I think my skincare addiction is a little bit out of control. I have so much stuff but yet last weekend I found myself trawling the Feel Unique website sale for more new additions – the sale is amazing by the way. I think I have at least 10 cleansers and many serums and lotions and potions that I’ll never finish. But I just can’t help myself. I thought I would quickly share with you three products that are new to me that I’ve really been loving lately.

Garnier Oil-Infused Micellar Water – I know the Garnier waters are a bit of a staple for many but I picked up this newer oil version recently. The oil version is great for my dry skin but it’s also really good for removing more stubborn eye makeup. It also doesn’t cause me any irritation. I use a micellar water to take of an initial layer of makeup before I go in with my wash off cleansers. This one is also a bargain at just €8.29 for the large 400ml bottle. A great pick for anyone with dry skin.

B. Confident Hyaluronic Acid Facial Spritz – I’m a bit of a sucker for anything with Hyaluronic Acid in it because I have dry and dehydrated skin. I also love nothing more than a spritz product. I use it after cleansing and before I apply my serum and moisturiser. I’ve also been using this one at my desk in work as the air can be very dry from the air conditioning. I really like this, it definitely softens my skin and perks it up. There’s a slight hint of something menthol off it which is nice and refreshing as well. The only slight gripe I have about this is the price. The bottle is relatively small at 75ml but costs €11. The B brand is only sold in Superdrug but they regularly do offers so you might get this one on half price. I got it on a buy one get one free!

Alpha H Balancing Cleanser – I got this cleanser as part of a gift set with Liquid Gold in the Christmas sales last year. I mainly wanted to try Liquid Gold (which I didn’t love – sorry all LG fans! You can read my review here.) I didn’t really give the cleanser a second thought. I started using it recently as a second cleanse after an oil based cleanser and do you know what? It’s really lovely. It leaves my skin feeling so clean and fresh but without any residue or dryness. It’s quite a liquid consistency that comes in a pump (yay for pumps) but does a great job of cleaning skin and leaves it feeling really soothed. This one is a real winner and definitely one I’d buy again. It costs €29.95 but it’s a big 200ml.

So my skincare obsession continues and these are just some of my current favourites. Please enable me and let me know if you’ve any current skincare picks!

I bought all products mentioned in this post.

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I am really trying to save all my sheckles at the moment so am trying my very best not to buy all the things but am regularly failing. So to keep myself on track I thought I would share some my favourite budget buys to inspire me. I’m going to start with makeup. Here are some of the budget buys that I love!

Kiko Intense Colour Long Lasting Eyeliner (€7.50) – I would like to apologise for my Kiko eyeliner not being in the photos. I was at a hen party last weekend and my clutch bag fell open. A load of my stuff fell out and I thought I’d gotten everything back but in my slightly tipsy state I missed two items – my bank card – and my new Kiko eyeliner. I’m not ashamed to admit that I am more upset about the eyeliner! I can’t get Kiko here so will have to order online. This eyeliner is fab and I think I like it better than my *gasp* Urban Decay 24/7 liners and that’s saying something. It glides on and doesn’t budge all day, which is difficult with my watery allergy prone eyes. A total winner and a bargain!

Penneys Mini Makeup Sponges (€2) – Aww just look at them, they’re so dinky! I picked these up given my recent Beauty Blender obsession. There are three little sponges in slightly different shapes in the pack. They’re not as good as the Beauty Blender but as they’re only designed for concealer they do a good job of getting coverage under the eyes and around the nose. And they’re too cute!

Botanics Radiance Balm (€8.49) – Ok I know everyone and their mother bought this last year when it gained fame but I only got around to buying it a few weeks ago. It’s a gorgeous sheeny liquid that I find quite cooling and moisturising on the skin. It reminds me a little of the Benefit That Gal primer. It leaves a lovely highlight that I can definitely still see once I’ve applied my foundation. Botanics is a little Gem of a brand I tell ya.

Makeup Revolution Iconic 2 palette (€6) – Ok so no secret that I’m a Makeup Revolution fan but it’s started to bug me that they copy other products so much. I much prefer when I see them release palettes that are just theirs, they’re edgy and cool anyways. One of their original releases were the dupes of the Naked palettes. I picked up this Naked 2 dupe a while ago but have been using it quite regularly lately. There’s no arguing that these palettes aren’t original but they are very good quality for the price. They’re not Urban Decay quality in terms of wear time and pigment but they give decent colour payoff.

Catrice Liquid Camouflage Concealer (€3.99)  - You can’t beat Catrice for a budget buy, there isn’t much they do wrong that I’ve tried. When this concealer was launched many people compared it to the classic Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer (another great budget buy). It doesn’t give as quite high coverage but is also less drying that the Collection one. I have dry skin so this one works a bit better for me especially under the eye area. I own the palest shade and it’s really pale so would suit really fair skins.

NYX Butter Glosses (€7) – Well these are a bit of a classic beauty buy but it’s a lot easier to get them now that NYX counters are popping up in some of the larger Boots. The counters I’ve seen so far in Dundrum and Jervis are massive so you are spoilt for choice with the full range of Butter Glosses. I love these as they’re high colour with a glossy finish without being sticky. I also find they last longer than normal glosses. They’re like my type of Pokemon – ‘Gotta catch em all’ – bonus points for working Pokemon into this post!

So that’s just a handful of my favourite budget buys. Do you have a special budget pick that you’d add to the list?

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Ok I officially have a problem. I own more cleansers than I know what to do with! When I started this blog my main addiction was nails and makeup. This has now switched to skincare and an over enthusiastic obsession with cleansing!

I wasn’t always an angel with my skincare and have a teenage past littered with face wipes! But over the past few years this has been replaced with two step cleansing, serums, eye creams and moisturisers. Love it and my skin has never looked better! I have dehydrated skin ( it lacks water) that can be sensitive so I have to be careful with the products I use. I don’t use any foaming or oil control type cleansers but tend to stick to oil/cream based cleansers.

One of my favourite cleansers at the moment is the Clarins Melting Cleansing Gel but it’s almost all gone. It’s a gel formula that melts into an oil when you massage into skin. Recently I came across a great post here from Karen over at Lovely Girlie Bits where she recommended the Botanics Hydration Burst cleanser which sounded identical to my favourite Clarins one.

This stuff is just fab and a total bargain. It’s practically identical to the Clarins cleanser. It feels like a light gel and it turns to oil as you start massaging into the skin. It does a great job at removing even heavy makeup including my waterproof mascara. It leaves my skin feeling nourished but very clean and soft. This has a lovely list of ingredients the main being olive oil and also includes jojoba oil and clary sage extract.

The biggest selling point of this cleanser is the bargainous price! This costs just €8.29 from Boots – a total bargain as it really competes with the Clarins product which is more spendy. I can’t help but think Botanics is a really overlooked as a skincare brand. I have used their solid balm cleanser before and it was brilliant and this is another winner for me! Have you tried anything by Botanics?

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Kiko Skin Trainer CC Blur

I’ve always been a little skeptical about primers in general. I’ve used a few over the years and I find I use them for a few weeks but they generally just fall off my radar. The other thing I am guilty of is buying things on whim and that’s how this one happened!. I showed you my little Kiko haul a few weeks ago and one of the impulse purchases I made was the Kiko Skin Trainer CC Blur. I bought it because I thought maybe this one was going to change my run of primer luck!

I kind of feel like I got cornered on this product, it happens the best of us! I was wandering around a giant empty Kiko store with a fairly full basket and one of the sales assistants obviously knew I was out to spend money. She demo’d it on my hand and it made a quick difference to my skin tone on my hand as it’s tinted and has that smoothed silicone feeling. She also told me three times I was the palest shade and in my head I was like ‘I get it lady I know how pale I am’ :-).

This product is designed to smooth skin, blur pores, reduce shine and make skin tone look more even. It also claims it will ‘conceal the signs of aging’.The product has a very similar tone/feel to the Benefit Porefessional Primer, with its main ingredient being silicone oils. This product doesn’t claim to help the longevity of makeup but does claim it will help skins hydration levels overtime, so it is more of a skincare product really.

When I apply this the difference is very subtle on my dry/sensitive skin. It does a good job of making skin look matte, I can see the difference around my nose but it’s such a subtle change and it’s hard to capture it on camera. It does make skin look slightly smoother but I don’t think the tint makes too much difference. I’ve been using this for four weeks now and I haven’t really noticed much difference in my skin hydration or ‘signs of aging’.

So does this rock my world? No not really! and this isn’t a cheap product at €19 so I don’t think it’s something I would buy again. This is my problem with primers. They just don’t really make a massive difference for me. Yes they make my skin feel a bit smoother and my makeup might apply very slightly better. But for me I just don’t know that they’re justified both in price tag and the extra step in a routine. I realise ladies with oilier skin might find them great but they just don’t make a big enough difference for me. What do you think? Are you a primer fan?

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Clinique Moisture Surge Gel Cream (€29) - I LOVE this moisturiser it does a brilliant job at moisturising my skin without feeling sticky and heavy. I just ran out of my last pot before I headed on hols. I saved €16 by buying this in Tenrerife as its about €45 at home.

Estée Lauder Double Wear Light (€25) - this is my foundation of choice at the moment. It gives great coverage and a lovely not too matte finish. This was a bit of a bargain as it’s normally €38 here so I saved €12. You can see a before and after of this foundation in this post.

Kiko Skin Trainer CC Blur Primer (€19) - the sales assistant in Kiko persuaded me to buy this one but I’m kind of regretting it as I’m normally disappointed with primers in general. It’s a silicone type tinted primer designed to even skin tone and leave a slightly matte base for makeup. It feels like a nice consistency but I’ll let you know how I get on with this.

Kiko Water Eyeshadow 342 (€8.90) - I already own one of these in a great burgundy shade here. They’re really highly pigmented and last ages once you have them on. I decided to go a bit bolder and get his orange gold shade which I think will be nice for the summer blended out with some bronze shades.

Kiko Dark Circle Tone Eraser (€8.90) - in hindsight I think this might turn into one of those products that I always forget to use. I have quite a dark under eye area and find it hard to conceal it properly. I liked the consistency of this yellow toned primer when I tried this. It feels quite moisturising while offering decent coverage, I’ll let you know how I get on with it!

Kiko Nail Polish 805 (€1.50) - Their regular nail polishes were all on offer so I couldn’t pass them by!

Kiko Luxurious Lashes Waterproof Mascara (€3.75) - all of the Kiko mascaras were heavily discounted in the store so they must be repackaging or reformulating them. I can only wear waterproof mascaras as I wear lenses and any other mascara will smudge badly. This mascara is huge, I’m not sure why they make the tube so big. I am liking this one so far though.

Kiko Intense Colour Long Lasting eyeliner (€5.20) - they have a huge selection of eyeliners but I opted for the super pigmented one. I’m hoping this one might compare to my favourite Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in Smog, I’ll keep you posted.

I think I was quite reserved with my purchases as there was so much more I could have bought! Do you spot anything here that you like? I really wish there was a Kiko store here but it’s probably better for my bank balance that there’s not!

The post Holiday Haul! appeared first on Beauty Angel.

I love an oul’ body oil. I have quite dry skin and love to get out of the shower and apply a body oil straight away allowing it to sink in. I’ve used loads of different types over the years and love The Body Shop body oil in particular but it’s a bit spendy. I was pottering around Penneys and spied this oil right next to the Bio Oil, wink wink If you’re familiar with Bio Oil this stuff looks the exact same colour but in a taller bottle.

This ingredients are below but this contains a mix of peach, sweet almond and evening primrose oil. It also contains vitamin E. This mix is quite different to Bio Oil which contains Calendula and Lavender Oil as well as Vitamins A and E. So despite appearances the ingredients are a little different.

I’ve been using this daily for a few weeks now and I’ve definitely noticed a difference in the texture of my skin. I’ve particularly noticed it at the tops of my thighs. I normally find skin there a bit bumpy and I’ve a few small stretch marks and my skin there is definitely looking a lot smoother. So as well as the moisturising effects this is definitely helping the texture of my skin.

This product doesn’t claim to do the same thing as Bio Oil but I’ve definitely seen a reduction in some small stretch marks and an overall improvement in my skins texture. I’ve never used Bio Oil myself so I can’t do a direct comparison but I’d say if you can’t afford to splash out and your skin needs a bit of TLC this is well worth trying out. It costs just €4.50 for 150ml so I don’t feel too bad using it as liberally as I do! This product just reminds me how Penneys have really upped their skincare and makeup game. Are there any Penneys beauty bargains you’d recommend?

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Usually I’m the source of cool beauty finds in the family but I was in my Mams bathroom recently and this little pot from L’Occitane (never pronounce that correctly!) was sitting on the ledge. Not one to resist a new beauty product I had to try it out. I’m a big fan of L’Occitane hand creams so was expecting good things!

I feel like my hands are starting to show their age a little lately and look really dehydrated. I’ve been trying to use my Hand Chemistry hand cream as much as possible as that’s one hand cream I’ve seen visible differences with. But my hands still look a bit parched.

This product is what it says on the tin a one minute hand scrub. I always find pots like this a bit messy but it’s such an oily product I’m not sure how else you could package it. The scrub is made of brown sugar in a Shea, sweet almond and grapeseed oil base. It feels quite gritty but it didn’t feel too harsh on my hands probably because of all the oil. It doesn’t even really take a minute to give hands a good scrub I think about 30 seconds is enough to see and feel a result.

After using this my hands were left feeling super soft and nourished and I can see why my Mam has been raving about it. My hands are definitely looking less dry and I’m hoping if I continue with this once a week and keep using the Hand Chemistry my hands will be transformed! Have you tried this one? Let me know if you have any hand saviours!

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Estee Lauder Double Wear Light – I know lots of Double Wear devotees out there but it’s one that’s just a tiny but too heavy for me but I love the light version. I had this foundation years ago but never replaced it. I usually wear Revlon Colorstay but I find lately probably with stress it’s been a bit drying on my skin. So I spontaneously bought this one again and I’ve been loving it. It’s a medium coverage with not too matte a finish and just lasts really well on my skin without drying it out. I wear the lightest shade 1.0 so this probably wouldn’t work for super pale ladies.

No7 Pop & Glow Cream Blush and Mango Sorbet – I love a coral toned blush and this cream version from No7 is just perfection for spring with its bright coral colour. What I really like about this one is how long it lasts. I’ve worn this to work for the last few weeks and I definitely see evidence of the blush at the end of the day. This isn’t usually the case for me as I’ve such dry skin. The quality of this has also made me curious to try their contour and highlight versions of these.

Soap and Glory Kick Ass Concealer – Ok funny one here, I’m not overly fussed about the concealers in this, they’re fine but are a bit too creamy and the tones are slightly off for my skin . What I really love in this set is the concealer setting powder. The powder really reminds me of the Makeup Forever HD powder in terms of the blurred finish it leaves on your skin and it’s also the white colour. It really mattifies skin and blurs pores without feeling heavy. Soap & Glory have just brought out a translucent version of their Kick Ass pressed powder and I hope it’s the same as this one as it’s fab!

Beauty Blender - I sing Rhianna to myself when I think of this one ‘Where have you been all my liiiiiiiiiiiiiiife……..’ In case you missed my glowing review last week here, I absolutely frickin love my Beauty Blender. It’s just perfect for my dry skin and quite simply my foundation has never looked so good. I like it so much I had a dream the other night that I got loads more of these, clearly I need help!

So there you have a quick peek of some of my favourite products at the moment. Let me know if you’re a fan of any of these!

The post Current Makeup Favourites appeared first on Beauty Angel.

With the Beauty Blender you dampen the sponge a little bit and use it to press foundation onto the skin. It’s kind of fun to use, It reminds me of painting as a kid or something. I like that the sponge doesn’t absorb too much foundation but just the right amount to apply it onto skin. The sponge gives great coverage without feeling too heavy. It also works perfectly for my dry skin as the sponge is slightly damp it leaves a lovely feeling on the skin.

I’ve definitely noticed a much better finish to my foundation and it lasts much longer than usual. I’ve noticed by 4pm in work that my foundation is still looking pretty good and hasn’t sunk into pores as much as it would if I had used a foundation brush. You can see the lovely finish it gives below using my current favourite Estee Lauder Double Wear Light foundation. I’m not wearing any other concealers or products in the photo below so you can see the Beauty Blender helps to give really good coverage on my redness and dark circles.

The only slight issue I have with the Beauty Blender is around cleaning it. I’ve only had it two weeks now and have been trying to figure out the best way to clean it. I read the best way is to soak it in soapy water overnight. I did that and was surprised at the amount of dye that came out of the sponge. I was also surprised that the overnight soak didn’t get rid of all the foundation stains. I tried using a bit of oil cleanser but even that didn’t remove the stubborn foundation. This just concerns me that the Beauty Blender may not be super hygienic but I’ve since read that ideally you should clean it after every use which I’m going to do. Still I’d imagine you’d need to replace this every few months or so.

Having said all that I really love the finish that the Beauty Blender gives to my foundation, I can’t see me switching back to my brushes any time soon. I’ll just be trying to keep it super clean and will replace it regularly enough. The Beauty Blender isn’t the cheapest at €24 but given the results I would happily pay that for it again! Love it! You can buy the Beauty Blender in Space NK on Grafton St in Dublin.

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I’d like to start by apologising for my lack of posts over the last few weeks. I had to move out of my lovely apartment and things have been a bit all over the place. Moving is definitely not a fun experience!  I find it very hard to blog when I’m stressed but fortunately things have calmed down a bit and my blogging mojo is slowly arriving back. So I thought I’d start back by giving you a review of the famous Alpha H Liquid Gold…

Ehhmmmmm……. Not sure where to begin with this one as my conclusion might be slightly controversial. Alpha H Liquid Gold is one of those holy grail products that every dog and divil goes on about as being an essential for your skincare routine. Its status is what prompted me to buy a gift set on sale from Look Fantastic after Christmas.

For those of you not familiar with Liquid Gold in a nutshell it’s a glycolic exfoliator. So you just put a bit on a cotton pad and swipe it over your skin, the glycolic ingredients dissolve old skin cells to leave more glowing and smooth skin underneath. Liquid Gold contains 5% glycolic acid, which is interestingly the same amount as Pixi Glow Tonic – it also contains alcohol as the second highest ingredient after water as well as glycerin and licorice. The ingredient list isn’t massively special and the high alcohol content doesn’t sit well with me!

The recommended method for using Liquid Gold also raises some eyebrows. You’re supposed to apply it to cleansed skin every second or third night and apply nothing after it, just leave your skin be. I was initially hesitant to do that as my skin is quite dry and sensitive. When I apply this it stings a bit but it goes away after a few seconds. I was worried my skin would have a strong reaction but apart from the stinging there wasn’t any other irritation from this.

I’ve been using this since January but I just haven’t fallen in love with it. I know *Gasp* from everyone who thinks this is a holy grail, super-duper, miracle product but it hasn’t really blown me away. It definitely left my skin feeling soft but I haven’t noticed any major lasting changes to the texture or pigmentation of my skin.I still have small patches of rosacea with a few bumps here and there and my skin just seems a bit more dry. Now I don’t have bad skin and have been using Pixi Glow Tonic for years so maybe I couldn’t expect anything too dramatic from this but I’ve just been left feeling a little underwhelmed.

If you’re new to glycolic products my recommendation would be to try Pixi Glow Tonic first and see how you get along with that. I’m not sure I’d repurchase this as I think overall Glow Tonic is just a better fit for my skin type as it contains the glycolic ingredients but also more skin soothing and moisturising ingredients. Liquid Gold is also spendy enough at €40. I’m afraid I haven’t seen a big enough difference with Liquid Gold to justify the pricetag or the sting!

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