Author: brightandbeautyfull

OMChristmas 2013: Guaranteed Irish Gifting

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GUARANTEED IRISH We are a small island, but we make a whole lotta stuff. It’s not all jam and rashers either — although! I can thoroughly vouch for the deliciousness of the brown bread that comes from Fitzpatrick’s Woodlands House Hotel in Adare, as I have scarfed that up myself during a stay there, reviewing Revas Spa for the Irish Tatler Spa awards earlier in the year. Must post about that here…

Anyway! I spotted a loaf during a recent presentation from Guaranteed Irish, a showcase of the very best that Ireland has to offer during the festive season. Everything looked gorgeous, and it was a revelation to see how well-represented the Irish touch is, in terms of self-care — and by self-care, I mean beauty products and candles. Candles are so important.

IRISH STILL LIFE 1I wanted allll the candles. Having been made familiar with the Cloon Keen brand, thanks to their presence in the Shelbourne Spa, I was happy to see them represented, and was also happy to meet a new brand, about which I will talk below.

I don’t even know what’s on this table, and I’d enlarge it but I was so overwhelmed, it’s a little bit shaky. Maybe not overwhelmed as such, just dead impressed at the lovely, lovely things arrayed before me.

Here’s more:
IRISH STILL LIFE

And here’s a small round up of things that I love, and think you — I mean, your loved ones! — will love, too.

IRISH BIA feed your skin
BIA BEAUTY Feed Your Skin set {€80} includes Mellow Mandarin Moisturiser; Orange & Grapefruit Exfoliant; Stop the Clock Eye Gel; Apple Blossom Body Butter; and Detox Body Scrub. All take their scents from essential oils, and the scrub in particular is terrific for treating cellulite. There’s more info at the Cork-based concern’s website on biabeauty.com.

GREEN ANGEL face cream set
O, seaweed! Is so awesome. GREEN ANGEL offer up their fab duo, Daily Moisture Face Cream & Night Cream {€39.99} I can personally gush about the day cream: it is so silky and absorbs perfectly, yet feels so rich. I love the little blast of aromatherapy too, as the Jasmine and Neroli are invigorating enough to give me a wakey-wakey boost in the morning, but not so much that I am bouncing off the walls. Go to greenangel.com to see the full line.

IRISH PIXY TEMPTING GIFT BOX €14.95
All of PIXY NATURAL SKINCARE’s Christmas offerings are priced under €20! I myself am tempted by their Tempting Gift Box {€14.95} which comes with a heart-shaped soap, two skin nourishing mini bath bombs, a creamy lip balm, and the Internet’s favourite Lime Body Scrubs, also heart-shaped, and a perfectly natural exfoliating treat. See pixy.ie for more well-put-together gift boxes.

LA BOUGIE
Ooh, LA BOUGIE! Also from Cork — what is going on down there, is it like the locus of creative beauty entrepreneurs or wha’? — the company present us with candles in an array of scent combinations that are spectacular. Pictured is my very own Sweet Pea & Pear 140g candle {€19.95}, and I gotta say, I am deeply attracted to the Ginger & Black Pepper and the Honeysuckle & Sea Salt. This bad girl will burn for 40 hours; there’s 220g versions that burns for 55! {€29.95} Go for the glow on labougie.com.

IRISH VOYA
VOYA is also a purveyor of Irish seaweed-infused products, and here’s three gift sets that pretty much are like their ‘best of’ collection of hits: the Organic Voyager Set {€40} features 75mls each of Squeaky Clean Body Wash, Softly Does It Body Moisturiser, Silky by Nature shampoo and Forget Me Knot conditioner; 1,2,3, Glow {€58} comes with a full-sized Ritzy Spritzy facial toner and Cleanse & Mend facial cleanser, and a mini 7ml jar of Me Time moisturiser; the Body Gift Set {€48} Softly Does It body moisturiser and Squeaky Clean body wash. Not pictured is the Hair Gift Set {€40} Silky by Nature shampoo and Forget Me Knot conditioner. The full complement of product is on voya.ie.

NAT'L PRINT MUSEUM FAIR
The Christmas Fair at the NATIONAL PRINT MUSEUM runs from 29, 30 November and 1 December; rock up on Friday between 16.00-20.00, and on Saturday and Sunday between 11.00-16.00. It’s free to enter, although your wallet ought to be lightened considerably once you clap your eyes on all the artistic, unique offerings. There are also make-your-own opportunities for all the family, although I’d say it’ll be a bit late to be hand-printing your Christmas cards, hmmm? See nationalprintmuseum.ie for directions and the like.

Also, for more creative goodness, check out TALBOT GALLERY & STUDIOS on Talbot Street, D1 and their Selection BOX exhibition. All the artworks are 12 inches x 12 inches and priced at €200, making for an affordable start/expansion of your collection. Find the list of artists here; I bought a picture a couple of years ago, and it’s really one of the nicest things you can do for yourself — loved ones! Loved ones! Everybody! Art is for everyone!

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Have You Ever Used Up a Lippy? Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter

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I don’t think I ever have, even before I began to enjoy the beauty-journo perquisites.

I am close to using this all up! In the case of Revlon’s ColorBurst Lip Butter, it is not merely down to propinquity, but its rich, luxurious texture.
REVLON STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE 2

Propinquity because it is near to the computer I sit at when designing at TV Now Magazine two days a week. When the morning’s lip gloss/stick wears off, and I have maybe forgotten to put it in a pocket, or am too lazy to dig it out of my shoulder bag {SRSLY}, I have been reaching for this, and have been very happy.

In fact, there are days when I am like Where is my fabulous little lip butter? and remember it is not at home.

That texture is down to being loaded with mango, coconut and shea butter; a gel formula is mentioned in its description across t’Internet, but ‘lip gel’ isn’t as delicious-sounding as is butter. Whatevs: this has a balm-y feel that I love, and I reapply it the way I do a lip balm, even if the colour doesn’t need it.

Almost all gone!
REVLON STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE 1

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€11.20/£7.99/$4.79
^ O.M.G. Okay, I realise that currency conversion is a fluid, fluctuating thing, but the difference in price here is shocking and appalling. No wonder we all go crazy shopping in the States!

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OMChristmas 2013: Wow! Hatbox from LUSH

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Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh! This happens every year: the press releases start rolling in, in September, and I get all, Oh, Christmas is miles away…; and then the launches start, and I think, Hmmm, time is flying!; and then the day comes when it is mid-November and I go Shite! There is like six weeks to go! Let the scrambling begin!

LUSH do a great line in beautifully designed and packaged Christmas gifts, and this has to be the most spectacular of them all, ever. It is crazzzzzy full of their signature holiday stuff, mainly in the bath ballistic/bubble bar line, as the freshly-made scrubs and cleansers wouldn’t make their sell-by dates.

LOOK:

WOW INDEED

In actual real life:

photo 1

That’s how big the box is. I had initially taken a photo of the box with a pencil lying on the floor, because… I don’t know why, because people used to use pencils for scale, much less writing? I can’t even believe I had a pencil in the house! Then it occurred that the pencil was ridic, and I used the Snowman instead.

I was so eager to paw through this that I didn’t take any photos of the interior, so will have to do this the old-fashioned way and use my words. There are three stacked trays with 32 individual compartments, in which resides each product, and the whole shootin’ match is full of styrofoam beans to keep everything from getting smashed. The assortment includes shower gels, bars of soap, bath melts, lip tint, lip scrub, and an array of the ballistics and bubble bars, and couple of body creams.

Since I’ve finally figured out how to run a decent bath in this place I am living — because the immersion is like the size of my kettle — I took several of the bits for a test-bathe. It was so hard to choose!

> I loved the look of So White and wanted very much to be in a tub full of whiteness, just like Cleopatra and her famous milk baths. It was, for about two minutes, and then the core was exposed, and turned the water a really dark red. I wasn’t mad about the scent, either.

< Hearted Father Christmas tonnes, even though I hated to see his merry smile fizz away. He’s a bit fruity, stuffed full as he is with mandarin oil and orange blossom absolute; don’t tell Mother Christmas…

> Wasn’t crazy about Cinders, and didn’t feel that the popping candy, which is embedded in it, worked all that well. But! My skin felt stupid silky afterwards.

> Adored unconditionally Lord of Misrule, which renders the water a deep, dark green, and the fumes rising off it are imbued with Fair Trade vanilla absolute and patchouli.

> Also very much loved the Christmas Eve Bubble Bar. I have not liked the bars much in the past, but this is where Lush really do stand out: they keep improving all their formulae, and I must say, this has really gotten better. Much better bubblage than before!

LE BOMBS

Fab Four: Father Christmas, Lord of Misrule, Christmas Eve Bubble Bar, Bombardino

> I am deeply swoony about the Snowcake Soap, which is evocative of marzipan, which I only like in small doses. Not so this! Big doses of this soap, please!

> I was also taken with the new Rose Jam Shower Gel, but not so much with Snow Fairy. The former has some lemon oil in it to give it a bit of bite; the latter is just too sweet for me.

> Also was hearted, big time: Bombardino. Based on an aprés-ski Italian bevvie, this is full of Sicilian lemony goodness, and made me want to drink the bath water, which is disgusting on so many levels.

Barely scratched the surface! There is so much clean in this big box, and so many different textures and ‘flavours’, it’s the perfect gift to not only club in on with, say, three other family members, but you can also get away with buying this for a bunch of nieces, and not look scabby. Seriously, I’d say it’d take two people the guts of three months to go through all this, if not longer!

THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING…

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Okay, wait for it — €169.95/£129.95/$249.95.

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Tried & Tested @ The Herald: Primers

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I used to resist primers because: how much stuff did I actually need to put on my face, and also, sheer laziness. Then I started actually using them instead of giving out about them, and I am such a fan. See here! for capsule reviews of a handful — or should I say a faceful? — of a variety of primers on the market.

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Ask Andrew! Mr Dunne From Mane Salon Answers Some Knotty Questions

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ANDREW DUNNE from MANEAndrew Dunne is the Irish Colour Ambassador for Wella, and one of the hand-picked colour specialists who represent Wella and P&G on the global stage. Winner of The International Trend Vision Colour award 2009 for Ireland, he was voted Colourist of the year,  and was inducted into the Hall of Fame, in 2010.

So, clearly, he knows about colour + hair. His work on my own head appears here, and it’s one of the more popular posts on Bright & Beauytfull. Since people ask me about hair allll the time, and since I’ve only got expertise as relates to my own, Andrew kindly agreed to answer some of the more frequent questions…

1} I dye my hair black, always have, always will. Lately, though, the colour is not lasting past ten days. It looks like growth, but it’s not — it seems like the colour is washing straight out. Going lighter won’t suit me, and on top of it all, my hair is dry. I can’t understand why this happening, or what to do about it. Can you help?
Mary, Co. Kerry
Hi, Mary! The answer to your problem is in your question: the products you are using are working at dyeing your hair and not colouring it. The dyes just stay in the hair and have very strong, heavy pigments in them; a good professional colour will open your hair to allow new micro-pigments to enter your hair, so the shine will come from within. Not all salon carry products like this, so do your research before choosing a salon that’s the real deal.

2} How can a lady in her 40s update her look without looking like an eejit? There are so many new technique out there, and I want to be on trend, but I don’t want to, like, chop all the hair off and then dye what’s left turquoise. Any advice?
Bridie, Co. Dublin
Hi Bridie! First off, go to someone who know how to break it all down, let’s start with the colour and the way choosing the right tones works its skin and eyes first, then hair. If it works on your skin and makes your eyes pop, then the hair comes alive. Then regarding the shape, look for the focal points on your face as in: eyes, lips, cheekbones, jawline, and create a shape that shows off your best features. Now bring the cut and colour together and that’s the best trend in the world to follow: your own trend.

3} Fringe: yay, or no way? I feel like it took me about six years to grow out the hair around my face, and I like it sweeping back, but I am always thinking about chopping a few lengths over my forehead. This is cheaper than Botox, can just a few locks be sacrificed to the cause, locks that could maybe be tucked back in somehow?
Sue, this blog
Well, Sue, most of the time it comes down to the size of your forehead; that determines the type of fringe that you can wear. The general rule of thumb is: the bigger the forehead, the fuller the fringe. The biggest mistake most people make is not committing to a proper fringe, as it must be the focal point of the whole haircut! Instead, they half do it and it just doesn’t work — and they start growing it out a week later. I’d say go to someone who understands face shape and how fringes impact on them.

4} Do colour protect shampoos really make a difference?
Matilda, Naas
The difference between professional products sold in a salon and cheap products sold in smaller chains is massive, and getting bigger by the day. But if your hair is not coloured properly in the first place — as in, low volume of peroxide, the right colour for the right skin tone, the right technique — no colour protect shampoo is going to make a difference. Make sure your hairdresser uses the most gentle products possible while colouring your hair so as not to damage your beautiful locks.

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Mane Salon is located in The Grooming Rooms, 16 South William Street, Dublin 2. Prices range from €100-160 for colour and €60-80 for cut.
Ring 01 672 5177 for an appointment.

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I Used It All Up: Dove Purely Pampering Body Cream with Shea Butter and Warm Vanilla

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On the very day that I Used All V329158_PS1340-C1of the above Up, I went to get me brows did, as ever in HD style at Carter Beauty, Blackrock. The lovely and talented Katie and I were nattering about product, as ya do, and she mentioned how much she herself loved this particular body cream. What are the chances!

This is a little tub of goodness and great value: at €6.49 RRP, and even though I was hoarding it, this really did last a relatively long time. I mean, if I used it every day it would still have lasted ages. And when it became apparent that this was going to join the IUIAU crew {that is the worst acronym ever}, I tried to UIAU faster, but it simply wouldn’t allow me to do so.

But eventually {sob} I did indeed make it all go away.
DOVE PURELY PAMPERING goneso

Katie says she found this to be a miracle product for extending your self-tan, which, even as winter prepares to get its grip on us, is still an issue, given all the holiday parties about to erupt on the scene.

I love Dove, and have always been a fan of the classic bar of soap: it feels so soothing going on, and the scent of it is so clean. I have not been much of a fan of shea butter in the past, disliking its smell immensely. I think the warm vanilla ingredient has mitigated that nutty shea nutshell smell in this case, and combined with whatever that essence it is that makes Dove smell so fresh — well, it’s a winner.

And texturally, for a product at that price point? Amazingly rich, but with excellent, smooth coverage that absorbs quickly. A miracle!

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More Crazy Face: Origins Clear Improvement™ Active Charcoal Mask To Clear Pores

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I am allll about minimising my pores these days, and photo 3I’ve been gasping to try Origins Clear Improvement™ Active Charcoal Mask for ages. It’s been sitting there on my sink for said ages, patiently awaiting its employment. Such was my yearning that I left it there, unusual because even though my own employment has a siginificant amount to do with products that need to be tested under bathroom conditions, I hate to have the sink all cluttered up. This stayed fast, and finally I got around to giving it a go.

The thing is, hot water is an issue in my gaff. Now, the Americans reading this are gonna be all like, ‘WTF?’ It’s not that I don’t have access to hot water, it’s just that it is a pain/very expensive to fire up the immersion {The what, howl the Yanks}, and this mask requires the use of a cloth dunked in hot water and then applied to the face — to open the pores, ya see. My power shower runs off its own heating element, and it took me ages to realise that I could run the shower, wet the cloth, and then proceed. Must be the American in me that continued to equate hot water with the faucet {The taps, shout my Irish readers.}

Got there in the end!
photo 2

I once tried a charcoal mask, I think it was from Sanctuary Spa, that warmed up on your face, on contact, and it was amazeballs. This is texturally much better than that one, but even with the hot cloth — or perhaps because of it — it didn’t get all that warm, which was a disappointment.

I was very, very happy with the way it — I was going to say ‘dried’ but in fact I am happy because it didn’t dry, it was more like it ‘set’. I do like a nice, tight, squinchy mask {TWSS} but this gave the squinch without the drying feeling. It was pretty perfect, to be honest. This is it, almost dry:
photo 1

Srlsy, that still has some shine on it, which I take to mean it is not going to dry out yer gob.

How did my pores feel? Shrunken, in the best possible sense. The minimisation project has been going well, and I’ve been noticing a real improvement in texture and general glowiness. I’ve got a few other products that I’ll be talking about soon, but this mask is a great place to start, should you like to join me on my pore-shrinking adventure…

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100mls: €29/£22/$24

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Tried & Tested @ The Herald: Night Creams

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Some days I wake up and all I can think about is going back to bed. Especially at this time of year, especially on a day like today, when it looks like it doesn’t know what it’s going to do, and you just know it’s going to err on the side of gray rubbishy crap weather.

So, see here for a whole bunch of night cream options to send you and your skin nicely into the dream time.

I’m counting the hours…

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Just because: hilare; from this post.

CLARINS eye mask fail

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How to Youthify Ageing Hair: Pantene Pro-V Youth Protect 7

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Pantene Pro-V Youth Protect 7 Shampoo and Serum €3.45 RRPI write this with one eye closed, because: denial. I mean, okay, hair thins as we age, etc, etc, but yeah, I’d prefer to go lalalalalalala in my head. My head, which even as we speak is sprouting locks at a slower, thinner rate. Nooooooooo!

This issue wouldn’t have been brought to my attention but for receiving samples for Pantene’s latest collection in the Pro-V vein, Youth Protect 7. The 7 refers to the 7 signs of youthful hair, or less optimistically, the 7 signs of ageing hair. I’m going with the former, thanks, as attitude is everything.

Ageing follicles show more than those pesky grey hairs, and healthy hair is the very picture of shine, fullness, smoothness, strength, resilient ends, damage-free and hydration. Now, I do think it’s arguable that we each have our personal issues with our hair — one woman’s lack of smoothness may be another’s tendency to greasiness — but I do believe that if you make the effort to mind anything about your person, you’ll see improvement. I used to have terrible split ends until I stared using hair masks and intensive treatments. Since I have been, I’d totally forgotten that they were ever an issue, until just this minute.
Pantene Pro-V Youth Protect 7 Conditioner €3.45 RRP
So! Proof that taking care of business really does work, and further proof that success is due to a commitment over time. It is with that feeling of hope, then, that I tried out Pantene’s new shampoo, conditioner, and their 1 minute treatment.

I am a fan, in general, of Pantene, as far as over-the-counter hair products are concerned. I’ve always been happy with the result I get from them, and at €3.45 each, you’re not going to go too far wrong. Additionally, you can use what I consider to be a pricey product’s amount of either and still get a good result; often, the less expensive shampoos and conditioners require you use more, and then go through it faster, and then mitigate your savings.

Not so here. I got a grand wash outta the shampoo, and I found the conditioner in particular to go a long way. The real eye-opener, however, was the 1 Minute Wonder Ampoule that I used the second time I gave this a go.

Pantene Pro-V Strength Shine 1 Minute Wonder Ampoules €5.69
You get three minutes for €5.65, and they may be the best three-minute investment you’ve ever made. Now, I am sure I left this on longer than 60 seconds, in the same way that when an intensive mask says to leave it on for 15 minutes, I most assuredly do not. So, I’m not gonna vouch for the time frame, based on actual stop-watch watching. I will say with authority that the texture felt rich, that the contents of the ampoule were sufficient unto my loads of hair, and that when I rinsed it out, my locks felt nice and soft, even when still wet.

Et voilá:
ON THE DAY
That’s on the day, with no styling. Like, I did the blow dry in my usual haphazard fashion, but put in no styling products, before, during or after.

Shiiiiiiny! And, hopefully, actively youthifying my follicles.

Next up: 7 in 1 Hair Perfector BB Créme. BB Cream for the hair, you gasp? Indeed!

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Red Alert! Things That Are; Not Just Lippy

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Because I like red. Loads.

SALLY HANSEN Right Red Fred
It’s been ages since the World Famous Super Model Thumbnail™ has made an appearance on this page. Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Right Red Fred {RRP€8.95} is warm red, and that is the brand’s vaunted one coat > meaning, one coat will get you salon coverage. Perfect for us lazy arses who are bad at polishing their nails.

RIMMEL As You Want Victoria
Rimmel London Moisture Renew Lipstick in As You Want Victoria {€6.49} is purely luscious. It feels as soft as a balm, but the pigment! Not what you’d expect from something stuffed full of moisturising vitamins. It isn’t the absolute best for long-wearingness, but blot a couple of times and reapply and you’ll get some mileage out of it.

ARMANI red
And here she is again! Giorgio Armani Nail Lacquer in Four Hundred {€24} is a one coat application as well, and a bluer red, which I tend towards. It is so shiny, you’ll be tempted to eschew a top coat; do use one, if only to make it last even longer.

LOREAL
I have been going-to my L’Oreal Paris GlamShine Stain Splash in Juliet {€12.29} since I got it, and it may be the first lippy installment in I Used It All Up. As shiny as gloss, as light and yet not nearly as drying as stain, this is a spectacular red, and the look will last through hours of talking and drinking. I did quite selflessly put that to the test — anything for you lot.

LOUIS VUITTON Capucine £3250
There is a smaller version of the latest It bag, Louis Vuitton Capucine {£3,250*} that does not look as if Michelle Williams could fit her entire self in it, with room to spare for her keys and cell phone. This snap of the page of Vogue is likely as close as I’m going to get to this, but oh! The silhouette! The brazen redness of it! I die.

FITFLOP FLAME
‘Why is everyone staring at me?’ I wondered grouchily — then I looked down. I had forgotten I was walkin’ around in my FitFlop Super T Sneaker in Flame {£34.99 via clogg.co.uk}. Red shoes make peeps very starey! {These are, in fairness, very much an orangey red…} I had a pair of red patent leather Doc Martins that inspired New York drivers to shout ‘Nice shoes!’ out their windows as they passed.

I got these in a larger size than my usual, as my previous pair of Super Ts still has not broken in properly. I am not super mad, as it’s not really that FitFloppy in terms of support, not old school FitFlop, in any case. Still, it gives good sole, and had I bought the Gogh Moc Snake clogs in Snake Jam (red) instead of Choclate (self explanatory), they’d be featured here to much greater acclaim. Nice wedgy sole, great to walk in, and they make my ankles look skinny!

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*AHHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA

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