Review: Bourjois Healthy Mix Gel Foundation

Another review! But I couldn't postpone this- I am so in love with it. I was on the hunt for a new foundation, or something of the sort for the new school year, because after I came back after the holidays, none of my foundations, concealers or powders matched my skin anymore! Which is crazy, since my face never tans or anything, but anyway, I was on the lookout for a new foundation. And thanks to Zoe's back to school video, I discovered this amazing product- Bourjois Healthy Mix Gel Foundation. 

What attracted me most to this product was that it's a foundation and serum two in one. Ever since my visit to the beautician in Vilnius, I've been told to use a serum, but so far I never had any luck finding a good one (not that I really looked tbh, the price of them scared me). This, however, is a foundation and serum in the same pot, in the one go- which means that you're not ending up spending ages on your face, and you're not layering as much product on your face. A serum is a concentrated fortified gel that fulfills your skin with vitamins and minerals, makes your moisturizer work better, and overall leaves your skin happy. 

First off, the foundation smells amazing. It smells like, flowers, summer, good hair days. Even when I'm having a bad morning, or if I'm running late, applying this and smelling the scent just makes the morning better somehow. And what's worse than a foul-smelling foundation, in all fairness? 

I matched the shade to the colour of my neck- sounds strange I know, but it makes sence- why would you want your face and neck different colours? The shade I picked up was 53 light beige, and it looks like I'm not wearing anything on my face when I have it on. As regards to application, I would advice you to use a brush- I use W7's Flat Foundation Brush- because the formula is a little runny, and sometimes using just your fingers, it can be super hard to distribute it all evenly, so a good brush will do the job. It glides on, blends in perfectly as I buff it in, giving an even and anti-fatigue complexion, that looks like I did actually get my 8 hours of sleep. The coverage is quite good too, I would say around medium, and I don't bother with a concealer.

Once it's all blended in, it gives quite a dewy/oily finish, which I don't really like, so I just apply my Rimmel Clear Complexion Powder in 021 Transparent, to set the foundation and take off the shine. The lasting power is average, it sticks around for the whole day- although I will say it is quite an oily foundation, however I will say that my moisturizer probably has effects on this too.

Overall, I love this foundation, and for the average price of 14.99e for it, I think it's amazing. It's a serum, a foundation and it's hypoallergenic- which means it doesn't block pores and allows your skin to breathe whilst your wearing it, so it really is a healthy mix. I would give it 10/10 !


Thanks so much for reading, and thank you for an amazing 4,000 views!



Gaby x

 

Mascara Reviews: Maybelline + NYC

I haven't done a review in quite some time, so I figured it was about time I did. Today, I'm talking about mascaras, and the two I used all summer, Maybelline The Falsies Flared, and NYC's Big and Bold mascara.

At the start of summer, I went out and purchased the Maybelline The Falsies: Flared mascara, hoping it would live up to all the hype under its not so cheap 12e pricetag. You can see some pictures of the brush itself above, but I didn't like the formula- either too little deposits on the brush, or I bought a tube that was beginning to dry out, which is unlikely, since the Maybelline mascaras are always packaged away in plastic. Anyway, I didn't see much of the 'wow' factor I was looking for after application- my lashes seemed darker, and maybe longer, but I didn't get the thick and volume like effect I was looking for. The formula doesn't look quite black either, but a very dark blue or a dark grey, but not a black black. I was quite dissapointed, as there is so much hype around the original Falsies mascara, but maybe the Flared version isn't the same.

So after a few weeks, I went out and got the NYC Big and Bold mascara, which was cheap (3.49e!), had a brush much bigger than the Falsies did, and looked promising. However, my lashes did look bigger, thicker but unfortunately clumpy after I had applied the mascara, let it dry, and applied it again. My lashes looked thicker and more volume-ous after just one application, but the more I applied, the darker they became. So I was quite happy with this, but I hit the real 'ultimate' jackpot when I discovered how to really make my lashes darker, thicker, longer, fuller- like I was wearing a very natural set of lashes.

And that's because I decided to layer them over each other! I apply the NYC mascara first, to add thickess, volume and black to my lashes. Then, once its dried, I put on the Maybelline in the corners of the eyes, to coat the smaller lashes as it's small brush gets in tight corners. It also adds curl and coats the end of the lashes, which makes them look long and thick.

And there you have it! Two unsuccessful mascaras on their own, but once you put them together, they do wonders.

Thanks for reading! I'm sorry if my uploading schedule is ridiculous- going back to school and getting everything in place again and starting studying is a pain, but I will keep going with the blog posts nevertheless.



Gaby x

Troye Sivan

If you're one of my closer friends, you'll definitely know who this gorgeous lad that I'm going to go on and on about today is. Troye, probably one of the most fecking beautiful lads on the face of the earth, is a professional actor, singer, youtuber and australian. He's only 18 years of age, and, among other movies and shows, his most impressive roles are being on X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and the 4 part movies Spud, where he plays the main charachter. He has the voice of an angel it has to be said, and has performed on stage numerous times, but now Troye focuses on all of us fangirls and making videos for his Youtube channel, which has over 800,000 subscribers (click here to help him reach 1,000,000!) and a staggering over 25 million views!!



Troye makes singing videos and funny videos on his channel, and I think it's safe to say I've watched each and every one 3+ times. He started properly making videos just in early 2012, and he's already been to the 2013 PlayList Live, Vidcon and Summer in the City, which is crazy, if I started making youtube videos today it would take me twelve and a half billion years to even get anywhere near doing a meet up, never mind these massive youtube gatherings..

I first discovered Troye at the end of August, watching Zoella's, Joey Graceffa's and Caspar Lee's vlogs from LA, and my first reaction was 'omg who are you you beautiful human being' and thanks to the power of the interwebz, few days later I was watching every single one of Troye's videos.

So obviously, until early August, every single die-hard fangirl was asking herself (or himself!) the same question- is Troye single, and can I marry him?

Is he with the pretty, pretty Zoella?

Or is there something going on with his best friend Kayla?

And then on 7th August, our newsfeeds were filled with his new video...




And that was it! Neither of us girls can have him now...he's Tyler Oakley's to love and keep (or so he wishes).  I'm so proud of Troye for sharing that with us, I'm so proud of him for not hiding his sexuality or being ashamed of it. He's amazing the way he is.

So now what are out newsfeeds full of? Well, this..




And of course Tyler and Troye themselves...


Gay or straight, dark hair or bleached, Youtuber or not, I'll love Troye forever.. Thank you for reading my obsessing over him!



Gaby x

What's In My Handbag

I told ya'll I was going to do this post soon, when I wrote my 'What's in my Travel Makeup Bag' post, which you can read here. During school weekdays, and even on the weekends, I don't carry round a handbag, because I don't need to, but unless I'm going shopping and especially during the summer, a good handbag really comes into use, with even better contents inside. 

It took me a billion years to find a handbag that I really liked and that was in my price range. I opted for this Penneys one, and it's just a really simple black square bag, with lots of space inside but sadly no compartments, the only one being a small one at the side for lipstick. Everything fits into this bag, and I mean everything. It doesn't matter if I'm heading out into the pretty Vilnius city, and all I'm really carrying in it is a bottle of water, a purse, and a makeup bag, or if I'm going to a friend's house to get ready, and everything from deodorant to heels to bronzer fits in it. It's amazing, I feel like I can't stress that enough, and for only 11 euros (!!), it is definitely my best buy of the summer. It's black, so it goes with every outfit, but as I've said before, I wish the studs were gold, but for such an amazing price, you can't have everything.

I usually carry only the necessities in my bag, but it ends up weighing a ton. It's so handy to have a double strap, so that you can carry it on your shoulder or hanging off your elbow, whichever you prefer. When you look inside my handbag, this is what you will see. Sunglasses case, makeup bag, a purse, tissues, tic tacs, old bus tickets left over from Vilnius, my camera, a hair brush, and of course, my phone.

Don't let the unnatural amount of lip products scare you- I just put them in my bag in the sheer hope of using them all up, which fails miserably every time and I just reach for my usuals every time. Besides all the lip stuff, I have hair ties, a broken compact hairbrush and mirror and an eyeliner- all in my little makeup bag from Penneys. 

I hope you enjoyed this short post, and I promise my normal post schedule will be normal soon- it's just getting back to school again, especially when starting an exam year, takes a lot of time.

Thanks for reading!

Gaby x

Shoe Wantsies

I don't think I've ever done this kind of post before, a post where I go on and on and on about the shoes I lust after on a daily basis. More than 90% of these I know I have about nil chance actually buying, but a girl can dream! As you scroll, you'll realize I have quite expensive taste, but that's only because usually the more expensive a shoe is, the more pretty, pretty, pretty it is. Anyway, here are autumn shoe wantsies!



These are the Jeffrey Campbell The Hyatt, and they retail around 200$ (150euros). Quite pricey for a Jeffrey Campbell shoe, but I love the gold-brass snakeskin design, the cheeky buckles and low heel, so you can pace and pace New York in these, day after day after day. One day Gaby, one day.

This is the Hyatt once again, except in Oil Slick. If I had to choose between the snakeskin or the oil slick, it would definitely be the hardest decision I will ever have to face. 

These I actually am planning to purchase soon, when they are on sale! (If they're ever going to be on sale, that is). This gold wedge shoe is from Shoe Rack, and retails for 40e, a decent enough price for a gorgeous shoe. I tried these on in the shop, and they looked amazing on- made my legs look miles long and toned. However, I will have to spend some time trying to not trip over stones in these- oh if only all the pavements in the world were crack-free!


I've been reading Audrey Leighton's blog, Frassy, for a good few months now and I always notice how she wears a similar black shoe with the timeless two strap and a low heel. These ones are from Bershka, and retail at 30e. The heel is only 8cm, and they have a velcro strap, and I can imagine are quite comfy too, unfortunately I haven't spotted them in any Bershkas' I've been in over the summer.


Almost a lookalike of the Chanel golden creepers that Cara Delevigne wore on the Chanel Cruise 2013 shoot, these Zara replicas are absolutely gorgeous. I've fallen in love with platforms recently, and I really really like these, however I think they're gone *tear tear*.


These are Orina Cutout Oxfords by Dolce Vita I found during one of my surfs on Nasty Gal, and they are literally perfection. I would wear these with rolled up boyfriend jeans on a casual sunday. A pair of oxfords is something I badly need to add to my shoe collection.


Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed my ramble about shoes!



Gaby x

Collective Haul

Over this unreal summer, I got a good few bits and bobs- some thrifted, second hand and brand new- from Germany, Ireland or Lithuania. I haven't done a haul in forever, so here it is!

Thrifted for 4e- the cutest little cardigan in size 10, from Dunnes, and its soo pretty

I am so in love with these bleach wash skinnies from New Yorker- the best shop ever that I discovered in Stuttgart.

My sister's old denim shorts- my first pair of denim shorts!

If you're Irish, you're probably laughing right now. The irony is, I bought it in Vilnius.

Best hoddy EVER.

My mother's old dress- fits her like a bodycon, fits me like an oversized maxi dress. Literally one of the most gorgeous dresses I own.

My sister's old cute little backpack! So happy I didn't buy one, because this is by far the cutest.

Went out and bought this.

And when I get home, Dad pulls this out! Fun Fact: it was actually worn in the army.

I love finding high end clothes in thrift shops. This oversized shirt that I use as a cardigan was only 4e, and would have probably cost around 40e.

I saw this, grabbed it, and fell in love. A second piece from Quiz Clothing, I love their autumn line.

This is my pretty, pretty thrifted top which I ruined one of the sleeves with an iron with. I rolled up the sleeves, did a bit of stiching, and viola! Good as new. I thrifted this for 4e, and it's easily summer's best buy.

The back!

Another thrifted piece, and this summer I fell in love with over sized clothes. This cotton t shirt is size XL (!) and was 2e.

Another crop top- this is my sister's old one, and it's barely worn. I love the blue dragon design.

Another piece of my sister's! This is actually a little too short for me, but only if I wear skinnies with it. The crochet design is so pretty, and I really like the halter neck.

Thanks for reading!

Gaby x