Get Away Gorgeous with Benefit and the Morgan Hotel

Benefit Cosmetics have partnered with the über-stylish The Morgan Hotel in Dublin to offer a girlie getaway package called 'Get Away Gorgeous'. The package includes:

• An overnight stay in the very stylish Morgan Hotel with breakfast the next morning
• A Benefit Cosmetics masterclass in a private room in The Morgan where you can play with Benefit products, get your make-up done and learn some tips and tricks from Benefit staff. 
• Tapas platters and cocktails to get the party started during the masterclass!
• A Benefit goodie bag containing sample size products and other treats to take home with you. 

Benefit's new re-formulated Creaseless Cream eyeshadows, the penthouse terrace at The Morgan, yum tapas! 

Prices are from a reasonable €100 per person. A minimum of ten people is required but this would be perfect for a hen party. For bookings and enquiries, contact The Morgan. 

Aussie Miracle Shine Shampoo and Conditioner Review

I've taken a step outside my hair comfort zone recently - that comfort zone being Pantene Aqua Light shampoo and conditioner, which I have used religiously for years. I have the kind of hair that starts looking lank and greasy (ugh) the day after it's washed, and before the days of dry shampoo and my beloved Aqua Light it really needed to be washed every day to look half way decent. With Aqua Light, my hair feels really clean and light and I can get away with not washing my hair for up to three days if need be without turning into a total greaseball. (Sorry if all this talk of grease and not washing my hair is TMI!). So you can see why I've stuck with it, but the problem with it is, prolonged use has made my hair dry at the ends, and fly-away. 

Recently, I've been trying out the original Mane 'N Tail shampoo and conditioner* which I didn't get on well with (although Mags liked the Deep Moisturizing version) and Aussie Miracle Shine shampoo and conditioner*. Now, normally I wouldn't touch any shampoo promising shiny hair with a barge pole, because shine equals silicone and in my mind, silicone equals lank, heavy hair. Not with Miracle Shine, I'm happy to report. 

These products make my hair super soft, sleek and shiny, but without the weight. And I'm still getting a few days out of a blow dry. Sold! 

Our Picks for Spring/Summer Nails from the New Collections

Ah, the Irish summer. It was great for those two days that it lasted. Over the May bank holiday weekend, I got out the sandals and summer dresses and optimistically packed away my jumpers and Uggs. I don't care if it feels like we're in the depths of winter again, they're not coming back out until at least September. I'm nothing if not hopeful (read: delusional)! Another part of the aesthetic that gets a bit of a shake up with the change of the seasons is, of course, the nails. Out come the brights, the neons and the pastels, while the red and dark vampy polishes get banished to the back of the collection again for a few months. These are some of our favourite summery polishes from recent collections.

From left to right: Barry M Greenberry from their Gelly Collection - Max Factor Marshmallow* from the Glossfinity Collection - NYC Lexington Yellow* from the Vivid City Collection - Sally Hansen Purple Heart* from the Sorbet Soirée Collection - Rimmel Jazz Funk* from the Salon Pro Kate Moss Collection -  Bourjois Adorea Bleu* from the Rendez Vous à Paris Collection - Sally Hansen Get Juiced* from the Sorbet Soirée Collection. 

I'll also be cracking open old summer favourites like Essie's Bikini So Teeny, American Apparel Neon Red, and Orly Oh Cabana Boy. Do you have favourite summer nail polishes?

Beyonce Pulse NYC

After the bank holiday weekend I don't think that Beyonce is ready for the jelly of my belly but this weekend is unofficially BEYONCE Weekend as she is set to perform in Dublin and drive us all Beyonce Crazy.  While I am not lucky enough to have tickets I have seen her perform before where she literally took my breath away, she is so stunning.

So this weekend I might not get the opportunity to be stunned into silence (no small task) by Beyonce's beauty and talent but I can enjoy the smell of Beyonce - well her latest perfume release anyway.  Pulse NYC* was created by Beyonce and inspired by her adopted home, the city of New York.  She wanted to pay an ode to the city that never sleeps and created a bottle which looks like a skyscraper and a beautiful scent which is perfect for spring, which is my favourite time in New York.

The fragrance breaks down as follows
Topnotes: sparkling raspberry, rich pomegranate and juicy pear
Middle notes:  a floral middle of peony exotic Jasmine and rock orchid which is Beyonce's favourite flower (she sees it as a symbol of self confidence and it is in all her perfumes)
Base notes take on a more sensuous nature with notes of patchouli, cashmere musk and red velvet cupcake.

I have to be honest when I heard that Beyonce wanted the scent to capture the scent of New York I was a little sceptical, I have been to New York a number of times, it's my favourite place on earth to escape with the girls, or your sisters (I am afraid to bring himself in case he will give out about the crowds and ruin the whole New York experience on me.) New York can be an assault on your senses, the bright lights the noise of fire engines and police cars and the smell.  Well lets just say I think of  how New York smells and I think of garbage and multiple restaurants. 

When I smelled Pulse NYC I was reminded of a different New York,  the sweetness that you smell from the roasted honey peanut vendors and of course cupcakes which has been captured here for the first  time in a fragrance

The fragrance is young and sweet like New York on a spring day (the best time to visit), it's bright and full of promise.  Sweet but not sickly sweet.  Modern but not bonkers.  I have some love/hate feelings about the bottle.  I love that it represents a sky scraper, it's sleek and minimal and there are beautiful details (like a B on the underside of the bottle).  The blue lid/top represents one of Beyonce's stage outfits and this is the bit of the bottle that I don't like, on your counter it looks great, very modern in a "I'm not sure if this painting is upside down or not" kind of way - but it is way too bulky to carry in a handbag and it would get knocked off in the bulk of my bag.  The bottle has been carefully designed with  beautifully sleek features but if they had a removable little lid that would be perfect.

Beyonce Pulse NYC is available now and costs €25.95 for 30ml which is good value for a perfume.  So if you're missing out on the Beyonce Concerts this weekend, stick on a Beyonce CD, buy this perfume and dance around the living room shaking your booty - or in my case my recently inflated belly. 

Since we are having a little chat about New York I thought I would throw up some pictures of a visit that I made there a million years ago (an approximation). If you are ever in New York I would highly suggest a visit to Serendipity 3 which is a restaurant but ignore that part and go for the deserts which are to die for.  We had to take a visit after it was featured in the movie Serendipity with John (he who always wears long leather coats) Cusack - it would have been rude not to visit.  In the picture below you will see a quite hysterical me and Redser.  I was hysterical for a number of reasons - 

reason 1 - we were reinacting the scene from Serendipity when the waiter caught us rapid - morto and very funny
reason 2 - Myself and SileC ordered the same dessert - which was flipping massive and when Redser came out (she being hungers mother) we found it hysterical that hers was much smaller than ours
reason 3 - did you see the size of that dessert that's a lot of sugar.

We couldn't get over how massive the dishes were - looking back at the pictures they don't look too big (only the size of my head) which is kinda scary cause obviously our portion sizes have gone up a lot in the past number of years.

Yep I am just so happy eating my massive desert and wearing a Baby G watch in a non ironic way (I am dating myself here but really they were the Michael Kors of their day).    (I think I might also be wearing a Carrie style horse shoe necklace that I bought in Chinatown and promptly broke out in a massive rash from).  Ah New York what an amazing place.

NYC Applelicious Balms - a handbag must have

NYC Applelicious Balms* were one of those products that I was keeping my beady eye out for, I had seen them on You Tube and on American Blogs and really wanted to try them.  I thought why spend a tenner on a Revlon Lip Butter when you can get one of these babies for less than a latte.  My trusty NYC did not let me down - they are a handbag must have.

We are huge fans of NYC Cosmetics here at Emerald Eyeliner, they are the brand that have really shown us that you can get some really good affordable cosmetics and these Applelicious Balms are for me lip balm perfection.  Each of these balms has a moisturising core - and it's literally a core in the shape of an apple which is just about the cutest thing I have ever seem (the shape doesn't smudge or go away as you use the product which is nice) they have a hint of apple flavour which is delicate and not overpowering, exactly what you need in a lip product.  There are five different shades in the range available in Ireland and I have three shades to show you today.

How adorable are Applelicious Pink, Caramel Apple and Big Apple red? 

The Apple Balms give you shiny colour while moisturising your lips, basically a lip two for one.

The colours swatched below are in the same order as shown above.  I think the arm swatches show that although they are a balm you get a very decent amount of colour pay off.

Caramel Apple leaves a soft natural sheen to the lips

Applelicious Pink give a pretty pink vibrant lip - this would be a great product to try if you want to try vibrant lips but you're a bit afraid.  It gives you a bright wash of sheer colour.

Big Apple Red gives the lips a pure juicy red wash of colour.

 

These amazing little lip products are so easy and convenient to use.  I have had one in my jeans pocket at all times over the past couple of weeks - If I am being honest I meant to post about these much sooner except I misplaced Big Apple Red (in a pair of jeans).

I think Applelicious Blams are a must have for everyone from your teenage sister to your nanny. Not only do they hydrate your lips but they also give beautiful colour with a slight hint of apple flavour and the best bit (besides the cute apple core) is that they cost €2.49.

Illamasqua Lipstick in Immodest - Me likey the colour, me no likey the lipstick.

I have a lot of time for Illamasqua, I love the ideals which they stand for, their independent nature and the fact that they stand up for the individual.  Spring saw the release of the Imperfection Collection which had some amazing speckled nail varnishes and a very interesting looking blush brush.  I always try and pick up something from each of their collections which are always innovative and their artwork is always phenomenal.  As I am a bit of a sucker for the bright lipstick I was very interested to try the lipstick Immodest from the collection.

I have a couple of Illamasqua lipsticks which have left me underwhelmed, so underwhelmed that I decided I would never buy another one again (famous last words) until of course I saw the brilliantly bright Immodest.  I had hoped that Illamasqua had improved the formula of their lipsticks - they have not.  Immodest is a beautiful colour, very pigmented, in pretty packaging but that is where its good qualities end.  Its a matte finish which is notoriously a difficult finish to work with but Immodest brings difficult to a whole new level.  When you apply the colour it grabs and pulls,  it makes you feel like your lips are being pulled off, the colour doesn't apply evenly and you're left with blotchy lip colour, while your lips have had the sensation of being pulled off.  Not a pleasant application, which I could almost live with if the lipstick looked ok when applied - it doesn't look pretty, it looks uneven and blotchy.

It was very difficult to cover the lips evenly with colour and while the shade is very pretty I think it appears chalky on the lips.  The texture is also very uncomfortable to wear. Below is the best I could get the lipstick to look on my lips.

To get the lipstick to apply at all evenly I found that using a lip balm underneath helps the lipstick to apply smoother and  more evenly, this dilutes the shade of the lipstick but I find its the only way to wear Immodest.  Below is a pic with Immodest over lip conditioner.

I am really disappointed with Immodest, the lipstick is so hard to work with, too much work has to be done to make the lipstick wearable and ain't nobody got time for that.  I am kind of shocked that Illamasqua have not sorted out their formulation especially when drugstore or chemist brands such as NYC and Rimmel are making amazing lipsticks at a fraction of the cost.   Illamasqua lipsticks cost £16.50, I picked mine up from ASOS with a discount code.  Do me a favour and remind me not to buy another Illamasqua lipstick until they improve their formulation.

Estee Lauder - Bronze Goddess - Illuminating Powder Gelee in Heat Wave

For me the smell of the Summer is always Bronze Goddess, if you're not aware, every summer Estee Lauder release a makeup collection which includes a fragrance called Bronze Goddess and it is happiness on holiday in a bottle.  The smell makes me so happy that last year I went overboard and bought two bottles and even at the rate that I spray, inhale and breath deeply thinking I am someplace rather more exotic and exciting than Dublin I didn't quite finish them. 

This year's Bronze Goddess Collection is simply stunning and while I don't need the perfume (although a word of warning if you're after this highly sought after scent get it NOW because they are like Irish Summers, they don't last long, and when they are gone they are gone with not a glimpse until next year).   The centrepiece -for me - of the collection is the Illuminating Powder Gellee in Heat Wave.   Estee Lauder have created a tri blend product which is a powder, gel and liquid hybrid which basically creates a really smooth consistency.

Heat Wave is like a sun burst in a package, the beautiful art deco rays of sun embedded in the product make the product almost too nice to touch. ALMOST.  I was already a fan of the Gelee products but the golden colour of Heat Wave makes it the perfect highlighter to go with bronzed skin (which I don't actually have but it still works beautifully on pasty Irish skin).  The feeling of how smooth the gelee is amazing, I was recently at a lunch with some other beauty bloggers and when I took this baby out it went down a storm (tropical storm if you like).  If you are near a Estee Lauder counter I urge you to swatch it.  Last year I got a back up of the Bronze Goddess Gelee but I didn't even put a dent in the first one as it lasts so long. 

You can see from the swatch above that Heat Wave gives a beautiful golden glow but this is not just a product for your face, you can use it on your legs, your decolletage or you can draw a big golden love heart on your belly - whatever you wish.  If you want a bit more oomph from the product you can spray some water on a sponge and apply it slightly damp.

I was trying to get a good picture of it on my cheekbones, but with our overcast skies it was hard to catch it in the light and the only picture seems to be a zoom in of my nose and me looking very cranky indeed - sorry about that. Personally I have to be very careful with this product because I love it so much I want to cover my whole body in it and I can be quite heavy handed at the best of times, so if you see a Golden Robot type person walking around Dublin it may in fact be me.

If your are interested in Heat Wave Illuminating Gelee I would get your ass into gear, I can see this selling out as quickly as the Bronze Goddess scent.  It costs €39.00 which can make even the most makeup savvy draw breath for a highlighter but I think it's worth it.  Estee Lauder are one of those brands that create quality products - I used to think that they were a brand for my mam (some of the lipsticks do have a hint of 80s frost going on) but once you try the products your converted by the quality and will go back to repurchase.