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