John Frieda Frizz Ease Nourishing Oil Elixir | Review

My hair is naturally quite dry and breaks easily so I'm always on the lookout for a good oil that will help heal my poor damaged locks. I had been using THIS L'oreal oil but was never overly impressed with it and openly mourned the loss of my Kerastase, which was thicker and required less product than the L'Oreal, which was a spray. Added to my other hair woes, I've also noticed this annoying frizzy weird hair growing around my hairline, which my hairdresser said is my hair growing back after a lengthy stint of being unwell. While it's great that it's growing back, it is making me look a bit odd so I felt this would be a good option for me.

Note: I've been using this for about 6 weeks now and that's all I've used- you'll definitely get your moneys worth!

This is an oil elixir containing Argan oil which "nourishes and smoothes 2x the frizz fighting power and blocks the frizz for 50% smoother, healthier hair".

This smells gorgeous, like the Kerastase actually and is the just the right texture; not too heavy and not too light. Like Goldilocks but with hair oil. 

I use it in two main ways. On wet hair at the ends only to provide some extra moisture to any broken hair, which has been working really well. When I dry my hair off it doesn't feel weighed down by the oil, just shiny and healthy looking. I've also been using this as a hair treatment, although that isn't suggested on the bottle! If I'm in for the evening, I just massage it into dry hair and leave it for a few hours, I then wash it out and dry it off. It might not be effective for everyone but my hair is so dry that it really needs this extra care. 

This is only €13.99 for 100mls, which I think is an absolute bargain and is available now in Boots and selected pharmacies nationwide. 

Do you use a hair oil/serum? Have you tried this fella?

XX

*Sample, gratefully received. All opinions my own, as always.

Unfortunate Things That Happen As You Get Older

So the big 3-0 is fast approaching and I'm now taking stock of my rapidly disappearing youth and impending old age. I've mostly noticed the following things have started happening to me and others my own age (so let me know if any of these are you and we can commiserate together!):

Watching the news, Vincent Brown and *gasp* the Late Late Show. My husband recently looked at me incredulously when I said "best tape the Late Late this week, there's a good mix on". I know, I'm scarlet for me too.

Oh Ronan, I'll never stop laughing.

Reverting to things from your youth for comfort. I've been investing precious time in rewatching She-Ra cartoons and Friends reruns and listening to the likes of Ash, Placebo, Garbage et al. Pretending I'm young and carefree again basically.

Available here

Caring about politics; knowing which of the TD's are the most rotten of all and regularly being heard to say "shower of dirty, lazy b*stards, the lot of them. Sure Jesus, I could do a better job myself, wha'?" But never of course, making any effort whatsoever to get involved.

Ditto the Catholic Church.

Hating coffee, red wine and other strong flavours as a teen. Now you need them. You need them bad. They get you through the day. God damn coffee. 

image source

The hangovers are like some cruel endurance test, set by an evil overlord like President Snow..sh*t, this is THE HUNGER GAMES!!! The paranoia you face as part of the Fear is also much, much worse as you get older.

Being happier to stay in of an evening with a good book and a cup of tea, or a full TV series on Netflix. Pyjamas feature strongly and there may also be some take-away action because that's another thing....

..Work makes you more tired now and you start to say "I'm not able for this anymore" as your knees creak when you sit down. At that stage you go for the take-away option because you're just too weary for actual adult food preparation.

Enjoying more pleasant (see boring) televisual viewing. A bit of Downton, by God I'll take an Austen period drama if it's on offer and of course, Call the Midwife, my favourite. Tea and tissues at the ready.

The electric blanket is your new best friend. You tell anyone who'll listen (when you're not giving out about politicians or the length of that young wans skirt) that they must get one, followed effusively by "IT'S THE GREATEST DECISION I'VE EVER MADE"...I usually say this one out of ear shot of my husband.

Having an innocent discussion with someone only for them to let you know they're at least a decade younger than you and you no longer speak their lingo. Case in point; I was in work recently and introduced myself to two student nurses. One of them thought I had said my name was Joey, I corrected her and she said "oh thank god, I was thinking who would name their daughter Joey!" Me, thinking I'd slide in there with a cool pop culture reference, was all "unless you're in Dawson's Creek, eh?!". Cue blank stares and them telling me they had no idea what I was talking about. Which is fair enough because I had just referenced a teen drama that first aired in 1998 when they were about 3 or 4. Good times.

Being able to say things like "back in nineteen-dickety-two" and for no one to correct you or think you're joking, because you're old now, and that's how people your age speak.

You get a bit anxious thinking about all the books you want to read and whether you will now have time to read them all..

Everyone you know is either getting married or having a baby. You've gone to more weddings than you can shake a good stick at and begin to comment on best man speeches etc as if you were the narrator from Come Dine With Me. Basically, all sarcastic and judge-y.

You start saying things like "there's a fine old stretch in the evenings" and "great drying weather today" with no hint of irony.

Giving out about how you don't understand "today's fashions". Yeah, that's right. I've said those words and I've no doubt bored the arse of off everyone I know whilst giving out about this whole 90's/Clueless trend that's around at the moment..seriously lads, pull it together. There's a reason why the 90's is in no way known for it's fashion, good or bad.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and wrap my Peig Sayers shawl about myself and shake a stick at the youths on my lawn. Do you have any to add to the list? Let me know in the comments!

XX

Rimmel ScandalEyes Mascara and Gel Eyeliner by Kate Moss | Review

On my little "buy all the things jaunt" to Boots last week I picked up this mascara and gel eyeliner from the Kate Moss for Rimmel range. I really like the Kate Moss lipsticks and liked the idea of an eye collection too as Moss is well known for her love of a smokey eye. I also love a bargain and these were both reduced at €5.99 down from €9.49 for the mascara while the eyeliner was €5.49 down from €8.99. I'm currently out of mascara and haven't used a gel liner in years so now seemed as good a time as any to try these. 

First up, ScandalEyes by Kate in Eye Rock Jet Black. Housed in quite a big shiny tube is a "broken heart shaped brush". According to Rimmel this is designed to give voluminous lift and hug the lash line for a false lash effect. 

Here's what I thought:

• It definitely adds a whole lot of volume. I'd liken it to my YSL effet faux cils except I much prefer the YSL. This has a much wetter formula (might just be because it's new, some mascaras need a while to settle down) and it needs more than one coat for that proper full on false lash effect, unlike the YSL. It is still surprising how fuller my lashes were with it though.
• Because it's a wetter formula it can be tricky to work with. This is not one for throwing on at the last minute in the morning because you will most likely destroy all the rest of the make up on your face. This one needs time and a bit of effort to apply. Similarly, if you're the sort that cries at the drop of a hat, beware! This mascara is not your friend!
• That aside, I do quite like this but I'm going to reserve full judgement til I've given it a bit of time in case it does dry out a bit more.
• It's worth trying especially if you can get the sale price and even better is that it's €4.99 on the Boots.ie site HERE.

This also comes in Amethyst, Emerald and Sapphire, if you're a fan of the coloured mascaras.

(L) Nil, (R) One Coat.

Next up is the Gel liner in Emerald. I was drawn mostly by the colour of this; I can sometimes find black liner a bit harsh and this seemed a good match for blonde-haired, blue-eyed me although equally I think this would look amazing on brown-eyed ladies. 

This is a waterproof formula, designed to stay put; it doesn't flake, smudge, smear or run. 

I completely agree with all of that. If I put this on in the morning, it's still there that evening. It's actually quite easy to apply and the little brush that's included is super handy. I can see myself getting a lot of use out of this for plenty of time to come as a little goes a long way.

Dinky!

I scrubbed at this swatch with soap and water and then a towel and it was still fairly perfect afterwards. 

(L) & (R) liner and one coat mascara.

What I like the most about the liner is that it's an understated way of getting a bit more colour into your eye make-up, which is ideal for those of us tightly gripping our nude shadows for dear life. 

Basically, it's an enthusiastic yes for the KM eyes collection. I am still undecided about the mascara but once I've given it a bit more of a test I'll let ye know the final verdict! 

Either way, I'm really loving that eyeliner. 

These are both available now alongside the Kate shadow sticks (which include a very nice looking purple shade).

Liking the look of these? Let me know what you think in the comments!

XX

The Goodreads Tag

I was tagged by the lovely Kate of Ruby Duchess to do this post and as I recently wrote about why I love Goodreads HERE, I thought this might be a nice way to follow on from that.

You can read all about Goodreads in that post so for now, on to the questions!

What was the last book you marked as read?

One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories by B.J. Novak.

What are you currently reading?

Well the answer to that is long but basically I read books in a few different ways. Of actual real life books that you can hold, I'm reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Gretel and the Dark, and The Wasp Factory. On kindle I'm reading Fangirl. On my phone I'm reading Dubliners and Mrs Dalloway and on Audible I'm listening to The Stand and The Lemon Grove. I try and fit as many books in as possible because I want to read so many, I have to always have a few on the go!

What was the last book you marked as to-read?

The Bonfire of the Vanities.

What do you plan to read next?

 Divergent by Veronica Roth, Longbourne by Jo Baker and of course, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Do you use the star rating system?

I do but I'm not sure how I feel about it. It's rare that I think something is bad enough to deserve less than 3 stars but what I would class as 3 stars and what I class as 5 stars varies wildly so often times something mediocre will get a three and something really good gets a 4..it doesn't seem like the most accurate way of measuring that but I guess that's where the reviews come in!

Are you doing a 2014 reading challenge?

I am indeed! I'm aiming to read 60 books this year. I'm at 18 at the moment but I've loads of time! Within that I have a few personal challenges. I want to read the Harry Potter series, read more graphic novels and of course, get through my piles of unread books I already own. I also want to read more classics, in particular, Joyce.

Do you have a wish list?

No but I really should make one. Would be fierce handy for anyone stuck for a birthday/Christmas/anniversary present, eh hubster? (he's actually never stuck, he somehow has some weird unagi present-buying ability especially when it comes to buying me books).

What book do you plan to buy next?

I saw a truly beautiful edition of the Woman In Black on instagram the other day so I'm very tempted to get that..even though I already have a copy. I know. I need to catch a hold of myself.

I also just bought "I Quit Sugar" on The Book Depository so I'm looking forward to getting my hands on that!

Who are your favourite authors?

Kazuo Ishuguro, Margaret Atwood, David Sedaris, Donna Tartt, Ian McEwan, George Orwell, Stephen King, Daphne Du Maurier, Tana French, Jeffrey Eugenides, Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Sylvia Plath, to name a few! I'm sure there's plenty more I can't remember right now!

Have you joined any groups?

I haven't. Maybe I should..and maybe I will at some stage!

I tag anyone who'd like to do this post too, in particular:

Breige from Rare Opal

Sharon from Behind Green Eyes 

Roisin from Cuti-Clu-Les

XX

Lough Rynn | Weekend Break Suggestion!

I spotted a DealRush offer the other day for 4-star Lough Rynn castle in Co. Leitrim and then remembered we went there just before Christmas but I never blogged about it due to pure laziness. The deal is only €89 for 2 people for 1 night B&B with early check-in and late check-out (but it's only available for Thursdays, annoyingly).

Anyway, although this is no longer seasonally appropriate, I think these photos still demonstrate the natural beauty you'll see on a walk around the grounds; lakes, forest, a rose garden, a little Summer house/turret overlooking a lake and just general lovely foliage. 

Food wise we had a really excellent lunch and a very good dinner (not my favourite of places we've stayed around Ireland but it was good) and again, breakfast was nice. We thought the decor of the restaurant was a bit old fashioned, in an early 90's "we-built-this-part-on" kind of way but the actual house itself was gorgeous: lots of wood, welcoming bar, big open fires, comfy seats and reading nooks and our room was nice and cosy. 

If you're looking for a really reasonable break away then check out the DealRush offer HERE.

XX