![Beaut.ie - the Irish Beauty Blog [logo]](/buttons/logo2.png){kind=logo}
D’you know what? I have never ever finished a bottle of nail polish. Never.
Not once.
And I betcha I’m not alone – have you? To the comments!
Rate it: Have YOU Ever Finished a Bottle of Nail Varnish?
Tuesday, August 31st, 2010Rate it: best mascara
Tuesday, August 24th, 2010
Not a week goes by it seems without a new mascara being launched. We’re obsessed with mascara at Beaut.ie – and so are the cosmetic companies. They’re constantly inventing new types of brushes (thank you Wand Wizard), colours, vibrations and consistencies. All of which we are happy to try out for them.
Mascara is something that you make multiple purchase of over the years, making us all experts in knowing what’s good, what works and what kind of mascara lives up to the claims. Well okay, I take that back. No mascara can possibly live up to its claims – unless you (tiny print running along the bottom of the screen here) “style it with some lash inserts”.
So tell us what you think lives up to the hype! Rate your favourite mascaras.
Are you just a little too full of yourself? Why Irish women can’t take a compliment
Friday, August 20th, 2010Irish women can’t take a compliment, it’s a well known fact. We immediately rush to discount any type of generous wordage lest the world should think we are too full of ourselves. And we would rather die than be too full of ourselves.
So even though we spend a fortune on hair and clothes and makeup we’d rather die than admit they actually do anything for us – or god forbid even suit us. Take this typical scenario:
“You look lovely today. Your dress is gorgeous”
“What this dress? (looks down at dress in disgust). Oh god sure that’s an old rag”
“No it’s lovely, really suits you”
“I have it ages. It’s completely out of fashion” (Not true. I got it the other day after seeing it in a magazine)
“Looks great though”
“Oh it’s a piece of crap. It was so cheap, I got it in the sales in Penneys. Probably because no one else would buy it” (That’s an utter lie, it didn’t come from Penneys, it cost a week’s salary and I was on a waiting list for it)
“It’s very flattering”
“Well it might be better if I wasn’t so fat. I’ve put on loads of weight. Look at me – I’m like Jabba the Hut.” (I’m the same weight I’ve been for years)
Maeve Higgins parodied this really well in Fancy Vittles (if anyone can find the link to this segment, post it in the comments). Is this you? Do you immediately rush to disbelieve a compliment. In case people would think you were too full of yourself?
Why can’t we just be gracious, smile and say thank you?
Mam there’s sand in my Chilly Willy: it’s ice pop time!
Thursday, August 19th, 2010
The joy of cheap ice pops is like the joy of cheap crisps. Nothing can bring you slamming back to your childhood faster than the smell of a pungent bag of Meanies or the bright blue goo of a Mr Freeze.
And the sound of the ice cream van used to send us screaming like banshees into the house begging on our knees for money to buy one.
HB Metropolitan was the zenith of sophistication – there was nothing like those fancy shmancy Ben and Jerry’s then. A Slider made from wafers and a slab of vanilla ice cream – oh we were in heaven.
What were your favourite ice pops of yore? Rate em here!
An Education: Sad Facts of (Beauty) Life
Thursday, August 19th, 2010
The marketing of beauty products is often completely disconnected from the reality of beauty products and as a result, there are a lot of puzzled women out there wondering why their stuff isn’t performing the way they think it should.
So I thought it was time we had a few hard facts of life on the blog, beauty-style.
- Lipstick doesn’t last. It’s a coloured emollient designed to add shine and pigment to a mobile part of your face which you use to eat, drink, talk and kiss with. So don’t expect to apply at 8am and have it looking mask-like and perfect 12 hours later
- Ditto gloss (except it’s got even less longevity than lipstick)
- Those women who always look picture perfect? There’s no secret: they sneak off to the loo and do touch-ups. It’s the only way to make sure your face looks great all day long
- Hair dye never turns out like it does on the box. That’s because it’s highly likely what’s in the box wasn’t even used and if it was, a professional colourist applied it, plus lots of tonal shades, to create the swishy mane you’re hoping to get
- Mascara does not ever deliver the look of lash extensions. It makes your lashes blacker, fatter – and sometimes merely horribly clumpy
- No topical skincare product can deliver the effect of Botox; likewise, no topical skincare product stands a chance of fixing those 25 years of neglect, smoking and sun damage you’re hoping to have wiped off your noggin, and all for €12.99 from Tesco
- If every woman used a decent moisturiser that suited and properly hydrated her skin plus a SPF daily from teenage-hood, we’d collectively put the anti-ageing product market out of business
- Cheap products are often a false economy
- Likewise, just because it’s got a brand name or a fancy logo doesn’t always mean it’s worth the cash
- There are a lot of products out there that sell and build their name on hype, not by effectiveness, ease of use or results. Fake tan and hair removal cream, I’m specifically looking at you here
These are my ten truisms, but I just know you lot have got some gems – leave ‘em in a comment!
Hypoxi and Spa: Yeah, maybe not for the Irish Market, eh?
Thursday, August 5th, 2010
Ah we do love a gas product name at Beaut.ie and we’ve had hours of fun with them. Sean Jean’s Unforgivable perfume and Oscar de la Renta’s bonkerzzzly-named Intrusion are just two we’ve pondered over, and of course anything with the words ‘douche’, ‘anti rides’ or ‘corps’ is guaranteed to get us going.
But sometimes brands can have no idea that their carefully-named product will cause a Bwawhahahah reaction amongst their Irish customers. Kerstian Florian Spa Face, for example, is a lovely expensive salon product that is not at all intended as an insult to those who may buy it.
Likewise, how could the makers of new exercise/slimming hybrid Hypoxi know how their invention would go down on the auld sod? From my point of view, like a ton of bricks: who wants to pay for anything that ends in the word poxy? Perhaps that’s why Citydeal.ie had it on offer late last week for €95 for a set of sessions as opposed to €520?
Got any more unintentionally hilarious brand or product names? Leave ‘em in the comments!
Breaking up is hard to do: but who hurts most? Boys or girls?
Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010
I put up a post recently about frenemies and toxic friends but the comments didn’t go exactly the way I thought they would.
Instead of a discussion about friends who are more trouble than they’re worth and can be a bit of a drag sometimes, there was a genuine outpouring of tales of loss. Friendships that people had assumed were for life dissolving, and bonds that were once thought to be unshakeable melting away, once school or college were over.
Finding out that you and the gang no longer had much in common hurt. Hurt like hell.
Because you don’t expect other girls to hurt you. You’ve been there for each other through thick and thin, supporting one another through good times and bad, sharing fear and anxieties and always loyal.
Reading the comments I was struck by the fact that although girls expect guys to be the ones who’ll break their hearts and are alert and almost accepting of this: when it’s another female doing the dumping it’s much much worse.
So which do you think is harder. Breaking up with a man? Or a close girlfriend?
To the comments and don’t spare the horses.
Rate it: What’s Your Favourite Beauty Season?
Friday, July 23rd, 2010
Ok, coming over a bit Bridget Jones’ mother here – “Oh darling you simply must get your colours done” – but most of us do fall into one season or another, though not necessarily with reference to Colour Me Beautiful consultations. It’s just that you probably find you like the autumn/winter over the spring/summer beauty collections, or vice versa.
We see it cropping up in comments all the time and on yesterday’s Nubar post, Fifibelle asked “is it weird that I’m pining for A/W 2010 now?” Not according to Lava Girl who replied, “I know what you mean, I love all the reds and dark colours for A/W.”
What about you? A winter kinda gal or firmly a summer babe? Not sure? Just check out our SS10 and AW10 roundups and then leave us a comment with your all-important decision!
Rate it: best cheapie beauty buy!
Wednesday, July 21st, 2010
It was the best budget buy EVER!
It cost less than a tenner but you love it and you use it to bits – maybe it’s lipstick from a cheapie brand, maybe it’s a dupe for a much more expensive product. Everyone in the office thinks it’s the more expensive product – and do you know what? You’re not going to enlighten them!
It’s absolutely brilliant – it wasn’t in a sale – this is its regular price. The joy!
Let Beaut.ie know what you found for less than a tenner that you’d recommend to everyone!
Lady with a baby: pregnant Beaut.ies how did you/do you stay gorgeous?
Monday, July 19th, 2010
At the moment we seem to be the most fertile site in Ireland. Beaut.ie is breeding for the country and so we’re getting loads of questions about pregnancy beauty. We had a brilliant post a while back – Calling all Mammies that recommended a lot of body products and it sparked off a lot of interest.
So I admit I have a ulterior motive for asking you this question. I have to go and talk about the best products for pregnant gals – little problem though – I have no babushkas myself and therefore no first hand experience.
And you know we always like to recommend stuff that actually works – on real people. You’re my focus group!
- Tell me what you used that worked – not just for the dreaded stretch marks – but everything else too.
- Did you have to change your skincare – did you get spotty? What happened to your hair – did it become more lustrous – or maybe more greasy? What shampoo did you use?
- Did you need to change your foundation if your skin changed.
- What about concealer – did you get pigmentation marks and need to use a heavy duty concealer?
- Post pregnancy did you find your skin had changed – and did you have problems with your hair?
- And most importantly did you find yourself buying yourself little treats – because you’re worth it! And what where they?
Off you go! I’m dying to read the comments for this one!
- Win! Crown Brushes for Newsletter Subscribers!
- Is the sun protection message getting through? High Factor suncream sales say it is!
- WIN! Fab Eco-Conscious Goodies from Une
- GASP! WIN a Bespoke Roja Dove Fragrance Courtesy of Neutrogena Pink Grapefruit!
- Win! iS Clinical Anti-Aging Signature Kit worth €380!
RECENT CHATTER
- daiseeboo: Aphrodite – I have never heard of Trick Malavey...
- daiseeboo: Thanks for all the Oasis help girls. Complete forgot...
- brideandjoy: EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW WWWWWWWWWWWW! That is...
- baby in a corner: Awh some of the comments are so harsh!
- OilSlick: I’d love rosso and vino with a more subtle, or no,...
CATEGORIES
- Anti-ageing
- Ask, and you shall receive
- Bases, Foundations & Concealers
- Beaut.ie blather
- Beaut.ienomics – brilliant budget buys
- Beauty Emporiums
- Beauty News & Links
- Brands, treatment & product reviews
- Can't Live Without!
- Celebrity Watch
- Competitions – WIN!!
- Dentistry & Teeth
- Diet & Wellbeing
- DIY
- Ethical & Organic Beauty
- Eyes, Lips and Cheeks
- For Men
- Gadgets, Books & Accessories
- Hair & Hair Removal
- Hands, Body & Feet
- Here comes the science
- History of Beauty
- How to?
- Lotions, Potions & Scent
- Money No Object
- Pick-Me-Ups
- Polls
- Popular
- Rate it
- Skincare
- What's in YOUR Makeup Bag?
BROWSE BY SUBJECT TAG
![Beaut.ie - the Irish Beauty Blog [logo]](/buttons/logo-base.png){kind=logo}