Inglot Intermediate Make-Up Course Week 2..

So I attended week two of Inglots Intermediate Make-up course in The Crescent shopping centre in Limerick on Tuesday the 21st of June, and just like the first week of the course I enjoyed every single minute of it. The class overview for the second week consisted of Brow Perfection, Contoured Socket,Colour Theory, liner technique and lip structure. These are all topics that I wouldn't know much about so it was great to get to learn about them from professionals.

I generally don't need to do much work to my brows while applying my make up as they have a very defined shape to them before even begin, so If I did much filling into my brows id have two bushes sheltering my eyes, and personally that's not a look that I want to achieve, but it was great to learn about the different techniques to filling in brows.

Liner application was the one thing I dreaded as I couldn't bring my holy grail push up liner by benefit. I was actually terrified to apply liner on the night as we all know that liner can be your best friend or your worst enemy when applying the finishing touches to the eye. Gel liner from a pot was something I had no experience with compared to all 5 of the other girls who use it on a regular basis, but I was shocked at how easy it was to apply to the eye whilst using 17tl angled brush from liner. Defo a new fave of mine.

lip structure was another thing I never really paid any attention too I used to just through lipstick on and hope for the best, but I was doing it so so wrong. I would have big enough lips so I don't tend to over draw my lips,as I don't want my lips to take up my whole face, we learned all about the different lip types that people have and the correct techniques to use all depending on the shape which is always handy to know if I ever decide to pursue a career in beauty,Of course like lastweek I couldn't stop myself from purchasing some of the products that we used throughout the class, and I couldn't say no to 20% off.

What i bought on week 2.

As I mentioned in last weeks post I picked up a freedom eyeshadow palette with 10 slots, I picked up another three shades to add to the palette this week. I want the palette to be made up of multiple shadows that will create the perfect Smokey eye.

So this week I went for shade 351 which is perfect for applying all over the lid before smoking it up.

The next shade I picked up was a fabulous dark brown shade which is 327 and costs €6

The last eyeshadow I picked up was this Black one which is perfect to add to the outer corner of the eyes to add depth to the Smokey eye. This is shade 391 and also costs €6

Up next i purchased the two lip products that the lovely Michelle fitz in Limericks Inglot used throughout the demonstration. I picked up this AMC lip pencil in number 17 which is the perfect browny/ nudey colour and costs €13.

I also picked up this "Lipliner FM" in Number 854 which goes hand in hand with the AMC lip pencil that I purchased. I have worn both products together over the past few days and I have been asked numerous times what did I have on my lips, so now you all know what combination I'm using. This .Reatils at €15.

Lastly I picked up the Gel liner that we used on the night which is shade 77 and costs €15 for the pot, which is a bargain as for each application you'll only need a tiny amount as its so pigmented, definitely worth every penny!.

So there you have it, that's all for week 2 at Inglots Intermediate make up course. I hope you enjoyed this weeks post,. Stay tuned for my next update about Inglots intermediate course, and I also have loads more lined up for all of you fabulous followers. Until Next Time.
Much Love,
Caoimhe X

My Journey with M.E continued..

   A month has passed since I wrote the post " A Day With M.E" I decided that I would update you all on how the past month has been for me. I told you all previously that my biggest struggle in the past few months was that I was having trouble with my Gut/Digestive system, which has gone cuckoo. As M.E symptoms can be linked to other problems within the body, and I've discovered a problem with my stomach, knowing my luck  I more than likely have another symptom hiding elsewhere in the body!  As odd as it sounds I have discovered a swollen lymph node on the left hand side of  my neck which has been there since February when my gut problems worsened . If your wondering What does a swollen lymph node have to do with it?  Well Lymph nodes, also referred to as lymph glands, are an important part of the immune system, and as I've mentioned previously M.E sufferers have quite a poor immune system so this is where it all goes belly up, so as you can see it's just one big viscous circle as one small thing can impact the whole body. My own doctor is under the illusion that there is an infection embedded in my stomach, hence the swollen node,  as generally a swollen lymph node is the sign of infection. Luckily I have had an ultrasound on the lump recently just to make sure that there was no abnormalities and thankfully everything has shown up normal, which means it can only be one thing, an infection.

Since the begining of 2016, I have tried three types of medications,and thankfully 3rd time lucky I've found a medication that is helping to ease the bloating, burping and pain that I to go through on a daily basis. There are days where I could feel like my stomach is about to burst because I'm so bloated, Its like I have a food baby all day every day which isint very comfortable as we all know the feeling of having a food baby. I have been very weight conscious since a very young age so being bloated on top of that isint really helping the situation, Both bloating and burping are embarrassing symptoms to have as I would literally burp from the minute I wake up in the morning to the minute I go to bed at night , even when having an empty stomach, which isint the most attractive thing in the world, ecspecially for a 19 year old girl. I have always suffered with my stomach since been diagnosed with M.E in 2012, but recently it's starting to play a massive role in my life as you have to be very careful about what your eating Particularly if you are going away for the day as you know if you chance eating a sneaky McDonald's that your going to spend the rest of your day in a heap with your stomach, and let's me honest it's not really worth it. On top of my every day stomach problems, you have to remember I am still only a teenage girl, so I also go through that lovely monthly expirence which all of us poor ladies have to face once a month!! Apologies to to my family and boyfriend who put up with me, but I did inform you all that I'm not the best patient.

Thankfully I've found medication that can ease the symptoms a tiny bit, but it can also be quite a nuisance as it has to be taken  roughly 20 minutes before I eat so it's all about having to plan meals and meal times, which I suppose is a good thing in one sense because it stops you from unnecessary eating. I'm not a massive fan of taking medication as you all know, and plus I am only 19 so I'd rather not become dependant on medication just to get by each day at such a young age,but so far so good.!! With M.E you just have to be prepared that there will be setbacks along the way no matter how good or bad your feeling you just have to accept it, but thankfully I have two more months of the course of medication to take so fingers crossed it might improve any infection that may be in my body and hopefully things can  return to normal (whatever normal is!!).

Other than digestion problems everything else seems to be under control, I've had a few swollen joint flare ups, and the occasional headaches and mood swings in the past month all manageable though,  as I was still able to get up out of bed and enjoy each day. I always see an improvement in myself during the summer months, as I'm a firm believer that the weather can help both your physical and mental health ,as the long bright evenings entice you to get up and out of the house and stay active which can  help your whole well being. I also think staying mentally active is a major key for dealing with M.E , just like Augustus Waters quotes in "The Fault In Our Stars ", " Pain demands to be felt" which is exactly why I try to stay as mentally active as I can to keep my mind off things.  It's the days you sit down feeling sorry for yourself which are the days where you are going to be at your worst. The illness M.E isin't going to be cured over night so you just have to learn to get up and get on with it when given the opportunity to.

I am aware that they're are a number of you following me specifically for my updates about M.E and others following me for a variety of other reasons so I'm trying to keep things balanced  that all of you are getting the content that you're looking for. If anyone has any questions in relation to M.E please don't hesitate to contact me by email: Caoimhe-hickey@hotmail.com or by facebook :It's All About M.E, and I will try and help in any way that I can do so. 

That's all for now.Until Next Time.

Much Love,

Caoimhe x

Inglot Intermediate Make-Up course week 1..

As you can tell by the title of this weeks blog post that yes  I have just started week one of Inglots Intermediate Make Up Course in the Crescent shopping centre in Limerick. The course is run over a period of 3 weeks on a Tuesday night from 6pm-9pm. There's myself and five other girls taking part in the course some for professional reasons and some others just doing it to widen their beauty knowledge, which is the reason that I've decided to participate in the course. As you can tell from a number of my blogs that I am a massive fan of make-up so I put the money aside to do this course so that I could learn some more tips and tricks so I can improve my make up skills.

I arrived at Inglot in Limerick on Tuesday night just before 6pm with quite a lot of butterflies in my tummy as I really didn't know what to expect, although I may come across as quite a confident person I wont lie I get quite nervous of the unknown but thankfully all 5 girls and Inglots make up team members couldn't be any nicer. Our very first class on Tuesday the 14th covered hygiene, product knowledge, skin analysis, colour matching and contouring and highlighting. I never realised how much I actually didn't know about make-up and the make up industry. It was great getting to learn about all the amazing products that Inglot have to offer, from foundation, eyeshadows, concealers, powders, lipsticks, pigments, storage and much much more.

During the duration of the course I have 20% off in store each night, which is really handy for adding new bits and pieces to my make up bag. I didn't go too wild on the first night as I want to take time to figure out what I really want to buy, but I did pick up a few things just to get me started, so here's what I treated myself to.

What I bought on week 1.

Freedom system palette with 10 eyeshadow slots is something I've had my eye on for ages so that was on the top of my "To Buy List" this palette is super handy and retails at €14 it can be purchased online at inglot.ie or by clicking on this link ---> Freedom System Palette (10 slots)

Of course I couldn't leave the palette empty so I purchased 3 eyeshadows just to get me started, Firstly I opted for a burnt orange which is shade 335 I absolutely love browns and gold shadows and I think this orange shade will go fab with them. All shadows are €6 You can purchase shade 335 by clicking this link-->Shade 335

Next is shade 357 which is a light brown colour, this shade is also suitable to apply on your brows for anyone who has fair hair and doesn't like heavy brows, so for me this is a great shade to have as it can be used for my eyes and eyebrows, again this is €6.-->Shade 357

The final shade i purchased is 07 which is a shimmery golden colour which is fab for the inner corner of the eye when used with browns and oranges, I'm a massive fan of shimmer so this was a must have for my palette -->Shade 07

Keeping in with the colour theme of my shadows I decided to pick up my very first pigment from Inglot, as I said previously that im a sucker for browns and golden shades so I went for pigment 119 which fits in perfect with the shadows I purchased. The pigment I choose was from the stardust collection and was €16

--->119 Stardust Pigment

Finally the last thing I purchased was this brush cleaner just to spot clean my brushes after every use definitely a must have for everyone's make up bag to keep all of your brushes in top condition and it really is a bargain at just €12.-->Inglot brush Cleaner

I loved every single minute of the first week at the course and I'm so looking forward to heading back down to Limerick tuesday night for week 2 of the course to learn lots of more interesting tips and tricks.I'm already after falling in love with all of Inglots products so the next two weeks could do quite a bit of damage too my bank account but you can never have too much make up right? That's all for now, I hope you enjoyed reading this weeks post. Stay tuned for week 2 and 3  Until next time.

Much Love,

Caoimhe X

My Top 3 Make-Up Must Haves.

I received great feedback from my previous post "March Must Haves" where I  filled you in on my top 5 beauty buys from the month of March, so after receiving the great feedback I'm going to keep the format similar in this post while also keeping It short and sweet and fill you in on my top 3 Make-Up must haves.

1.Mac Mineralize skin finish-Soft and Gentle.
I've searched for ages for the perfect highlighter and I heard amazing reviews about this particular highlighter so I decided that I'd give it a try as I know my own beautician swears by it. I purchased mine in Brown Thomas and it retails at €31, it sounds a bit pricey for one singular product but as it has such good pigmentation you literally only need a teeniest tiniest amount in order to get that champagne shimmer effect when the sunlight hits your face. This highlighter looks amazing also down the bridge of your nose, the brow bone and also a tiny stroke on your cupids bow. I finally understand what all the hype is about as this product as its definitely one of my favourite products in my make up bag. you can see the amazing pigment in the picture below.

2. Benefit They're Real Push up Gel liner.
Have you ever been defeated by eyeliner while trying to apply that perfect wing, and you actually end up looking like you've got panda eyes? well fear no more, this eyeliner has become my holy grail beauty product. I used to absolute dread putting on eye liner and then I found this gem. To apply, you twist the base of the pen once to push up the gel liner  and then resting the tip of the pen on the base of your lashes,slowly guide the pen along your lash line starting at either the inner or outer corner which ever you find easier yourself. Applying gel liner literally has been a whole new experience for me and I actually enjoy wearing eyeliner now as its extremely fast to apply and also it is extremely durable and you can be guaranteed that it will not smudge. If your currently in the position I used to be in and you haven't perfected that perfect wing then get yourself to your nearest Benefit stockists and treat yourself. I purchased mine in Sam McCauley's in the Showground's Clonmel, this product retails at €25 but is worth every single penny -us women really are willing to pay anything to be able to apply our make up stress free.

3.SoSue Complete Contour Kit. 

I had been literally searching for the perfect contour kit for months, as I have dry enough skin I didn't want to buy a full powder contour kit as I felt it just wouldn't suit my skin type. As you are all aware there are hundreds of contour kits available from a wide range of shops so it can be a tough decision to choose the perfect one. I had heard about the SoSu Complete contour kit from a wide range of bloggers, but I didn't want to jump ahead and purchase it just because it was Suzanne Jacksons very own product. I spent a week or two watching various tutorials and I finally decided that it was the right one for me. It comes with 3 cream concealer shades, one cream highlight shade for strobing, it also contains a pressed banana type powder for highlighting, and lastly a beautiful matte bronzer. So you basically get the best of both worlds as all your essentials are contained in the one palette.  This palette retails at €29.95 and can be purchased in chemists nationwide and also on Sue's website --> SoSue.ie. This is definitely become one of must have beauty products, the cream concealers have amazing coverage, and likewise for the powders, I'm a massive fan of shade 6 which is the bronzing powder as its the perfect shade to achieve that perfect bronzed finish. I would definiitley recommend anyone who is new to contouring to get your hands on this palette as it comes with a step by step guide on how to use each shade.

So that's my Top 3 Beauty products from May, I hope you enjoyed reading this post. I'm starting a new venture this week where ill be heading to Inglot in Limerick to begin the Intermediate Make-Up course. Stay tuned for plenty of more updates and don't forget to check out my facebook page

It's All About M.E .

Much Love,

Caoimhe x

My Sunshine Essentials..

It's extremely rare that the sun shines in Ireland so when it does, it can only mean one thing, right? Yes of course it means you have to take a trip to the shops to stock up on some summer essentials. Personally, my wardrobe is full of mainly winter woolies and dressy clothes (not that I go anywhere) and if you haven't noticed already I am a massive fan of black clothes which isn't ideal for the summer sunshine, so when the sun makes its rare appearance I always struggle to find something suitable to wear apart from the few bits and bobs that I resurrect from the bottom of my wardrobe every summer. Also I mentioned in one of my previous posts that I am a natural born" ginge", so I am quite immune to turning into a lovely bright shade of red even when I just look at the sun which isn't ideal so I also picked up some suncream and tan which I am going to tell you all about, so lets begin.!

Sunglasses

If you are like me and you have the worst squint in the world when the sun comes out I would advise you to treat yourself to a good pair of sunglasses as they will become your best friend during the summer. I picked up these Michael Kors sunglasses for €45 down from €190 and they have literally been one of the best things that I have ever spent money on. Normally, I would have just picked up sunglasses in Penneys every year but I have not looked back since I purchased theses bad boys, Tk Maxx in Clonmel also stock a wide range of authentic Designer Sunglasses including Michael kors.

Clothes

1. Obviously summer clothes is a must have so I  picked up this fab blush pink sleeveless blouse. It is pretty plain in the front and the back has a little slit and also has a lace pattern so is ideal for both everyday use and also would be suitable for heading out as you could just add a statement necklace to it, for just €13 I couldn't leave it behind.

2.As its BBQ season I decided to pick up this Jumpsuit which is also from Penneys for only €14.  It is super comfy as it is made with extremely light material. The Jumpsuit has a real nice pattern on it which is great as theres so many different colours running through it, you can match it,  with a variety of colours. The only thing I would say is if you have a weak bladder this isin't for you, as it is quite hard to get in and out of.   You have to lace it up  and down at the front everytime you want to get in or out of it.

3.On to something  more casual now.   This T-shirt is my new fave piece of clothing. I just love it! This is also from Penneys in Cork and it was only €6 at full price.  Personally I think it looks like something that you would find in either New Look or Topshop. I love the badge effect on it and the bright colours,  there is  just something so girly about it .

4. I have had my eye on a skirt the very same as this in Miss Selfridge in Debenehams for ages now but as I said, I don't go out that often so I try and refrain from spending a lot of money on more "dressy" clothes as they just end up hanging in my wardrobe for months with the tags on them, but like always Penneys solved my problem.  I picked up this fab wine denim skirt for just €3. What a Bargain!! It has such a nice fit as its an A line skirt so it enhances your waist and covers your hips which is perfect for the more curvier lady and it also has a really nice button detail down the front, penneys are always great for dupes as this skirt is literally identical to the one in Miss Selfridge.

Suncream

As I am extremely fair the sun and I tend to have a love hate relationship.  At this time of year, I would normally be hesitant to sit out in the sun as I usually only have to look at the sun and I would be scaulded but this year,  I'm wearing suncream from the  Piz Buin range and so far so good, although it is early days yet. I would recommend this suncream range to anyone who is prone to getting roasted in the summer as its coverage is excellent and it smells fab too which is always a plus. It is  a little more pricer than some of the other suncream ranges as it is  €17 for 200ml but it's definitely worth the money as I can actually enjoy the sunshine now without turning into a lobster!

Tan

Your'e probably all after reading this heading and you're thinking is this one mental fake tan in the summer? But there's a method to my madness, as I've said I am pasty white so I always like to have a good bottle of fake tan for the summer if I'm going to the likes of a BBQ or if its one of the rare occasions that I decide to go out.   I normally always wear bBold lotion or else Cocoa Brown 1hr dark tan but this time round  I headed to Morrisons Pharmacy in Cahir and I picked up a bottle of bBold liquid spray in medium and I absolutely love it. I tested it out even with suncream on, as I'm aware that the oils in suncream can make tan go streaky but my combination of Piz Buin and bBold seems to be perfect as after applying both I have remained streak free. This tan cost me just €9.95 for 200ml which should give you 10 full body applications according to the bottle. ill definitely be heading to Morrison's Pharmacy again to stock up on it.

So there you have it, that's all of my Summer sunshine essentials.  Unfortunately, I have no holidays planned so far for this year, so unless theres a miracle and I win the lotto or if anyone wants to surprise me with a holiday, I wont be jetting off anywhere anytime soon, but I will keep you all updated. I hope you enjoy the fab sunshine.

Until Next time.

Much Love,

Caoimhe x