25 Things About Me

I love reading tag posts so when I saw Sprinkle of Glitter and Overdressed and Unprepared 25 things about me tag I thought I'd give it a go too! I know some of you wont be fans of tag posts but I thought it would be nice to get to know each other a bit! I totally encourage everyone to do it too and leave your link in the comments below, or even give a few things about yourself in the comments. So lets begin:

In the Bad Ass Cafe with an umbrella in my hair, as you do!

1. My favourite food is either peaches or toast.

2. I live with my boyfriend Stephen.

3. I'm allergic to fish and hate the smell of it.

4. I can go for about a week before I break down and clean everything in sight.

5. When I was little I had a hard time pronouncing words that began with 'v'. So video was wideo and vampires was grampires.

6. I can not go a day without human interaction, I hate being on my own. 

7. I have 2 cats at my mom's house and love them like children.

8. I went to see Warm Bodies recently and really liked it but was terrified too. 

9. I love going around charity shops and finding real gems.

10. One of my best friends nick name is Poodle (don't ask).

11. Big groups of people scare me.

12. I was named after my gran.

13. When I was 2 I got a pebble stuck up my nose and sneezed it out while at the doctors later that day. My mother was at her wits end.

14. I'm the baby of the family.

15. I hate sport, all of it and can't do any.

16. I've had about 20 piercings done, but currently only have 7.  

17. My natural hair colour is blonde.

18. I sleep walk and talk if I'm stressed.

19. I need glasses to see things far away but rarely use them.

20. My favourite thing in the world is to volunteer with old people.

21. My guilty pleasure has to be squeezing spots.

22. I have green eyes with a yellow ring around it.

23. - is my favourite number.

24. I have 3 tattoos and counting.

25. I used to sing opera.

Friday Favourites #8

This is the perfect way to describe me right now!

Hello everyone! Now I'm sure you might think something is a little off and your very right. I'm posting this on a Sunday, oh dear. I got really sick on Friday night and have been in bed trying to sleep it off since with doctors orders. I have been totally out of touch with the world for far too long, I wasn't even aware that it was snowing all Saturday until Stephen opened the blinds and made me have a look. (I felt like hissing and demanding he closed them like a vampire from the bed.) So please forgive the lateness of this! However, in my absence from blogger and the internet in general there has been an increase in the number of followers here! I am super excited about this and want to wave madly and talk 90 miles an hour to you all. So hello, welcome and thank you for following me! 

Product: Rimmel Match Prefect Foundation

This is my second bottle that I've picked up in the past few months and I really am loving it. It has great coverage, a lovely finish and the colour matches my skin tone perfectly (I use the palest shade, Ivory). What more could one ask for? I will be doing a everyday make up routine in the near future so I will be giving a much more detailed review of this product, but for now you can go buy it in Boots, I really recommend it!

Film: A Dangerous Method

I was pottering about Netflix and came across this. Not having heard of it before I wasn't pushed about it but then I noticed it had Keira Knightly in it. An hour and a halfish later I was a little better for having watched it. Released in 2011 this is a historical fiction about the beginnings of psychoanalysis. The impossible case Sabina Spielrein is handed to Dr Carl Jung to be his deeply disturbed, yet highly intelligent patient. Dr Jungs method is taken from his master and father figure, the renowned Sigmund Freud. This woman takes both under her spell and is eventually let back into society, but not before leaving her mark. I was shocked at Keira's role in this and how well she played it. Its really not your everyday run of the mill drama. Now the underlining theme here is sex, so don't watch it with your easily shocked granny, but do give it a watch as it is an amazing film.

Blog: Thunder&Threads

The reason I got the confidence to start blogging? Right here! I have followed Leanne from the start, she is the most amazing Irish blogger you will ever come across. She is also a YouTuber and just a fantastic reviewer of all things fashion and beauty related. She has the most amazing style and is full of class. Go check her out here, I don't know anyone who doesn't love her. 

Book: Lazy Ways To Make A Living

This is one of the books I nabbed on my crazy charity shop book haul of about 7 books. I know I'm a total nutter but I can't turn a good book or bargain down! I might have also done some awful spur of the moment buying on Amazon Kindle and got a tonne of new lovely reads. Expect a bombardment of new book reviews! This is slowly but surely becoming a book blog, not a fashion/make up one!

Its not often I take embarrassing pics, so this has to be big!!

Product: Lush Mask Of  Magnaminty

When I was in Lush just before Valentines day to pick up a massage bar for Stephen, I got a sample from the lovely Karla. - Side note here, not only was she lovely, friendly AND gave me a free sample, but she had the most amazing eye make up I have ever seen. I have since used the cleanser a few times and wow, it makes my skin feel yummy! It smells like tooth paste and is green, but it works a treat. As you can see, I like to make an eejit out of myself by posting this sort of thing on Instagram. 

Drink: 7up

The way to do it in Ireland, if your sick you drink 7up! and that is what I have been doing since Friday night. Lovely stuff but kind of very very bubbly all the same. I think I'll stick to a nice cup of tea. Oh I tried vanilla tea for the first time the other day, it was nice but nothing could replace a cup of Barrys!

Thats all from me for now, hope everyones weekend has been nice and relaxing and were all ready for getting up early in the morning for work and school! (eh, not.) I'll be back to posting normally from tomorrow, promise! Have a comfy night :)

My Night Time Skin Care Routine

Most nights when I'm not being super lazy using my Soap and Glory Fab Pore Hot Cloth Cleanser that I did a review of  over here, I have my night time routine of taking off all my make up and giving myself a little pamper before I go to bed. I keep all my things in a Lush valentines box that Stephen got me last year, it was too pretty and useful to throw out! 

 First off I cleanse with Nivea's Refreshing Cleansing Lotion for normal and combination skin. Its enriched with lotus extracts and vitamins that makes you feel good about putting on your face and smells nice too. Its thick and takes off make up no problem. It can sting my eye area a little which is off putting but overall it does the job fine. I also just finished Nivea's Pure and Natural Cleansing Lotion from their Pure and Natural range which was a little softer on the skin and around my eyes. I think I'll be picking that up again after I've finished my bottle of refreshing cleansing lotion.

Next I use Boots Vitamin E Toner for all skin types. I picked this up months ago as it was quite cheap and I needed a toner. I'm not a fan of toners in general so I guess I'm biasit when I say I wasn't a fan of it. It has a alcohol sting feeling to it and I don't think I will be getting it again, I'll go looking for a softer to the skin one.

After all my make up is off I use either Germolene Cream or more recently Soap and Glorys Dr Spot. Germolene is an antiseptic cream with local aesthetic that you would normally keep in your first aid kit! But its also great for putting on spots and helps reduce big break outs after one nights use while calming the red areas and making them feel less sore and throbbing. The Dr Spot is a new addition that I picked up a little over a week ago. I'll do a proper review once I have used it more and seen the results.  

Latly I use my little sample of No7 Protect and Perfect Intense Beauty Serum. I've only just started to use this so I have't any major thoughts on it yet. I'll post an updated review once I use it more. For my lips I throw on some of Boots own brand Lipsalve in strawberry and Johnsons Body Care 24Hour Moisture Radiance Hand Cream with shea and cocoa butter. These are both so lovely to use and smell great. My lips feel more moisturised in the morning and my hands feel softer - sometimes I put some hand cream on my elbows too to try soften them a bit, they are really rough and dry most of the time. 

If I'm having a no make up day I'll use Derma V10 Tea Tree Cleaning Wipes that you can pick up in Tesco for €1, bargain of the year! And ICare Eye Make Up Remover Pads from Pennys are also good if I just have a little eyeliner or eye shadow on. (Anyone notice how bad and lazy I can be about taking off my make up? Shocking!)

So that is everything I use right before bed and it all seems to do the trick! I will put up those reviews once I have used the products more to get a proper idea of what they do or don't do. Hope everyone enjoyed this and are as always, having a fab day! I will catch up with you guys tomorrow for my Friday Favourites post :)

Book Review: Take A Chance On Me

I got this book in the in charity shop along with two others for €2, big spender right? So because I was in a bit of a girly mood I picked up the cheesiest romance novel I could find that had the most girl meets boy story on the back, and I came away with Jill Marsell's If you haven't found the one Take A Chance On Me. 

This story follows Cleo Quinn in the English countryside of Channing's Hill where she has lived all her life and now works happily as a chauffeur for a limo service. She has found the man of her dreams, gorgeous attentive and smart Will. Next pops up the old childhood enemy Johnny who bullied and made a fool of her in school. And she still remembers it. Hes now a big shot sculptor, rich, not to mention very good looking. Everyone in the little town loves him and women are just short of openly drooling, but Cleo is immune to his ways, thankfully. 

After all those 'charming' men we get introduced to the best friend, Ash. He lives next door to Cleo and is a real pet who is a very popular DJ for the local radio, his only problem being he is nothing like his on air personality when he meets an attractive woman, que the awkwardness! And then of course there is the sister, lovely solid Abbie and her equally lovely and solid husband. Or so it seems but then things kind of go pear shaped with the perfect couple just as we wave goodbye to the now awful Will.  

I'm sure you can now guess there is a new love interest involved and there are lots of thing happening in the village of Channing's Hill to keep all the residents on their toes. Will Cleo be able to overcome her dislike of poor Johnny? And whats going to happen with Abbie now that she has to move out of her home and away from her husband. Can Ash get over being tongue tied around beautiful women or will he head to Australia just as its too late?

In the end I liked this book and even got a bit must-not-move-until-I've-finished, but I wouldn't be quick to re-read it like some books. This was a nice, easy read and the story line was simple enough that you could pick it up on any page. Not a crazy fan of this one though, being predictable and a little slow to develop. It is relatable and has somewhat of a Bridget Jones feel in parts but not in a laugh-out-loud way. Picking it apart? If there was one or two side love interests before Cleo goes head first then I think it would have worked better. Oh and the side line story with Ash dragged an extra 80 pages out. Oh well, it was something I hadn't read before! I have another Jill Marsell book to read so perhaps that one will do better justice to her writing abilities.  

What are you reading at the moment?

Soap&Glory The Fab Pore Hot Cloth Cleanser

Soap and Glory have several deep pore cleansening products and this has got to be my favourite one from this brand and my overall favourite hot cloth cleanser. I even featured it in my very first Friday Favourites post, now thats saying something! This 3in1 product claims to clean, smooth and melt away make up - it does exactly what it says on the tin! so to speak. Its my go to make up remover/face cleaner when I'm lazy or tired and I am not willing to admit how many times a week I use it! To top it all off, it comes with a free muslin face cloth, fancy. 

This lovely thick creamy stuff has panthenol. sweet almond, orange and my favourite, lavender essential oils which is the main sent. I have always loved lavender, so when I smell this last thing before bed it makes me sleepy and all ready to hit the hay. Also I love all Soap&Glory's eye catching packaging and this is no different with its fab box. Even the tube is something pretty to look at and I love the different colour font. 

Wonderful smells and looks aside, it works a treat with my skin and 'melts' all make up from my face in about 60 seconds after massaging it onto my face. I am also happy to report that I use it on my eyes with no irritation or stinging, something thats great considering how much eye make up I use. It even takes off tough waterproof mascara - a real pain to try and scrub off with a cotton pad and some cleanser. 

I have noticed a difference in my skin and less awful pesky spots too since starting to use this in late December. Its not hard on my skin at all and doesn't leave a residue like some cleansers I've used do. My tube has lasted me ages and still has a third of the product left, which is great considering I use it almost daily. Its well worth the money being just under €12 for a super-hero-type-product that you can get online here and in Boots. I just can't get enough of it and will be going back to buy this again and again. I even have a second tube on standby for when I finish my first one!

Collection (2000) Fix Me Up

A few weeks ago I got the Collection (2000) Fix Me Up long lasting make-up fixer and featured it in my Friday Favourites #5 post. I had it on my wish list for ages after reading the mixed reviews it got online, I wanted to try it for myself. However at nearly €10 I was not prepared to fork out, but after seeing it on offer in Boots I thought it would be worth picking up.

To start with I loved it, but then again don't you always have a slight love affair with any new product while its got fresh packaging and looks all shiny? I know I do. But like every whirl wind romance, things can only last so long and the cracks began to show pretty quick. It claims to be a 'weightless mist that adds radiance and keeps make-up in place for longer.' Eh, no. No it doesn't.

 I am so glad that I didn't pay full price for this product because I would be so annoyed with myself for wasting money on such a disappointing item.The first thing I noticed was that the bottle itself is quite small and is not full at only 18ml's. (I'm one of these people who will pick a product at the back of the shelf and shake a few to compare how much is in each. Have to get the moneys worth you know!) After you apply your make up, let everything dry. You then hold the bottle away from your face and using the pump/spray top function, spray onto your face 3 or 4 times to get full coverage. Personally I think the coverage you get from one squirt of this isn't wide enough at all. My face is properly wet if I apply this so there is full coverage. Well thats not good, no one likes a wet face after spending 15 minutes carefully applying make up. 

The 'mist' has a very strong sweet sent and always drys poorly onto my face giving a dewy/shine look to my skin. I always end up using finishing powder to try and cover it. Apart from soaking your face, making you look ubber shiny and having to fix yourself up a second time, the product itself doesn't do what it claims to in the first place; keep your make up in place. I don't normally touch up my make up for about 7 to 8 hours after I've applied it but with the Fix Me Up spray I was touching up sooner. I think the extra layer of moisture and almost grease (ugh, right?) made my make up wear quicker and I was reaching for my make up bag after only 5 hours. Also, a word of warning, make sure you let your liquid eyeliner dry for at least 10 minutes before applying this or you will have panda eyes like I managed to achieve one day. 

A big thumbs down to Collection (2000) make up fixer spray. I wont be repurchasing this again and its one of my most disappointing products of 2013 to date.

An idea of how small it is.

The Power Of Salt

No, now don't give me that look. I'm fully aware salt is bad for you and you should avoid it on your dinner but what about in the bath? I have been a fan of sprinkling some salt into my bath water every time I go for a soak for many years now. What sparked this mad habit off in the first place? A lady in a health shop in the deep South of Kerry, thats where. I was on the hunt for some dried banana chips (heaven in a bag) when I saw a lady carrying several bags of salt to the counter. She dropped one and as I helped pick it up I asked (because I'm nosy like that) why she needed so many bags. She told me about the power of salt and taking salt baths. Ever since then, I was hooked.

Salt, when used in the bath is cleansing, it stimulates circulation, detoxifies and hydrates the skin, helps cellular regeneration, helps to sooth dry skin and if thats not enough it reduces muscle inflammation and relaxes them to relieve pain. The stuff is packed with minerals,sodium and potassium which your blood needs after exercise. It can relieve water tension (getting skinnier in the bath you say?!) and can strengthen bones, teeth and nails. Some research has even claimed that salt water helps to clear up acne.

'The Father of Medicine' Hippocrates (BC) encouraged his patients to bath in sea water after he studied fishermen who put their hands in the water when they had cuts and sores. And if you want to get fancy about it, which I always do, the treatment is called thalassotherapy - sea therapy in Greek. 

So next time you come across some sea salt or even a bag of table salt in the shops, why not pick it up and add a little to your bath? Might just be the trick.