misseblog

My LASIK Eye Surgery Experience at Optimax (Detailed)

2017-12-02T21:29:00.000+00:00

It's been exactly two weeks since I got laser eye surgery and I wanted to document my experience on here for myself but also just to share the process incase any of you are thinking about having it done.

I first starting wearing glasses between the age of 16-17, and my prescription before surgery was -2.25. I went to Optimax at Finchley Road, London. My mam had laser done there 20-years-ago and so have other family members in the last few years (if you do choose to go there, I'd love if you could let them know I sent you). I booked the consultation online which was super easy and a few weeks later headed into the clinic.

From the minute I walked into the building, I knew I picked the right spot. We were greeted by Sandra, who was so welcoming and kind. She was really easy to talk to and made me feel comfortable straight away. I was asked to fill out my profile and was then brought into a room to begin some eye tests.

There was a woman who had just come out of surgery and another who was getting her surgery done later that day. It was great to chat to both of them briefly and see how positive they were about their experience. The woman who had the surgery just 5mins previous told me that her eyes felt a little scratchy and uncomfortable but weren't sore. I was very happy to hear that!

I then saw the optician who did some more tests and asked me some questions about my eyes. He then explained that I was suitable to go ahead with the surgery and went through the details about LASEK, which was the type of surgery he recommended based on my tests. There are two main types - LASIK and LASEK. Each have different pros and cons, with different recovery rates and procedures.

I booked my LASEK surgery for the following month and booked a consultation with the surgeon, which must be done a week before surgery.

During this consultation my surgeon said that he'd be comfortable with performing LASIK, instead of the recommended LASEK, but that the choice was up to me. This was a little frustrating as I wasn't given a "professional opinion" on which one I'd be more suitable for and so had to do some research myself and choose between the two. After talking to another doctor at the clinic I decided to go for LASIK, which has a faster, more comfortable recovery.

In the run up to your surgery date it's important to reduce alcohol and caffeine and increase the amount of water you're drinking. I was also advised to take Flaxseed Oils to help prevent dry eyes, which can delay/complicate the surgery.

Day of surgery - The Procedure

On the day of my surgery I met with the surgeon again for a quick checkup. After what felt like an insanely long anxious wait, I was brought through to a room, given some anaesthetic eye drops that really stung and then brought to the surgery room where I was given even more eye drops.

My eyes were covered and clamped using a device, which I didn't feel. A device came over me and my eyes were suctioned. For me this was probably the worst part - it was uncomfortable and I didn't like the pressure. I also found it difficult to relax my eyes, as they naturally wanted to close to protect themselves, so I had to have my right eye suctioned twice.

During the procedure the surgeon opens a thin flap in the cornea using a blade. You focus on the lights in front of you as they work and everything is pretty blurry. They remove some corneal tissue using the laser, you can kind of smell it but it's over quickly. Then they surgeon puts the flap back in place. This is actually pretty cool to experience, so much so that at that point I really wanted to see what was happening (I watched a close up procedure on YouTube later that evening).

Nearing the end of the procedure it does feel like your eyes are being flooded, which is uncomfortable as I had the urge to blink and rub my eyes. But the entire procedure literally takes seconds, I couldn't believe how quickly it was over.

Afterwards I was brought to a dim room to rest for a few short minutes. Then I was brought downstairs to the other waiting room. I put my sunglasses on and tried to relax as much as I could. My right eye (the one that had to be suctioned twice) was a little more uncomfortable than the left eye, which I could barely feel. I had another quick checkup, where I focused on a light while they examined my eyes. Everything looked good and I was free to go.

I was given my medication of four different eye drops. I found it useful having my mum with me while they explained the drops and I recommend that cause for the first couple of hours I would have found it difficult to read labels and figure out what to take when. So having someone else read the instructions and keep timings was helpful.

I was told to keep my eyes closed on the journey home, as to not strain or overwhelm them with moving traffic, lights and everything else going on. They told me my eyes might feel gritty, but I only experienced that for about fifteen minutes and then the stinging sensation took over. At this point my left eye felt a little scratchy, my right eye stung quite a lot and I had tears streaming down my face.

Once I got home, we started the medication. My eyes still stung a lot and tears were still streaming down my face. This went away after about hour of lying down. And once that stopped, the blurriness cleared up and I began to be able to see pretty clearly. The sign in my bedroom that I wasn’t able to see from my bed that morning was now visible!

They recommend resting in a darkened room, but I left the lights on for my mam and just lay in bed with sunglasses to block the light. I kept waiting for the pain but it never happened. And by 7pm, I was sat up, chatting and feeling good. I used my phone a little bit while it was comfortable, but adjusted the whiteness and brightness settings so it wouldn’t strain my eyes too much. I closed my eyes to rest them every so often when I felt like I needed it but by 10pm I felt great. I took my last batch of eye drops at half 10 and covered my eyes with the provided plastic shields to sleep - they looked ridiculous so we had a good laugh at that!

Post-surgery and checkups

My checkup was at half 9 the next morning, I continued wearing sunglasses to protect my eyes from the wind, sun and pollution. They had a quick look at my eyes and I did a few tests. My eyes were slightly inflamed so we upped the dosage of one set of eye drops. But everything else looked fine and I was able to read the eye chart perfectly... 20/20 vision! My eyes still had splotches of redness and felt uncomfortable, but that disappeared by about 12pm. I actually went shopping that day with my mam!

There are antibiotic drops four times a day, steroid drops four times a day (I had to do these eight times a day due to inflammation) and refresher drops ten times a day to help clean the eye and prevent dry eyes. You can't wash your face or your hair, wear makeup or get anything in your eyes for two weeks. You should also avoid getting water in your eyes while showering (some people recommended swimming goggles). And you have to wear covers on your eyes for at least a week while sleeping to prevent you rubbing or scratching them in your sleep.

The most difficult part really was keeping up with the drops and not being able to properly clean the eye, as the drops dry into your eyelashes and get a bit gunky. Having to put in so many eyedrops during the day and keeping up with the correct schedule can be quite difficult too.

Do I recommend it?

If you're thinking of getting laser eye surgery, I one hundred percent recommend it! Being nervous, scared or squeamish is normal. It's a big deal as it's your eyesight, but it was so quick and easy. I would get it again tomorrow!

Two years later - I don't think my eyesight is as good as it was after surgery, but obviously WAY better than it was before the surgery. I believe I can have a "topup" surgery which I may look into in the future.

June in Review - Issue 13 Louise Pentland #BlogosphereCoverReveal, #Blogtacular and #BlogosphereBlogAwards

2017-06-25T13:35:00.000+01:00

June was a very busy month and one of my favourites since moving to London.

May ended by sending issue 13 of Blogosphere magazine, staring the lovely Louise Pentland, off to press. This was by far one of my favourite issues to work on and I'm super proud of how it turned out. There's SO MUCH content in this one! It features an interview with Louise Pentland, Caroline Hirons, Laura Jane Williams, Chanel Ambrose, Downs Side Up and Grey Fox Blog as well plenty of other features and an 'in conversation with' featuring Liv Purvis and Joe Galvin. SO MUCH CONTENT!! I also discuss the Instagram shadowban saga and how to get around it if your account has been affected... controversial!

#BlogosphereCoverReveal

A week later, on June 8th, we invited magazine contributors and platinum subscribers to join us for the #BlogosphereCoverReveal in the Belgravia room at The Lanesborough (@TheLanesborough) to celebrate the launch of the latest issue. I still can't get over how beautiful the room was with big windows overlooking Hyde Park, sparkling chandeliers and a fabulous hand-painted ceiling!

The Benefit ladies getting hand massages from Burts Bees

Benefit and Burts Bees joined us at the event. Benefit offered makeup touchups and brow services (the brow products are so good!) while Burts Bees provided our guests with relaxing hand massages.

Halfway through the evening, Alice Audley (Editor-in-Chief) welcomed our guests and spoke about issue 13. The cover star, Louise Pentland, said a few words too. It was then time for the moment that everybody was waiting for! We were finally able to reveal the Louise Pentland cover after months of hard work, hand out issue 13 and start sharing it online. Of course, lots of people snapped photos standing in front of the massive cover we had just revealed!

Alice Audley, Sophie Fletcher (Sophie Kathleen), Elaine Malone (XOmisse) and Albertine Brandon (DippyWrites)

Albertine Brandon (DippyWrites), Sophie Fletcher (Sophie Kathleen) and Elaine Malone (XOmisse)

Guests were then given a goody bag which was packed full of products from Burts Bees (@BurtsBeesUK), Benefit (@BenefitUK), Blistex (@BlistexUK), Neutrogena (@Neutrogena), Next (@nextofficial), Shea Moisture (@sheamoistureuk), White Rabbit Skincare (@WhiteRabbitSC) and a copy of issue 13!

I had so much fun at the event and loved getting to have chat with everyone there. The evening went by way too quick and I'm already looking forward to the next one. I really enjoyed scrolling through social media the next day seeing the magazine arrive with subscribers and reading what everybody thinks. That's one of my favourite parts of my Blogosphere job!

#Blogtacular

On Saturday, June 10th, I attended the Blogtacular conference. This was my third year and I'm so delighted that I got invited back to be on the Creative Genius Bar giving one-on-one advice about blogging, blog design, SEO and WordPress. I'll have a full post about the day over on my main blog, XOmisse, but as always it was an inspiring day that left me feeling very creative, motivated and buzzing to put some plans into action.

#BlogosphereBlogAwards

On Thursday, June 22nd, we held our inaugural #BlogosphereBlogAwards ceremony in IRIS Studios, Kensington. We opened the nominations at the beginning of March with 12 categories and over 6,000 nominations altogether. We narrowed that down to 5 shortlisted bloggers per category which was then put to a public and panel vote. The public vote made up 40% and panel made up the remaining 60% of the vote.

It was an amazing night celebrating! There was a red carpet with flambeaux, a beautiful flower wall, canapes from Social Pantry and a bar serving Willem Barentsz gin, Fentimans soft drinks and Stassen Cider. We had a Blogger lounge which showcased the sponsors of the night including Miss Sporty, Tangle Teezer, Philips, London Tea, Next, Desenio, So...? Fragrance, Splat Oral Care, Ice Lolly Holiday, Moskito Guard and Willem Barentsz gin.

Alice started the ceremony, welcoming guests and one by one announced the first six winners. We took a short break to enjoy music by Andrea Di Giovanni (@andreadigiovanni) who was incredible and top up our drinks before announcing the final six winners. The last being the Blogosphere Blogger Of The Year who will be our next cover star - so exciting! The winners were:

Fashion Blogger of the Year: Sophie Milner - Fashion Slave
Beauty Blogger of the Year: The Sunday Girl
Lifestyle Blogger of the Year: Hannah Rainey - Little Thoughts Blog
Fitness Blogger of the Year: Cat Meffan - Imperfect Matter
Arts and Crafts Blogger of the Year: Geneva - A Pair and a Spare DIY
Book Bloggerof the Year: Rhianne - Little Novelist
Photographer Blogger of the Year: Kyle Galvin
Food Blogger of the Year: Holly - Little Blog of Vegan
Travel Blogger of the Year: Claire and Laura - Twins that Travel
Community Blogger of the Year: Nadiene - Just Nadiene
Blogosphere Blogger Of The Year 2017 and Issue 14 Cover Star: Hannah Gale

Despite it being a lot of work for the team, I'm already looking forward to next year. The evening went by way too quick, I've been re-living it through blog posts, vlogs, tweets and Instagrams. I want to say a huge congratulations to all the winners above and everyone who was nominated. An incredible amount of talent and creativity in this industry and it was amazing to celebrate that!

To end this hectic month I'm flying home from London to Dublin for a quick visit and I'm so excited about it. I didn't think I'd get home again until at least September so this is a nice little surprise. A couple of friends are planning to visit in September too so that will be something to look forward to. I'm hoping the nice weather continues!

How to get issue 13 with Louise Pentland

This is such a frequently asked question so thought I'd pop the information in here for you. If you're not already subscribed, you can purchase a subscription here - there are four packages to choose from starting at £25/year with free UK shipping. The benefit of being a subscriber? You'll be one of the first to get the latest issue (they are sent straight after the #BlogosphereCoverReveal) and each issue will be delivered straight to your door before it's even hit the shelves in stores!

Issue 13 is also available to purchase for £6 in UK newsagents, they usually go into stores 1-2 weeks after the #BlogosphereCoverReveal and after subscribers get their copy. You can see a list of the current stockists here.

This issue is definitely one of my favourites, I'm honestly so proud of it so I really hope you enjoy. If you do pick up a copy remember to tag us (@Blogosphere_Magazine) in your photos of the magazine on Instagram, we'll be featuring them in issue 14. Happy reading!

Buy Blogosphere Magazine

Celebrating the launch of Issue 9 at the Blogosphere Cover Reveal

2016-06-10T20:56:00.001+01:00

As some of you may know from my previous post, I recently moved to London to join the Blogosphere team and this week we launched our latest issue. This is such a special issue for me! Although I've been writing for the magazine since the beginning and became even more involved when I redesigned the website in November, this was the very first issue that I was as an official member of the Blogosphere team. I wanted to share some photos from the night and chat a little bit about the magazine as I've really only mentioned it before over on my design blog, XOMISSE.

About Blogosphere Magazine

Blogosphere Magazine is an internationally distributed publication that launched in Autumn 2013 and covers a whole range of interesting topics for the blogging and social media community. Each issue is split into eight main sections: beauty, fashion, food, travel, lifestyle, photography, parenting and arts & crafts. A blogger is chosen for each section and they recommend five of their favorite bloggers to feature. So you get all the best bits from the blogosphere! There's also exclusive features and interviews as well as a social media section, an agony aunt section answering all of your blogging questions and other blogging tips.

About Issue 9

Issue 9 is just packed full of amazing content so I won't go into detail here but I wanted to share some of the articles I most enjoyed reading. There's something so calming and empowering about cover star Ella Grace Denton and her interview was truly inspiring. I got to speak to her at the event and she's just lovely. There's also an interview with Emma Gannon and Q&A with Hannah Gale - two amazing women who are killing it online! I found the article on Journalists vs Bloggers really interesting and Jess from CopperGarden's fashion section made me want to go shopping! I also really enjoyed what Aftab wrote about life as a student blogger, I related to a lot of it and his motivation really inspired me. And finally I have to mention my own section - I share some SEO tips and talk about using Periscope as a blogger to grow and connect with your readers.

In addition to the 164 pages of great content there's also a brand new events supplement reviewing meet-ups, classes and other events from around the UK. It's a fabulous guide to blogger events, Albertine did such a good job with it.

#BlogopshereCoverReveal

On Wednesday we hosted a party at 15 Bateman Street in Soho to reveal who our cover star was. Magazine editors, contributers and platinum subscribers were invited along to celebrate the latest issue with us.

It was an absolutely crazy day but six o'clock quickly arrived and we were all ready to start the evening. Hannah Trigwell performed on the night as people started to arrive. She is so talented! At around 7.30pm Alice, Editor-in-Chief, thanked everyone for coming and announced the cover star who was in the room. Then it was time to enjoy the evening - chat to everyone, check out the showcase stalls and try some Premier Estates Prosecco and Fentimans Rose Lemonade!

My favourite part of the Cover Reveal party was being able to meet everyone in person. Since being in London I've helped design and proof each page of Issue 9 so getting to actually put a face and voice to each blogger was amazing! I also got to meet some lovely bloggers who told me that they have read XOMISSE for years, which made me extremely happy. And when people like Jess, owner of the F.B.L Bloggers community, tells you that your blog is their "blog bible"... well that's a pretty amazing and humbling feeling.

Albertine did such a great job organising the night. I had an amazing time, and I hope that everyone who attended did too! If you've got your hands on an Issue 9 let me know what you think. We've already started planning Issue 10...exciting!

Where to buy Blogosphere Magazine?

For those of you interested in getting your hands on a copy of the magazine, it's available in a number of WHSmith and independent stores around the UK (see stockist list here). It's also available online before it hits the shelves - we ship internationally. Although if you want to gaurantee your issue then check out the subscription packages to get the latest issue sent straight to your door as soon as it launches (subscriptions also come with lots of amazing perks).

Visit Blogosphere Magazine

~~PS. There's a giveaway over on our Twitter and Facebook page to win a goody bag, go quick!!~~

Share Sunday 083 - Dublin Trip, The Jungle Book + First London Tour

2016-04-24T13:30:00.000+01:00

Happy Sunday! These weeks are flying by, I can't believe it's almost May already! I'm trying to stay on top of these Share Sunday posts as much as possible, I know they are more for myself and I should probably move them to a private blog but I like having them here all in one place.

Week Three in London

Week three started really well, Adam arrived in London!! We also moved in to the new Blogosphere HQ which was very exciting! Since April is birthday month (dad, mam, brother and my own), I flew home to Dublin on Thursday. It wasn't exactly the weekend we had planned thanks to stomach bugs and unexpected work calls, but it was so lovely to be home for a few days and spend time with friends and family after a crazy couple of weeks running around London. After some quiet birthday celebrations (it included pizza so I was happy) I flew back to London on the Sunday. We decided to go see The Jungle Book on Sunday night, it was my FAVOURITE film as a child so I was very excited. To be honest, it was a little disappointing - fantastic film but much prefer the original. If you've seen it, let me know your thoughts? I hear there's another much darker version coming out this year too.

Week Four in London

After work on Wednesday, the Blogosphere team and I headed to the #IRLpanel. It is a live panel and networking event hosted by Emma Gannon and Laura Jane Williams where they pick a topic, discuss it, and then everybody chats and drinks. Simple but effective! This was the second event, the topic was Friendship, and also included Lucy Sheridan, Nadin Hadi and Jade Coles on the panel. It was a really interesting and enjoyable evening, I'm already looking forward to the next one!

Thursday was the first day that Adam and I both had off so after a few phonecalls we decided the make use of the day and go exploring. Adam's never been to London before, so we made a huge long list of places we wanted to visit. We managed to check off a couple of places - Sherlock Holmes Museum, Regent's Park, Buckingham Palace, London Bridge and the HMS Belfast. Since Adam was in work for the weekend, I caught up on XOmisse work. It's been stressful trying to balance everything, but I loved having time to myself over the weekend to work on XOmisse client work and write some tutorials. Starting to feel a little more settled and a little less stressed as the weeks go on, looking forward to exploring London more!

The Birthday Wishlist

2016-04-15T17:00:00.000+01:00

Once I knew I was moving to London I put myself on a spending ban, the tempation to shop was strong but the idea of having even more to pack kept me away from the shops. Now that I've settled in a bit more and with birthday discounts appearing in my inbox, I'm eyeing up some pretty things.

With having just moved my main interest is decor and storage, I've been browsing through IKEA wanting all the things, but telling myself to wait until we're settled in more before making any big purchases. I'm a bit late to the sneaker trend, but with the amount of walking I've been doing lately I've been wanting a pair of Nike Roshe runners. The black seem to be hugely popular, especially amoung fashion bloggers but I'm quite drawn to the grey pair. Grey seems to be this months favourite colour! I've spotted them in a local designer outlet on discount so they may just be my birthday gift to myself!

I've picked up a lot of army green items lately too, and loved seeing how people have been styling the khaki bomber jackets, think it's a must have this spring! I also seem to be drawn to blush coloured items which isn't like me at all, but how gorgeous is this sleeveless jacket and this duster coat, very Olivia Pope!

I am obsessed with River Island bags, it's a weakness and while I usually go for slouchy bags like this gorgeous grey one I've also been drawn to more structured bags - both in grey, obviously.

My favourite foundation brush by Sigma completly fell apart this weekend, it doesn't travel well it seems. I also need a new phone case as mine has started cracking, I love the marble-esque ones from RockSteadyCases, they have a gorgeous selection!

What have you had your eye on this month? Anything I'm missing out on?

Share Sunday 082 - Living In London & #BlogosphereTeaParty

2016-04-10T15:00:00.000+01:00

Happy Sunday!! As I shared last year, April is always my favourite month of the year. It full of good times and good people, with each family member birthday being in April and the thoughts of nice weather starting to appear it's always such a busy month too. This year is no exception! I can't believe it's already been two weeks since my last post, actually I can't believe I've been in London almost two weeks! It's been pretty hectic, and so much has happened that in a way it kind of feels like it must be longer.

Week One in London

Tuesday was such a crazy day, running around making sure I had everything packed, organised and ready. Friends popped in throughout the day to wish me luck. The evening was spent enjoying a huge pizza with family, boyfriends and girlfriends included. Despite finishing my to-do list at 3pm, I still managed to stay up until 3am!! You always seem to have more to pack don't you? After two short hours of sleep, I headed to the airport to start my very busy day.

After landing in London, we went straight to the east to meet an agent who was very helpful, but in the end we decided that it made more sense for me to live on the North-West side of London. So Thursday was spent there, walking up and down streets, ringing people and searching for somewhere to stay. I wasn't expecting to find anywhere within a couple of days, but with no options at all I was really starting to worry. We spotted a little estate agents down a side street and our day started to turn around. The owners were Irish, and they knew an Irish couple who had just renovated a house into 4 flats, with an Irish couple in one of them - "The Luck of the Irish" hey! It was in the perfect location for us, well within our budget and a lovely little place with everything we wanted/needed. I checked out of the hotel of Saturday, bought some groceries, kitchen stuff, and other little bits and pieces and moved everything into my new place! Ahh! How exciting!!

I can't believe I managed to arrive in London, find a perfect place and be moved in in just 4 days. We did over 70,000 steps in 3 days, I swear I ran purely on adrenaline this week!

A Sunday Well Spent...
On Sunday I attended the #BlogosphereTeaParty event in an adorable French restaurant called Aubaine on Moxon Street. It was decorated with candles, wooden crates, pretty flowers and delicious food. It was honestly such a great way to spend my first Sunday in London, and a great way to meet a whole load of people all at once. A little surreal too meeting people in real life, who you've known off or spoke to online for many years!

Some of the lovely ladies I met at the #BlogosphereTeaParty and had the pleasure of chatting to

Maddie of Maddie J Hamilton.
Rebecca from Bec Boop.
Jess at Look What I Got, and founder of FBL Bloggers.
Rae, Lily and Dani of Beauty At Brunch.
Becky from Becky Bedbug.
Sara at Sara Steele.

Besma from Curiously Conscious.
Kerry at Skinner Skyline.
Scarlett at By Scarlett.
Elizabeth at Rosalilium.
Kirsty of Kristy Harper.
Sally of Say Sally May.
Jodie of Alajode.

The restaurant itself was so perfect for afternoon tea, Albertine did such a fantastic job organising it and I really can't wait to see what else she has in store (well actually, I know some of the things she's planning and it going to be amazing! Get excited!). I also got to meet Alice, the Editor-in-Chief and founder of Blogosphere Magazine, for the first time after regularly communicating over email for three years. She's just as lovely in person and made me feel very welcome!

Week Two in London

I started at Blogosphere HQ on Monday, where I'll be three days a week. This week went great, and I left Wednesday evening looking forward to Monday! Imagine, being excited to go to work on a Monday morning haha. I spent pretty much all day on Friday sorting out a bank account, but so happy to have another task checked off the list. Still have a couple of things left to sort out, but feeling much less stressed now. The rest of the weekend was spent catching up on XOmisse work, since broadband arrived this week! Very much looking forward to the rest of this month!

Moving To London

2016-03-28T11:46:00.000+01:00

I hope you had a fabulous Easter weekend! Did you do anything special or just stay home and eat like I did? I think I'm done with chocolate for a while, I'm actually craving a salad after that weekend! I spent most of the weekend with friends and family, and the rest of the time I tried packing all of my belongings into a suitcase. Now that Easter weekend is over...

The big week is finally here - I'm moving to London!!!

I'm so excited and just a tad overwhelmed at how busy this week is going to be. I've always wanted to spend some time living in London, the opportunity just never arrived before despite looking into universities numerous times in the past. At the end of January I got a very exciting email and it just seemed to finally be the right moment. It was bittersweet for personal reasons but I felt like a move to somewhere new was exactly what I needed. That brings me to the other part of the news, the big exciting email and main reason for the move - my new job. I'm going to be working with blogosphere magazine a few days a week as their web developer and editorial assistant! How exciting is that?

I've been writing for blogosphere magazine since the very first issue and had the wonderful experience of re-doing the website last year. I'm delighted that I'll now be an official member of the blogosphere team! The magazine is something I've loved being part of over the past few years and have felt proud of it's growth. It's awesome to see the response to each issue on Twitter and pretty cool knowing I've been a very small part of it since the launch.

I'll still be freelancing over on XOmisse for the other days of the week of course, offering design services and blogging about code. The only thing changing with XOmisse is my business hours - although things may be a little quiet until I get settled!

If you have any advice or recommendations for London, please let me know them!

Smashbox Art. Love. Colour. Lips - Lip Gloss Set

2016-02-16T16:14:00.000+00:00

I recieved the Smashbox Art. Love. Colour. Lips set for Christmas as a gift. I hadn't come across the set beforehand but loved the the packaging. The entire Art Love. Colour. range has gorgeous artwork from Yago Hortal which is what first caught my eye. I usually stay away from lip glosses because I'm not a huge fan of how sticky most of them are. These aren't super sticky, and despite being tacky they do feel comfortable on the lips. The limited edition set includes 5 of the best-selling Be Legendary lip glosses in travel sizes - Disco Rose, Orchid, Pout, Superstar and Coraline.

(L-R) Orchid, Disco Rose, Pout, Superstar, Coraline

The glosses are quite sheer on the lips despite having some pigment. They are perfect for pairing over lipliners and lipsticks however which is how I prefer to wear glosses. My favourite two shades is Orchid(berry) and Disco Rose(light red). Both of these give a light tint to the lips. Pout is a pale pink, which wouldn't be my favourite lip shade. I don't think pale pinks suit me at all, but over some nude lipstick it adds a nice sheen. Superstar appears clear on the lips, but has glitter which I hate so this is my least favourite. Coraline is a light coral but doesn't add much colour to the lips. Similarly to Pout it looks nice over nude lipsticks and is probably the only one I'd wear without anything underneath it.

The applicator is a long doe-foot that makes it easy to smooth out the gloss. They seem to last some time, and I like how they even out any product that is underneath. All in all for them being lipglosses and me not being the biggest lipgloss wearer I really like them. I've been wearing Orchid and Disco Rose over all my purple and red lipsticks lately.

Sigma Brush Cleaning Glove & Mat Dupes - Facial Cleansing Pads

2016-01-26T12:53:00.000+00:00

When the Sigma Brush Cleaning Glove was released, I immediately thought it seemed a bit gimicky. Then other brands started to create their own versions, and Sigma released a Mat version for your sink. Over time I got why they'd be useful, but I wasn't willing to pay €40+ for one. I always meant to pick up a similar version but never spotted one while shopping so always forgot about it.

I've since come across something that could be considered a "dupe" and wanted to let you know about it. Just before Christmas, I spotted a pack of 2 Facial Cleansing Pads in Debhanams and just last week I saw something similar in Pennys/Primark. While I'd never use them while cleansing (I prefer flannels to any of the gadget things that are doing the rounds), I decided to pick up a packet to see what they would be like for cleaning my makeup brushes.

I've used them a few times since and they work amazingly well! I hold the handle between two fingers, spray some cleanser (usually baby shampoo, water and conditioning spray mixed in a bottle) and swirl the brush. It lathers really well because of the little bristles which help to remove makeup from the brush. It's helped to speed up the cleaning routine allowing a fresh clean brush without the sore hand. I highly recommend picking up a pack if you see them around!

Real Techniques now also have a brush cleansing palette available. I believe it's already in Superdrug stores and will be in Boots in the coming weeks. I think I'll pick one up for larger brushes, I like that it has a lip on the sides. Have you tried a cleansing tool for brush cleaning yet?

Review of the L'Oreal Infallible 24hr Matte Foundation

2015-05-19T19:44:00.000+01:00

I'm always on the hunt for a nice pale foundation - something that matches well, has good coverage and doesn't give that ghost / mask look. My usual pale foundation is Revlon ColorStay in #150 Buff but I'm not a fan of the consistency, it reminds me of paint! I saw a few tweets about the new L'Oreal Infallible Matte Foundation and since being a fan of their previous foundations (L'Oreal Infallible Foundation and L'Oreal True Match Foundation) I decided to purchase it.

I picked up the lightest of 6 shades, #10 Porcelain, which I was pretty happy with. I have combination skin so I got the matte finish, but there is a dewy finish for those with dry skin. It was €12.29 (£7.99) in Boots, which makes it a very affordable foundation to purchase for everyday wear.

What They Say

L'Oreal Paris Infallible 24HR Matte Foundation is a matte result that lasts up to 24 hours. Clinically proven; waterproof, steamproof. All the comfort, none of the shine. Perfect coverage. No Cakey effect. Easy to apply, enriched with perlite technology, and reduces the appearance of shine up to 24 hours.

The Results

The texture and consistency are really nice, it's very soft and typically doesn't feel too heavy on the skin or sticky (as Colorstay can). The colour suited well and didn't oxidise during the day. It looked well on the majority of my face but I hated it on my t-zone - dry patches, melted off, etc.

I think the trick with this foundation is finding an application method that really works for your skin. I tried with a Sigma SS187 Stipping Brush which resulted in some dry patches around my nose and a very light coverage. I also tried with Sigma F80 Flat Kabuki brush, which resulted in good coverage but a slightly cakey "I'm wearing foundation" look. Then after few hours it "separated" between brows and around my nose.

I found it works best when you add an extra layer of moisturiser (if applying it a few hours after your morning skincare routine), then primer and then apply the foundation using a Beauty Blender. It can still cling to dry patches / dehydrated areas which aren't visible on naked skin so that's something to keep in mind, I would only use this on really good skin days.

Would I repurchase?

Although there are things I like about this foundation I won't be rushing out to repurchase it. Just like Revlon ColorStay you have to work fast with this, it quickly turns from liquid to powder. I found that unless I went with a very light layer using a sponge then it was pretty obvious that I was wearing foundation, looked cakey and creased under my eyes.

The majority of the time it then went patchy in places as it separated / gathered in oily areas (t-zone) and emphasised dry areas (around the nose and blemishes) that weren't all that noticeable without foundation. I did like it much better when applied with a sponge but I still wasn't completely happy. I was never quite sure how it was going to look when applied so it wouldn't be one that I regularly reach for.

What are your thoughts on this foundation? Have you tried the dewy finish, how was it?

FOUNDATION - RIGHT AFTER APPLICATION

Saying Goodbye to Belgium

2014-09-04T15:00:00.001+01:00

Grand Place Square

My favourite place in Brussels had to be Grand Place square. It was just incredible and something that I never took for granted despite walking through it multiple times a day. There was always a buzz in the square, day and night and we got to see the famous Flower Garden (photos below) where they cover the centre of the square in Begonias flowers. There are so many stories you'll hear about this square, most are rumours. One very popular story which isn't true is about the town hall (second & third photo). The main tower isn't centred, it's more to the right. When the architect came back and saw this he went to the top of the tower and jumped off. What really happened is that it was originally built correctly, at the time having a centred focus point was important but then they needed to expand to be able to hire more people and collect more money so they could only expand the left hand side making it uneven. Another thing I noticed is that the centre point on the door doesn't line up correctly if you follow it up the tower, that really annoyed me once I spotted it as then I couldn't not see it!

Monument Everard 't Serclaes, walking down to Grand Place Sq, yummy Belgian Waffles, Manneken Pis, amazing food in The Blank Sheep in Flagey

We lived very close to Manneken Pis and passed it daily. The crowds were always insane and it's so hard to believe at first but people really love this little guy. There's loads of stories about him too! The statue regularly got stolen and so the original is stored elsewhere. You'll notice in the photo of the statue in my previous post that theres a sign saying security camera with an empty bracket haha. They dress the statue up every so often which is always fun to see. Monument Everard 't Serclaes is right beside Grand Place. Aparantely if you rub his elbow you'll come back to Brussels again in the future so we all made sure to do so. One thing I'm really going to miss is the food, I haven't dared weigh myself but we both know we gained a few pounds. I'm going to have to invest in a waffle maker and find some Belgian chocolate so I can make my own Belgian waffles. God, they are just so good. One of my favourite places for takeaway waffles was Island ice-cream just opposite the entrance of Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert on Rue du Marché aux Herbes. I got a milk and white chocolate waffle with strawberries which was freshly made. Yum! When the boyfriend moved from Mons to Brussels, he started out in The Black Sheep located in Flagey. We loved taking trips out there, it has a square which is gorgeous during the summer and a lovely park with a lake where we had picnics. I might be bias but The Black Sheep was one of our favourite places for food and drink, just around the corner from the square. I definitely recommend a visit out there, there's loads of places with a great atmosphere to have a drink!

Grand Place Begonias Flower Carpet, Manneken Pis statues, Ixelles Ponds in Flagey, Brussels Town Hall in Grand Place, Murals + Street Art.

Murals and street art are all over the city and they are beautiful. The murals are done by artists who are commissioned to create them. I tried to see most of them and posted two others in my last post including a very famous and controversial one called Broussaille Mural which shows a couple walking arm in arm. There was outrage as it looked like two males, the artist was called back to make the dark haired person look more feminine and now sits the mural in the middle of the gay district. The street art shown in the last photo above I don't believe was commissioned (the murals all have signs with details) but if you look close the artist signed it and added his number. I'm not a big graffiti fan but when it's actually "Art" and not someone scribbling their name or tag then I can appreciate it. It's pretty impressive and a very large space in real life.

Shortly after my parents and brother left we decided to book a holiday home. We booked our plane tickets to Dublin for a two week visit. The next day we realised that two weeks wouldn't do as something had come up and it was probably a sign that our time in Brussels was up, we were meant to move home. We'd wanted to stay longer but as they say - life had other plans. The next few weeks were a whirlwind really. My best friend from home came to visit, he spent 6 days with us and we filled him with waffles and beer before he went traveling himself for a few days and he came back to spend a couple more days with us on his way home.

We had a leaving dinner with a good friend of ours who treated us to a gorgeous meal. We visited Mons where the boyfriend first lived, it was so nice to finally see the place he was when I was stuck in Ireland and meet his friends there who I had heard so much about. We then packed up, said our final goodbyes, hauled 7 months worth of belongings through Brussels and got on a plane. I'm glad I have these posts to look back on now, it was such a great way to spend my summer after graduating. We do still have our return flight so who knows what might happen! We're quite happy to be home (and have an oven to cook with) although it is weird. We settled in really easily in Brussels and we'll really miss our life over there (and living together) but here's to the next adventure in a few months!

Need a new design or a cool new feature installed? I provide a range of Web Design + Development Services - details can be found here.

On the Walking Tour of Brussels

2014-08-14T20:13:00.000+01:00

Manneken Pis, Mont des Arts, Royal Palace of Brussels, Bourse Stock Exchange, Broussaille Mural, another Mural, La Cycliste Statue Outside Scott's Bar

On Wednesday my family arrived in Brussels, and so did the rain. It's been gorgeous weather so far with the odd bit of rain here and there but this week was cold and rainy...they brought the Irish weather with them. They had such an early morning landing in Brussels at 9:30am. My brother stayed with us instead of getting a hotel room which was really nice to spend some extra time with him. We brought them back to see our little space we're calling home and then headed to Scotts Bar, where the boyfriend now works which luckily meant we passed 3 tourist attractions - Manneken Pis, Grand Place Square and Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert. After a coffee for my mam and a few beers for the lads we headed out on a walking tour. Walking tours are free in Brussels but they do ask for a tip if you've enjoyed it. We know some of the guys who work the walking tour and it's been something we've wanted to do but decided that we may as well wait for my parents. The tour was three hours long with a quick break in Scotts in between. It brings you around the main Brussels Central for the first half and then down to the Royal Palace for the second half. I highly recommend going on the walking tour if you visit Brussels, to learn about the history of Belgium and the different stories and rumours about the city. There's more information about it here if you are interested.

The Atomium, Close up of Atomium, 360 views, Mini Europe, front view of Royal Palace of Brussels, The EU Council building, Hôtel Chamberlain by Paul Hankar, Grand Place

The next day we did the bus tour, it has two lines bringing you all around Brussels. To be honest it wasn't as good as the walking tour but it was nice to sit down for some of the day while being able to see some new places. The most impressive was the Atomium. I've wanted to go since I arrived in Brussels myself but everyone had already been so I was delighted to go with my family. The Atomium is a statue type building that was constructed in 1958. It's over 100 metres tall with spheres rooms and tubes connecting them. You can get a lift up which takes 22 seconds to reach the top and then you have a 360 degrees view of Brussels. It was gorgeous! Beside it is Mini-Europe which we didn't get a chance to see that day but we saw it from the Atomium and it looked pretty cool. I'll be going back in the next few weeks! Later that night we went to Brussels Grill on Place Debrouckère, incredible service and even better food. I definitely recommend going for a bite to eat some evening.

Brussels Town Hall in Grand Place, Grand Place Square

Friday was a more relaxed day, we did some shopping, ate lunch, drank coffee.... My boyfriend managed to get his shift switched so instead of being off at 4am he was off at 7pm and booked a table for us at Hemgie's, we had heard rave reviews about this little burger and steak place so were dying to try it. We left with clean plates, full bellies and no complaints at all, it was delicious! It is recommended that you don't go if you are in a rush as they don't rush their cooking. We spent the day in Bruges on Saturday, which you can read all about in this post that has so many photos of the beautiful city. My brother and I headed back to Brussels for the night and while on the way out for a drink we walked through Grand Place during a light show. It was amazing! Standing in the middle of the square while on the buildings light up in a sequence which went to the music being played. Grand Place has an incredible atmosphere at the weekends anyway with everyone sitting around with a few drinks but this took it to the next level. I posted some videos over on my Facebook page here. I shed a tear leaving my family at the train station to the airport, it was so nice having them here and showing them around where we live. We're hoping to have a visit home in a few weeks so I won't have to wait too long to see them again!

A Beautiful Day in Bruges

2014-08-13T11:45:00.000+01:00

My family were over last week to visit us in Brussels. We had a jam packed few days and on Saturday we decided to go to Bruges since the weather was a little nicer. Bruges is such a gorgeous and charming little city with so much to see. Bruges (or Brugge as it's known by the Dutch) has been almost entirely untouched since medieval times making it a very picturesque place. We started in one point and made our way slowly around the busy streets to see each thing. We visited the Basillica of the Holy Blood, the Belfry tower - the famous octagonal bell tower that rises to a height of 83m, the Markt which is the main square, Begijnhof, Gruuthuse Museum and several others before then taking a 35 minute boat trip down the Groenerei Canal which was a great way to see the rest of the city. If you want to take a trip up the Belfry/Belfort tower I recommend getting there early, between 9am and 10am as they stop allowing people in the late afternoon and it tends to be pretty busy. 366 steps take you to the roof to see some great views over the city. The tower features in the movie "In Bruges" with Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson.

They say you can do Bruges in a day, but if you are going to visit (which I think you should) take at least 2 days to really enjoy it. There is so much to see and do! I was there for a day and although we got loads done I unfortunately didn't get to enjoy the restaurants, bars or the shopping street. It takes about 40mins by train to get to Bruges from Brussels, they run regularly and weekend return tickets are the best value. The lovely people over at SANDEMANs Free Walking Tour in Brussels also do day trips to Bruges if you're looking for a guided tour or I've heard the circle tour is also worth a try. There's hundreds of places to eat and drink while looking out onto the streets but keep in mind that Bruges is a little expensive.

Have you ever been to Bruges?

Share Sunday 077 - My first month in Brussels

2014-08-10T23:00:00.000+01:00

Packing, trying Ethiopian food, Flagey lake, World Cup in Grand Place

Ahh! I can't believe I've been in Brussels for over a month and haven't shared anything yet, I really wanted to document every moment of this new little adventure I'm on. I got to Brussels on July 1st and had a perfect first week with the boyfriend. He really showed off Brussels and left a good impression. The first few weeks I was here he was so busy in work with the World Cup, but the atmosphere in the city was amazing! Some of the things I've really enjoyed this month: trying new foods, having picnics by the lake in Flagey, celebrating our anniversary and watching the World Cup in Grand Place Square - they turn the square into a stadium during the Belgium games and everyone gathers to watch it together.

Streets after World Cup Final, beautiful cinema room, Galerie Royale Saint Hubert, getting spoiled

When we're both not busy working or cleaning, we've been exploring the streets. Of course I've also loved the little things like going to the cinema in the incredible carved rooms (second photo above - gorgeous!), hanging out in the boyfriends pub working on websites while he works, walking around this beautiful busy city, shopping and enjoying nights with friends. It's pretty different to our life at home but we've settled in well.

My "office", Galerie Royale Saint Hubert, Grand Place at the weekend, BBQ evening

This has been one of my favourite weeks! We went out with new friends on Monday night, then we were all off work on Tuesday and spontaneously decided to have a BBQ on our terrace. It turned out to be a fabulous night. Do you find that spontaneous nights are usually the best? With nine of us altogether and lots of food and wine. It was a perfect way to get to know each other a little better. Our neighbour even came to join us for some leftovers when he got home from work. The next day my family arrived and it's been a hectic week. I've cranked up some serious miles, burned holes through my shoes and filled up many memory cards! We packed so much into the few days they were here. I'll post about everything we did over the next few days, until then I hope you have a lovely Sunday!

Share Sunday 076 | Moving to Belgium?

2014-06-22T12:24:00.000+01:00

The last few weeks have been a bit crazy to say the least. You can probably tell from the lack of posts both here and on XOMISSE that it's been a busy few weeks and it hasn't quite stopped yet. I thought for today's Share Sunday I'd do a quick recap of the last few weeks that I've been away as I have loads of news!

With the majority of assignments finished at the end of May, it was time to focus on my thesis and finishing my final year project to then present to my year and a panel of six lecturers. Slightly nerve wracking but by that stage we were just all delighted to be close to the end and close to getting some much needed sleep. The presentation went great and the panel really seemed to like my work. A week later we had the end of year showcase to show off our projects to family, friends, local businesses and those in the digital media industry. The two day show went so well. I'll be writing about the whole experience over on XOMISSE very soon if you'd like to read about it. I had a couple of people really interested in my project who gave me their contact details to discuss future projects and work which was so exciting!! The next few days after the show were spent following up with them, I cannot wait to see what happens!! I got my results the other day and am delighted that the hard work paid off and I now have an honours degree, can't believe it's finally all over. I was so worried about what's next after college but from talking to people at the show and receiving some of the emails I've gotten since then, I know that this is what I'm meant to be doing and it will fall into place as it's supposed to if I continue to work hard.

The other big change was the boyfriend moved to Belgium for work in February. He came home for 2 days for his birthday at the start of June, it was so nice to see him after 8+ weeks. Leaving the airport was so difficult as I thought I'd be going back with him but I still have some things to finish up here. Unfortunately the following day we got the news that his grandad, who has lived with him for most of his life and been a father figure for him and his brother, had suddenly passed away. I wasn't able to get him a flight home until Friday morning and I know those two days in Belgium were probably the longest two days for him. The weekend was a complete blur for everyone. It was such a shock and news we just weren't expecting! His grandad had drove me home from the airport the day before and told me he'd be over to visit us in Belgium in a few weeks. It's so hard to believe that he's no longer with us. I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who wrote to us over the passed few days, it really meant a lot to him.

The boyfriend flew back to Belgium on Monday and I will hopefully be able to head over in the next week or so. I had a list of things I needed to do before I left like finishing my driving lessons and finishing a website for a local school which was handed over to them on Friday. It was so interesting to work on something much different to what I'm used to. I've also been working on a redesign for XOMISSE to make it easier to find tutorials and creating Wordpress + Blogger Templates for the shop which will hopefully be published soon. So now it's time to book my flights, go shopping for bits I need to bring over, start washing clothes, sorting makeup and packing whatever I can. Wish me luck!

Share Sunday 075 | 5 Days In Belgium

2014-04-27T16:21:00.000+01:00

I talked about how 2014 was going to be a year of changes and it didn't take long for those changes to start happening. In less than 1 week back in February the boyfriend went to a interview, got offered a job and moved to Belgium to work in a restaurant/bar in Mons, leaving me to finish college here. It was all so exciting, nerve wracking and fast! Last year in my summer post I actually talked about how we were thinking about moving to Spain for the summer so it was crazy that this opportunity came up - laws of attraction and all that. A month later he got transferred to Brussels. About the same time his best friend got a job in Brussels working for the same company so him and his gf moved over and the three of them started living together. I loved that he had people there from home to keep him company and the four of us get on really well so that was great! I did start to feel a little left out and just so excited to finish college and head over myself in the summer.

Fast forward 6 difficult, lonely, busy weeks and Easter break was finally here. I worked like crazy to keep up with college work so that I could take a few days off. On the morning of the 16th of April (my birthday) after a busy day and no sleep I got myself ready at 3am and running on adrenaline went to the airport, hopped on a plane, shut my eyes for an hour and a half and then heard the announcement that we'd be landing soon in Le Charleroi. As soon as I could see the sun shining, fields of grass, a couple of roads and a carpark I was almost ready to burst with excitement! I collected my bags, walked out to the sunshine and there he was, bopping along towards me. We took the bus and train to Brussels where I was treated to a birthday breakfast waffle at 9am (when in brussels hey...) which was delicious but oh so filling and headed towards the apartment.

Later on we walked down to where he works as he had to manage a stock delivery. I sat in the closed bar having a chat with staff while enjoying a few birthday cocktails. The sun was shining and it was lovely to walk around in awe. Brussels is beautiful and the ex architect student in me was delighted. We're pretty close to the Grand Place which is this amazing square of reconstructed buildings. The four of us headed out for some birthday drinks and met up with some of their friends from work. It was so nice to sit and relax with him, have a catch up in person without expensive phone bills or dodgy internet connections! Definitely not the birthday I thought I'd have this year but a brilliant day!

The next day the two boys headed off to work and myself and the other girlfriend chilled out, went for dinner and went to hang out in their pubs for a few drinks waiting for them to finish work. While I was there I did some work myself, helping the boyfriends manager with some computer and design things, photographing a band that was shooting a music video and just helping out with what I could while keeping up with college assignments. This was great because it meant I was allowed to hang out in the bar all day and spend time with the boyfriend without being in the way...I hope. Also gave me something to do while he was busy at work.

The few days went so fast and unfortunately we didn't get a lot of time together because he was working everyday from 2pm until at least 2am but it was so great to see him even just a little. It went so quickly that I didn't get to be much of a tourist but I'm looking forward to doing that during the summer. We were up bright and early on the fifth day to make our way to the airport - and by up I mean we got home from work about 20mins before we had to leave for the airport. I was gutted to be home and it took me a few days out of the "post holiday blues" funk. The next time I see him will hopefully be for his birthday in June when if all goes to plan I'll be going back with him to Brussels... so excited!

Outfit | Oversized Shirt + Hunter Boots

2013-12-27T14:00:00.000+00:00

I've been loving black leggings paired with oversized shirts, just perfect for busy days in college and quiet days lounging at home. Today I'm seeing the boy for a Christmas part 2, unfortunately I've woken up with a cold and no voice. I thought I'd managed to escape getting sick this year so obviously jinxed myself there. I had such a lovely quiet Christmas with my family and ate waayyy too much food as usual. Got dragged sale shopping with mama on Stephens/Boxing day and now I know why I never bother going - people are so rude! Spent the rest of the day cleaning, writing and working my way through my Bloglovin feed which was really nice as I've not had a lot of time to sit down and read blogs lately. I've been browsing the sales the last couple of days but nothings really caught my eye so far, let me know if you've found any good bargains. I published a "Best of 2013" post over on xomisse today filled with tutorials to help get your blog ready for 2014 if you fancy a look at that.

December Wishlist

2013-12-23T11:30:00.000+00:00

Share Sunday 073 | SANTA! I KNOW HIM

2013-12-22T10:00:00.000+00:00

Short Film Script Writing | Cocoa Brown Pink Party | Blogosphere Magazine | Short Film Presentation

Hello lovelies, I am finally finished college for the holidays so thought it was time to drop in and update this blog. It's been pushed to the end of my priority list unfortunately as being in my final degree year, working, writing a college blog and running xomisse has taken over but I have a couple of posts I want to do. The months have actually flown by and I can't believe I've only one semester of college/university left. I got about 4 hours sleep in total last week working on final projects so having a nice relaxing weekend now. I presented the last project on Friday which was a short film before going out for a drink and bite to eat with classmates and then the boyfriend who I hadn't seen in a while. It was so nice to be off the laptop for 24 hours straight and just let myself do absolutely nothing. I'm back working on clients websites and posts for xomisse today and still need to go shopping as I've not even bought one present yet! If you've done gift guides or wish list posts, please leave them below for me. What have you been up too? xo

Outfit | Pink Monday & Blogosphere Magazine

2013-10-14T16:29:00.002+01:00

All items - H&M

Winter weather has arrived in Ireland so I've brought back cosy jumpers and boots. How adorable is this alphabet jumper from H&M. I'm finally getting back into the swing of college, thankfully I've no classes on Monday and Tuesday instead we're to use those days to focus on our project and assignments. This means I can enjoy my weekend more! I'm having a productive Monday so far, I've written a few posts for xomisse and done my driving practice. I'll be spending the rest of the day working on college assignments and coming up with a proposal for my final year project which I'll be posting about over on xomisse soon.

October means the return of my favourite tv shows. I'm so excited that Revenge is back and really looking forward to Pretty Little Liars. This week I got around to watching Breaking Bad and finished the entire series in a week! Fantastic show but unfortunately I'd already seen a few spoilers before I started. What shows have you been watching and loving? I somehow got sucked into watching xfactor again, live shows were a bit disappointing though. I don't think I have a favourite, theres nobody I really love. Who do you like on xfactor so far?

I announced something exciting during the week - Blogosphere Magazine. A new print magazine for bloggers by bloggers with a range of subjects like beauty, fashion, lifestyle, food, travel, etc. I'm going to be answering readers questions about blogging. You can read more about Blogosphere Magazine here.

Share Sunday 073 | Goodbye Summer, Hello September

2013-09-15T13:14:00.000+01:00

Ahh! Back to college tomorrow, the summer has really flown by and it's been a great one. I'm still dreaming about being back in sunny spain, especially today since the weather is so bad! I've hardly had a chance to breathe this week with driving lessons, design work, working out and making sure to see everyone for one last Summer shindig before we all go back to our busy schedules. I've been to five parties since Monday, my kidneys have well and truly given up and I am so excited to snuggle up in bed tonight, be boring and watch the x-factor. We went to a TGI Fridays staff night on Wednesday, which was a BYOB (bring your own beer) night in the Hard Rock Cafe - always fun. We then visited a friend who moved away for college, got on the wrong train home and ended up somewhere else haha. I still really need to stock up on Autumn/Winter clothes. My wardrobe at the moment will not survive the wind and rain. Is anywhere doing really nice stuff at the moment? It's been a pretty good week, hopefully college won't be too hectic right away and we can ease back into it. I am not looking forward to early mornings again. How has your week been?

This week on xomisse:
How to fix blog posts not showing in Blogger Dashboard Reading List
Essential design tips to attract blog readers
Find your inner designer with Studio Design
Backup or restore your entire blog including posts, design and images

Wishlist | Back to School/College Essentials

2013-09-04T15:03:00.000+01:00

Topshop Leigh Skinny Jeans | Topshop Floral Cami | Topshop Oversized Top | H&M Dog Tee | H&M Minisocks | H&M Polka Dot Blouse | H&M Polka Dot Jersey Dress | H&M Ankle Boots | H&M Cardigan | H&M Scarf | H&M Shirt | New Look Leopard Cardigan | New Look Hoodie | New Look Leather Pocket Tee | Primark Boots

Hello my loves, I've gotten a few emails about my return to this blog, which made me feel a little sad and guilty as I didn't mean to "leave" it. Truth is, I just haven't had much to say and didn't want to bore you all with personal posts. Believe it or not, apart from picking up some bits and pieces for my holiday I haven't been shopping since April!!! I've had a lack of fashion inspiration but college is starting again and I will no longer be able to work in my pj's (honestly just love my job!), I've compiled this list of back to school/college essentials. This little wish list are some things I will definitely be picking up in the next week. Let me know what your essentials for college/school are?

Topshop Leigh jeans are my favourite item of clothing ever! Thats a big statement right? They feel like leggings in terms of comfort, they wash well, last ages, look amazing on and you don't need to wear a long top because they are actually jeans. Honestly, just amazing! If you are in Ireland, I actually recommend purchasing online because the price difference is incredible. Another must have for me is tank tops or cami's, the perfect thing for layering and a must have for leggings. This year, the Topshop Cami's are on my wish list which seem to be all over the place now (like on Glamorous) and are in so many colours and styles like high low and scallop. A lot of people tend to disagree but I just love dresses for college. They are so easy in the mornings, throw on a dress with a cardigan, tights and some boots and away you go. My go to footwear for the majority of the year seems to be black ankle booties, they just go with everything!

The Essentials Checklist

T-shirts, tank tops and cami's in a range of colours - perfect for layering.
Chunky boyfriend cardigans and jumpers.
Leather jacket, army jackets, faux fur jacket.
Shirts, blouses and graphic t-shirts.
Scarfs in many colours, patterns and textures.
Skinny jeans - flattering and easy to wear with any kind of shoe or boot.
Daytime dresses - easy to dress up or dress down.
Range of shoes - pumps, combat boots, vans, converse, ankle boots.

Whats on your wishlist? What items do you always have to have in your wardrobe?

Review of Dove GoFresh Compressed Deodorant

2013-08-01T17:00:00.000+01:00

I'm one of those people who carries everything in my handbag, including the kitchen sink! I've actually been compared to Mary Poppins so I just love when something comes in a mini size. I tried one of the new Dove 75ml compressed deodorants which are half the size of the original Dove deodorant bottles but with just as much product making them perfect for your handbag, festivals, holidays, etc. The new compressed deodorants are 48hr anti-perspirant with 0% alcohol.

The new range is available in the following variants:

Invisible Dry 48hr Compressed
Original 48hr Compressed
Go Fresh Cucumber and Green Tea 48hr Compressed
Go Fresh Pomegranate and Lemon Verbena 48hr Compressed
Beauty Finish 48hr Compressed
Pure 48hr Compressed

I brought this on holidays and it kept me dry and fresh the entire time. I'm still not finished the bottle so definitely lasts just as long as the larger 150ml bottle. This one in particular is pomegranate and lemon verbena and smells lovely. They also feature the Dove 1/4 moisturising cream formula to improve the look and feel of underarms. Something that really annoys me with Deodorants is when it comes out as a powder after shaking it beforehand but I haven't had that problem with this so already it's been impressive. Dove Compressed is now available nationwide for €3.76.

What must have mini size products do you need in your handbag?

PR SAMPLE

Share Sunday 072 - Summer Holidays

2013-07-28T22:39:00.003+01:00

I cannot believe the last time I did a Share Sunday I was finishing up with work placement. Summer has gone so fast and my final year of college is creeping up. May was mostly spent finishing assignments, enjoying some time off with friends and working on tutorials for xomisse.com. I've been so in love with creating templates, freebies and content for it and the response has been amazing. June started with a Benefit event and a fab meet-up organised by Katie, it was so nice to see everyone again as I had been feeling so out of the loop because of placement. I was in the designing mood today so I created some new social media buttons for xomisse if anyone is looking for some new ones.

The boyfriends birthday was at the beginning of June and we all had an incredibly week. We had drinks in the Hard Rock Cafe then a small close group of us moved onto Alchemy nightclub and had a great night. The weather was amazing that week so the morning after was spent in the sun stuffing our hungover heads with McDonalds. Later that week we had drinks with some of my friends who couldn't make the party and had dinner with the boyfriends dad's side of the family. It was so nice to finally meet them!

Would you believe that the last time I was on holidays was for a short break to Barcelona with my family and a friend of mine in 2008. I haven't felt proper heat since! We decided to go ahead and book a last minute holiday. Things were a crazy rush all week as I shopped, worked and exercised, quickly trying to get everything ready to jet off for two whole weeks in Spain. While there, we celebrated our official 2 year anniversary with dinner and then going for drinks in a beach hut beside the sea. This summer also represents our 9th year of friendship as we met mid-summer in 2004 when we were 12/13, Crazy! It was so nice to spend some quality time together without a tv, phones or internet access.

While out for lunch one day, himself got offered a job. He considered staying to work while I finish my degree and our parents were all for it but he decided to come home, sort of money and wait for me to finish college so we can go together. If all goes well come May, we will be packing our bags to move there for the summer! How bloody exciting is that? I think it would be such a great opportunity for us!

I had such a lovely holiday and am a bit gutted to be home, it's taken me all week to get back into the swing of things. My laptop was so foreign to me when I got home haha. I am very excited to see what the next 10 months bring and hopefully next summer will be one to remember. It's hard to believe that July is almost over isn't it? I need to make the most of August before projects, assignments and dissertations take over my life!!

What have you been up to lately? Have you been anywhere yet this summer?

Review os the Soap & Glory No Clogs Allowed Self Heating Face Mask

2013-06-21T14:50:00.000+01:00

My skin has been absolutely awful this week, to help it out a little I decided to use a deep cleaning face mask from Soap & Glory called No Clogs Allowed which heats up on the face and is supposed to clean out pores. It contains Zeolite a special heating active, Pumice for polishing and smoothing skin, Salicylic Acid for skin smoothing and cell renewal, Grapeseed Oil which is an antioxidant, Jojaba Beads and a natural aromatic fragrance made up of orange, palmarosa, rosemary, menthol, eucalyptus and geranium.

Super self-heating 5 minute deep pore detox face mask with a free skin smoothing sponge. This is a deep cleansing treatment, ideal for greasy and blackhead prone skin. Use one/two times a week. Rinse right away for a fast refresh or wait 3-5 minutes before sponging off for a squeakier clean.

You really need to shake the tube before using this product. Apart from the beads, it's pretty soft and smooth which I wasn't expecting. It smells quite nice, very fresh. As I worked it into my skin I could feel the product begin to heat up and slightly tingle, it was quite nice and wasn't uncomfortable at all. Some of the little beads turned a brighter blue but other than that nothing happened which was disappointing as it says that you will literally turn blue. I left the mask for about 5 minutes before rinsing it off using the sponge provided. My skin felt really clean, soft and moisturised after rinsing the product off, it did look brighter and a couple of problem areas appeared lessoned but I didn't really notice a difference in my pores other than it looking cleaner overall. There's so many rave reviews about this and I have to agree, it's a great product that I will be repurchasing. I'm a sucker for face masks. No Clogs Allowed is about €15, available from Boots, but Soap & Glory usually have deals on like 3 for 2 which is when I bought this.

Have you tried this? What did you think?