2015.

New Years is probably one of my favourite festivals. After all, who doesn't like a fresh start?
For the last few years I've avoided making resolutions, thinking that life was too hectic to actually follow through.

2015, bring it.

1. Get back into blogging and blog once a week.
I enjoy blogging. However, I let myself feel overwhelmed by all the other, bigger bloggers I looked up to and wondered why anyone would want to read my rambles. Now I'm just blogging for myself. If anyone wants to have a read that's a bonus.

2. Complete the 50 books challenge.
I'm a complete book worm and this year I joined Goodreads. Best idea ever! It really opened my mind to new authors and even new genres that I'd never considered before. I'm hoping this challenge will keep me on a roll!

3. Complete the couch to 5k programme.
Sadly I do not have a natural love for exercise. Sure, I love the endorphin rush and the smug self satisfied feeling I get after I do it but I find it pretty hard to motivate myself to actually start exercising. Please help me Couch to 5 k.

4. Travel to at least 2 new countries this year.
Self explanatory.

5. Make a real effort to keep my room tidy by tidying it for 20 minutes a day.
This is an incredibly childish resolution, I know. I ,somehow, create mess wherever I go. My room gets the worst of it. I recently did a massive clearout so this resolution is to keep me on track!

6. Wear lipstick every time I leave my house.
Another weird one. I own about 54 lipsticks. Seriously. I need to actually use them.

7. Save 30e a month.
I'm a disaster for spending money. I am (kind of) a grown up now. Grown ups save. I figure this number isn't so small as to be insignificant but not big enough to keep me from livin' mah life. Which leads on to the next resoltuion nicely....

8. Get out more. At least once a month!
This is the only resolution that I find it hard to express in concrete terms. Point is, I've become a bit of a hermit. I started this resolution off well by going to the New Year's Festival in Dublin and ringing in 2015 with Kodaline and I'd like to keep on doing fun things like that. Seeing Dylan Moran in Belfast, watching a play and a musical and going to visit the Father Ted house is wrapped up in this!

9. Grow my hair.
I got a pixie cut in 2013. I think it's time to move on!

10. Buy a new laptop.
This one celebrated its sixth birthday in December.

I'm going to try to do a review of these resoltions and my progress every three months. 

Pray for me!

Did you make any resolutions this year? Let me know :)

My Skin Story Part 1 : Acne

Skin woes are part of everyone's life but I think it's an important topic to discuss. I've had to resort to pretty extreme measures to sort out my skin problems and I thought my journey may be of help to someone somewhere!

I sailed through adolescence , blissfully ignorant of the normal spots and acne that plague teenagers. 

However, from the ages of 21-23 my skin went absolutely MENTAL.

Yes, capital,underlined and bold type of mental. 

 I tried a variety of cleansers, moisturisers and other treatments but nothing worked.

I cut sugar and milk out of my diet for a number of months but this made no difference to my skin.

I decided enough was enough and visited my local G.P. (General Practitioner) . I tried a variety of topical creams including Duac,Skinoren and Differin  over the course of a year. These creams made a tiny dent in the spots beginning to cover my face. 

After these creams had tried and failed, I was prescribed Minocin (an antibiotic). I have to say this was very effective and my skin instantly started to improve. I was absolutely delighted and thought I'd found the answer to my prayers. However, as Minocin is an antibiotic you can't keep taking it forever! I stopped taking Minocin and for a month my skin was fine.

But then.... it relapsed again.

The strangest thing about my acne at this stage was where it was on my face. Usually, the t-zone is the worst affected area. However, for me it was the sides of my face and my cheeks. It was very deep, hormonal acne. 

The problem was really getting me down at this stage and I felt I was at my wits end. My G.P. suggested that I visit a dermatologist to see if I would be suitable to take Roaccutane. I was initially very nervous as Roaccutane (or simply Accutane in America) is known for it's sometimes severe side effects.

I'm just starting my 5th month on Roaccutane now and as for the results... I'll let the picture speak for themselves in the upcoming post!

Saving Face

Recently, my skin went through a really bad patch. The power of bad skin is unbelievable, some days I just didn't want to leave the house. You may think that's shallow but its the sad truth! I have combination skin, which is so pale it is prone to blotchiness. This also means that a mark often remains on my skin even after spots have been and gone.

I always thought of skincare as the boring, dull side of make up but it's hard to paint a canvas that is spotty, blotchy and just downright miserable! Cue new skincare routine.

• I have heard many good things about the Eliabeth Arden Visible Difference range and I have to agree. This cleanser (for combination skin) is brilliant. It contains little scrubby bits (technical, I know) which gently exfoliate the skin. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the packaging as I had to put it into another container. It originally came in a handy squeezy tube. A definite holy grail product which I will repurchase.
• The moisturiser in this range is nice and hydrating. However, I find it can sometimes leave me shiny. I like it but I probably wouldn't buy it again as I'm on the quest for the perfect moisturiser!
• La Roche Posay's Effaclar Duo  is also a major skin saver. I've posted about it here, you need this in your life!
• I recieved a sample of Clinique All About Eyes from the beauty hoarder that is my grandmother. At 22 I probably don't need this per se, but I enjoy using it and I think it reduces the dark circles caused by the occasional late night!

• A mask I really love is Soap and Glory's the Fab Pore mask. It really does what it says on the tin. My pores are less noticeable and my skin looks clearer and brighter. I use it about once a week for 15 minutes.

• I use  The Body Shop Seaweed Toner  in varying amounts. It isn't a HG product really but it's useful to have around. I use it to refresh my skin on no make up days. It's a nice toner not drying and clarifying. 

This really isn't anything new but water is vital. Yes, it's boring and yes, I'd much rather drink something else ( like a cocktail)  but it's so good for the skin! I'm drinking at least a pint a day now and it really does help.

I hope this was interesting , I know I'm always nosy about other people's skin care routines! What are your favourite skincare products? 

An easy life

First things first, this is not a sponsored post. Just something that made my life easier. Or enabled me to internet shop even more than usual. Hmm..

Delivery charges are just one of the banes of my life (#firstworldproblems). I was once charged fifteen euro for a product to be delivered from England to Ireland. FIFTEEN!! Another delivery related problem is that I live in the back end of nowhere. My own friends can't find my house never mind the busy, stressed out delivery man.

So after hearing about Parcel Motel through the interwebs, I decided to investigate. I broke it all down, in case you're easily confused, like me.

1) You register with http://www.parcelmotel.com/, providing your home address and other details.
2)They then tell you where your local Parcel Motel pick up point is. This is where you will pick up your goodies.
3) Parcel Motel provide you with a UK address.
4) The next time you order something, use the address provided by Parcel Motel in the delivery info.
5) Your package is shipped to this address and when it arrives there Parcel Motel pick it up for you and deliver it to your local pick up point.
6) They send you a text (and an email- very thorough!) with a PIN code.
7) You go to the pick up point, enter your phone number and unique PIN. A little door pops open and you collect your package!

Photo link

It really is an awesome service. The first two stays are free (yipee) and after that it's 3.50euro per stay which I think is pretty damn good. Also on a lot of UK sites shipping to other parts of the UK is free (double yippee) meaning you only pay Parcel Motel's 3.50 for shipping.

Anything for an easy life eh?!

Monday Must Have: L'Occitane en Provence Volumizing mist for fine hair

Everytime I go to the hairdresser, no matter where I go, they all say the same thing about my hair : It's fine but there's lots of it. Unfortunately, my hair gets completely weighed down and it can be a nightmare trying to get volume.

Cute hair clips courtesy of Penney's

I bought L'Occitane's Volumizing mist for fine hair after Julie from Musings of a Make Up Maniac reccomended it as she has uh-mazing hair. Also I pretty much want to buy everything she reviews!

2-3 spritz' is enough to give volume to my fine hair and wake it up. There is a herbal-y smell from the 5 essential oils it contains which  fades fairly quickly so shouldn't be a problem for those who have easily irritated noses!

I can confirm this works as well on short hair as on long, having recently gotten my long locks chopped up into a pixie cut.

Side note: On a good day, I feel like Ginnifer Goodwin.
 On a bad day, Justin Bieber. Let's forget about that shall we?

This product is worth the rather pricey (for a volumising spray) 24.50e as a little goes a long way.

Something for a rainy day

Ever since I bought my first Mac lipstick I have been in love. (It was Chatterbox fyi.) The colours, various finishes and the delicious scent of vanilla lure me in time and time again.

Unsurprisingly, when I was browsing the House of Fraser website on a dull and dreary April day and found that MAC lippies were £14.50 each (17.23 euro) I did what any sunshine-deprived, bored, procrastinating girl would. I bought three.

L-R Lady Danger, Fan fare , Blankety

These lipsticks were purchases I had been mulling over for a long time and this particularly rainy day tipped me over the edge! Anyway, less justifying, more swatches :)

L-R Landy Danger, Fan fare, Blankety

 Lady Danger is a orangey red colour which I have wanted FOREVER. It looks a teeny bit neon at times, as you can see in the picture below, but I think it's perfect for a night out. I usually hate matte formulations but this is bearable for that amazing colour!

Fan fare looks like a 'my lips but better' shade but it was a little more pink than I imagined. This often happens as I have very pigmented lips. It has a very very subtle gold shimmer and is a cremesheen formulation.

Blankety is a nude shade which is a lot less brown on the lips than it looks in the bullet, as seen in the swatch. It leans ever so slightly pinkish on me but it's a gorgeous nude. It is an amplified formulation (my fave) and wears very comfortably.

Fan fare

Blankety

Lady Danger


Which one is your favourite? :)

Monday Must Have: La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo

During my teenage years I was lucky enough to be blessed with good skin. However, this meant that acne as an adult was even more traumatic!

I have combination skin, which is pale and prone to redness. This also means that a mark often remains on my skin, even after spots have been and gone.

Luckily, I discovered La Roche-Posay's Effaclar Duo and it's a lifesaver! This really unblocks pores on my nose and chin in a way that nothing I've ever tried has been able to do. It also reduces the appearance of marks from old healed blemishes, particularly ones that I have been struggling with for months (MONTHS, I kid you not!).

I apply a thin layer of this, once a day, to problem areas after cleansing, leave for 30 mins and then apply moisturiser over it. I do think you need to apply a good moisturiser after as it can be drying.

However, a word of caution. I used this once in winter when my skin was dehydrated and I won't lie, it burned the face off me! One of my friends raved about it and I decided it was worth another shot and I am honestly so glad I tried it again. I'll never be without it!