Prep - Dinner with the President

I really shouldn’t be allowed out by myself, inevitably there will be shopping done. This time I think I was pretty good considering I’d no kids in tow, I really could have done more damage to my already pretty depleted bank account. I have justified every single one of my purchases, well to myself anyway, I’m sure my husband will have a counter argument for pretty much all of them. Anyway it wasn’t a huge splurge or anything just an impromptu trip to Penney’s for some much needed makeup essentials and a few other bits and bobs. The reason for my sudden purchases? I have a very important date tomorrow night which I have been kinda stressing about. We (My husband and I have ben invited to attend a special dinner in a very prominent Dublin hotel tomorrow night in the company of the President himself no-less!! After which we have been invited to attend the following:          

“1916: The Irish Rebellion” – Gala Event

Wednesday, 16^th March 2016 – National Concert Hall, Dublin

Information Note for Invited Guests

The Gala Event takes place on Wednesday, 16^th March 2016 in the National Concert Hall, Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2.  This very special event, presenting the World Premiere of the feature length documentary “1916: The Irish Rebellion”, accompanied by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra is being hosted by the Government of Ireland in association with the University of Notre Dame. The screening will take place in the presence of the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins.  

Ahhhh! So excited and very humbled to be invited to such an historic event, I’ve no doubt I’ll trip up over my tongue many a time through the night as I always do at these fancy events but I’m doing my best to prepare myself, I’ve resorted to rooting out my old history books from school..well not quite, thank god for the internet. I'm not unpatriotic just amnemonic when it comes to all things history related Irish or otherwise.  I think because my husband is like a sponge when it comes to all things Irish, I tend to let him take the lead on it. 

The real reason I’m posting this is to talk about the wonderful little trinkets I picked up in Penney’s today. (I’ll give an update on the dinner in a few days maybe on my Facebook page). 
While I was pursuing the cosmetics stand an elderly lady actually asked me if any of the Penney's cosmetics were any good as she was on the look out for a new blush/bronzer and was fed up paying €30.00 plus euro for her usual brand. Thrilled to hear I was a makeup artist and I rated pretty much all of their products good or great she went on her merry way armed with some solid advice from moi and a new blush and bronzer all for under €8.00. You have to love Penney's! Here’s quick little run through of what I got:

Catrice Liquid Camouflage concealer €3.99

This concealer is amaze!!! I have tried them all and I’m sure I’ve written about this particular one before but it’s defiantly worth another mention. This is a high coverage liquid concealer which I use to conceal and highlight my eye area. I also place it along my noses and forehead and cupids bow. I get it in the lightest colour possible (010 porcelain) as I’m using it as a highlighter and not really as a concealer. It is highly pigmented and waterproof so it literally stays put all day. I love it and cannot be without it.

Catrice All Round concealer palette €3.79

Just to finish off the face and cover up any blemishes I always use a cream concealer, it just stays put better than  a liquid one does. This little palette not only has a trio of skin toned concealers which you can blend together to get your correct colour match, it comes with a green colour corrector to reduce any redness you may have on your face and a lovely peach one for sallowness, great for those with darker skin tones. If I'm having a bad skin day I usually use the green colour corrector on top of my primer and under my foundation and anything else that isn't covered with my foundation is covered with the cream concealer blended to match my foundation. Great little skin perfecting palette to have in your makeup bag. They dry a little matte though so be warned if you have dry skin.

Catrice Nude Illusion Loose Powder €5.95

This is a perfect dupe for Inglots transparent setting powder and at a pinch of the price. I go through quite a lot of powder, not for my face but on clients etc and find it’s something I need to have ready in my kit always. I actually picked up two pots, so I’m well stocked. This is a really lightweight transparent powder which gives a lovely flawless matte finish without drying out the skin. Something I’m quite wary about when it comes to powders as my skin is quite dry. It’s a loose powder milled very finely so gives a transparent finish leaving no cakey opaque powder finish like some of the other budget brands tend to do. It’s worth a try if you’re on the look out for a new setting powder.

PS…Blender sponge and foundation brush €2.50

I haven’t had a chance to use this yet and being honest I usually wouldn’t buy my makeup brushes from a brand that doesn’t specifically make them. I did however rip my beauty blender while cleaning it the other day and haven't had a chance to pick one up so I thought I’d give this little 2 in 1 brush and blender a try. At only €2.50 it’s worth a shot. The hairs are synthetic and very soft on the brush end and the blender part feels nice and well, spongey so will report back very soon when I’ve had a chance to use it.

PS…24 Fashion nails €1.50

Of course I left everything to the last minute and couldn’t for the life of me get a nail appointment anywhere today so I’ve resorted to stick on nails. I have not worn these since I was a teenager! They look a little daunting as are pointy and a bit witchy looking but I thought, ah sure I might as well be a bit fancy for the occasion that's in it. Again I’ll report back when I’ve used them and let you know if they stayed on or ended up in my soup!

I also picked up some essential sucky-in underwear for the tummy and thighs and a padded multiway bra (I’d be lost without padding, seriously my children stole my boobs from me when I wasn’t looking!). So that’s it, my not so extravagant haul from Penney’s. I told you I could justify everything I bought! I’ll post up pics on instagram and snap chat & Facebook with the final look tomorrow.