Triona McCarthy: Want to feel like a real diva? Get your glam on with these Italian make-up, hair and perfume goodies
See the light
We all enjoyed the Prada store in Florence. I picked up the Prada Light Glowing Lipcolor (€46, boots.ie) which comes in four shades and has an oil-in-stick texture that melts on the lips and gives you a sheer veil of glowy colour. As well as making your lips look gorge, it is infused with passion fruit oil and bifidus extract to strengthen the lip barrier, improve definition and texture, and smooth lip lines.
Cheek of you
While I was prancing around Italy, I wore my new Armani Luminous Silk Cheek Tint (€43, brownthomas.com). I was inspired to try it by actor and Giorgio Armani fragrance and make-up ambassador Sadie Sink, who wore the shade Sunlit Sienna, a burnished pink. This liquid blush has a high-shine effect and is an intense, candy-toned colour that appears to move with the light. It comes in four pearlescent shades and lasts for up to 12 hours.
Everything is rosy
We also visited the Santa Maria Novella shop, which is one of the oldest and most beautiful pharmacies and cosmetic shops in the world. The pharmacy was founded in 1221 in Florence by Dominican friars, where they created medications, balms, and elixirs using medical herbs – such as distilled rose petals – harvested from the monastic gardens. You don't need to go to Italy though, as you can buy the Rosa Gardenia Eau de Cologne, €125 via eu.smnovella.com.
Glow queens
I also packed some Hildun Beauty – many of the products are made in Italy, and the brand has teamed up once again with makeup artist Hannah Martin to launch the limited-edition capsule collection Summer Nights, which is perfect for bringing that summer glow. I love the Hildun Beauty Soul Shimmer Shadows (€20, hildunbeauty.com), cream-hybrid shadows that give a lovely shimmer and are crease-resistant and long-wearing – perfect in the heat.
Care for your hair
I just love Italian style. Even their hair looks so swishy and shiny and expensive – even in the heat! The Italian hair brand Oncare is great for the sun and has recently launched in Ireland. There are eight ranges and I love Selective Professional Oncare Smooth, which adds shine and hydration to long and unruly hair. There are five products in this range, including a balm, shampoo, smoothing milk and leave-in mirror-effect spray. My favourite is the Selective Professional Oncare Smoothing Milk (€17.50, salons nationwide) which repairs, conditions and restores balance to the hair fibre, leaving it fuller, nourished and easier to manage.
Treat
Tan-tastic Pippa O'Connor Ormond's beauty line is such a carefully considered range and I love that her products nourish the skin from within. So, of course, the new tan range is flying off the shelves. I particularly like the Poco Beauty Skincare Infused Tanning Mousse (€28, brownthomas.com). It comes in two shades and ingredients include hyaluronic acid and niacinamide.
Trick
Sunscreen at school With the warm weather finally here, I feel it's vital to send sunscreen to school with the kids, but how to do it without it spilling all over their books in the bag is always the conundrum. I found the answer is to put the sunscreen into the little makeup pots with screw-on lids that you get with eye creams and concealers, as they're compact and spill-proof (well, once they screw the lid on properly – maybe pop in a little Ziploc bag, just in case).
Treatment
Spot on Calling all acne prone-people! You need to know about AviClear, a groundbreaking, FDA-cleared laser treatment now available in Ireland. This innovative solution reduces sebum production with minimal downtime and 90pc of patients see visible improvements within six months. AviClear involves three 30-minute sessions and is available at select dermatology and aesthetic clinics nationwide, with pricing starting at €950 per session. See aviclear.com.
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