2014 Best Bits :)

Hello Friends!

  Ah 2014. You where a good year.

Here are some photos that represent 2014 for me.

It was a great year. I won't bore you endlessly with stories behind each photo instead just a few words.

Kicking off 2014 with my bestie.

Family

 

The birth of my niece was the high light of my year ;). She is the most placid and friendly baby. A true blessing. Lillie.

Friends

Random

Selfie Queen. The good the bad and very very ugly LOL

 

And my favourite pic of the year:

  I want to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy and peaceful 2015. May all your dreams come true.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank you all, every single one of you for your support with Amicia Glow. Bring on 2015!

Mmmmwah....

All my love and more,

Amy xo

2014 Favourites. Part 1.

Hello Friends!

So today I have for you my 2014 random favouites. In this post I'll be filling you in on everything I have been loving from TV shows to my favourite blogs and bloggers in 2014.

Let's get this show on the road!

FAVOURITE TV SHOWS

I don't get a lot of time to watch TV. I love the soaps Corrie being my favourite but even at that I don't follow it as I just don't have the time. However I have picked 3 TV shows that I love to watch, be it on DVD boxsets, Netflix or I'll catch it on the players. :)

The Big Bang Theory
As mentioned in a previous monthly favourites I just love The Big Bang Theory. Sheldon Cooper is my favourite TV character. Portrayed by Jim Parsons, he is a natural and has won many awards for his work. In fact I love all the characters. This is like my feel good TV show. It always puts me in a good mood cos its just so damn funny. The cast mesh so well. And wait for it!!! The new series starts on E4 on 13th January! If I can't catch it on the box I'll catch on the E4 player. Cannot wait!  

Orange is the new Black
I think I watched the first 2 seasons on a weeks holidays during the Summer (when I had very little to be doing ha) and I can't wait for the third series to appear on Netflix coming in June I believe. My favourite charcater is Poussy! Samira Wiley plays Poussey, pronounced ''Pooosay'' in case your mind is in the gutter haha. Wiley, I believe will blow up on our screens big and small because her acting is on point. Poussey is the most adorable female character plus she is just so cute! Don't be fooled by all the hype you hear around Orange is the new Black, that being it is full of lesbian sex, it couldn't be further from. Yes its in it, albeit a very small part of it but each episode tells an inmates story and it will have you captivated in no time.

LoveHate
LoveHate is in my opinion one of the best dramas Irish TV has ever produced. Based on criminality in Dublin LoveHate pulls out all the stops on giving us a scary insight of what actually goes on in the underworld. Although the show is purely fixtional. I own the entire box set and I can't wait to get round to watching it again. When LoveHate airs you barely go a day without it being mentioned by someone. Rumour has it that it will not reappear on our screen until 2016 and in what capacity, we don't know. Having being left on a major cliff hanger in the last episode, who knows what will happen? Either way the guys over at RTE did good commissioning this drama and off course credit to the shows writer Stuart Carolan. Excellent job.

FAVOURITE MOVIE

 This wasn't a hard choice at all.

Teenage Mutant Ninga Turtles
I didn't go to see too many movies this year but this one is the stand out. I LOVED the mutant turtles when I was a kid, I was obsessed with the cartoon so seeing this was nostalgic for me. It was brilliant from start to finish and I can't wait for it to be released on DVD so I can chill with my nephew and watch it together. It's funny, sad and full of action. The special affects are excellent in it. I have the most vivid memory of my dad surprising me with a pencil case set when I was in senior infants!! It was one of those metal box pencil cases.

FAVOURITE MUSIC

I am a huge fan if music and coming up on my blog in 2015 I will be doing album reviews. So trying to pick a favourite singer, band, album and song was tough so I just went with my gut. Here's what I have been loving in music throughout 2015.

SINGER

Beyonce

Queen B! Beyonce has to be. I listened to her album over and over again and I watched her visual album over and over again. Beyonce just keeps getting better and better.

 BAND

One Republic
Also mentioned in a previous monthly favourites, One Republic in my opinion is one of the best bands around right now. Lead singer Ryan Tedder is one of the hottest singer/songwriter/producer of our time you are probably listening to his song on the radio without even knowing he's the man behind it.

 

 ALBUM

                             
Beyonce
This self titled album released by my favourite singer, Beyonce spent a lot of time playing in my car throughout last year. Released in December 2013, I'm still not sick of listening to it. It's the 5th album to be released by Beyonce! My favourite songs on it are Superpower, Pretty Hurts and Flawless! I love to videos to each of these tracks too. 

SONG

Up Town Funk
Hands Down!!! Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars killing it with this number. Probably my favourite song of the century! 2 major talents creating a musical master piece. I know it was right at the end of 2014 when this was released but it trumps any other song when I was going through my collection of 2014 favs. And yeah Fleur East did a great job doing her version on the X Factor but please don't even compare them.

FAVOURITE BOOK

Gone Girl
Well its the only book I have read and I'm still reading it so watch this space for a review. Hint: Its good!

FAVOURITE DRINK

Long Island Iced Tea
Oh there where many a night when I had one too many of these, particularly during the Summer. Just looking at this picture makes me thirsty for one.

FAVOURITE CELEBRITIES

The Kardashians
Famous for being famous I know but I got hooked on their reality TV shows and all there social media well their instagram accounts ha. It was only really in 2014 I started watching Keeping up with the Kardashians on E! Just watching random episodes. What have I been missing out on LOL 

FAVOURITE YOUTUBE CHANNELS and YOUTUBERS

With time I will start a Youtube channel perhaps not within this year but at the moment I'm going to aim for 2016 and bring Amicia Glow to YouTube (just putting it out there into the universe). As I have mentioned I don't watch TV a lot but every single day I manage to get a little bit of YouTube in ha. Be it when I get home or sitting in my car on my lunch hour. I am subscribed to many channels but truth be known it wasn't hard picking my favourites. 

Lily Pebbles
I began watching YouTube channels about 3 years ago and from the start Lily Pebbles has been one of my favourite YouTubers. I love her style, tips and personality and she is the only YouTuber whos vlogmas I watched in its entirety. Her videos are of super high quality and I love the content in each and everyone. She is very talented when is comes to editing. She is so down to earth and completely herself on camera. I really hope she get the subscribers she deserves. 

Picture credited to Lily Pebbles

Melanie Murphy
Melanie Murphy is one of those people who I could listen to ALL DAY. She has such a cute voice and she is so modest. I would love to meet her in person. I love her channel because she covers everything from fashion and beauty to healthy food recipes and her personality is captivating. Plus shes Irish! I also commend her skin care videos. Thanks to her I am an avid user of coconut oil now!

Picture credited to Melanie Murphy

Dramatic Mac
Another Irish Youtuber! I have been watching Aislinns channel for about a year now and I love her taste in everything she brings to her channel. I love her makeup tutorials although they may not be to my taste and look, I get loads and loads of inspiration from them. I also love her hauls and monthly favourite vids. I look forward to them!

 Picture credited to Dramatic Mac

Zoella
One of the first regular channels I started watching was Zoella. I love both Zoe Suggs channels. Zoella and MoreZoella, now there was a time she was my queen of YouTube but something threw me off and I think it's the fact the novel she released  (Girl Online) was ghost written. I know that happens quite alot when it comes to celebrities writing books but this left a sour taste in my mouth and I wasn't going to part with 15 euro for a book that was ghost written when I completely thought she wrote it herself. Nonetheless she still made it into my 2014 favourite Youtubers. I love her vlogs and some of my favourite videos throughout the year where came from Zoe.

Picture credited to Zoe Sugg

Clare Marshall
My style queen. If I could steal anybodys style it would be Clare Marshalls. She is just so cool. I've been watching her videos for a while now. She is effortless on the camera and her videos are always flawless, compared to some YouTubers whos videos can be quite messy. Even her apartment is amazing. Every girls dream.

Picture credited to Clare Marshall

And last but not least. The reason why I love blogging.

FAVOURITE BLOGS AND BLOGGERS

Chatterbox.ie
Chatterbox is the only blog where I will literally creep on facebook to catchup on posts I may have missed as I hate to miss anything this blog has to offer. Chatterbox is the ultimate beauty blog and my best friend Anita is the brains behind it along with partner Gemma. Now I know its easy for me love a blog my best friend writes but if I wasn't to know her I would still love the blog the same. I love her style of writing. I have other friends who write and as much as I like them I don't like the style in which they write (I won't mention their blogs here ha) Anita's posts uplift ya. They are always positive and I want to buy everything she recommends! Job done! ;) I also owe Anita so much as she played a huge part in helping me with my blog and thereafter with inspiration too. So I don't just want to make a success of my blog for me but for her too. I am so excited to see what Chatterbox has to offer in 2015 and no doubt Chatterbox will just get bigger and bigger.

Picture credited to Anita Coote and Gemma Burke

Marlife
And welcome Marlife. Marlon Jimenez-Compton started his blog aswel at the beginning of last year and oh my, has it gone from strength to strength and he deserves every piece of success he is receiving. I like to spend my Sunday mornings catching up on blogs and Marlife is the first blog I hit. I feel like I got to know Marlon through his blog. He shared some of his story with us during the Summer and I was moved reading it. He also wrote it in parts, so needless to say I couldn't wait to read the next installment. He covers everything from love and sex to body dysmorphia not forgetting to mention some beautifully written artcicles he has wrote about friends of his. I have spoke to Marlon on occasions via facebook and he has a heart of gold, its as big as his blog is becoming and will be in the future and I wish him every success with it. I feel honoured to have chatted with him and got advice of him on my own blog. Marlon is a huge inspiration to me.

 Picture credited to Marlon Jimenez-Compton

Lily Pebbles
The only person who is my favourite youtubers and bloggers. I love her blog! She posts everyday and a lot of the time they are short and sweet.

Picture credit to Lily Pebbles

Sprinkle of Glitter
Louise Pentlands AKA Sprinkle of Glitters blog is more beauty and life style based. Much like my own. Louise is a fun filled, up for a a laugh gal. She has a gorgeous little girl who she features on her channel and blog too called Darcy or Baby Glitter (how cute is that!). Louise is also a role model for plus size beauties. She promotes a healthy body image and often creates look books for the curvier woman. While her style wouldn't be for me I can still appreciate what she does with outfits. She is a woman very much in her own skin and it shows. She is Zoe Suggs best friend. Their friendship kinda reminds me of me and my besties friendship, we are totally different like peanuts and chocolate but together it creates something beautiful.

 Picture credit to Louise Pentlands

FacesbyGrace
A very recent discovery of mine and I cannot believe I haven't stumbled upon this blog sooner. Grace is a fellow Dubliner whos blog is based around beauty and lifestyle. Graces way of writing makes want to keep reading and reading. I love her product reviews and have already made some purchases upon her recommendations. She is a fabulous makeup artist, who's own makeup is always flawless. I also LOVE Graces YouTube channel FacesbyGrace23 she is a natural on the camera. I am looking forward to seeing what Grace has in store for us in 2015.

 Picture credited to Grace Mongey

 
So there you have it guys! Thanks for taking the time to read this. I am so excited for 2015 and what my blog has in store for you.
Keep an eye out for my 2014 beauty and skin care favourites!
Much Love,
Amy xo

2015 New Years Bucket List.

Hello Friends!

Well its that time of the year again to make the promises to ourselves and indeed others that will probably, maybe, fall by the way side come second week in January. But look our intentions are good and if anything I feel we should make some resolutions or as what I like to do, create a bucket list, that will make for some good changes in our life's big and small. 

Now, I am not blowing my own trumpet however I did make a bucket list around this time last year. So before I tell you my intention for 2015 let me tell you what I feel I achieved in 2015 in a few short sentences.

New car. Check.
New lap top. Check.
Start my blog. Check.
Take better care of myself. Check.
Go away on more weekend trips. Check.
Eat cleaner. Check.
Improve fitness. Check.
And finally the big one- loose weight. Check.

2014 for me was a year that I truly came into myself. I have let so much of the bull shhhh go. And by bull I mean I have learnt to let go of what people think and what people say and for some of us (me) we can only learn that the hard way. I am blessed, and I say it time and time again with my family and friends full stop. And I am even more grateful for those people who held significance in my life, leaving it, full stop. At one stage I thought my life would never be the same again when certain people left it, and yes it wasn't the same. It just got a whole lot better. 2014 was full of highs and some low lows as I am sure for everyone. But I am ready to take 2015 by the bull horns work, harder at achieving my goals big and small and this time next year I want to look back at this post smile and think I did good.

Ok so here are some goals of mine that I'm sure I'll be blogging about throughout the coming year.

MYSELF:
I have lost a lot of weight this year but still not as much as I would of liked. So loosing weight has taken centre stage in my life, again. I have what I need at my feet to get it right. So watch this space. With that comes diet. In my possession is a 2015 dairy and its sole purpose is to keep track of what I eat every single day and with the help of my trainer I will nail my diet and shed the pounds I want to!!! 

 
FAMILY AND FRIENDS:
I most definitely intend on spending more time with my family and friends over the coming months. Especially my dad, his beautiful wife and my 3 much younger siblings. Loosing a family member very recently just brought home for me how much I miss them. So I want to make a conscious effort of getting down to my dads at least once a month.
 

TIME MANAGEMENT:
When it comes to my job I kill when it comes to time management. But when it comes to my personal life it all falls by the wayside. I work a 50 hour week and have 2 hours travel everyday and I manage to train 3 times a week too. But some weeks that's all I do. So. I want to make better use of my spare time so my intention above can be nailed.

WISH LIST:
We all love stuff. Don't we?.... Here are a few bits and pieces I would love and I'll work very hard to get them.
IPAD
IPOD
MICHAEL KORS WATCH
NEW PHONE
BUILD MY MAKEUP COLLECTION even though I might have too much makeup as it is I just can't resist there are at least 10 mac lipsticks with my name on them LOL
 

And my last new years resolution:
Laser Hair Removal. I'll blog about that at the time ;)

And obviously the good habits I got into this year I will continue with them in 2015. Life is for living so weather you have a bucket list or a f#ck-it list I wish you all the best in 2015 with yours. 

Much Love,

Amy xo

The Christmas Tag 2014

Hello Friends!

And a very Merry Christmas to you all! Another Christmas just about over, where is the time going? Somedays I feel I only have to blink and another year has passed. I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas festivities. I feel like this was a great Christmas for me. I am blessed with a wondeful fun filled family who all came over to ours for Christmas dinner.  The crack we had together was mighty. 

For you tonight I have decided to do The Christmas Tag post filling you in on what Christmas means to me. Below is 8 questions about how I see Christmas. Have a look see....

1:Whats sounds remind you its Christmas?
Bells. Sleigh bells to be exact. And I know this will wreak of a cliche but that sound of sleigh bells gently ringing remind me its Christmas and give's me that Christmassy feeling. One of my favourite songs is Let there be Love by Oasis mainly because sleigh bells ring throughout its entirety. I love it!

2:Whats the best present you have been given and why?
I am not one bit materialistic or nor am I into brands at all. I am extremely lucky in that my parents and friends have always spoilt me rotten at Christmas. My mam and dad divorced when I was a kid, and Santy came to mammys and daddys. My sister and I got the best of everything but I never took it for granted and I will stand over the fact that with as much as I was given, it never went to my head. I just realised I was a very lucky kid to get what I was given. 
Cute story?- I remember the first year my mam and dad weren't together at Christmas and my dad (Santy LOL) had bought me barbies and barbie clothes and bless him, he bought my barbie 2 of the same dress. Its just a little something I hold dear to my heart. Both my parents and their spouses put huge thought and effort into our gifts.

 2:Whats the worse present you have been given and why?
My wonderful family and friends read my blog so I am not about too slate any bad gifts I have been giving over the years haha what I will say is that my friends and family know my taste and everything I receive I always love (but honestly, I have been gifted some crap in my time LOL broken ornaments comes to mind). ;)
 

4:What your favourite Christmas song?
Oh god so many to choose from! I can't settle on one so i'll give you three, in no particular order haha

1: Frankie goes to Hollywood- The Power of Love.
Haunting, captivating and still gives me chills when I listen to it. I have it playing right now. There is also a version a girl does which trumps the original version.

2:John Lennon- Happy Xmas (war is over)
This song for me when comes on the radio it reminds me how lucky I am to he in a warm house, food on the table, loved ones to swap gifts with.

3: Wizzard- I wish it could be Christmas everyday
Well. because I do haha 

5:Whats your favourite Christmas film?
Again so many to choose from! Home Alone 1! Has to be, because it's one of the first Christmas movies I remember watching when I was a kid.

6:How good are you at wrapping presents?
Not very LOL. And I put if off for as long as possible. I am normally wrapping gifts Christmas eve night!

7:If you could rename one of Father Christmas reindeer what would you name it?
I guess I'd go for something like Star?... In keeping with Christmas off course!

8:Whats your favourite thing about Christmas?
I have lots of favourite things about Christmas but here's a little list:
Family. My precious family. Seeing my much younger siblings open their gifts.
Friends. Cos what better time of the year to remind us how blessed we are to have good friends.
Food. Mainly my mams stuffing. This stuff (ha..ha) is amazing I could eat only this.
New Clothes. Presents of course. Music. Movies. I love it all!!

So there you have it guys I am in too minds on weather or not to do a Christmas haul on my gifts I received. Let me know if you would like to see what I got for Christmas.

I'll be back very soon,

Much Love,

Amy xo

November Favourites 2014

Hello ;)
And, Welcome back ;)

Tonight, I have for you my November favourites. Its been a while since I have done one of these so I thought I would share some bits and bobs I have been loving for the past few months :)

So if you know me or have been reading up on my posts you would know that I am a very busy lady and Blogmas will be proof of that ;). So this monthly favourites contain some essentials in my life that help speed up some of the processes in my day to day routines when it comes to my hair and makeup.

Hair

So confession time, my hair takes a great deal of time and effort to wash and style. I train 3 days a week at least. That is 3 days a week where I train solid for a an hour on top of my 10 hour shift so as you can imagine by the time I get home washing my hair is the last thing I want to do however very necessary, so this little beauty has been my saviour. Thank God for dry shampoo and I have been loving the Batiste dry shampoo. Its so handy! And whats even better is, included in the range is one for dark hair. So basically, you give the can a good shake and spray it onto your roots and then rub it in with your finger tips. What makes this different from the other Batiste dry shampoos it has a tint of colour in it and as per instructions when you rub it into your roots you will be left with a black residue on your fingers the other Batiste dry shampoos will leave you rubbing them into your hair for dear life if your hair is as dark as mine because they leave a white residue in your hair, which is perfect for you if you don't have dark hair ;). I also use this in my hair when and I wash and straighten it because it gives great volume! So many uses eh?... These are available everywhere including your super market shelves. Needless to say I'll continue to repurchase this.

So when I do actually have the time to wash my hair in all its glory haha I love this little bottle of Umberto Giannini smoothing balm. I apply this to my hair when its soaking wet and leave it dry natural and it leaves my naturally curly hair- not frizzy (great English I know haha) but its great to throw in and work through my hair during the week. I wear my hair up in work all the time so this leaves it in good order to throw up in a bun.

Next up Hygiene

Now I know I said that I am throwing in a few products that help speed up my day to day hair and routines, I am a bit obsessed when it comes to personal hygiene and a good antiperspirant deodorant is ESSENTIAL! And the one that works the best for me is the Mitchum 48hr. Now why anybody would need a 48hr deodorant I don't know, I for one shower if not once, twice a day! But nonetheless it had me sold and its my favourite deodorant by a long shot. I mean lets me honest deodorants are a must everyday, so I think its essential we have a decent one in our little stash of toiletries. I love this scent in particular 'pure fresh' and the fresh powder in the range is pretty good too. Its a really fresh smell.
It is a little bit more expensive than the other antipersperants aerosols but its well worth it and it does be on offer from time to time too.

 FACE

And to help with my makeup I think I have mentioned this in a favourites before but its the Real Techniques Miracle complexion sponge. I have to mention is again because it truly is a little gem.  One of the main reasons why I love this sponge is because you soak this sponge before you use it. What this does is, it will expand the sponge to twice the size and then is ready to be used. I use the pointed end to blend in my concealer and the other more flat end to blend in my liquid foundation and this leaves your bass perfect as promised ;) So by having to soak this sponge everyday you are left with no other option than to wash it everyday which is necessary, if like me you have very sensitive skin that is prone to break outs. I love my foundation brushes as much as the next gal but they take a good 2 days to dry after washing unless I am doing it wrong please let me know ;) So these are perfect for everyday use.

HANDS

Tis the time of year for party's, wine, shopping, new clothes, cold weather and horrible dry hands. Every year around this time my hands get very dry and chapped. Some years more than others and this year has been no exception! I have been using this Boots Botanics anti-ageing hand cream since the Summer and its keeping the dryness at bay. I left without it one day last week and it was one of my long days. By the time I got hope my hands looked raw. Needless to say I won't be leaving without it again. I bought the anti-ageing one because I believe your hands will age before your face. As you can see this has been battered around my handbag and loved very much :).

STYLE

And last but not least and as featured on my style, size and some more post last week, I fell in love with this playsuit when browsing on boohoo.com. As the cm's are getting less and the pounds are falling away, I'm getting a little bit more confident in wearing these types of clothing. It is a very forgiving fit in that it doesn't stick to your lumps and bumps (my lumps and bumps ha) It sits quite loose and is comfortable.

So there you have it. Not as exciting as previous monthly favourites but keep an eye out for upcoming posts, I won't have a December favourites instead I'll be doing a 2014s favourites and also keep an eye out for my first instalment of Blogmas coming your way tomorrow night ;)

Thanks for popping by,

Much Love,

Amy xo