Fashion & Beauty - Spring time Outfit Of The Day

About two weeks ago, there was two days of sunny days in Ireland, and I decided to take advantage of it and do outfits on both of them days, one being the navy polka dot dress with red lips that was my last blogpost and the other being this cute springtime look!

The outfit is all Penneys. The floral dress is so so nice. I got it when I first started college in autumn 2011, so I cannot for the life of me remember the cost of it at the time, I think it was around €15 though. The black leather jacket is my absolute favourite item ever. I think every girl should have one of them - they go with absolutely every outfit I own and I wear it way too much - days and nights out. I bought this one in Penneys in Sligo last year and have got so many compliments about it and me and my sisters have had many an argument over it! It has really nice gold buttons on it which I think are a nice touch. I can't remember the exact price of it, I think it was around €25 though. The tights were basic ones from Penneys, they're about €3. The brown ankle boots were €15 and I bought them in Penneys just before Christmas.

I got the black hat from the same Chinese wholesale website I bought the concealer palette from called aliexpress.com. It cost €6. Everything on that website is so cheap and they sell everything from dresses to jewellery to shoes. For most items, it the shipping is free too. Bear in mind that it does take a whole five weeks to arrive to Ireland, so if you want something in a hurry - don't buy off this website! I love this hat so much, I got it two weeks ago and have worn it every time I leave the house since!

As for the bangles, three of the bracelets are Alex and Ani - I got the lotus one, the pawprint one (cos I love animals so much), and a sapphire one because that's my birthstone (September). The Alex and Ani bangles range around the €20-25 mark, I think they're really cute to collect. Two of the bracelets are cheap imitations from Penneys, they're a gold heart design and a pearl - I think they were around €3 for the two of them - and the other bangle is the Penneys ISPCC (Irish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children) Anti-Bullying Shield Bangle that I bought earlier in the month. All proceeds go to the ISPCC charity and it was only €2.50 so definitely worth buying!

For the hair, I didn't do anything drastic - straightened it last night after washing and conditioning it, was about to re-straighten it for this look but it looked nice and wavy as it was so this is essentially bed hair! 

Moving onto makeup - it's very similar to the routine I've done before in other blog posts. I cleansed my skin with Boots Tea Tree and Witch hazel foaming wash. I primed my skin using Nivea Daily Essentials Express Hydration primer. As I was going for quite a natural look, I applied Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hour foundation (I reviewed this product in a previous post) using my Penneys Beauty blender. I used to always apply foundation using my fingers, but since discovering this beauty blender about two weeks ago I am that hooked I will never go back to using my fingers to apply my makeup! It gives a really airbrushed, natural finish, and is small to hold as well, making application even easier. I used Kubiss Light Reflecting Concealer under my eyes and on any blemishes and blended that in using the beauty blender. I set the foundation and concealer using Kubiss powder. I contoured my cheekbones using Benefit Hoola and also added that to my forehead and side of my face too (in the picture without flash you would never think I had bronzer on, but I have!). The blusher I used was Catrice Defining Blush but I just applied a tiny amount of this for a very natural look. I added a tiny amount of Catrice Highlighting Powder on my cheeks as well as well as my eyebrows. I created a smoky eye look using Catrice Absolute Nude Eyeshadow using the two colours from the right and the shimmery champagne eyeshadow to highlight the inner corner of my eye. I mess up liquid eyeliner quite a bit, so to give me a light guide on where to apply and make the line super thin, I use Catrice Calligraph Ultra slim Eyeliner pen first before going over it with NYC Liquid Eyeliner. I added lots of Benefit They're Real! mascara to my top and bottom eyelashes. I filled in my brows using Penneys Beauty browkit and highlighted my eyebrows using the Catrice highlighting powder again. I used Nivea essential care lipbalm over my lips and because the dress was quite girly I decided to go for a dark pink lipstick on my lips. The colour I used was Catrice Ultimate Colour in 140 'Pinker-bell'. It's quite drying so that's why the step I mentioned previously with the lipbalm is essential!

I am still on the hunt for a cheaper alternative to both Benefit Hoola and Benefit They're Real!.

The dog in the photo is my pet Sam. I was trying to get a photo in the garden, but Sam is just mad for cuddles and kept jumping in the photos so I decided to embrace it and give him his moment in the spotlight!

Products Used

Boots Tea Tree and Witch Hazel Foaming Wash, €4.79, Boots.

Nivea Daily Essentials Express Hydration Primer, €6.49, Penneys.

Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation in 100 Ivory, €9.99, Penneys.

Kubiss Light Reflecting Concealer in No.2 'Medium', €2, local chemist (I got 3 items for €4 that day though)

Primark Beauty Blender, €1.50, Penneys.

Kubiss London powder in No.2 'Candle', €2, local chemist.

Benefit Hoola, €34, Boots.

Catrice Prime and Fine Highlighting Powder, €4, Penneys.

Catrice Defining Blush in 080 'Sunrose Avenue', €4.49, Penneys.

Catrice Absolute Nude Eyeshadow Palette, €5.49, Penneys.

Catrice Calligraph Ultra Slim Eyeliner Pen, €3.49, Penneys.

NYC Liquid Eyeliner, €2.40, Penneys.

Benefit They're Real! Mascara, €26, Boots.

Primark Beauty Browkit, €1.50, Penneys.

Nivea Essential Care Lipbalm, €2.09, Penneys.

Catrice Ultimate Colour Lipstick in 140 'Pinker-bell', €4.49, Penneys.