My Top 5 Blog Posts From 2016

So this is my last blog post looking back on 2016, I promise. I figured I couldn't move forward in 2017 without sharing with you, my favourite blog posts from 2016. So here are my top 5:

Makeup Revolution Ultra Cream Contour Palette Review

2016 was the year that I discovered the brand Makeup Revolution and found out that they have some really great palettes. This is my blog post reviewing their Ultra Cream Contour Palette which is one of my favourite product reviews from the year. 

What I Ate Today

2016 was also the year I started my What I Ate Today blog post series where I documented what I ate each day in the hope that you might find it interesting. These type of blog posts are some of my favourites to read on other people's blogs so I decided to try them myself. This is the first blog post in that series. 

5 Simple Ways To Be Happier

In this blog post, I tell you 5 simple ways to make yourself feel happier and more positive each day. This was one of my favourite posts to write from the year. 

Benefit Roller Lash Review

Another one of my favourite reviews I wrote in 2016. I love Benefit so I wanted to see if this mascara compared to my favourite mascara by them, They're Real. Read the full review to see what I thought and if I prefer it to They're Real.

How do I add tags to my blog on Bloglovin?

Towards the end of the year, I posted a blog post that answered a question that I, and apparently a lot of other people, had been wondering; how do I add tags to my blog on Bloglovin. It confused me that some people had up to ten tags on their blog, I had only one, and some people had none. In this blog post, I tell you why.

So those are my top 5 blog posts from 2016. Now I'm moving on from posts about 2016, I'm sure you are sick of them by now. I hope you enjoyed this blog post! If you did, then please give it a love on Bloglovin or a +1 on Google Plus. It would mean a lot <3 I hope you have a great day and I'll talk to you soon.

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Alien Perfume Review | Thierry Mugler

Recently I got a present of the Thierry Mugler perfume Alien for my birthday. If you have been reading my blog for a while then you may know that I've wanted this perfume for about two years now so I was so happy to finally get it. I first found out about this perfume because my friend owned it and I loved the scent. I then got a free sample of it when I was buying some Christmas presents and I've wanted it ever since. 

Alien has quite a strong scent. When I got it as a present I realised that it was a bit stronger than I had remembered. The good news about this is that this means it lasts quite a long time and you don't need much of it to smell amazing. The main scents in this perfume are jasmine, white amber and cashmeran wood. I feel like this perfume has a sort of masculine hint to it, like it isn't the typical floral feminine scent; It has an edge to it. I think this perfume needs to be used a bit sparingly, maybe just one or two sprays at a time, otherwise it could change from a gorgeous scent to being quite overwhelming fairly quickly.

I've heard mixed opinions about its unique bottle. I personally really like it. The dark purple gives it a more luxurious feel and its exotic shape seems to reflect the name of the perfume. It really does look a bit like something you might find in outer space and reminds me of the Break Free music video by Ariana Grande. This is a 30ml bottle but I think I prefer the shape of the 60ml bottle which is a bit more of a square shape. The bottle that I received is also a refillable bottle so that I can easily buy refills for it for much cheaper than if I were to buy the entire thing again. If you are buying this perfume make sure to check if it is a refillable bottle or not because it can save you quite a bit of money if you are planning on repurchasing it every year or two.  

I guess the downside of this perfume is how expensive it is, hence the fact that I haven't gotten around to buying it in the two years that I've wanted it.  It's about €60-70 euros for the 30ml bottle and almost €100 for the 60ml. If you get the eau de toilette instead of the eau the parfum it is cheaper with the 30ml being €45 and the 60ml being around €70, and because this perfume is so strong I think that the eau de toilette would be actually quite nice. If you are interested in getting this perfume, you can get it in most perfume shops or drugstores or you can also buy it here on Amazon, although I would recommend that you smell it before you buy it. If you have ever tried this perfume before, let me know what you thought of it in the comments below. Also, let me know what is your favourite expensive perfume to splurge on? Talk to you soon.

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My Fashion History: Part 1

Hey guys, so I found lots of old pictures of me the other day and decided that I should do a post of my horrible fashions throughout the years so you can all have a good laugh.

I'll start with a picture of me as a baby. I don't really have a problem with this outfit but I thought that it was a good example of 90's fashion. I actually really like the colour of the jacket and that fact that it matches my shovel :P

I don't know what to say about this outfit. The waistcoat thing is just hideous. This is probably the most hideous picture of me that exists. This picture, plus a lot more, really makes me question my mother's fashion sense.

Here is me wearing a bumbag in my back garden. There was no practical reason for me to be wearing it so I must have thought that they were cool. The more this post goes on, the more I think how weird 90's fashion was. Are bumbag's coming back into fashion though? Click here to read my blog post about it.

Here I am on Santa's lap wearing a full Reebok tracksuit. It's a bad thing that I wore this to see Santa because that means that these were my good Christmas clothes. I probably bought them a week or too before, thinking that they were the nicest clothes in the world. Also, I really hate these colours together.

Here is a dress that I used to wear a lot.It had load of cherries on it and it came half-way down to my shins. It's a bit Little House On The Prairie which makes sense because my mom actually named me after Laura Ingalls, so maybe she was trying to make me look like her :P

This is me on Christmas Day in my onesie so I now know where my love of onesies came from. (well other then when I wore them as a small baby) I remember that I had more than one onesie at this age and I literally wore them until I couldn't anymore because I had outgrown them, so you can imagine how happy I was when to came back into fashion and were available in adult sizes.

Here I am on my 7th birthday wearing the most hideous shirt that I have ever seen, and I remember that it was made out of the strangest material ever. I don't understand why I liked it. I love the fact that I'm also wearing a spy watch at the same time. I remember that those watches were really cool and held gum in them.

So that was my fashion history post. I will probably do another one some day of my teenage years, if I can find any pictures (I always avoided the camera in those years :P). If you were wondering what the hell was going on with my hair in these pictures, don't worry, I will be doing a hair history post soon enough. If you liked this post make sure to give it a like on Bloglovin and leave a comment below telling me what your biggest fashion disaster was.

100 Followers on Bloglovin!! Thanks so much xx

Hey guys, so today I reached 100 followers on bloglovin and I am so happy :) Thank you to everyone who follows and reads my blog. It really makes my day to read all your lovely comments and I can't believe that now 100 people read my blog. I'm going to do a giveaway soon to celebrate but I'm waiting until I after I go back to Ireland to do it. I have only two weeks left here in France and I have exams and packing to do before I go. Most likely the giveaway will be after Christmas because I have loads to do when I get home.

 I just wanted to know what you would like to be in the giveaway because I would prefer to have a giveaway of something that I know people want rather than just something random I see. I'm contemplating the giveaway being one of the naked palettes or a mac lipstick of your choice, or maybe something nice from Benefit like They're Real mascara or a boxed powder because they are one of my favourite makeup brands. Leave a comment below of what you would like to win in a giveaway and make sure to follow the blog if you aren't already so that you don't miss the giveaway when it happens :)

I love you all,

Liebster Award!

Hey, Guys! I have been nominated for the Liebster Award by the lovely Aman from Coffee Chic. Make sure to check out her blog. It's amazing!! The Liebster Award is a great way to find new bloggers and blogs. It is a chain blog award given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 hundred followers and I was so excited when I saw that Aman had nominated me for it :) Thank you so much, Aman!!

The Rules:

You must link the person who nominated you.
You must answer the 10 Liebster questions given to you by the nominee.

You must pick 10 bloggers with under 200 followers to be nominated for the award.

You must come up with 10 questions for your nominees to answer.
You must go to their blogs and notify your nominees.

Here are my answers to Aman's questions.

1. Do you prefer coffee or tea?
Tea definitely. As an Irish girl, I will always have a love of tea :) 

2. What is your favourite part about blogging?

I have a couple of favourite parts. I love when you get to press the publish button on a post and it's completely finished. I also really love when I get a new follower or when I read a really lovely comment on one of my posts because It makes me feel like people actually care about my posts and makes me want to post more and just really happy for the rest of the day.

3. What made you start your blog?

I decided to start my blog because I needed something to focus on for the summer because I'm only working like 2 days a week and I didn't want to die of boredom :P I chose to do a blog because I started watching Youtube Videos about 2 and a half years ago and as more time went by I felt like I wanted to do my own, but I wanted to ease myself into it and heard Zoella started blogging and then as her confidence grew started Youtube. But now that I have started Blogging I really like it a lot and I am glad I did it first. I am still planning to do Youtube but not for another while yet.

4. Do you collect anything? 

Other than makeup, not really.

5. What is something you are willing to splurge on?

Makeup. For brands like Mac that are really good quality, I will save up over time and then spend way too much in one day in there.

6. Favourite movie? 

I have no idea. I have way too many, it depends on how I feel at the time. I saw fight club recently and loved it.

7. Favourite candle scent?

I'm not really a candle person but I do like vanilla candles because I love the smell of vanilla.

8. What is one makeup product you cannot live without? 

Either eyeliner or eye shadow. I have really small eyes so I like to try and make them stand out more with eye makeup.

9. Favourite band/artist?  

I don't have one overall favourite but I really like Conor Maynard right now.

10. Heels or Wedges?

Heels. I don't really ever wear wedges.

and my nominees are.... Rozie from Trust Beauty Dreams, Hannah from squidoodles & oodles, Phoebe Bialkowski,  Paula from Beauty by Paula, Heather from All Things Heather Lee, Gerry from Little Swirl's Nifty Notes, Salihah from Teeniolect, Kitty from Kitty Hearts, Thuy from My Life and Erika from Live Love Erika.

My questions for my nominees :)

1. What made you start blogging?

2. What is one makeup product that you cannot live without?
3. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
4. What's your favourite TV show right now?
5. Who is your style icon?
6. What is your favourite lipstick?
7. What is your favourite part about blogging?
8. What is your best makeup tip?
9. Why did you choose the name for your blog?
10.How long have you had your blog?

Hope you liked this post. Thanks to Aman for nominating me for it. Feel free to leave a comment with your answers to any of the questions even if I haven't nominated you. 

Friday Favourite #7 : Soap and Glory's Sugar Crush Body Scrub

Hey Guys! The Friday Favourite this week is Soap and Glory's Sugar Crush Body Scrub. I got it for Christmas in “The Best Of All” set and have loved it ever since. It leaves your skin feeling so soft after use and it smells sooo nice; a really sweet sugary smell that leaves you smelling sweet all day. It is best used before shaving so that all the dead skin is buffed away, and to get a closer shave, so the hair doesn't grow back as fast. I really wouldn't recommend using it after shaving as it can sting quite a bit, which I found out the hard way haha. Since I got it in a set, i'm not 100% sure how much it is when sold separately but I think it's around €12 which is kind of expensive but it is quite a big tub of it and it lasts a fairly long time because you don't need that much of it each time, only a little scoop with your fingers.(my one is only half gone since Christmas) I also think that you don't need to use it every time you shower, only about once a week because it will keep your legs smooth for that long especially if you pair it with Soap and Glory's The Righteous Butter which I can review if you want (leave a comment). Overall I really like the product and will definitely repurchase it when mine runs out [which I don't think will be for a long while yet :) ]

Hope you like this post :) Please leave a comment if there is any product that you would like me to review or if you would like to share any of your thoughts or opinions on Sugar Crush. If you would like to try out Sugar Crush you can buy it here on Amazon or it is available in Boots.

NOTD Peachy Summer nails

Hey Guys :) As you know, I am really loving Bourjois' So Laque nail varnish. Read my review of this nail varnish here. Since I liked the other one I have (Beige Glamour) so much, I decided to get it in another colour. The colour I got is Abricot Ouaté and it is a really nice peachy/orangy colour. For summer, I've been using a lot of corals and peaches tones so when I saw it I knew I had to get it...Love it!!

Hope you liked this post. You can get this nail varnish in any Boots or click here to get it on Amazon.

Bright Summery Makeup Look and OOTD

Makeup Products to achieve this look:

Wake me up foundation by Rimmel

Charcoal Brown eye shadow by Mac (to fill in eyebrows)

Brule eye shadow by MAC (all over the lid and up to the brow)

Coppering eye shadow by MAC (blended through the crease)

Essence eyeliner pen extra longlasting (to line the upper lashline)

Maybelline Expression Kajal Eye Liner in 33 black (to line the waterline + tightline)

Carbon eye shadow by MAC (to line halfway under the eye from the outer corner)

Sugarbomb blush by Benefit (on the cheeks)

Shy Girl lipstick by MAC (on the lips)

OOTD 

Top- €14.95 Zara

Highwaisted Jeans - €35 River Island 

Shoes - €40 River Island

Bag - Primark (Pennys)

Hope you like this post :) Please leave a comment below if you liked the look. 

Friday Favourite #6 : Bourjois So Laque Nail Varnish (in Beige Glamour)

Hey Guys! This weeks Friday Favourite is Bourjois' So Laque Nail Varnish in the colour Beige Glamour. I got it in Boots for around €7. I really love this nail varnish and wear it a lot. It's a really nice wine-ish colour thats subtle enough to be worn everyday. It goes on very easily and doesn't take very long to dry. It has a very shiny and glossy finish and it doesn't chip too easily. Although it says on the bottle that it lasts seven days, it does seem to chip after about 4 or 5 if a top coat is not applied over it but I do think, for the price, it is a very good nail varnish. If you like this nail varnish you can get it on Amazon by clicking HERE.

Hope you liked this post :) Please comment below x

June Wishlist :)

Hey Guys! Here are a couple of things this month that I've been wanting to get. If you like any of them here are the links:
Zara Top
River Island Jeans
Bohoo Boots
Next Bag

Hope you liked this post :)

Just A Little Quote #1

Image template taken from Shabby Blogs.

Hospital Visit

Hey Guys! Yesterday morning I had to get surgery to get all four of my wisdom teeth out because they were growing in the wrong direction and pushing against my other teeth. I had to wear a paper gown that tied at the back for the surgery and get an I.V. in my arm to be put to sleep. I was a bit nervous going in to get the operation and going under anesthesia but everything went okay. When I woke up my mouth was numb and full of gauze and my face was very swollen. Whenever I tried to talk I sounded like Frankenstein's monster haha. Two hours after the waking up (and after drinking some water and having some jelly and ice cream ) I was able to go home. I've had to survive on a cold soft diet for two days so I've had a lot of ice cream and yogurts but i get to start having hot liquids tomorrow like soup. I can't eat anything solid for about five days and I can't have any taytos for a week in case it opens up my stitches (I'm dying for a bag of chili heatwave doritos :( ). It's so annoying because everyone on TV is having Barbecues (or in TOWIE's case a Carb-ecue) and all I want is a burger or some chicken...mmhh. I'm already planning a humongous feast for when I can eat properly again :) I'm still pretty swollen and sore but I'm taking a lot of pain killers and get to watch a lot of TV, eating a lot of ice cream so it's not so bad :)

Me before going into surgery taken on my mom's camera phone.

Hope you liked this post. Please comment below if you have ever got your wisdom teeth out or if you have any food ideas for my big feast once i'm better :P

Friday Favourite #5: Essence Eyeliner Pen (Extra LongLasting)

Hey Guys! This weeks Friday Favourite is the Essence Eyeliner Pen (Extra LongLasting). It comes in black and its great if your doing a dramatic makeup look. Although it's only €2.99, it comes out jet black, doesn't smudge and lasts the whole day. It is a good as eyeliners three or four times the price. Another thing I like about this eyeliner is that it comes off easily with a makeup wipe so you don't have to tug on your eye like you might with some other eyeliners that seem like you've got cement on your eyes when it comes to taking them off. Its really easy to put on because its in a pen form but it does create quite a thick line (this is why it's better for dramatic looks).For a finer line however, Essence also do a Super Fine Eyeliner Pen which I haven't tried yet but for the price (and if it's anything as good as the Extra LongLasting) it's worth a try. Whichever type of line you want, Essence liners are well worth the money and I'd recommend trying them :)

Hope you liked this post :) If there is anything specific you want me to review leave a comment below.

Duty Free and Paris Haul!

Hey guys! When I was in Paris last week I bought a couple of things in the duty free for a lot cheaper than I would have at home.The first things I got were on the way over in The Loop in Cork airport. I got Benefit's The Porefessional and a new They're Real Mascara because I have run out. I also got my first O.P.I. nail varnish because I've wanted to try O.P.I. for ages. The colour I got was Not So Bora Bora-ing Pink. It's a gorgeous colour that can be worn everyday and as soon as I saw the name, I knew I had to get it. I got it for €11.70 which was very good because I know that they are usually around €14 or something if not more. I saved a lot of money on the Benefit products, saving €20 between the two products as I got the Porefessional for €24 (whereas it's €35 at home in Boots) and I got the mascara for only €18 (Whereas it's €27 at home). I was very happy with this because I was going to get the mascara and Porefessional anyway so I saved a lot of money.

My favourite thing I got for a lot cheaper than usual was on an Aer Lingus flight home. They were selling the Real Techniques Core Collection for just €20 ( That's just €5 per brush). As ye know I already have the blush brush, stippling brush and the starter set, but I still wanted the core collection because I've heard that the buffing brush that is in it is the best of all the Real Techniques brushes. I had seen the core collection in Boots but it was for €28.99 so I was so happy that I got it for just €20 :)

Another thing that I bought on the trip is the coolest hoody ever... a Buzz Lightyear one. I got it in one of the Disneystores in Discovery Land in the Disneyland Park for €45.99. I know that's quite expensive but it's a really unique hoody and a great souvenir from the trip (also it's really warm and we hadn't packed for the cold, wet weather that was there when we went :P

Hope you liked this post. If you want me to do a review on any of the above products just leave a comment down below.                                          

Friday Favourite #4: Soap & Glory's Glad Hair Day Intensive Conditioner for Full, Frizzy or Fried Hair

Hey Guys!
This week's Friday Favourite is Soap & Glory's Glad Hair Day Intensive Conditioner for Full, Frizzy or Fried Hair. As you can probably tell by now from reading the rest of my blog, I love Soap and Glory products and this one isn't an exception. The thing that draws my attention to Soap & Glory is the gorgeous packaging. I love the 50's theme that runs throughout their products. My favourite thing about the Glad Hair Day Intensive Conditioner is it's scent. IT SMELLS AMAZING!! I can't even explain how nice it smells. Also, I find that it leaves my hair really soft and conditioned which is hard for me to find because I have fairly thick, curly hair that is very dry so the fact that it leaves my hair really soft makes me really like this conditioner. I recently ran out of this conditioner and have purchased it again, and plan to keep repurchasing it in the future. It is fairly expensive for conditioner (€7.75 at Boots) but since it is so intensive you don't need to use it very often so it lasts for quite a long time. If you have normal or thin hair, Soap & Glory also do Glad Hair Day for normal to fine hair-type that you could try; but If your hair is very dry or thick and you want it to smell amazing I would really recommend the intensive conditioner... Love It!! 

-MissLauraBora xx

Everyday Makeup Look Using Mac Eye Shadows

Products used to achieve this look:

Urban Decay’s Primer Potion

Naked Lunch eye shadow by Mac

Mulch eye shadow by Mac

Brule eye shadow by Mac

Nylon eye shadow by Mac

Carbon eye shadow by Mac

Charcoal Brown eye shadow by Mac

Maybelline Expression kajal gentle precision eyeliner in no. 33 Black

They’re Real mascara by Benefit

Brushes:  Sigma E60 large shader brush

                 Sigma E40 tapered blending brush

                 Sigma E70 medium angled shading brush

                 Sigma E30 pencil brush

                 Sigma E65 small angle brush

                 “17 Eyes” brush by 17 (any angled brow brush will do)

                 

Technique:                                                                                                                                                

1.       I filled in my eyebrows with Charcoal Brown using an angled brow brush by 17

2.       I started the eyes by rubbing Urban Decay’s Primer Potion all over the lid and up to the brow.

3.       Then I applied Naked Lunch all over the lid with the Sigma E60.

4.       Next I took some Mulch on the Sigma E40 and applied it through the crease.

5.       Then I used the same Sigma E40 to blend out the crease so that there isn’t a harsh line.

6.       Next I took Mulch under the eye using the Sigma E30.

7.       For a highlight I applied Brule just under the brow with the Sigma E30.

8.       To brighten up the eye, I used the Sigma E30 to apply Nylon to the inner corner.

9.       I then lined both my waterline and my tightline with the Maybelline eyeliner pencil.

10.   I took Carbon on the Sigma E65 and applied it as eyeliner to the upper lash line, winging it out slightly at the ends.

11.   For the Final step, I curled my lashes and applied Benefit’s They’re Real to my lashes in a zigzag motion.

Hope you like the look :)

P.S. More affordable looks will be posted soon. I just really love this one. For those on a budget, the only Mac eye shadows that you really need are Naked Lunch and Mulch. You can use whatever you want for your eyebrows, liner, highlighter, etc.

-MissLauraBora xx