Eyeshadow Palettes I've Been Loving Recently

| Eyeshadow Palettes I've Been Loving Recently!  |

We all have a guilty pleasure or a weakness in life. For some, it may be drinking five cups of coffee a day, for others it may be watching back to back episodes of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, some might go into Penneys/Primark for one thing and come out with five bags full of stuff (I'm definitely guilty of that one!). But for me, my biggest weakness is collecting eyeshadow palettes. I often go through phases of favouring a select few palettes and today I'm sharing the three that are currently on rotation in my makeup bag.

An everyday makeup bag staple for me, come rain or shine, is the Too Faced Sweet Peach eyeshadow palette. It's one of the most versatile eyeshadow palettes on the market as the softer hues such as pink, champagne and a pale gold all work well for the Spring/Summer months but it also contains deeper colours like purples, green, bronze and browns that are typically associated with the colder seasons. Some of the shades are ideal for creating a quick everyday look, which I've been favouring recently for my college makeup look.

My next pick will come as no surprise to you! The Urban Decay Naked Heat palette has been my top choice for the transitional period and the rich red-toned, copper, brown and purple hues have been tiding me over until the appropriate time came to crack out my favourite Autumnal eyeshadows. 

Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance palette receives a lot of high praise within the beauty industry and with good reason! Inside the soft velvet packaging, you'll find a whole host of warm neutral shades alongside some vivid pink hues. The majority of the shades are subtle and wearable but by including a few pops of colour, the palette encourages me to step out of my comfort zone every now and then. 

What eyeshadow palettes are you loving at the moment?

Love,

Cliona xx

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My Favourite Autumnal Eyeshadows

| My Favourite Autumnal Eyeshadows! |

John Donne once wrote, "No Spring nor Summer beauty hath such grace as I have seen in one Autumnal face" and whenever I see the quote, I can't help but think of dreamy Autumnal makeup products. And to me, nothing says Autumn more than gold, copper and bronze eyeshadows so for the second instalment of my Autumn makeup series we're focusing on some statement eyeshadow picks for the season!

When I envision Autumnal makeup the Zoeva Cocoa Blend palette is always the first thing that springs to mind. The rich hues, including a burnt orange, gold, cranberry and bronze shades, are ideal for Autumn and the quality of the eyeshadows are comparable to some high-end brands but yet they're affordable. 

Another Autumnal palette offering is the Naked Heat palette from Urban Decay, easily my best purchase of 2017! The brand hit the nail on the head with this release as it has the perfect mixture of matte and shimmer shadows, the shade range is cohesive and there's a variety of shades, making it easy to create different types of looks. The aforementioned things were lacking in a lot of their Naked palettes so it's a great addition to the Naked family!

Charlotte Tilbury's Dolce Vita is the epitome of Autumn in a palette, with four Autumnal shades including a shimmery champagne, a deep copper, a sparkly gold and a rich chocolate brown.

One of my favourite gold shadows is from Kiko, their high pigment eyeshadow in no. 18 {Review} is a deep golden hue that mirrors the crispy gilded piles of leaves. The product can be used wet for an intense foiled finish that is absolutely dreamy. 

Cream eyeshadows are my go-to for quick, effortless makeup looks and one I'm looking forward to reigniting my love for is Maybelline Colour Tattoo in 'On And On Bronze'. As the name would suggest, it's a lovely bronze shade that's ideal for everyday wear!

Another cream formula on my favourites list is the Catrice Copper & Paste eyeshadow stick. I like to apply this to the lid after blending a matte brown into the crease, and it's a recipe for a simple look that still makes it look like I've put a bit of effort into my makeup application. 

 What are your favourite Autumnal eyeshadows?

Love,

Cliona xx

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Autumnal Blush & Highlighter Favourites

| Autumn Blush & Highlighter Favourites! |

As the leaves are slowly starting to change colour, it's time to switch up my makeup collection for the new season and swap Summery bright oranges, vibrant pinks and peachy coral hues for rich copper, mauve and champagne shades. Over the next couple of weeks I'll be rolling out my seasonal makeup favourites and first on the menu is my blush and highlighter favourites.

During the colder months, I tend to reach for icy white or champagne highlighters as opposed to the peachy and golden highlighters I usually reach for during the Summer. One of my favourite champagne shades is Mac Extra Dimension in Double Gleam and it packs a serious punch to the skin in terms of glow. I'm convinced that my highlight is visible from Space whenever I wear this!

There's always a hint of magic in the air during the cold A/W months. As a result, I usually crave an ethereal highlighter at this time of year and the product for achieving exactly that is my Sleek Solstice quad. Housed in the little palette you'll find a lilac shade called 'Hemisphere' which is the perfect icy highlighter to correlate with the cooler weather and it provides the most stunning sheen to the skin.

Another cheap but cheerful highlighter favourite is the Catrice High Glow Mineral Highlighting Powder. It's the best budget highlighter I've come across! The powder is soft, finely milled and provides a stunning luminous glow.

My first blush favourite for the new season is Becca Blushed Copper, a true copper shade with shimmer particles diffused into it. It's a quintessential Autumn hue and one I'll no doubt be reaching for a lot more to perk up my complexion during the chilly months. 

My next pick will come as no surprise to you! The deep, warm hue of Mac's Warm Soul is ideal for Autumn and it complements darker vampy looks that are usually worn at this time of year.

Mauve hues are another cult classic shade for Autumn. Charlotte Tilbury 'Sex On Fire' is my top choice for a mauve blush and the creamy, easy to blend formula makes it foolproof to use and it looks beautiful on the skin. 

What are your favourite Autumn blushes and highlighters?

Love,

Cliona xx

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Books I've Read Recently

| Books I've Read Recently! |

The cosy season is upon us once again and my favourite cosy Autumnal activity is reading a magical book curled up on the couch. Fantasy reads are my guilty pleasure so expect to see them heavily featured in this roundup, but you'll also find an enthralling thriller, as well as a cute YA tale. Without further ado let's find out what I've been reading recently...

Transitioning My Beauty Routine For Autumn

| Transitioning My Beauty Routine For Autumn! |

September has brought the first signs of Autumn; I'm now greeted by a breath of crisp Autumn air when I leave the house in the mornings, the flitting leaves are slowly making their journey one by one from the trees to the ground, the rich golden hour is becoming more frequent gilding the apartment block across the road from me and I detect a hint of chimney smoke on my evening strolls with my dog. With these changes in our environment around us, it's officially time to start making some seasonal changes to my beauty routine and document it on my blog just as I did for my Spring edition. 

I love everything about the Autumn/Winter months but I can't say my skin agrees with that statement. As the weather gets chillier my skin starts to go haywire and it becomes extremely dry. To combat this I need ALL of the hydrating products so I'll be using my Too Faced Hangover primer every day. I tend to use it here and there during the Summer but once the Autumn rolls around it becomes a daily essential once again. 

During the Summer I'm all over the lightweight glowy bases but during A/W I tend to reach for something with medium-full coverage and a satin or demi-matte finish. The Nars Velvet Matte Skin Tint has a soft matte finish and a medium buildable coverage so it's my perfect Autumn base. 

There's just something about Mac's Warm Soul blush that has the ability to make my complexion look radiant and healthy. The deep peachy pink hue is appropriate for all seasons, making it a great transitional product.

For the eyes, I'll be reaching for my Naked Heat palette as I think the rich red-toned, coppery, brown and deep purple shades are perfect for Autumn. My favourite combination from the palette that is quick and effortless to achieve is using Sauced in the crease and pairing it with Lumbre on the lid. This will no doubt be my most used combination during my first few weeks of University.

I'm not ready to don a berry or red lipstick just yet so I've pulled out some deeper nude shades to tide me over until the apt time to sport the quintessential Autumn lipstick hues. Mac Brave and Rimmel Kate Moss 15 Year Collection in 'Boho Nude' are my picks for the transitional period. Both shades are deeper than my usual top 5 everyday nudes but they work well coming into the colder season. I'd describe Brave as a pinky mauve shade whilst Boho Nude is a deep brown-toned nude.  

The weather has become slightly chillier in recent weeks and thus my hands have already started to become dry. I've pulled out my favourite hand cream, a dry skin saviour,  Soap & Glory Hand Food and I have the mini version so it's the perfect handbag essential! Another dry skin saviour is Soap & Glory Heel Genius foot cream which I'll start to apply soon to keep my feet soft, as they'll no doubt have a hard time in the cold temperatures and being in boots 24/7.

How will you be transitioning your beauty routine for Autumn?

Love, 
Cliona xx

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My Top 5 Lipsticks For Everyday Wear

| My Top 5 Lipsticks For Everyday Wear! |

I'm a creature of habit. I rely on reliable routines and rituals and the one makeup product I can always count on is a nude lipstick. Whilst I love branching out every now and then with brighter or deeper lipstick hues, especially during red and berry season, it's the fail-safe nude shades that I usually gravitate towards on a daily basis.

Whenever I'm feeling fancy I like to dig out my Charlotte Tilbury lipsticks and two foolproof wearable shades are Kidman's Kiss and Bitch Perfect. The former being a subtle pink shade so it's a little brighter than a nude but still very wearable and the colour is quite subdued on the lips. The latter is a classic nude shade amongst the blogging community and with good reason! The peachy pink nude offering goes with every makeup look and I'm in love with the comfortable creamy formula and satin finish.

Whenever a long day is on the cards I generally reach for one of my NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams as they last a little bit longer than regular lipsticks. My most-used shade is Stockholm, a peachy nude shade. The non-drying, comfortable to wear formula is what makes them stand out above all other liquid lipsticks for me and I love the velvety matte finish.

Mac Modesty was my first ever Mac lipstick and one that has stood the test of time as it remains to be one of my top five lipsticks. The neutral pinky nude shade is one of those 'my lips but better shades' and it's perfect for minimal makeup days, but it also looks great paired with a slightly darker nude liner and dramatic eye makeup for evening wear.  Another classic Mac favourite of mine is Creme Cup, a pale baby pink shade and the hydrating creme sheen formula is ideal for my everyday makeup look.

What are your favourite nude lipsticks?

Love,
Cliona xx

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Five Favourite Things In The Month Of August

| Five Favourite Things In The Month Of August! |

We've approached the end of Summer and it's time to say hello to my four favourite months of the year. These final few months are truly the most wonderful time of the year *wink wink* and I can't wait to start embracing the cosy season. But before I fully switch to Autumn mode let's take a look back at my last Summer favourites of 2017.

One: August was filled with many days of an ominous sky and torrential rain but Urban Decay's latest scorching launch, the Naked Heat palette added some warmth to the gloomy days. This palette is a warm eyeshadow lover's dream and it's become a staple in my makeup bag. 

Two: Another new makeup release I've been reaching for a lot recently is L'Oreal's Paradise mascara. Every time I apply it I'm left with long, voluminous lashes with no smudging or crumbling, and it's held up well when I've cried too. I hardly ever buy high-end mascaras because I think the high street options are just as good but the luxurious packaging of this makes it feel more luxe than it is.

Three: It's been a hectic month for me with moving house and getting ready to start university soon. I haven't had much time to pamper my skin so I decided to strip back my skincare routine to the basics last month, and to my surprise, it's actually helped clear up my skin. I re-incorporated La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo into my routine and I would describe it as clear skin in a bottle *insert winking emoji* I had been using The Ordinary Niacinamide and Zinc prior to Effaclar, and although I found it effective, due to other ingredients designed to tackle breakouts such as Salicylic Acid the effaclar cream gives better results in a shorter amount of time. 

Four: Last month I kindly received some products from Essence's latest collection - "& the lovely little things" - to try and I found some gems in the range! The standout product for me was without a doubt the "& my crazy family" face palette* which contains two highlighters, two blushes and two contouring powders. The two highlighters are beautiful, one looks like a pale icy white shade in the pan but on the skin, it translates as a dreamy champagne shade, whilst the other hue is a wearable pink shade. One of the contouring shades is slightly too warm-toned for contouring so I use it as a bronzer which is handy as you have everything you need for a healthy radiant complexion in the one palette. 

You can also find a strawberry and mango scented lip balm* in the range and they've been a great addition to my transitional makeup bag. They hydrate the lip well before lipstick application but they're not overly hydrating and glossy so I can still apply them before a matte lipstick. 

I've also been loving "& the love story with my wardrobe " eyeshadow palette*. When used dry there was subtle pigmentation and shimmer coming from the shades so if you're into natural makeup then they would be great! However, if you like something a little bit more intense like I do, then you can wet your brush for a richer pigment and a stunning metallic sheen. The gold shade in the palette was comparable to Mac Amber Lights when applied with a wet brush!

Five: As I previously mentioned, I moved house recently so I enjoyed doing a bit of homeware shopping last month. I think it's safe to say I visited every homeware shop in Dublin from EZ Living to Meadows & Byrne to Sostrene Grene to Ikea to Home Sense! I picked up a few new pretty pieces and I can't wait to create some interiors posts when I'm a bit more settled and everything is ready. 

What did you love in August?

Love,

Cliona xx

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*Products marked with an asterisk are press samples.