Sexual Sunday: Ann Summers O'Connell St.

Ann Summers is something of an institution and I hesitated to write about it this week. This isn't some small stand alone business like the other sex shops in Dublin. This has marketing campaigns, PR women and hundreds of employees, so why try to rate and talk about such a huge company. And to answer my own question, I'm not too sure. But why leave out a sex shop and why not talk about my somewhat bias personal dislike to the brand? Its Sexual Sunday after all -If your new, read my first post here and maybe last weeks, here.

Appearance of the outer shop: 3 1/2 stars - Its nothing amazing, but not uninviting either.

Appearance of the inner shop: 4 1/2 stars - space, light and the toys are at the back.

Friendliness and helpfulness of staff: 3 stars - knowledgeable but overbearing. 

Price range of toys: 4 stars - Something for everyone (even if the toy quality is questionable).

Selection of products/Specialists: 2 stars - Nothing you can't buy anywhere else.

Like with any other press/blogger, Ann Summers staff will never give an interview and always suggest you talk to their pr - who never get back to you. So all the thoughts today are my own. Ann Summers is one of the most well known sex shops in Dublin purely as its a big brand that does those horrible parties (pet peeve) and is parked right on O'Connell street. Its not incredibly offensive in its outer presentation as there are never any toys on display, only posters of women wearing lingerie or manikins draped in the latest offerings. When you walk inside your met with a large, well lit and well laid out space to shop. All the knicker and bra sets dominate the front of the shop, along with the security guard. Towards the back there is what can only be described as a circle stand that you walk into and can see the selection of toys. I must admit, I really like this part, you can't be seen from the front of the shop and everything they have to offer is more or less right in front of you in a smaller space. No trekking from one side of the shop to the other with your arm full of toys. 

However the moment you walk to the back to browse their selection, you are pounced on by staff asking if you need anything, want something explained or to hear the offers of buying three toys and getting a free lube for your trouble. I can't abide this type of sales and a lot of shops do it, but when selling toys I find this off putting and it almost makes me want to throw my hands in the air screaming ''I wasn't looking at sex toys, I'm sorry!''. If it makes me want to do that after I regularly march into sex toy shops, what would it make a first time or nervous buyer do? Not cool Ann Summers, not cool. 

Image source: www.irishmirror.ie

The selection of toys is alright if your looking simply for a dildo or bullet-like vibrator. With Rabbit being one of their only well known brand names along with the - moment for face palm - 50 Shades of Grey, the rest were all Ann Summers own brand. I've not had a lot of experience with their own brand, so to be fair I couldn't pass comment without properly having tried some out first. (Maybe I'll get to this in a separate Sexual Sunday post another time.) But if your looking for joke toys or something plain, then there is a lovely selection of lingerie to choose from, fluffy handcuffs and a long list of different flavoured lube, some anal toys, soft bondage kits and a few cock rings. They don't do any specialist toys, preferring to cater to the masses of what will sell. 

One thing that I noticed and had me scratching my head over was the selection of  'little pills' that are meant to increase stamina and so on. They have them in the O'Connell street shop and also have them listed on their UK but not Irish sites. You can see them over here. I'm wondering why they can sell them or what the legal side of it is, considering last week the staff in Secret Paradise was telling me that guards come in occasionally to check there not being sold. Clearly I'm not doing my homework and need to start looking into these things (Promise I'll update this section when/if I find out the answers.)

Overall I can see why theres such a pull to this shop. Its female friendly and has the excuse that you were only going in to buy some knickers, perfectly acceptable. Theres also the plus that its an all female staff - well there was the times I've gone in anyway. A lot of sex shops have an all male staff as women don't tend to work there for one reason or another. For example I knew a girl who quit after a month because she would get asked inappropriate questions or be hassled by teens passing by and coming in to cause a fuss. Ann Summers is a safe place to shop and even their online shops have a huge selection of things that don't look intimidating unlike other shops. It bothers me slightly that some would rather shop in here because it doesn't have the kink element of a regular sex shop, so your going to be spared the 'shock, horror' products. But then again, each to their own. Personally one of my very first sex toys was bought from here, so I can't judge at all!

Penneys Haul

Just a quick little haul posy today. I surprised myself and didn't buy a stitch of clothing when I went in, which is really unlike me! I follow Penneys on Instagram and a lot of the time love things that they put up but can never find them in the shop when I go in. Sometimes they end up being only sold in the UK and other times they haven't been released yet. It can be a real pain in the arse.

I was in the home ware section looking for some new face clothes and found 3 for €2.50 which will keep me going for a good while. I've started to use cream cleansers again to take off my make up and couldn't find any of my face clothes. While I was down there I spotted stars. I'm a big fan of stars and have started to replace all my bed sheets so when I saw this white and blue star fitted sheet for €6 I had to pick it up. 

I never go into Penneys without passing the make up section and I spotted a reduced P.S love lace perfume from €7 to €3. I had a sniff and decided that even if I got only a few uses out of it, it wasn't going to be a waste considering it was such a bargain.

I've hunted for a few weeks and finally found that little star and triangle necklace, I think its just gorgeous and was only €2. I was also on the look out for the make up brush cleaner that everyone and their mammies have been on about for the past while. There were lots in stock at the Penneys on Henry St if your looking yourself! This was only €2.50 and I'm looking forward to having a go to see if its any good. Pennys own brand P.S are coming out with loads of exciting things and next on the list of things to try out is their lipsticks and maybe a nail varnish.

The last thing I had my eye out for was a nail varnish that I saw online a few weeks ago. I couldn't remember the brand but I think it was this one from Catrice. If it wasn't I'm still happy that I picked up this lovely shade. Its called 46 berry potter and plumbledore - someone at Catrice is a potter fan! This was about €3.

Have you gotten any bargains in Penneys recently?

Soak And Float Shampoo Bar

Unintentionally it seems that January has become the month of Lush. I think I might have gotten a little too excited about Christmas and bought more then I was meant to. In fairness this particular product has been on the go with me for the past few months and I'm only getting to tell you about it now. (The fancy reason could be that I wanted to save the gem, the actual reason is that I normally have a new one gooy and have used before I remember that I wanted to take nice photos of it. Whats a dope like me to do!)

The not so sexy truth is that I sometimes suffer with patches of sore and irritated skin on my scalp. I'm not sure if its dandruff or if its eczema (- although I do suffer with that on my hands and arms) but whatever it is, it can be hard to find a shampoo that helps to calm the irritation while not messing up my hair. Anyone who dyes their hair, especially dyes that are different or neon shades will know how hard it is to keep it bright without products making it fade. I love my XXL Live dye, its long lasting and a gorgeous colour, but what I've found through a lot of trial and error is Lush shampoo is the way to keep it bright. Lush is one of the only brands I've found that wont strip the colour, while actually actively doing something at the same time.

No harsh chemicals to mess with the shade and things like cade oil, rose and marigold petals are all wonderful for soothing the scalp and reducing dandruff, eczema and a general sore head. While the ingredients list sounds fantastic, I'm not going to lie. It smells absolutely horrible. Not a lot of the Lush solid shampoo bars smell great, but they all work very well and so because of that, I can't slate them. But its something to mention as it nearly put me off buying it the first time, before I knew how well it worked. I tend to put in some dry shampoo to cover the smell for my own nose, or put in a little conditioner. But considering this is my 4th bar, so in the long run it can't be that bad!

This isn't my first Lush solid shampoo bar, I'm a long time fan of the lovely Seanik (one of the only nice smelling ones in my opinion!) and I have my eye on the newest additions the the line, namely Honey I Washed My Hair. Mmm, can you imagine the lovely smell of your head after a go of that!? These bars are over €7 which isn't actually not that bad when you wonder around Boots. Not only that, but this can last up to 2 months with me even though I wash my hair daily. I would totally recommend Soak And Float if your head is a little tender, or any Lush shampoos for those who don't fancy getting their colour stripped from their hair.

Ziaja's Bioderma Dupe

The sister fluttered off to France a few months ago and came home laden with things from the famous City-Pharma. Holy jesus it was like Christmas when she text me and sent Whatsapp photos of the shelves, discussing what we had seen talked about on blogs and what we would love to try out. One of the things she picked up for herself was the Bioderma moisturising cleansing milk with 250ml, but ended up giving it to me after she decided it wasn't for her. Thankfully I fell straight in love with it.

Come forward a few months later and I'm almost at the end of my now can't-live-without Bioderma. But after I try and find it online, I realise its about €20 to buy without shipping. It wasn't that price in France! So I do what only a dedicated crazy beauty addict can do, I go buying all and every cleaning milk I can get my hands on. One of the many many bottles had to do the job, or so I was hoping. Clearly there is a skincare god as I happened to be in a chemist picking up some repurchases of Ziaja when I chanced my arm and bought this aloe cleansing milk that was under €5 - bargain. 

This is a 200ml bottle of aloe scented cream, with a toner and a moisturiser in the same scent. It is meant to 'sooth, balance skin moisture and control oily secretions' while also being really gentle to my skin that can act up a lot. Its so gentle in fact, that I can use it to remove my eye make up - oh yeah I'm that lazy. It does just what the Bioderma does and feels the same, but with more then half the price tag. This was the only cleansing milk that I could find stocked in the chemist, but from the site here you can see that there are many more scents and creams for different skin issues available.  

One slight difference I've noticed between the two is that the Ziaja sinks into my skin quicker and better then the Bioderma. Not to say that my beloved Bioderma isn't great, but it tends to sit on my skin and I feel like after I use it. I always need to use a toner to get rid of the excess cream and oil like feel, whereas I could use the Ziaja cleansing milk as a stand alone product. So, with all that in mind will I be picking up the Bioderma soon? No, are you mad? Theres an amazing cleansing milk for less then €5 from a brand that I am finding I'm using more and more. When I found how good this was, I actually got on the phone to friends to rave - and give out about the price of that feckin lovely but very dear Bioderma.

So, you don't need a credit card or a plane ticket to get amazing skincare. Just head to your local chemist and see if they stock Ziaja. Read my review on Ziaja cocoa body scrub here.

My 2014 Favourties

Yeah so the first month of 2015 has nearly come to an end and I'm only getting around to doing this now. Honest to got, some things never change. Just to note, I'd like to say sorry as the photos are all a little off colour. Theres nothing worse then the winter light not letting up and the three times that I retook these photos, they have all been far too dark. But sure, the show must go on. This is a feckin massive list of my all time favourite things of 2014. Some things immediately came to mind and then some things I had to narrow down, it wasn't easy!

First I want to talk about hair. Its one of the things that is a part of my personality and I'm always trying new things in it. Surprisingly, shampoos get me excited the same way a new eye shadow palette would, or a cake. Aussie 3 minute miracle is one of my most loved conditioner, theres nothing as quick or effective to make my hair feel amazingly soft. It smells really lovely as well. I've gone through countless bottles of this goodness. Not pictured, but something that I had to add in is the Garnier ultimate blends shampoo and conditioners. They are so lovely and when they are on offer I love to stock up.

Herbal Essences dry shampoo is my top dry shampoo of the year. I go through loads of this stuff and love it. It doesn't have the white residue that some dry shampoos leave in your hair and it really helps reduce the grease in my hair. Lastly is my favourite purple hair dye, Live XXL. I think I keep these lads in business, I've bought so much of these tubes this year! It lasts such a long time in your hair, even with my daily washing it.  

Next is skincare and the first thing that came to mind when I thought of this catagory was my Vaseline spry and go moisturiser. Theres no waiting around for it to dry in or taking too much of the product in one go. You just spray it on quickly, give it a little rub and boom, your ready to go - well put on clothes first, of course. To help keep my face from falling to bits I love to use Green Angel seaweed daily face cream. It smells lovely, is so moistursing and you only need the tiniest amount to do your full face, so this will last ages. Himself is a big fan of it too, so I'd say the men in your life might appreciate this if your looking for a unisex gift that you might be able to 'borrow' a little now and again. You can read the full review of it over here.

Two Lush things that have to get a mention, keeping all my face uglies at bay are Grease Lightening and of course my much loved Mask of Magnaminty. Both of these help to keep my spots under control when used regularly. Theres nothing negative I can think to say about either of these, they are just perfect! Natural stuff that doesn't smell awful or hurt my fussy skin. 

Lastly is my all time favourtie perfume, the Body Shop White Musk Smoky Rose. When I first got this to try out I wasn't sure about it, it was nice but not something I'd use everyday. But now I've grown to love it and I have to have it in my handbag, just in case. I'm coming close to the end of this bottle and hope to get a new one asap. Running out just isn't an option!

I've read a lot of books and comics in 2014 and although I have so many new favourites, the two that stand out the most have to be Sex Criminals - that I did a full post on over here. And then The Good Girl that I did a review of over here. I'd blab on about them non stop, but I think this is a really long blog post without adding to it! 

Sleek has been one of my most loved make up brands in 2014. I've just started to use their blushers, (instead loving my Benefit one, full post over here)but the eyeshadow palettes and my overused but much loved contor kit has been my go to all year. I did a full blog post on it here, but I think since then I've fallen even more in love with it!

Another go to for the year has been my Wet'n'Wild Comfort Zone palette. Its cheap as chips and has so many highly pigmented colours in it, I just love how handy it is to throw in my bag, without having to worry if it gets a bit bashed. I a full post with swatches over here.

You would want to have been blind not to notice my new found love for Emmas Soy Candles this year. There are so many to choose from, they don't effect my asthma and they are an Irish brand. They just tick all the right boxes. Family and friends got these as Christmas presents, with much happy camper feedback!

Three nail varnishes that I've used non stop were by Paese - review here. Its the perfect red. My lovely mustard Barry M review here and my favourite from the entire new collection by Max Factor - review here.

Out of all my toys, this year Doxy has stolen my heart. I did a full review on it over here, but I'll save you the hassle of reading it - just go order it right now!

I've never fully understood people going on about products that would be desert island things to take with them. That was until I tried Ziaja Rose Butter, This is something I found about half way through the year after finding the brand stocked in a chemist on Talbot St. I picked it up as I was looking for something new to try and I'm so glad I did. Theres nothing as nice as the feeling of really clean, fresh and soft skin. Not only does it work total wonders, it smells pretty good too. I thought it would be too harsh when I felt the sand like texture, but it hasn't once hurt my sensitive skin. Ziaja is one of those brands you need to buy if you see.

Nimue rejuvenating mask is one of my favourite high end masks of 2014. But something that is much more budget friendly and works just as well is the Simple one. I've nothing to say about these, other then every time I have a bath or a bad day, then one of these gets slapped on my face and I feel so much better.

Lastly is my favourite make up. Reds were big for me this year, especially my Wet'n'Wild balm stain and my Inglot lipstick. I did a full review of some Inglot lip products over here. When theres a strong lip, there has to be some strong black eyelashes and flicks! Benefit They're Real and a bargain Collection extreme felt tip eyeliner for €3.99 are, dare I say my all time favourites. 

Everyone and their mammy needs to know about the Hero Brush. I only found it in October but its not left my side since. Its one of my most read posts in 2014 too I'm glad to say. Its an Irish make up artists brand and I honestly need to buy more of them. In love, have a look at the full review here. - Not to mention seeing photos of it clean, sorry!

And whats the point of having an amazing foundation brush if you don't have a lovely foundation to use with it! Seventeens Stay Time is my all time favourite foundation this year. Its full coverage, in a light shade that actually matches my skin tone and lasts a surprisingly long time. I think this is about my 4th or 5th bottle and nothing else that I've tried has compared to it. Seventeen are on fire with their new products that came out in 2014! Can't wait to see what they have in store for the rest of the year.

Sexual Sunday: Secret Paradise Temple Bar

If your not up to date on my weekly series, check out my first post over here. Once inside the shop, I asked the guy behind the counter if he would mind answering a few questions for me and although he said that the owner of the shop talking to me was very doubtful, he was extremely obliging and helpful. I couldn't have asked for nicer. This is a mixture of my own impression along with nuggets of wisdom from the staff member. If you fancy a more in depth interview question/answer kind of post, feel free to comment, tweet me or email to bigblondegirl1@gmail.com.

Appearance of the outer shop: 2 stars - being generous.

Appearance of the inner shop: 4 stars - offer coffee and a comfy chair, I may stretch to a 5.

Friendliness and helpfulness of staff: 5 stars - is it possible to give it a 6?

Price range of toys: 3 1/2 stars - I'm surprisingly happy with this one.

Selection of products/Specialists: 3 stars - nothing specialist, but there is a video booth.

Approaching this shop, I was armed with hand sanatizer and balls of steel. Its not exactly in the category of those seedy blue shop windows with the flashing 'adult store' that scatters some of Dublin, but from the outside it didn't look far off. With the words 'Luxury Adult Store'  boasting to be 'Dublins finest adult store'  plastered overhead, I wasn't sold one bit. The window normally offers a scantly clad manikin, although this particular day she was nowhere to be seen. With some poor lighting, lots of wires visibly hanging, dusty 50 Shades Of Grey offerings and some lingerie posters, the shop front didn't inspire much in me.

Image Source: Yelp - Old images

From the outside you can't see into the shop as there is a curtain and the door is reflective, which gives a nice bit of privacy to anyone who might be shopping. There is also a buzzer to press if you want to gain access to the shop, all standard things to any sex shop worth its salt. As I waited for someone to open the door, I was surrounded by people waiting at the bus stop directly outside the shop entrance - although something to note for nervous shoppers, a few odd glances didn't put me off.  Once inside I was welcomed by a large room with bright overhead lights, shiny wooden floors and lots of space to browse the rows of products. You could have knocked me over with a feather, I was so surprised. The saying looks can be deceiving came to mind.

Making a quick note of what was stocked, the prices and quality of brands, I can safely say this is one decent shop. Tanga, We Vibe and Doc Johnson are just some of the big brands to grace the shelves which impressed me. They are, for the most part 'standard' prices, theres no competitive pricing here, but no extortion rates either. Apart from name brands they also stock some fetish, clothing, shoes, magazines and a large selection of porn dvds. In Ireland its illegal to sell porn dvds, but 99% of sex shops still stock them and for the most part, the guards turn a blind eye to it being more interested in targeting the sale of potential drugs and erection pills. - This shop does however sell skins and grinders for weed, which is common for sex shops and not illegal. I'm very anti drugs though, so this is a negative thing for me.

Image Source: Yelp - Old images

Not being a specialist shop for toys or fetish, but the creme dela creme was what I found near the back, a 'video booth'. Theres not a lot of these in Dublin, so it is definitely worth a mention. I asked the lovely staff member to talk me through what it was all about, as I've only seen free porn from the internet and wasn't aware there was a market for such things. He told me that it was mostly gay men who used it and were regular customers. You pick a dvd from the shop floor and then bring it into the booth. They are not unlike those little photo booths that you get your passport photos taken in. Sit down, close the door, put in the dvd and pay a small fee before it starts playing. Personally I was itching for the hand sanatizer again, so I didn't dwell too long on the topic. 

Apart from the god-awful shop front, the other thing that really bothers me is the shops online presence. They have both Twitter and Facebook although inactive, I can somewhat forgive it. What bugs the hell out of me is the half arsed job of a website. Poor quality stock, half finished web pages, flashing side bar advertisements and poor layouts, this isn't worth your time looking at. Unfortunately for those of you who are hoping to find something decent shopping online, this site isn't the one for you. If you fancy scoffing with me, here is the site.

Image Source: Yelp - Old images

I was told that any of the 3 male staff are happy to answer questions, get in any items for people they might not already stock and discreetly ship them to you at a price throughout Ireland only. If you do buy something in the shop, there is the option of a black plastic bag or leopard print, both impossible to see into. There are plans in the pipe line to expand this business into a second shop in Dublin, with a focus on the video booths, which I'm excited to hear about. Any way of offering 'Catholic Ireland' the chance to let its hair (and trousers) down for a bit of harmless fun is always something I can support. 

Lush, Rub Rub Rub

I think by now we can all safely agree that Lush is a way of life for me. I'm not in love with all things Lush, so when I bang on about something and say its just as good as sliced bread, its worth giving it a sniff/poke/slathering on yourself next time you pass by a shop. Today its all about Rub Rub Rub, or Rub as he likes to be called for short (little sexy devil that he is!). This is a shower scrub that can be used for body and hair. Its a bright blue salty goo in a tub of love. 

Theres nothing I don't think is just great about this, even the fact that its a total dupe for Lush's more pricey Big Shampoo. I am a long time fan of Big, but at €15 I can't be shalping it all over my hair daily and have been paying close attention to Rub for the past few months, intrigued to see if it might be as good as the shampoo, while being a little easier on the purse! Normally when I go to Lush its to pick up another bath melt or a face mask, so branching out to something else can take a bit of building up to. I'm sorry that I waited so long though, as Rub is just as lovely as Big shampoo with the added bonus of it being a multi use product.

Rub is mainly marketed as a shower scrub, and what a wonder it is to have in the shower with you. This is stuffed with mineral rich sea salt - a great antiseptic as well as an exfoliater. It has lemon juice and that will add shine to your hair and has jasmine and orange flower that will leave you smelling divine. I think this is the perfect all in one product to have during the cold months as it not only scrubs away all the nasty dry skin and goo while being oh-so-gentle, but I feel it also moisturises in the process. I'm not saying that its better then putting on a cream if you have very dry skin, but you can get away with it when your skin only needs a touch of hydration. In short, it means no freezing your arse off when you get out of a warm shower and have to rub in cold moisturiser, then wait for it to soak into your skin. All the bonus points in the world, right!? Its saved me from many cold naked dances. 

And if you fancy a little bit more of a good aul hard scrub, don't wet your skin before using it and when your done wash it off in the shower. I find that I rotate the wet and dry skin routine depending on if I have been using thick creams. I would say this would be a great one for taking off fake tans as well, while keeping your skin lovely and soft. So if your in the market for a unisex multi tasking product that lasts surprisingly well, then Rub is the guy for you at €10.50 for a 330g tub.