Cosmetics à la Carte Hydra Lift Energising Eye Gel - review

Hi folks, this fortnight I'm very excited to tell all of you beautiful people about a wonderful, nay, genius creation; the Hydra Lift Energising Eye Gel from Cosmetics à la Carte, those of the bespoke makeup and skincare in London.  I love it. Magic stuff. The end.

Have Happy Hands this winter with Roger & Gallet - preview

I do so love Roger & Gallet stuff, me.  It's kinda old-fashioned now, but I remember collecting "fancy soaps" when I was a kid (so so long ago).  At the time, Roger & Gallet were the fanciest of the fancy, slightly ye-oldy-fashioned scents, but never chemical or cloying.  Now, I'm never without fancy soap in the house, but it's usually in liquid form, as it's just so much hassle having to clean the damn soap after a certain other person uses it... sighs.

Promo - Vichy Mothers' Day Offer!

A quick post - one for all you Vichy fans!

NUXE Prodigieuse Le Parfum - preview

It has been a long time coming, but finally, fans, addicts and enthusaists of NUXE's Huile Prodigieuse can soon wear the scent behind the iconic product as a perfume!

Huile Prodigiueuse was launched in 1991 and very soon Prodigieuse Le Parfum will join the product line-up.  Formulated by Serge Majouilier, the same parfumer who created the oil's fragrance in the first instance, sun, sea and sexiness apparently were on his mind when he put the notes together.  And certainly on the minds of the fabulous team who put together a beautiful product launch one cold and dreary January night in Dublin of late...

Clarins Extra Comfort Anti-Pollution Cleansing Cream - review

~ MONDAYS with MONTYC ~

Clarins Extra-Comfort Anti-Pollution Cleansing Cream

I love a good cleanser. In fact, I go so far as to say that I'm a bit of a cleansing nut. I genuinely believe that cleaning your face properly is one of the best things you can do for it. On clean skin, every product you use on it will be more effective and be honest peeps, who'd prefer to have a dirty face to that?

YSL Babydoll Mascara in Indiscreet Purple - review

YSL Babydoll Mascara #04 Indiscreet Purple

From the Yves Saint Laurent Spring Look 2014 collection, this is a gorgeous new Babydoll mascara called Indiscreet Purple, which is a gorgeous shade of dusty purple - think a greyed-out purple-navy-purple-indigo shade.

Suqqu Dual Effect Powder Foundation - review

Suqqu Dual Effect Powder Foundation

Having splurged on Suqqu's amazing cheek brush over the summer, I was keen to try out some of their other products.  This is the first of a couple of reviews on Suqqu Stuff - their Dual Effect Powder Foundation, a powder foundation which, really cleverly, has two formulations in one compact, targeting both your t-zone (oilier, in general) and your u-zone (dryer, in general).  It's a good idea, as most people will find that powder foundations are simply too dry on the non-oily areas of your skin.

It covers pores and minor skin blemishes without the need for further concealing.  Its finish is matte but it doesn't look powdery.  It doesn't make your skin flake or look parched.  It contains an oil suspended in the powder formulation, which helps it to adhere to the skin, without the need for a primer.  And it really does make foundation application super-fast...

January Guest Posts

Two blogs for the price of one yesterday!

My guest post on Nina's Bargain Beauty blog is a review of the Mane 'n Tail Hair Strengthener - please look here!

And Nina's guest post, a review of the Blank Canvas Cosmetics F25 Powder/Bronzer Brush on Make Up For Dolls is here.

Xx thanks to all for reading xX

Guest Post (Nina's Bargain Beauty) - Blank Canvas Cosmetics F25 Powder/Bronzer Brush Review

Today you're getting two posts for the price of one!

I'm doing a blog swap and this is the first in a series of guest posts with another blogger - this one from the lovely Nina who writes a blog called Nina's Bargain Beauty, a blog I have been following for some time now, written by the refreshingly upbeat and bubbly Nina.  I love reading her posts, which are usually all about drugstore and bargain skincare and makeup!  Go check out her blog now if you don't already and maybe you'll find another blog love.  First, have a read through her guest post below, and then please go and take a look at my post on her blog (link is here).

Clarins Instant Light Radiance Boosting Complexion Base 03/Peach - review

Clarins Instant Light Radiance Boosting Complexion Base 01/Rose 02/Champagne 03/Peach

Featuring in the Spring 2014 makeup collection (Opalescence) from Clarins, this is a re-formulation of the existing Clarins Instant Light Radiance Boosting Complexion Base and comes in three shades - this one is a review of the darkest of the trio, #03/Peach, a peach-toned illuminator and more suited to far more tanned complexions than mine.

Le Lift: the new Smart Cream from Chanel - preview

Chanel really have had a year of great product releases when it comes to skincare.  Of course the most exciting was their new Trio (Le Jour, La Nuit, Le Weekend), which really are amazing products to help "reset" and re-balance the skin.  They've also released their first CC Cream.  An extension of the existing Sublimage range features new textures for different skin types, and additions to their Hydra Beauty range saw new eye cream and new moisturising mist created just in time for the summer weather, along with two new SPF face creams (SPF20, SPF30) joining the existing SPF50 face protector.  And that's not even getting into the details of some of the innovative makeup products that were released (mostly, sadly, as LE items) during the year.  Following on from 2013's interesting progress, Chanel will be releasing a brand new concept in skincare very soon - this week in fact!  Named Le Lift, this is a smart skincare programme, which claims to adapt to different skintypes to deliver targeted lift action.

Budget Gel Topcoats: catrice vs essence - review

Editor's Preamble: First post by the lovely Emer for our Funky Fridays with Emer series, which will occur every two weeks :-), featuring two fantastically cheap drugstore branded gel topcoats...

Firstly can I just say how honored I am to be allowed to pen my humble ramblings for Makeup for Dolls, I'm a huge fan!  Also I would also like to point out that neither a beauty expert nor scientist I be so please bear with me :)

I was delighted to try out these gel style top coats, mostly because I love beauty on a budget and if I can find something that I can do cheaply at home rather than pricey trips to the salon, then I'm all over it.  Also because I've found that I rarely even bother applying nail polish anymore - with my lifestyle it's chipped, dented or 'smooshed' (yes that is the technical term) within hours.  And that's after waiting over 30 minutes afraid to scratch my itchy nose in case I damage it, along with the usual trick of immersing my shivering digits in icy cold water.  And a top coat.

But hurrah, these gel-style top coats are the business!  Okay, they are not quite as durable as a "real'" gel top coat, nor are they as glossy, but to be honest I wasn't really expecting them to be.  But they do a damn good job nonetheless...

Inglot Berry Beautiful Spring Makeup Launch - preview

Inglot Berry Collection - campaign visual

Inglot's new Spring makeup launch is arriving in-store tomorrow, the 16th of January and features gorgeous matching new lipsticks, nail varnishes and eyepencils in warm berry shades, extending the darker shades of Wintertime into spring...

Oilatum Natural Repair Creams for Face & Body - review

Oilatum Natural Repair Face Cream & Body Cream

aka Face & Body Moisturisers from Oilatum

I love these little gems.  I love the fact that they really work, that they're available in pharmacies, that they're really not expensive at all.  They get a huge amount of love from bloggers and MUAs, and I can see why.

Clarins Opalescence Collection Spring 2013 - preview

Clarins Opalescence Collection Spring 2014 - campaign visual

The PR event for this collection was held on a particularly miserable day right before Christmas.  It was strange to be looking at Spring makeup when Christmas was all around, but it was beautifully put together event, held in the ever-lovely penthouse suite of the Morgan Hotel in Temple Bar, and for a couple of hours we all forgot that Christmas was happening outside, and stepped a season into the future, with pinks and pastels abounding.

Hosted by Clarins National Makeup Artist and my namesake, Siobhán O’Mahony, we looked at the loveliness that will be out on-counter for Clarins just this week.

Clarins Opalescent Collection Spring 2014 - review of quad & cream blusher

Clarins Opalescence Collection reviews

My first "official post" as a more permanent contributor to Make Up For Dolls is my review of the new Clarins SS 2014 eyeshadow quad and blush.  This is slightly ahead of the preview post, which will be published tomorrow.

With the weather taking us all, quite literally, by storm, let's wrap up, get cosy and console ourselves with the beautiful array of spring makeup launches that are about to hit our beauty counters - let's make a cuppa and daydream about fluffy clouds, pinks, pastels and peachy cheeks.  The collection I'm focusing on today is the Clarins Opalescence Collection.  As Clarins so poetically put it, "Opalescence celebrates the end of winter with a harmony of delicate, luminous colours. The weather turns milder, full of softness and lightness. It’s time for delicate, romantic make-up, bursting with freshness. The complexion glows. Rosy cheeks express a beautiful, poetic timidity. The eyes light up and lips are glossy".  Romantic makeup, bursting with freshness?  Count me in!

Chanel Collection Notes de Printemps (Spring 2014 Makeup) - preview

Chanel Collection Notes de Printemps (Spring 2014) Makeup Campaign Visual

2014 has seen a lot of cosmetic companies moving away from ethereal ice-cream pastel shades of the last few years for their Spring collections into more definite shades, and Chanel is no different.  The Collection Notes de Printemps, Chanel's Spring 2014 makeup collection, is due to launch on 24th of January and juxtaposes core shades of pink, violet and plum shades with slightly clashing red.

YSL Spring Look 2014 - preview

YSL Spring Look 2014 Campaign Visual - is there anything Cara Delevigne doesn't front?  Gorgeous lady...

(Campaign Makeup: Rosy Blush Palette, Dessin du Regard Waterproof N°11 Intense Purple, Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils Indiscreet Purple, Gloss Volupté N°3 Rose Fusion, La Laque Couture N°49 Rouge Pablo)

So there, I was, gratefully in out of the wet and cold weather on a miserable day in mid October in the gorgeously appointed Room 27 on South William Street, along with a bunch of other bloggers and media lovelies, and being treated to champers (I was driving, damnit) and sushi (I was dieting, damnit) while watching M. Fred Letailleur (YSL's chief makeup artist and brand ambassador for Europe) doing his magic with the iconic Touche Éclat pen (see this post here) and showcasing the makeup from the Spring Collection...

It's a tough life, having to watch a master in action, with next season's makeup, and getting to paw it and play with it afterwards.  With my own two grubby mitts.  I am the ultimate early adopter, so show-and-tells well in advance of commercial release date are right up my alley :-)

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector: Liquid v Powder - review

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector - pressed
in Moonstone (the lightest shade)

While in Belfast Space NK, I splurged on - yet another - highlighter.  I do love the Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Illuminator (ie the liquid version) so I thought I'd get this and try it out...

Molton Brown Creole Grass Anti-Ageing Hydra-Creme Moisturiser - review

It's the winter-time.  Expect a lot of skincare reviews :-)

2014 Blog Charter

Happy New Year!

So it's the 6th of January, and here I am, back with a bang as promised!  Christmas is well and truly over chez nous.  It's January, it's the start of a new year a new set of plans and targets, hopes and dreams, interests and adventures.  The days are technically already starting to get shorter.  Not so you'd notice, there's hardly a grand stretch to the evenings just yet, as we say in Ireland, but it's enough to know it's happening at least!  And as planned, my blogging break ends today.

I refuse to call this a "resolution" post, but in essence that's what it is - what I'd like to do with the Make Up For Dolls blog in 2014.  Read on - there's some exciting news!