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The Body Shop - Recent Hits and Misses

September 2, 2015, 12:36 am
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Hi!

The Body Shop isn't a brand I buy from very often, and that's for two reasons. The first being price, the second being location. They're also not online, which is a huge nuisance - the UK site won't ship to Ireland for reasons unbeknownst to anyone. They're missing out on an enormous amount of money because the brand is popular over here. I managed to get Parcel Motel to work with the site once - and could never get it to work again regardless of what combination address/payment I used. You can order over the phone, but as I found out that has its downside too unless you've a very straightforward email address. My order was sorted by a lovely lady but it was just too much hassle to want to order over the phone again. Back to the prices - a shower cream costs £4 in the UK - even with the dire exchange rate that's coming in at €5.67. What price are they here? €8.95. Outrageous.

I was lucky enough to win a recent giveaway held on Erin (Chasing Ruby Chat)'s youtube channel recently, the prize was a few Body Shop bits and I was delighted because I had heard other people rave about the moisturiser and was curious about it.

HITS



Brazil Nut Shower Cream - €8.95 | Brazil Nut Body Butter - €18.95 | 
Pink Grapefruit Body Sorbet - €13.50 | Vitamin C Moisturiser - €21.50





I bought the Brazil Nut Shower Cream and Body Butter the time I managed to get the order through on the UK site during a sale. I also bought the Scrub from the same range but I didn't like the texture and gave it away. I like this body butter a lot - it's not a very strong smell, nor is the shower gel, but they're both really pleasant to use and work well. The sorbet is nice - it's a strange texture, somewhere between a gel and cream, almost like the texture of shaving gel. The moisturiser is nice - it's designed to wake "dull, tired, grumpy skin" up and it feels nice. Again, the texture is not what you'd expect from a moisturiser, it's lighter and a little more diluted, definitely not a thick cream. It's really lovely.

MISSES 



Virgin Mojito Body Sorbet - €13.50 | Wonderblur - €24.95 | Virgin Mojito Body Butter - €18.95


I ordered the Virgin Mojito Sorbet and Body Butter over the phone (01 671 3725) - if you want to place a phone order, you pay €5 delivery charge which I thought was reasonable considering the size of the products. It's handy if you know exactly what you're looking for. I had seen this range on a few blogs and was going through a lime phase so I ordered - and sadly, the smell really doesn't do it for me. I love the lime, but there's a sugary sweetness that is just too much, I don't get mint at all and I don't like the smell. I've been using up the sorbet on my legs after a shower just to get rid of it but I definitely wouldn't be into this scent.

The Wonderblur primer was the third item I won in Erin's giveaway. It has a crumbly, dry texture that I found really strange for a primer. When I put it on my hand and tried to apply to my face, some of it just fell off my face before I could rub it in. It was quite heavily scented, but it did slightly improve the appearance of my pores. I think there are much better, cheaper options out there. Honestly the weirdest texture ever.

I really do wish that the company would give Irish customers a proper website with prices displayed, and an option to place orders online. Even if we could order from the UK website that would be fantastic - I don't have a shop near me and I love a browse and a sniff, especially in the Autumn/Winter months.

In the meantime, there's a small range of Body Shop products available online from Meaghers.


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Books I Read in August, Book Haul & Booktube-a-thon 2015 Results

September 6, 2015, 11:12 pm
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Hi!

August kicked off with the Booktube-a-thon (previous post about that here) - out of the 7 books I hoped to read, I managed to get through 5. I could have read all 7 but I completely lost my reading mojo after getting stuck on a book that was really boring (more about that in a bit). Apart from that, I read 5 others - bringing my August total to 10.

It was a poor reading month for me (considering I read 7 of these books in the first ten days of the month) - when I lose interest in reading I really lose it and don't want to go near books for weeks. It happens a few times a year so hopefully it's full steam ahead now for September!

As always with these round up posts, if you want to read my original Goodreads review for each or any book, visit the Books 2015 page and click on an individual book cover to go to that review.

Rick O'Shea Book Club Pick


This month it was a choice between Paul Murray's The Mark and the Void or Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time. I chose the latter, and I just finished it at the start of September. The protagonist, Christopher, is fifteen years old and has Aspergers Syndrome. The book is told from Christopher's POV. His neighbour's dog has been murdered - this is the catalyst for a chain of events that leads Christopher to discover all is not as it seems within his family. This is a fantastic portrayal of someone with Aspergers - not something I'm familiar with, I was fascinated by the way Christopher's brain worked. I liked the book a lot.


Booktube-a-thon 2015


Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
This classic coming-of-age tale has been around for decades, but I'm only getting to it at the grand old age of 32. Margaret Simon, aged 12, recently moved to a new town and is shocked by the way the other girls talk about boys, boobs and periods. Feeling a bit lost, Margaret turns to God for the chats. This was okay - it was a bit rushed and nobody was particularly well developed (pardon the pun) apart from Margaret. But it's worth a read - I mean, it's Judy.

Memoirs of a Fruitcake by Chris Evans
This is the book that killed my mojo. Having had such an enjoyable reading experience with Chris' earlier autobiography It's Not What You Think, I had high hopes for the follow-up - what I got was a mind-numbingly boring account of how a very rich man spent all his money. I just didn't like this at all - it was pretentious and it wasn't enjoyable. Chris himself seems to be a lovely man, this was just at a period in his life where he was flinging money around, forgetting he bought houses, and it didn't make for a relateable or entertaining read. This took me the guts of a week to read, and considering this was during a week-long challenge, it wasn't ideal. I'd recommend the first book but you don't need to read this.

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
The premise for this was brilliant - a teenage girl with a disease that means she could be infected by anything outside of her own house. Inside her home is sterilised, it's safe - but Madeline has never been outside. When a new boy moves in next door they begin connecting via Instant Message but when things look like they're progressing, what can Madeline do about it when she can't even leave her home? I didn't like the direction this book took towards the end, it seemed to turn from an inventive, new concept to a typical YA romance but it was worth a read and it was enjoyable.

The Spinning Heart by Donal Ryan
If you haven't read anything by Donal Ryan I'd very much encourage you to go and rectify that as soon as possible. His writing is edible, especially if you grew up in small-town Ireland. His descriptions, his turn of phrase, his characters - this tale about a community of people in post-recession Ireland connected in various ways had a real Pure Mule feel about it and I wanted to read it again the minute I put it down.

172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad
Set in the near future, NASA decide to boost popularity for a new lunar expedition by selecting three teenagers to join the astronauts on the mission to moon base DARLAH 2. They want to investigate something under the guise of a 50th moon landing anniversary - when the teenagers get there, they realise that NASA have not been entirely honest with them, and that something very sinister is going on. I liked this a lot - it's definitely a YA book but it's a great concept and was written really well. I got vibes of Hugh Howey's Wool or Marcus Sedgwick's The Ghosts of Heaven from it so if either of those floated your boat, give this a go.

Fiction


Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix
This is such a clever little book - set in an Orsk store that sells knock-offs of IKEA products, Amy is an employee that gets roped into doing an all-night spying exercise with some other employees and her horrible manager after some items in the store have been damaged. Perfect black comedy for those who have ever worked in retail, this takes a really dark twist in the middle and goes down the horror/gore route. No issue with that, but I do wish it had retained some of the comedy. Great social commentary, brilliant illustrations, fantastic concept, but the quality of the horror let it down.

You by Caroline Kepnes
Joe works at a book shop. One day, he notices a woman named Guinevere Beck in the shop and becomes fascinated with her - his obsession reaches dangerous levels as he begins to slowly make sure that Guinevere is dependent on him. This is written from Joe's POV - a brave choice, but I just didn't like it that much. There's a lot of swearing (the C word - not the Santa one, the BAD one is used to describe both female genitalia and as a swear word), plus the whole thing left me with a nasty feeling. Was I supposed to feel sympathy for Joe at any point? Because I didn't. I felt like Guinevere (or Beck, as she's known) was made out to be a slut, a tramp, therefore had all this coming to her. Probably (and hopefully) not the intention but I just didn't like it. It definitely made me more aware of what I put on social media, it's frightening how easy it is for strangers to track your every move even from a few seemingly harmless tweets. This just didn't hit the spot for me thriller-wise.

The Boy Between by Susan Stairs
This is Susan's second book, it's the tale of a daughter trying to uncover a family secret. Set in modern day Ireland, Orla can't make it home for Christmas because of the Big Freeze of 2010. When she finally gets home, her mother is even more dejected than she feared - the second half of the year has always been hard for Orla's mother, but nobody will tell her why. In a moment of desperation, her father hands her a photograph of her parents the year Orla was born - in the photograph, there's a teenage boy with white-blonde curly hair. Orla has never seen him before, but when her father clams up, she sets off on a journey to discover more about the boy and whether or not his identity will prove to be the key that unlocks the sadness within her mother. We get the boy's story here, revealed in every second chapter. It's a beautiful, sad tale about love, loss, grief, and hope. Really good and recommended.
Book Haul

I visited Amazon to get the Mark Haddon book for Book Club, and saw that it was in the 3 for £10 deal. Now - here is my logic for this next photo. Amazon offer free shipping over £25. So that's the 3 for £10 deal twice. There's still £5 to make up - but for another £5, you can have THREE more. So I got three more. And a single one. I won't be doing that again for a while until the exchange rate improves, but for now I'm happy with my shiny new books! Also in the photo there are some beautiful books from ROADS publishing that I received for review, but they'll get their own post soon. I placed a small Book Depository order earlier in the month as well, so those two books are in the picture too. Most of the ones I ordered from Amazon are Richard & Judy Summer Reads. I've only read two so far but I'll give a brief synopsis of each one in case you want to take advantage of the offer.


The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Dicker
15 year old Nola Kerrigan disappears in New Hampshire in 1975. 33 years later, her body is dug up from the yard of author Harry Quebert, along with a copy of his manuscript. It's up to his student, Marcus Goldman, to clear Harry's name and find out what really happened.

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
Adapted from a Russain fairytale, this is set in the 1920s in remote Alaska where a couple have moved to the wilderness after suffering a loss. One night, the wife makes a child from snow - the next day, the child is gone, but they begin to see a little girl around the farm.

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Bachman
Ove is an incredibly grumpy man who passes his time doing "rounds" of the neighbourhood to point out the stupididy of his neighbours, but is there more to Ove than meets the eye?

Her by Harriet Lane
A tale of two very different women with two very different lifestyles - but their paths have crossed before, and though one may not remember.........the other does.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt
An epic modern classic about a group of eccentric classmates studying classics at a New England college and how their lives are changed by a terrible secret.

The Children Act by Ian McEwan
A novel about a 17 year old boy refusing life-saving medical treatment and the Judge who must decide on the case.

The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham
The book upon which The Village of the Damned was based. A silver object falls from the sky one day and all the town residents fall unconscious. The next day, the object is gone, but every woman in the town is pregnant with a blonde, blue-eyed child. I ordered this from Book Depository.

The Spinning Heart by Donal Ryan
Set in a small rural town in the aftermath of Celtic Tiger Ireland, tensions and tempers are high and  violence is inevitable. When an incident occurs, several different people connected in some way are given a voice and given their say. Nobody gets a second chapter, but the truth gradually comes to light. If you've read Ryan's The Thing About December, Johnsey's story is mentioned and we find out what happened afterwards. Also ordered from Book Depository.

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters
Set in London in 1922, an impoverished widow and her spinster daughter take in lodgers that change their lives in unforseen ways.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon
A fifteen year old boy with Asperger's Syndrome sets out to solve the mystery of how his neighbour's dog was murdered.

The Humans by Matt Haig
Professor Andrew Martin is not feeling himself after an incident one Friday night - he appears to be annoyed, irritated, and frustrated with every aspect of the human race. What could have changed him so much?

A Song for Issy Bradley by Carys Bray
The Bradleys are, in every respect, a normal family. The 16 year old is in love, the 13 year old dreams of playing football professionally, the 7 year old believes in miracles. His Dad does too - but the Mum finds it hard to believe in anything after losing Issy, in fact she finds it hard to get out of bed.

I'll cover the ROADS books in a post of their own, they deserve their own post.

So - spot anything you like, or have you read any of these?

Where the hell do I start?!



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Are Rainbow Nails the New Ombré?

September 8, 2015, 11:31 pm
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Hi!

When I say "rainbow nails", I'm not talking about this:


Christ almighty. Did you ever look back on some of your earlier blog pictures and want to cry?

Anyway - I read an article recently on SELF website that talked about another nail trend on the way from Korea. The whole article is here, but basically the trend is to pick three or four nail polishes from the same family, with the same finish. With ombré nails (every time I type the word ombré I think of hombre.....for men?) the colours usually go light to dark. With rainbow nails, there's no colour pattern. Just lash them on in any formation.

I picked the following four colours:


L-R: Essence Lost In You, Zoya Carey, Rimmel Salon Pro Oh, Mr. Darcy! and Essie Parka Perfect.

I gave each nail two coats of one of the colours, using the Rimmel shade on my thumb too.


I think it's a lovely way to look like you've made an effort without making any real effort - and it's a great way to transition from Summer to Autumn. Berry tones would look fantastic.


I think calling it "rainbow nails" is a bit of a stretch, but I do love the idea of using a few similar colours with the same finish. Mind you, the temptation to add a wallop of glitter was shocking.

Will you be giving this a go or do you prefer all your nails to match?


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Throwback Thursday - 90s Hair Memories

September 10, 2015, 12:55 am
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Hi!

I was 12 the first time I ever dyed my hair. Ever since I'd seen Angela in My So Called Life tranform into a red bombshell, I wanted that hair colour. Alas, having been blessed with the dark brown hair of my father's side of the family, there was no way my hair was going that colour. Instead, I went down the plum route - earning myself the nickname Dot Cotton from my mother. Thanks, Mum.

Wella Shaders & Toners and Clairol Glints

There were only really two products that we used - Clairol Glints or Wella Shaders & Toners. Sun-In was also available, but I tried it (also tried lemon juice and.........Domestos.......DON'T DO THAT) and it never worked on my hair. Nor did Wella Shaders & Toners, really - I favoured the Rich Mahogany or Plum shades, and more often than not would end up with a plum line around my scalp and a tiny bit of colour in direct sunlight - but Glints and I became very firm friends right up until I graduated to Herbal Essences aged around 16.



Wella Shockwaves Mousse



Having been blessed with naturally curly hair with a heavy layer of frizz over it, I went through a phase where I tried to embrace my curls. This led to a love affair with Wella's Shockwaves - I went through cans and cans of the stuff, my hair would be solid by the time I was finished with it. I remember a dalliance with some gel from the same range, but I don't think I liked it as much as I liked the mousse - scrunch-drying was a thing. A big thing. I had my hair scrunch dried for my Confirmation in 1995 and it took me three days to brush it out afterwards. Not even messing. There were tears. There was also a hat. It was wicker. And navy.



Hair Mascara



The L'Oréal ones in the picture were from 1998, and NO WAY did they look like that on my dark hair. No way. The scoury gold one was the only one that added any hint of colour to my hair, and even at that it was just a faint gold stripe. I had blonde classmates who could rock the pink or purple ones and I was so jealous - even going down the old "use the middle of a marker" route, but it never worked on me.

Glitter Hair Spray



Stargazer still sell this glitter spray. Let's just take a moment to appreciate that fact. Much loved by my sister and I around Halloween (witches like to sparkle too), this was a firm favourite in our house for years. I'm also nearly ashamed to say that I think I put a spray or ten two of some kind of glitter in my hair when I went to a 21st. In, eh......2005...

Butterfly Clips


These were often given away with teen magazines - I remember having that actual hairstyle that Alyson Hannigan is sporting there in that picture. Only my hair is not straight... Butterfly Clips would actually be very, very handy for pubicles (follow lovelygirlybits on snapchat - ain't got nothing to do with your nether regions) so I think they should come back in fashion. Who's with me! *tumbleweed*

The Rachel, The Lois Lane, and The Gwen



I can't let a nostalgic hair post go by without mentioning "The Rachel" - so iconic that it even had its own gag in Friends (Rachel about her mother in "The One With The Lesbian Wedding" - "couldn't she have just copied my haircut?"). Notoriously hard to maintain, this was one I wanted for years but never achieved.

Teri Hatcher's Lois Lane bob was another one I lusted after - I almost got there (see below) but with the absence of a live-in Hairdresser, this was never something that was going to work for me.


"Let me take a picture of your hair""No". "Ah come on, please, it's lovely.""No". *picks up dog and turns to face the wall*. <<<----------teenage stubbornness, right there.

"The Gwen" - also seen on Mel B and most female popstars at one time or another throughout the late 90s/early 00s - this was one I sported regularly. The perfect solution for frizzy, unruly hair - just wind it all up into balls. My hair is like this on my college Student ID card. I was doing a Hairdressing course. It was 2001. Moving on......

Crimped Hair

I think I got my first hair straightener one Christmas around 1997/1998 - it was a Remington one with several attachments and a huge water tank. It took about three years (slight exaggeration) to heat up and it took about two hours (not an exaggeration) to even remotely tame my locks. It never got my hair half as straight as any of the modern straighteners can. One of the attachments included was a set of crimping plates, that I adored. This was the exact one I had:


The straightening plates never really did much for my lions' mane, but the crimpers - YES!!


I discovered too that if I braided my hair into hundreds of very, very tiny plaits and then covered them in hairspray, I could achieve super tiny crimps that lasted a few days. I'd say I was only gorgeous.

I'm sure I'm forgetting loads of things (like scrunchies, french plaits and ye olde side parting plastered to your head) - but that's where you come in! Share your hair memories with me and let me know what you liked to use before we all got very stylish altogether.




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Treat Yo Self - Friday Treats Under €3

September 10, 2015, 11:14 pm
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Hi!

There are few things in life that feel as good as taking off your bra at the end of the day or throwing your hair up in a hun bun with a massive scrunchie - but Friday Treats are right up there. Knowing that you have something to look forward to at the end of a long week has pulled me through some weeks (even though technically when you're a stay at home parent the week never ends).

Having had a look over the household budget the other day and nearly vomited, I have resolved to stop trawling the virtual shelves of Brown Thomas and House of Fraser and promised myself I will only buy what I need.

But that's no fun.

So I'm on a tenner pocket money for the foreseeable future, a tenner a week that I can spend on things for me. Or I can save my tenner and carry it into the next week. I still feel like I'm spending money and buying stuff but I'm not bankrupting us (mind you, a tenner a week is still €520 a year...).

With that in mind, I thought I'd show you some of my favourite Friday Treats - and not only are they all under €10, they're all under €3. Don't tell me I'm not good to you.

Stellar Magazine


The first one is Stellar magazine - I used to buy this but stopped because I didn't like the tone of some articles. When Kirstie McDermott of Beaut.ie fame took on the role of editor early this year with Rosemary MacCabe as deputy ed, I said I'd give it a go again - and haven't missed an issue yet. It's like the love child of the teen mags of the 90s and the old Beaut.ie. It's a brilliant magazine and worth double the €1.95 asking price. Alexa Chung(wan) is on the cover for October, on stands now.

Penneys


What would Irish people do without Penneys? It can sometimes be hard to keep a sensible head on when I walk in the door of Penneys and get bombarded with ALL THE THINGS, but here are three great little pick-me-ups for under €2. Yes, those are gold sparkly socks. They come in silver too! The lipliner has been much raved about, it's a great quality liner for the teeny tiny price (in depth review by Lorrrrrrrrrrrrraine here) and the lashes are a recent purchase for me after seeing both Rosie Connolly (rosieconxxx) and Cherry Sue (itscherrysue) talk about them on Snapchat. Apparently the glue is a dud though, so you'll need something a bit stronger (I've never had an issue with Eylure).

Local Chemist



I've featured Catrice nail polish on this blog many, many times - for €2.99 you can't go wrong. Available in a huge number of shades and finishes, this one is Caught on the Red Carpet  and it's a vampy wine red perfect for Autumn. (Róisín had swatches of this shade up yesterday, coincidentally). Wet n Wild Megalast lipsticks are also just €2.99 each - this one is Just Peachy but there are loads of shades available. Dani has swatches of the entire collection here. Finally, Celtic Candles do these little wax melts - made from organic plant wax and available in scrumptious fragrances like Pink Grapefruit & Champagne and White Jasmine, this one, Limeleaf & Ginger is a current favourite of mine. Also available on their website.

Dealz


Poundland's Irish sister can be a treasure trove when it comes to decent brands at amazingly low prices. I've heard people speculate that it's very old stock - but that Sally Hansen nail polish Coat of Arms was part of the Prabal Gurung Designer collection in late 2013. I've seen Maybelline Color Show nail polishes in there too. The Rimmel Glitter Bomb polishes aren't that old either. That Maybelline shadow is a Hypercosmos shadow that I'm using as blush/highlighter that was in Japanese packaging. Hard to believe that the three items came to under €4.50!

So - am I missing anything else? I know that there are loads of snacks and crap out there but I'm trying to get away from the whole treat = food mentality so if you have any other treat suggestions under a tenner, fiver, or for mere cents, hit me!



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Catrice Even Skin Tone Beautifying Foundation

September 13, 2015, 11:31 pm
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Hi!

I thought I'd do a quick review of one of the latest Catrice foundations, I've used it almost every day since I bought it and I always get questions about it when I mention it on Snapchat, so here's a look at it in action.


I bought this in Penneys about a month ago, it was €8.50. It's available in four shades, Even Ivory, Even Vanilla, Beige Rosé and Even Sand. I picked up Even Vanilla, I assumed it was the lightest shade but Even Ivory is lighter and seems to lean more towards the pink side whereas this is more yellow.

It contains SPF 25, and is a medium-high coverage foundation. I found the texture very similar to Esteé Lauder's Double Wear, and a similar level of coverage from two light coats. This is reported to lighten pigmentation marks over a period of 12 weeks.


No foundation on the left, one coat with no concealer on the right. It definitely evens out any redness I have, and while it doesn't cover dark circles completely, I wouldn't really expect any foundation to do that on its own. Here's a half and half face - no foundation on the left, foundation on the right:


It's a high coverage foundation, and it lasts well. I've been using a lot lately, especially on days when I have lots to do or places to go. I'm really happy with the coverage, and would definitely recommend it. I know this sounds weird - but if you slightly tilt your screen you can see my redness and freckles in the before photos, and how they're really evened out in the after ones. I'm definitely going to buy Even Ivory too and see if it's much lighter.

Have you tried anything from the new Catrice range yet? I bought the concealer on Thursday so I'll have a review of that soon too.




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Twinsie Tuesday - Inspired by Your BFF

September 14, 2015, 11:30 pm
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Hi!


Twinsie Tuesday is a collaboration between several amazing nail bloggers. It has been running for a while, and I've always loved following Róisín's posts to see what she comes up with, so when the opportunity cropped up to join the group, I applied and was over the moon to be accepted.

This has all taught me one thing - my nail art skills are SO RUSTY. Like, rusty nail in rusty toolbox in rusty iron shed rusty. I could just about remember how to use striping tape here. I'd love to be one of those people who keeps everything glam and classy, but alas - I am all about that tack, so for this theme I wanted something fun.

I don't really have a BFF - my husband is my best friend but I wasn't going to start attempting beer or tractors on my nails, so I totally cheated on my first week and went for a famous pair of BFFs instead.

Behold, Bert and Ernie. And the duck.


Why does everything look so awful on camera!! I promise this isn't as bad in reality, my stripes ran slightly after I applied Essie's Matte About You topcoat. It looks much better if you squint.


If you want to see some ACTUAL skills, please do check out the other ladies in the group. They all do much, much more presentable things than this. Hopefully my nail art will improve as the weeks go on!

Amanda at Amandalandish
Amanda at Fashion Footing
Amber at Nails Like Lace
Bridget at A Painted Nail
Chelsea at Nailed Blog

Róisín at Cuti-CLUE-les







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Latest in Beauty Glamour Beauty Power List 2015.

September 18, 2015, 6:05 am
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Hi!

I've spoken about the Latest in Beauty boxes here before - I genuinely think they are the very best beauty boxes out there - or at least the very best ones available to us here in Ireland. A bit of housekeeping out of the way first - you will need to use Parcel Motel to order them, they don't post to Ireland. I have a post explaining how Parcel Motel works here.

I bought two boxes recently - The Latest in Beauty Award Winners 2015 box, and the Glamour Beauty Power List 2015.

Today I thought I'd show you the Glamour one, and I'll show you the Award Winners one tomorrow. As with all my beauty box reviews, details of pricing and links to where you can find the products are under each photo.



Garnier Miracle Sleeping Cream

Full or Sample: Full, 50ml | Price: Currently €10.99 (as of September 18th) | Available at: Boots

This was what prompted me to buy this box. Much loved by Lorraine from John It's Only Makeup, I've wanted to try this for ages and I was delighted to see it here. I'm currently using up a Trilogy night cream that I bought because Caroline Hirons recommended it (hang on, are you jumping off a cliff? Wait for me!) and it's just not for me, so when it's finished I'll be dipping into this.

Nails Inc Nailkale Superfood Base Coat

Full or Sample: Full, 14ml | Price: €18 | Available: Brown Thomas

While I'm not a huge fan of Nails Inc polishes - I think they're overpriced - I love trying new nail treatments and I'm really glad this was in here. Infused with Kale protein, this apparently helps to strengthen the nails. Could be a total gimmick but the worst thing that could happen is nothing, right?

Vita Liberata Self Tanning Night Moisture Mask

Full or Sample: Sample, 10ml | Price: €5.61 approx | Available: Cloud Ten Beauty

This is a hydrating night mask that also provides a buildable, natural tan. I haven't tried this yet because I'm so afraid of tan on my face, but I will give it a go.

Eyeko Black Magic Mascara - Midnight Blue

Full or Sample: Sample, 4ml | Price: €8.71 approx | Available:ASOS

Available in a choice of blue or black, I got the blue one in my box. I've had a few Eyeko bits in beauty boxes before, and they've always been good quality. I'm not sure if I can pull blue mascara off but we'll see! The black version of this is much loved by celebs the world over, so I'm hopeful for this one.

Rimmel 60 Seconds Supershine Nail Polish

Full or Sample: Full, 8ml | Price: €4.99 | Available: Boots

Available in a number of different shades, I got the shade 'Glaston-Berry' from the Rita Ora range. This is a cherry red cream with a high shine - I never buy red nail polish so this is a welcome addition to the stash for nail art purposes. I already have a couple of the Rita Ora polishes and they're brilliant (except the yellow one).

Philip Kingsley Geranium & Neroli Elasticizer

Full or Sample: Sample, 40ml | Price: €11.67 approx | Available: Feel Unique

This is a pre-shampoo treatment for hair. It improves manageability and adds shine. This scent is gorgeous - a mix of geranium, neroli, rose, lavender and orange, it's inspired by holidays in Italy. For very dry hair, it's recommended to lightly dampen your hair, massage the product in, and leave in overnight. Really, really looking forward to trying this!

Kiko Velvet Touch Creamy Stick Blush

Full or Sample: Full, 10g | Price: €7.90 | Available: KIKO

KIKO is a brand that often crops up in these Glamour boxes. I got shade number 07, 'Natural Rose' - it's a light mauve colour with great payoff (I'll show you a swatch further down the page). I'm still a bit scared of creamy blushes, but this isn't too scary. I still wouldn't wallop it on straight out of the stick without blending, but it's a nice alternative to powder blushers. 

Revlon Ultra HD Lipstick

Full or Sample: Full, 3g | Price: €10.99 | Available: Boots

I received the shade 'Gladiolus', a bright blue-based red. These lipsticks are a gel consistency, and they are true to the shade in the bullet. One coat gives a bright, vibrant, really pigmented lip. Unfortunately I don't wear red lipstick but I love how this feels and it's almost worth buying one just so you can hear the click when you twist the lipstick back down. The definition of satisfaction... This is very fragranced, it's kind of a perfumey smell, not off-putting to me but some may not like it. 

Here's a quick swatch of the Revlon lippie and the KIKO blush:


And that's it - the box costs £18.99 + £3.95 postage, which works out at £22.94 or one thousand euro with the current exchange rate. Ah no, it's just over €30. You can order it here but you'll need to use Parcel Motel. I do think it's good value - if I were to order everything seperately today I'd be paying €78.86 - not a bad deal there at all for some genuinely great brands. If I had to change one thing I'd stop putting red lip products in any beauty boxes, there are so many people who don't wear red.

Anything tempting you? Check back tomorrow for the Award Winners one!




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Beauty Awards Winners Box from Latest in Beauty

September 19, 2015, 2:28 am
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Hi!

Yesterday, I showed you the most recent Glamour collaboration with Latest in Beauty, a company who provide really great one-off beauty boxes throughout the year as opposed to a subscription service. I wanted to show you this one today while both are still available to buy, so let's get to it:



My first thought upon opening this box was "how the hell did they fit all that in there?" - I tried to put everything back in afterwards and I couldn't get it closed, it is FULL of products.

As usual, pricing info and links to buy are under the pictures.

Cult Classic: La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo + 


Full or Sample: Full Size, 40ml | Price: €17.99 | Available: Boots

Definitely worthy of its cult status, this is an anti-blemish cream that really works wonders on the appearance of spots and blemishes. This is the sole reason I bought the box - a brilliant, brilliant product. 

Skincare Saviour: Burt's Bees Soap Bark & Chamomile Deep Cleansing Cream

Full or Sample: Full Size, 170g | Price: €13.99 | Available: Boots

The only Burt's Bees products that I've ever tried are their lip balms, so I was really happy to see this cleanser in the box. I love trying new cleansers and makeup removers, so will be using this after I finish my Nia balm. It smells gorgeous and it has the consistency of a thick hand cream, which is unusual for a cleanser.

Hottest Haircare: Philip Kingsley Elasticizer

Full or Sample: Sample 20ml | Price: €5.37 approx | Available: Feel Unique

There was a limited edition of the Philip Kingsley Elasticizer in the Glamour box from yesterday, this is a smaller size and it's the original version. It's an intensive pre-shampoo treatment for hair that promises an improvement in elasticity and appearance.

Green Award: Dr. Organic Snail Gel Facial Serum

Full or Sample: Full Size, 30ml | Price: €15.00 | Available: Holland and Barrett

Snail secretion has been around in the skincare business in Asia for a while now. Some people are really queasy at the the thought of putting snail slime on their faces, but I have no issue with it - I've already reviewed Nature Republic's Snail Therapy BB Cream, one of my favourites. The process of how the secretion is collected is explained in the video below. The product itself feels like a light runny moisturiser, smells like lemongrass, and promises an improvement in the appearance and hydration of skin over 4 weeks.


Best Newcomer - Zoella Beauty Fresh Fizz Fragranced Bath Fizzer

Full or Sample:  Full Size, 200g | Price: €6.35 | Available: Meaghers

I'm not familiar with Zoella but her range seems to be very fresh and young, this bath fizzer is no different - I'm sure my eldest son will love it, he's a big fan of bath bombs. This is divided into chunks like a bar of chocolate which I thought was a great idea, you can break off a chunk or two and save the rest for the next time. Smells gorgeous too.

Must-Have Makeup: Burt's Bees Lip Crayon

Sample or Full: Full Size, 3.11g. | Price: €14 | Available: Littlewoods

This is a matte lip crayon that's infused with Shea Butter. I got the shade 'Sedona Sands', a really wearable 90s brown nude. It feels slightly waxy on the lips but it's not drying. Not entirely sure how I feel about it but it does give great payoff so I'll probably wear it but maybe not in the winter months when my lips are less puckered pout and more puckered arse.

Body Beautiful: The Body Shop Wild Argan Oil Miracle Solid Oil for Body & Hair 

 Sample or Full: Full Size, 50g | Price: €15 | Available: The Body Shop (instore)

This was a real treat to get because The Body Shop products are so expensive over here. This miracle solid oil can be used all over - on lips, rough skin, hair - wherever you want to stick it. Within reason. It smells lovely and it's a very welcome addition at this time of year!

Blogger's Choice Award: COLAB Sheer & Invisible Dry Shampoo in Monaco

Full or Sample: Mini, 50ml | Price: €1 approx | Available: Simply Foxy

I was so happy when I saw this would be in the box as I've only ever been able to find one travel size before (the one with the black lid) and I just finished it the other day. I love dry shampoo, and this one doesn't leave a residue. I just discovered while looking for a price that Simply Foxy have some of the full sizes so I'll definitely be grabbing some in my next order!

Best Eye Makeup: Eye of Horus Brown Liquid Define

Full or Sample: Full Size, 0.55ml | Price: €18.92 | Available: Eye of Horus

Eye of Horus are a brand I've reviewed here before. They've also popped up in another beauty box and I don't know how I ended up with two Bronze Amulet Goddess pencils but anyway - I'm waffling - this eyeliner is a pen-style liner and it is unbelievable. It's just so pigmented, so easy to use, and so flattering. Keep an eye out for some Eye of Horus news among the Irish Blogging Community over the next week or so - it's good news. 

Here's a quick swatch of the Burts Bees crayon and one swipe of the Eye of Horus liner: 


The LIB Beauty Awards Winners 2015 box is still available, it costs £21.95 + £3.95 postage, for a total of £25.90 or €35.50 - I bought both of my beauty boxes together so only had to pay one postage charge. The complete euro value of all the products in this box is a massive €107.62. 

If you want to order, you can do so here. Remember if you're ordering from Ireland, you'll need to use Parcel Motel. I have a post about how Parcel Motel works here. 

Tempted? 




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Dupe Alert? Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade VS NYX Tame & Frame

September 20, 2015, 11:09 pm
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Hi!

I fell in love with Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade last year. I love how it applies, I love how it looks, and it has completely overtaken brow pencils for me almost every time I do my makeup. I like strong, dark brow and that's exactly what I get with the shade Medium Brown.

However - it's hard enough to get sometimes. Cult Beauty and Beautybay stock it, but it's just hassle ordering and waiting sometimes. Plus, it's €17.90 from Beautybay before you factor shipping in, and £15 from Cult Beauty before the ridiculous exchange rate. When I saw the NYX Tame & Frame Pomade on the Cara Pharmacy website priced at €7.75, I ordered it to my local store immediately and picked it up a few days later. I went for the darkest shade available on the site, Brunette. I've since seen a darker shade called Espresso that I'd probably have gone for instead, but this one is fine.



In the interest of fairness, I used the same type of brow brush for both - the Blank Canvas E38.



Warning - Resting Bitch Face in all these photos. (Sorry!). 

No Brow Products:


Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade in Medium Brown on the Right:


Anastasia on the Right, NYX Tame & Frame Pomade on the Left.


There's actually a fair bit of shade variation between the two brands, but it's not overly noticeable on the brows. If you find Medium Brown a bit too warm for you, or if you use the shade Chocolate in the Anastasia, you might get on well with Brunette in NYX.


Overall Verdict


  •  NYX is definitely better value. It's over €10 cheaper and you get more product - 5g as opposed to Anastasia's 4g.
  • Anastasia has a much better shade selection, especially for blondes or redheads. They have 12, NYX have 5. 
  • NYX is becoming easier to get - it's stocked on a number of websites including Stauntons, Meaghers, Cara Pharmacy, McCabes, Sam McCauley, Littlewoods, plus it's available in lots of stores nationwide.
  • The Anastasia is a more solid product. The NYX seems to be a little lighter in consistency, like a gel/mousse hybrid. It seems easier to blend. This may solidify over time as my Anastasia has done. 
  • The NYX takes a little longer to set than the Anastasia. 
So, Are They Dupes? Well, it's incredibly close. Both are waterproof. Both stay put all day. Both apply flawlessly with a good brush. Both give a long-lasting effect. Both look the same. Both perform the same. I had to keep going back and checking my photo names because I couldn't remember which brand was on which brow. Neither rubbed off on my fingers. Both products have very, very similar ingredients. If you can find a shade to suit you in the NYX, I'd recommend picking it up. 

I'll use up my Anastasia, and I'll hunt down the Espresso shade in the NYX. If it's the cool dark brown I'm after, we have a new winner and my days of importing Pomade are behind me. 





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Twinsie Tuesday - A Hobby Other Than Polish

September 21, 2015, 11:00 pm
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Hi!


It's my second week in the Twinsie Tuesday group, and this week our prompt was "a hobby other than polish". I thought about Cross Stitch and was going to do something along those lines until my notebook grabbed my attention - collecting stationery is a huge hobby of mine. I'm obsessed with nice notebooks, pens, sticky notes, highlighters - I want it all! So, I went with a mani inspired by my favourite Gorjuss notebook.

First, here's the notebook - I use it to keep track of books I read and quotes I want to use for reviews.


Here's what I came up with:


I did the main nails based on the spine of the book, I used Essie Frock n' Roll and sponged Essie In The Lobby on top. Then I freehanded stripes using Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Coat of Arms.


For the accent nail, I used Essie Petal Pushers as a base, sponged on some Essie Cashmere Matte Wrap Me Up, and used Petal Pushers again to do a wonky star based on the stars on the front of the girl's dress.


I like how it turned out, If I did it again I'd probably try and do a few smaller stars rather than one big star but I did it with a cocktail stick and it turned out bigger than I expected (that's what she said).

Please do check out the other Twinsies at the links below, and welcome Claire to the group!

Savannah at Addicted to Polish
Róisín at Cuti-CLUE-les
Marisa at Polish Obsession
Claire at Kerruticles
Chelsea at Nailed Blog
Bridget at A Painted Nail
Amber at Nails Like Lace
Amanda at Fashion Footing
Amanda at Amandalandish






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Presents for a New Mum: What to Buy and What to Avoid!

September 24, 2015, 1:36 am
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Hi!

This is something I've been meaning to do for ages after a conversation with my cousin. "What do I buy for a new baby?" is asked a lot online too, so here are my top five presents and my top five don't-you-dares.

This is all just my opinion, it's what I loved and didn't love when I had the twins. I didn't mention Dads because I can't speak for Dads, I just know what I found brilliant and less brilliant.

Five Gifts To Buy For New Mums

5. Green Angel Seaweed & Aloe Eye Gel



This might seem ridiculous, but stay with me. What all new Mums really need is sleep, but you can't get that in the shop, so instead - they need ways to help them stay awake. This eye gel was something I picked up when I needed a new eye cream and my GOD it is magical. MAGICAL. You know when you're so tired that your eyes won't stay open? A bit of this and you're wide awake. I keep it in the fridge and it's soothing, cold, fresh - just gorgeous and I wouldn't be without it. Plus, it's all natural AND it's Irish. Available from dolledup.ie, it costs €20.


4. A Fancy Travel Mug



Hear me out again. Whether you have one baby, or two babies, or ten babies, it's really hard to finish a cup of tea or coffee. I dumped so many half cups down the sink in the first two years few months - it's just an impossible task to get the time to drink it before it goes cold sometimes. Enter the travel mug - have I ever brought mine out of the house? Approximately three times ever. Do I use it every single day? You betcha. Twice. It vastly increases the amount of time your beverage stays hot. My current favourite is one I got for a measly €1 on a Dunnes sale stand, but for a gift I'd spend a bit more - The three in the photo are all under €20 (minus shipping) and they're from Littlewoods, Hippenings, and The Trendy Sparrow (shipping is a killer on that one but I WANT IT) respectively.

3. Penneys, Tesco or Next Gift Cards. 



Babies grow FAST. Vests and Babygros are boring essentials - but they are essentials, ones that people don't tend to think of when buying clothes for new babies. Some babies have really sensitive skin and aren't able to wear cheaper brands, in which case the Penneys or Tesco vouchers will come in handy for the Mum to get other stuff. Like that Penneys lip liner and the individual lashes and wooden signs telling you how gorgeous you are while you're trying to get your leg into a size 18 pair of jeans while convincing yourself that it's a 12 with the wrong label. NO, honestly, Penneys and Tesco vouchers always come in handy (provided the Mum has access to a Penneys or Tesco, obviously). Next have amazing baby clothes - their babygros were by far the best ones I had for the boys. I had just 12 Next babygros for each clothes size the boys went through and they washed so well, plus they were passed along to another baby afterwards. I can't recommend them enough, and a voucher would go a long way in Next where everything's a little pricier.

2. A Baby Snot Survival Kit



Newborns can be quite mucusy - especially c-section babies. Mine were, anyway. They got their first real snuffly cold when they were about a month old - queue a two-day hunt with two snotted-up newborns in the car doing a chemist tour to see if we could get a vaporizer or a snot-sucker (you will go to great, great lengths to clear a snuffly baby's nose, believe me). A package like this would have been a Godsend - I'm using the Vicks Vaporizer again at the minute. It's available from McCabes, the other bits and pieces are available from most chemists, I've linked Boots for handiness: Nasal Decongester, Saline Spray, Baby Olbas Oil (fine in the vaporizer or on a muslin behind the radiator, not to be used directly on or near babies under 3 months).

1. Food

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I'm not even messing. Do you know when I put on most of my baby weight with the twins? After they were born. I put on almost 4 stone when I was pregnant with them and 2 came off the minute they were born. I put it all back on again in the following year, mainly because we were all so bloody tired that nobody could be bothered to cook. During the night feeds my husband developed an addiction to Coke (the drink) and Chocolate Digestives. We ate chipper food or pizza all the time - it was ridiculous. My Mam brought us up a cooked chicken one day and I almost cried, ditto the time my husband's Mam brought us a giant pot of stew. If someone had landed at my door with a week's worth of spag bol, lasagne, or stew to freeze, I think I would have divorced my husband and married them. (Do consider whether they're veggies or not though!)

Five Gifts To Avoid Buying for New Mums

5. New Baby Picture Frames

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I love pictures, I love photos, I love frames. But realistically, how many 'New Baby' frames are you going to fill and put up in the house? I'm not talking about personalised prints or ones with names on, I'm talking generic ones with "It's a Boy" on it. Then if you're a sap like me you feel guilty when the baby isn't a new baby any more and you want to replace the frame with something else. I know picture frames are a go-to gift when people don't know what to buy - but if we got one we got ten, so please don't!

4. Lots of Big Person Outfits in Size 0-3 Months. 

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Look! Miniature versions of adult clothes! Tiny suits! And tiny tutus! They're adorable, yes. They're gorgeous. They're gorgeous for photographs, they're gorgeous for going out, they're gorgeous. But they're not practical and they won't be worn half as often as you'd think. It's so tempting to buy all the miniature frilly dresses and jeans but very small babies need comfort, and taffeta and jeans are not comfortable. We got fancy outfits for the boys in 0-3 months and here's a secret - 0-3 month old babies don't really do much. They sleep and poo and drink and cry (pretty much what I did in college). So by the time they're alert and awake for a little longer, the cute outfits don't fit anymore. If you're buying clothes, get 3-6 or even better, 6-12 month stuff. But use your head - think ahead to what season it will be when the baby is old enough to fit into them. Someone once gave me adorable Reindeer costumes for the boys in December in sizes that wouldn't fit them until the following June. Nobody wants to see Reindeer in June.

3. Vouchers for Expensive Childrens Boutiques. 


Oh God I really don't want to sound ungrateful here, but I got a voucher for the boys for an expensive children's clothes shop for €40. Which was an incredibly generous, thoughtful, wonderful gift. But when I went into the shop, the little everyday baby tops were €20. And the little baby jeans were €25. And the little baby outfit sets were €35+. So I ended up spending €20 along with the voucher just to get two little jumpers for the boys and some overpriced socks - the thought behind it was so good and so lovely, but it was such a waste for the person who gave it to us, a €20 voucher for Penneys would have gone a lot further. Or Next! Mammies love Next!

2. Johnson & Johnson Baby Products


Absolutely not an attack on the brand, but some people seem to think that it's the best brand you can buy for babies and tend to buy an awful lot of it. I know that other people have a similar opinion to me on the brand and I'm not going to speak for them - I'll just say that I found the products too heavily perfumed for my boys, and they broke out in a rash repeatedly from using the baby bath and lotion. The baby shampoo irritated their eyes and gave them facial rashes. If you want to go down the baby product route, Bepanthen is always a great option - get the nappy cream or the moisturiser. Infacare baby bath will never be snubbed. Moo Goo have fantastic products. Also - I have never once oiled a baby (I'd be terrified they'd slither out of my hands like a bar of soap), yet I had, at one point, about 9 bottles of baby oil in the house. Don't buy baby oil.

1. Visits Without Advance Warning


A lot of new Mums feel fantastic straight away. They feel like warrior women, like they could conquer the world, and they love company and visitors. I was not one of those. We had an unnanounced visitor the day I brought the twins home from the hospital and I ended up locking myself in the bathroom crying because I was all over the place and did not want visitors. I wanted bed. Said visitor also spent a good five minutes shoving a camera in the boys' faces and deciding - out loud - who was cuter. Play the "who does the baby look like" game in your head, to us they are beautiful and precious and gorgeous but babies look like babies. Wrinkled old man babies. They don't look like anyone straight out of the womb. I had people call after 9pm to see them, I had people call before 9am to see them. Exhausted. A text or phone call an hour in advance goes a long, long way - there's nothing as bad as a glam visitor (by glam I mean dressed) when you're sitting in a dressing gown with last week's hun bun still in place. One hour in advance to attempt to look human would make the conversation a lot more fun, I promise. Or an hour to pull all the curtains and lock all the doors and pretend we're not at home. I'M JOKING. Kinda....

This is all based on my own experience, it's not meant to insult or offend or sound ungrateful. I never expected or assumed people would bring gifts, but it happens. I'd love to know what the best/worst baby gifts you've received are, or if you don't have kids, just the best/worst gifts in general that you've received.



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Twinsie Tuesday - Vampy Nails

September 29, 2015, 1:11 am
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Hi!


This week's prompt was "Vampy Nails", and it very nearly didn't happen, as I type this I still haven't got the photos taken, it's 6am and I'm waiting for the light to catch up. We're doing some decorating at home and everything's really hectic, I broke some nails yesterday cleaning so I cut them all down.

Presenting - Vampy Nubbins!


I went really simple here, I did flirt with the idea of taking it literally and going down the vampire route, but I wanted this to be wearable for a few days so I went with a base of OPI In The Cable Car-Pool Lane and added some gold square studs. I think any vamp would be happy to sport this look!


I love burgundy at this time of year, I hadn't even used this polish before but I'll definitely use it again over the next few months.

Also, can we just take a minute to appreciate last night's moon? So Halloweeny!!


If you're a fan of Halloween, keep an eye on the blog throughout October. As well as my usual Twinsie Tuesday and Monthly Reads, I'll have lots of Halloween related stuff from recipes to candles, crafts, costumes, nail art, makeup, books, movies - I am notorious for promising things and not following through but I have a LOT of drafts so here's hoping it will happen as planned!

In the meantime, please do check out the other Twinsies at the links below and see their versions of Vampy Nails!

Amanda at Amandalandish
Amanda at Fashion Footing
Amber at Nails Like Lace
Bridget at A Painted Nail
Chelsea at Nailed Blog
Claire at Kerruticles

Róisín at Cuti-CLUE-les



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Books I Read in September

October 1, 2015, 10:49 pm
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Hi!

Where on earth did September go?! The end of it appeared to have been replaced by the Summer we didn't get in June. October is here, which means my annual spooky reads month (I say annual - I did it last year for the first time), so here's my September roundup, I got through 11 books and one short story.

Rick O'Shea Book Club

I had already read one of the choices, Burial Rites by Hannah Kent. The other choice was The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat by Oliver Sacks, and I could only read about a quarter of the way in before I had to stop, there was just too much medical jargon and I couldn't understand half of it. So I had no book club choice this month!

Richard and Judy Book Club


The Well by Catherine Chanter
I read one book from the Richard and Judy Autumn picks (you can find them on my book page here), the cover and title caught my eye immediately and I wanted to read it. Unfortunately it wasn't exactly as spooky or as thrilling as I thought - a couple move to an idyllic home in the remote countryside during a three-year long drought in Britain, only to discover that theirs is the only site in the world with water. Sounds dystopian and futuristic, but the drought wasn't even necessary to the plot. It was alright, but it was more of a look at a marriage and how it's affected by loneliness, grief and tragedy.

Review Copies

I requested lots of books from Netgalley after reading a few previews, I didn't think I'd get approval for the half of them but I did - leaving me with a case of both the guilts and pressure. I do this every single time I get my dashboard down to 3 or 4, I can't help myself. This month, I read three review copies.


Bream Gives Me Hiccups & Other Stories by Jesse Eisenberg
I'm not a fan of actor Jesse Eisenberg, but I wanted to read this collection of short stories based on a sample of the first in the collection, Restaurant Reviews From a Priviliged Nine Year Old. It was funny, witty, and full of social commentary. Sadly, the book went a bit downhill from there. This is along the same lines as David Sedaris' fictional short stories, but nowhere near as funny. My Roommate Stole My Ramen was good, it was more my kind of humour - dark, politically incorrect, black comedy. This definitely won't be for everyone. I LOVE David Sedaris and even I'm not always a fan of his fiction, so I don't think this stuff always works.

One Wish in Manhattan by Mandy Baggot
My first Christmas book of the year so far! I loved this so much. It was a story about a single mother and her nine-year old daughter going to New York City for Christmas. The mother overhears the daughter wish to meet her real father, and this is the real reason for the trip - Hayley is determined to find Angel's real Dad, but she meets Oliver, a billionaire CEO (a nice non-violent non-stalky version of Christian Grey). I just really enjoyed it, it was sweet without being twee. I don't think I rolled my eyes once!

Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye by Tania Del Rio
I know that this will have fantastic illustrations by Will Staehle, but my review copy was unfinished in that respect. This is a story for 8-12 year olds about a young boy named Warren who lives in his family hotel and has to find a treasure before his power obsessed Aunt finds it first. With a host of likeable characters and great villains, this was really enjoyable and I'll be picking up a finished copy for my eldest son for Christmas. Reminiscent of Coraline by Neil Gaiman or some of Sebastian Gregory's stories.

Paperbacks

I'm trying to make an effort to clear some of the backlog of paperback books that I own, but for every one I read I seem to buy two more. Anyway - I read three paperbacks in September.


Her by Harriet Lane
I had such huge hopes for this one. It was sold as a thriller, a psychological page turner in which one woman stalks another - both have met before, but one doesn't remember. What it actually was, was a lukewarm portfolio of a psychopath who had no reason to stalk a woman she barely knew. The reason for the stalking was just ludicrous, the character Nina had major issues but nothing was really resolved or properly explained. I just didn't like this at all - I swore at the ending and flung the book across the room. How melodramatic am I? Shite.

Revival by Stephen King
A return to old-school King with this one. It follows one man through 60 years of his life, and documents his various dealings with a mysterious minister he first meets as a child. It's a great look at how one person can have such an influence on the lives of others, but it's also Stephen King - so it is gross in places. It's one of his small-town American twisty slow tales that culminates in an ending you really don't want to think too much about afterwards.

The Children Act by Ian McEwan
I've never read anything by Ian McEwan before, and after reading very mixed reviews on this book, I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed the story of High Court Judge Fiona and her crumbling marriage, interspersed with details of the various cases she must rule on. I HATED the direction it took about 3/4 of the way into the story, I thought that was highly unlikely, unbelievable, and made Fiona look silly. But overall it was a good read.

You Must Read This

Louise O'Neill is fast becoming one of my favourite authors. This is her second book. Her first, Only Ever Yours, was released last year and was one of my top books of 2014.


Asking For It by Louise O'Neill 
Emma is a teenager, she's beautiful, she's popular - but she's not particularly likeable. She's not a good friend, she has a mean streak, and she uses people to get what she wants. One night, she goes to a party. The next morning, there are graphic pictures of her all over the internet. Was she asking for it? Will anyone believe Emma didn't have it coming to her? This examines jock culture in Ireland as well as rape culture and it's just heartbreaking. It's not an enjoyable read - but it is an important one.

Not Recommended


I didn't enjoy either of these books - just personal taste, both have many excellent reviews on Goodreads and Amazon, they just weren't my cup of tea at all.

There's No Place Like Here by Cecelia Ahern
Also called A Place Called Here, this is a story about a woman who is obsessed with finding lost things. Until one day - she herself becomes lost, and ends up in a place with lots of other lost things. I had a huge issue with this book - the relationship of the main character with her therapist. I felt it was inappropriate and it led to me not enjoying the rest of the book. I find Cecelia's writing very hit and miss for me but I'll still probably read the ones I haven't read because I like her ideas.

He's the Man by M. Malone
This was free on Kindle, I think it was one of the BookBub offers. It wasn't great, but it's part of a series so I'm sure fans will enjoy. I read it after Revival because I wanted fluffy after the giant ants/all hope is lost thing, and fluff is what I got. Action man Matt is a soldier in need of some anger management and/or the love of a good woman - and that's what he finds in his "formerly pudgy" physical therapist. A good ride fixes everything, apparently.

Short Story


Zero Hour by Eamon Ambrose
A short but punchy read, this is just over 20 pages on Kindle and it's a cracking little read. It's a post-apocalyptic story about a lone soldier trying to find some sign that humanity isn't extinct. Imagine being the only one left. A nice little ending and definite series potential.

I'm on the Bandwagon


The Martian by Andy Weir
I really want to see the film, so I thought I'd read the book first. I was disappointed by the writing style, it's written in logs - and they get very technical! If you love mathematics and engineering, you'll love this. The sciencey stuff was the stuff of science geek dreams. I found it hard to follow - Astronaut Mark Watney gets accidentally left behind on Mars and immediately seems to have his survival mapped out MacGyver style. I thought I would be more worried about a guy on Mars on his own, but I wasn't. I really liked the main character's sense of humour, he reminded me of a kind of Xander Harris character. The book really picked up for me when we started to get the POV of what was going on down on Earth too, so if you're also finding it slow do stick with it.

And that's it! October will be dedicated to all things spooky, horror and supernatural. Do let me know if you have any good Halloweeny recommendations, particularly things set in Salem or involving witches.




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Black Cats and Witches and Stuff - An Ode to Hocus Pocus

October 4, 2015, 11:11 pm
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Hi!

To really kick off my Halloween theme here on the blog, I decided to have a ramble about my all-time favourite Halloween movie, Hocus Pocus.


Released in 1993, it wasn't supposed to be a big hit. It was intended to be a Disney Channel Original Movie and was a box office flop - but became a cult hit through home video. I first saw it around 1995/1996 on video. It was one of the first films I ever remember crying at (the end where Binx whispers in Dani's ear) and I have been in love with it ever since. I'm not exaggerating when I say I have seen it at least 50 times. At least.

Sarah Jessica Parker


The cast is just perfect. There isn't one dud. Not one. Thora Birch is fantastic as the slightly bratty Dani, Omri Katz was a huge crush of mine as a child after seeing him on Eerie, Indiana, and the three sisters couldn't have been played by anyone else. Sarah Jessica Parker irritates me in nearly everything she is in, but she is my absolute favourite Sanderson Sister. The movie could have been very different - Leonardo DiCaprio turned down the role of Max to do What's Eating Gilbert Grape? and Rosie O'Donnell turned down the role of Mary as she "wasn't comfortable playing a character who killed children."

The Best Mondegreen of All Time


Everyone can sing along with I Put a Spell On You - "I say, it's a pie, up and baby, up and die!" - right? Nope. Here's what she's really singing:

Ah say ento pi alpha mabi upendi
Ah say ento pi alpha mabi upendi
In comma coriyama
In comma coriyama

So that solves the mystery of why a song about babies and pie would make people dance until they died. 

It Started as a Bedtime Story


If you're a fan of the movie at all, watch this video. It's just under a half hour long, and it's a panel discussion held for the 20th Anniversary featuring Omri Katz, Vinessa Shaw, Kathy Najimy, Thora Birth, Doug Jones and David Kirschner, who came up with the idea from a bedtime story he told his daughters.

Billy


Source
See those moths flying out of Billy's mouth? They were real moths. Actor Doug Jones couldn't swallow them because of a type of mouth guard. Gross, yes? Also - no need to feel like a weirdo if you thought Billy was probably once a little bit hot. He was supposed to be. He also ad-libbed his famous "Wench! Trollop! You buck-toothed mop-riding firefly from hell!" line. All he was originally supposed to say was "Bitch!" but he deemed it unsuitable for a Disney movie.


The Four Things That Still Annoy Me

This doesn't ruin my viewing - I can literally recite the entire film dialogue when watching it - but these four things still occasionally WRECK my head.


- How does the tub of salt last that long?
- At the start, the teacher tells the entire story and THEN says "so, the Sanderson sisters were HANGED!" but we had already seen them be hanged.
- How does anyone know that Binx was turned into a cat? The only people who witnessed it were the Sanderson sisters, so who knew he was a cat??! Why didn't he talk to his father?!
- When Dani meets Allison at her house, she says "There's a museum about 'em?" and then in the same conversation says "Max, I'm not going up there, my friends at school told me about that place" - why didn't she tell Allison that instead of pretending she didn't know?!

I'm pedantic. I know. It's a disease.

Was Venetian Princess Emily Binx? (NO)

This is like that Marilyn Manson in The Wonder Years rumour was - it will not die. Even IMDB credits the role of Emily Binx with Amanda Shepherd, said to be youtube star Venetian Princess' (now Ariella Grace) acting name - she has cleared it up multiple times, but still.......nobody listens.




There is NO Sequel


Sorry folks, it's not happening. Not yet, anyway. However, Sony ARE remaking The Craft, which I am disgusted about.

These Nails


This nail art by Madam Luck Nails is the best Hocus Pocus art I've ever seen - I made my own stab at it but it pales in comparison, this is just my absolute dream Halloween nail art. 

Satan and Medusa


Remember these? They have what is probably my favourite exchange in the whole film:

Satan: They call me master!
Medusa: Wait 'til you see what I'm gonna call you...

Well, they're brother and sister in real life. Penny and Garry Marshall. Garry was the director of both Princess Diaries movies, Pretty Woman, and Beaches (among others). 

I'll Just Leave This Here



Really genuinely going to watch it right now.




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Twinsie Tuesday - Inspired by a Fellow Twinsie

October 5, 2015, 11:00 pm
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Hi!


This week, our group had to recreate a manicure done by a fellow Twinsie. I really want to try and stick with the Halloween theme throughout October on here, so I went through everyone's blogs to find something Halloweeny. I found loads of great designs, but my favourite was this one by Alaina at The Little Canvas.


Alaina provided tutorials for several of the designs, and I really loved how fun this design was and that it could be achieved with only five polishes. I soon realised that I made a bit of a boo boo - I don't own an orange polish!! I had to mix red and yellow. Mine definitely isn't as neat as Alaina's, but I do like how it turned out (even if my Frankenstein looks really evil).



I can't wait to see what the others have done! I'd also like to welcome Alice and Sarah to the group this week. If you have a few minutes to spare, please click through to the other blogs and have a look at what the girls came up with, there's some serious talent in this list!

Alaina at The Little Canvas
Alice at Nail Art in Wonderland
Amanda at Amandalandish
Amanda at Fashion Footing
Amber at Nails Like Lace
Bridget at A Painted Nail
Chelsea at Nailed Blog
ChiChi at I'm Just Me...ChiChi
Claire at Kerruticles
Jessica at Blue Velvet Lacquer
​Lisa at The Polish Playground
Marisa at Polish Obsession
Marisa at Polish Those Nails
Megan at A Beauty in the Business
Róisín at Cuti-CLUE-les
Sara at The Call of Beauty
Sarah at Cloudy with a Chance of Lacquer
Savannah at Addicted to Polish
Steph at Lovestruck Lacquer
Tiffany at Polished To Precision



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Halloween Printables

October 7, 2015, 10:41 pm
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Hi!

I adore printables. I bought a cheap printer in Argos last November solely for printing out Christmas paper crafts.

This year, I've searched for lots of different Halloween printables, and I've found a huge range for all ages. Printables are fantastic for everyone - even if you're not remotely crafty, all you need to do is print them out. Sometimes there's a bit of cutting and sticking, but who doesn't love that?

Colouring and Activity Pages


Crayola have several activity and colouring pages to download and print, the colouring pages would be perfect for younger children and the frames would make a great craft for over 8s. You can find them here.

Ghostly Ancestor Photos



How amazing would these look printed out and framed? You could replace your family photos with these scary versions for Halloween. They're 5x7 and they're created by B. Nute Productions.

Macbeth Inspired Printables



How cool are these? They look like chalkboards. I'm definitely going to print one or both out. They're from Homemade Interest.

Paper Fortune Teller


Remember these from school? This is a fortune-telling Halloween one full of fun predictions. Also from B.Nute Productions. That link also has an entire Party kit in the same theme, from invites to place cards and cupcake toppers.

Dress-up Halloweenie


I loved paper dolls as a child. If you have little ones (or you enjoy it yourself - no judgement here) then this adorable girl Halloweenie is by Babalisme. You can find the dress-up boy version here. Just print on card, or print on paper and glue it to card (inside of a cereal box FTW).

Halloween Garland


This is by Talk Crafty To Me (has there ever been a better name for a craft blog?) and it's one I'm going to make, I actually bought a similar one last year.

Broom Parking Sign


This is really fun, I think it would look great on a lawn. From The Diary of Dave's Wife.

Halloween Masks


These are so cute! Again, either print on card or make use of the Cornflakes box and a bit of Pritt Stick. From Mr.Printables.

Spell Book Covers


Amy at The Idea Room has two fantastic free printables - book covers! All the directions and downloads for both the Spells and Enchantments and Poisons & Potions book covers are in this post (as well as THE BEST EVER idea for a spider decoration, seriously, it's genius).

Pumpkin Carving Templates


I adore pumpkin carving but I'm pretty crap at it freehand. I've used templates for the past few years, and this year I think I'll do a cat one. There are thousands upon thousands of stencils and templates available - just google "pumpkin carving template" and hit images, and be amazed.

I hope you find something you like on the list, this is just my own pick of a few things I liked, there are thousands of ideas on Pinterest, just search "Halloween Printables".




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Yankee Candles Halloween 2015

October 9, 2015, 12:10 am
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Hi!

I'm a huge, HUGE fan of Yankee Candles. I've a box full of wax tarts and tealights in the press, and I've gone through several large jars. Even if I buy other brands I still use Yankee. No doubt this will read like a sponsored post, but rest assured it's not, it's just a brand that I absolutely adore and I want to show you everything. I bought and paid for my Halloween items myself.

Images used with kind permission from yankee.ie and yankee.co.uk.

BONEY

I'm almost certain that this was the theme for 2014 - there are still a number of Boney items in stock on the Irish website, and they're all reduced.


Top Row: Boney Cat Tea Light Holder - now €5.95 here. Boney Wedding Couple Taper Candle Holder - now €9.95 here.
Bottom Row: Boney Dead Neck Votive Holder - now €5.95 here. Boney Toasting Couple Votive Holder - now €9,95 here.

BLACK CAT

New for 2015. I fell in love with the black cat melt warmer! The black cat range is available on both the Irish and UK sites.


Black Cat Jar Clinger - €4.50 here or £3.99 here.
Black Cat Jar Holder - €14.95 here or £12.99 here.
Black Cat Wax Burner - €24.95 here.


SPIDERWEB


Spiderweb Illumalid - £5.99 here.
Spiderweb Votive Holder - €7.95 here or £5.69 here.
Spiderweb Jar Holder - €14.95 here or £11.99 here.

SCENTS
There are two annual scents that always appear around Halloween - Candy Corn and Witches' Brew. There's also a Trick or Treat candle, but it can be quite hard to find. The 2 main scents come in wax tarts, votives, and jars. I also like Midsummers Night around Halloween, it's available all year round.


Candy Corn Tealights 12 pack - €3.95 here.  Candy Corn Votive - €1.25 here.
Candy Corn Medium Jar - €9.95 here. Trick or Treat Medium jar - €9.95 here.

The UK site has the repackaged editions of Candy Corn and Witches' Brew - if you're a sucker for packaging like me, these might be up your alley:

Wax Tart - £1.45 here. Votive - £1.75 here. Medium Jar - £16.99 here. 

Wax Tart - £1.20 here. Votive - £1.75 here. Medium Jar - £16.99 here. 

Votive Holders

These little votive holders are new for 2015, and they're so cute. 

Frankenstein, Skull and Pumpkin - €7.95 here or £6.49 here, here and here. 



Midsummer's Night Tart - €1.95 here or £1.45 here.
Pumpkin Wax Burner - €11.95 here or £9.49 here.

Yankee.ie have a flat rate of €3.95 shipping per order, or free if you spend over €39.
Yankee.co.uk post to Ireland for max £3.95 per order, free UK shipping over £30 (Parcel Motel it!)

I'll have another one of these posts with all the Yankee Christmas products in November.

Here's my Halloween Collection (so far). I found the lantern for €17.95 in my local chemist.



Spot anything you like?





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Twinsie Tuesday - Inspired By Your Favourite Fictional Character

October 12, 2015, 11:38 pm
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Hi!


It's Twinsie Tuesday again, and this week our prompt was "Nails Inspired by your Favourite Fictional Character". I did think about Harry Potter but there was only one character I could choose - Buffy Summers.

I'm a huge fan of Buffy and the entire Joss Whedon universe, I've gushed about it on here several times - I've even done Buffy-Inspired nails before (and whittled a stake):

Wet n Wild Buffy The Violet Slayer
This week, I used Barry M Grey as a base, then drew on the Buffy logo and Buffy face with a black ballpoint pen. I used the white polish from the Rita Ora for Rimmel range to do some crosses, and finished the whole lot with Essence Gel Look Topcoat.



I think the face ended up looking more like Willow than Buffy, but anyway! I'm happy with how the logo turned out because I practiced it a few times and it kept going wrong.

Please do check out the other Twinsies designs at the links below, I can't wait to see who everyone picks as their favourite character!

Róisín - Cuti-CLUE-les
Claire - Kerruticles
Chelsea - Nailed Blog
Bridget - A Painted Nail
Amanda - Amandalandish

See you next week!



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W7 Bronze Queen Eye Palette

October 14, 2015, 11:43 pm
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Hi!

I fell in the door of Cara Pharmacy in Longford last week (literally) so I went off down to the W7 aisle until my face wasn't red anymore. I spotted this palette and took the gamble for €4 - I haven't seen it before, I've had a few of the other Naked-inspired W7 palettes and while they aren't my first choice, they're definitely acceptable.



This one is quite obviously inspired by Bobbi Brown, but the packaging on this is much better than the tins that house the Naked "dupes". When I swatched the shadows on my arm they came off quite powdery and not very pigmented. That fifth shade is more of a glittery topper, reminiscent of the ones in the Charlotte Tilbury palettes (nowhere near the same quality) but it's not going to give you big glittery eyeballs on its own.


Over an eyeshadow primer (Essence I Love Stage), the shadow isn't actually bad at all on the lids. I used the 2nd, 4th and 6th colours with a bit of the black on the outer corner and a bit of the sparkly shade all over.


It's not going to win any awards, but it'd be grand in an emergency or as a stocking filler for a teenager who wants to practice before moving on to more expensive brands. It's not as good as Essence or Catrice, but for €4 the sparkly shade is handy, it's nice to have something like that that doesn't have big chunks of glitter in it.




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