Cancer? Me?

Recently I was diagnosed with Nodular lymphocyte predominant Hodgkins Lymphoma , what a mouthful! Basically, I have cancer. Cancer?! Me?! Not exactly a diagnosis anyone wants to receive.

I don't know the right way a person is supposed to react to a cancer diagnosis but one of my first thoughts was.... "my hair!!" ,as we all know chemotherapy traditionally equals a bald head. I was very much not looking forward to that side effect.

My first chemo took place on June 16th and aside from a few small side effects (sore teeth being one of them, feeling a bit tired being the other) I have pretty much been feeling good. I'm still able to go about life as normally as ever. I think many of us have the mental image of a cancer patient as someone who's constantly ill and spends their days in bed, this isn't the reality that I have experienced so far. The lovely doctors and nurses do everything thing they can to prevent any side effects before they occur.

I have also always been a believer in putting your best face on and carrying on with things. For me, personally, I feel better when I get up, put on my makeup and wear something I feel good in. I hope to continue this throughout my treatment. By the end of treatment I'll probably own everything Cocoa Brown has to sell, I feel so much better with a tan and Cocoa Brown is by far the most natural looking tan out there. As my hair has recently begun to fall out, seriously...strands of hair everywhere, I have a feeling that wig shopping and headscarf shopping could become a new addiction. I also feel that I need to buy more lipsticks, you know, a strong lip to distract from the lack of hair... Any excuse to shop. I hope to continue to blog on products I find and what works for me, cancer is an ugly word but it won't stop me wanting to feel pretty.

What I wore... December 27 2013

On December 27th I went to see Mick Flannery perform at the INEC acoustic club in Killarney. My friend Jen and I went for a bite to eat beforehand and for a few drinks afterwards so I wanted to wear something nice but not overly dressy.

I chose to wear a floral skirt from Oasis which I am in love with (seriously, it's love). I paired it with a simple cream shirt, navy lace up shoe boots and a stone bag,all from Penneys. I also wore a gold and silver necklace which I love, it was a gift I reviewed for my 30th birthday 2 weeks ago.

I have to say I quite like this outfit, it was comfy and I felt very feminine and girly in it. I think this outfit could be repeated sometime soon ( I say this now,in reality I hate repeating outfits but in 2014 I'm going to try to change that).

Irish bbloggers Secret Santa!

When Aisling from Total Make Up Addict brought up the idea of a bloggers secret Santa I was totally up for taking part. I thought that buying a gift for someone with similar interests would be fun and, of course, who doesn't love presents?

My secret Santa was Stephanie from Polished and Primed. I was super excited when my secret Santa gift arrived last week and obviously I immediately tore it open. Inside was a lovely card and two gorgeous Soap and Glory gift sets, Bright and Bubbly and Good,Butter,Best. I can't wait to try out all these different products. I'll be the best smelling, most moisturised person around this Christmas!  In a weird coincidence I had planned on buying one of these sets as a treat for myself once I had the rest of my Christmas gifts purchased but now I already have it.

I must say a big thanks to Aisling for organising everything,she did a brilliant job and it's much appreciated and , of course, a big thank you to Stephanie for my fantastic gift.

*please excuse the photos,I still have no laptop so I've had to post from my phone Here's hoping for a bargain in the sales *fingers crossed*

Loved By Mollie. New colllection for Oasis

I have long been a fan of Mollie King from The Saturdays' style, actually I'm a fan of all the girls from The Saturday's style, but Mollie's in particular is a favourite of mine. So imagine my joy (not an exaggeration,I was joyous) when I learnt that Mollie has just unveiled a collection, Loved By Mollie,  at Oasis! Now rather than just covet her style, we can all shop her style!

The range launches today online and instore. It features many of the key pieces for Autumn/Winter... pastels, oversized coats, leather, and of course the Oasis signature, prints!

Of the pieces currently available to buy I'm particularly fond of the tux collar jumpsuit

 the floral Jacquard jacket

 the lace and velvet strip dress

 and the pastel car coat

And for a daytime look I'm loving the heart knit

 the quilted leather skirt

and these Benny buckle boots

Overall, on first look, I really like this collection. It's fashionable, wearable and affordable. It's a celebrity line that is accessible to everyone, these pieces look like they would fit easily in to anyones wardrobe (hopefully mine!).


So, what does everyone else think of this newest celebrity collection? I'm clearly a fan!

Pride of Britain Awards

The Pride of Britain Awards took recognise ordinary everyday people doing extraordinary things, people making a difference.
The awards show also brings out the celebs in their lovely frocks. Ok, it's not the Oscars red carpet but there is still some style to be seen.
A popular choice at this years awards seemed to be various shades of  plae nude/blush/gold. I have to say I like this trend, it may require a bit of fake tan to avoid looking washed out (on me anyway!) but it's ever so pretty. Some stars who wore gowns in these shades include

Kimberly Walsh

Ashley Roberts

Pixie Lott  and Rochelle Humes both chose embellished dresses in the shade with sheer skirts

Of course other colours were seen on the red carpet but it seems to me that Alexandra Burke and Georgia May Foote have turned up in the same dress just in different colours..

It is a lovely dress but what do you think... who wore it better??

#sbbc Day 30 Reflection

Wow, the last day of #sbbc ! Time to reflect. I have to day, I really enjoyed #sbbc. It's taught me a lot. It's made me think about what kind of a blogger I want to be, it's taught me that I can in fact blog quite regularly, and it's taught me that the blogging community is simply wonderful!

The prospect of blogging everyday was quite daunting but I learnt that taking some of my free time to write and schedule posts was not only the best thing to do (obviously) but it was quite enjoyable. Taking the time to sit and write is almost therapeutic. I definitely think this will be the way I blog going forward, taking my time and really enjoying writing up my posts.

#Sbbc has definitely made me more confident in my blogging,I've realised that I can do it, I can post something that other people may in fact want to read and that they may enjoy.

Overall I think the best part of #sbbc for me has to be becoming more a part of the blogging community. I've realised that there are such funny,intelligent, lovely bloggers out there and they are all so friendly and welcoming to others. I hope to only become more of a part of this community.

I must also send a big thank you to GirlFriday (her excellent blog can be found here if you fancy a read) who organised #sbbc , job well done to you, it was fantastic!

So there it is, my last post of #sbbc , hopefully it won't be long before my next blog post :-) I'll have to think of the topic for that all on my own !! ;-)

#sbbc Day 29 Earliest makeup memory

"When you put on your makeup you feel better in yourself"

My earliest makeup related memory is hearing my mother say the above quote quite often. She was a big believer in putting on your makeup before going out to face the world. So often I heard her talk about how putting your makeup on makes you feel more confident, more secure, that it just makes you feel better. I think hearing this as a child must have had some kind of impact on me since I never leave the house without my makeup on.

I also have to say that I agree with her when she says that putting makeup on makes you feel better. I feel so much better and more confident with my makeup on. It's not only a confidence booster,it's a mood booster. If I'm having a bad time, putting on my makeup does make me feel better, I feel far more ready to face the world.

Does anyone else feel like this?

#sbbc Day 28 What was I thinking/ Where do you see yourself in 5/10/15 years

I like the suggested topics for today's #sbbc challenge so I've decided to talk a little about both.

Firstly, when I look back there are so many memories I have of things I've worn that make me say "what was I thinking?!". However, luckily there isn't much photographic evidence of this since I was fortunate enough to be a teenager and make all my terrible fashion and beauty choices before Facebook/Twitter/Instagram came along. Seriously, it must be so much harder to be a teenager now with social media broadcasting everything you do,say, and wear. Anyway, I made many terrible choices,as I'm sure we all did. I remember being obsessed with a pair of bright blue flared trousers that I wore far too often. I also wore wide legged jeans that were beyond wide,seriously, each jean leg was wide enough that I could have easily made about 3 pairs of regular jeans from all the material. Beauty mistakes include wearing far too much eyeliner (panda eyes much), wearing powder that made me look deathly pale, ands experimenting with a variety of different eyeshadows which may have looked ok if applied properly but, alas, I simply swiped them across my eyelids and thought they were fabulous!

Enough about my past mistakes,now to look forward. Where do I see myself in 5/10/15 years? Honestly, I don't know. I often wonder if everyone else has a clear path of exactly what they want to achieve and who they want to be and I'm the only one who hasn't got it figured it out yet. I'm 29 years old an I'm still figuring out what I want to be when I grow up, but, really , I think that's ok. I feel I've grown and changed so much in the last 10 years that surely I can't predict who I'll be in 10 years from now. I think that we constantly evolve and change, our experiences change us, the people we meet change us,they become a part of our present and our future. For me not knowing exactly what the future holds is part of the fun.

When I think of my future self the only thing that comes to mind for me is that I want to be happy. If I'm happy then surely all the other things have sorted themselves out and at the end of the day surely being happy and content is all that matters.

#sbbc Day 27 A song you love

This post will be pretty short as I'll just let you watch the video below. My current favourite song..Two Stones by Walking on Cars.
After weeks of hearing this song on the radio as I drove to/from work I eventually found out that it was by Dingle band Walking on Cars. They are playing at the INEC in Killarney on October 18th, I had hoped to go but it sold out before my friend and I got a chance to get tickets. Hopefully I'll catch them at their next gig in my area. Their future gigs can be found on their website. If you happen to see them in the future or have been to one of their past gigs let me know how it was! For now, enjoy the song....

#sbbc Day 26 A happy memory

I love this photo. It's me and my mom at some point in the late 80's / early 90's, I'm guessing I was around 7 or 8 (not sure really,I'm bad at guessing ages,even when it's myself) when this photo was taken.

I love this picture not only cos it reminds me of the fun times during my childhood but because I absolutely loved that dress.  The picture on the front if it would change slightly in the light when you moved,something I thought was just ah-mazing. I remember feeling so comfy and pretty in this dress. When I was younger I was not a girly girl and no matter how hard my mother would try I refused to wear most dresses, except this one.

It was a sad day when this dress was taken and put in to the "give away to a younger relative" category, thought to be fair by the time I parted with it I really had outgrown it, literally, it was ever so short on me at that stage. At least I have this picture to remind me of it.

I also loved my little pink bike, I used to race around the place on that thing!

#sbbc Day 25 Shopping habits.

I'm definitely an instore shopper,. I very rarely purchase clothes or makeup online. I like to go in to a store, browse around, see what catches my eye and, most importantly, I like to try things on. Items can look so much different when you try them on as a opposed to how they look on a hanger or on a model. This is really one of the main reasons I don't shop online. I like to get a feel of the product, feel the material and how it fits. Every body shape is different and the same item can look totally different on different people. I'm hesitant to part with my money and pay for shipping if I'm only going to have to send it back again,for me that's simply a hassle.

Similarly, I don't order makeup online as I prefer to see exactly what it looks like, I feel this is the only way I can truly decide if a shade is right for me. The only time I would be comfortable ordering makeup online is if I was purchasing a product I had already used.

I really would love to hear other people's thoughts and experiences. Are you an online shopper? Do you find it easier? Do the products live up to how they appear online?

#sbbc Day 24 my favourite brand

One of my favourite brands in definitely Rimmel. I'm a huge fan!

these are just some of their products that I use regularly

I use the 25hr foundation constantly. Now I have been saying I'm looking for a new foundation (just exploring other options) but that search continues as I've still to find one that suits me.  As I've mentioned before,I have very sensitive skin and Rimmel foundations don't irritate it at all.....Winning!
Anyway, back to my love of Rimmel. Along with the foundation I also usually use their bronzer and eyeshadows daily.
I love the quatro eyeshadows as they give me the colours I need to do a few different looks all in the one place. This is so handy when I'm traveling. Their bronzers are also great as I've found that the colours suit my pale skin and don't  make my face loon dirty,a problem I've had with other brands.
Another favourite in the Rimmel collection is the Kate Moss lipsticks. I've had real trouble in the past with finding a red lipstick that suited me, after trying numerous different brands the only one that worked for me was Kate's no #01 lipstick.
And one of the best things about Rimmel for me..the price. Now I like to think I'm not cheap but,at the same time, I ain't made of money and I find Rimmel prices very reasonable. A lot of their products are under €10 and almost all are under €15.

I have to also mention the Rimmel website.The website obviously shows all the products available but  it also has a "try it on" feature. I love this. You can either choose a models or upload a picture of yourself, then you can try the product on! Now, obviously, this isn't going to be a substitute for actually physically trying something on but I do think it helps when choosing colours, for example  an eyeshadow, and seeing if they will suit you.

I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on Rimmel and their products. Anyone else a fan like me?

Hot Topic - Emmy's Red Carpet! #sbbc Day 23

For me today's hot topic has to be the Emmy Awards red carpet! I love, love love red carpet season. All those beautiful gowns, the shoes, the jewellery, what's not to love.

Overall though I have to say that last nights red carpet was not the most exciting one I've ever seen but, hey, it's the first one of the season, onwards and upwards!

Here's some of my favourites from last night

Possibly my favourite of all.. Allison Williams in Ralph Lauren... simple,classic,perfection

Claire Danes in Armani Prive...very old Hollywood

Kaley Cuoco in Vera Wang...love the colour

Kerry Washington in Marchesa .. does she ever dress badly?

Sophia Vergara in Vera Wang....va va voom!

Taylor Schilling in Takhoon.... clean,crisp, beautiful.

And my least favourite of the night..

Lena Dunham in Prada....she looks lost in this dress,it's unflattering and what is going on with the eye makeup?

Does anyone have any other dresses from last nights Emmy's red carpet that they loved/hated?

#sbbc Day 22 A quote you love

This is a great topic for me as I love quotes. I find them to be motivating, comforting, inspiring, so many things! I'm going to share some of my favourite quotes, they help me so hopefully someone else might find them helpful as well.

#sbbc Day 21 Advice

Hhmm, blogging advice. I may not be a great person to give out blogging advice, I don't have a blog that everyone knows about or that has hundreds or thousands of followers, then again, maybe that makes me a good person to give out advice because when you blog you should be doing it for you.

Blog because it's something you enjoy. Of course you will want other people to read and comment on your posts, but don't get too hung up on it. If you blog purely because you want everyone to know your blog,to get free products sent to you,etc. then you're just setting yourself up for failure. In my opinion, the best blogs and the ones I choose to read most regularly are the blogs where you can tell that the person writing has a genuine interest and enthusiasm for their chosen blogging topic, whatever it may be. A blog written purely as a business venture is not something I would want to read.

Another piece of blogging advice I would give,which I guess ties in to what I've just said, would be to get involved in the blogging community yourself. If you're overly concerned with follower numbers,comments or post stats, then you're going to miss out on the fun parts. The Twitter chats and banter,join in and have fun. Read other people's blogs and comment on them without the hope or expectation of people following or commenting back. Be part of the community purely because it's a fun place to be.
Basically, don't ruin your own blogging experience.

#sbbc Day 20 In my handbag

I'm guessing most women have pretty similar stuff in their handbags. I change around bags pretty regularly so I'll just mention the essentials that I nearly always have on me.

* Purse. Gotta have my money and cards obviously.

*Lip gloss. I love this Gosh lip gloss, it's a lovely plummy colour.

*Vaseline. I usually have the little pink/strawberry Vaseline pot but unfortunately yesterday it fell out of my bag and under the car parked next to me! Could not reach it so I just had to leave it there, how sad. So now I'm back to using the Aloe Vera tub, until I replace the pink one.

*Pen. You should always have a pen with you! I'm not entirely certain why but it's something that I've always heard so I always try to carry a pen with me.

*Plaster. As above....you should always carry some plasters with you!

*Hair bobble. Possibly the most necessary item of all. Needing a hair bobble and not having one is one of life's biggest annoyances, for me anyway! 

*Breath refresher spray. Just something I find handy to have in my bag. Not really logical to carry a toothbrush and toothpaste around now is it.

*Watch. I hate not knowing the time so I always throw a watch into my bag. For some reason when I used to just keep it on my dresser I always forgot to bring it with me so I always make sure I pop it in my bag when I take it off.

**obviously I always have my phone too, this isn't photographed as I used it to take the picture. Photos come out better on this new phone than they do using my camera.

So,what does everyone else carry around with them ?

#sbbc Day 19 Storage

A few weeks ago I decided to change my bedroom, paint it, move furniture, everything. So the room had to be emptied and my great plan was to take a day and put everything back beautifully and organise my lovely new room....what a lovely dream that was. Didn't happen. Weeks later all my stuff is still filtering in to my room bit by bit. That means that my makeup storage are at the moment is non existent, my makeup in scattered across various bags. The makeup I use daily is all in one bag, and the rest is in a variety of bags and boxes. Since no one wants to see that, I've decided to instead show some pictures of storage areas/closets that I covet......

Day 18- Desert Island Items

Today's topic is the 10 items you would have if you were stranded on a desert island. I've decided to think if this quite literally, what beauty items would I need on a glorious hot desert island. To be honest , the thought of being stranded on an island, with a white sandy beach, sounds pretty appealing, with the right supplies of course.

1. Moisturiser. If I'm on a desert island I figure my skin could get a bit dry so moisturiser would be a must (I'm going to just assume there's an endless supply if sunscreen on this desert island). My favourite moisturisers are Palmers cocoa butter formula(for body) and Benefit total moisturiser (for face). Both make my skin feel great, soak in quickly and are not at all greasy. 'Nuff said

2. Foundation. Granted I'm on a desert island but that's no excuse to look bad, what if a hottie happens to get shipwrecked onto my island? Girls gotta look her best. I'm currently on the search for a new foundation but for now I'll take my old faithful Rimmel 25hr foundation. I've worn it in hot climates before and found it lasts well

.
3. Eyeshadow. I love eyeshadow and eye makeup in general ( preparing you for items 4 and 5). I would probably have to have a Rimmel quatro  eyeshadow with brown and golds so I could do some natural looking makeup and a darker smokey eye if I wanted. Hey , I'm on a desert island I'll probably need around and do a million different eye looks, gotta keep occupied.

4. Mascara. Always necessary. I can think of very few situations in life where I would willingly have naked eyelashes. One of my favourites is Dior Show mascara.

5. Eyeliner. Ok,so maybe it's not completely necessary but I think I would need eyeliner on a desert island. A night time eye look requires eyeliner! On this island night will fall,it's unavoidable, so therefore I need my nighttime eye look. Also, what if the hottie from no#2 is there, eyeliner automatically adds sexiness to a look...... Care to share a coconut Mr island hottie??

6. Bronzer. I'll need a bronzer, my skin is not going to look bronzed and beautiful no matter how long I'm on this desert island. My delightfully Irish skin simply does not tan. Ever. A favourite of mine is Boots No 7 Glow bronzer.

7. Lip gloss. Again I'll stick with my trusty favorite. Gosh no#64 (wish they used names rather than numbers). I discovered this lip gloss a year or so ago when I was looking for something that made a bit of an impact without being too scary to wear. I tried this one and loved it so much I bought 2 more tubes of it when I saw it on sale. It never lets me down, I simply love it.

8.Makeup remover. (unfortunately missing from the picture as I realised I'm all out of my favourite cleansing lotion!Trip to Boots tomorrow!) Ok so at times I will want to have a makeup free face, for this I'll stick with my Boots Cucumber Cleansing Lotion. It's simple does the job,doesn't irritate my sensitive skin. Happy days.

9. Vaseline lip balm. Surely nearly everyone has owned this lip balm at some point. It's a classic, I've used it for years and still find it great.

10. Lastly, the least glamorous but possibly most necessary...deodorant. I find Garnier Mineral Invisible 48hrs to be very good and long lasting.

So, I have to know what would everyone else take with them on their desert island?

Also,just in case anyone's curious, my imaginary desert island hottie would probably look something like this...

#sbbc day 17 Photo of your day

The best part of the day. Work day done, showered, pjs on....and relax...

#sbbc day 16 -Wishlist

Monday again? Really? Luckily today's #sbbc topic is one that can help us escape the horrible reality that is Monday ( Go sit in the corner Monday, nobody likes you!)
One of today's suggested topics is "Wishlist- makeup,skincare,fashion"

I always have a wishlist as long as my arm...makeup,clothes, shoes, bags, jewellery...I want, I want, I want. However,I'll just mention a few today and hope that my fellow bloggers can help me by suggesting some products (which will, of course, have to wait til post-payday to be purchased)

1. Foundation. I've mentioned it before but I think I need a new foundation, I currently use Rimmel 25hr foundation. I've used it for the past few years and always found it great but recently I've been thinking I need a new one. Which leads me on to no#2 on the wishlist...

2.Moisturiser. I'm thinking that part of the reason  that I'm not happy with my usual foundation is that my skin has seemed dull lately. I admit I am terribly for moisturising regularly, really it's more of a rarity for me to do it but, I'm not getting any younger and I think my skin is telling me that moisturiser needs to become part of my daily routine. So, any suggestions for one that could give my skin a bit of life? Ideally,since the plan is for it to be used everyday, not a super expensive one.

3. Boots. Since Autumn/Winter is upon is boots are back (yay!). To be honest I think my brown boots from last year will last me pretty well again this year, so my search is for a nice flat black pair of boots. The search is on!

These are the top 3 of my current wishlist. Can anyone help me make some of these wishes a reality? All suggestions welcome.