Benefit counter-Debenhams Belfast

Today I had to lovely encounter to get my make up applied free of charge by Benefit in Debenhams Belfast by the lovely Megan. I was browsing the aisles whilst waiting for my mother to hurry up when the lovely Megan approached me. After a friendly conversation and with me inquiring about some products she offered to do my whole make up and to give me some handy tips for skincare and make up application.


She asked me what type my skin is and what products I usually use, and gave an in depth consultation about what I should be using as I am only 20 and to make sure I'm using a mosituriser that will give benefits. All pretty mandatory but in light of what she has said, maybe my usual moisturiser is too rich and heavy.


For the prep she used the triple performing facial emulsion moisturiser which I adored! Very lightly scented, felt so creamy and light on the skin and give a beautiful sheen to the skin with light reflecting particles. Megan gave me the mirror to look at after applying this and I couldn't believe the difference in my skin with just moisturiser alone, I need to buy this at the end of the month! Even better that it had SPF and PA + + (to protect from UV rays) which she told me no other brand except Dior have in their products as they are all part of the LVMH brand.


Next, she applied the Porefessional primer which I am very impressed by. It definitely created a smoother base to my skin and didn't feel heavy on my skin, I'm always conscious of applying too much cosmetics and blocking my pores. She matched the 'Hello Flawless' foundation to the shade of 'Ivory believe' (or 'i'm pure lighter' if I wanted to go down a shade' and mixed the foundation with highlighter to give extra radiance. Megan applied the foundation with a normal blusher brush to buff into the skin and this was to avoid any tell tale brush strokes usually with foundation brushes. Skeptical at first, the finishing look was flawless! A final dusting of Ivory Hello Flawless powder and Hervana blusher and I was good to go :)


Amazing wee surprising treat for me as I had to go shop to shop with the ma, and that is a punishment I wouldn't wish on anyone! Megan was so lovely to talk too, highly informative and was really aiming to please to create a look that I would usually go for. There was no sales pitches being shoved down my throat, which I was originally intimidated by when she offered to do my make up, so it was an amazing experience!


Here is just a snap of the products used and I will go back at the end of the month to buy the moisturiser and perhaps the foundation. (I don't need anymore foundation but you can never have enough!)

Thanks for looking!

Niamh x

Oscars 2013 Jewels

Hello darlings!

 

 

So another quick post on the Oscars 2013 only this time its on the jewels! As all of the dresses were magnificent, you could barely get a sneaky peek at their shoes, which is always a shame so instead I've decided to focus on the diamonds! The lucky things not only get to wear custom made gowns or dresses straight off the catwalk, but they also get to wear hundreds of thousands, and sometimes millions worth of jewels!

 

 

So here are my top pick of last nights sparkle:

 

 

Jennifer Aniston wearing Fred Leighton, and a cheeky wee glance at her engagement ring, oh! But in love with these bracelets, beautiful.

 

 

Both Oscar winners of the night, Ann Hathaway and J-Law, opted to wear their chains backwards and this is a trend that will catch on. As somebody mentioned on twitter last night, the sound of clinking is everybody turning their chains backwards. I oddly like it. It adds drama. Drama is good. Ann wore Tiffany and J-Law (loving this name!) wore Chopard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zoe Saldana's beautiful pearl dropped earrings on a string of diamonds add the right amount of glamour, sparkle and sophistication to that beautiful dress of hers. Drop earrings are always a must to ensure they will be seen and draws attention to the best proportions of your face; the jaw line, lips, cheekbones and eyes. These are Neil Lane.



 

 

 

Jessica Chastain's vintage Harry Winston diamonds just add to her overall old Hollywood glamour that she was emulating, and successfully if I may add. She was my favourite look of the whole night and could not get over how beautiful and dreamy she looked. I think this will definitely go down in Oscar fashion history. Stunning!

 

 

Now this I LOVED! Jen Garner has never really 'wowed' me in the past, her Gucci dress was gorgeous if a littly tricky on the proportions as the rouching at the back could have looked disastrous or that she was trying to be a butterfly, but somehow she made it work. this necklace however took my breath away. Look at it! Look at it in all of its glory! A proper princess necklace that looks like it has been borrowed from the vaults of Grace Kelly, it combines both the elements that is needed for royalty and a movie star that would have suited the late legendary icon perfectly! Good call Jen, good call!

 

 

 

 

So that is all for the Oscar 2013 talks. I havent seen much of the after party outifts but over all I have been somewhat underwhelmed by it all. Except for Jessica Chastain. It's all about her, shes the one! New style crush heeeeeey Jessica!

 

 

Bye lovelies!

 

Niamh x



Style inspiration Ava Gardner

Ava Gardner is a truly inspiring woman!

I became intrigued with her after watching her biography on E! And immediately was captured with her beauty, her ability as an actress and her fiery personality. As a fashion icon she was like no other of her time, with a stunning hour glass figure, creamy skin and thick wavy hair she truly was a natural beauty. She contributed her flawless complexion to her Irish and Scottish heritage and always took care to cover up in the sun. Her beauty captured Hollywood and the worlds leading men such as mickey Rooney (husband #1) and frank Sinatra (hubby #3) who was her true love. There was always whispers towards her close relationship with the aviator Howard Hughes but she always denied this, despite his many proposals and said that he always stank of BO. So being a multi-millionaire can't buy personal hygiene?

After reading her autobiography I became even more in love with her as she led such an interesting life, and for quite a conservative society of the 1940's/1950's she broke out of the societal norms and was a true hell raiser with her drinking, smoking, swearing, the men and generally not given a damn about what anybody thought of her. Living in Spain with the one and only Ernest Hemingway led to her love for the bull fights, dancing and matadors who she had many affairs with.

She was never the 'darling' of Hollywood as she refused to live up to the squeaky clean persona that was expected of her and her contract of MGM, in fact once that contract was over she felt that was the only time she could truly flourish as an actress instead of playing the traditional femme fatal role. This period in her life she lived the way she wanted without rules and people watching her, and famously turned down the part to play Mrs. Robinson in the legendary film 'The Graduate' that would have cemented her place in cinematic history, but its a decision she never regretted.

A long time friend of Grace Kelly she was present at her wedding to the Prince of Monaco and these two women were defining the most stylish of her time. Her Spanish influence definitely shows throughout her fashion choices, although she was never too fussed on her appearance choosing not to wear make up or shoes whenever she could. Dior, Balenciaga, Chanel all the leading couture fashion houses loved to dress her for her fabulous figure. In her hometown of North Carolina there is an Ava Gardner musuem dedicated to her with some of her iconic outfits on show, this is something I need to see in my lifetime!

She is immortalised however, the famous song written by Frank Sinatra 'Im a fool to love you' was written for her to explain their passionate and tumultuous marriage, that ended in heartbreak.

Personally, I dont like to mimic stars for the simple fact that I like to have my own personal style but her classic glamour, jewels, wavey hair and make up has inspired stars after her such as Lana Del Rey today (another fashion love) and her personality has been likened to the infamous Samantha Jones due to being an independent woman who never depended on anybody but herself to get where she wanted in live. These are the type of women that I adore and look up to, they may not be traditional role models but they are the most realistic in the sense that they make mistakes and learn from them but never allow them to hold them back, it helps shapes them and this is what I find truly inspiring. Young stars today are awashed with publicity staff, PR people who have their conversations carefully planned out and in a world that is too concious of being politically correct, these sort of women are truly inspiring.

What do you think?

Niamh x

Dolce and Gabbana Couture show 2013

I just had to write a piece on this Dolce & Gabbana's private couture show in Milan, with only the elite of the elite were present. The audience was mainly filled with Russian Oligarchs, European royalty and Chinese millionaires as the Telegraph reported mainly due to that this collection is strictly for customers and not for celebs to be seeing strutting on the red carpet. In one sense I applaud this, as Jennifer Lawrence showed at the SAG awards last week she was able to wear couture Dior that was fresh off the catwalk only after a week, so celebs have the hottest picks of the latest collections, trends and even the fashion vaults such as when Lady GaGa was able to wear vintage Gianni Versace, I die!  So for the chance to for the exceedingly rich to own some couture without the risk of being caught dead in the same dress as an Oscar winner, its a no-brainer! First world problems eh?

But I do have to comment on these two dresses in particular, mainly this beautiful white wedding dress. I can only dream to get married in a dress like this, it is beautiful. And knowing the philosophy of Dolce & Gabbana it was only the finest Milanese lace made by the finest seamstresses hands to ensure absolute perfection! I mean look at it, its beautiful! Its very traditional in the sense that there's hardly any skin on show but look at all the detail, it really is an artform. The shape is very modern though and is quite sheer at the bottom, it took my breath away!

The gold dress is another masterpiece on its own that I can only imagine 16th and 17th century royalty would have worn. Everything about this dress screams imperial wealth and power, it truly is magnificent. The jewels on show was apparently diamonds and pearls fixed in gold as chandelier earrings and cocktail rings. Truly stunning. The types of pieces that will have its own place in an exhibition at a museum or for future designers and fashion historians to study for inspiration.

The Telegraph also notes that only a few fashion editors and newpapers were actually present. Of course, some press would be needed after the shows at Paris but this was stripped down in comparison, yet was distinctively Dolce in the surrounding with regal Milanese architecture. So only a few people in the fashion world got to see these beauties up close to wonder in its marvel, and only a lucky few will be able to afford this collection.

So stunning!

Do you agree?

Niamh x