I have never done one of these "rambly" type of blogs before but I just wanted to give you an update on...well 'me' I suppose. I haven't been writing as much on my blog and my social media has been quiet also but life is just very busy at the moment!!!. So here is a run down on how my new healthy lifestyle is going and the new makeup and skincare products I have been trying out in 2016. Health & Fitness As with most January's I decided I really needed to lose weight but more so I needed to get fit (well fitter than I was anyway). My brother James is getting married at the end of February so that was a great intensive for me to make a start and an obvious first goal. Lucky for me I have a friend who is a qualified personal trainer and she was up for the challenge (I still don't think she has realised how tough it will be!!!!) and so on January 5th I hit up Dunnes and bought some fitness gear, joined the gym and started to eat "clean". I have done every "diet" ever known to human kind over the years including Slimming World, Weight Watchers, Lipotrim, 7 Day Juice Diet & Cambridge however as soon as I fall off the wagon I put back on whatever weight I had lost.... plus some!!! So not wanting to cut out any food group or deprive myself I am doing my own thing from a combination of what I have learnt from my friend Denise (who is a nutritionist - you can find her at www.irishpaleogirl.ie), my new favourite nutrition coach Joe Wicks aka The Body Coach (http://www.thebodycoach.co.uk/) and four brilliant bloggers/snapchatters - Ursula @momfitnessdiary, Tara Farrell @tara_makeup (Tara Farrell Makeup), Rosemary @rosemarymaccabe & Sharon @sharonleavy (Behind Green Eyes). These 4 ladies post healthy homecook recipes & fitness inspiration on their snapchat, Instagram & blogs so check them out. Preparation is key - It's all about being prepared - have your ingredients bought and stored at home, prep your meals in advance and give yourself some "you time" to plan & cook your meals. Breakfast tends to be a smoothie, overnight oats or eggs, lunch is homemade soup or leftovers and dinner will be whatever I fancy!!! I love meatballs, stews, bacon & cabbage, Shepard's pie, chicken...I honestly don't think I have ever cooked as much and surprisingly have been really enjoying it. I try not to use anything from a packet, jar or tin, I read the labels on all my food and am making a huge effort to eliminate added sugar from my diet (which is so frickin hard). And I try (but don't always succeed) to have protein, a healthy fat and loads of greens with my meals and after a workout throw in some form of healthy carb. Now I didn't weigh myself at the start of all this because I become OBSESSED with the scales - Joe Wicks calls it the sad step and I agree with him. I would start to weigh myself every day and if I didn't see a loss or god forbid I had an increase I would get upset and end up eating my body weight in chocolate (I am an emotional eater!!). So I can't tell you how much I have lost but I am down a dress size and all my clothes are fitting much better - I can even pull down my jeans and work trousers without opening the buttons :)....However my obsession with the scales hasn't gone away - I do know what I weighed before Christmas and I am going to weigh myself at the end of this month so hopefully I will be pleasantly surprised. So I'm a full month in and things are going really well on my health kick. I try and do some form of exercise at least five days a week and usually do a mix of walking/jogging, cardio, circuits & weights. The eating is going well too - I plan ahead and have my meals sorted and as for the demon drink - well I pretty much has a dry January except for one cheat - I had a friends 30th on the last day of Jan so we had an India and drinks but I'm having a quiet few weeks before the wedding so that's all a huge help. And as I type this my bestest sister-in-law just text to say she got me Roz Purcell's Natural Born Feeder cookbook!!!! EEEKKKK I'm so excited. Skincare & Makeup I haven't bought a huge amount this month even though I was in Dublin last week but what I did buy cost me a fortune!!!! I'm not going to do a full review on these products yet as I haven't been using them long enough but I just wanted to give you an overview. If you are a regular reader then you will know I'm into my skincare products and research as much as I can before buying something. So the first product wasn't an impulse purchase and trust me I thought long and hard before handing over my hard earned cash. Its the Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Night Oil. This costs a whopping €105 for 30mls but it's supposed to be the bomb!!!. It is a Retinol product which promises to "reduce pore size, improve appearance of damaged skin and helps fight wrinkles". It would want to work for that price!!!! Next up is the REN Flash Rinse 1 Minute Facial (€38 for 75mls). I have read so many good things about this mask over the past few months so had to include it on my never ending shopping list. This mask contains water activated Vitamin C and claims to "instantly revitalize and visibly rejuvenate the skin leaving it looking firm, toned and smooth while reducing the signs of fatigue, photo ageing and skin imperfections". And lastly from my skincare haul is the No7 Beautiful Skin Hydrating Mask (€17.50 for 100mls). I got this at the start of January for my poor winter battered skin. This gives skin an intense moisture boost and with the way my skin drinks it up its badly needed. Keep an eye out for a full review shortly. I haven't bought a huge amount of makeup mainly because I've wore feck all in January. No point when you are just going to sweat it off in the gym!. But I couldn't leave Brown Thomas without nothing :). First up is the Armani Luminous Silk Foundation (€45 for 30mls). Again this has been on my shopping list for a long time. I actually tried the Nars All Day Luminous Foundation first but it was far too drying on my skin. Now the lovely girl that was applying it did tell me they recommended it more for oily/combination skin so it was a definite no from me. I moved on to the next one on my list which happened to be the Armani Luminous Silk. Now the counter assistant wasn't the friendliest of ladies but she did colour match me to shade 4.5 which is actually pretty good. I have been wearing this for the past week at work and been loving it so far. Next up is the Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eye Colour in Sandglow (€30). I love cream eyeshadows but alot of them then to crease quite quickly so after reading rave reviews about these one I picked up this beautiful bronze shade. It has a lovely gold shimmer through it and lasts for hours. And lastly I picked up two MAC items during the month - MAC Hot Gossip Cremesheen Lipstick €20 and MAC Cork Eyeshadow €10. Hot Gossip is a beautiful Pinky Plum colour and one I think will be perfect for alot of my brides who want a little more colour for their wedding day. And Cork eyeshadow is a muted golden brown and a perfect transition shade for blending out darker colours. Two lovely additions to my kit. So I think that's all I have to tell you. I hope you liked my little rambly blog and please keep your fingers crossed I stayed on the "health buzz" wagon.
Thanks for reading. Susie xxx
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If you have read my last haul blog you would have seen that I bought the Super Facialist by Una Brennan Tea Flower Deep Clean Pore Purifying Clay Mask. Firstly a little about Una Brennan herself. Una is a native of Northern Ireland but now lives in London. She works from her home in Notting Hill (very posh) and her bespoke facials will set you back around €120. She is such an amazing facialist that her entire business has grown by word of mouth. She firmly believe that you should only use brands that come from a place of passion and not just skincare lines that are attached to big fashion houses. She launched her own range exclusive to Boots in 2013 and what from I have heard and read the products are simply brilliant. There are 4 catagories in the Super Facialist range: Vitamin C+ to Brighten, Tea Flower for Problematic Skin, Neroli for Younger Radiant skin and Rose to Hydrate. Anyhow back to my clay mask! The Super Facialist by Una Brennan Tea Flower Deep Clean Pore Purifying Clay Mask promises to "Clear you skin of dirt, excessive oils and toxins which lead to breakouts" . It contains Salicylic Acid which is proven to unclog pores, Dead Sea Mud which is rich in magnesium, calcium, potassium and iron all which absorb excess oils on the skin. It also has Avocado oil which is rich in Vitamins A, D and E with Acacia Honey to help skin rebalance itself leaving you with a clearer, refreshed-looking complexion. But is it any good? As you can see from the photo above I applied a nice even layer all over my face and left it for five minutes as directed by the bottle. I then used a warm damp facecloth to remove the mask (this actully took a little while as it dries quickly and I didn't was to pull at my skin). And what was I left with?... Well I think it done an excellent job of cleaning my pores. It also worked wonderfully on drying up my spots (thats the Salicylic acid working) and shrinking pores. It doesn't leave your skin tight afterwards like alot of clay masks and Im putting that down to the fact it contains Shea Butter and Avocado oil to hydrate the skin. Will I repurchase? Oh yes I should think so. I have only used it about three times so far but I really feel it is doing my skin some good. I am also using the Neroli Day Cream from the range so it might be a combination of both that my skin is behaving (touch wood!). The Super Facialist Range can be bought only in Boots and the Clay Mask costs €10.99 for 125ml tube. Have you tried anything from the Super Facialist range? Let me know in the comments below.
Until Next Time...As Always...Be Happy! Susie xxx |
AuthorLover of all things beauty, Makeup Artist, Blogger & Wife . I am always on the look out for the perfect makeup or the best beauty product so keep reading to follow my never ending quest! Categories
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