Emma's Candles

This isn't the first time I've blogged about Emma's candles, nor I doubt will it be the last. The first time I banged on about it was back in June and my love for these hasn't dwindled. Have a look at my first thoughts over here. In case your new to this brand, Emma and her husband are the two lovelies behind these beauts of candles. They are an Irish company to be proud of - as the loving Irish brands have been a little lacking in my last few posts, so it makes a really good change! 

I've been slowly but surely making my way through all of the scents they have on offer. A month or two ago I ordered a gorgeous candle of theirs in lemongrass that was made in a tea cup with a saucer. These are hard to come by and only pop up every so often. I was really delighted to get one but I haven't been able to bring myself to burn it yet. However every time I pass this I get the lovely scent of lemongrass so I guess I'm not really wasting the candle too much. I think this in particular would make an amazing Christmas present for a mammy or granny. I know both of mine are always commenting about how nice my room smells or how beautiful the cup candle is. Make sure to follow them on Twitter for updates on the next batch, you might get lucky!

Recently for my birthday I asked for one of their Christmas scents that they have just come out with, a candle in Masala Chia and also a regular wax melt in Neroli Fusion. They kindly gave me another Christmas scent wax melt in Mint Crisp as well. I've been using all of them, I can never decide which one I'm going to use! Each tin candle is €9.95 while the bigger glass candle is €18.50 and a wax melt is €4.95. They also do great multi buy special offers that all come packaged up with ribbons. Not that they need it really, as the packaging is all designed by Emma herself. Each design is suited to the candle can be really detailed, its a lovely touch.

The tin candle in Masala Chia is proper scent that reminds me of Christmas and one of my favourite drinks, chai lattes. This has ginger, cinnamon, clove and cardamon spices blends to make you feel warm and excited for the cold season thats starting to appear.

The Neroli Fusion wax melt is something totally different then I've ever had. I think any wax melts give off a much stronger scent that fills more of a room then most candles. It has orange oil, lavender and neroli oil. I think this would be an either love it or hate it scent, but so far everyone whose had a sniff loves it. I also really like the little white flowers that are on the packaging for this. 

Lastly is the *mint crisp that has to be my favourite out of the lot. This is another Christmas scent thats only out for the season. I had a dreadful head cold when I first used this, and at the time nothing was properly clearing up my head at night so breathing was hard and sleeping half upright wasn't ideal. I started to melt this as a little pick me up while sulking away in bed and found that my head started to clear up! Its like Vicks but one that you can melt and feel Christmasy while you sniff it. I really recommend stocking up on this if you have a cold. I can't use Vicks so this is the perfect substitute. Total love at first.. Sniff!

Emma's has recently updated their site to include a brand new look and easier to navigate. Make sure and have a goo at it over here.

*I did not pay for this item, it was a PR gift.  Please see my disclaimer here. 

Dream Dots

 If you come round these parts often, you'll know I have what I like to call a join the dots face. I'm in my early 20's and still suffer dreadfully with spots of all kinds. Theres always a constant battle to find the latest lotion or potion to try out on my skin, hoping that it will cure or at least reduce my ever growing spot covered face. Sometimes things work ok, sometimes I'm left wondering why I paid so much money for a product that gave me no results and at the end of the day sometimes I ignore my face and just slapping on extra make up. Is there anything out there that actually works and you can see the results? Well lads and ladies, I'm back on the hunt again today.

The brand spankin' new *Dream Dots have just hit the market and I was intrigued to try them out. How could a tiny plaster-like product magically get rid of your spots, thats just crazy talk! (y'all cray cray in here! - don't judge me, I've been watching too much Netflix.) There are 24 little dream dots in a pack that are nicely sealed up and a little information leaflet that show you how the dot works and how to apply. All you need to do before bed is cleanse, peel off a little dot and stick it onto your spot, simple. Depending on the size of the spot, it might take up to three dots to get rid of it. You can also use the dream dots during the day and cover them up with make up, though I've not tried this yet as I like to deal with my face demons at night time.

The pictures below are woeful for two reasons. The first obviously because you have a nice close up shot of my spots, mmm sexy.. And the second, because the before and after shots of the spot I tried the dot on can't be clearly seen properly (ggrrr, feck sake!) Your just going to have to take my word for it when I tell you I had a crater of a spot on my neck for about four days and it wasn't reducing at all. Ok so maybe because I plastered it in make up and picked at it a lot didn't help.. But it was setting up a permanent home there! I put on a dream dot for two nights and not only did the dot stop me from picking at it, it helped to reduce it so so much. In the morning I could visibly notice the difference and was well impressed.  

So we know the little yokes to actually work, but would I recommend them and buy them myself? In some ways yes, I would totally recommend them to someone who had a small outbreak of spots and perhaps there was an important event that they really wanted clear skin for. But at €15 for 24, I wouldn't be running out to stock up on them every week. As someone with a lot of spots, I could easily use the entire pack in one night and that is just not value for money.

There were also a few things I noted when using them over the past week. The first is that not all my dots were as sticky as others and twice they came off my skin during the night. However on the other end of the scale those that did stick on were sometimes hard to get off and also very sore. It was like ripping a plaster off, ouch! Perhaps the dots will be updated in months to come and this problem will be resolved.

To round up, for the craters that pop up, I would definitely use one of theses, but for the price of a box I would be more inclined to get a cream for my many face uglies. Oh and on a very positive note, the Dream Dots site is very easy to navigate and also their social media sites are regularly updated and they interact well with the public - something shockingly enough that isn't done with a lot of companies so its really great to note. 

Do you think you would use Dream Dots? 

*I did not pay for this item, it was a PR gift.  Please see my disclaimer here. 

Bia Beauty Lemon Myrtle Hand Cream

If theres something I love, its a product that not only works, but one that you can physically see the results of in just a few days. Its not often you find a product like that, trust me I have a house full of potions and lotions to prove it! When this lovely little heavy 60ml pot of *Bia Beauty cream landed on my door step, I was hesitant to use it. Lemon Myrtle was not my idea of a nice sent, but I was so wrong. Its a lemony and pleasantly sweet fragrance with an all natural ingredients list of 'rich shea butter, soothing calendula and protective beeswax'. I can't begin to tell you how thick and rich this little pot of cream is! Honestly, I was so surprised when I poked a finger in to test it the first time. Of course its all down to the beeswax and the shea butter, but oh my you really have to try it in person to understand how satisfying it is. This hand cream is for all skin types.

Now I have to tell you a dirty little secret. After a few days of going from less then silky hands (hard skin on the sides of my fingers, damaged from bleach, too much time in chlorine filled swimming pools and general abuse) to a noticeably changed softer and more loved little paws it gave me an idea. I used it on my feet. Yup, I used hand cream on my feet! (But like, no need to gossip about it, thanks.) If theres one part of my body that I hate the most and ignore totally its my feet. I have a fear of them and occasionally make myself ill from remembering I own a pair means that foot products are never high on my must have list. And because of that I have sandpaper feet. I mean holy god, I'd jump out of bed in fright if I rubbed up against my feet in bed at night (ughhh, mental image.) So I tried a few different moisturisers in the hopes that they would resemble feet once again with no luck. That was until I decided to slap a bit of Bia Beauty hand cream on them. Seriously, I'm on my 4th day of using it and its worked a treat. Now both sets of the end of my limbs are silky. I tell ya, I'm a fancy girl, me!

Since receiving this over two weeks ago, I've been using it daily and barely made a dent in the pot. I think this is well worth getting, if not for the lack of dent making you will make (what?! Ah you know what I mean) then for the fact that you will have silky bits in a few days, whatever bits of you you choose to cream up! For those of you that are subscribed to Chic Treat Club you will already have gotten your mitts on this pot of wonder in last months box. But for those of you who have yet to try it out you can find it over here. 

Another reason to love Bia Beauty is that its supporting an Irish business all the way from Co. Cork. Tracey started this as a project while in college and sold the products she made locally at farmers markets. The response was so positive that she created more and more products and so Bia Beauty was born. Now theres your little bit of inspiration for the day as well as soft hands. 

*I did not pay for this item, it was a PR gift.  Please see my disclaimer here. 

Emmas Soy Candles

Twitter is alive with the rave reviews of Emmas Soy Candles at the minute. Loads of bloggers have been getting on board the shop local and support Irish businesses band wagon - and what a fine thing it is to see! Not only am I a massive lover of candles, but of good home grown businesses that you can be proud of too. It just so happens that both of these boxes are ticked in todays post.

To start with, I have to mention the packaging. I'm a lover of shiny, pretty floral designs and these candle tins send the aul heart a fluttering. I was lucky enough to meet Emma's husband who not only was a mind of information but also gushed over his lovely creative wife Emma! He told me that she thought up and designed all the packaging herself, how cool is this lady?! The hardest thing was choosing a candle after smelling how good they were and the enthusiasm for the brand caught me like wildfire. 

Emma's candles have no artificial dyes, synthetic fragrances, paraffin or parabens in them, so what your burning is really some good quality stuff that wont upset those of us that might be sensitive to overpowering chemical smells. Also I'm a big fan of burning these candles as they don't effect my asthma the way some candles can. (The all fearing moment when you light a new candle and hope you don't keel over before you can get your inhaler 10 minutes later.) To top it all off these tin candles (€9.95)  have a burning time of about 20 hours while the bigger glass tumbler (€19.95)  has a massive 50 hours. You can also get lovely wax tart melts (€4.95), it doesn't say how long their burning time is for on the site but I'm sure its enough time to help you unwind with the gorgeous scents.

The first tin I had my eye on was the lavender scented one. I really like sweet scents but never try out the more relaxing ones so this was nabbed pretty quickly! When its lit it has the most gorgeous light scent of real lavender up close, but it doesn't fill the whole room for about 40 minutes which means your not overpowered and need to blow it out quickly. The thing that really stumped me was the day after burning it, I could still get the lavender scent when I walked into my room! It lingers so much longer then any other candle I've ever used and anyone who walked into my room that day asked if I had sprayed something or put fresh sheets on the bed. I think this candle (no doubt a repurchase by then) will be great for the winter months when windows aren't opened and you need a little freshening up in stuffy, warm rooms. Speaking of which, will I be shot if I mention that these are on my Christmas shopping list? Both my mom and sister really liked them so... I'll just be quiet now.

The second candle was the *lemon grass scent which I would have normally never tried out. I'm really surprised at how much I'm enjoying burning it and like the lavender one, it isn't overpowering and doesn't hit you with a strong scent once its lit. I think this is the perfect scent for the summer and on my next internet shopping trip I'm going to try lemongrass out in their wax melts!

Have a look at the whole range on emmas.ie.

*I did not pay for this item, it was a PR gift.  Please see my disclaimer here. 

Madison Make Up Brushes

A few weeks ago I was given the chance to try out the new *Madison professional make up brushes and I was very excited. Not only am I a huge make up brush enthusiast and that these looked too good to even open, but they are also made by an Irish guy called Paul who owns The Cosmetic Outlet in Dublin. Gorgeous brushes and supporting the Irish? Well, don't mind if I do thanks!

This kit is really perfect for anyone who is a beginner or even a pro with this set including 7 natural and synthetic haired brushes all for just €30. And if thats not good enough, it even comes with a handy sleek brush holder as well to keep your brushes clean and safe while travelling. I really love brushes that come with a holder, it makes life so much easier and I feel like they are an extra luxury.

In order of the left picture below:

Flat foundation brush: Made of 100% synthetic hair

I have to say, there was a little bit of fall out with this brush that drove me mad and I ended up washing it and fluffing it off the back of my hand before round two. After that it worked a dream, using it daily now.

Powder brush: Made of 100% natural hair

Definitely one of the best powder brushes in my collection, I love the size of this and how well it picks up powders. 

Stippling brush: Made of mixed natural and synthetic

This has to be the most exciting brush in the set for me. I have never owned a stippling brush and was overjoyed when I realised it had one! I even went off to YouTube and learnt all its uses and how to use it properly. I have used this for foundation and love it, the finish is amazing. If you only get one of these brushes it has to be this one.

In order of the right picture above:

Lip brush: Made of 100% natural hair

I have actually used this brush to apply eye shadow to the crease of my eye as it gives such precise finish and I don't end up with a crease the size of today and tomorrow. I reach for this every time I'm doing my eyes now.

Angle shadow brush: Made of 100% natural hair

I use this one to blend out of eye shadow but more recently I've started to use it for highlighting my brow or in the inner part of my eye.

Small eye shadow brush: Made of 100% natural hair

I am finding it a little hard to break this brush in, its a little stiff and doesn't pick up the shadows amazingly, I might wash it and try it out again. I'll report back!

Big eye shadow brush: Made of 100% natural hair

I really like this brush, its easy to use, feather light and holds the shadows really well. I use this one all the time and would love to get another one.

You can get the set and the bigger brushes from The Cosmetic Outlet or if you go to their Facebook page you can get them posted out to you, handy stuff! Paul has also told me that the smaller brushes will be coming out if you wish to buy them separately. But you have to get that lip and stippling brush, you just have to!!

*I did not pay for this item, it was a PR gift.  Please see my disclaimer here.

Get Thee To The Cosmetic Outlet!

I heard about the Cosmetic Outlet all the way back last year when I went to Sam's bloggers Dublin Meet Up as they sponsored some prizes and gave everyone goodie bags, the dolls! Since then I regularly drool over my news feed on Facebook looking at all the great things they have in stock. I have said time and time again that I will visit the shop but something has always come up. Not yesterday though, no sir. I hopped off the bus and headed straight to Meath St. (with the help of Google maps) Holy god I didn't realise what I had been missing. I originally went with the intentions of getting a w7 In The Buff palette (€10) as they are meant to be close dupes of the Naked 2 palette. Look below at the colours, isn't it just lovely?  

But what I didn't bank on was the owner of the shop, Paul, being such a gas fella and having so much more in his shop (that I drooled over) then I had first thought. So naturally I got a few more things and even some Mothers Day bits as it would have been rude not to with those prices! Have a look below and then wipe the drool off your mouth. I know right, uber pretty? I got the blue one (€10) for my granny for Mothers Day - she is going to go wild when I give it to her, she loves her glam jewelry. I might have also picked up a pink chunky necklace (€15) for myself, I couldn't help it. I nearly purred - yes purred, over the collection of different necklaces Paul had to offer and I know for a fact that I'll be going back to get another statement piece. (It's got wings on it and a mask like face. Oh mammy its divine.)

As I was chatting away I mentioned I'd pick up some things for the mammy and granny. Paul very kindly made up two Mothers Day gift bags for me and put all the things I got for them into it. Aren't they really lovely? Bows, dotted cellophane and cute bags! You can get these already made up with loads of different things to choose from inside. Have a look at the photos below to see some of them. Or you can have your pick if you go onto The Cosmetic Outlet Facebook page. They start at €10 which really are a bargain - and we all know how much I love a bargain!

  

I also got YesTo products that are stupidly hard to find in shops in Ireland. But they were on offer 3 for €10. How could I say no to that? I picked up a L'oreal collagen re-plumping cream and MaxFactor mascara for the mammy and a mens Burt gift set for a birthday present. Its not just ladies products they had to offer as I roamed the shelves, there is a wide range of mens products too. 

 If that wasn't enough, Paul kindly gave me his new Madison brushes to try out (I felt them in the shop, they are so soft! I can't wait to give them a go and write up a review) and also some w7 products since I came in for the w7 eye shadow palette. I doubt you'll see me come out of the house this side of Christmas with all the things I have to play with now! 

I can safely say I will be going back to the Cosmetic Outlet again soon as I have my eye on a few more things (in the region of €70, so I'll bring the fella along too. Just to carry the bags, honest..) One of the jems I'm drooling over is the pink handbag below, it just screams take me home. I can't get over the range of products they stock like Vichy, GreenAngel, Cocoa Brown, Shiseido and more. Not to mention how friendly and helpful the staff are. Oh and the next to nothing prices, thats a definite winner in my books! 

So go on now, get thee to the Cosmetic Outlet and tell them I sent you!

Februarys Powder Pocket

Holy god your all thinking, the woman is late with this sure its half way through March now! Well boys and girls I can say with a hand over my heart that life just gets in the way sometimes and thats whats been happening since I got my box from the lovely post man last week. But oh mammy have I been enjoying the contents so far. I also got to meet some of the lovely Powder Pocket people at the Irish Beauty Show in the RDS on Monday. They were great craic and its so nice to be able to put a few faces to the brand. So come here till I all about the box. The excitement!

For February's box the theme was very much focused on the theme of glamour as it was awards season. Gold tissue paper, a fancy light bulb sticker and the part that I loved the most, the powder pocket on the top of the box is gold too. Its such a simple detail but I'm mad on the details and packaging. Nice work lads and ladies, top marks. And as you can see Dodie my cat was very interested in seeing what was inside too!

I opened the box and out popped Marilyn Monroe with some pink bubble gum, the stunner. I loved the booklet this month and the layout is much better then the hard to work,read and fold one that I had a fight with last month. Have a look at it over here. 

I am totally delighted with all the bits in this months box, I opened it and let out a little happy sigh of utter contentment. I was as if the ladies and gents at Powder Pocket read my wish list and did their best to accommodate it! My nails over the past while have been getting worse and worse, so you can imagine my excitment when I found a lovely full size Jessica brilliance top coat. I have only ever drooled over this brand and at €13.95 for this, I was delighted to have my paws on it.

Keeping on the nails, Manicare 4 step file and shine was the next thing I set my peepers on. This is such a handy everyday thing to have and you can throw it in your handbag on the go for those emergency moments, This is only €2.50 but I think the packaging and product itself looks a lot more expensive. 

Reading about the Herra protect hair perfume got my attention as it was one of those potentially out there products that could only be considered a bit of a princess product - does nothing much but is fancy at the same time. The sample that came was hard to use and if I'm honest a bit of a waste. However I liked the packaging and have never used a sample like it before. A full size costs €29.50 and I don't think it would be anywhere near my wish list. But I'd love to see a few bloggers review it just to hear their thoughts.

The last two things were a lovely surprise. I spotted a lovely little bottle of The body shop shea shower cream. I'm a big fan of the body shop and an even bigger fan of their shea butter products so I couldn't have been more happier. I have yet to use it but its on the menu for my next pamper night. A full size 250ml is €8.85.

The last surprise I got was a lovely Shiseido benefiance pure retinol eye mask. I have known of this brand for years but their things are so expansive that I wouldn't dream of going near them, so getting the change to try something fancy from them is a big treat! For a pack of 12 these yokes will set you back a crazy €63. They must be doing something right if people are forking out that kind of money, I'll be sure to do a review of this one! 

Thats all from me for now. I hope everyone is doing well and having a good week. I see that there have been a load of new people following me through BlogLovin' - so a big hey and welcome to all of you! Its lovely to know that so many of you are subscribed to my blog and like my rambly tangents of posts. If you fancy being able to keep up with them all you can follow me on Bloglovin' over here or indeed you can keep up to date by following me on the GFC at the top right hand corner of the page. 

Pixy Lime Body Scrubs

Would you look at me getting all fancy taking photos outside in flower beds! 

  For ages I've followed the new Irish brand Pixy Cosmetics which started up back in 2012. Since then they have gone from strength to strength expanding their products all over the country. Its always so exciting to be able to support and love new Irish brands! Many times I have gone to their site and filled a basket with lots of things I'd love to try out, but never clicking the final button purely because I wanted to see the products in person. Does anyone else have that thing of wanting to actually hold the things and in person buy it? Just me then, as normal.. I had a little look at their stock list and found that City Pharmacy on Dame street stocks the full range. Naturally I had to check it out.

Lime body scrubs were first on my list. The packaging is so simple and the cute gold bow caught my eye, its the perfect present to give a loved one. There are six ice cube sized blocks of scrubbing goodness in each packet to use in the shower or in the bath. Every cube has apricot and lime oil, vitamin e and cocoa butter packed inside. I'm not a fan of the more sour smelling products but these smelt heavenly and it really wakes you up in the morning too, bonus points!

At €4.99 I wasn't sure what to expect when I used the first little cube, thinking it might dissolve quite quickly once water was added to it but I was totally wrong. Hard and moisturizing on the outside, rubbing it over my skin was a treat. After a second or two however it melted a bit and the exfoliating scrubby bites broke through working immediately. And let me just add that I used this all over my body and there was still half the cube left. I used an entire cube though, just because. You could easily get 3 uses from each one. Value for money I hear you say?

I wouldn't recommend this for your face as it could be a little harsh, but people go to town on those rough bits of skin that drive you mad. For me its my elbows and knees, bane of my existence..  Getting a product that both exfoliates and moisturizes at the same time is a fab find. The cubes are small but you will get so many uses from them and they are oh so travel friendly too. What more could you ask for really? I know I will be repurchasing these as gifts in the future. Ok, ok, and for me too.. So why not head over to their site Pixy.ie nab some amazing products and support an Irish brand. You will also get free shipping to anywhere in Ireland once your order is over €10. I can't wait to try out some of their other products!