Beauty Blogger of the Week: Gracey from Long Hair and Lashes
Irish lass Gracey O'Connell's blog Long Hair and Lashes is all you could want for your beauty needs! Find out the latest trends and reviews of that product you've been mulling over as well as great tutorials.
We had a chat with Gracey about all things beauty – from her best beauty budget buy to her make-up secrets!
1. What's your best budget beauty buy?
I love a good budget beauty buy! Wet n Wild in general are a really decent brand with some hidden gems – especially their lipsticks! Great formula, long lasting and some really great colours… and some MAC dupes too, which is never a bad thing 😉
2. What's your top make-up tip?
It's nothing ground breaking, but I ALWAYS do my eye makeup first, clean up all the fall out and then do my foundation. It's so simple, but I think it makes your makeup look neater, and you use less foundation/concealer/powder by not having to remove half of it and reapply. A few of my friends thought I was crazy when they saw me doing it but plenty have come back to me saying they now do it that way and they love it.
3. Do you have a favourite all-round beauty product?
MAC Fix + is the cat's pyjamas. It's a light mist water infused with lots of goodness. Contrary to popular belief, it isn't a "setting" spray in the sense that it will prolong your makeup, but it will do plenty of other things; I spritz it on the face before foundation as an extra burst of moisture (great for dry skin!), on my foundation brush to sheer out a really thick foundation, I spray it on the face after powdering to take down the "flat" or "cakey" look, I wet my eyeshadow brushes with it to give the eyeshadows a foiled effect and finally, it can be used as a toner after cleansing! My tip is to keep it in the fridge during the summer!
4. What's your earliest beauty memory?
I used to always sneak into my aunt's room (who was about 19/20 at the time) when I was much younger and try and play with all her makeup. One day when I was 6 she actually did my makeup for me – blush, lipstick and a bit of eyeshadow – I absolutely loved it; the whole ritual of applying it seemed almost therapeutic, but you could equally have so much fun doing and wearing it. I think that's where it all began, really. I was doing her makeup for an event recently and we both couldn't stop laughing at that particular memory. In hindsight, she made me look like a total clown but I thought I was only gorgeous!
5. Most girls have a signature scent – what's yours?
Pretty much anything by Marc Jacobs (I'm wearing his new(er) one Daisy Dream at the moment but I do love most of his fragrances) and Princess by Vera Wang.
6. What's in your make-up bag right now?
Oh god, I'm constantly trying to condense my travel makeup bag but here you go… some things are a mix of old die hard favourites and newer things I'm testing out… and I have way too many lip products in one makeup bag, please don't judge me!
- – Benefit Stay Flawless primer (expensive, but amazing!)
- – 17 Stay Time foundation
- – Isadora Concealer wheel (this is new for me but I've been really enjoying the cream highlight)
- – Seventeen Stay Time powder
- – Seventeen Define & Conquer Contour Kit
- – Benefit Rockateur blush
- – MAC Soft&Gentle Mineralise Skinfinish (an oldie but a goodie!)
- – Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade + Catrice tinted brow gel
- – Urban Decay Primer Potion in Eden
- – Urban Decay Naked Basics 2 (I just bought this one but I have and love the first one so much – it is amazing for travel)
- – Urban Decay Moondust Eyeshadow in Solstice
- – Maybelline Colour Tattoo – Permanent Taupe (I love collecting these, they're great cream eyeshadows, so quick and easy)
- – Essence liquid eyeliner (I want to be buried with my winged liner on)
- – Lancome Hypnose mascara sample
- – NYX lipliner (Plum)
- – Finally, more lipsticks than is ever necessary; MAC and Wet n Wild.
To check out more from Gracey, find her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram – as well as on her blog Long Hair and Lashes, of course!
Thanks for answering our questions, Gracey!
