Step by Step Tutorial, my everyday look and new brushes!

I just did a quick step by step photo tutorial on how I've been doing my everyday makeup lately!

First, I apply foundation to the back of my hand and apply it to my face using a stippling foundation brush (more on this brush at the bottom of the page!) using circular motions until your foundation is well blended in.

 I've been using this Catrice Infinite Matt foundation lately and have just bought a 2nd bottle of it because I really like how it looks on my skin.  Its the lightest shade (010 Light Beige) and at €6.99 a bottle its hard to beat!!

When my foundation is on I usually fill in my eyebrows using a dark brow matt eyeshadow and an angled brush.  Between years of using creams for psoriasis and the chemo I had last year my eyebrows aren't very noticeable any more so I like to fill them in!

Next I put some Too Faced Shadow Insurance on my eyes to stop it creasing or disappearing from my eyes!  I've been using this Collection 2000 Peep Show eyeshadow palette for the last couple of weeks, its really great and best of all it was FREE when you bought the mascara!  The 4 colours are great for creating neutral looks!  I applied the lightest colour to my eyelids and then added some of the brown on the bottom row to the outside of my eyes and blended it using my new Inglot blending brush.  I sometimes add a little of the black colour to the crease to darken it up, I don't really do the barely there look!!!

 Next I took my new Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in the blackest of black shade 'Perversion' and applied it to my waterline and a small line on the top of my eyelid.  Then I put on my Collection 2000 Peep Show Mascara.

Next step was blusher, I used a small amount of this Catrice one which I've been using every day since I bought it a few months ago!

Then I slapped on some pink lippie (forgot to take a pic!!) and we're done!

I bought some new brushes recently, I was up in Dublin last week so I picked up a couple of brushes in Inglot.  Below is a photo of my new blending brush and stippling brush.  The brushes are so soft and I really love using them!  The foundation brush was €30 and the blending one was €18 (I'm nearly sure it was anyway!) and I used my 20% Meteor discount again so it was €38 altogether which is still much cheaper than Mac!!

I had originally been looking to pick up the newly released Real Techniques stippling brush (€16.59) but the Boots in the Jervis Centre was sold out.  Thanks to the power of Facebook my aunt informed me that they had them in stock in my nearest Boots which is about 20 minutes away and luckily a friend was going there the following day and she kindly picked up one for me! This brush is really something else, its so soft that you just want to pet it (I kid you not! I actually spent about 5 minutes stroking the brush hairs after I got it!!) and I really like how your foundation comes out using it.  The head of the brush is a lot smaller than the Inglot one and is stiffer so you really have a lot of control when you're using it! I'd seriously give this brush 10/10 and have been using it almost every day for the last week!  At just over half the price of the Inglot brush this is well worth the money and I really really recommend you get one if you haven't already!

Just another photo comparing the 2 foundation brushes!

I know this is my longest post in a long time and I appreciate those of you who have stuck with me!  Between hospital appointments and sick bambinos I just haven't had the time lately but hopefully I'll get back into the swing of it soon!

Once again, thanks for reading!

Another catch up post!

I had my 2 week post-op checkup on friday and the plastic surgeon was very happy with how rounded my boob looks now so the next stage is to come back in 3 months time to discuss nipple reconstruction!  I know its gonna be a few months before its all done and matching up again but I'm looking forward to it!

I haven't been reading as many blogs lately and I know I haven't done any tutorials in forever but I'm hoping to get back to normal soon! Its almost a year now since I finished chemo but my energy levels are still zero!

Poor Ryan hasn't been well all week, he has a chest infection and his nose is like a tap! He's on the mend now though and after 6 nights of no sleep, we've all slept better the last couple of nights! Aaron had the dose on his 6th birthday the poor pet but thankfully he's ok now too!  However, I'm feeling like death warmed up at the minute and am starting to cough as well so I've started popping pills to try kill it off before it gets too cosy!!  It took me 6 weeks to shift the dose I had before christmas, my immune system must still be low!

I want to post about the new bits I've picked up but may wait til I'm on the laptop as I can't seem to upload photos on my tablet!I've gotten a couple of new brushes which I'm loving!   I got a couple of Inglot brushes and a Real Teachniques one!

I also want to post some photos of the birthday cakes I made for the boys!  G is gonna be 32 next month and I'm going to make him a Man United jersey shaped cake so that should be fun! I'll have to pick up some more red food colouring on ebay and some edible man utd cupcake toppers to use as the crest on the cake!  I'm sitting here trying to think of something nice to bake tomorrow for valentines day, I THINK I'm gonna do a sponge cake with baileys buttercream but that could all change, you never know with me!

Blog giveaway winner!!

Hey all, the winner of my blog giveaway was entry number 11, the Allen Family, who follow by email! Congratulations!!!

Plastic Surgery!

Hey everyone, hope youre all keeping well! As many of you know, its just over a year now since I had my mastectomy and reconstruction done in St Vincents hospital.  I went to see my doctor/surgeon during the summer and she said that she would refer me to a plastic surgeon as my reconstructed boob is slightly 'square' shaped and while it doesnt bother me enormously obviously I would like to be able to wear vest tops and swimsuits or bikinis (if I win the lotto and have the money to go on holiday) and with any luck I will be around for at least another thirty years so I would like my boobs to have a nice shape! I seen the plastic surgeon in November and he said that he would be able to take some of the tissue out and give me a rounder shape. That's the first step in my plastic surgery, which will be taking place in 2 weeks time on Jan 27th. Its only a day operation so hopefully my recovery won't be too long! The only part I'm worried about is lifting Ryan and managing the buggy up and down the steps at home!
After the swelling etc has gone down I will be having another operation in which they will be giving me a new nipple! At the minute I have a patch of skin which was taken from my back where my nipple used to be.  To be honest I never really notice that I'm missing one!  After that operation I will have some surgery on my other boob (my good one!) as at the minute I have one hard one and one soft one so I will be getting an implant in my left boob to match them up! They're also slightly different sizes at the minute so I've opted to go for the bigger size of my reconstructed boob instead of my smaller real one so I can look forward to some bra shopping! Its going to be a busy few months for me surgery-wise and although I'm super nervous I'm also looking forward to getting my body back to the way it used to be! I suppose I'm getting the boob job I always talked about!
I know I should be really just thankful that I'm alive and here but I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to be happy with how your body looks! I wonder if they would do a bit of lip on my mummy tummy while I'm knocked out? Hmmmmmm..........
Once again, thanks for reading!

DIY Nail Polish Round Two!

So, I wanted to use the fake Mac glitter pigment I bought on Ebay a couple of years ago (do NOT buy Mac off Ebay as 99 times out of 100 its fake!!!) and turn it into a nail polish.  It has bigger multicolour particles than the Bella Pierre glitter and I was really excited about trying out making my own polish again!

First, I took a clear polish.  I bought a Catrice quick dry and high shine topcoat as it had a couple of the little silver balls which would make it easier to mix up when shaking! It was €2.99 for 10ml so more or less the same price as the Essence polish.  I have no idea why the photo is sideways but you get the idea!!

Then I took my Mac glitter pigment ..... just look at the sparkles!!

Open the glitter and the polish, put a piece of paper down because there WILL be fallout!!

Using a piece of paper folded in half, pour some glitter into the bottle.  Add as much as you like but remember more glitter = more coverage in every swipe!

The glitter will fall to the bottom of the bottle.  Give it a good shake to wake it up!

Et voila! Your very own glitter polish!   I'm already thinking of my next one!

Now, you WILL need to give the glitter polish a good shake before you use it because the glitter will have settled at the bottom of the bottle but believe me, the sparkliness and glittertasticness (is that even a word??) is so lovely and will cheer you up on these dull days every time you look at your nails!  I'm gonna swatch this over some different colours to see what it works best on but I'm already thinking it would look fab over a black base! Woo hoo, fun times ahead!

DIY glitter nail polish!

I've been looking for a certain colour glitter polish for ages now but have never seemed to come across one that wasn't overly expensive! (I don't like paying a lot of money for nail polish as it never seems to last more than a day no matter what type of topcoat I use) So anyway, I decided to make my own! I had a couple of essence clear polishes in my collection and a Bella Pierre loose glitter stack that my sister bought me a few years ago and has never been used! I tipped some glitter in using a folded piece of paper as a funnel and gave it a good shake! I was really happy with how the polish turned out, the one thing you have to do before you use it is give it a good swirl around/shake it for a few minutes as all the glitter settles to the bottom but I honestly don't mind this as the result makes all the effort of shaking it worthwhile! I have a fake Mac glitter pigment which I'm gonna try next so I will post about that later!

My every day basket/makeup routine!

I thought I'd do a quick post on the makeup I use every day.  I generally leave a little basket on top of my train case and it has everything I need! I find it handy especially as I'm always in a hurry in the mornings trying to get everyone out the door on time! In the basket I have a little cup with my brushes in it, my CATRICE Concealer palette and CATRICE foundation (in the lightest shade of course! I'm super pale!) I use a CATRICE eyeshadow (now discontinued) to fill in my brows and lately I haven't bothered to wear eyeshadow during the week to save time, I usually just use the same shadow to do a quick line on my upper lid, stick on some eyeliner, mascara and blusher and off I go!
If I'm wearing eyeshadow I use my Too Faced shadow insurance or my Essence eyeshadow base.  At the minute I'm using Avon supershock gel eyeliner and I really love how black it is!  The mascara I'm using right now is Rimmel Scandaleyes and i have to say I'm not overly impressed with it but will keep using it til it runs out! I'm trying to avoid buying makeup at the minute!! I'm also using a CATRICE blusher (can you tell I love CATRICE?) And I really like the peachy pink colour of it, I find it gives me a healthy glow!
If its the weekend and I have some more time to get ready, I always pull out my Inglot palettes, I absolutely LOVE them!! I've posted about them several times in the past and am sure I will in the future too! I also love the Inglot Duraline which you can use to turn any eyeshadow into a liquid eyeliner! You just put a drop on the back of your hand, mix in some shadow and bobs your uncle, gorgeous long lasting eyeliner!
I hope you've enjoyed this post on my everyday makeup, please feel free to ask any questions!