Facebook Launch & Benefit Giveaway!

Pooky Banana is now doing that Facebook thaaang!
Better late than never...

I'm so psyched that overnight 108 people have liked the page already, thank you sooo much to all those who did, it means so much! Aaaand to get the ball rolling and celebrate finally getting this thing up and running, I have a beautiful Benefit set to give away on the page! 

What it is:

British designer Matthew Williamson has teamed up with cosmetic label, Benefit, to create a funky kit containing four eye shadows ('Feel So Teal', 'Disco Dust', 'Solid Gold' & 'Get Down Brown'), 'Gimme Fever' blush, 'Inferno' lipgloss and 'They're Real' mascara (which I reviewed here!)

How to win:

All you have to do is LIKE Pooky Banana Makeup on Facebook, and SHARE the pic of the competition. That's it! Comment on this post when you have liked & shared ツ



Good luck!!!

Tutorial: Contour and Highlighting

Contouring and highlighting has become a kind of makeup 'trend'. Kim Kardashian seems to be leading the trend by posting pictures of her highlight and contouring work before it's blended. Bearing this in mind, and considering my post which reviewed my new 20 shade concealer palette, I decided to show you all where I contour and highlight.

Apologies for looking like some sort of alien in these pictures! Also, it was wiped out of my hair (of course)!

Contour: Contouring an area of your face pushes it back and is great for making features smaller, thinner or less noticeable. As you can see, like most girls, I contour under my cheekbone to make my cheekbones stand out. I use one of the darker creams in my palette to do this. I then contour the sides of my nose to make it slimmer and more defined. I have a paranoia that I am a modern day Crimson Chin, so I always put a dark concealer on the bottom of my chin to shorten. I also apply it on my temples and up around my forehead which is again, very slimming.

Highlight: Highlighting a section of your face will bring it forward and make that feature pop. In the pictures, you can see that I highlight the areas that the sun would hit (if there was any sun in Ireland). So that is the cheeks, top of my nose, my cupids bow, the middle of my forehead and my brow bones. I used the white cream to do this but for everyday wear, you may want to use a more yellow-based concealer to make it look more natural. I apply some on the edges of my lips and the middle of my chin to brighten those areas.

I love highlighting and contouring as it really defines my features. The trick is to make sure you blend your product enough for it to appear natural, but not so much that it is no longer defining. Word of warning: I love using my cream palette but for my ladies with oily skin, this may just infuriate you because it will appear shiny and won't dry matte! Opt for powder palettes instead ;)

Do you highlight and contour? Do you like the look or is it just too much effort?

Let me know what you think in the comments and if you have any of your own highlight and contour pics I'd love to see!

Don't forget to follow on GFC, Facebook and Instagram (@pookybanana)!

OOTD #14: For the Love of Paddy ♧

I hope everyone had a great Paddy's Day! ♧

I think I had too much of a good night..

Anywaysss, my OOTD (night) features two of my faves, Penneys (Primark) and Topshop. My top is another swingy cami top, like the one in my previous OOTD (OOTD #13: Drag Show Virgin). I bought the lime one shown in this post, and a white one. They also have navy, black and red. I would have loved red but unfortunately my size wasn't in store! They're cropped but not super short, which means it is easier to find ways to wear it as part of everyday outfits. I lurve my PVC skirt from penneys! It's super shiny and goes with everything. It's slightly uncomfortable because it is so plastic-y, but that's like any PVC skirt really! Another great find from Penneys! My shoes are suede 6-inch wedges with a studded strap above my ankles. They are comfortable but pretty hard to walk in at 6-inches...

Top: Topshop, 2 for €15 (buy here)

Skirt: Penneys/Primark, €9 (Very similar, similar and similar)

Shoes: Boohoo.com, around €35 (similar, similar)

Necklace: Penneys/Primark, €4 

Do you like my St. Patrick's Day makeup? Irish flags with a shamrock on my cheek ♧

(no shamrock in this pic unfortunately!)
I'd love to see your Paddy's day makeup and outfit pics!

Don't forget to follow & comment,
go raibh mile maith agat!!
("thanks a million" in Irish)

Instagram, Facebook, Bloglovin, Google+, Twitter 

First Impression: Proactiv

We've all seen the ads,  über famous celebrities like Katy Perry and Avril Lavigne claiming Proactiv is the only thing that gave them flawless skin. However, they surely get a nice sum in the bank for that, so the question is does it actually work?  My sensitive skin will break out for the slightest of reasons. I wanted to give this a shot, so when I seen the half price sale on www.proactiv.com, I thought no better time than the present! 

I ordered a 3-piece set which came with a complimentary tube of face mask product and a "Face the Facts" booklet. The sale price was €25, but with shipping included the grand total came to about €35, a pretty good price for four skincare products. It took less than a week to arrive.

I started using the products immediately and I am now on day 5.The products are all oil-free and have to be used twice a day, morning and night. Ingredients like tea tree and benzyl peroxide try to attack acne-causing bacteria.

♡ The first step is the cleanser, and it's a great start to the routine! It is quite a dry product because it has loads of tiny exfoliating beads in it. In saying that, you really only need a pea-sized amount and it spreads comfortably all over your face. It has a really fresh, clean smell, kinda like the smell when you go into a fancy hairdressers.

♡ Next, you use the toner. This leaves your skin feeling clean but the smell reminds me of a junior infants (kindergarten) classroom, where there's a smell of urine that's been covered up by the smell of disinfectant. Ugh. Thankfully there's another step, so you aren't left with his smell all day!

♡ The final step is the face lotion. There are two of these, one for the day and one for night-time. These also have a scent but this one, I love! Tea tree is a key ingredient and I think that's what the scent is. It's really moisturising but it's still very light so it doesn't feel heavy on the skin. Again, you only need a very small amount and it feels like it's repairing your skin after scrubbing it with your cleanser.

♡ The optional step is the face mask. It smells a bit like the cleanser but I feel like you had to use quite a lot of product to have a full application. It dries hard into your face and has to be left for 10 minutes. I've only used this once so I can't say too much more as of yet!

I'm on my 5th day of using Proactiv and already my skin has improved. I haven't had any new spots form since starting the routine and the redness seems to have calmed down. There is no flakiness, my skin feels soft and smooth which makes makeup application much easier. However, I still have scars and I think I'll be using Bio Oil to fade them.

So my first impression of Proactiv is : So far, so good.
Anyone tried Proactiv? Has it worked for you? Would you be comfortable buying skincare products like this off the internet? Let me know in the comments!
Don't forget to follow on GFC and instagram (@pookybanana) :D

OOTD #13: Drag Show Virgin

Saturday is a night where savings become disposable cash and strangers become pals. Well, they do if you go to Pantibar! Last night I lost my drag show virginity and can I just say, it's about time. PS, please excuse the dreadful lighting in my room. It makes me look like I'm sick!

 For those who don't (but should) know: Panti (Rory O'Neill) is an Irish drag queen and gay rights activist who owns the pub Pantibar, and performs there on Saturdays. You can expect jokes about sexuality, religion and anything else you can think of!

Top: Wallis, €20. Buy here!

This top caught my eye immediately, I love the luminosity of it! It was really hard to capture its true colour, the pictures don't do it justice! These swingy cami tops are so popular lately but I haven't seen one in a colour as vibrant as this one. I bought this in Wallis and it also comes in white, blue, black and a blue and white floral print (floral print is €25).

Trousers: Penneys/Primark, €5

Similar, similar and similar.

I wish Penneys had an online store so I could post links to the stuff I buy, especially seeing as it's so hard to find a pair of trousers similar to these! These are sparkly, grey high-waisted trousers. They're stretchy and sooo comfortable. I rolled up the hems on mine so that the black underside would show. This helped my black shoes tie in nicely with the outfit.

Shoes: Topshop, €55.Buy here!

I lurve these shoes because I can take them nearly anywhere! They give me a little boost without being too high, I can wear them for a full day of work and my feet will be fine by the end of it! Mine are Topshop but Penneys have a similar pair at the moment too.

Necklace: Wallis, €7.

Similar, similar and similar.

Another Wallis buy! I loved this necklace from the minute it came into the store (costing €26 at full price). When I seen a sneaky sale one hiding on the jewelry stand, I nabbed it right away. It just reminds me of a winter wonderland or snow queen with its silvery-blue beading! I love a good statement necklace because they dress up any outfit, and this is a perfect example. The darker silver beads are the same shade as my trousers, poifect!

I hope you all had as good a Saturday night as I did!

Feel free to comment and follow me on GFC, Instagram and Google+ :)

Also, what are you all doing for St. Patrick's day?

Review: 20 Shade Concealer Palette

Current Location: Bed

Current Health: Ughhhh

Current Cure: Tea by the bucket load

So far my flu-like state has held me to my bed since Friday, in the busiest month that I have had in a very long time. My March has/will consist of: my college RAG week, all my major essays/assignments due for college and the beginning of my makeup course! I'm so excited to commence my course with The International Makeup Academy as I feel it will benefit me and my blog so much. I'll be qualified to do what I love most :D When I finish my course (early Summer) I will work as a makeup artist and hopefully have a lot more makeup tutorials to present to you all.

Now to the post..

I spoke about this little gem in my last post and it was also on my Instagram (@pookybanana). It seems nowadays contoured faces are all the rage and it's no surprise. Everybody wants that sculpted, flawless look and palette's like this are the answer. The one I am going to review is the 20 shade concealer palette that I bought on eBay for a measly €6!

Excuse the appearance of discolouration, the plastic covering reacted badly to flash!