Fitz N Bitz - Irish Beauty Blog ★: brown thomas

21 January 2011

Vaseline Cocoa Butter & Cheap Naked Palette Dupe!!

So I thought I’d share my 2 latest discoveries! Well, one discovery of my own and one recommendation from another girlie. I’ll start off with that. Recently, fellow blogger Dollface posted on her twitter about adoring the New Vaseline Cocoa Butter. Immediately the body lotion sprang to mind as I was addicted to that for a long time and still have a supply in my drawer. So I responded agreeing that I loved it, but then thought, “WAIT that’s not particularly new??” It was the new Vaseline Lip Therapy she was referring to, so I popped into the chemist after work and was delighted to see a few on the counter. For €1.99 it’s a steal and well worth it for these harsh cold days. It smells gorg!! Will def be keeping this in my bag!

Next up is a cheap alternative to the infamous Naked Palette by Urban Decay. It’s a little 4 pan palette with a gel liner and you’ll never guess who makes it? Essence. A lot of you might be familiar with the cheapy brand which is widely available throughout Ireland in chemists and most Dunne’s. Their latest range ‘Metallics’ caught my eye as I’m a sucker for greys, browns silvers and other metallic shades. I was in a rush and picked out the brown palette. I took it out that evening and had a look at it and was pleasantly surprised. The next day I wore it and it stayed all day! Well, I did use UD Primer Potion... but still, I loved it. Here are some pics:

(The larger swatch to the right is the gel liner smudged out.)

I also picked up the matching little eyeliner brush. It's dotey and actually a lovely precise little brush. The eyeliner on the other hand is not the best. If I'm to use it it'll be as a base for darker eyeshadows.

Now for a few €uro you can’t go wrong with this, plus it’s a nice and handy size to bring along in your bag with you instead of the larger Urban Decay palette – which I’m sure if you’re lucky enough to own you won’t want to damage.

Slán!

01 January 2011

My first MAC Purchases!

FitznBitz 10:51 PM Beauty Bitz , benefit 3 Comments

So, here we go! This is my blog, my beauty blog perhaps. Many people may be surprised that I have started writing a beauty blog and that I am only now buying my first MAC items. Well, technically it's not my very first as I do own Viva Glam Gaga Lipstick.... but apart from that i'm a MAC virgin!! I bought 2 (3ish) products in Brown Thomas, so here goes!...

First up it's MAC Studio Fix Fluid - which was €30.87. I'm in the colour NW20. It's a lovely sturdy glass bottle which holds 30mls of product and is SPF15. It's a liquid foundation (obviously, seeing as though it's in a bottle!!) with a screw cap, which, when opened is a fully open bottle top, with no sense of control for extracting the foundation.

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Hence why i purchased the next product.... the foundation pump. Nothing exciting. It was €3.98

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And last but certainly not least is the lippie. I got Hue, which is a glaze finish and was €17.43. It's a beautiful pinkish nude colour - a lovely nude for fairer skinned ladies. It's not a BANG in your face, I can see your wearing lipstick, type of lipstick. It's more sheer than a matte nude, but it's exactly what I wanted. Alot of people love the concealer/washed out lips look, and this may work for darker toned skin, but for me a NW20 (I'm excited to now know that!!) a skin nude would look shocking! I am already in love with hue.

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I also purchased Benefit's High Beam, which is described as a 'luminescent complexion enhancer'. Basically it's a light pink highlighter, which on the skin (below) has a pinkish/silverish sheen, which I will use on my upper cheeks and brow bone. I've also heard of people applying it to the nose to lengthen, or on the collor bones just for a pretty sheen. It basically looks like a nail varnish (larger) bottle with a brush applicator, which you just dot onto where you want to apply and then smudge in with your fingers. It was €26 in Debenhams.

Oh, and I also got my Brown Thomas and Debnehams loyalty/Beauty Club Cards. I've a feeling that I may be back in the near future if my wallet can handle it! They both claim to offer Gifts and special offers, the usual tips and newsletter emails and points on your card to save up and use against future purchases. The Brown Thomas Black Card sends you invitations to exclusive Brown Thomas events, Birthday treats and rewards. Debenhams have a special Beauty Club and apparently you can avail of Free Beauty Makeovers and consultations. Don't know how true that is though!? Oh and also with the Debenhams card you're entitled to free p&p when ordering online, so for that reason alone it may be worthwhile picking one up!

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Ok, so I might as well throw in my final purchase of the day which was Cheryl Coles (official, as I know there are other books about her) new book. It was €19.80 originally but I got it on sale for €12.99 in Easons. I originally went in there to buy Fearne Cotton and Holly Willoughby's book - The Best Friends' Guide to Life , which looked sooo cute, but I hadnt enough money on me at the time, and rather than leaving empty handed (I tend to spend EVERY cent i've left while shopping!!) I noticed Cheryls big beautiful face staring at me. I strolled over and had a flip though it and once James (my boyfriend) saw me, he snapped it out of my hands and said "come on your definatley getting that, i'll have a look at it too ;)"....so there ya go! I wonder if there weren't as many pics in it would he be half as willing for me to buy it!! I havent read it yet but it does look like a nice nosey into her life, with lots of pics. She's absolutley stunning.