Irish Inglot Online Store Opens Tomorrow!

Inglot's Irland online store... opening its virtual doors 01 October '14

Try saying that three times!  As a lover of All Things Inglot, I'm delighted to pass on some PR news to you - Inglot's Irish online store launches tomorrow, 1st of October.  In conjunction with the launch, there are a handful of new products to report (brief preview below) and also another announcement, there's a Cork store, yes, Cork is finally getting their own Inglot store (MontyC, who lives in Cork, will no doubt be delirah!) - opening around the end of the month (October).  Happy days!

Dior Star Foundation - review

For today's Mondays with MontyC, I'm looking at another new foundation launched onto the world.  For me a good foundation isn't a treat, it's a hard working necessity and some of the new foundations to hit our beauty counters recently are really good.  So let's take a closer look at one of them - the brand new, sparkeldy, shiny*, Dior Star  Foundation.

*it's not actually sparkeldy or shiny

Percy & Reed Perfectly Perfecting Wonder Balm - review

I'll put my hands up and say that styling products and hair "stuff" in general has always made me nervous.  Now that I'm (literally) lying on a couch and exploring the subject, I think this may be due to having zilch money during my earlier getting-dolled-up-and-going-out years (pre-babies!), causing me to resort to, frankly, shite products, resulting in, frankly, shite hair.  Excuse my French but there is no other way to describe it...

One year on: Chanel the Trio

So it's actually slightly more than a year now since I started using this lovely trio of Le Jour, La Nuit, Le Weekend from Chanel, and it occurred to me that it would be a good idea to revisit how I've got on with them...

Suqqu Reset Cleansing Oil - review

I've tried a few of the Suqqu cleansers now at this point in time and this, the Reset Cleansing Oil, is the only one I've used which works as a makeup remover per se.

Vichy Idealia Eyes - preview

A new product just launched by Vichy promises that holy grail: a single step eye care that corrects dark circles, lines and shadows, and that has long-lasting results over continued use: Vichy Idealia Eyes.

Estée Lauder Advanced Time Zone Night Age Reversing Line/Wrinkle Cream - review

For today's Mondays with MontyC, I guess I have to come clean and agree that I've been on a bit of an Estée Lauder bender recently!  It's such an iconic brand, I felt the time had come to get to know the products a bit better.  Plus, and let's be honest here, for a skincare nut like me, it's really any excuse to try out another face product.  Today it's the turn of the Advanced Time Zone Night Age Reversing Line/Wrinkle Cream.

Illamasqua Matte Veil - review

Illamasqua Hydra Veil
Image coutesy of Illamasqua.com

Another review that has been a while coming, while I use (and absolutely love) the Illamasqua Hydra Veil (see review here), I don't tend to do many matte looks in the summertime, preferring minimum products and minimal finish to my skin in the warmer summer months.  As I wasn't sure about this one, I obtained a sample and have been trialling that the last week or so.

L -> R: Illamasqua Matte Veil, Illamasqua Hydra Veil
Image coutesy of Illamasqua.com

First-off, let's get this out of the way, I'm not going to get into comparing-and-contrasting the two Illamasqua Veil products (Matte Veil and Hydra Veil) - Illamasqua themselves have a great comparison post here if you're interested.

L -> R: Illamasqua Hydra Veil, Illamasqua Matte Veil

I will just say this: whereas Hydra Veil is a cooling gel that contributes to hydration in the skin, giving a slightly dewy glow to the skin, Matte Veil is more of a gel-cream, used to minimise oil, smooth-over pores and give a more matte finish to the skin.  They're intended to be used by all skin types, but if you have particularly oily skin, or parts of your skin which are oily, for example the T-Zone, then the Matte Veil would come into its own on those areas in particular.

To use it, just scoop out a pea-sized amount with the accompanying spatula (nice idea, but please please please put this into a tube Illamasqua!), apply it over the face with fingers or a brush (either or, both work fine), and presto, you've got a matte, and mattifying primer which I've personally found brilliant for my oilier patches, especially in the summer when my skin goes a bit nuts on the old oil front.

zoomed-in quite a bit... you can see that in the ringed section on the right, foundation is blended nicely (this took zero effort too, incidentally), whereas in the section on the left, the foundation is somewhat still sitting on the skin, and caught (and evident) in the hairs on the back of my arm

It really does lend a helping hand to makeup - foundation glides over this and blends far easier than if you were just applying directly to your skin, taking far less time to buff in, especially at the sides where your face is naturally covered in barely visible downy hair.  As with any good primer, make up lasts me longer (maybe a couple of hours longer), it applies easier, and I also find I'm using less foundation than I would without it (same as they Hydra Veil then).

It doesn't give you a dead matte finish, but I have tried it with a number of foundations (Illamasqua and other brands) and definitely have found that it dumbs-down any dewiness contained in those foundations - so yes, you can use it with other foundations, and yes, you'll get a slightly different finish with Matte Veil + Name Your Foundation than you would with just your "Name Your Foundation of Choice" and no Matte Veil.  Incidentally, I've also found that the Matte Veil will mattify your skin without eliminating any radiance/glow in the foundation you've pushed on top of it, so it'll eliminate any dewiness but not radiance.  Hence, not a dead finish.  Neat trick.

This is water-based, so will work better with water-based foundations, and it will also work with silicone foundations - but don't use it if your foundation is oil- or wax- based.  It doesn't contain any nasty ingredients (parabens) but it does seem to contain titanium dioxide, so watch out for flash-back.  I believe that £30 will net you a 30ml tub of this, same as the Hydra Veil.  Look here for my review of the Hydra Veil and here for more info on the Illamasqua site.

Chanel Le Lift - review

This review has been a long time coming.  I did a preview post about the new (ish) Chanel Le Lift cream (Chanel's latest foray into a genuinely new and very interesting type of anti-ageing skincare) back in January, it was launched in Ireland around the end of January and I started my own trial of the cream in February.  After a month, I could only conclude it did absolutely nothing for me.  I was gutted.  But I wanted Mammy MakeUpForDolls to try it out too, but as she was away off galivanting around the world for a while, it really was only in the last couple of months she's been using it.  And loving it. And raving about it.  Y'see, it's really catering for her skin age, rather than mine...

In the interest of full disclosure, this was a PR sample.

NYX Makeup Setting Sprays - preview

I have written before about makeup setting sprays (I have a couple that I use) and NYX have now released their very own Makeup Setting Sprays - two of them in fact, (1) a matte finish and (d) a dewy finish.

Vichy Normaderm Night Detox - preview

It has been a while since I've posted a preview post and this one certainly looks interesting - Vichy have released a new product, Normaderm Night Detox, the world’s very first detox & purifying night cream for oily skin ladies and gents.

Oily skin produces three times more sebum than that of normal skin, and skin produces most of its sebum around midnight, so you'll always find that your skin (whatever its type) is oilier in the morning than later on in the day.  This excess sebum is visible the next morning and is most noticeable around noon, as it takes around twelve hours for this excess sebum to be excreted to the surface of the skin.  If you have oily skin, this explains why your make-up always disappears by around about lunchtime!

MontyC's Monthly Favourites: August 2014

MontyC's August 2014 Favourties

Hi folks and welcome to a new planned monthly post featuring my favourites from the previous month (these may or may not be products I've blogged about during that month).  The products may not always be new but they'll still be winners by my reckoning!  As this is something I've really just cooked up, my August post is a little late, but the plan is that once a month, likely at the start of each month, I'll write a blog post on  my favourites the previous month in the Mondays with MontyC slot.

Suqqu Moisture Massage Scrub - review

As a reminder, swapping days with Emer (the ArtyMama) - her usual Friday post is here, go take a read if you haven't already!

According to their own PR, this Moisture Massage Scrub from SUQQU "enables you to get the benefits of daily face wash, massage and a scrub all in one easy step".  Although Suqqu products are not available in Ireland, with Selfridges just across the pond, and the miracle that is Internet Shopping, I reckoned I'd give it a review anyhow.

Estée Lauder Perfectionist Youth Infusing Makeup SPF25 - review

Today is the turn of the new kid on the block, Estée Lauder's Perfectionist Youth Infusing foundation.  Given MontyC's positive experience with the serum, and given my liking of Estée Lauder foundations in general (Double Wear Light is probably the best foundation for medium coverage for oilier skintypes - it's the one I've been using a lot of this year on brides), I was looking forward to trying this one out...

Clarins Multi-Active Day Early Wrinkle Correction Cream - review

Ed's note:
Yes, you read correctly :-)
I know it's not Friday - but since I came back from holidays things have been a bit kaplooey!  So Emer's usual Friday post is today, Wednesday - to give me a chance to catch up and get organised with posts for the remainder of the week... I will also be announcing a bunch of giveaway winners on Saturday next - so please go and enter if you haven't already!
Enough from me.  Back to Emer's words of wisdom :-)

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I've noticed that since the birth of my second daughter eleven months ago, my previously fresh looking skin has become a little duller, a little saggier and fine lines have cropped up here and there.  Of course it doesn't help that the fact of this matter is making me frown, exacerbating the problem.  As dubious as I am about all these miracle creams, I'm still a sucker and I'm still going to try them out. This is where the Clarins Multi-Active Day Early Wrinkle Correction Cream comes in...

Écriture de Chanel Stylo Eyeliner - review

Chanel's latest liquid eyeliner (pen format).  My new BFF and E and E...

This stuff is really lovely.  Sorry, becuz cheap it ain't.  €33.50 will net you one of these beauties, which in my very humble opinion, is slightly Taking The P*** for an eyeliner.  That said, I took advantage of a bunch of BT points and snapped it up for a fraction of that, and well, I wanted to try it... in the interest of reporting back to you guys, of course.  Ahem...

Charlotte Tilbury's Magic Cream - First Impressions

When it was announced that Charlotte Tilbury's makeup and skincare was going on sale here in Ireland, I knew inside of a nano-second what product I would get (from my very long CT wish list :-)).  It was this, the Moisturiser Known As Magic Cream.  I'd read a lot about it and had seen her use it in her videos and the more research I did, the more I knew I wanted to try it (as I wasn't in a position to get a sample of it first to try out, and given that it's not inexpensive, I wanted to be as sure as I could before shelling out).  I have a few bits and pieces of Charlotte Tilbury makeup already and was impressed with them so I had high hopes for this.

Friday's Giveaway - the eyeshadows

Day five of my holidays, day five of my little mini giveaways.  Today is the turn of eyeshadows... a rather yummy eyeshadow quad to be exact :-)

Thursdays Giveaway - the eyeliners

Day four of my holidays, day four of my little mini giveaways.  Today, it's all about the eyes - eyeliners to be exact!

Wednesday's Giveaway - the pinks

Day three of my holidays, day three of my little mini giveaways.  Today, it's the turn of the pinks...

Tuesday's Giveaway - black n white

Day two of my holidays, day two of my little mini giveaways.  Today, it's all about the nails, in black and white!

Monday's Giveaway - the nudes

Sooooo... I'm on holidays.  Seriously, much-needed time off.  I've been guarding this period of two weeks like a hawk, refusing to take on any bridals or trials, even one or two that would have been nicely lucrative!  I've decided for the second of the two weeks to have mini, teeny tiny, bijoux giveaways each day... today is the turn of the nudes :-)