Wet n wild collection

A few weeks back I very generously got a lovely package from wet n wild filled with some bits from their new collection.  I usually do a quick intro post but this time I decided to test them in full before posting any thoughts.

First up is the lash Renegade mascara. It's got a cool little round tip at the end of the applicator to reach your inner lashes. I have thin straight lashes and I like the volume this has given them , you can see the before and after here.

it's easy to apply lasts all day and dosnt go clumpy or spidery. This retails at €6.75.

Next I've tested the mega last liquid catsuit,

This is wet n wilds liquid lip colour offering. I have tried the ones from Rimmel and Catrice too but this is my definite favourite it's the most wearable and the longevity is pretty good probably around 4 hours (with eating, drinking & teeth brushing) before needing reapplication. There are seven shades in collection I got two shades but only tried give me mocha as my sister was off on holidays the day the package arrived and she swiped the second.

These retail at €5.00 and I have a feeling these will be like the megalast lipsticks and I'll end up with every last one.

The product from the collection that is on everyone's lips is the Photofocus foundation at only €6.95 is harder to get than gold dust. I bought one when they had it out a few months ago on limited edition but it was way too pale for me to test properly so I'm still on the hunt for this I love finding budget foundations!

The megaglo sticks come in 3 concealer shades and 1 highlight. Retailing at €4.65 I would be intrigued to try the concealer version. I have tested the highlight stick and really liked the shade of it I think it will suit most Irish skin it's easy to apply and blend. I love it over & under my brows.

The standout for me is the Mega Glo highlighting powder it gives a gorgeous glow just the right balance between subtle and way too glowy! I have been using the shade Precious Petals (it comes in 2 shades) and it gives a lovely subtle pink colour along with the highlight. This is retailing at €5.25.

Wet n Wild is available nationwide. This post contains PR samples

Mega Blank Canvas brush guide : eyes

June  is my birthday month and my lovely hubby said he would treat me to some new brushes for my present. I recently bought the F20 brush from Blank canvas and absolutely fell in love it's my go to foundation brush now and so I want to expand my collection. Blank canvas have such a huge range of brushes I got a bit overwhelmed about where to start looking and after hours of googling I decided to put all my findings together and hopefully it will help someone else when they're picking out there brushes.
As the range is so big I have split into a 2 part post this one is eyes and next will be face.
I have tried to fit in as much as possible not all of the brushes are herebut hopefully I can add to it as I add to my collection;)

E03- use for lip liner or highlighting inner tear duct.

E10- use for blending shadow into socket or under lower lash line, great for smaller eyes comes in synthetic & goat hair.

E23- short pencil brush used to smudge under eye shadow for smoky eye.

E24- flat shader used to pick up shadowsnd apply colour before blending.

E25- round top blending brush use to apply & blend shadow.

E26- use for all over application of shadow & for precision blending.

E27 - mini detailed brush use for precise placement and shadow blending.

E28 - ultra fine eyeliner brush use with cream or gel liner.

E32- Tapered brush for applying shadow into crease and blends seamlessly.

E34- vegan blending brush, flat brush use for applying & blending outer corner of eye and along lid.

E35 - vegan flat shader use for placing and shading on lid.

E36- use for contouring or concealer.

E37- pencil brush use to smudge shadow or liner for smokey eye.

E38 - brow finishing brush use with powder or gel to define your brows.

E39 - bent eyeliner brush use with cream , gel or powder to line your eyes.

E40 - flat brush use for placing and shading shadow.

E41- silky soft tapered brush excellent for blending in crease.

E44- a flat multi use brush, use for defining brows, applying shadow on lower lash line and for lining eyes with shadow.


These are all available from Clonaslee Pharmacy https://m.facebook.com/ClonasleePharmacy/

Voya Ritzy Spritzy

I was first introduced to Voya a few months ago during a trip to The Twelve hotel in Barna.
All of the products supplied in the suite were Voya and it definitely added to the luxury of our stay, fast forward a few months when I was asked if I would like to review Ritzy Spritzy I didn't think twice I was just like hells yeah they're products were amazing I definitely want to try more!
It also helped that I am in the final stretch of my third trimester and I was told that Ritzy Spritzy ( isn't the name amazing!) Would help to keep me cool in the hot weather, seeing as I feel like I'm on fire from the inside I doubted it could do me any harm.

So Ritzy Spritzy is an anti-ageing toner from Voya made with an impressive 94.5% organic ingredients the main one being Voya trade mark ingredient of hand harvested seaweed. Voya has very popular seaweed baths in Sligo which sound amazing and have made the top of my must visit list for next years summer holidays :-)
Voya prides themselves on the simplicity and honesty of their products and it really is something they should be proud of.
I tested Ritzy Spritzy daily for over two weeks before this review and each spray was as lovely as the one before. I used it morning after cleansing before applying make up and then at numerous times during the day to keep myself cool and just to refresh my face a little. The second that you spray it you get that luxury that you would normally associate with a salon treatment, one whiff and you can just tell how good the quality of the product is, I hope you understand what I mean by that? I find with lower end products they can be overly perfumed and just smell cheap.
My wrinkles are definitely less visible but I can't give all the credit to this as I am 39 weeks pregnant right now so I know my face is slightly more 'plump' than it would be regularly ;-) but I definitely notice it more hydrated which I will give 100% credit to Voya for. This worked absolute wonders for keeping me cool in the hot weather that we were having during the testing especially as I felt on fire from the inside out!
I was so impressed with the way that it kept me cool while giving me some luxury that the rest of the bottle is currently sitting in my labour bag waiting to provide me with some loveliness in what I am told is a tropical delivery room.

I am seriously impressed with this product and Voya as a brand especially because they are Irish, actually I may try to do another block of my beautiful Irish brands series and feature some more Voya loveliness in the future. Log onto www.voya.ie take a peek and get yourself some of their products if they are all like the ones I have tried you will not be disappointed. 

Beautiful Irish Brands: MONDSS

Today's Beautiful Irish Brands is spotlighting Jane McTernan and her brand MONDSS.

In MONDSS Jane has created an innovative product designed to fill a gap in the market. Jane has told me that before the creation of MONDSS she had previously tried to wear tissues under her arms to prevent perspiration marks on a warm day, now when I heard this I thought I have actually done this too! If like me you have tried this you will know that It does not work very well and so after searching in pharmacies and online for a dedicated underarm wear product Jane found out that no such product existed and so in a very entrepreneurial manner set about creating one. 

Jane came up with the name MONDSS as she wanted link her products with girls best friend diaMONDS with the most amazing tagline of  'Women Don't sweat, they sparkle'. The word  MONDSS is also a catchy short word that Jane hopes to achieve 'SPANX' status with where they would be universally associated with underarm wear! 

MONDSS are exclusively available on www.mondss.com and cost €9.99 for a box containing 10 mondss which is enough for 5 wears.

As always with my Beautiful Irish Brands series I have tried out MONDSS so that I can review them for you.

When I first saw MONDSS they really reminded me of odd shaped plasters that just looked slightly more breathable. The rules with MONDSS are simple, your underarm should be clean, dry and free from hair. You can wear them alone or with roll on deodorant so I tried them both ways for review purposes. I don't sweat that much but in some clothes it doesn't take much to give you a gigantic sweat patch so for my testing days I strategically chose silk tops that are awful for creating patches and deodorant stains etc. They can really only be worn underneath clothes with t-shirt length sleeves or longer.  I found the MONDSS really simple to apply as there is a diagram in the pack that is easy to follow. 

At first you could feel it under your arm like wearing a plaster and my initial thought was I wouldn't be able to wear this for very long. I was really pleasantly surprised when only about 2-3 minutes later It was as if I had nothing on I couldn't feel It at all!

I was worried that there would be a little whiff without deodorant as Its something I wouldn't even walk around the house without wearing normally. I wore the MONDSS all day and tried to do as much activity as possible, I did my weekly shopping, played with my dog and did lots of housework. 

The MONDSS really kept any odour that was there locked in and my top was kept completely free from any patches. I did feel more comfortable wearing them with deodorant on but I didn't notice a difference in odour just a mental reaction I think. 

I was really impressed with MONDSS and think they are a really clever solution to combatting sweat patches and could become a staple for interviews and any special occasions. 

Get yourself a pack of MONDSS and lets help Jane achieve 'SPANX' status with her innovative Underarm Wear. 

Beautiful Irish Brands : Waxperts

Welcome to the latest edition of my Beautiful Irish Brands series. Todays post is all about the wonderful Waxperts and the ladies who created It.

Waxperts was formed in 2008 by friends and business partners Ellen Kavanagh and Trish O Brien. They started off and still are based in Dun Laoghaire Co. Dublin.
The waxperts story is a genuine 'built from the ground up' success story that leaves you really rooting for them once you have heard it. It started as a room in a clinic doing waxing for a small customer base and with grants from the local enterprise board and extreme hard work grew into what it is today a full waxing salon and their own range of wax which is the only depilatory wax manufactured in Ireland and the only of its kind in the world. It is currently used in over 300 salons in Ireland and the UK, there is also the extremely exciting news that waxperts are going to be breaking into the US market after recent talks with the worlds number 1 waxing brand! ( i'll have to leave you guessing on what that brand is)
Both Ellen and Trish are beauty therapists who solely specialise in waxing and client safety and hygiene which is why they have a 'no double dipping' policy that they and every salon that uses the wax abides by.
Waxperts have a number of products that include hot wax, strip wax, pre wax oil, after wax oil and finally Ingrown hair pads which I have reviewed for you today.

Let me start off by telling you that I am the poster girl for ingrown hairs that go bad! I cant even count how many times I have had to visit the doctors in the last few years to get medication to reduce inflammation ect due to ingrown hairs. So when I was sent my ingrown hair pads I of course already had some that I could immediately begin testing on. One of the ingrown hairs I had was definitely making its way to being a doctor visit one. To use the pads you simply take a pad and rub over the area you want to treat after showering.
I used the pads every day for 3 days to get rid of the ingrown hair which was inflamed to about the size of a marble on day 1. I really fell like im giving TMI on this but I think its really good to know just how much of a lifesaver these ingrown hair pads are. For me to be able to reduce an ingrown hair by just using a pad has been a bigger lifesaver than I can express. The pads have also meant that the ingrown hair has disappeared with no scarring or scar tissue which unfortunately I have too much of. Thank you Waxperts I will never again be without these pads and fingers crossed I will never again have to be subject to the pain of ingrown hairs, I am only sad that I hadn't found these sooner.

The pads rrp is €9.99 available from www.waxpertswax.com

They are also available on cloud10beauty and dolledup although the pads are so good that they are currently sold out in all of these places! Keep your eyes peeled for when they come back into stock I know I will. 
Have you tried any waxpert products or been waxed in a salon that uses their products. Let me know in the comments.
You can also find me on twitter @clareken86
Instagram: sparkleblossombeauty

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Beautiful Irish Brands : Dreamdots

Hello Everyone, Welcome to the second post in my new series! As always in my Beautiful Irish Brands series this post is about more than a simple review this series is about spotlighting the Brand so first we will meet the lady responsible for bringing us dream dots. DreamDots are the brainchild of entrepreneur Donna Ledwidge who has already has huge success in the business world from owning her own salon at aged just 21 in 2004 to creating other brands Stickcons- rhinestone shoe kit and as co-developer of wow-brown tan.

How do you go about creating a product like this?

“I suffered with acne when I was a teenager and although I got it under control in my early twenties I would continue to get severe breakouts every few weeks. I decided my next brand would target this problem”. Quote from DreamDots creator Donna Ledwidge. 
DreamDots are an emergency overnight patch designed to calm, clear and heal breakouts.They are CE, BSI and FDA approved and are also Vegan and cruelty free. 
It is said that dreamdots can be used by everyone and as part of any skincare routine.

So down to the review part. I received my pack of dream dots a few weeks ago and like many other bloggers I have spotted chatting on twitter I was actually hoping to have a breakout so that I could get the chance to test them! So after about a week of waiting I got myself a whopper of a spot, the only problem was it wanted to stay underneath my skin as one of them spots that just stays huge,angry, red and hurts like hell at all times. So I was thinking Its not a proper spot yet so It wont work but It was really sore so I said I'd go with it and hope for the best. The dream dots are like small round clear stickers, there is no fussing with them you just peel them off the backing and press them on the spot. The only thing you need to do is cleanse the area before and after and wash your hands after contact. I never felt anything having the patch on was completely unnoticed. I was delighted the next morning as the dream dot had completely taken away the sore, tight feeling that I had. It had reduced pretty much all of the inflammation and made It so this once angry whopper of a spot was completely unnoticed with a little concealer. I used the dream dots on this again the next night and by the following morning It had completely dissappeared. 
I am just recently married (March) and for a few months before I was constantly reading articles about your must haves for Bridal emergencies. Dream Dots should be on top of all of these lists! It is honestly the most useful thing that Brides, Grooms or anyone could have in an emergency Kit a serious problem solver that actually works. 
Well done to Donna and her Dream Dots team on such a fantastic and innovative product. 

Dream Dots retail for €14.95 for a box of 24 dots. 
You can buy direct from www.dreamdotsforspots.com

Or from pharmacies across Ireland. 

Have you tried dream dots? Please leave a comment I read and reply to all. 
I recieved the dream dots as a pr sample this has in no way influenced my review.

Budget Face In Products Part 1

Welcome to my brand new blogpost series! I really enjoyed doing my face in products series and I knew I wanted to do something similar again so I began brainstorming and came up with a budget version. I have planned for this series start to coincide with my 1 month blogiversarie! And I plan on posting a new post from this series every Friday for the next 5 weeks. Every face of the series will come in complete at under €20 (or very close to it!) and in most cases much much less.

The majority of the products I'm using for this are really new to me and so I am trying to push myself to experiment with the make up in ways I wouldn't normally. Some of the products have been kindly sent to me by the brands, my opinion on these products are my own and I will place a * beside these products. 

For my first installment I have created a daytime casual make up look using only 4 products and all coming in at the budget price of €15.44.

First up was my base Wet n Wild Cover All Foundation. In the interest in keeping the final look as budget friendly as possible I haven't used any concealer or powder to set this. This foundation claims to be medium to high coverage and I'd go more toward the medium, it took a lot of product to cover my face two squeezes to be exact. The consistency is good a little on the watery side though. It was easy enough to apply this look was done with a stipple brush but I later tried it with a sponge and that was way better. I used shade light/medium and I'm a mac nc 20-25 just for reference.  This foundation comes in at €4.99 and for that price it's ok for a daytime base. 

The second product I used was Make up revolution blush. This was in shade  treat, it's a deep coral/pink colour and at €1.20 it's perfect for adding a pop of colour. 

Next up is * W7 soufflé mascara in Blackest black. As those of you who read my blog will know I'm very fussy when it comes to mascara as it's not just any mascara that will make my lashes well look like lashes! 

This mascara has a really big thick brush that reminds me of the brush from Benefit BadGal. 

The BadGal is silver, soufflé is blue. You can see here just how similar they are.

 It goes on easy feels light and leaves lashes really nicely defined. It's light enough to do up to 3 coats which leaves lashes really full and defined. In my opinion this is a definite dupe for Benefit BadGal mascara and a steal at only €6.25. 

Finally I pushed myself a little for this I used Makeup Revolution focus & fix eyebrow kit. I used this on my brows but this kit has 3 different shades for brows so I also used this kit for today's eye make up. I used the lightest and darkest shades for my eye look and the middle on my brows. The lasting time wasn't amazing on my eyes but it may last longer with primer. At €3.00 it is perfect for a multi-tasking handbag essential. 

As always find my before ( it was very very early) and after selfie . 

I hope you loved this post and are as excited about the new series as I am. 

As always find me on twitter @clareken86 

And Instagram : sparkleblossombeauty

Mane n Tail #shareyourhair

Back in April Mane n Tail otherwise known as 'the horse shampoo people' were tweeting about hair selfies under the #shareyourhair. The idea was that you sent them a tweet of a hair selfie and a brief description of your hair type and they would very promptly reply to you with a personal product recommendation. I'm always looking for anything to make my hair look good as it can be a bit wild!
so I tweeted my pic along with my description and I short while later I received my recommendation.

I was advised to use Herbal essence shampoo along with deep moisturising conditioner.
I was originally a bit hesitant at the idea of using the herbal essence shampoo which I had read was great for oily roots on my already dry scalp but I was assured that the shampoo contains olive oil and so would balance the PH in my scalp meaning that it would not dry out my roots.
And so the trial began!

so before I started my hair was frizzy, dry, pretty damaged on bottom because I had been growing it forever for my wedding.
I love the smell (I have a thing about smells!) of the shampoo, and the consistency of both products is good and you can tell instantly you don't need to use as much as with other products which instantly makes it better value for money speaking of they set me back just 8.95 each.
It took about two weeks of me using the product before I saw a difference in my hair but wow what a difference it was.
My hair wasn't a big frizz ball anymore it was definitely a lot sleeker than what id been living with and was getting healthier looking with every wash, it also developed a really nice shine :)

I love how clean my hair feels from using this shampoo and I really cant get over how healthy it was looking!
one of my favourite things about this shampoo is the way it actually thickens your hair and helps with growth ( I'm trying to convince my hubby to use it on his bald patches!!)
the deep moisturising conditioner that I use can also double as a hair masque, you just put it in and wrap your hair in a towel and leave for about 20 minutes, it really works and is as good as any luxury hair masque I've ever used.

So in conclusion after a total of 3 months only 2 bottles of shampoo & conditioner a haircut and a week in the sun and sea my hair is the healthiest I've ever had it :) its soft, frizz free clean, thick and most important really healthy. I have found my perfect shampoo & conditioner and will be sticking with these ones.
I'd recommend for everyone to #shareyourhair and find your perfect match.