regular use of this product.

These are the things I'm taking into 2016 for sure. How about you guys? Any holy grail discoveries this past year?! I'd love to hear about it!

*

Liked this post? Want more?

Follow me here using google friend connect or bloglovin.

Or follow me on tumblr - twitter - facebook - instagram.

Beauty 2015 I: Best Beauty Launches of 2015

With the new year upon us, it's a time many pause and reflect on what has happened in the past year and what they would like to happen in the one that is just beginning. I didn't feel the desire to do a recap post on the year and this blog but, suffice it to say, it saw change and progress as always. I began working with lots of new brands, went to amazing events, put lots of products on my face, met lovely people, attended my first fashion week, etc, etc. As a result of all this madness and all these new PR contacts, I tried out more beauty products than ever this year and was fortunate enough to be invited to some of the biggest launches and given samples that afforded me the opportunity to try out more things than I would have been able to otherwise.

Basically, what I'm try to say is, I've personally tried a lot of the year's beauty launches and feel that I am, therefore, able to round up some of the best ones as a result. Here are the things that rocked my 2015 and will be carried over into 2016.



Urban Decay are best known for their eyeshadow palettes but their full line is also home to many a cult favourite. This past year birthed some new icons, particularly when it comes to lip products. I already discussed the products that I'm about to list here in my Winter Lip Edit but I want to briefly reiterate why they rock for anyone who hasn't read that post. First off, is one of the new matte formula Revolution Lipsticks, which were launched this winter, in the shade Bad Blood (€19.00). These lipsticks are a magic formula that gives a matte finish but are rich and creamy enough that you don't feel as though your lips are being utterly drained of any moisture and that they don't catch on any pre-existing dry skin from winter weather harshness. Basically, all the nice points of a matte lip without the downsides. 
I also have one of the 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencils (€18.50), which were launched before summer, in the same shade which is actually a slightly lighter colour but both are similar berryish, deeper reds. The two products look lovely together and make for some serious staying power as a pair but also work well separately. The pencil, on its own, feels and looks lighter and less intense but is equally pretty.
Also a favourite are the recently released Urban Decay Revolution glosses (€19.00). Glosses that are super-pigmented and infused with lovely ingredients, these products give the colour of a liquid lipstick, the shine of a gloss and the sensation of a balm. They're pretty magic. I was a big fan of  Apocalypse and Big Bang - both shades are intense purplish colours with the latter being pinker and specked with glitter and the former being deep and a little Goth, in the best possible way. I can't reccommend them highly enough as they even managed to convert me - a serious lipgloss anti-fan - just remember that these require more careful application as they are so pigmented that straying off the lip even a fraction will result in disaster.

Other than my serious love for Urban Decay lip products, one other product from another brand managed to capture my heart. Chanel's Lévres Scintillantes Glossimer Lipgloss (€27.00), in the shade Allegria, came into my life at the very end of the year as a gift and I instantly fell for it. Since I'd been converted to glosses thanks to Urban Decay, I went into the relationship hopeful and found a pigmented gloss in an exceptionally pretty shade which sits beautifully on the skin and blends out perfectly for creating a gradiated Korean lip look. While this product isn't a new one, the shade is Limited Edition and I felt that merited being included in this post.

Another favourite launch from Urban Decay (they really killed it this year, didn't they?) has to be their Brow Tamer (€18.50). I've already reviewed it in detail and ranted about it multiple times but the real proof here is that it immediately kicked all the other tinted brow gels out of my make-up bag. And that remains the case.

Of course, I can't end all this talk of Urban Decay without mentioning my, hands down, favourite launch from them (and probably anyone, really) this year: the Gwen Stefani palette (€46.00). I'm not a palette fiend as some might be but it's like the woman personally inquired of me what I would like in one. Seriously. There's the neutrals, yeah, but then the pretty pink of Harajuku for a girlier, sweeter look, shimmers perfect for accentuating my aegyo sal, gold and blue for braver moments and a dark brown and intense black for liners. I don't really need any other eye products if I have it on hand. Plus: Gwen Stefani. Plus, plus: that packaging tho. Need I say more?

It would also be remiss of me not to mention Billion Dollar Brows, who officially launched into Irish and UK retailers in November after previously only being available in salons. I could talk about the whole line but a particular favourite, which has been cracked out for multiple friends and family members now, is the Brow Buddy Kit (€31.00) which includes their innovative Brow Buddy tool that allows you to measure your brows to perfection and shows where you need to pluck or fill in, a pencil for marking it out and a step-by-step guide

When it comes to skincare, the most exciting launch for me, by far, was the Clarisonic Smart Profile (€249.99). I've been using it for months now and, overall, my skin looks visibly much more refined and smooth. It even looks okay under the horrid lighting in the bathroom at work which makes everyone look terrible an saps all self-confidence away in seconds. Hormonal breakouts do continue to plague my existence but this product is a genius tool not an actual miracle-worker so what can you do?

Another skincare fave was the Hydra-V line from Artistry which is uber-luxe and makes winter look like a wimp in the face of my skin's moisture levels. I was particularly fond of the Artistry Hydra-V Nourishing Gel Cream (€40.75) which I have tragically just run out of...It was my go-to daytime moisturiser this winter as it packs a serious punch but its cream-gel formula means that you don't have to look like an oil slick all day to keep moisturised. Sigh, if only it came in an industrial-sized tube...

Finally, I want to give a shout-out to the new range of Primark/Penneys make-up brushes. I got some at the press day to play with and while I've yet to try them all out, I'm majorly impressed so far! Pretty and sleek in black with rose gold accents, many are double-ended maximising value and make-up bag space. Prices begin at just €1.50 so they're really very reasonable. They've also seriously improved. The brushes are fluffy and soft yet denser (still a little bit rough around the edges but, at that price point, you really can complain) than previous incarnations. The double-ended eyeshadow and eyeliner brush, in particular, is amazing. It blends out beautifully and having the liner brush together on one is really handy for me as that's all I really need. Seriously, if you're in need of new make-up brushes these are well worth a shot.

Now, the astute among you may have notice items in the background of the pictures which were not mentioned. These are items that aren't new to the market, but to me, and were favourites of mine in 2015 but I felt they warranted a separate post to keep things in order here. Look out for that next post as it has deets about a lot of cult faves that I tried, and was pleasantly surprised by, this year.

That's all for now, folks!

(All of these items, bar the Chanel lipgloss, were press samples. However, I was not paid to write about any of them and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.)

*

Liked this post? Want more?

Follow me here using google friend connect or bloglovin.

Or follow me on tumblr - twitter - facebook - instagram.