Paris

Hello again to all of my sweeties! Finally, and that is a very relieved 'finally', I have a post on Paris for ya'll- getting round to actually editing 600 photos took forever, but here we are, approximately 3 months later but who cares really. I just finished my 5th year of secondary school, and this is the year where we usually get to go on a school tour abroad- and we went to Paris. Our trip lasted 4 days, and I must say it was so cool to finally see one of the most beautiful and historic cities in the world- it was more of a first look at everything Paris has to offer, a teaser trailer encouraging us to come back and explore more in our older years.

I won't ramble on, I'll just get started- excuse some of the tops of heads you may see- the first few were taken out of a moving bus, but I'm really happy with how they turned out. Put your feetsys up, grab a cup of tea and some croissants if you wish, and I'll share my Parisian photographic journey with you.

Me and Elaine, on the way to the airport at stupid o'clock in the morning

First look as we began getting closer to the city- and they say Paris has only one skyscraper?!

Mine and Elaine's plan is to move to a Parisian apartment with a balcony, overlooking a busy rue, ride BMW white motorcycles and live with dark haired and gorgeous Paris boys

How pretty is the Eiffel Tower tho- in the Parisian twilight, early spring

Bc when in Paris, we take photos at dinner where there is double mirrors

These girls kept me sane throught the trip- in between anxiety, tight schedules and getting stranded in the middle of the Louvre, I'm so lucky to have them by my side

Me and Ava being fab at the Louvre, because that's how we roll, always

I cannot get over how beautiful the Louvre is- every part of it, every wall, every ceiling has been delicately preserved, restored, crafted, decorated and perfected- as a fond lover of art, I can't wait to return

The view out of one of the Louvre windows- every part of Paris is exquisitely exectued

Shameless Mona Lisa selfie!

Paris from above- all is beige, clean and very, very French

My ride or dies- Samantha, who you can find here, and Ailish, who support me through all of my crazy episodes and stay by my side always

Yaaaaassss Disneyland- this has become mine and Elaine's signature pose

Me holding my gorgeous babe Sarah, who I've had the longest friendship in secondary school with and have spent hours and hours ranting, crying, and laughing with

Me and Ailish, beyond excited for Disneyland- Paris would have sucked so bad without her, her support and determination is priceless

Must say, Planet Hollywood was nothing impressive- didn't even get through half of my burger

Chocolate Eiffel Tower in Montmatre literally made my trip

The last stop before our fight was Les Quatres shopping centre- and I hold no shame in that I shopped in Mac, Sephora and flirted with the Starbucks barista bc he was so beautiful

And that's Paris! I hope I didn't bore you with over 90 photos- not even sorry. I can't wait to return to Paris, hopefully with Brooklyn Beckham or Harry Styles by my side *sighs*.

Thank you so much for reading!

Gaby x

Gerard Cosmetics 1995 Lipstick Review

Hello again to all of my sweeties, welcome back to my blog! Today I have a quick little lipstick review for ya'll- as I haven't done a review in what seems like forever- talking about Jaclyn Hill's collaboration with Gerard Cosmetics a few months ago (Gaby is late on the bandwagon as always). How is your summer so far? Mine is the busiest its ever been- I spent the best part of June working as an exam attendant during the state exams, and now I'm working weekly at my new column, 'Teenage Trends' in the Roscommon Herald- be sure to pick it up if you live locally! Exciting times these are- I can't believe I actually have my own column in a newspaper, that's beyond crazy.

I have been a fan of Jaclyn Hill's for quite a while now- she is yet another Youtuber beauty guru, with a makeup artist to her name. Jaclyn is one of these American hardcore beauty gurus that I am currently obsessed with- she posts makeup tutorials religiously, with on-point makeup application, brush use and product choice- she doesn't mess around, doesn't stick to natural, and offers the best tips and tricks as she works. I love the girls across the pond, like Carli Bybel or Nicole Guerriero, that can work makeup to its full potential and more, that know what they're doing and are fierce- no day is a bad day for a smokey eye, carved brows, stacks of lashes or full on cream contour. I love that approach to makeup- if you got the skills, show them off. 

1995 is Jaclyn's fourth collaboration with Gerard Cosmetics, also known as Whitening Lightening- she also has 2 lipglosses and another lipstick available with the company, that she worked on herself- everything from the formula to the shading, Jaclyn chose herself. This is so visible in the product- it is so clear that the formula and the colour has been worked on tirelessly, because the result is gorgeous.

Inspired by the Kylie Jenner lip, and the trend of the 90s in the beauty and fashion universe, Jaclyn came up with 1995- a soft brown shade with pinky undertones. In some lights, this looks more pink, but in natural daylight, it is a true mauve brown shade. This shade came from the 90's soft grunge scene- thin brows and dark, brown lips. The lipstick itself has a total matte, but not drying finish- also true to the grunge period, no glossy or satin girly lips here. Packaged in the classic Gerard gold bullet, exact same shape as the Mac lipsticks but in a yellow gold metallic colour, the lipstick looks so pretty just sitting on the vanity.

I ordered this from Gerard using Carli Bybel's discount code which gave me 35% off- how brilliant is that?! It took just over a week to deliver to Ireland, which I was thrilled with as it came on the day that I had a night out to go to, and you wouldn't believe the floods of compliments that came in- it really is so unusual, and so refreshing to see a brown lip in a crowd of reds and pinks.

I love this lipstick- I love the shade, with each layer it deepens up and becomes more intense, and more darker. I usually apply 3 coats on a moisturised lip- I sometimes add a lipliner, sometimes I don't. The formula doesn't dry my lips out, doesn't bleed and as it has a thick, rich consistency, it doesn't budge off the lips for a good several hours- until you eat, and even then, some of it remains. I really like how this injected a darker, more grungier take to my makeup- I usually pair it with lots of lashes, winged eyeliner, and a contoured face with a peachy blush.

As Jaclyn created 1995 inspired by Kylie Jenner's famous pout, I thought I would compare and contrast 1995 with the actual lipstick Kylie uses, Faux (she also adds Whirl lipliner underneath) and a drugstore dupe for Faux, Natural Beauty by Essence.

Kylie's pout is a combination of Faux, a pinky mauve shade, and Whirl, a brownish mauve dirty rose shade, so obviously Faux doesn't have that much in common with 1995 as 1995 is not a dupe of Faux on its own. However, they're on a similar wavelength- 1995 still has the same soft, pinky undertones as Faux. Natural Beauty is a good dupe for Faux from Essence, as it has the same toned down pinky tones, but with a bit more shine. Faux has a total satin finish, and a thick creamy formula, typical of a high end lipstick, as the Essence lipstick formula is a lot thinner and creamier. The good news is that Whirl is now available in a lipstick form from Mac- but if you wish to, you can stick to using the lip liner.

I swatched 1995 on its own- no liner. As you can see, the colour is true to the tube- totally matte, totally pouty, creamy colour with a soft, mauve-y finish. I love 1995 so much, and no wonder it's the number 1 bestselling lipstick from Gerard Cosmetics- it totally deserves its title, something that can be worn all year round, with band tees and messy hair in the summer and leather jackets and thick liner in the colder weather.

Thank you so much for reading my review! I give 1995 a 10/10- a beautiful shade, and if it wasn't for Jaclyn, I would have never thought to invest in a brown lipstick. The trick it to stick to shades with familiar undertones- 1995 features pink undertones that I'm so used to.

Gaby x

Life Lately: Spring

Hello to all of my sweeties, welcome back to my blog! And finally we have summer- only theoretically, sadly. The weather here on our little island is nowhere close to summer, but it's so good to finally have some freedom from school, tests and pressure. Today I'm going to be talking about the things I have been using and abusing over spring- when I think back now, spring was a hectic time for me. I got so much done, including travelling and work experience, but more on that later. 


Makeup

Benefit's Hoola Bronzer

I literally cannot say enough good things about this bronzer. I made my first ever visit to a Sephora in Paris in the Les Quatre Temps shopping centre and omg it is literally my heaven. It's a haven of overpriced, gleaming and smiley assistants, with flashy gold palettes and Kendall Jenner's face plastered all over the walls (whyyy Estee Lauder is working with her I will never understand). I want to be the women working at the counters (except not the orange lady that didn't understand my pronunciation of Nars), engulfed by makeup all day; and I also want to be the beautiful women that come in and buy bags of overpriced cosmetics, dewy skin and flawless lipstick. Actual goals.
  

Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, Hoola. I had a bit of money to spend and I knew I wanted to get something nice that would last me a while. I originally wanted to get Nars' Orgasm, but the pricetag shook me a little too much, so I strode towards a counter I know through and through, even though I hadn't actually purchased anything yet- Benefit. Everything I had tried, I loved, and so I went for a Benefit classic- Hoola bronzer. I cannot rave about it enough. It is creamy, yet just the right amount of dusty; it creates a beautiful appearance of shadow in your cheekbones, and it doubles as a bronzer or a contour powder. It has cool undertones, which means you won't look orange with it on. I even love the brush- it reminds me of the Nars Ita brush, as it has a similar slim, rectangular tip and carves out the hollows of the face effortlessly. It's just a win win, and it is worth every penny. I cannot wait to be making more investments from Benefit.


Mac Lipstick in Faux

Another Paris purchase! This wasn't as impromptu as Hoola, I spent forever trying to decide what my first shade of Mac lipstick should be. Obviously, I have fallen for Kylie Jenner's lips just like anybody else, and teamed with Mac's Whirl lipliner, she supposedly uses Faux on top. It's not so much the Kardashians that attracted me to this lipstick, it's how unusual the shade is. All my lipsticks are either berry, red or pink- so I knew I wanted someting different. Faux is a beautiful deep pink/mauve with blue undertones and even a somewhat brown finish. It has a satin finish, meaning it is semi-matte, a thick, creamy and pigmented lipstick that moisturises your lips but doesn't have a glossy, shiny finish. Satin is my favourite choice of finish for lipsticks- it's just the perfect balance between shiny and matte, and is very long lasting- it lasts a good few hours, and even after the feel of it wears off, the colour is still there. I have yet to invest in Whirl, but I've been sporting it with Essence's lipliner in 06 I'm Yours. The combo, or the lipstick alone, looks beautiful on the lips, and I love how different it is, from a sea of nudes and reds.

Diorskin Ultra Matt Foundation

I'm not going to lie, I picked this up at a charity shop. This has been discontinued for a while, but me and my beautiful friend Ailish spotted it in the back, and after discovering it was bang on my shade, I bought it- for a mere 2.50e. What made me love this most was that it was just the right shade for me, not too pink (as I have made the mistake too many times) and not too cool, as I have sallow, olive skin. It applied matte but it didn't stay matte as I have very oily skin, something I struggle with in all of my foundations, but it does have a nice coverage and conceals undereye bags and hyperpigmentation nicely. It's a bummer this is discontinued, but it was lovely to at least have a Diorskin in my makeup bag for a little while.

Fashion

All Things Rose Gold

As my good friend Samantha, with whom I share this obsession, will tell you- rose gold is in, and it is beautiful. Me and Sammy are so obsessed with rose gold it is unhealthy- all we do now is tag each other on rose gold related posts on Instagram (have you seen a rose gold bike tho) and buy all things rose gold related. We also plan on having copper/rose gold pots and pans when we go to collage. We have no shame.

It's funny, I actually haven't seen that much rose gold jewellery in high street shops, but I have picked up a a good few rose gold accented things- including shoes, makeup brushes, and home decorations.



Ripped Black Skinnies

I have been after a pair of black skinnies, ripped at the knee for forever- and I never found a pair, so I bought a pair from Penneys and attacked them with scissors. The way I rip my jeans is I make white chalk markings as to where I want the rips, and then I take the jeans off and cut along the markings. Alternatively, and if you're brave enough, you can even cut them with the jeans on- but be careful, of course. The strings will start to fray from the rips at first, but as you cut them off and wear the jeans more, they will even out and the holes will get a little bit bigger. You get the exact same, clean result as you would with a shop bought pair- the question is, are you brave enough? I love this new take on ripped jeans- ripping them at the knee only, I think that's such a refreshing twist, and also channels my inner Matty Healy (love forever).

White Cotton Tops



I actually didn't think to include this in my favourites- but as I was Snapchat'ting people (I finally got it! Add me xogaby98) I realized I was always wearing one of my two thick cotton tops. When I'm at home, I don't really bother to make an effort to what I wear, but recently I have been wearing cotton tops out as well- they're comfy and warm and white is always such a pretty colour to wear.


Random

Paris

I just finished 5th year, and usually 5th years get to go abroad- and we went to Paris for 4 days during the Easter holidays. We got a first look at Paris in those few short days- we visited Disneyland, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre Museum, Montmatre and other places- it was so exhilarating to finally see a glimpse of one of the most famous cities in the world. It is so rich in history, architecture and is just in general so pretty, I cannot wait to return to it for a good week or two and photograph everything properly. A blog post on Paris will be up soon, once I get around to editing the remaining 200 photos *cries*.

Work Experience

I don't know if I've shared this before, but I hope to go on to be a fashion journalist when I'm older- and so I spent the remainder of my Easter holidays doing work experience in a local newspaper. It was such an insight as to what the world of journalism is really like, and I even got a few news articles published in three issues. The highlight for me was definitely writing a full page dedicated to spring trends, entitled 'Sweet Like Cinnamon', where I rambled on about rose gold, ripped denim and dewy skin, in order to give readers an idea of what my blog is like! And as if that isn't enough, the editor is kindly giving me a full-page column to write over the summer- on all things viral, beauty, fashion and lifestyle. It's so exciting, I'm going to be able to see what journalism is really like- keep your fingers crossed for me!

Tom Rosenthal's Bolu



I talked about Tom Rosenthal in my previous Life Lately, where I talked about how in love I am with his music- and recently he released an album, titled 'Bolu'. It is so good, I can't stop listening to it- combined with folk and indie vibes, it features catchy phrases and unbelievable beat. It's not just music, it sings you into nostalgia, onto paths we've all been down before. My favourites include 'To You Alone', 'Borrowing', 'I Got Myself a Finish', 'All of Them Dreams' and 'How Could I Not?'. His songs remind me of different times in my life, and I love how music can effortlessly do that.

And that's it! I hope all my sweeties are having a wonderful summer so far- it surely doesn't feel like summer here :(. I'll talk to you soon!


Thanks for reading!



Gaby x