The 31 Day Snap #31

Ah, at last. To be honest, when I started all this malarkey I mostly thought it'd be a bit of craic and a way of using all the random photos that I take on a daily basis, which it was but it was also a bit of a challenge! I had hoped I'd improve my photography skills along the way but mostly I just used my iphone so I guess I failed on that one. I am really pleased with the photos I did take though, so here's today's 31 day snap, which is (conveniently for me) an amalgamation of the previous 30. 

Thanks to everyone who stopped by and read each post!

The 31 Day Snap #30

Behold, my very cool new 50's style Robot print from Clumsy Pickle. I actually originally saw this little guy on Gail's blog, GailyGumDrops and had to get one for myself, especially considering the bargainous price!

What I particularly love about this is that he's hand drawn onto a vintage book page, and god knows I love an auld vintage book. I also love robots, so it all works out pretty well. He's now framed and lives in my hallway so everyone who walks into the house can see him. 

Worst Online Shopping Experience..Ever!

Unusually for me, this is a negative post about a disappointing shopping experience that I recently had. I normally don't like writing posts like these, preferring to keep things on the lighter side of life but I thought it was important to warn everyone about buying from this particular company.
I placed an order online with Space NK for the Nars 'And God Created the Woman' palette (sold out everywhere, hence why I was delighted when I found it there) on May the 13th. About a week later it arrived but to my dismay I found it was missing part of the set- the smudge-proof eye shadow base. I immediately emailed the customer services department who rang me the following day to explain that I would have to send the entire product back to them so they could replace the missing item and then send it back to me. Really?, I asked, surely that's inconvenient for everyone involved. No, this was company policy apparently. I explained it would be very difficult for me to get to the post office and that the palette was bought as a birthday present -by the time it was sent back to me said birthday would be long passed, but no. My pleas were basically ignored- ignored politely, I may add, but ignored nonetheless. Off I trudged to the post office. I then got an email to say that they had received my item and were sending it back to me with the missing brush...even though it was the primer that had originally been missing. They said they would then have to fix that too.

photo source

Annoyingly, to reimburse me for the cost of postage I then had to ring their customer services yet again,  as they can't automatically give refunds- anything to make this more inconvenient for me basically. Also the address they sent the item back to was my parcel motel address which meant I would have been charged again for that delivery charge. To avoid this, I put it in writing and emailed this issue to the customer services department three times and first, got a confused response where they just kept repeating themselves but not recognising the problem and after that, I got no response at all. I then rang them to be told that it is not their policy to reimburse people who use parcel minding services. That may be the policy normally but as this was originally their mistake, I refused to be inconvenienced any further. Eventually, as a measure of "goodwill" they reimbursed the parcel motel fee. Which to be honest, is the very least they could have done.
They sent me a confirmation email that my product had been sent back to me at the address it had originally been sent to (parcel motel address) and all was well. Except that almost two and a half weeks later I still hadn't received the replacement parcel. So again I had to ring Space NK to confirm that it was in fact sent, only to be told that there had been no one available to sign for it upon delivery so it was then sent to the local post office depot. Here's where I get confused because the whole purpose of Parcel motel is that there is always someone there to sign for parcels. Just to verify this I emailed the head of customer services in parcel motel who confirmed what I suspected- they must have sent it to the wrong place as there's ALWAYS someone there to sign for deliveries- that is part of the standard service they offer. I explained this to the customer services in Space NK who could offer no explanation for this or why I wasn't informed of it until I rang and asked myself. Then she told me that I would have to either a) drive to Armagh to collect the parcel by the end of that day or b) have it sent back to Space NK so they could resend it to me again. To quote the mighty Clueless, 'As If'.
Why would I possibly want to expose myself to any more of this shambles than I have already? Obviously I told them to just refund me for the item so I wouldn't have to deal with their incompetence and frustrating service any longer. The worst part about all of this is no matter how many times I explained how unsatisfied I was with their idea of what the solution to the problem was, they steadfastly talked over me with cheerful voices and completely ignored the fact that I, as a customer was just not happy.
I understand that mistakes happen but surely when there is an issue like this where clearly the company is at fault, everything possible should be done to further minimise the inconvenience caused to the customer. How a company deals with these sorts of situations says a lot about them- had they accepted their fault in this matter and tried to resolve it in a way that was satisfactory to me, the paying customer, then I honestly would not be writing this now. I've dealt with similar situations in the past but the main difference was how the company/brand/restaurant or whoever it was responded afterwards. I feel so let down by Space NK, not only did they ruin the present I bought for someone, leaving me to buy something in its place and therefore out of pocket but they failed to listen to me as a disappointed customer. I felt like no matter what I said there would be no compromise (except of course regarding the parcel motel fee) and to not even acknowledge that I was disgruntled and offer an apology that they couldn't help any further was just disgraceful. I only just this past month had to contact them yet again as another two weeks had passed since my last contact with them and I still hadn't received my refund or any communication from the company. They apologised that they had not contacted me and then issued the refund but it really was to little too late at that stage.
So basically the moral of this long winded story is that I will not be shopping with Space NK online ever again. They clearly cannot guarantee the sort of decent service you would expect from a reputable brand selling high end products and to be honest there are plenty of better alternatives out there with superior service that I would much rather give my custom to.
Has anyone else had any disappointing online shopping experiences similar to this? If you have, please let me know in the comments, so we all know who to avoid!

31 Day Snap #29

These little beauties are my brand new pride and joy, from M&S. I love me a pointy toed flat, a bit of monochrome, a stripe and a big bow so these pretty much have my name written all over them.

Hopefully the sun will pop back out so I can actually wear these instead of destroying them in the thunder storms.

31 Day Snap #28

It stayed sunny for a whole hour today that I was out walking for so I took the opportunity to take a snap of the "Pepper Canister" while out and about. 

Also known as St Stephen's Church, but I prefer the aforementioned title as it's just that little bit cuter..

31 Day Snap #26 & 27

I didn't manage to post a photo yesterday so I'm going to cheat and put up two from last night today instead. The first is of my French coffee being made in the lovely restaurant Chapter One in Dublin. Apparently it's the only place in the world that makes Irish and French coffees in this manner- over a flame, caramelising sugar and mace in a pan, adding coffee, then brandy, into the glass with cream on top and a shaving of nutmeg. Dear God, the smell was just amazing. Even himself was mesmerised and he doesn't even drink coffee.

The second photo is naturally of me enjoying said coffee. 

Pretty much just inhaling it there.

31 Day Snap #25

Today's 31 Day Snap is the Dermot Morgan Chair in Merrion Square Park. If you're a Father Ted fan then you'll appreciate this too :)

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Home-made Granola

This recipe is courtesy of my sister but you could pretty much put whatever you like into it to make it your own- different nuts and spices, raisins or seeds as preferred. What I like about this is that it doesn't have that extremely sugary taste you get from a lot of supermarket granolas (that leave you feeling like your teeth are about to fall out) but it still has a good crunch and sweetness to it, thanks to the honey. I made this the other day and it was super easy- pretty much foolproof I would say!

You will need..

...Lots of good stuff!

• 200g Jumbo Rolled Oats
• 50g Flaked Almonds (my local supermarket only had whole ones so I used them instead but you could also use chopped almonds).
• 50g Pumpkin Seeds
• 50g Sunflower Seeds
• 1 Tsp Ground Ginger
• A Pinch of Salt
• 50g Butter
• 5-6 Tbsp Honey
• Zest of one large Orange

Method:

1. Heat oven to 180 Degrees C, Gas Mark 4.
2. In a large bowl, mix the oats, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, ground ginger and salt.
3. Melt the butter and honey together, add the orange zest and pour over the dry mixture, stirring well. 
4. Spread on a wide baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown, giving it a stir every 5 minutes to ensure it colours evenly.
5. Allow to cool and crisp up, then stir in 100g dried cranberries.
6. Store in airtight container. Serves 4-5. I eat mine with Greek yoghurt but it's also lovely with low fat natural yoghurt and fresh berries.
7. Bask in the glory of having created something healthy for a change, contemplate buying dungarees & wellies and living off of the "produce of the land" 'til you remember that you live in an inner city apartment and can't raise chickens or keep bees. Boo.

Enjoy!

XX

31 Day Snap #24

Ah, the Liffey. If we all close our eyes we can pretend the sun is still shining and that it still looks like this...right?!

Read more about the 31 Day Snap HERE.

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John Frieda Luxurious Volume Range

We all have hair issues, unless you're Kate Middleton obviously. Thin, flat hair has always been my own personal problem and I'm pretty much continuously on the look out for that ideal product that will pump up the volume a bit. I've tried plenty of things but have been less than satisfied with them all, until that is I was sent the John Frieda Luxurious Volume Shampoo, Conditioner and Blow-Out Spray to try out.

In the past I've used the John Frieda Blonde range and always liked that so I had high hopes for these and was not disappointed.

First up, the Touchably Full Shampoo, for fine hair, claiming to "cleanse without stripping for a natural look and feel". I've been using a colour protect shampoo for my first rinse (as I recently dyed my hair red), then for my second rinse I use this for that all important added volume and I find that because of how gentle the Luxurious Volume shampoo is, my colour has not been affected, which is always a worry when using hair products that are not specifically designed for colour treated hair.

I then use the Touchably Full conditioner which "detangles while conditioning for a natural look and feel". I like that the conditioner doesn't weigh my hair down- this is a HUGE gripe for me with most volume-enhancing hair products, you often get the added body but at the expensive of having too much product on fine, thin hair which can often convert to limp strands within a couple of hours post drying. Thankfully, I haven't found that with this and if anything, it's held up surprisingly well during our heatwave recently, which is possibly the best test of all!

Lastly, I use the Fine to Full Blow-Out Spray which "creates natural fullness for the look and feel of more hair". What I like about this, is again the lightness of the product- it's intended use is to spray it from root to tip, in spite of this there's no greasiness and the hair doesn't feel loaded down with product. Generally, any volumising products for "towel dried" hair that I've used have only focused on the roots- mousse etc so it's refreshing to find something that takes care of ALL of your hair, as lets face it, I want that super bouncy Kate Middleton look all over, not just at my roots!

I should also mention how amazing these smell- fresh yet pretty, kind of an apple-y scent. Lovely.

The Luxurious Volume range is available now from Dunnes Stores, Superquinn, Super Value and selected pharmacies nationwide. The shampoo, conditioner and spray are all a very reasonable 6.31 euro each so if you're looking for a full set of hair care products for limp locks that actually work but you're on a budget, I would definitely recommend these.

Has anyone else tried the Luxurious Volume Range? If not, what's your own personal hair gripe?! (Share with me, we'll all feel better for it ;)

XX

31 Day Snap #23

Today's 31 Day Snap is this rather amazing raspberry cheesecake..

Delicious but clearly not nutritious..

31 Day Snap #21 and eh, #22

So I didn't manage to get a photo up yesterday due to the fact that I was super busy so I'm putting two up today instead. 

Anyways, here's some more glorious good weather shots to make up for it:

Read more about the 31 Day Snap HERE.

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BookTube-A-Thon 2013: The Results!

I started the Booktube-a-Thon 2013 last Monday (read about it HERE) after reading about it on Breige's blog, Rare Opal (check out her post on how she got on with the challenge HERE). Being the little bookworm that I am, I was delighted to give it a go even though I knew it'd be quite the challenge, given how busy I was all last week. I didn't hit all of the targets but I didn't think that I would given the limited time that I had and I'm happy with what I did achieve:

• Read on average 300 pages a day. I guess it would've been handy if I'd actually kept count of how much I had read each day but between measuring what I was reading in percentages (kindle and iPhone) and in time (audiobooks), that was just a bit impossible. Overall I read 1,406 pages all week.
• Read a book with over 500 pages. Didn't happen and I knew it wouldn't as I made no attempt to even start a book with 500 pages. 
• Finish a Series. Success! I read the last two Sookie Stackhouse books, Deadlocked and Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris.
• Read a Classic. I read The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde. 
• Reread a book. Again, not meant to be. To be honest, at the moment I have so many books in my to-read pile that I felt it would be a waste to not use this opportunity to read something new.
• Listen to an Audiobook. I listened to both The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.
• Read a book that's been on your shelf the longest. I can definitely put Dorian Gray in this one and while not technically on my "shelf", I put Fahrenheit 451 into this category too as it's been on my to-read list for an absolute age and I can now also tick both of them off of my Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge, which your can read about HERE.

I'll do a full review on these with the rest of my July reads in a couple of weeks time. In the meantime, let me know in the comments what you're reading at the moment and if you have any recommendations, I'd love to hear them!

Rediscovering Old Favourites Part 1: Origins A Perfect World

Following a thorough Spring clean and the purchase of an Ikea Helmer unit to house my growing collection of beauty products, I found myself exclaiming "Oh yeah! I forgot about this!" several times, hence the idea for this series of posts where I basically start being a bit more thrifty and use up what I already have, which as luck would have it, are some really good products. 

What can I say, I have great taste.

First up is this daily age-defence moisturiser from Origins, containing white tea and SPF 25.

As you can see, there isn't a huge amount gone from this but when I first got it my skin was VERY dry and this wasn't really cutting it, so I put it aside for something a bit heavier. Now my skin has improved from using the Kiehls Midnight Recovery Concentrate and I also need a lighter formula in this heat, so this is working out perfectly. Plus I love that it has an SPF of 25. Like pretty much all Origins stuff this has a uniquely citrus type of smell- kind of like vaguely-medicinal-oranges...does that even make sense? Who knows. Maybe I have heat stroke. 

Regardless, this is a nice lightweight moisturiser that sinks in quickly and sits well under make up. If you're looking for something for dry skin or for an all year-round moisturiser though I would probably avoid this. For me, for the time being, this is perfect.

Anyone else an Origins fan?

XX

31 Day Snap #20

Today's 31 Day Snap is of the beautiful stained glass windows in the library of the King's Inns, where I had the pleasure of visiting this week:

Lovely.

31 Day Snap #19

Today's 31 Day Snap was actually pointed out to me by the lovely Audrey of The Nail Affair and it's a good one!

It's the lift doors in The Morgan Hotel, Dublin where a group of us met for a beauty bloggers gathering and had a fantastic evening.

Cheeky! 

(Had to be done, apologies)

XX

31 Day Snap #18

Before we all pass out from the heat, why not soothe ourselves (mentally, if nothing else with this 31 Day Snap of my all time favourite Summer drink, Elderflower Presse, which I had today.

My primary reason for loving this is that one of the hotels we stayed in on Honeymoon stocked this in the fridge, the weather was as warm as this at the time and this was just so refreshing and the perfect antidote to the heat! Now I always associate it with that..happy memories :)

Inglot launch New Colour Play Collection

Last night I was delighted to attend a sneak preview of Inglot's new Colour Play Collection, launching nationwide today. 

The new range includes six new colour play eyeliners, five new rainbow shadows and five new pro brushes (exclusive to the Dundrum and Blanchardstown stores). 

We were treated to a tutorial using the new products so I got to see first hand just how pigmented the shadows and eyeliners are- these babies are definitely not for the faint of heart! 

Peach/pink shades on the lid with a shock of green shadow on the lower lash line and a purple colour play lip to finish.

Products used to create the look

Years ago I used to wear a lot of colour on my eyes but recently have become quite boring- neutrals all the way but this has definitely encouraged me to make things a bit more interesting. I picked up some new shades myself in store and although they were mostly neutrals, I have my eye on that peachy/pink rainbow shadow above (no.132) in particular and I'm also drawn to the greens and blues! So pretty!

If you're near an Inglot store today, there's 10% off of the new range but for today only so get your skates on!

XX

31 Day Snap #17

Ah, would you look. Two ducks having a mini siesta in the crazy hot sun.

So cute.

Read more about the 31 Day Snap HERE.

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31 Day Snap #16

Today's 31 Day Snap is of the Famine Memorial on Custom House Quay on the docks. 

Obviously not the cheeriest of sculptures but there's a real poignant beauty to these and it's the perfect commemoration and location for them, I always think.

Liebster Blog Award Update

The lovely Yvonne from One For The Wishlist (check out her blog, it's super pretty and she's very cool) has just done the Liebster blog award post (read hers HERE) and I was absolutely thrilled to see she has nominated me too. I only recently wrote one myself, which you can read HERE, including the guidelines for how to do the post yourself but because Yvonne wrote some excellent questions, I decided to answer those and do a little update myself! 

So here we go:

1. What made you start blogging in the first place?

I had to go on sick leave from work and so went from working full time, 13 hour shifts to being at home wrapped up in a quilt feeling generally miserable and at a bit of a loss. I had at that stage really enjoyed reading a lot of Irish blogs so said I may as well give it a go myself, and you know it's been a really great experience- I've met some truly lovely people, kept myself entertained and picked up some new skills on the way; photography, computer stuff (technical term) and of course, lots of beauty knowledge!

2. What beauty product do you purchase time and time again?

I tend not to stick to anything really, being a beauty blogger I get a mad urge to keep trying new things but I suppose one thing I have bought several times is the YSL Shocking mascara. I think it's one of the best ones around and is definitely worth the extra euros.

3. What was your childhood pets name?

I had goldfish when I was very small called Bubbles and Goldie. Very unimaginative, I know. I may at some point have had a goldfish called Jaws also. Which at least is slightly cooler. When I was in secondary school we got a kitten, called Mr Meowington. We had him for 9 years until he passed away and I still miss him terribly. Here he is:

He was a little ginger legend

4. What is your middle name?

Ann, after my Aunt.

5. What are you currently reading?

What am I not currently reading would probably be a better question! I'm listening to Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury on audio book, reading The Picture of Dorian Grey, Ulysses and Anna Karenina on my phone, the last Sookie Stackhouse book on my kindle and 40 Years of Feminism in actual ye olde book format. I'm actually doing a reading challenge, which you can read about HERE.

6. Favourite tv show?

This shouldn't come as too much of a surprise but I'm gonna go with Buffy. I wrote a whole ode to the show HERE. 

7. Favourite food?

Anything Italian and I'm there. Particularly pasta, it's a lifelong addiction. I also love cheese and of course, I have a wicked sweet tooth. Diabetes is calling me.

8. Nude or bright lip?

Bright lip, always. Red is my favourite but I also love pink and orange. I like dark shades too, nudes just don't really suit me that well but I do like peaches and pale pinks.

9. Favourite perfume?

I have several favourites- I've worn Chanel Chance and Victor & Rolf Flowerbomb for years. J'adore is also a favourite- that was my wedding perfume. My all time favourite is probably Dior Hypnotic Poison though, I've been wearing that since I started college (way back in the day) so a whiff of it brings back all sorts of memories and it really is just a beautiful perfume.

10. Red or white wine?

White. I love the smell of red but I generally wouldn't enjoy a whole glass, whereas white..well I could just keep going really.

11. Favourite item of clothing/footwear?

Ooh, that's tough. I have a pretty amazing hyper-floral print, cowl neck Ted Baker dress that I really love. It's short but somehow always looks really classy. It can be worn during the day with thick black tights and boots or at night with heels and pearls- it's kind of the perfect dress really. Shoes wise, I'd probably pick my wedding shoes- turquoise open toe with cream polka dots and gold brocade bows on the front. Possibly the prettiest footwear ever.

I'm not going to tag anyone because I did in my original post but if you want to do it yourself then please do, and remember to check out my first post so you know how to do it yourself!

XX

31 Day Snap #15

I know this looks completely staged but the other night as I was lashing on my Body Shop Coconut Body Butter I looked down and saw I had hit pan (can you even say that about a body butter?) and noticed this rather lovely and unexpected heart shape had appeared:

I couldn't have managed that if I had actually tried. Maybe the body butter is trying to tell me something..

Read more about the 31 Day Snap HERE.

Hempz Herbal Body Moisturizer

Himself recently came home with this bottle of Hempz body moisturiser in tow- given to him by someone in work after he mentioned his very dry hands. In fairness to him, his hands do get very dry and cracked and although mine aren't as bad, we're pretty much constantly slathering on different creams in the hopes of finding the one.

Step forward Hempz! This is technically for all over the body but I have my Body Shop Coconut Body Butter on the go at the moment so have been using this just for hands. The bottle contains 500mls so is one of those "it'll last you forever" products and has a very handy pump so you don't have to wrestle with lids afterwards when your hands are all slippy. I know, first world problems, wha'?

So the deal with this is:

• It contains 100% pure natural hemp seed oil (one of the Earth's most sustainable and renewable resources, apparently) blended with natural extracts such as Shea butter and Ginseng to help calm, soothe and condition the skin.
• It also contains Vitamins A, C and E to help protect the skin from natural and environmentally triggered oxidants.
• It provides 12-hour moisturising.
• Paraben-free, gluten-free, THC-drug free and 100% vegan so it's ideal for sensitive skin.
• Interestingly, it's scented with strawberry and banana so it has a pretty strong fruity/floral scent that at times reminds me of a mixture of those banana shaped penny sweets and strawberry flavoured bubblegum. Although it sounds odd, it's surprisingly pleasant.
• If you're looking for the brand in Ireland, it's available in certain beauty salons and also on eBay, amazon and perfumeireland.com.

This really is a lovely product and I will definitely be hunting down a new bottle when we eventually run out so it gets four very soft thumbs up from the Fancy Pants household!

Anyone else tried anything from Hempz? Any other products I should be looking at from them?

XX

Book-Tube-A-Thon 2013

Just the other day I found out about this reading challenge on the lovely Breige's blog Rare Opal and have decided to give it a go myself. This is a readathon organised by Youtube book reviewers Ariel Bissett and Raeleen Lemay and runs from July 15th to July 21st with the primary goal being to read as much as you can and try and include as many of the set challenges as possible. 

These are:

• Read on average 300 pages a day
• Read a book with over 500 pages
• Finish a series
• Read a classic
• Reread a book
• listen to an audio book (counts towards your 300 pages a day)
• Read a book that's been on your shelf the longest.

I'm really excited to give his a go, although I'm not the fastest reader ever. Having said that, life would be boring if we didn't challenge ourselves! I'll do a blog post next week to let you know how I get on, hopefully I won't do too badly!

XX

The 31 Day Snap #14

Today's 31 Day Snap is of one of my favourite graffiti spots in Dublin- this one on Crown Alley in Temple Bar. I assume this is a Maser piece because it looks like his stuff but I could be wrong as I can't see a signature on it. 

Regardless of who did it, I love it. I think it represents the vibrancy and mix of styles you find in temple bar perfectly. It is looking slightly the worse for wear compared to when it was originally painted but I still think it looks pretty great.

XX

The 31 Day Snap #13

Today's 31 Day Snap is of possibly the most welcome sight ever when experiencing a heat wave..

That'll do nicely.

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Female Action Heroes Part 2

Part 1 looked at Alice from Resident Evil, Ripley from Alien, The Bride from Kill Bill, Trinity from the Matrix and Sarah Connor from Terminator. Now for the rest of my top ten female action heroes!

Hit girl from Kick Ass is a young but seriously skillful vigilante with an impressive ability to use any weapon and hand-to-hand combat to beat her opponents. She's notably brutal and remorseless when fighting and is easily the strongest and most powerful character in the comic series/film. She's a joy to watch.

I love the Hunger games trilogy so was really hoping they'd do a daycent version of the first film, which thankfully they did. Jennifer Lawrence is pretty amazing as Katniss, a teenager form the poorest district in Panem (the ruins of America), who volunteers as a tribute to replace her little sister in The Hunger Games- a battle to the death between 12 children. Being incredibly skilled at archery and hunting, she survives to the end and eventually becomes a symbol of the revolution for the twelve districts against the oppressive leadership of the Capitol. She's strong, brave and a fighter and I personally am glad that the young'uns have someone cooler than yer wan from Twilight to look up to when it comes to Young Adult literature. 

Ah, Scarlett. It feels like a bit of a cop out putting Black Widow in, cause lets face it, one of her most prominent features is how hot she is but equally she's a skilled warrior and the fact that she has no superpowers but still kicks ass AND wins is incredibly cool. She's an expert martial artist, marksman, weapons specialist and has extensive spy training. She also seems smarter than most of the male characters (except for Tony Stark and Bruce Banner, I think they're all on a par, really) and is one of the most capable and uncompromising female characters that's been in anything in a long time. 

Having read the books and found them disturbing, I was reluctant to watch the first film in the Millenium trilogy but I gave in as I really liked the character of Lisbeth Salander, a skilled computer hacker with an eidetic memory and the ability to change her identity at the drop of a hat, in order to get up to all sorts of mischief. Having had a terrible childhood, she's antisocial at best and potentially has Aspergers. She's not your classic hero, more of an antihero really, which is what I like about her. The part in the first book and film, Girl With The Dragon Tattoo where she takes her incredibly graphic revenge on her attacker is, although obviously unpleasant viewing, also a real moment of victory for such an abused and downtrodden character. She rocks.

Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones. I recently had to stop watching Game of Thrones because of the amount of really disturbing sexual and general violence in it but I tune in pretty much only for the scenes with Daenerys in it, who considers herself the rightful queen of the seven kingdoms and is all set to claim the Iron Throne as her own. She's super clever and commands an army of warriors through her strength and by being a really good leader. I generally want to punch the air whenever she's on screen cause her scenes are just extremely cool and also, you know, DRAGONS. 

I could easily have included Scully from the X Files, or Clarice Starling from The Silence of the Lambs in here too but if I did we'd be here forever.

Let me know in the comments if I've left anyone really important out of the list!

XX

The 31 Day Snap #12

Today's 31 Day Snap is of the canal (one of my previously discussed favourite walking spots) in the glorious sunshine! Long may it last! 

Beautiful.

XX

17 Mirror Shine Lipstick: Belle

Like myself, I'm sure no one else can be bothered with the application and maintenance of make-up in this heat, but being the little beauty addict that I am, I can't help but apply a BB Cream (with SPF naturally), an Under Eye Concealer and a slick of something light and moisturising on the lips..step forward 17 Mirror Shine Lipstick in the shade Belle. 

This is one of those ones I kept seeing on different beauty blogs so when I had points to use up on my Boots card recently I said I'd pick this up with my (actual) essentials. 17 is one of the Boots own brand ranges, aimed at a younger market and I find that because of that a lot of what they make can often not be the greatest quality but are on-trend shades and are reasonably priced (these are only 6.89 euro).

I really like the packaging too- it's clearly no YSL but it does have this very handy pull-out mirror for on-the-go touch ups, which I appreciate. 

Belle is a subtle rose/pink, kind of like a 'my lips, only better' shade. It feels a bit like a tinted lip balm on, very moisturising but with a light-weight consistency, which is rather lovely.  It's scent free, except for a weird "lipstick smell" when you first apply it but that quickly wears off. 

I'm interested to try out another of the 16 other shades in the range, as this is just a very wearable but pretty lip product and it comes in a bright pink (Flirtini) and a pinky/nude (Belle) that both look very appealing to me indeed. 

Anyone else tried any of the Mirror Shine Lipsticks?

XX

The 31 Day Snap #11

Today's 31 Day Snap is this legendary Avoca banoffe pie from my mammy-in-law, enjoyed in the beautiful sunshine in the Powerscourt Estate gardens. 

Yes, you're right to drool.

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The 31 Day Snap #10

Today's (very late) 31 Day Snap is of the yummy cocktails consumed earlier with friends in the Vintage Cocktail Club in Temple Bar- coincidentally there was also an event on there at the same time so I bumped into some lovely blogging peeps! Hope ye enjoyed these yummy drinks too! 

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