Products I'm Loving (or Hating) This Month

Thank god the sun came out (briefly) and I could take some product photos outside. I'm never gonna be a picture perfect Instagram flat lay kinda gal so this is as good as you are going to get, people!

I've had a few hits and misses with beauty lately yet have been fortunate to try out a wide range of products and brands. Out of the products I've chosen a couple that I LOVE and a couple that are a bit, meh or that I downright hate and will never use again. 

Hopefully by being perfectly honest I will save some of your hard earned cash on those products that  just aren't worth it (in my opinion) despite the hype. And if you love the products I would really love to know why, maybe I'm using them wrong! Always open to suggestions. 

So let's begin. First product up to bat is The Ordinary Coverage foundation.

Don't get me wrong, I love The Ordinary skincare range. It's fantastic value for the quality of the products but while this foundation was cheap as chips it just didn't do the job for me one bit. It calls itself a high coverage foundation and while it feels smooth and satiny to apply it just did't last on my skin at all. I would have dry skin and it just sunk into it and disappeared so I wasn't very happy with it to tell the truth. Now it is only €6.70 and some people might say you get what you pay for in terms of your foundation however I have used budget foundations many times and this just doesn't hold up to them at all. It's available on Cloud10 Beauty however if you want to have a look and are still interested in purchasing to give it a try.

Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze and Glow is a much loved product of mine - as you can see above I've unfortunately already hit pan on the bronzer side. This shade is so perfect I even double up the bronzer as a crease eye shadow colour and the highlighter as an eyelid shadow colour plus it gives such a gorgeous glow. I definitely will be repurchasing and I think it's worth the €65 price tag. You can check it out here.

Next up is the Huda Beauty Desert Dusk palette. I feel like this palette is like Marmite, you either love it or hate it. Or your like me and have no particular strong feelings either way. To be honest with you I really regret buying this palette. I thought I would love it with all of the warm shades and the fab glitters but I feel like me, maybe 3 year ago would have loved this more. My makeup style has changed, I no longer work on a beauty counter so tend to wear more natural looks and I just feel like this palette is kind of wasted on me. I also find the glitters really chunky and there is a lot of fall out. That being said this eye shadows have incredible colour pay off so if you are looking for good pigmented shadows check this out on online. This also retails at €65.

Speaking of budget foundations earlier...Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 hr is a foundation I find myself always going back to. Its comfortable on my dry skin, it's perfect coverage, it isn't matte, it's long lasting, it's a great match for my skintone (I buy shade 200 soft beige) and it's a bargain!I bought this in Superdrug Liffey Valley for only €8.95 and I am so happy I did as I am loving it as I had before and not sure why I ever strayed away from it.

As I mentioned above, I love The Ordinary Skincare and I adore this high-adherence silicone primer so much I bought two just in case with my last order. It is such a great primer for the price. It creates a silky smooth canvas on your skin for your makeup to glide on and also improves the longevity of your foundation. It is fantastic value at only €4.90, my only gripe with it is the size of the tube.I go through them! Seriously, add this to your basket now. Available on Cloud10 Beauty here.

If there was one product I was to say absolutely DO NOT waste your money on it is this mascara above. I just found it absolutely useless.The wand was terrible - no volume whatsoever. I'm just glad I got this in the Meaghers beauty selection box at Christmas and didn't waste any money on it. I love mascara and switch mine up all the time, so I know what I like and what I don't like and this was a firm no. 

Last but definitely not least, I couldn't wait to try some of the Fenty Beauty range available at Harvey Nichols. I saw the mini lip and face set on another bloggers Instagram before(can't remember what blogger for the life of me or I would have tagged!) and I had to try it. I just think its a great idea to try a new brand and also good value. I got mine in-store in Harvey Nichols Dundrum for €24. 

I couldn't find the lipgloss for my product shot above but both the highlighter and lip gloss are FABBBBB. The gloss is just gorgeous, it's not sticky and fab over a lip liner or by itself and the highlighter is a beautiful rose gold. These are great little travel sizes or to use them on the go and well worth it.

That rounds up the seven products that I have either rated or hated this month...now go pick your faves and treat yo'selves! 

Seafield Hotel & Spa Resort | Take a trip to the ''Sunny Southeast'

Wexford is often called the sunny Southeast however as we drove down on Wednesday just gone, it wasn't sunshine beating down on the car windows - it was lots and lots of rain. The visibility was terrible and I was just happy that we arrived alive to Seafield ready for relaxation - and a stiff drink.

I booked and paid for this trip myself  through Pigsback as they always have fantastic deals on, so if you aren't looking to break the bank and can travel midweek I would definitely recommend having a look as there are some gorgeous hotels with deals available online for half the price of booking direct! 

First impressions of the hotel: it has a very opulent lobby filled with blacks and gold which can make it come across quite dark but once your eyes adjust it has a very cosy feel.

We arrived at about half past 2 and we were able to check in straight away. The room wasn't the standard of what I had booked so after a quick word with reception we were moved to a different room on the same floor which had a lovely balcony/ terrace with an amazing view of the golf course which you can see below. This was when the sun decided to make an appearance before we checked out.

High points of the trip include the Village Bar & Grill where we decided to have dinner for the night.
For starters we went for the charcuterie board to share.It had salami, prosciutto, chicken liver parfait, olives, sun-dried tomato relish and bread. I missed out on the fact that there was no cheese but it was delicious all the same and filled a gap.

For mains we both decided on steak.I went for the mohawk steak, which was a literal mountain of food. It was paired with sun blushed tomatoes, chips,onion rings and we also got a side of mac and cheese to share. 

The food was amazing if a little bit pricey. (The steaks were around the €32 mark).We both got dessert- I went for the chocolate mud pie which I was a bit disappointed in to be honest as I was hoping for more of a gooey chocolate fondant and he went for the sticky toffee pudding with get this - 'roast banana ice cream' - it was delicious.

The Oceo spa is probably what Seafield is most known for. Regrettably we didn't go for any treatments (despite getting €20 off each with the deal) but the spa itself was amazing.The outdoor thermal pool was a favourite - it felt like such a getaway to be able to sit outside in a heated thermal pool in Ireland cocooned by greenery.

The next day we decided to go for a walk down to Ballymoney beach and I am so glad we did as the hotel have such a cute little beach walk laid out.

There was amazing views and it was well worth the short walk. 

All in all we had a great time. It is a little bit of a drive - coming from West Dublin it took about one hour fifteen minutes straight through driving fast - that alone would put me off staying for just one night however it is a gorgeous location and for the spa alone I would love to come back for a visit and experience a treatment there in what has been voted  'Spa of the Year' numerous times.

Have you ever visited Seafield Spa & Resort before? How did you find it? Let me know in the comments below.

My Current Style Crush | Fallon Carrington of 'Dynasty'

A 'new to me' show came into my life recently as Netflix have decided to re-imagine the iconic TV show, 'Dynasty' from the '80s and I couldn't be more intrigued. Think scandal, love affairs, murders and dodgy dealings and pair it with some killer fashion, extremely good looking characters and a fantastic soundtrack and that just about sums it up.

The main heroine/villain of the series is none other than Fallon Carrington, a lady with a wardrobe after my own heart. She has influences of Balmain and Gucci throughout but as I don't have a billionaire daddy or my own multi millionaire empire (yet) I thought about trying to emulate her style through more affordable pieces.

As you can see from the photos below she is no stranger to prints paired with flares or structured tuxedo style dresses and suits.

She is also partial to the colour red: you see her wear at least 3-5 stunning red dresses or suits throughout the series. Red being the colour of blood and fire; symbolic of love and lust - it even represents cupid and the devil. It's definitely a daring stand-out colour which is why I believe the costume designers on the show choose this so much for Fallon.

The stunning silk asymmetric dress she is wearing above was one of my favourite outfits of hers in the series. It's just a dress that would be so flattering on so many shapes and is just so feminine and sexy.The real deal is by designer Juan San Carlos and at sale price would set you back 681 euro according to this website here 

For more affordable versions however check out my ASOS picks below:

This gorgeous silky dress above is reduced to only €21.62 and is available in sizes 12-18 here.

This beautiful chiffon style draped dress above is €60.81 and is available in sizes 4-18 here.

Come and get your power suit here ladies - €40.50 at Missguided. 

It may not be red and it may not be Gucci - but it is FIERCE. Thank Warehouse for this stunning tropical print co-ord which you can shop here.

Last but not least - your Fallon Carrington inspired wardrobe wouldn't be complete without some high waist fuchsia pink flares. PrettyLittleThing came through with sizes running up to a 16 and at €33.78 you can shop them right here. 

Not going to lie, I am so tempted to shop my own post right about now...happy clicking!

Image Credits: Pinterest | ASOS | Google Images | PrettyLittleThing |