What eyeshadow colour suits your eye colour the most?

Apr 16, 2015

When doing our make-up, choosing an eyeshadow colour can be a terribly big struggle. Obviously, any make-up colour will look nice with any eye colour when applied nicely. However, if you're stuck, here are a few suggestions of colours that suit your eye colour the most.

Blue eyes
1. Orange based colours to make the eyes pop (eg. copper, coral.)
2. Pale pink shades.
3. Deep blue/purple to enhance the blue in your eyes.

Brown eyes
1. Green to complement the brown.
2. Neutral, brown shades.
3. Pink/purple.

Green eyes
1. Deep brown/gold/green.
2. Red undertones.
3. Pink/purple.

The lowdown of the best eyeshadow palettes on the market

Feb 27, 2015

by Amber Saunders

Eyeshadow palettes are some of the most hyped products on the beauty market. With each brand shouting louder than the next, it’s quite hard to know what’s worth handing over your hard-earned cash for. Writing about beauty means that I’ve had the uber-difficult task of trying as many palettes as humanly possible over the past few years.

Here, I’m breaking it down into some of my recent picks, as well as all-time favourites…

The Classic
Urban Decay Naked Basics, €30 from Debenhams

Skip the hype over Naked 1, 2 and 3 and keep it simple with the Naked Basics palette. It’s small, it’s portable and, if you like your makeup to be simple and streamlined, you will love this. The paler shades are great for opening up the eyes and the darker crease colours also double up as brilliant shades for filling in brows. Oh, and that deep, matte black? Brilliant as a smokey liner!

The Newbie
Smashbox Double Exposure, €39.60 from Arnotts and larger Boots stores

This is the brand’s second neutral palette. The first, Full Exposure, didn’t quite do it for me as the shimmery shades were a little too heavy on the glitter. This one is a lot easier to work with and has some beautiful warm and jewel-toned shades. It’s good value for the price as the double-ended brush you get with it is actually fantastic, and there’s also a handy little booklet of ideas and guides for using the palette.

The Dark Horse
TheBalm Nude ‘Tude Palette, €35 from Cloud10Beauty.com

Ever heard of TheBalm? I’ve yet to try a bad product from them, and happily, the brand is quickly becoming more accessible in pharmacies nationwide, as well as from my favourite Irish beauty e-tailer, Cloud10Beauty. TheBalm Nude ‘Tude palette is an absolutely gorgeous warm-toned array of shadows; ranging from glittery coppers to matte, bone-white shades. The colours are well thought out and I’m a sucker for the cute packaging!

The Bargain
Wet ‘n’ Wild Comfort Zone Palette, €6 from Penneys and pharmacies nationwide

The Comfort Zone palette is brilliant value even if you don't end up using all of the colours – I'm mad about the deep, dark shimmery brown in it, and the shade down on the bottom right-hand corner is a pretty excellent dupe for MAC's Club eyeshadow. The pigment on these is incredible, they’re easy to blend, and just like any shadow, they’ll last all day with the help of a good primer.

Deirdre Foley is a history grad, sceptic, wearer of red lipstick and self-confessed 'beauty maniac'. She is also the co-founder of fabulous Irish beauty blog, Viva Adonis.

Looking for a pop of colour? It’s time to get Wet n’ Wild!

Sep 16, 2014

by Amber Saunders

If your make-up bag has been looking a bit dull lately, and you feel like it could do with a pop of colour (on a budget, of course), then these great products form the Wet n’ Wild range could be just what you’re looking for.

They’ve only been in Ireland since January, but they seem to be a big hit already, which is why we’ll definitely be giving their limited edition nail varnishes a go. The creative naming of the different shades have us sold already – how could you resist a good pun like ‘I red a good book’, or something as sweet as ‘Candy-licious’?!

Their ‘Color Icon Eyeshadow Trio’ range are good value too as you get three different colours at a great price – but they’re limited edition so don’t hang around if you want to give them a try!

Their prices range from €3.99 to €4.49, which means you’ll be able to afford a little treat on almost any budget if you pop into Dunnes Stores or selected Penneys all over Ireland.

We’ll definitely be giving them a go!

Eyeshadow palettes to rock this summer 2014

May 20, 2014

by Amber Saunders

Eyeshadows are great, but they are even better when they come with a few other friends in an eyeshadow palette.

Here are four of the best to go for this summer:

YSL Bleus Lumiere Summer Look 2014
The palette includes indigo, royal blue, azure and both a light and dark shade of coral. Inspired by the colours of the sea and summer, this colour palette is a must if you want to stay away from browns and beiges.

Bobbi Brown Nectar & Nude eye palette
Sticking with the classic colour that people turn to every year, this palette mixes glittering tones with matte tones.

Clarins Summer 2014 Colours of Brazil
Get in the football spirit with this gorgeous eye palette from Clarins. This palette has three beautiful shade so of grey – perfect for a smoky eye look – a pretty peach and a striking royal blue that acts as a liner.

Bourjois Smoky Eyes Trio eyeshadow
This one is a little more budget friendly and comes in 12 combinations of three shades including blue, lilac, baroque, grey, rose and green.

S! TV BEAUTY: Purple and Gold Eye Look

May 19, 2014

by Amber Saunders

S! TV’s Beauty Expert Odette shows us how to achieve this chic summer party look.

Artist paints miniature pictures on eyelids to promote anti-bullying

May 13, 2014

by Amber Saunders

Eyeshadow can be hard to master, even the simple smoky eye can leave you looking as if you have a broken nose.

However, this is not the same for professional make-up artist and blogger Tal Peleg. As you can see from the below photos, Tal is pretty talented at eyeshadow.

In fact, the make-up artist is so talented with an eye brush that she can recreate scenes from novels, films and fairy tales on eyelids – yes, eyelids! Pretty impressive!

The young Israeli artist is now putting her skill to good use and is using it to promote important social issues. Her latest project Window to the Soul includes the below incredible anti-bullying image with the caption: “words can be dangerous, use them wisely.”

Using just eyeliner, eyeshadow and appliqué particles, the artist really knows how to impress! Take a look at her pictures below:

Still deciding whether to invest in Urban Decay’s Naked 3?

Feb 1, 2014

by Amber Saunders

Here’s all you need to know to make your decision about Urban Decay’s latest Naked palette.

Is your make-up past its use by date?

Jan 30, 2014

by Amber Saunders

Unfortunately, make-up does not last forever, no matter how much you may have spent on it. If you are the type of lady who tends to cling on to their beloved products, you might want to take a few notes.

To avoid applying bacteria to your face, here is the low down on how long make up actually lasts for.

Mascara
This particular beauty product doesn’t last longer than three months. It is a breeding ground for bacteria and should be binned to save yourself catching a nasty, not to mention unattractive, infection.

Foundation
Foundation can last twice as long as mascara, although some can last for a year. Water-based ones should be thrown away after the six month mark as they attract bacteria. If you use it longer than recommended, you’ll just end up with spots and breakouts.

Eyeshadow
Eyeshadow tends to be the product that piles up in the bottom of the make-up bag. However, you might want to throw out any that have been there for more than three months. Creamy textured shadows tend to grow bacteria more than powder.

It’s definitely time to clear out your make-up bag.