Friday Favourites #2

Its Friday again and I am glad the week is finally over. It was jam packed with loads of stuff, so now is the time to put the feet up and relax a bit me thinks. This week I've been really enjoying this lovely list of bits;

Site: One Click At A Time
This is a site thats well worth checking out. There are many like it, but I found this one to have a variety of things to choose. You simply go and 'click', thats all. By doing so you are donating to a cause, but you are not paying yourself. Have a look and maybe visit if you are bored.

Food: Muller Rice
Need I say more? I got a pack of 6 on offer in Tesco for €3.00 that has 3 plain and 3 strawberry. I have been munching my way through them all week and can safely say I love opening the fridge to have a root and find something yummy!

Blog: Sprinkle Of Glitter

I love to follow all types of blogs and this one is a must-read for me. Louise is a beauty guru who also is part of the YouTube family. I would go check her out here if you love fashion and beauty. She also blogs and makes videos with her little girl, 'Baby Glitter' - and we all know I'm a sucker for anything cute!

Game: Shark Dash

This game is for iPhones and Android phones. As far as I know its only free for Android users and under a euro otherwise. I was introduced to it the other day by a friend and its just so addictive! The aim of the game is to get the shark to eat ducks by jumping through hoops and up in the air past platforms. Its fun and easy to use - at first! I think it attracts me as well by the animations of how cartoon-like the animals are and how funny they look. 

Thing: The Winter Sales

I bagged myself some great bargins in the sales, both in the shops and online. I had a brilliant time in Boots with my Advantage Card points and a gift voucher, picking up a few bits for myself and some presents for my January birthday people! A little poke around Asos and I came away with a beautiful dress that was better then half price. Once the post man comes I will have a show and tell!

Product: Herbal Essences Seductively Straight Hair Mask

I picked this up a few weeks ago as I was looking for an intensive hair treatment and it was on special offer. This gem has been my go-to hair treat that keeps it soft and shiny. You can read all about it over here.

Thats all from me for now, I hope you all have a fab weekend and go try something new! 

Review: Herbal Essences Seductively Straight Hair Mask

Hello all! Hope you are having a fine and lovely day. I have been using this product for the past few weeks and thought that I would do a little review on it as it has impressed me so much!

This is from the oh-so-divine Herbal Essences range. I have to say I am a big lover of all things Herbal Essences and have been using them for years. The new packaging that they have come out with over the past 2/3 years has been fresh and eye catching. Its very up to date and slightly shiny too, and who doesn't love shiny, humm?

This particular gem is from their Seductively Straight line for dry and damaged hair. They have heaps of different ones to suit all hair types. They come with shampoos, conditions, intensive conditioner, finishing touch cream and many many more. I have long blonde hair and for the most part it is straight, so this was perfect for me. I picked this product up on clearance from my seemingly most favourite place in the world, Tesco. It was under €3 but the normal price I have seen in Boots and Super Drug is about €5/€6. 

And does it work? Well indeed it does. I love my baths so once a week is the perfect time to put some into my hair and then let it do its magic. My hair has been in such good condition recently that I have only used a small amount of the thick, creamy mask on the ends of my hair, while giving the rest a quick condition with whatever happens to be floating around the bathroom. 15 to 20 minutes later, depending on how prune-like I want to look, I wash it out and hop out of the bath to find my hair is noticeably softer, less tangled and more easy to manage. And man does it smell good! This pot has lasted me ages and is well worth looking out for to have a sniff for yourself and see what I'm raving about. Once I finish my pot I will definitely be on the look out for another. 

Have you ever tried any of the Herbal Essences products? 

Review: Veet Hair Removal Cream

I'm sitting here after a rather sore experience. I am not a fan of of shaving my legs as I tend to catch myself with the razor all the time. So when I was in Boots the other day I picked up Veets Hair Removal Cream with aloe vera and vitamin e for sensitive skin for around €6.15. I can have quite sensitive skin so I thought this would be perfect for me, with the added bonus of aloe vera and vitamin e. There are loads of different creams in this range, you can get spray on creams, roll ons, strips and creams in pump form. It boasts to be 'proven to work on very short hair' and 'can take noticeably longer to grow back'.  The product itself is in a 100ml tube that also comes with a specially designed spatula in pink, which I thought was cute. The instructions tell you to apply evenly to your skin with the spatula. You leave it on for 5 minutes and then remove it with the spatula, then rinse the residue away.  

It specifies on their website that is for your legs, which you can see here. However, on the package it says its designed for use on legs, arms, underarms and bikini lines. Whatever about using it on yours legs I would not  recommend using it on more sensitive parts of your body. It has the most awful smell and irritated my skin so much I had to wash it off before the 5 minutes were up. OUCH!! 24 hours earlier I had tested the cream on a small patch of skin as it suggests, just to make sure it didn't react with me. There was no irritation or redness and the area was smooth after. But it seems that applying it all over my legs does not have the desired effect. I was left sore, red and covering myself in germolene. 

I can safely say I will not be repurchasing this product, instead sticking to the odd nick of a razor. Have you ever used any of Veets range before?

Recycling And Reusing Christmas Cards

Hello everyone! Today is the 6th of January, which means for a lot of people in Ireland its finally the day to take down all your decorations and the tree until next year. There are so many people (myself included) who are superstitious and wont take anything down until today for fear of bad luck. Over Christmas there is so much waste. Food, wrapping paper, boxes, batteries. You name it, its fecked into the bin. Who spends more time then their willing to admit fishing things out of the wrong bin to put in the right one? Right, just me then it seems!

 I love cards of all kinds and tend to keep them. But the cards that are from your neighbour or your far away, only-ever-saw-her-once-when-I-was-little aunt might not be as special to you. So cut them up. The pictures are all beautiful.

Heres a really simple idea I found on YouTube for making a 'card wreath' that means saving money, recycling and well, showing off to anyone who asks where you bought it!

Another fancy idea is to make ornaments for your tree or maybe to hang from the ceiling.

• You can make a big one using 20 circles or a smaller one using 10. Just make sure the one you pick is all the same size.
• Use the top of a glass or the bottom of a body spray bottle depending on what size you like. 
• After you cut them out cut out another circle the same size but from cardboard (a cereal box would be handy!) and draw equilateral triangle. Cut this out and draw it onto the insides of your 10 or 20 cards. Then fold along the lines.
• Now, you can use glue for the next bit, but I always like to use a stapler because there is no fear of pieces coming apart. Join one flap each from two circles, points should be touching the edge of the circle. Doing the same thing, join the flaps of three more to these two. And thats the top done. 
• Glue or staple the left over circles together in an up and down way, alternating the tringlae points. 
• Lastly, after all that is glued or stapled together make a small hole in the top and hang thread from it.

Young or old I hope you have fun doing these! 

Friday Favourites #1

As the country heaves a sigh of relief that its Friday, I suspect that everyone might be in need a good read over the weekend! So here are some of my favourite things, people, places and anything else I find to throw in!

Product: The Fab Pore Hot Cloth Cleanser 

This product can do no wrong! I fell in love with it as soon as I got it from my lovely other half  for Christmas  Its from the Soap and Glory range and its food for the skin. I can be super lazy when it comes to taking off my make up and this takes all the hassle away! Squeeze out some of this,  massage it into your face and neck for around a minute, then just wash off with warm water. It even takes off water proof mascara like magic. The smell is amazing too with sweet almond and lavender essential oils. To top it all off every tube comes with a free muslin cloth. Wonderful.

Product: Christmas Eve Bubble Bar by LUSH

I could honestly devote an entire book to Lush products. There are 2 shops in Dublin and before they come into view you get this amazing smell that makes you instantly want to go in! They had an after Christmas sale with 50% off a lot of their stock. Did I grab some amazing things? Oh yes! I will do a haul later in the week. The Christmas eve bubble is a limited edition but it keeps coming back every festive season, hence the name! Its a real treat just before bed. You can get about 3 uses from it, breaking it up into pieces to save for the next bath. It gives the out loads of bubbles and  makes the water a strange greeny colour when the blue and yellow are mixed together. The minute you smell it you relax with jasmine and ylang ylang. I can't wait to get more next year!  

Film: Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You

I watched this during the week and it was really great, it was out in 2011 directed by Roberto Faenza. It follows James Sveck on his last Summer before heading to college. He prefers solitude to socialising and  has some very deep thoughts that we hear through his first person narration. Between his sister dating a man twice her age and her parents who are divorced and getting remarried, his only outlet is the 'life coach' that his parents force him to see. You get to learn about his past and present through these sessions. Its one of those happy ending films that just make you feel good. 

Thing: Yankee Candle in Christmas Cookie
This has to be my all time favourite scent for the past two years. I love sweet smelling candles but its really hard to find one that wont make you feel sick! This is the perfect combination of sweet but not overpowering. I was lucky enough to get 3 for Christmas, Nom! You can pick up all different sized candles, and the great thing is you can get little tester ones to see if its really worth the price - they are kind of expensive! If you shop around you will pick them up cheaper. They last for ages and the glass ones are cute and add a nice touch to any room. These shops are becoming really popular around Dublin, so pop in and have a smell to find your favourite one!

Music: I'll Be There For You Cover by Boyce Avenue

Man I am loving this song so much! Boyce Avenue have done some amazing covers and have some originals too. They are all the way from the USA and they are the most viewed independent band in the world - so their YouTube profile says! Well worth checking theses fellas out.

Clothing: Fluffy Socks
So everyone has been off college and work over Christmas and what better thing to be wearing around the house then fluffy socks?! You can nab a pack of 2 over under a fiver in Pennys (or Primark for those lovely people reading in the UK) Now that is a comfy bargain.

I hope everyone has a good weekend and that you check out some of the things above. Have you tried any of the products? 

Small Acts Of Kindness

I know that life is great most of the time, but when your having that one awful day it can seem like the entire world is conspiring against you to ruin any happiness you might be hanging onto for dear life. Today was that kind of day for me.

 I left the house without an umbrella and it started to rain. I blindly squinted at passing buses as I had lost my glasses and nearly got run down when I waved frantically at my bus as it was whizzing by. I bumped into the one person on earth I was trying to avoid (we all have that one person) Forgot my shopping list and wondered round Tesco like a headless chicken, leaving with only half of what I was meant to buy along with some pointless things - who has an impulse buy of asparagus?! In fairness it was on sale, but still.. Finally as I gathered up my shopping off of the ground (the bag broke, of COURSE the bag broke) and went towards the bus stop I told myself that nothing else could happen as I was headed for home. Don't you just hate when you jinx yourself?  

I got on the bus and it pulled away, leaving my milk sitting on the side of the road. I cursed and the driver saw what I was looking at, stopped the bus as it was only a little way up the street and let me off to go and grab it. I have never, ever been so happy or enthusiastic over a carton of milk as I was when I got back on that bus. I really couldn't thank the driver enough and I offered him one of the many candy canes I have floating around my enormous handbag.

The Dublin Bus driver of the quarter past 9 bus tonight, thank you so very very much for making my day and letting me retrieve my milk. The neighbours cat will also be thanking you later.

Some New Years Resolutions

I hope everyone had an exciting and fun new years eve, whatever you got up to! So its now officially 2013 and as with the first day of any new year comes that tiny niggling little voice in the back of your head 'what will you set out to achieve this year?'. 

Theres the typical worry of weight. If its bulking up or slimming down, were all off to throw as much money at gyms as we can possibly afford. After all that Christmas dinner, leftover turkey sambos and the tin of Roses sitting on the couch just asking to be eaten, you feel like your having a food baby. But giving them money doesn't give you a one track ticket to your image of a perfect body, you have to actually go. Thats where it normally gets a bit hazy for me..

Another silent thought roaming everyones minds is that tiny word that causes so much trouble. Love. Its all well and good for some, but for the likes of us Bridget Jones types its a bit of a pain. In 2012 I luckily bagged myself a great guy (it sounds like I got him in Dunnes, 20% off!) and he has yet to run away screaming. It must be the cakes I bake.

And of course the work/study situations. I will do extra time in the office and show I am ready for that promotion/account/position I so desperately want. I am absolutely going to go to all my lectures this term AND hand in essays early, no last minute late night writings for me. 

Now be honest, are you really going to get up at 5 to 6 every morning to curl your hair and do your make up instead of the extra time in bed? Giving up those chocolate biscuits? That yoga mat you bought 2 years ago isn't going to get a look in either - even if you have it casually sitting in the corner of the hall. But if you decide on just one or two things that you could try out or that would really make a difference to your life, why not give it a go?

For example I have no intentions of darkening the doors of a gym. That doesn't in any way say I am healthy, but I know going about it that way will never work. Instead I am going to finish off that chocolate santy I ate the head off of last night and then consider going for a walk at least 4 times a week - ignoring the bus stops along the way. I am going to try and get more involved with my local community centre. Giving back while making new friends and leaning some new skills along the way. Lastly, I am going to to love myself. I know that sounds crazy, but if you don't love yourself how can you love others? No more negative comments or thoughts. No more I say! And this is where 'Let The Introductions Begin' comes in. Blogging daily, or as much as I can this year will help to keep my creative side going, help me to set goals, learn and be part of a new online community.   

So go on, try one thing, just one! Theres no point in setting unachievable goals when you can start small and be proud of what you have done come the end of 2013.