Makeup Masterclass

Yesterday I was very luck to attend a master class with the amazing Mrs Makeup - Michelle Regazzoli Stone. Michelle is one of Ireland's top makeup artists and works with high-profile clients from the UK and Ireland including Pippa O'Connor, Sarah Harding (Girls Aloud), Vicky Patterson, Nadia Forde, Claudia Keane, Leah Arnold and Suzanne Jackson.








In this class she went through her most asked for look - the makeup for Rosanna Davidson's wedding and she went through this look from start to finish . She explained everything in such a relaxed and fun way and is a true professional. I've picked up so many tips and also a shopping list a mile long. Some of her favoutites, include MAC Strobe cream, Ben Nye Banana Powder, Inglot Gel liner and many more. I am going to be on the look out for future classes with Michelle. This girl is such a pro.




The event itself was held by the lovely Deirdre in Body Treats Beauty Salon in Ennistymon. She often runs these master classes and it is definitely worth the spin up, a brilliant girls day out. The girls are so welcoming and the salon itself offers so many treatments and also are stockists of Crown, Buff and HD Brows. Any brides to be out there, if you're looking for mink lashes, a natural look, this is your place. I notice whenever I'm working on brides the standard of their lashes is top class.


Here's a picture of me and the girl herself, she is a stunner.xx

Favourite Drugstore Concealers

Hey everyone.

I am always being asked about budget friendly concealers. There are so many good ones out there at the moment and really affordable. Here are my three favourites that I reach for the most. 

The first one is my favourite for blemishes or very dark circles - Collection Lasting Concealer. I have this in 3 shades and can't recommend it enough. It is a full coverage concealer that doesn't budge. I use a very small amount under my eyes. Be careful with this if you have a lot of lines as it could cake. Excellent for teenagers or anyone conscious of scarring or blemishes.

Price-€5.99

The second one, is Rimmel Wake Me Up. This is a lovely medium coverage concealer. Great for the under eye area and really hydrating. I love this for top ups as it isn't very drying.

Price - €6.99

And the last one is a new purchase which I love 💕 Maybelline The Eraser Eye. This is the most expensive at around €11.50 but is just the loveliest consistency. I place this under my eyes, in the centre of my forehead and down the centre of my nose. It's brilliant for anyone conscious of wrinkles as it is very moisturising and really highlights the centre of the face without drawing attention to any fine lines or wrinkles. 

This is on offer for 2 for €15 in Boots.

Laters...xxx

Pippa Palette by Blank Canvas Cosmetics xx

Hey girls,


Today's review is on the very popular Pippa palette with Blank Canvas Cosmetics. I'm a little bit obsessed with Pippa, and follow her blog religiously and I was so excited when this came out. I'm a massive fan of Blank Canvas bushes but had never tried their makeup range, so I wasn't too sure what to expect.

I've been using this everyday for two weeks and really wanted to try it out before I reviewed it. My first impression was to be honest, a little bit disappointed. I felt it was so overpriced at €40.00 and I also expected a full sized brush or double ended brush from Blank Canvas to accompany it. The palette itself is a cardboard palette which has six matte eye shadows, a highlighter, a contour powder and a blush. First impressions again of the quality of the products was it was nice. The texture of the shadows are nothing as smooth as for eg. Urban Decay, they feel like the Crown Palette shadows.

But as the days went by I found myself loving this more and more. Where this palette shines is the colours and tones, especially the eye shadows. I think if I was to create my own palette these would be the colours I would choose. You really can create any look with it.  I love the personal aspect to this palette, how she has incorporated her life into the palette. All of the shades are named after people and pets in her life. It has really grown on me. I have tried them with and without an eye primer and I find they definitely need a primer. The only shade I cant get to work is Ollie, I wish it was a little deeper.

    The blush and contour shades are great for any pale people out there, but maybe too light if you have an olive or golden skin tone. It really would be a perfect palette if you have Pippa's colouring, if you are a blonde or for example a NC30/ NW25 or lower in MAC.

The highlighter, which is named after her mum is a gorgeous golden shade, which needs to be applied with a light hand. This is also great on the inner tear duct.

Overall, this is a cute palette which has taken pride and place in my makeup bag. Hat's off to Blank Canvas and Pippa for creating such a handy versatile palette.

Hope this helps.
Laters..xxx

Deals from Dealz!!

Hey girls,

I've seen a lot of talk online about different makeup products from the budget chain Dealz. Now normally a makeup brand that costs €1:49 for the majority of its products would not appeal to me. It would make me think of the horrible stuff I used to buy from the pound shops when I was a teenager, but I bit the bullet, researched the best bits and drove down to Shannon to buy a few bits. I personally love going in here and buying loads of crap and cleaning products but was always wary of the beauty section. I went through the stand and took swatches of all their products and ended up just getting three things. 

Firstly I picked up the famous purple shadow - Deep Plum 17. This was just bloody gorgeous. It is a beautiful deep purple shade with great colour payoff. This is a brilliant crease colour and would suit all eye colours. This was only €1:49. 

I also picked up the Pout it Out lip liner in nude that a lot of sites say is a dupe for MAC' Spice pencil, but this was so drying and crap I threw it away.  

The only other product that appealed to me was their Matte Bronzer in the shade Matte Medium. Now this, as a bronzer will give you a lovely orange tangoed glow, that's really not attractive on anyone, so what I actually use it for is as a blush and also as an eyeshadow. This is also gorgeous as a crease colour to warm up a smokey eye, great for anyone with blue eyes.

Hope this helps,

Hilda..xx

Penneys P.S. Love Makeup Brush Cleanser

I picked up this little beauty last week, really not expecting to like it but I was so surprised by how good it was.

I am anal about clean brushes and normally use MAC brush cleanser each day or reach for Inglot brush cleanser for spot cleaning between clients. MAC is brilliant, it removes stains and keeps your brushes soft and squeaky clean. Inglot is only good for spot cleaning on jobs as it dries so quickly. I find the Inglot one dries out my brushes. 

This has the best qualities of both of these. It removes stains, my brushes were so soft after it and best of all, they were dry in about two minutes. I know most people don't bother cleaning their own brushes or even know you're supposed to! The germs that live in brushes are nasty and you will get some funky eyes unless you start washing them. This is only €2.50 so you have no excuse now not to clean them..xx

Review -Vichy Aqualia Thermal Serum

Review time!
This to me is like giving your skin a big drink of water. It is a saviour for tired dehydrated skin. Perfect for dry skin types or for 25 years or older, where early signs of ageing is becoming a problem. After only two days of using this I could see an improvement in the plumpness and brightness in my skin.

It has a lovely lightweight texture and leaves your skin feeling moisturised immediately, without any greasy feeling. It provides a great base for under makeup. At only €23 it is a must have for your skincare routine and has become my serum of choice.
If you have very sensitive skin I would use this every other day as it lightly perfumed and may cause a reaction if used everyday.

Hilda...xx

GlamGlow Youth Mud Tingle Exfoliate Treatment Review

I have been testing out this well hyped pot of mud for the last few weeks. From what I have researched there is no ground breaking ingredients in this mask. It's a very well marketed good old clay mask. I think the fact that Jay Z and a lot of celebrities have come out advertising themselves with this all over their faces, they have put this out in the public eye.

Here's how GlamGlow describe it:

Designed as a 10-minute professional ‘facial in a jar’ for behind-the-scenes use in Hollywood’s Entertainment, Music, Fashion & Award industries, YOUTHMUD™ provides immediate camera-ready glowing skin. NEW Patented TEAOXI® technology with real Green Tea Leaf is the ‘magic’ behind our powerful anti-aging and anti-wrinkle results, delivering fresh antioxidants directly into the mud to hydrate, balance oil production and fight free radical damage. French Sea Clay works to detoxify & awaken the skin by drawing out impurities, while Ivy helps tone, tighten and lift the skin. Revitalize dull, dry skin with Volcanic Rock multi-level surface exfoliation & experience smoother, brighter, softer skin. Get your Youthful Sexy Glow back in just 10 minutes.

I wanted to really give this a good try out, as at €63 its an expensive beauty product. I had visions of watching the black heads come to the surface of my face and leave me looking twenty something and I have to admit I was well pissed off the first time I used it. If anything my pores and blackheads were more visible. It's like it drew the blackheads to the surface and they stayed there. I decided to try it again 2 days later and it did leave my skin looking clearer. I've taken to using this once a week and I do find the more I use it the more it is clearing any congestion.

The product itself is a clay based mask with tea leaves as part of the formula and after the mask is applied you find these bits left on your face. It dries very quickly and is one messy son of  bitch as those lovely tea leaves fall everywhere as it dries. The mask is called the tingle mask but this stuff burned like hell the first 15-20 seconds. Once it dries though it went away. After the second time I have to say each time I've used it my skin is left with a glow and definitely looks brighter. It instructs to put this on your neck and decolletage but I would only use this here is your loaded. I just used it to the jawline.

After using this a few weeks I don't think I'd repurchase the black pot. GlamGlow Youth Mud is a great mask but it isn't a miracle in a jar. After reading a lot of reviews I'm definitely going to get the other two, the green and the white. These seem to offer a lot more value for your buck as they seem to do everything it advertises.

The green is the Thirsty Mud and this is brilliant for hydration and fighting the signs of ageing. The white one, The Super Mud seems to do everything and sounds like it would be a much better purchase than the black one.

I bought mine in McSharry's Chemist in Galway but Lazerderm Ennis are now stocking these. I hope this helps to anyone looking to try these out.

Laters,
Hilda..xx

Mothers Day Gift ideas

As Mother's Day is coming up, here is a list of some goodies to get for your Mum that's she's guaranteed to love:

Glamtastic Gift Set.

This would be amazing. It's a brilliant way to try out these amazing products. All of these masks are suitable for mature skin. It costs €55.95 and is available  from www.cloud10beauty.com

Zoeva Rise Gold Brush Set:

These are just amazing quality and look beautiful. They cost €58 and can be got at the following:

www.zoeva-shop.de

Alex and Ani Mom Bracelet

This is a gorgeous gift that any mom would love to get. They cost around €30 and can be gotten in Seoidin. 

I Hope everyone has a lovely Mothers Day.

Love Hilda..xxx

Top 5 MAC Bridal lipsticks

I am always being asked what would be my favourite bridal lipsticks from my kit.

I always recommend MAC and they would be generally be my go to brand for bridal lippies.

Unless you are a bride that is used to wearing bright reds or purples, it is better to choose a natural shade that will enhance your look.

Everyone has a different lip tone so I would recommend going into Brown Thomas and getting them to colour match you.

Here are my top 5 neutral shades, from lightest to darkest:

: Blankety - a soft beige pink..

: Creme Cup - light babydoll pink

: Angel - most popular. It's a beautiful pink shade that suits almost everyone

: Patisserie - the perfect my lips, but better shade

: Syrup - a muted plummy pink , a sheer wearable lipstick

I will do my favourite brights for Bridal next.

Laters girls...xxx

My experience with Eyelash Extensions

Working as a makeup artist I find that a lot of my clients are coming to me wearing eyelash extensions. As I was heading away on a sun holiday,I used it as an excuse to get a set put on. I loved them straight away and can totally understand why people get addicted. I loved that it only took a few minutes to do my makeup and I looked finished. It gives your eyes so much definition and you look wide awake with them.

The lashes I went for were a mix of synthetic and mink. The mink lash has more of a curl which gives a softer look overall. For someone that struggles with makeup I think these will be a godsend. The cost for my full set was €55 and it took about 1 hour 30 minutes. You would then go back every 3 to 4 weeks depending on how you mind them and get them refilled. I think this costs about €30. 

I have seen lashes done from most places and I have to say the Beauty Club and the salon New You are the only 2 I would recommend. You can tell straight away when people have gone to these. I went to Joanna in the beauty rooms and I would 100% recommend her. She is such s perfectionist and lovely to match.

I think for any brides wanting to get these done they should check out these 2 salons. The lashes look great and not heavy like a lot of places are doing.

Here's 2 pictures Joanna had taken of me.

Tips for keeping your lash extensions :

- Keep eyelashes dry for the first 24 hours - no shower or washing hair 

- Wear oil free products on eyes

- Avoid long lasting liner that you need to scrub at to remove. 

- Use an oil free facial cleanser. I used the Garnier Micellular Water