What’s In My Beauty Bag – Blogger Aoife Ryan Shares Her Secrets

Pretty packaging, hero products, must-have purchases…make-up is a subject we could spend hours chatting about. Everyone has their tried and tested buys and in a bid to find out more about the best way to get bang for your buck, we decided it was time to call in a little expertise. Beauty bloggers make it their business to trial run products and are up to date with the latest releases before they even hit the shelves. In a new weekly feature, we’re going to quiz beauty bloggers on their make-up essentials and why these are the products they return to time and time again. This week, we're chatting to Aoife Ryan and you can check her blog out here.

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  I love make-up – I can’t walk past a counter without stopping to look at all the wonderful goodies, and plan all the beautiful things I’ll buy “when-I’m-rich-and-famous”. But unfortunately I like to have a roof over my head so I try to reel my cosmetics cravings in as much as possible. And as much as I love make-up I think I love sleep just a smidgeon more, so in the mornings before work I only have about 10 minutes to do my face and get out the door. This means I tend to use the same items and same process every day because I know it works for me and will last the day. Prep: The first thing I do is make sure my skin is clean, I either wash my face or use Simple cleansing wipes. Once you have a clean base, I then use a moisturiser as I've never been a fan of primers (but maybe I haven’t met the right one yet) so I just use a small amount of moisturiser in the areas that tend to get dry/tight during the day. At the moment I find myself reaching for Astral Face and Body. Base: It’s taken me 10 years to find a foundation that I don’t want to cheat on, and that’s Chanel Perfection Lumiére. I realise that this is on the higher end of the price scale, so I would also recommend L’Oreal Infallible 24H. To apply my foundation I use the Real Techniques Stippling Brush – put 2 pumps of foundation on the back of your hand, then take small amounts on the brush and apply to the face using small, circular buffing motions. This brush is great for blending in tricky areas such as around the ears and along the jawline. I always take my foundation down my neck as there's nothing worse than a beautiful glowing face paired with a pasty-looking neck! If you want your foundation to last longer then set it with a powder. I use Staymatte by Rimmel in 001 as it’s translucent so it doesn’t lighten your foundation, and it’s lightweight. Brows Brows Brows: I’m obsessed with brows. It’s become so bad that they’re the first thing I notice when I meet someone new – women AND men! I think my fixation stems from the Tragic Tweeze that most people tend to go through in their teen years. You’re 14, you think you’ll “tidy up” the stray hairs around your brows, then BAM! – you’ve plucked so much you look eternally surprised. Word of advice – always get a professional to do your brows. So I’ve been growing my brows back for the last few years and have banned myself from going near a tweezers. I start off with Rimmel's Eyebrow pencil in Hazel (make sure it’s as sharp as possible), using light strokes to plot out the brows. Then I use the brow gel in the Sleek Brow Kit kit to create fake hairs so my brows don’t look too drawn-on. Lastly, I use the brow powder to soften the brows and fill in any gaps. Final touches: Usually I’m running out the door, but if I have time I’ll throw on some neutral eyeshadow. My favourites at the moment are the Stila Naturaleyes and Sleek Au Naturel palettes. Finally, I always curl my lashes and put on a layer of mascara. This really opens up my eyes and makes me look awake (even if I’m still dreaming about my bed!). I don’t have a particular favourite but at the moment I’m using Essence Get Big Lashes, and I always go for the waterproof version when I buy mascara – I wear contact lenses so my eyes do water a bit during the day if I’ve been staring at a computer screen for a few hours. Love beauty? As a member of 3Plus you'll get unrivalled access to beauty offers & competitions, including 20% off at McCabes Pharmacy online, 20% off at The Spa, Aghadoe Heights, Killarney. Register now with 3Plus to get these exclusive deals as well as offers on shopping & eating out.