My Youtube Lighting Setup

A couple of months ago, I bought some new studio lights for my YouTube videos. The ones I got were on Amazon and they were between 80-100 euros. They are a 50x70cm softbox photo studio set consisting of 2 softboxes with 5500K 85W light bulbs. They are quite big as you can see in the picture below and it is possible to adjust their height to be both taller or shorter. 

The two softboxes came in a travel-friendly bag that is pretty lightweight and easy to carry around. Before I bought them, the only thing I was worried about was that they have 85W bulbs instead of 125W, which are supposed to be brighter. I haven't found this an issue, however, and have been able to use only one of the softboxes to light my entire YouTube background. (This is also down to how big they are and I can't fit them both in my room.)  

Below I have pictures showing what my room looks like without any lights on and also how it looks with only one softbox on, situated about 2 metres away. The light is so good that right now I don't need to use the second light at all because one is bright enough, whether it's during the day or during the night. ( The photos below were taken when it was dark outside). 

Without the lights:

While one of the softboxes is on:

As you can see, the one light makes an awful difference to my YouTube background. I've also been using one of the softboxes to light my blog pictures and I just love how the pictures have been coming out.

Here is a picture taken for my blog with one of the softboxes situated about a metre away:

Overall, I am so happy with my new lights and lighting setup, especially because I don't have to worry about the sun going down so quickly in the winter months and having to rush my videos and photos before it happens. If you have a blog or a YouTube channel, let me know in the comments below how you light your videos or pictures. Do you use natural lighting or studio lighting? And if you are thinking about getting the same lights as me, here is the link. Talk to you soon. 

O.P.I Get Cherried Away Nail Lacquer Review

Recently I bought a new O.P.I. nail polish called Get Cherried Away. It is a deep purpley plum colour. O.P.I, along with Essie, is among my favourite brands for nail polish, mostly because they are such great quality. They both last quite a long time before chipping, a lot more than any other brands that I've tried.

It's pretty similar to Essie's Bahama Mama, which is one of my favourite colours ever, except this is less of a wine colour and a bit more purpley than that one. Of course I saw it at the Professional Beauty Ireland event and thought it was a gorgeous colour, different to anything I had already, until I got home and realised that I have at least three other nail polishes like it, each which seem to be only one or two shades different. Does that ever happen to you? I find that I seem to gravitate towards wine and peachy nail polishes in the shop and almost always forget that I've bought that same shade time and time again. 

I got this nail polish for something like €6.50 which is almost half off. I had to stop myself from buying many other shades at that price and picked only one, one that I thought was completely different to anything I had :P Even though I have other colours like it, I still really like this one especially for the winter months. I have already been wearing this more than any other colour I have over the last two months, epecially for the quality because I'm constantly peeling off stickers and unpacking boxes in work which requires a strong nail polish in order for it to survive an hour, not to mind the entire day. 

This has quickly become one of my new favourite polishes that I can see myself buying again in the future. I'll defintely need a new one to get me through next winter haha. 

Have you ever tried this colour or any of the other O.P.I. colours before? Let me know in the comments below what you thought of them and I'll talk to your soon. 

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Into The Woods | Styled Fashion Look

Today I thought I would show you a look that I've been wearing lately. My style has always been slightly edgy/ rock chickish and I tend to go between that and a more fun/casual gangsta style with snapbacks. Ever since the checked red flannel shirt came back into fashion, I've been obsessed! I've already bought three or four different flannel shirts because I love them so much. One of my favourite things to  them with are with black ripped jeans. For this look, I put them with blue stone washed jeans, a white slogan tee-shirt, a leather jacket and black ankle boots.

Jacket: Zara
"Not Your Bae" Top: H&M
Checked Flannel Shirt: Penneys/Primark
Stone Washed Jeans: Penneys/Primark
Black Ankle Boots: boohoo.com
Bag: Penneys/ Primark
Red Bandana: Penneys/Primark
Lipstick: Rimmel Kate Moss Lasting Finish (01)

I hope you enjoyed this post. If you did then please save it on Bloglovin or give it a +1 in Google Plus. Also, let me know in the comments below what your favourite look to wear with a red lip is or if you even like to wear red lipstick.  Talk to you soon.

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Nivea 3 in 1 Micellar Water Review

I've had a love for micellar waters since I first bought the Bioderma one about 2 years ago. It was great at removing my makeup and at fixing little makeup mistakes but it was very hard to get in Ireland at the time.You can read my review of the Bioderma micellar water here. Lately, I decided that I need to find a cheaper micellar water soon because my Bioderma one is almost gone. Then, earlier this month, Nivea sent me their version of micellar water along with another one of their products for review. This was definitely my favourite of the two products they sent, the other being their Double Effect Eye Make-Up Remover which I haven't reviewed yet.

What I loved about this product is that it removes makeup so easily and because it is made for sensitive skin, it is so gentle on your face. I think it actually might be better than the Bioderma one because if you read my review of that you will know that it didn't work very well when applied with tissue. It worked way better when applied to a cotton bud and held against the skin for about 10-30 seconds before wiping away. With this Nivea micellar water, I found it removed all of my makeup even when it was applied to tissue paper, so if I forget to buy cotton pads it really doesn't matter.

This is a 3 in 1 micellar water because it is supposed to protect against the 3 main signs of sensitive skin; redness, tightness and dryness, and although I don't have sensitive skin, I can't see how it could irritate anyone's skin. It is free of parabens, colours and perfume. It almost feels like plain water on your skin except a bit more moisturising, which is another benefit to this product, it not only removes makeup but moisturises at the same time. I don't know if I would skip my moisturiser while using this, though, but it definitely is a plus if you don't have time to moisturise or are too tired for a full skincare routine and just quickly want to remove your makeup.

The best thing about this product is the price. It's only €4 in Superdrug, although I think that might be just an introductory price on it's initial release. But even if that price doesn't last long, the RRP is €5.49 so it won't go up by much. I'm definitely repurchasing this once it runs out because you get quite a lot of product for such a great price. Have you tried this product yet? Let me know, and if not then let me know what your favourite product to remove makeup with is in the comments below.

*Although this product was sent to me for review, all the above thoughts and opinions are completely honest and if I didn't like the product or any aspect of it I would say. 

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Huge Savings on Benefit Cosmetics, OPI and More |Professional Beauty Ireland Haul

Last month I went to an event called Professional Beauty Ireland where hundreds of beauty professionals gathered in Dublin to get amazing discounts on beauty products and services. About a month before it, I received an email from Professional Beauty Ireland to attend a champagne blogger reception during the event. My friend Aoife said she would come with me so we headed to Dublin for the day to get some great deals.   

 I had to try to restrain myself from spending all my money because there were some amazing savings to be had, but I did get a few things including some Christmas presents from Benefit where there was 10% off everything.

The first few things that I got were Benefit's Rolller Lash, an OPI nail lacquer and a Gosh eye pencil. Both Aoife and I got an eye pencil free when we attended the Gosh booth but I accidentally got a murky green instead of brown so I don't know if I will be using it as much as I thought. It was completely free though once we gave our emails to enter some draw or something.

I got 10% of the Roller Lash which was great because I'd being dying to try it out for a while (look out for a review soon). I also got an OPI nail lacquer in the colour "Get Cherried Away" for only €6 or something which is almost half price. This is where my great restraint came in because there was a deal that you could buy any 6 OPI colours plus a set of 3 nail polishes including a base coat and top coat for only €40. They are typically about €11 per nail lacquer whenever I have seen them in shops so this was a really good deal. I really only wanted two colours so I decided not to get the deal and ended up making a further compromise of only buying the one. I had great envy for some of the other girls who where piling dozens of colours into their baskets though.

While I was at Benefit, I decided to take advantage of the 10 percent off discount and bought some Christmas presents, and because I because I bought more than two things there they gave me a gorgeous free tote bag. The two Christmas sets I bought allowed me to save quite a lot, over 32% on one and 58% on the other, and that was even before the 10% off everything was applied. One of the sets called Life of the Party included sort of mini/travel sized versions of a lot of Benefit products that combined would do most of your face for makeup. 

The other set, called Get Your Party On, contained 4 full sized products which included their Hoola bronzer, a They're Real mascara, a High Beam and a Gimme Brow fiber gel. 

One of my favourite things that I got was the tote bag that I got for free at Benefit. It's large enough to carry quite a lot of stuff and I really like it's urban design. It was such a great free gift. I wasn't even expecting a free sample let alone a free tote bag. 

Another thing I got were some Sleep In Rollers for just €10. The set has something like 20 rollers in it and a free backcombing brush. Here is a link to their website if you would like to get some although I think the €10 offer was only available on the day of the event. 

Last but not least was this Tan Organic and Skin Logic goody bag that I got at their lovely champagne reception. It included three sample products; some of their self-tan lotion, their multi-use dry oil and a 24 K Gold under eye face mask (which I am really excited to try out). I will be reviewing each of these products once I get a chance to try them out properly so much sure to look out for a blog post on each of them. 

So that is everything. I know it seems like a lot but there was so much more I could have bought including a deal on 24 professional makeup brushes for just €100 which almost caused me physical pain to leave behind haha!

Are you as much of a shopaholic as me?? Let me know in the comments below. 

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Don't Rush Your Dreams

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Lately, I feel like I've been seeing more and more people giving up on their dreams because they think that they aren't progressing enough, or that they are progressing too slowly. This is completely ridiculous. We can't go through life with an all or nothing mindset. Great things take time and we need to be grateful for the progress we are making because it all adds up eventually. I've tried my best to convince some of these people to hang in there, and the ones who have are already seeing amazing results. On the other hand, the people who quit will never know what could have happened. They might spend their whole life wondering what could have been. The only definite way of failing is by giving up. Then there is no way you will succeed.

Another issue is that feeling that you need to rush yourself in the pursuit of your dreams. This is something that I have definitely felt; that I need to be succeeding faster or it will never happen. We can't wait to be successful and we spend all of our time waiting for it to come about. Now I'm going to be really cringey and reference Hannah Montana. I can't remember the exact words but the gist is that it's not about that goal at the end of the day, it's about the climb. The journey you go through to get to where you want to be is life, and you can't rush it. It shapes you into the person you're going to be. We all need to think smarter about how we achieve our dreams instead or being stressed out all the time trying to do 200 things at once to take a short cut. If you decide that you won't give up no matter what then it has to happen eventually or you will die trying. Just because it doesn't happen straight away means nothing. Progress is progress and it means you are heading in the right direction.

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Wicked Witch Makeup Tutorial

Hey guys, recently on my YouTube channel I did a witch makeup tutorial for Halloween that I though I should show you. I love Halloween and I think this is a pretty easy makeup look to do for a last minute look because you don't need any special makeup; you might already have everything you need in your makeup collection.

I really enjoyed creating this look and I just love the green contour, although it didn't show up that well in the video and pictures. If you would like to see how I achieved this look then watch my step by step tutorial below.

If you can't watch the video on the embedded player then click here to watch it on YouTube. I hope you all enjoy it. Also, let me know what you plan to be for Halloween in the comment section below.

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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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100 Halloween Costume Ideas for Women

Hey guys, I know it's only the 7th of October but I'm already so excited for Halloween. So I thought that today I would give you some costume ideas in case you haven't decided what to be yet. Here are my 100 costume ideas for women:

1. Witch
2. Nurse
3. Animal, e.g. Deer/leopard/ tiger/cat
4. Corpse bride
5. Vampire
6. Skeleton
7. Devil
8. Ghost
9. Alien
10. Mermaid
11. Gladiator
12. Comic/pop art girl
13. Disney Princess e.g. Belle, Cinderella, Jasmine
14. Superhero e.g. Batman, Super Girl, Mystique, Wonder Woman 
15. The woman from the Grudge
16. Jigsaw (SAW)
17. Doll
18. Ninja
19. Creepy Clown
20. Ringmaster
21. Person from a different decade e.g. 80’s, 50’s, 20’s
22. Celebrity e.g. Miley Cyrus, Kim Kardashian, Brittany Spears, Lady Gaga
23. Gypsy
24. Zombie
25. The black swan
26. Pirate
27. Bane (Batman)
28. Joker (Batman)
29. Princess Leia (Star Wars)
30. Hippy
31. Pocahontas
32. Cowgirl 
33. Werewolf
34. Punk
35. Hermione Granger (Harry Potter)
36. Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games)
37. Zorro
38. Firewoman
39. Super Mario
40. Sailor
41. Minnie Mouse
42. Cop
43. Robber/Prisoner
44. Tinker bell (Peter Pan)
45. Angel
46. Medusa
47. Catwoman (Batman)
48. Poison Ivy (Batman)
49. Maid
50. Gangster
51. Barbie
52. Cheerleader
53. Ghostbuster
54. Where’s Wally
55. Minion (Despicable Me)
56. Alice in Wonderland
57. The Killer from Scream
58. Elsa or Anna (Frozen)
59. Genie (I dream of Genie)
60. Samantha (Bewitched)
61. Cleopatra
62. Cruella DeVille (101 Dalmatians)
63. Little Red Riding Hood
64. Sandy (Grease)
65. Buffy The Vampire Slayer
66. Vivian (Pretty Woman)
67. Bella Swan (Twilight)
68. Mrs. Doubtfire
69. Jane (Tarzan)
70. Wednesday Adams (The Adams Family)
71. Flapper Girl
72. Esmeralda (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)
73. Holly (Breakfast at Tiffany’s)
74. Wilma Flintstone (The Flintstones)
75. Betty Rubble (The Flintstones)
76. Justin Bieber
77. Dora the Explorer
78. Princess Fiona (Shrek)
79. Air Hostess
80. Madonna
81. Queen of Hearts (Alice in Wonderland)
82. Marilyn Monroe
83. Marcia Brady (The Brady Bunch)
84. Xena the Warrior Princess
85. Lara Croft
86.  Marty McFly (Back to the Future)
87. Doc (Back to the Future)
88. Regina George (Mean Girls)
89. One of the Pretty Little Liars
90. Picachu
91. Jessica Rabbit (Who Framed Roger Rabbit)
92.  Cher (Clueless)
93. Lumberjack
94. Black Widow (The Avengers)
95. Princess Peach (Super Mario)
96. Army Girl
97. Pink Power Ranger
98. A Pink Lady (Grease)
99. Frankenstein’s Bride
100. Pippi Longstocking

I hope you enjoyed this post and that it helped you get some idea of what you are going to be for Halloween this year. Let me know in the comments below of any suggestions that I missed and also let me know what you think you are going to be for Halloween this year. Talk to you soon! 

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Maybelline Fit Me Foundation Review

Hey guys, today I am reviewing the Maybelline Fit Me Foundation. I've been wearing this foundation for the last month or two and I sort of have mixed feelings about it. 

  My favourite thing about this foundation is that it makes my skin look really flawless and radiant looking, and I feel it has slightly better coverage than the average drugstore foundation. I usually apply two coats of this and my skin looks almost air brushed with it on. Sounds amazing.. doesn't it? Well of course there is a catch.. it can't possible be that amazing...

The problem with this foundation is that it doesn't seem to last the day. My skin becomes quite oily while I'm wearing it and it sort of melts off my face. This doesn't happen straight away..it's usually okay for an hour of two before it starts to fade, but it does get fairly shiny within the first hour if you don't apply powder over it. You might be thinking, "well, you must just have very oily skin and that is why it happens", but I've read a few reviews on this foundation and quite a few people state this problem. I don't even have oily skin, my T-zone just gets slightly oily throughout the day. This foundation seems to make my skin much oilier than it is with any other foundation. 

The good news is that if you apply a lot of powder over this foundation and re-touch it again later on in the day that your makeup will be fine, it just isn't one of those apply once, last for 24/12 hours types of foundation. The worst that happens if you powder and re-touch it is that you might look a little shiny at different parts of the day depending on how active you are being. This is definitely not a foundation to wear to the gym or a dance class, because it will probably just melt off you face if  you do. 

WITHOUT MAKEUP

AFTER APPLYING THE FOUNDATION

I still don't really know how I feel about this foundation. It makes my skin look so good that I think the pros outweigh the cons, just slightly. It's pretty ideal for me to wear in my videos because I don't need to worry about it lasting very long. I don't think I would mind buying it again but I also feel that there must be a better foundation out there that not only makes my skin look so good but also lasts a significant amount of time before it starts to look very shiny. 

What do you guys think? Do you not mind having to reapply or retouch foundation a few times throughout the day as long as it looks good or do you prefer one that will last as long as possible? Let me know in the comments below, and also let me know if you have tried this foundation before and what you though of it. 

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Giveaway Winner

Hey guys, today I am announcing the winner of my international giveaway to win an Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette. I want to start off by saying that the Rafflecopter widget picked a random winner and I had no influence on it whatsoever. I know after my last giveaway people were getting mad at me for not picking them but my giveaways are completely fair and a random generator picks the winner.

So anyway, the winner of the giveaway to win a Naked Smoky palette is........

BILQEES B.

Congrats to Bilqees B. I have already sent them an email notifying them and will be mailing the prize very soon. To everyone else who entered the giveaway but didn't win this time, I will be holding lots more giveaways in the future. I wish I could give everyone a prize but there is no way I could afford it. Keep an eye out on my blog and social media sites for the next giveaway and I will talk to you all soon XxX

**CLOSED** International Giveaway to Win a Naked Smoky Palette

Hey guys, just letting you know that there is less than 2 days left to enter my international giveaway to win an Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette in case you haven't entered yet.

 If you would like to know more about the giveaway like extra info, terms and conditions etc, then click here to go to my original post about it. You can enter there or below on the Rafflecopter widget.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good luck everyone!

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Autumn Makeup Look with a Dark Lip

Hey guys, this week's video on my YouTube channel is one of my favourite looks that I've been wearing this Autumn/ Fall. One of my favourite aspects of this look that I love is the lip colour which is MAC's Rebel lipstick (which I reviewed here). 

I paired the lipstick with quite neutral eye makeup because I really wanted the lips to be the main focus of this look. If you would like to see how I achieved this makeup look then make sure to watch the video below (or here on YouTube if the embedded player isn't working). 

I hope you enjoy it! If you do, please make sure to give it a thumb up as it helps the video to be found a bit easier in the search rankings of YouTube. Also, let me know in the comments below what is you favourite colour for a bright or bold lipstick? Talk to you soon.

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