A Classic Beauty Staple

So life at the moment has become pretty hectic, 2014 really has started with a bang. I'm working full-time now and the shifts are so long which means when I get home I just want to pass out, but at the end of the day I'm loving what I am doing! That and the cold weather making me ill, has sort of prevented me from having the energy to write up blog posts.

But hey back to this blog post. About a month ago, a friend suggested using baby lotion as eye make up remover. At first I was like, you have to be crazy, I'm not putting that stuff near my eyes. Then I though to myself, I don't recognise any of the chemicals in eye make up remover, so really what's the difference?!

I'm so cheap I even resorted to buying an own
brand bottle, as opposed to a brand name!

So I put it to the test. My god... I am never buying another bottle of eye makeup remover ever again... Like EVER.  Been using this every night and I haven't woken up and thought, Janey my eyes look a bit rough. I always found with actual eye makeup remover, it never removed all my eyeliner and mascara. Baby oil, on the other hand, does. It also makes under my eyes super soft. AND it doesn't sting my eyes, like other big brand names. And best yet? It's super cheap, lasts forever and can be used for lots of different things. 

After I give my make up brushes a clean I'll wipe some baby oil through the ends to keep them soft (sort of like conditioning them, I suppose). After a shower I'll use it to lock in the moisture (which also locks in body heat during the day, perfect for colder months). Usually after I shave my legs I lash some on, to prevent dryness and that burning sensation. And tonight, I'm going to try it as a foot moisturiser (I have awfully cracked heels) and I'll let you all know in my next blog post how it went!

My one issue is how oily and messy it is. Everyday I'll end up spilling loads all over my table and/ or legs. And it does make my eyes go a bit oily, but I usually just wipe this off with a cotton pad. However, this is the only flaw, so I seriously recommend any of you makeup lovers to give this a try. Well worth it!

Have you ever tried baby oil? Any unique uses of baby oil

Dawn

xXx 

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ManhaTan - A mini business with HUGE potential

A few weeks ago I was informed by Anita, of Anita's Beauty Spot, about an app created by four transition year students for their mini business. Yep, you heard that right; TRANSITION year students. I couldn't even think of an app like this now let alone at 15/ 16/ 17, so fair play to all of the girls.

 The app has three different options; information and prices on leading tanning brands, tanning salons based around Dublin, and hints and tips on applying your tan.

 The first section, which contains information on different tanning brands, is extremely useful and shows a huge variety of brands; from your cheap as chips St Moriz tan, to the higher end Vita Liberta PHenomenal Tan, and everything in between. Perfect for tanning newbies. Each product has information regarding ingredients, application, development times, prices and stockists. 

The second option allows you to see tanning salons throughout Dublin, which are near to you. By clicking on the red pins you can see information about the salons including their website and contact information, another helpful section especially if you're not up for tanning at home!

The final section, which is my favourite part, has loads of hints and tips, from choosing the brand with the right ingredients for you, to removing tan stains from clothing and bedding. Some of these tips I didn't even know, and I've been tanning since I was 14. 

I'm still literally shocked about this app. I have no clue how these girls have done it and made it look so professional... At their age I was worried about boy, not business ideas (needless to say my mini company idea was a last minute sweet shop where we sold sweets from the Euro shop!). You can clearly see how much research these girls have put in, and I really hope they are successful. The app is currently only available on iTunes and the salon section only contains information about Dublin salons, but it is designed to a very high quality and is very easy to use!

Have you heard about the ManhaTan app?! What do you think of the idea?!

Dawn

xXx 

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Hello 2014...

Again I must apologise for disappearing off the blogosphere for awhile. Christmas has been extremely hectic and it's just about begining to calm down. I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and Santa spoiled you all... He definitely spoiled me (and so did my fantastic boyfriend!). 

I just wanted to write a quick post to let you all know I'm still around and that I'll be up and blogging again very soon! I also wanted to wish everyone a merry Christmas and a very happy and healthy New Year. As for resolutions, i have a few. One of these is definitely to focus more on my blog... So I'll be trying to stick by this as much as I can. Another one, is to get healthier (not lose weight or anything) but just in general be healthier. I've noticed in the past year certain tasks I could have done two years ago now drain me of energy. I eat terribly and exercise is nonexistent. I won't be joining a gym or start some fad diet but I will try eat more fruit and veg, drink more water and instead of driving to the shop (that's literally around the corner) I'm going to walk. 

Again I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and a brilliant New Year. Have any of you made any New Years resolutions?!  

Dawn

xXx 

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Cocoa Brown Pink Party

On Monday night I was lucky enough to attend Cocoa Browns first birthday party, naturally a "Pink Party", in the Residence Members Club on Stephens Green. Everyone knows how much I love Cocoa Brown, and I feel ridiculously loyal to the brand now, so I jumped at the opportunity to attend. Unfortunately on the day I had been in work from 8am and ended up running behind, so I was a little bit late! When myself and Ash, from A Plus Size Pony Pal, walked in we were greeted by Marissa, who looked stunning as usual. Marissa is honestly a fantastic woman and such an inspiration. She makes you feel so welcome, and it's sort of like seeing a really good friend, which sounds absolutely crazy. Basically, I have a lot of time for her. 

Myself and Ash shimmied our way through the room to see a nail station set up. We were able to get our nails painted and have a little Cocoa Brown stamp too. 

As you can see from the photo, one nail has the Cocoa Brown logo on it. Talk about being a walking advertisement... Do I mind... NOPE! The nails were created by iNailz, and I'm so surprised I've never seen anything like this before. Basically they can print images onto nails... CRAZY! The actual colour is a very "me" shade, sort of neon-ish and very very pink (Charged Up Cherry by OPI). 

The party also had a table full of sweets, which was way too tempting for me to even consider avoiding it. Check out how pretty and pink it is, fair play to Sugar and Spices for setting it up.

After a couple of delicious cocktails, way too many sweets and new nails, myself and Ash went on our way. I had such a fantastic night and was glad to see some other blogger faces there! A huge happy birthday to Cocoa Brown and congratulations to all of the team. Marissa, Sarah, Aisling and Stephanie have achieved so much in one year, and hopefully 2014 will be another fantastic year for the company. I'm so glad to have been invited to the party and I will continue to support the company as much as I can. 

If you have been living under a rock, Cocoa Brown is available in most chemists, Penneys/ Primark stores, Superdrug, Tescos and Boots. So you have no excuse not to have a bottle... Or four!

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How Now My Perfect Brows... featuring Soap and Glory "Arch de Triumph"

Hello lovely ladies!

Ok, so my love of eyebrows has grown significantly over the past year and a bit, and looking back at picture before I payed any attention to my eyebrows I just think WHY?! Now I'm not saying my eyebrows are fantastic or worthy of an award, but since I've actually started getting them tinted and waxed once a month I've noticed how much they frame my face (thank you Brown Cow and Lorraine for creating a brow addict!). 

So in between tints I have to fill them in with a pencil. Now here are my problems:

1)     Because I’m a natural red head I have fairer eyebrows and lashes’, meaning it’s difficult to find the right shade to suit my complexion.

2)     Due to over-plucking in my teens there are somewhat bald parts of my brows which even tinting won’t cover (said bald parts are at the bridge of my nose, the thickest part of my eyebrow).

I have been using a Rimmel eyebrow pencil for the past year and I have to say it has never let me down once. The odd time I’ll use my Benefit Brow-zing kit, if I want to really define my brows. Both work a treat!

A recent purchase I added to my daily routine was Soap and Glory’s “Arch de Triump” crayon. My best friend Niamh had been ranting and raving about this product for ages, but every time we went to check if Boots had it in stock, they never did. We both came to the conclusion that it had been discontinued, until one day Niamh spotted it on the shelves. I can only imagine to her it was like a beaming light that attracted her to the shelves, like Jesus’ resurrection. This product seemed to be like the holy grail, ridiculous hard to come by. There were two left on the shelves. So I sort of had to buy it, didn't I?! All in the name of blogging right?!

The packaging is exactly how you would imagine a Soap and Glory product to be, over the top, 1950’s- esque, pin up style! I’m always attracted to the packaging straight away. I love that on the back of the box it has a little users guide, the “How Now Perfect Brow”. I honestly have no clue what I paid for it, but the Boots website says it is €11.50, but I'm not 100% sure!

So, onto the product itself… I’m still not 100% sure. The brow shaper (dark side of the crayon) just doesn’t seem to work. I know it sounds crazy but it doesn't seem to fill my brows in. The highlighter on the other hand is AMAZING. Easy to use and is actually a pinky colour as opposed to a bright white. If they made just a highlighter version of the crayon I’d buy every single one.

So… has it made it into my make up bag? YES, but this is only because of the highlighter. I still use my Rimmel pencil for the filling in part of my routine. Would I buy it again? Probably not. For just a highlighter, it sort of seems like a waste, even though it is the best highlighter I have come across.

Have any of you tried “Arch de Triumph”? What are your opinions, I’d love to hear from you?!

Dawn

xXx
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Once upon a time.... featuring ModCloth

Bonjour hunz,

At the beginning of the week I was contacted by Amy from ModCloth who invited me to take part in their "Uniquely You" campaign which involved putting together a wee style board through Polyvore! On Friday I was sent an image of a dress with which I was to style an outfit around... The dress is called When the Night Comes, is priced at $100 and is also available in a gorgeous emerald shade. When I seen the dress I thought it was really girly and for some reason I went with a sort of fairy tale styling (I was originally going to do the complete opposite and dress it down). 

I fell in love with this Steve Madden jacket and it reminded me of something from a fairy tale (...Little Red Riding Hood maybe). The jacket costs $135, but you would definitely get good use out of it. 

So what shoes would I pair with it... Wedges obviously... Now anyone that know me, knows I love sky scrapper heels, I just can't walk in them, so I usually opt for wedges (which I still can't walk in). These wedges are $45 which is a bargain to be honest... I have to stop myself from clicking the buy button. How fab would these look paired with some skinny jeans, a cute blazer and an over sized tote?!

OK on from the shoes and on to the bag... THE BAG!! Talk about fairy tale... I'm in love (this must be how Cinderella and Prince Charming felt!). It looks so delicate and girly and pink and pretty. It's $60, so a little bit more expensive than my usual Penneys handbag, but I will be ordering this soon and it will be mine!

Can we keep talking about the bag?! No?! You've heard enough?! Are you sure?! Ok, so jewellery. Honestly I wouldn't be going crazy with jewellery with this outfit. The necklace I chose is not only super cheap but I think it fits my fairy tale style perfectly and it can be another addition to my growing collection of statement necklaces. This is definitely going to be another purchase of mine after Christmas. 

The dress is something you could dress up or down, perfect for your Christmas party, a date night with himself or just chilling with the girls! ModCloth has some great dresses and loads of quirky accessories (from Shark shoes to school bus tote bags) head over and check them out (just don't order the bag, it's mine).  The total cost of this outfit (including shipping) is $408.17. The shipping is a bit steep to be honest but coming from the states I suppose what can you expect. Converted over to euros it costs just over €300, not bad if you take into account the amount you are buying.

Have any of you heard about ModCloth before? What do you think of their products?

Dawn 

xXx 
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Haunted Spooktacular

Hello everyone and Happy Halloween! 

So today's post is going to be about something completely different... It's about Halloween! If you're not heading out tonight I have a recommendation on something for you to do... Something that will scare the cr*p out of you! 

Last night I attended a the Haunted Spooktacular in Meath and it's my third year in a row that I've went, and it has never disappointed. It's definitely something to do in a group... Even if you don't like scary things I'd still recommend it. It has something to terrify everyone... From clowns to scarecrows to chainsaws to hillbilly's and with a little bit of exorcisms thrown in for good measure. Realistically if you have nothing planned for tonight and you don't fancy sitting in watching your Facebook newsfeed, and being jealous of lads and lassies dressed up as priests and nurses and slutty maids, get in the car (or your friends car) and head north (or south or east or west) to Meath!

So, what does it entail? An hour and a half queue if you don't fancy paying an extra €6 for fast entry (pay the extra €6, it's well worth it). Once you enter the attraction, you'll explore the land but be prepared for people to chase you with chainsaws and jump out from the darkness. The good part about this is you have to stop at points so you have time to calm down. Take into consideration that if you're claustrophobic or affected by strobe lights or loud music this isn't for you. Once you get through the woodlands you'll enter a house which has everything from exorcisms to mental asylums and little children asking you to play with them. Creepy is not the word! 

So how much is it? If you book before you head you can pay a standard rate of €16 or you can get the fast track tickets which are €22 or pay at the gate which will be €19 or €25, depending on your preference. 

And how do you get there? From Dublin take the M3 till exit 9 which is for Navan/ Delvin (you'll have to go through one toll), from there head in the direction of Athboy/ Delvin and then after 6miles you'll come to a T-junction (there will be a sign ahead of you pointing to Farmaphobia which is another scare attraction) turn right, after another 2.5 miles you will reach a small village called Fordstown and take a left after the Daybreak and it's straight down the road with free parking. If you're travelling from anywhere else head over to the website for directions.

The event runs from 7pm till 10pm and tonight is the final night! Step out of your comfort zone and just do it! Myself and my two besties proved we were just as strong as the lads we went with and completed the attraction with a few screams and tantrums (OK that was a lie there was a lot of panicky moments)

Have you ever headed to the Haunted Spooktacular? What did you think? Will you be heading along tonight?

Dawn

xXx 

**(Pictures obtained from the Spooktacular website, as cameras are not allowed within the attraction)