Budget Buy #3: Boots Vitamin E Gentle Eye Cream

If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you'll know I've really been struggling with seborrheic dermatitis around my nose and chin for the past couple of months. 

Unfortunately, I was banned from using any products on my face which has left my undereye area very dehydrated.

Now that it's finally clearing up, it's time to get some moisture back into my skin.

Last week I was gallivanting around with LilliWhiteRose and her beautiful daughter. 

I mentioned my under eye situation and asked for some product recommendations. 

She automatically suggested the Boots Vitamin E Gentle Eye Cream. It's currently on sale for 2 for €5 so even if I didn't like it, it wouldn't break the bank. 

You can see what LilliWhiteRose thought about this cream here. 

The cream claims to be light and easily absorbed, non-greasy and suitable for all skin types. I've got to say, I totally agree. It absorbs quickly and you only need to use a tiny amount. It also contains SPF15 which is always a winner in my book. 

They also say this will help to reduce fine lines, puffiness and within 4 weeks, dark circles.

As soon as I apply this, I can see a visible reduction in puffiness and I've noticed my skin is looking much more plump than it was this time last week. I haven't been using it long enough to say whether or not it reduces dark circles but from what I've seen so far, I imagine I'll be seeing good results within the next few weeks. 

They recommend you apply this by dotting around the eyes and blending in upward strokes with your fingertips. Remember to always use your ring fingers when applying products around the eye area as they're the least rough and stabby of the digits. 

This normally retails for €3.99 for a 15ml tube and can be found in store or online. 

I know Superdrug do a similar product so it would be interesting to see how it compares to this. 

Let me know if you've tried either eye creams and what you thought of them! :) 

Thanks for reading ♥

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Urban Decay Naked Flushed Review

I purchased the Urban Decay Naked Flushed trio in the shade Naked a few months ago. I really don't like writing negative reviews but I won't pretend to like a product if I really can't stand it. 

This little palette contains a blusher, highlighter and bronzer.

The swatches below were applied to the palest part of my arm as you can't see them very well against 

any other part of me as they don't stand out properly against my skin tone.

The blush is a pretty, matte, deep pink shade. After swatching it I thought it would be the perfect colour to add a little flush to my cheeks. Unfortunately, it didn't blend very well and left me looking a little like a toddler had done my makeup.

The highlighter just wasn't... highlighty enough for me. I like my highlighter to be so shimmery that I blind animals and small children. This is more suited to someone who prefers a subtle glow.

The bronzer is matte. I don't understand why they thought a yellow, rusty mud shade would be a good colour to contour with but hey. When I applied this like I would my usual bronzer, I looked like I'd been Tangoed. 

When worn all together, I looked ridiculous. Think Homer Simpson's makeup gun. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures to show you the full result as my eczema means I can't wear any makeup at the moment.

I think the blush and highlighter would suit a paler skin tone nicely. The bronzer would look quite nice in the bin or in a box under your bed.

If I hate to rate this out of 5, I'd give it a 1.5. 

Urban Decay have now released three other shades of the Flushed palette. You can find them here.

Have any of you tried any of the Flushed palettes? Maybe I just got a bad one?  

I'd love to know how what you thought.

Thanks for reading! :) 

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Nail Care Routine

I've been taking a lot of care of my nails over the past couple of months as I've been trying to grow them out. I have brittle, weak, bendy nails that break very easily.
By following this routine, I've seen such an improvement in the strength and length of my nails.
I'll also show you a couple of ways to easily remove staining from your nails.

I'll start with stain removal, I do this about once a week to get rid of any yellow discolouration on my nails.
You can either do one or both of these depending on how bad the staining is. You can also use a buffing block but that can really weaken your nails.
First of all, get yourself a whitening toothpaste and rub it into your nails for a couple of minutes. Once you're finished, rinse off with water.

Next, add a spoonful of baking soda to a small bowl of water. (I never use exact measurements, just go with whatever looks right to you.) You can add lemon juice to this mix but I feel like citric acid is a little too harsh for my nails.

Next, you need to submerge your nails for 5-10 minutes. I like to rub my nails gently with the baking soda while I wait.

Now, it's time to put some moisture back into our nails. For this, I use sweet almond oil. I use a Q-Tip to apply it but you can clean out an old nail polish bottle and fill it with the oil, then use the brush to apply it. I do this at least once a day but  try to do it up to 3 times a day.
You need to massage this into your cuticles, nail beds and underneath your nails - once they're long enough - until it has been absorbed.
For me, this is the most important step as it keeps your cuticles moisturised and stimulates blood flow to the nail area helping them grow.

Finally, apply your base coat or any nail strengthening treatment as directed. You'll need to wait 30 minutes to an hour while the oil soaks in before doing this or the polish will peel off.

I'm not sure why my nails are showing up so yellow/orange in these pictures because they don't look anything like that in real life...

If you're wondering about filing, trimming and cuticle pushing, I tend not to do any of these until totally necessary. Once every 3 weeks or so. I know that sounds like a long time but my nails really don't grow very fast and my cuticles are always nicely pushed back without me having to help them. I also don't recommend cutting your cuticles.

Let me know if you have any tips for taking care of your nails, especially if you've found something to help with breaking and bending.

I hope you found this post helpful :)
Thanks for reading! ♥

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EcoTools: Fresh and Flawless Brush Set

If you read my last Dublin haul post, you'll know I picked up the EcoTools "Fresh and Flawless 5 Piece Completion Set".

This was my first EcoTools purchase and I don't see it being my last.

As you can see there are 5 beautifully decorated, bamboo handled brushes in the set.

There is a guide on the inside telling you what each brush can be used for which makes this perfect for beginners.

The brushes are extremely soft and all the bristles seem to be secured well. 

I haven't washed them yet but I have spot cleaned them with The Pro Hygiene Collection brush cleaner and they've held their shape and haven't lost any softness.

My favourite brush is the Buffing Concealer Brush. I use it to apply the finishing powder in the Soap&Glory Kick Ass Concealer. 

The only brush I don't have a use for is the Foundation Brush as I much prefer to buff in my foundation, nothing against the brush. 

If you read my blog regularly, you'll know that I use the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge to apply my powder. I recently purchased the Soap&Glory One Heck of a Blot powder and I love using the Full Powder Brush to apply it evenly all over my face. 

I'm really impressed with this little set and I think it's great value for money at €15.59 in Boots. I can't find it on the Boots site but FeelUnique stock it.

I hope you enjoyed this post :)

Let me know if you have this brush set and what you think of it. ♥

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Models Own Hypergel: Cerise Shine

When I was in Dublin I picked up a Models Own HyperGel polish in the shade Cerise Shine. 

appreciate my double jointed thumb

It's not often that I find a nail polish that I truly love but this is one of the exceptions.

I tend not to put any pass on the whole "Gel Finish" thing companies keep slapping on their bottles so I wasn't really expecting it to give anything more than a high shine finish. I can't say it gives a full gel look but it definitely comes close. 

It's extremely glossy and very pigmented. 

The brush is a little too thin, I have tiny nails and I find it quite hard to use. 

The formula is a little gloopy but seems to be self leveling so if it looks a little uneven straight after application, just wait a minute and it should have sorted itself out. 

I found it needs two coats to make it completely opaque. I think a wider brush would make for a one-coat application. 

Overall, I love this polish and would certainly pick up more shades if we had a Models Own stand in town but we don't... Sigh.

Have you tried any of the HyperGel polishes? Let me know if you like them and what colour you got! 

Thanks for reading ♥

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Lush: New Products: Bath Bombs

I spent the day in Dublin yesterday undergoing an EEG (please let me know if you'd like a post on this) afterwards I was feeling rather exhausted and in need of a pick me up. I headed towards Boots for some retail therapy.

I didn't actually plan on going into Lush at all but from across the street, I saw a sign for the May Day bath bomb. Curiosity got the best of me so I popped on in.

I picked up the little badger faced bath bomb and instantly knew I needed it. It contains Fennel, Rosewood and Bergamot oil which have cleansing, brightening and antiseptic properties leaving you feeling uplifted. Lush say that it has a sherberty fragrance but I personally get a slightly more liquorice scent from it. I usually run a mile from liquorice anything but this is very muted.
If the cute factor alone isn't enough to reel you in, proceeds from the sales of these little guys (excluding VAT) go to organisations such as Save Me who work to vaccinate badgers and in turn prevent them from being culled.

I also picked up the Granny Takes a Dip bath bomb. This bath bomb contains ginger, pepper and lemon oils. Again, a scent I usually wouldn't go for as anything citrus scented gives me a migraine but the pepper and ginger scents manage to balance everything out.
The lady helping me out in the store told me that the outer ring of this bath bomb is actually a bubble bar so, not only do you get psychedelic bath water, you also get to soak in a relaxing bubble bath.

I'm really looking forward to using both of these! 

Have you picked any of the new products from Lush? Let me know :)

Thanks for reading ♥

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