SKINCARE MOMENTS ON AMICIA GLOW. ASTRAL FACE AND BODY CREAM.

Hi guys!!

So as you know my blog, my baby, Amicia Glow, is mainly lifestyle. I certainly don't have the repertoire or collection of beauty and skin care items to label myself a beauty blogger even though I have a very reasonable stash :). But I want to stay true to myself and leave that to the experts and keep it real for you coming from me. Instead I'm going to bring to you beauty and skincare moments on Amicia Glow on products that I love! I love a bit of vanity and I love to look after my skin and wear makeup everyday so this is my way of telling you what I feel is good and worth buying and investing in. Please feel free to leave me your opinion on anything I write about or tell me what you think I would love or should try. 

So today I'm talking skincare. I bring to you an old favourite of mine. And it is ASTRAL. I use this as a face cream and here's why: Most days my skin is dry. Very dry. With working out and training at least 4 days a week and stuck in a shop for 50 hours a week under air conditioning, my skin thirsts. I was using Michael Todd face lite moisturiser since Christmas but it just wasn't cutting it for me. It was leaving a light film on my face that I would have to rub in for dear life and it just wasn't giving my skin the hydration it needed, this will be better in the Summer months for me when my skin is not so dry (hopefully). So the week of my birthday I was out shopping with my very dear friend who also waxes and shapes my eyebrows and she knows my skin better than most and the consequences of warm wax on dry skin.... Yes. It is not a good combination at all. She could see my skin was drier than usual so she suggested that I revert back to an oldie but a goody of mine and that is Astral, a cult favourite of hers too. I think we are all aware of this face and body cream, aren't we? I think this was one of the first face creams I used back in the day. I only use this on my face as I find it too heavy to use as a body moisturiser. You'd be all day waiting on it to dry in ha.

ASTRAL FACTS

Astral is around since 1950 (this is when it was launched) AND it is still the exact same formula. So they did no messing around with it since it was first formulated and I find that comforting about a product.
The main ingredient is GLYCERIN a natural ingredient which is what makes our skin nice and soft.

PROS

Cheap and cheerful! Available everywhere from chemists to supermarkets to drug stores.
Very affective. Very kind to the skin. I love to use lots and lots of this at night especially. I love the creaminess of it. It reminds me of white butter cream.

CONS

It can be a tad bit 'greasy'. This is only a problem for me when I want to put my face on ;), after applying the cream but it does seep in eventually. 

ASTRAL PROMISE

''Intensely nourishing. Deeply moisturising. You'll love the way Astral makes you look and feel, every day. From head to to toe, its all the protective care your skin needs. The truth is, Astral works''.

I still haven't found my holy grail face cream but I'm quite happy to keep re-purchasing this until I find something more worthy. I am in love with this cream, the consistency, the smell and the texture. Its a winner in my skin care drawer and also comes in a light version but for me the original is the best.
Thanks for reading guys I hope you found it somewhat helpful or interesting.

Much Love,

Amy xo

WEEK 3!! The 8 Week Little Black Dress Challenge :).

WEEK 3

Hey guys!

Welcome back to my third instalment of the LITTLE BLACK DRESS CHALLENGE. Judging by the number of hits and feed back I have been getting, these posts have been going now really well with my readers. Thank you for your support :). So what had this week got in store for us? Keep reading :) ....

1st Session

The warm up tonight was everyones 'favourite' 5 minute jog around the hall to get the blood flowing. And we where straight into it. And tonight we where...

The stations included:

LAPS AROUND THE HALL JOGGING

BURPEES

UPRIGHT ROWS USING THE KETTLE BELL

SQUATS USING THE MEDICINE BALL

SKATERS USING THE STEPPERS

PUSH UPS WITH A TWIST

SHOULDER PRESS USING THE DUMB BELLS

WALL SIT WITH A KETTLE BELL

BACK KICKS

LATERAL RAISE LUNGES WITH DUMB BELLS.

We stayed on each station for 2 minutes. We then jogged 10 laps of the hall in the interval (and I found this very tough!) and we returned to the stations to do the circuit again. We then did an abs blast- crunches, bicycles and plank. A good solid workout over all :).

2nd Session

Night 2 guys unfortunately didn't happen for me this week :(. I did myself a minor injury in work on my hand and basically it felt like an elephant had sat on it! I ended up in A&E after 6 days of agony only to be given strong pain relief and the relief that nothing was fractured or broken. So on the doctors and my trainers advice I'm laying off it for a couple days and I'll be back in action next week, hopefully. So there you have it guys, that's life! 

I got really down in myself because of it but these things happen. And it could have been so much worse. I also learned a valuable life lesson and that is I will never ever let myself go so long in pain without seeking professional and medical help/advice again as leaving it like this so long was not without its consequence! This situation wreaks of last Summer when I thought a streptococcal throat was just a sore throat. I guess what I am trying to say is our health really is our wealth and we should take good care of ourselves! But this week is now and behind me I still got in 2 decent work outs in.

Enjoy your Easter weekend next guys. You will still hear from me next Sunday on my progress, as we hit the half way mark in the Little Black Dress Challenge.

 Much Love,

Amy xo

WEEK 2. 8 WEEK LITTLE BLACK DRESS CHALLENGE

 BELIEVE YOU CAN ACHIEVE YOUR FITNESS GOALS AND YOU'RE HALF WAY THERE. 
(And my belief is getting stronger and stronger)

WEEK 2

Hey Guys!

No feeling beats the feeling of a good intense work out and this week the intensity levels just kept rising. It's an indescribable feeling. When I do a good work out it feels like an accomplishment. Remember- most of my life I had very little sports/physical activity (I have a blog post on that I'll link below). The most being maybe the 1 hour of PE each week in school. So while I do get my days where I struggle I get more days where I prove to myself I am capable of having a fitness regime in my life. I never want to be without it. And I will continue on this road. No limits! If I had one wish it would be to start to train sooner. But I'm here now. And the timing feels right ;).

So this week saw us having one LITTLE BLACK DRESS CHALLENGE class because it was Paddys week! But we more than  made up for our festivities as Sean decided this week is we where doing BOXCERCISE again, only the intensity was cranked up a notch on last weeks class ;). ------Marvellous!! Right?.... Hehe.

After the usual body conditioning class I was feeling 'fairly' confident heading into the 'LBD' CHALLENGE class. On Sunday previous when we did our walk/jog it wasn't my best performance, not by a long shot. I had a bad day. We all get them days, even the best of athletes get them, as Sean (our instructor) reassured me. And 4 days later I hadn't done anything in terms of fitness (because of a combination of work and Paddys day took up all my time) but looking at it now I feel my body needed the rest and I think the rest paid off. I was dreading the warm up in the body conditioning class because I knew I would know from there weather or not I'll have a good workout but to my surprise I felt stronger than ever. Body conditioning went well then it was straight into the Little Black Dress challenge training session and as mentioned above tonight we where doing...

So our warm up tonight consisted of 5 minutes of jumping jacks, strides and back kicks (which I prefer more than our usual jog, but don't worry folks, there was running later in the class :D). Then we where onto the boxing. Myself and Yvonne (my partner in fitness ;)) got our pads and gloves and we where ready to go. 
First exercise- The person on gloves (me) blast it out for 30 seconds then sprint for 30 seconds, while the pad holders did jumping jacks, for 3 minutes in total. Then we switched. Brilliant exercise to get the pulse going! It's here where controlling my breathing really comes into play.

Next up- Arms. For 3 minutes we boxed it out while also incorporating push-ups. It went like this... We punched it out twice then did 2 push ups. Then we boxed it out 4 times then did 4 push ups, then we boxed it out 6 times then we did 6 push ups (Do you get the picture LOL) Right up until we reached 20. Then we traded our gloves and pads and did it all over again.

Then we moved onto legs. And like last week we did the SEMI SQUAT, HALF SQUAT, FULL SQUAT positions. If you can imagine a triangle and at the top is a semi squat and we blast it out for one minute then straight into the half squat position for a minute and then into the full squat position for one minute. Then we are back into a semi squat for one minute and into a full squat for one minute so on and so forth.... Then we switched over, and we do the entire squatting business again while blasting it out! My legs actually burn! I could feel my blood rushing through every muscle.  Especially having sprinted the dear life out of them on the previous exercise.

Then we moved onto the mats to workout our tummys and legs. You would think getting to work on the mat would be a relief but no! Sometimes this type of endurance exercise takes more out of me than any cardio. We hit our gluts first via lying on one side and raising one leg on our instructors count, then holding it in that position small pulsing on his count also (and it is quite a long count :D). We did both sides- TWICE! Then we did what I can only describe as donkey kicks LOL (I'll find out the exact terminology my dears) where basically we where on all fours and raised one leg up and down, again on our instructors count and also held it position small pulsing on Seans count.  Again, we did both legs twice :).

Then we hit our abs with situps and bicycles (I mentioned last week that I find the bicycles very tough but this week I found that bit more 'doable'- result!!)

And like every class at the very end we stretched it out high fived our partners. :)
I am really enjoying this challenge. More than I thought. Its my favourite time of the week! I'll be back next week with the details on next weeks classes. Next week is FULL ON! And I can't wait. ;) 


Much Love,
Amy xo

WEEK 1. 8 WEEK LITTLE BLACK DRESS CHALLENGE.

WEEK 1

As I mentioned in last weeks post this week saw the first 2 sessions in THE LITTLE BLACK DRESS CHALLENGE take place. Challenge being the operative word as dropping this dress size is not going to be easy. I feel my strength and stamina being tested but I'm ready to fight to loose this dress size. 
After the usual body conditioning class on a Tuesday night I knew heading into the next class was going to be tough and yes, I was right!
Once our instructor, Sean Corr, off Corr Connection Fitness, took all of our before photographs (optional off course) and measurements, we where ready to get into it and tonights session was BOXERCISE. 

After the 5 minute warmup which was a 5 minute jog around the hall I felt my body being pushed into a whole new, yet familiar space again, a space that I pushed myself into months ago when I went extra hard at the training and I almost felt like I was making a big mistake taking on this challenge but lucky for me, I remembered why I am doing this and with a few 'kind' words from my trainer reminding me that I can do this, had me good go again.
This boxercise class involved us pairing up and I worked with my partner from the body conditioning class. We decided to do this challenge together- makes the journey so much easier having a friend doing it with you, we cheer each other on and it also makes the session that much more enjoyable. One of us was on pads and the other was on gloves then half way through the class we switch over. We basically blasted it out on the pads while either sprinting/situps/bear-crawling in between, 30 seconds at a time for 3 minutes on each exercise. Followed by 3 minutes of semi squat/ half squat/ full squat exercise while blasting it out also. Until you do this training I have no words to describe to you what this does to your legs! Taking the stairs over the following 2 days is a struggle LOL :)  I find boxing perhaps the most tough and gruelling out of all the training I do. It takes EVERYTHING out of me however I feel the most liberated by the end of the class and I get the most enjoyment from it. Its such good fun and we all push each other on while having a laugh. We also worked on our abs which was bicycles and crunches.I still don't have a hold of bicycles but I try and try and I know like all the other obstacles I have overcome these will come in time too.

2nd class in the Little Black Dress Challenge this week was....

Thursdays nights class was KETTLEBELLS. We are all familiar with kettlebells? Correct?.... Kettlebells is one tough workout. So after our 5 minute warm up we where straight into the kettlebell class. I started off with a 5KG kettlebell but soon traded for an 8KG. We worked on our lower body's first and then our upper bodies. When it comes to kettlebells and me, 'resistance' training takes full meaning. It is a full on, uncompromising work out that leaves your adrenaline pumping and sweating like theres no tomorrow (lovely I know) but hey that's what it's all about!. 

I can't even say weather or not I find the upper body workout tougher than the lower body when it comes to kettlebells. It pretty much takes all you have but by the end you feel so proud for making it- to the end LOL :). I will mention that running on the spot with the kettle bell held over my head was intense to say the least ;) but my arms is one of my main areas I want to work on so I am willing to do anything to help tone them up. And like in the boxercise class we hit our abs with bicycles and crunches too.

One of the best things about the Little Black Dress Challenge is the instructor Sean is going to surprise us each week with what training we will do. No doubt it will be a very interesting 8 weeks! 
This week has knocked me for 6. I only hope that my body adjusts to the extra training quickly but I have a feeling it will. Next week won't be as demanding cos its Paddys week! So there will be only one LBD class but nonetheless I'll fill you in on that same time same place next week :). 
I am beginning a detox eating plan tomorrow. I'll have a mini blog post going up on that too. Gung-ho all the way!!
Hope you enjoyed reading this guys. 
 I'll be back very soon,

Amy xo

8 WEEK LITTLE BLACK DRESS CHALLENGE. INTRO.

INTRODUCTION 

Hello Everybody!!

This week I'm starting to participate in an 8 WEEK LITTLE BLACK DRESS CHALLENGE.

This challenge involves 2 days intense training classes for 8 weeks and a monitored eating plan. All in aim of dropping a dress size within the 8 weeks.
This course has been designed by Sean Corr of Corr Connection Fitness and he will also be instructing the classes. Sean is also my personal trainer. Starting this Sunday, over the course of the 8 weeks, I'll bring you along with me and post an update every Sunday evening on my progress, I might even throw in a photo or 2 ;). I will blog my ups and my downs, my good days and my bad. I will be doing these classes on top of my other fitness classes and workouts throughout the week too.
This challenge could not have happened at a better time. I've just turned 30 and my my drive and motivation to continue on my weight loss journey and improve my over all well being has only gotten stronger. I'm hungry for good results.
So stay tuned guys!! I'm excited to do this!

Amy xo

Destination. DIRTY THIRTY

Hello Friends!

And welcome to a brand new blog post. This post is dedicated to me turning 30 in the next 7 days and how I have been feeling leading up to this milestone birthday. If you are a friend of mine you know I make no secret that I have a hard time dealing with getting 'older' and dealing with the fact that I will be no longer be a '20 something'. It's quite hard to swallow but there's always a bright side... Here's 30 things about being 30 in my world..... 

1: I pay my bills on time, because I care about my credit rating!

 2: I open ALL my post these days, because I care about my credit rating. LOL

 3: I dye my hair (my natural colour ha), because I want to hide the fact that my black locks are turning a whiter shade of grey revealing the fact I am truly getting older!

 
4: I buy candles and 'nice' stuff for my room, because I want to make it more homely.
Yankee garden sweet pea is my favourite scent!!

 5: I drink less, because well quite frankly  I can't drink any more, my body can't handle it. LOL

 6: My hangover lasts days, because sometimes the above fails. Epically. :) 

 7: My patience has changed. Its SUBSTANTIALLY LOWER.

 8:  I have a savings account. And there's 100 euro in it. haha.

9: I've opened a pension account. Really?..... (yeah)

 10: I've genuinely considered lying about me age, 'Yeah, I am 25, good guess'

 11: I stay in all the time, and it doesn't bother me in fact I get excited when I get to stay in and watch a DVD, especially when I have no work the next day and I get to stay up late!

 12: I get bothered by loud noise. 'Ma will you turn your radio down"!!!!! 

 13: I think about kids and family, all the time! WTF!! AND What a predicament that is.

 14: I bought my first anti ageing cream, because it is designed for 30-35 year olds!

15: My medical records shows that I visited my GP once between the age of 20 and 25, yeah that quadrupled every year since!! And I'm hoping to keep beating that record LOL NOT!! (kidding)

16: I take supplements. When I remember to take them. My body needs the extra boost it can't quite do for itself these days.... haha

18: I genuinely feel like I have had at least 2 'mid life' crisis in the last year. haha (sad times!) 

 19: T.M.I- My hormone levels need to be checked, quite regularly. Doctor says it O.K its all part of GETTING OLDER!!

20: I now need my glasses not just for for driving but for  watching tv, working on my lap top and if I want to see stuff more than 4 yards away from me!! So my eyes get tired... Its all good. haha

21: I get many questions asked about my relationship status. By complete strangers, I might add. 'So do u have a boyfriend?' 'Are you married yourself?....'

Just please, f~ck off.... LOL 

22: I started wearing 2 pairs of socks EVERY SINGLE DAY cos my tootsies get real cold! If I don't wear 2 pairs it's a serious dilemma to my day ha.

23: I have a found a new love. Its cooking AND baking. Its what I do when I stay in on a Saturday night. I got a bit overly excited at the sight of ALL the new bakewear Dealz has got in. You heard it here first! I used to hate cooking.... haha

24:My back hurts everyday.

26: My feet hurt everyday.

27: My knees even hurt everyday!!

 28: Technology, CONFUSES ME. Like really bad!! Man I feel like an old lady some days. haha

29: My friends are getting married some even got married like 4 years ago!!

 30: 30 is a real number. ARGHHHH!!!!!!!

DAMN RIGHT I DO!!

So guys there you have it. 30 things about turning 30. Its hard to swallow. I'm not going to lie. I hope that my fear of getting older will subside eventually but on the positive, I wouldn't change my life for all the tea in China. I have the most wonderful friends and amazing family. I have a secure job, I have been working in for 14 years. I have my blog and I love to write although I would like more time to do it. I made a conscious decision to take better care of myself when I was 28 and I have kept that promise to myself. I plan on keeping up my fitness regime. I have many many goals I want to achieve, and I damn well will make sure I achieve them. I honestly feel I found my passion over the last year so there's a big blank space to watch put for over the coming months. So overall turning 30 is exciting. I look forward to what my future holds. Lots and lots on the horizon.

I hope you had fun reading this. I had fun writing it and I will be back very soon with a new post.

Much Love,

Amy xo