May Favourites

Hello Friends and Hello Summer!!

Welcome back to my blog and thanks for taking the time out to read this. So here's a few bits and pieces that I have been really loving throughout the month of May and for a long time to come too I'm sure. I hope you enjoy =)

MAKEUP FAVOURITES

Say hello to the nicest bronzer I have probably ever had in my collection, okay that's a bit over kill LOL but seriously if you want yourself a good bronzer you have to try L'oreal Glam Bronze. It has the tiniest bit of shimmer in it but would be more matt and looks that way when applied. I started using this 2 weeks ago and have used it everyday. Its very easily applied with a powder brush, only needing a tiny amount and I love contouring with it :) 
On the brand, L'oreal is the biggest cosmetic company in the world. Its around since 1909! And funnily enough I have never been a fan of their make up until now. Love their hair care range though! ;)

Then another product I have adored all this month is this NYC Smooth Skin pressed face powder. This for me has certainly given the Rimmel stay matt powder a run for its money. Its very finally milled and goes over any of my foundations perfectly. I only ever use and buy translucent powders! I wouldn't even consider buying a shade darker, even with a tan, remember you're using this to set your makeup not your colour and a translucent powder will not affect the colour of your skin. Natural! Isn't that what we're all after? My hair is as dark as the ace of spades and my skin on most days is a whiter shade than pale but I still opt for the translucent powders. That's just my own personal opinion. I use my bronzers and blushes to add some colour. Oh and this powder is cheap as chips too and I love the packaging! I'll be repurchasing this soon as you can see I have hit pan. NYC is available in Super Drug and chemists.

BODY CARE FAVOURITES

Have you ever tried anything from Soap and Glory? Its one of those brands where, for me, they have as many hits as misses in their collection. But one thing that I do love from Soap and Glory is their body butters. I particularly love the Sugar Crush (amazing) if you like the smell of lime this is absolute heaven and the Butter Yourself one. Now I only use these sparingly, maybe once or twice a week because for my skins sake, I stick to sensitive and hypoallergenic moisturisers but I have been getting a little carried away with these recently. I've been using the Butter Yourself one more, at night after my shower. I just love the smell of it and its texture. Its very luxurious. And moisturises perfectly. Both these were gifted to me over Christmas :) I know its so bad I'm only getting round to them now. 

SKIN CARE FAVOURITES

You are probably sick of hearing me mention these at this stage cos lord knows I'm sick of reading it myself haha but the Super Drug Naturally Radiant range has been a huge hit for me all month long! But out of the entire range the hot cloth cream cleanser is my favourite so I put it into this monthly favourites. Stay tuned for a full review.

FAVOURITE MUSIC

I thought I would mention a few artists that have caught my eye this month or ears for that matter and they are all current :)

The Vamps, these are a young pop/indie band that have come out recently. I can't say that their record will be in my collection or single on my ipod yet :) but fm104 have been playing the sh#t out of their single 'last night' and I just think its fun and fantastic. Their only around 19 bless them, but I reckon they could be onto big things.

Ed Sheeran. Okay I think I'm a bit late on the bandwagon with Ed Sherran. I don't have his first album but I'm guessing he released most singles of it in anyways because they where rolling out one after another on the air waves. However I am loving his new album x (multiply) it's brilliant! I am tempted to buy his first album now because his current album is certainly doing it for me at the moment. Major talent!

And finally, Sam Smith. Oh my goodness, what a voice. I really hope he stays true to himself and carries on the way he is going. His current single 'stay with me' will perhaps be one of the best songs this year, for me ;). If  I am totally honest I wasn't totally gone on his single with Naughty Boys 'la la la' but he has totally hooked me now with his own stuff. I can't wait to listen to his album.

MS FABULOUS

This month my Ms Fabulous goes to the one and only Queen B! I adore this woman's music and I not gonna lie I was kinda addicted to her visual album too. But the reason why I picked her this month is with all the hype that surrounded the Solange and Jay Z elevator incident I love how Beyonce remained her composure during the whole ordeal (if you can call it that) I read article after article slating her for 'doing nothing' during it. But I have to hand it to her. I thought she handled it like a queen :) Plus she is a huge inspiration to me. She defines INDEPENDENT WOMAN. Here she is before the 'elevator incident' at the Met Gala and in her queen composure. 

FAVOURITE CANDLE

Something else I've been loving this month is this strawberries and cream scented candle and it smells delish! And the scent reminds me of my very best friend LOL That's a compliment I'm sure. And I bought these in Super Value for 3 euro!!

And there you have it. 

So we are well and truly into the Summer months now and I hope the weather stays good. I have some time of work this month and I want to use the time to get into a new routine and go gun ho on my training and diet. I'll be bringing you along with me too ;) I'll need the inspiration and motivation no doubt!!

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend and thanks again for taking the time to read this.

Much Love,

Amy xo

My Skin Care Routine. Part 2.

Hello friends!

Tonight I'm bringing you the second part of my skin care routine. In my previous post on skin care I went through my night time routine so now I am going to go through what I do every single morning. It's very quick and easy as most mornings I wake at 05:45 and I don't have the spare time to ponder over products so I keep it very simple much like my night time skin care routine only a lot less involved.

Every morning, the very last thing I do in the shower is wash my face. At the moment I'm using the L'Oreal skin perfection soothing gel-cream wash designed for dry and sensitive skin. A great tip I learned is to leave your face until last when washing in the shower as the face wash will remove any of the shampoo and conditioner residue that would be left on your face from washing your hair! I bow down to this tip. With a few tips I've gotten over the past year my highly sensitive skin has seen a MAJOR improvement and I promise you, like me, you will see the benefit too doing this. And on a side note I pat my face dry with the towel to prevent any break outs I may have from spreading.

My next step is I go over it again with the Garnier Micellar cleansing water. As I have said before I use this as a toner, it is designed as a makeup remover which from time to time I will use to take off my makeup but for me its not good enough for that purpose everyday, but its the perfect toner. This will remove any of the face wash residue left on my skin. I only need a tiny bit of this and the cotton wool always comes back clean. I just love this stuff! Its a very generous bottle and so easy to decant into a little squeeze bottle when traveling too.

Next its onto my day time cream. I am loving this Naturally Radiant skin care range from Super Drug! A full review of all the products I have used will be up soon as I am nearing the end of most of them and have already repurchased some of them ;). I only use a small amount of this and it sinks in straight away and a small amount goes far.

I use a small amount of the balm again also, as mentioned in my night time routine. Its a really gorgeous product, smells amazing but not too strong. Its a winner!

Then if this is just a typical day I don't wear much lip products in work I just stick to my Carmex. This stuff comes everywhere with me.

 I do apply a face mask once or twice a week if you would like to see what I use stay tuned :). I'm not using face scrubs at the moment as the wreak havoc on my skin no matter how gentle they say they are. And that is pretty much it. I haven't delved into eye creams yet I figured I'll have time enough for that when I'm 30 LOL any recommendations for eye creams I'll take them with open arms as 30 is approaching haha. I do switch up my skin care products a lot. I'm always on the hunt for something to improve and maintain my skin. I am a fuss pot when it comes to my skin and I have to be sold on a product before I buy it. Stay tuned for my May favourites coming up soon and I'll also have a post up very soon about everything else I do to look after the rest of my body (tan, moisturisers, scrubs etc...)

Much Love as always,

Amy xo 
=)

OOTN #1

Hello Friends!

I thought I would do a quick blog post on the outfit I wore out last night. It was a last minute decision to head out, aren't those nights always the best :) So here's what I wore:

I wore my favourite blue jersey/football style t-shirt over my navy jeggings which I'm practically living in at the moment!! And my very simple grey vans. Both these clothing items I got in New Look in the Inspire section. New Look is one of my favourite shops! I don't think they are still available in the stores but are online. My vans, I got in Schuh. And my new quilted black crop jacket, I got off boohoo.com in the plus size section.

This a very comfortable and flattering outfit for me. Its very casual but where I go out, you can be who ever you are, without any judgement ;). I do love my dresses and shoes but tonights outfit was kept simple. No handbag, I kept my money, phone and lip butter on me :). 

My makeup again quite simple. I used my Urban Decay Vice2 pallet to create my eye look. Then most of my other makeup I'm wearing is by Rimmel, MUA, Bourjois, Sleek, Revlon and my blush is Mac.  All pictured below.

My hair, I feel I should mention haha, I have very curly hair that I love to straighten from time to time.  But on the way into town it started raining and my hair went from straight to well basically a curly mess. Note to self, never forget the umbrella! Here's the before the picture above in the mirror selfie is the after and my colour will done next week ;)

This is just a quick run down of my outfit and in future I'll do a lot more detailed OOTDs and OOTNs. 

I hope you enjoyed reading this and I look forward to bringing you more in the future.

Much Love,

Amy xo 

My Skin Care Routine. Part 1.

Hello Friends!

Tonight I have for you my first beauty related post and its all about my skin care routine. I've pointed out before: I am no beauty queen, makeup artist or expert by any means but I do love a bit of vanity and I like to take good care of my skin in particular, so tonight I 'm going to bring you my nightly skin care routine then next week I'll follow up with my morning skin care routine. This is my favourite part of the day to take care of my skin. Very recently I bought a new skin care range in Super Drug and these will be featured down below.

So I decided to give the Super Drug Naturally Radiant range a try. I only started using these 2 weeks ago and I will  do a full review on the products I tried after I put them to the the test for at least a month and use them up which will be definitely happening with these little gems. Straight of the bat, I am loving them so far. They are outstanding value for money and isn't the packaging fab? They all come boxed and when I bought these they where 50% off but even at full price their still great value for money. Most of the range costs €7.15 including all the products I'm using but like I said I bought these when they where 50% off for €3.06, even better! 

So, first thing I do when I come home from work is (literally) when I'm in full swing, is go walking :) so when I get in from my walk at around 9pm my skin is practically begging to be cleansed and I really don't blame it, having a mask of makeup on since 6:30 AM and spent an hour walking at a pace where my heart rate is up. At the moment I'm using the Super Drug Naturally Radiant brightening hot cloth cleanser to cleanse my face. I LOVE this. I am the biggest fan of hot cloth cleansers in general and I've tried loads but this one in particular is my favourite and as I've already said it is outstanding value for money. I use a small amount of this, I rub it between my finger tips then in circular motions all over my face, neck and eye area. Its delicate enough to remove eye makeup.Then I take it off with either a hot soaked face cloth or the muslin cloth provided with the cleanser. It says on the box to rinse the muslin cloth after every use but I throw them in the washing machine, after every use! They will stain and I don't feel rinsing them is cleaning them enough. You would be amazed at what you would see come of your face, especially if you where quite a bit of makeup like me. One thing I have discovered over the last couple years is that cream cleansers are definitely best for my very sensitive and dry skin for removing makeup. Much like the cream body washes I only stick to cream cleansers. I honestly don't think I could ever go back to face wipes or cotton wool cleansers having used hot cloth cleansers.

Then followed on from that I use the Garnier Micellar cleansing water. I'm not the biggest fan of toners they are either too rough on my skin or I just don't like the smell of them but this a perfect substitute! Its widely available, smells nice and works perfectly as a toner. This will remove any traces of the cleanser and makeup i.e eye makeup/mascara, and it will be visible on the cotton wool.

Ahhh cotton wool. I'm quite fussy when it comes to cotton wool and I'll only ever use the Super Drug oval pads. I find these the best! They are sturdy and don't become all frail when using them. I know I'm a bit of a crazy woman when it comes to cotton wool haha but these are brilliant, their also great for taking of nail polish etc... The jury is certainly out for these for some people because I have read other bloggers reviews and they don't seem to like them as much but I love them. ;)

Next I use the night renewing cream. This feels like a proper treat on my skin it feels light and delicate. Again I'll review this product and let you know how well it works. 

Then I use a small amount of this balm. Now according to the box after one week skin feels softer and smoother. Skins feels more refreshed and energised. Then after 4 weeks skin tone appears refined and evened out. Now like I've said I only started using this 2 weeks ago and so far so good. As far are balms are concerned this is certainly a goody. I use a small amount after I've applied my night cream and rub in circular motion all over my face and neck. For me its gives my skin that extra piece of hydration and feels really good. 

I've mentioned before in a previous post I do use tee tree oil and bio oil but they are on hold at the moment as I am using this: 
 

Its an antibiotic lotion for my skin to help clear a rash I have on my face and chest so I've replaced the oil with this. Sometimes my extra sensitive skin needs an extra boost to help clear it and a trip to the doctors for this is necessary. How this is applied  is the top of the bottle has a cotton like piece in it that you use to apply directly onto the infected area. It stings a lot at first but it does work wonders. This is designed for adult acne. The rash is caused mainly by PCOS (polycystic ovaries) and my weight loss (my body detoxing constantly) but it is a small price to pay to get to my destination =).

Then always at night as well as during the day I use the Carmex lip balm. My lips dry out something terrible, no matter how much I keep hydrated, funny that when the lips is the first area the water hits LOL :). I'm a huge fan of matt lip sticks too so moisturised lips is a must. This is also available everywhere. This one is in the limited packaging,cool isn't it?;)

So there you have it. I hope you enjoyed reading this post and I'll have another one for you very very soon.

Good night and have a fabulous weekend!

Much Love,

Amy xo

The TMI TAG

Hello Friends.

I hope you are all having a fabulous day!
So I'm blogging just over a month now and I hope you are enjoying my posts so far. Tonight I'm bringing you a tag that has done its round on blogs and you tube and its the TMI tag. It's 50 questions about myself, hence the Too Much Information, TMI abbreviation. Thought it might let you get to know me a bit better. Plus I love reading and watching these!

LETS GO

 1:What are you wearing?

Right now I'm wearing a lovely set of red and white pyjamas if I do say so myself, my mam got me for Easter instead of an Easter egg and a hoodie. Love these PJ days, whats seldom is wonderful. 

 

2:Ever been in love?  
Yes.

3:Ever had a terrible breakup?

No. I've had terrible ends to friendships though. I can only assume that's worse. 

4:How tall are you?

Just over 5.6. ;)

5:How much do you weigh?

A lot less than I weighed this time last year. ;D

6:Any tattoos?

Yes.
 This, on my left wrist.

7:Any piercings?

Yes just my ears. I was 6 months when they were pierced.   

8:OTP?
(One True Pairing in characters basically) 
The pair that stand out is Homer and Marge Simpson. 
They crack me up and I just feel they are the perfect TV couple. ;)

9:Favourite show?

Right now, my current favourites are The Big Bang Theory and Orange is the New Black. I love Sex and the City and Friends. Love me soaps too! Corrie all the way!

10:Favourite bands?

Queen, Elbow, The Moody Blues,One Republic, Daft Punk,
 Too many to name really ;)

11:Something you miss?

Miss living in Dublin sometimes simply because my friends are too far away on days I feel or need to call over for a cuppa. We see each other as much as possible. I rely on my phone to be in contact with them. I love where I live but my career and friends are miles away.

12:Favourite song?

'One Day like This' Elbow, LOVE!!

13:How old are you?

29.

14:Zodiac sign?

Pisces.
I'll throw in that I love astrology.

15:Quality you look for in a partner?

Funny and nice style.

16:Favourite quote? 
Simple: ''What goes around comes around''.

 

17:Favourite actor?

Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Jonah Hill and 
Leonardo Di Caprio.

18:Favourite colours?

Purple, Green and Blue.

19:Loud music or soft music?

I'd definitely be a more soft music kinda a gal.
However when I'm out training I have my ear phones in and the music pumping.

20:Where do you go when your sad?

Truth be known, I don't really feel sad much. Perhaps because I'm busy all the time but if I want shut away from the world for a while I just go to my room.

21:How long does it take you to shower?

Depends: If I'm showering to just have a wash and freshen up- 10 minutes but If I'm showering and washing my hair and doing all the stuff a girly girl does to maintain herself  ;) exfoliating etc... 40 minutes tops.

22:How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?

It takes me about 30 minutes to do my hair, makeup and get dressed provided I'm nice and organised from the night before.

23:Ever been in a physical fight?

No.

24:Turn on?

Nice teeth and kindness. 
(with words not materials ;D)

25:Turn off?

Poor personal hygiene if I'm honest I just don't understand it!!

26:The reason I joined blogging?

I really wanted to try my hand at it because I love blogs so much and I figured it's a good way to express myself and keep myself motivated.

27:Fears?

Loosing people close to me. 
But when I was a kid I had a very irrational fear of butterflies!! And part of the meaning behind my tattoo is about conquering my fears. ;)

28:Last thing that made you cry?

The thing that stands out is when I was driving home a few weeks ago and a crazy driver, driving way too fast on the opposite side of the road clipped my wing mirror so hard it smashed into my drivers door window shattering the glass. I think I got upset with fright more than anything. But they where genuine tears haha I was finding glass for days!!

29:Last time you said you loved someone?
Today, my nephew. xx

 

30:Meaning behind your blogging name?

You'll have to wait and see. 
That's a post I'll have up very soon.

31:Last book you read?

50 Shades of grey, the entire trilogy and I think it gave me 'readers' block haha because I was a long time before I could get into anything else. Bad reading!

32:The book you are currently reading?
The four agreements.

33:Last show you watched?
Keeping up with the Kardashians ;)
I'm am totally addicted to the channel E! And I've only begun to watch Keeping up with the Kardashians! Bit late on the band wagon. I also watched the Fashion Police another great show!!

 

34:Last person you talked to?
Anita.

35:The relationship between you and the last person you text?
Christy. (friend)

36:Favourite food?

Me mams coddle! Definitely. I know it one of them foods that you either love or hate and I think its a real Irish dish but it would definitely come first. :) 
If going out for a meal I love Chinese food. (so original haha)

37:Place you want to visit?

  San Francisco but my list is longer than my arm. =)

38:Last place you were?

Last time I was abroad on holiday I was in Italy. And that was far too long ago hopefully I'll fix that this year.

39:Do you have a crush?

Can't say ;)

40:Last time you kissed someone?

Don't think so ;)

41:Last time you were insulted?

 In fairness I don't get a lot of insults or offended much in my day to day life. I like to think I live a fabulous life and if I do I shake it off and walk away!

42:Favourite flavour of sweet?

Chocolate or orange and put those 2 together and I'm in heaven!

43:What instruments do you play?

I played the tin whistle and keyboard in school and I definitely want to pick the keyboard back up. 

44:Favourite piece of jewellery?

It would have to be a sliver chain with an amethyst stone in it which I love and wore for ages every single day! My mam bought it for me for my 24th birthday.The pic doesn't do it any justice but its really pretty! 

45:Last sport you played?

Does training count as a sport? I do keep active.
Other than that I never play or have played a sport. I'm all for it but at my age I doubt I'll pick one up at this stage.

46:Last song you sang?

 'The one who got away' Katy Perry
Actually love that song!!

47:Favourite chat up line?

Don't have one however I have hard some cringe worthy ones so here you go:
How much does a Polar bear weigh?...
Enough to break the ice....
I promise you that I have never used it nor will I ever use it LOL but it made me laugh. 

48:Have you ever used it?

Never, will I use a chat up line!

49:Last time you hung out with someone?
It was actually last weekend! This week was crazy! I worked mad hours, late nights all week and trained most days too so all my spare time was taking up doing that.

50:What are your aspirations?
 Short term: I want to continue to work hard on my fitness and continue to loose weight and improve my over all health and well being, that said, I feel the healthiest and happiest I have ever been! And then,
Long term: I would like to see my blog do really well and I'll continue to work hard and put as much time into it as possible. I also want to take back up the key board as mentioned above and I want to travel! There are so many places I want to see and that's definitely on my bucket list.

So there you have it, thank you so much for reading my latest post, The TMI Tag. I hope you enjoyed reading it. Later this week I look forward to bringing you my first post on my daily skin care routine and show you how I look after my skin.

Much Love,

Amy xo