Makeup Monday: Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz; Natural Instagram Brow Tutorial

I do love a good Insta brow every now and again! I recently gave into the hype and purchased the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz.... I REALLY didn't expect to love it as much as I do! 

Mine is in the shade 'Dark Brown' as I have naturally dark brow hairs. I got this off the website Beauty Bay as I live in Ireland and I didn't have to pay a crazy amount for shipping off this site ;-) 

It arrived after a week too, so I didn't have to wait too long to get my hands on this little guy ;-) 

For those of you that don't know, the Brow Wiz has a brow brush on one side which is so handy! Here is a close up of both ends;

With that said, here is my tutorial for how I do my Natural Insta brows, if you are interested then just keep reading ;-) 

Step 1

I comb through my brows using the brush side of the brow wiz. Here are my naked brows, please do not be alarmed ;-)

Step 2 

I start by drawing a line under my brow from a little bit in to all the way down to my tail. 

Step 3

I draw another line matching this on the top of my brow, connecting it with the first line at the tip of my tail.

I like to over draw it just a little to give myself a super arch :-P 

Step 4 

I start filling in the middle of my brow using short strokes to mimic brow hairs. 

Step 5 

I blend it in with the brush side, making sure that the inner corner of my brow remains at least a small bit natural looking ;-) 

I go back in then and fill in any sparse looking areas and blend it out with the brush again so that there is no super harsh lines. 

Step 6

I use the foundation that I am wearing to tidy up the edges of my brows if needed. I pump a small bit onto my beauty blender tip and dot it around my brow to get precise coverage around the brows :-P 

 

I blend that in by tapping it out with my finger :-) and VIOLA! The perfect natural Insta brow ;-) 

I add a bit of highlight to my brow bone then just to make it pop some more, I used the highlight shade from the Sleek Face Form palette ;-) 

Here is the final look...

Hope you guys enjoyed this little tutorial, let me know what your holy grail brow products are in the comments below :-) 

Love & Hugs, Lora xo

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Skincare Sunday: How to Remove Makeup With Coconut Oil

So last week I posted 10 Uses of Coconut Oil, which you can read here ;-)

One of the uses I mentioned was as a makeup remover. I thought that I would show you guys exactly how I remove my makeup with coconut oil as it is so easy yet super effective! 

My Skin Type

For those of you that don't know, I have spot prone skin with extremely dry patches and extremely oily patches, as well as completely normal skin in parts! So I literally have it all when it comes to skin types :-P 

Will Coconut Oil Break Me Out?

As I mentioned in my Coconut Oil post, many people are scared to put any kind of oil onto their face as they think it will break them out instantly. Especially my girls with oily and acne prone skin. 

HOWEVER, many people with oily and acne prone skin use products to mattify their skin and draw out all the excess oils, this dries out your skin and in turn, your skin produces MORE oils in order to combat the dryness! Trust me, I was one of these people! 

What works for me is giving my skin the extra moisture in the form of coconut oil and rich moisturisers so that my skin was well hydrated and stopped producing the excess oils! 

I know this method may not work for oily teenage skin where the excess oils are due to hormones but hey, isn't it worth a shot? :-) 

I still get slightly oily in my T-zone throughout the day, but it's absolutely minuscule to what it was before I started using coconut oil!

And as for spots, the antibacterial properties in the coconut oil actually helped reduce my breakouts :-) 

Having said that, coconut oil is also fantastic for dry and normal skin as it helps to keep it moisturised and healthy.

So, if I have officially converted you into a coconut oil fan then keep reading to find out how I use my coconut oil to remove my makeup ;-) 

Step 1: 

I scoop out a small lump of coconut oil from the tub. I rub it between my hands so that the heat from my hands turns the solid into a liquid ;-) 

Step 2:

I gently massage in into my face, eyes and neck. This is so relaxing too, so your getting a nice chill out time as you remove all your makeup ;-) Spend a little more time on your eyes to get that mascara off, especially if it's waterproof :-)

Tip: mascara stings. So if your mascara stings when it gets into your eyes then I suggest you keep your eyes shut as your removing it :-P

Step 3:

I use a few dry cotton pads to gently rub off the makeup that has been broken down by the coconut oil on my skin. 

Step 4:

I follow up with my Biore Deep Pore Charcoal Cleanser to get the last of the coconut oily-makeup off of my face :-) 

If you want to get even deeper into your skin then use a facial brush with your face wash at this point, I use my trusty Primark facial brush which I'm sure your all sick of me taking about by now ;-)

And now your skin it literally squeaky clean :-) now it's time for eye creams, moisturisers and serums, but I'll leave that for another post ;-) 

Hope you guys enjoyed this post, let me know if I have converted you into the worlds biggest coconut head after all my raving about it this week!!! 

Love & Hugs, Lora xo 

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Life Hack Wednesday: 10 Uses For Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is so versatile and so good for us!! I've been using coconut oil for a year now for lots of different things so I thought I would share with you guys some of the many things you can use coconut oil for ;-)

The coconut oil I get is from my local supermarket. It's around €6 and it's completely organic, cold pressed coconut oil. So basically, it's 100% pure coconut oil with no extra additives :-) 

It comes as a solid form but melts in the warmth of your hands, or you can melt it in the microwave too :-) 

As you can see below, it's a solid form but it has started to melt from the heat of my hand...

I'm obsessed with coconut oil so let's jump straight into it, here are 10 things that you can do at home with coconut oil :-) 

1⃣ Hair Mask

You can use coconut oil to lock moisture into your hair. I lather my hair from root to tip in coconut oil before I wash it, and it's made a huge difference to the overall health and condition of my hair. 

You can also heat the oil up in the microwave for about 30 seconds (depending on how much your using) and use it as a hot oil hair mask! Add a hot towel, or even better; a cotton T-shirt to your hair and you've got yourself some serious hair pampering going on ;-) 

You can heat the towel or T-shirt on a hot radiator for a couple of minutes. 

For anyone wondering why a T-shirt is better for your hair than a towel, it's because the fibres of the cotton T-shirt are softer and more gentle on your hair and don't harm damaged hair as much :-)

For more hair strengthening tips and hair growth tricks you can read my blog post on How to Grow Long and Healthy Hair Here ;-)

2⃣ Cooking

You can also use it as a healthier cooking oil! I use coconut oil in the frying pan when I'm making flourless pancakes, and when I'm popping popcorn on the hob! It gives the food a very very slight coconut flavour, so it doesn't alter the taste that much at all :-) 

3⃣ Moisturiser

Coconut oil can be used to add moisture to extreme dry patches like elbows and knees. You can rub a small amount into your dry areas and and leave it to work its magic :-) 

If you have rough and dry feet, try lathering your feet in coconut oil and putting a pair of cotton socks on over it. You can leave this on during your lazy days at home or sleep in them, and the next morning your feet will be baby soft :-) 

4⃣ Teeth Whitening

I'm actually testing out this method at the minute, so I'll have a more in depth blog post about this with before and after pics in the coming weeks :-) 

But yes, there is a trend going around called 'oil pulling' that dates back centuries! Apparently, putting the melted oil into your mouth and swishing it around your mouth can actually whiten your teeth!

Have you tried this method before? Let me know what you think in the comments below, I'd love to hear your stories :-) 

5⃣ Makeup Removal

As you may already know, oils can break down even waterproof makeup. I use coconut oil to remove my makeup all the time, and it literally breaks up all the makeup on my skin and it's so easy to wipe off using a cotton pad! :-) 

Even Benefit's They're Real Mascara comes off with this oil!! 

It does leave an oily residue on your skin so it's best to wash it off using a cleanser or facial wash afterwards :-) 

If your worried about putting oil on your face, don't!! The properties in coconut oil are too big to sink into your pores, and because it has antibacterial properties, it won't break your skin out if you are using it to remove your makeup :-) 

6⃣ Lip Balm

Use a dab on your lips to soften and moisturise, or you can even melt the oil and mix in some colouring for a natural lip stain! 

7⃣ Natural Body Scrub

Combine coconut oil with sugar and you've got yourself an natural body scrub! Use it in the shower to exfoliate dry patches and remove the last bits of your tan!! 

8⃣ Shaving 

You can use coconut oil as a natural shaving cream, just lather it on and shave! This can also be used as an after shave balm to, rub in into your legs or any area you have shaved for a calming effect :-) 

9⃣ That Glow Though!

Add a small bit of coconut oil to your chest and shins for a natural looking glow! This is perfect for giving your skin a summery glow, but don't put it over an instant tan as most tans will break up under the coconut oil! :-) 

🔟 Health Benefits

I've heard loads of people say that consuming a tea-spoon of coconut oil a day can have many health benefits for you. Like a natural energy boost, and even aiding in weight loss as this is a form of healthy fats and is not stored in the body. 

I've never tried this before so I can't vouch for that, but let me know in the comments below if any of you have tried this little life hack and if it has made any difference to you :-) 

I hope you guys enjoyed this post, let me know if you have any other suggestions for what I can do with my coconut oil- I'm obsessed! :-) 

Also, if anyone has tried any of these methods out I'd love to know what you think :-) 

Love & Hugs, Lora xo 

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Skincare Sunday: Lush Cupcake Mask Review

For my second ever trip to lush I decided that I wanted to try a new face mask :-P I did repurchase the Mask of Magnaminty also, you can read my review for that here :-)

The girls in the shop are so helpful and kind and I asked one in particular for a face mask that would calm my current breakout. She told me that the Cupcake mask is mainly for oily and spot prone teenage skin and that it would purge my skin before clearing it.

What that means is that all the nasties in my skin will breakout the first few times I use it but it would eventually clear my skin :-)

This girl also told me to use it 3 times a week but for the purpose of this review I used it 5 times over 5 days. So yes, I used this mask every night this week so far and I'm going to share my thoughts and opinions with you ;-)

This mask is not self preserving so has to be kept in the fridge. It's a coarse, thick brown mixture and as you can see from the small bit I've used so far, a little goes a long way :-) 

The Ingredients

This mask contains cocoa butter, linseed and cocoa powder, as well as peppermint, spearmint and sandalwood oils.

It also mentions that it is particularly useful for absorbing excess oils and calming breakouts. 

The Application 

I left this mask on for 30 minutes each time I used it but 15 minutes would be enough :-) After a while the mask starts to harden and that's when the vacuuming begins as all the gunk is being pulled out of your pores (yuck). 

There is no tingling or any kind of sensation when you put the mask on but the initial coolness of the product from being straight out of the fridge is really calming :-) 

This is what it looks like swatched on the hand...not very appealing I know :-P

The Scent

It does have a slight smell of coco powder and licorace in the pot but the smell only lasts on your face until it hardens. I don't particularly like the licorace smell but it doesn't bother me too much :-P 

The Removal

Each night I removed this in the shower using my Primark facial brush which you can read my review on here :-) 

It's really easy to wash off by hand too :-)

The Verdict

This mask did exactly what the girl in the shop told me, it purged my skin! I got a nice little breakout over my chin and jaw area, which are my usual breakout areas. The second night I used this mask, it had already dried up the majority of that breakout but it still produced a few more friends on my face :-P 

After the third application I noticed that my skin was really clear in other areas like my cheeks, nose and forehead! By the fourth application my skin was almost completely clear :-) 

I still have the smallest of breakouts on my jaw area but they are all dried up and in the healing process!! 

I really love this mask and would recommend to anyone that wants to clear their skin but doesn't mind the breakout session beforehand! 

Have any of you guys tried this mask out? Let me know what you think in the comments below! 

Also, if anyone has any face mask or skincare recommendations I would love to hear them :-) 

Love & Hugs, Lora xo 

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Outfit of the Night: Boutique of Molly

So Boutique of Molly contacted me about doing another blog post about their clothes and I agreed straight away :-P They have so much more gorgeous clothes in their online shop now that I couldn't resist.

I purchased the Sophie Black Detail Bodycon Dress, a gorgeous black body con mini dress with a mesh insert on the chest and arms. 

          

The Material

The black material is quite thick so it's perfect for colder nights out. The mesh chest and arms piece is thinner but the long sleeves make it the ultimate Autumn/Winter LBD ;-) 

The mesh insert has some line detailing that gives the dress a little edge :-) 

The material also has some stretch to it also so it's very comfortable to wear :-)

Outfit of the Night

I paired this dress with a pair of black leather strappy peep toe heels from New Look :-) 

I also wore my Mac Velvet Teddy lipstick for the perfect Autumn/Winter look ;-) 

I adore this dress, it is so comfortable! It's not too short either, and the thicker material is just perfect to wear out in Ireland around these months!! :-) 

I will leave links below to the other clothes I have review from the Boutique of Molly website for anyone interested in reading those :-) 

Have you found your perfect Little Black Dress for the Winter months? Let me know your current faves in the comments below :-) 

Love & Hugs, Lora xo 

Links;
http://loraforever.blogspot.ie/2015/05/boutique-of-molly-velour-swing-cami.html
http://loraforever.blogspot.ie/2015/06/outfit-make-up-of-night-my-21st-birthday.html

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Makeup Monday: Manny Mua; Serenity Liquid Lipstick Review

So as you may already know, YouTuber MannyMua collaborated with Gerard Cosmetics to create a nude liquid lipstick called Serenity. 

I snapped this up using Manny's coupon code and got a massive 40% off! Without this code it is quite expensive so I thought I would share my thoughts on it with you in case any of you guys were thinking of buying it :-) 

The Packaging 

The gold top with the Gerard Cosmetics logo and the frosted glass container make it look so sleek! 

It's quite small though, I have compared it with my Anastasia Beverly Hills liquid lipstick below, just got a quick size comparison :-) You get 0.059oz in it though, whereas the ABH one has 0.11oz!! 

The colour

The colour swatched on my hand and lips here are in natural light and look very pink toned. It's a really soft matte, meaning it's not too drying when you first apply it. 

I love the colour it looks on my lips, such a gorgeous pinky nude! It works well with my pale skin tone, but I reckon this would look good on anyone with pale to medium skin tones. 

The Longevity 

This lipstick lasted a total of 4 before starting to wear off on my lips. I went to the cinema with this lipstick and ate lovely oily popcorn and sipped on my drink and the lipstick stayed put! 

The first thing I noticed about this lippy was that it left a nasty ring on the inside of my bottom lip (the struggle). This happened about 4 hours after I had applied it. It also started to feel a bit drying on the lips after 2 hours and it was quite uncomfortable. 

I didn't reapply this lipstick at all throughout the day and it was quite worn in the centre of the lips from eating and drinking!

The Verdict 

I am obsessed with the colour of this lipstick, and I think the longevity of this lipstick is quite good, but I would definitely recommend wiping it off and reapplying it when it starts to get patchy in the centre :-) 

What do you guys think of this lipstick? Has anyone tried it? Let me know in the comments below :-) 

Hope you guys enjoyed this post! 

Love & Hugs, Lora xo 

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