Oriflame blogger meet up in Avoca

This afternoon I had the absolute privilege of heading along to the Oriflame event held in the beautifully quaint surroundings of Avoca in Dublin. A lot of you may have heard of Oriflame, but not know an awful lot about it, I know I didn't! Funnily enough, my mam knew a lot about it, and when I mentioned them said she hadn't heard of them in years! Oriflame is a make up brand similar to Avon in that it's only available to order and not in store. Since Avon pulled out of Ireland there's been a HUGE gap in the market for a catalogue make up brand, and the long standing Oriflame are really upping their game to fill that gap.

Upon arrival we were greeted by a glass of prosecco and extremely friendly staff members and given a brief overview of the company, as a lot of younger bloggers in particular wouldn't know a lot about the band. We were encouraged to have a look and play with some of the products, which were displayed beautifully I must add. Seriously, whoever was in charge of laying out the room deserves a very hearty pat on the back, it was really stunning and showed off the products in the best light.

After a drink, a chat, and a bite to eat we were sat down to a demonstration by a make up artist. She showed us 2 looks, nude and a dramatic smokey eye, using all Oriflame products. Fair dues to the make up artist, who's name has just escaped me, she did an absolutely stellar job. She was personable and bubbly, but still professional and made the already stunning model look absolutely fantastic. Seriously, this model.... I've never felt eyebrow envy like it in my life!

After the demonstration we were handed empty bags and told to go around the room and take whatever products we wanted to try. They had laid out everything from foundation to cleanser, there was really nothing more you could have asked for. Handing a beauty blogger an empty bag in a room full of cosmetics is an EXTREMELY dangerous thing to do, so kudos to Oriflame for that! I have never received such a generous goody bag in all my blogging life!

You can rest assured that my blog will heavily feature Oriflame over the next few weeks. I have so many products to sift through, and I'm really excited about having a play with every one of them! I have to say a huge thank you to Oriflame for their hospitality and generosity. I may not have known a lot about the brand going in, but I am definitely a lot more interested in them now. As is my mother, who has ransacked my goody bag and staked her claim on some of it!

Bargain haul!!

I'm still on the hunt for birthday shoes.... My lack of success in finding a pair has led me to splurge on skirts..... I'd love to say I'm ashamed but.....well..... I'm not. At all. Because they were all in the sale!!! River Island in Liffey Valley have thrown a heap of their brightly coloured tube skirts on a sale rail for HALF PRICE!!! How I didn't leave with one of every single colour...

Black and red dotty tube skirt was €25 now €12

Bright pink tube skirt was €24 now €12

I picked up my last skirt in New Look, it's a leather look body-con mini. Why it's in the sale I'll never know as "pleather" is set to be huge over A/W13! I'm not exactly sure what the original price is, but I onnly paid €6, which is nothing!!!

Leather look body-con mini €6

Penney's Haul August 19th

This is my first foray into fashion blogging, so it's gonna be very rough around the edges! Today I headed into town to find some shoes to go with my birthday outfit and ended up picking up a few bargains....but no shoes!!

One of my favourite things is the larger silver necklace. It's almost a dead ringer for this New Look necklace that I have lusted over for months but could never justify the €25 price tag. The main difference is the Penneys version only has 2 dangling chains to the 3 of the New Look version, but it's less than half the price at just €10. An absolute steal.

€10

I also picked up a chunky gold chain for €5. These chains are very hit and miss for me, I've seen some people wearing them looking fabulously stylish, but it just looks tacky on others. It's worth a try for a fiver!

€5

Last little accessory I picked up was a rather sweety little hair clip. You clip it into either side of your hair and it has little chains that drape around your hair.

€3

Now onto clothes! There's not in the way of sales item's floating around (except in the shoes, loads of the Penney's cons for €3). I found this skirt for €5. I love it, it's a colour that will get me well into Autumn/Winter teamed with tights and knitwear.

€5

I also picked up jeggings in a similar colour to the skirt. For me you can't beat Penney's jeggings, they're only €9 and come in a fairly wide variety of colours.

€9

And lastly I treated myself (sheepishly) to an underwear set. Any other big busted ladies will know that Penney's bra's aren't always true to size, but I thought these were so feminine and pretty I couldn't resist! The bra was €8 and the thong was €4 (the pants also come in a lacey short version)

Bra €8, pants €4

Item breakdown-

Silver statement necklace- €10

Gold chunky chain- €5

Skirt- €5

Jeggings- €9

Bra and pants- €12

Total- €41 (€20 of which came off a girt card, wahoo!!)

Cocoa Brown lovely lady lunch

Anyone who reads my blog will know how much of a fan of Cocoa Brown I am. And days like today prove why.

I was lucky enough to be invited along to Cocoa Brown's lovely lady afternoon tea this afternoon in the wonderfully lavish surroundings of the Radisson Blyu hotel in Blackrock. The hotel itself is stunning,  but nothing compared to the adorable spread put on by Marissa, Sarah and sales manager Aisling. We were greeted with platters of bitesize cakes, which were to die for,  and more sandwiches than you could shake a stick at.

Lovely little treats

This post is about to get very gushy, as I feel like it's very deserved, so feel free to stop reading!

I have always said that one of my favourite things about Cocoa Brown is how they interact with bloggers and anyone who uses their products. As far as I'm concerned they are by far one of the most personable, friendly and approachable brands out there today. Everyone behind the brand goes out of their way to reply to any correspondence, not only that but they are all so friendly in person too. On both occasions I have met Marissa and Sarah they have been lovely and chatty, and just a pleasure to be around. 

Marissa gave a little speach thanking us Bloggers for supporting Cocoa Brown. You could tell she was completely genuine in her sentiment,  that she actually takes the time to sit down and read all the feedback she gets and appreciates it all. Marissa is going to build herself a little army of dedicated Brownettes purely by being so gracious and humble in her success. 

Now, that's the soppy part over! I had an absolutely lovely day, stuffed my face with delicious cakes and got to meet and chat to lots of other Bloggers. Once again Cocoa Brown went above and beyond with extremely generous No7 goody bags (to celebrate the tan now being available in Boots). There was also spot prizes for a lucky few, I managed to bag myself one, including a whopping €80 voucher for Saba Dublin.

Marissa herself will say that the feedback from bloggers has been crucial to the success of Cocoa Brown, and I think I speak for everyone when I say I felt very valued today. There are huge things in store for Cocoa Brown,  and they are well and truly deserved. 

The very generous goody bag

Introducing something new to my blog

Hi guys!

Any of you who follow me on Twitter may have seen my tweet earlier this afternoon about the blog.

Basically, im toying with the idea of expanding it to include something other than just make up and beauty. I was thinking of trying my hand at a few fashion posts, mainly focusing on plus size fashion and bargain shopping (of course). It would essentially just be me show casing my style, how I accessorise, my shopping habits, how I would style a going out outfit etc.

I wouldn't go down the tips and tricks road as I feel style is a very personal thing. If people see something they like then fantastic! But I wouldn't be actively giving any sort of style advice.

Im struggling with how to go about it, and worried that I just wouldn't have enough to say! Would it even suit my blog?

So I'm pretty much asking if it's something you would like to read? Would you have any advice for me starting out?

Cocoa Brown Tough stuff

2 things you should keep in mind while reading this review-

Firstly, I am a bit of a Cocoa Brown fangirl. I love the brand. I love the products (and the price). I love the marketing and advertising, and I love how they treat their customers and those who blog about them.

Secondly, I have a bit of a phobia of exfoliators ever since I got some in my eye and nearly blinded myself (derp). But for the love of my favourite tan, I threw down my weary old exfoliating mitt and braved the world of exfoliators once more. No goggles required.

As usual, the packaging for tough stuff is cute, funky and girly, nothing less than you'd expect from Cocoa Brown. It comes in a handy little handbag sized sachet, but there is a larger sized bottle coming our way very soon! There's also instructions and tips on the back (as always) so you get the most of the product.

The product itself is also really cute and girly! It's a pink runny liquid, that can be used on wet or dry skin, depending on how much tan you have to scrub away! It's meant for use on stubborn areas, such as elbows, knees and feet. I used it everywhere, but paid particular attention to these area's. It smells really lovely, fresh and flowery.

So, does it actually do what it claims to do? Is t a 'No nonsense scrub'? Is it actually Tough Stuff? Yes. A thousand times yes. I applied some of the scrub to a cloth and got to work. I could see the tan vanishing before my eyes. I tend to get quite mucky around my wrists and it just works magic taking it all away. I used less than half the packet to scrub away a full body tan, and the sachet itself only cost €2.99. My skin is silky smooth and ready to be tanned again. My dirty elbows (which would have severe tan build up at this stage) are gone, and I smell lovely! AND my eyesight is still intact.

Once again, I just can't find fault! It's a definite winner, something i'd use 2 or 3 times a week, even if I had no tan on or had no intention of tanning, just to keep my skin in good nick. If they could concentrate this into some kind localised tan corrector, like a roll on or something I'd take out shares! I can't recommend this enough!

Sleek Divine Pallet Acid- Day look

Excuse the boobs!

I have been lusting after this pallet since I first saw it on the website, I just never actually managed to get my hands on it! All the colours just look so versatile, with a bit of imagination you could create some absolutely stunning looks!

A very, very kind friend presented it to me as an early birthday present yesterday (needless to say I jumped up and down) and I couldn't wait to play with it. I didn't want to get too adventurous straight away, so I just did, what I think, is quite a low key look.

I found the colours to be really pigmented and they blended really well, the ones I used did anyway! The only one I was slightly disappointed in was the white. It went on very wishy washy, but I do have extremely high expectations from white shadows!

The colours really make me want a cocktail....

September Beauty Blog Challenge

I really tried my best to keep up with June BBC, but for personal reasons I had to call it a day after only a few posts. I was gutted, but I wasn't gonna half ass it. So the wonderful GirlFriday has gone and organised another challenge for us all, and it's bigger and better than before!

I absolutely love the format of this challenge, while the topics for June were great, they were quite rigid and to be honest slightly intimidating if you were a novice blogger. September comes with 2 choices- beauty or lifestyle. So you can blog about your favourite make up one day, and about what you had for dinner the next. Having that choice will be so handy in expanding what you blog about and pushing you ever so slightly out of your comfort zone.

The topics themselves (which you'll find on GirlFriday's blog) are really interesting, and accessible to everyone. Blogging for 30 days may seem daunting at first, but if you're anything like me, you're brain will start planning out your posts as you're reading the list!!

I really can't wait to get stuck into this challenge, there was a real sense of blogger solidarity about June, and it seemed to really get people in touch with other. With such a variety of topics this time around I'm sure it will be even more successful.

I have to say HUGE props to GirlFriday for organising yet another challenge. You only have to read her post to see that an awful lot of hard work, thought and time went into setting it all up, that's dedication! So, lets not let her down! (Trust me, you don't want to, she'll have your guts for garters!)

Feel free to follow me on Twitter to keep up to date on how the challenge is going using #SBBC

Argan Oil Shampoo and Conditioner

Argan oil shampoo and conditioner, with some other goodies  

During the week I picked up Argon Oil Shampoo and conditioner in my local ODC Chemist for just €2 each. I'm normally a bit wary or changing my hair products, shampoo in particular because I'm always afraid it will strip the colour from my hair. I just couldn't pass up a bargain like that (€2 for a 250ml bottle). The shampoo and conditioner have heaps of hair friendly ingredients, most notably Argan oil itself, but also has a lot of other fruit and vegetable derived extracts. Like a healthy meal for your gruaig!

I used them both today for the first time, all the while saying a little prayer for my colour) and I'm actually really impressed. You know the way sometimes in the shower you can tell whether it's gonna be a good day just by the feel of your hair? It's gonna be a good hair day! After just shampooing my hair felt a lot softer and smoother. I left the conditioner in for about 4-5 minutes then rinsed.

Through winced eyes I checked my colour in the mirror. Obviously, as Crazy colour fades with every wash, my hair was a little lighter, but absolutely no more than it would be with my regular shampoo, 1 point to Argan oil!

My hair immediately felt a lot softer, and a lot less brittle. It was completely knot free when I brushed it, which may not sound like a big deal, but it really is when it comes to my hair. When I blow dried it, it was really soft and manageable. Another point!!

Both the shampoo and conditioner have a beautiful clean smell. I decided not to straighten my hair so the smell would be more potent and I'd have something to sniff during the day!

Fair enough, my split ends are still there, but it would take more than a shampoo and conditioner to conquer those bad boys. Lets not forget that I paid €4 for both, I wasn't expecting miracles. And I didn't get any, but I got a pleasantly surprised by a bargain buy that i would definitely buy again! (try say that 3 times fast!)

The story of my pink hair

I get a lot of questions and compliments about my hair. Little girls are fascinated by it, hearing them say 'mammy, that girl has pink hair!' is almost a daily occurrence, and it's very sweet. I initially only dyed my hair pink for my holidays, but it seems to be sticking around.

By right, I shouldn't have any hair left, it's an absolute warrior. Don't get me wrong, it's not in great condition, but it's been heavily dyed for the guts of 10 years and is still standing by me!

Pink hair can be a bit of a pain to keep as it doesn't have the world's best sticking power. You have to really want it! I didn't have to bleach my hair up when I first decided to go pink as I was very light blonde at the time. I didn't want just a standard pink, so I decided to try mixing 2 colours to see what happened. I used Crazy Color (€3.99 in Terrisales nationwide), a conditioning colour, so mixing them wasn't a problem.

I used Pinkissmo and Silver. Pinkissmo is a very vibrant pink, really zingy, and the silver kind of dulls that down slightly. The silver also gives my hair an almost incandescent look in the light, there's a lovely silvery-purple hue. I didn't want my hair to be quite so bright this time around so it's perfect for me. Every time I dye my hair I use roughly half of each bottle so it only costs me €4 to touch up my hair. I'd touch it up every 4 to 5 washes.

When I need to do my roots I use Schwarzkoph Live Colour XXL in 00A, the lightest shade. Obviously I use this on as little of my hair as possible. Once my roots are done, I take the heavy wet out of my hair and apply the mix of pink and silver.

As it fades, the pink just gradually goes a lighter shade, from very vibrant to a nice bubblegum pink, still with the silver hue.

When it comes to taking care of my hair im a bit lazy. I'm currently using the John Frieda Full Repair range. I'm really impressed by this range, my hair has been really soft and manageable since I started using it and I have noticed an improvement in the amount of split ends I have.

So there you have it, how I get and keep my pink hair!

Inglot glitter #59 glitter look

Last week I gleefully bought my first ever Inglot glitter pot on a trip to Blanchardstown shopping center. I've always been a bit skeptical about glitter as cleaning up the fallout, and plumping for the glue to keep it in place, just seemed like a lot of fuss.

The lovely GirlFriday, who's blog you can read  here encouraged me to buy the glitter but hold off on buying the Duo glue until I tried her little tip. Instead of glue, use a gel liner on your lid to keep the glitter in place! It works absolutely brilliantly!

To achieve this smokey eye glitter look I used Barry M Dazzle Dust in shade 98 to create a smokey eye. Then I used Seventeen Back Lash gel eyeliner to draw on a thick flick covering the entire eyelid. While the liner was still wet I used a flat eye shadow brush to dab on the glitter, patting it firmly in place as I went.

I was expecting there to be a huge amount of fallout as the glitter is so fine, and while there was some, not nearly as much as I thought there would be, and nothing that couldn't be brushed away with a powder brush.

I'll be wearing a toned down version of this,  with some killer lashes, for my birthday night out!

He-Shi gradual day to day tan

I want to preface this post by saying that I have little faith in gradual tanners. I have neither the skin, nor the patience for it to ever work out well. I have tried many, many gradual tanners (Dove,  Johnson's etc) and have always found fault, be it the smell, consistency or overall colour development.

Before heading along to a Slattery's communications blogger event yesterday I had only heard of the He-shi brand in passing, I knew little to nothing about it, other than it being an award winning irish brand, and had never used it. I used the gradual day to day tan today and my first experiences have me very curious to find out more.

I used the tan after showering, on dry skin. Initially, I was wary as there is no colour guide. You just have to trust your instincts when applying. I applied it as I would a moisturiser, and honestly it kicks my regular moisturiser in the ass. It has a lovely, creamy texture. It spreads very easily and dries very quickly on the skin. My skin is still,  hours later, silky smooth and moisturised. The paraben free formulation also has a gorgeous smell that lasts on your skin for hours after applying.

As for the colour, it's hard to judge after just one application. I'm not a bronzed goddess yet, but my skin has lost that ghostly pale blue tinge it usually has. I'm going to apply again before bed,  and again tomorrow so I will update this post with how my colour develops.

Another thing I love is that you get a grand big chunky tube, there is lot's and lot's of the product to play around with. It retails for approximately €16.50, honestly a little bit more than I'd be willing to pay for a gradual fake tan. However, if over the next few days im as pleased with the results as I am right now, I could be persuaded.

All in all, I am very intrigued by this tan, and am almost raging I didn't opt for the instant tan to see the immediate results.