All things pretty...

It's been yonks since I took to the laptop to hammer out a cupla focail but here I am. 

So having spent almost 20 years in admin, in 2006 I qualified as a beauty therapist as I'd always had an interest in the beauty industry, skincare and make up mostly.  I never worked in a salon as having had a successful, and quite highly paid job in admin, I couldn't justify starting off in a salon with a minimum wage.  So I went out on my own freelance.  Mostly doing spray tans and make up to be fair.  My bread and butter. Then the work dried up as it does when most of us are struggling to pay our bills.....wahhhhhhh!!!

 

But last year, a chance encounter doing the make up for a friend of a friends family, in a hotel in Malahide  I was asked to be an event make up artist for Elizabeth Arden. Only 8 events but they were mine if I wanted them.  Did I wha??!! Y'see the job I really always wanted was to work on a make up counter.  The buzz of the sell, the meeting of all the people, the being around such amazing brands all day, well, that was the dream!  Maybe not such a big dream, but my dream all the same.  So after a successful 8 events they asked me to stick around and it's now just over a year since I started to work for this amazing company.

 

Elizabeth Arden is known for 2 things mostly.  The 8 hour skin protectant and the flawless finish compact.  But oh my God it's an exquisite brand with so much more to offer.   Not least of all the premium skin care range, Prevage.   I could talk for days about how this range of skincare has transformed my skin but at the risk of sounding prejudiced I won't.   Well I will, but at a later stage I'm sure ha ha!!! 

 

I'm based in Debenhams in Blanchardstown and it's such a lovely beauty hall.  The girls are all like a family.  There's no bitchiness as you would imagine when a large gang of girls gather.  The best thing about doing this job is getting to see the new trends first and getting to try them.  Chanel, Dior, Lancôme, Benefit, YSL, Estee Lauder, Origins, Clarins, Shisheido, Clinique and Urban Decay.  All under the one roof.  Me actual nerves!!!! 

 

Find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life!  True dat!

G x

Feelings

So this time of year is a funny time of year for me this year.  And I don't know why.  I managed to get the lurgy....the one that makes you feel like your throat is the throat off the strepsils add with the rotating razor blades....yes, ouchie!!  Anyway everything that I had organised was cancelled Christmas week.  This involved a surprise trip to the Ritz Carlton in Wicklow and my birthday night out which for once was gonna be epic as all the people I loved were free and home from far away lands.  I had an epic depression filled day that was completely not like me.  I couldn't shake the feelings I had that day.  I was so upset.  Feeling sorry for myself then feeling guilty about feeling sorry for myself when there was so much tragedy in the world.  It kinda scared me if I'm honest.  Was it the beginning of depression?  It only lasted a day so I put it down to hormonal crappiness.

It got me thinking though about how I felt when I had my first daughter almost 10 years ago.  This was back in the days when I was married and living in Navan.  I loved her from the start but 6 months down the line all was defo not good in the hood!  I began to feel like everything was closing in around me.  Like there was no future, no past, no nothing.  Just going through the motions daily to keep us both alive.  It was the oddest feeling.  I'd never had feelings like it.  I put it down to being isolated from my family and not having many friends having moved 2 years prior to her birth.  My then husband didn't get it but then he wouldn't.  He had plenty of friends and worked 6 days a week.  He was rarely there.  It was me and my baby.  Some people love this.  I didn't.  I felt completely cut off and completely overwhelmed at the thought of being so responsibile for her.  I also felt somewhat resentful that I had been left holding the baby when it was a joint venture so to speak.  Then I'd always feel guilty that I felt that she wasn't enough for me to be happy.  It was a neverending cycle of feelings, feelings, feelings!!  I told nobody about how I was feeling.  Not even my then husband.  I did eventually go to the doctor who said I had post natal depression.  He prescribed me anti depressants and to my shame I didn't take them.  I figured I'd "snap out of it".  I did eventually but after having suffered unecessarily for a further 5 months.  Silly bleedin sausauge eh :)


So I've been feeling fine until today and bam....it hit me again although not as strongly as last week. And to be honest I feel like such a zzzzzdope to even be feeling this way....as my dad would say "pull yourself together girl" but then my dad is one of those dads that unless you're bleeding out your eyes doesn't believe you're sick ha ha!! I'm trying to figure out what it is that has me feeling so helpless and resigned.  Is it just the boredom of the silly season?  Is it worrying about the health problems in my family?  Is it worrying about my almost 10 year old and her phobia and how she's suffering daily?  Is it feeling sad for my brothers girlfriend on the passing of her mother last week?   Is it my cousings suicide and the effect it has had on the whole family? Is it the ending of a 30+ year friendship this year? Or is it just everything?  I'm usually a bubbly person.  I tend to be the one that make other people feel better.  But when I'm not feeling good, I shut up shop.  I don't let anybody in.  So by writing this, I'm taking a gamble and letting you all in.  Course it helps that i've never met most of you :) I'm nervous posting this to be honest cos I think my twitter peeps see me as a positive person but I know that feelings like this are normal and happen to most people now and then and the trick is not to let it bottle up so here I am unbottling and practising what I preach to others on twitter when they are feeling down.  I wish you all a healthy New Year x

Professional Beauty Show 2011

Righteo so this weekend sees the return of the Professional Beauty Show.  It keeps changing it's blinkin name.  Wasn't it B.I.T.E. last year or is this a completely different production.  Fecked if I know but the premise is the same.  For anybody remotely interested in beauty, this show is like Christmas and Hugh Jackman all rolled into one....uh-maz-balls!  I've worked at a few of these shows plugging various beauty wares but the past year I've gone as a customer and it's a totally different experience.  For a start, the amount of freebies in the form of testers I got was unreal. Everything from Dermalogica and Acadamie skincare to mini bottles of spray tan formula.  This show is for trade only or it's supposed to be but nobody checks so in theory, anybody can go.  The usual heavy hitters will be in attendance i.e. Dermalogica, Crown Brushes, Flair, Novalash etc but for me it's a great place to see what's new in the beauty industry.  This year, one of the newbies on the block is MYscara.  I've blogged about this before and I'm actually getting it done tomorrow....squeeeeeaalll!!:-)  It's basically a 4 week mascara application that lifts and curls your lashes and is completely waterproof.  For a gym bunny like me, this is all kinds of deadly as I like to have a bit of make up on me while I sweat but even the best of waterproof mascara's comes off in the sauna.  What I like about this product is that fact that there is no extension applied to your lashes.  I have tried lash extensions in the past and while they look amazing for a while, they start to clump as the weeks go on and also, over time your own lashes get damaged if like me, you tend to pick at the lashes to get them off.  I will take before and after pics of the MYscara tomorrow and blog about it.
I'm also really looking forward to seeing the Jessica nail stand and Creative Nails too.  They always have the most amazing colours.  There will be any amount of tanning stands there as always but this year I'm looking forward to visiting the Rockstar Tan stand to see what all the fuss is about.  It's getting really good reviews so I'm gonna try it for myself before using it on my clients.  Fusion make up is another stand I'll be making a bee-line for.  An Irish mineral brand.  Yes please!!  Anyway, I'll blog about that too next week.  Ta raaaaahhhh x

Garnier Anti Wrinkle Davina Challengy Thingy

I'm currently doing the Davina challengy thingy.  Y'know the ad where she holds up a little test card that shows what stage of wrinkledom you are at?!  Well I decided to take her up on it.  I'm 3 weeks in and so far, nada!  Niente!  Naturally I don't have one of those test cards to hand but I do have eyes and they don't see anything difference.  I will persist in using this product for one reason only and that's because I can't afford to buy anything else.  Perhaps after a few months of use there will be a difference but the ad did state in 14 days you'd see the difference.  Big fat liars!

Realistically, the Aldi Sianna anti wrinkle cream does the same job imo.  I wrote about this on Rollercoaster.ie and the thread got over 200 responses such was the adoration for this product.  It's since been renamed to Lacura but it's the same cream and I think for 3.99e it's uh-maz-ing! 

Myscara v Yumi Lashes

The MYscara product is a safe and eye friendly lash coating applied professionally in a salon. It has a similar effect to traditional mascara but lasts for up to 3 weeks. It won't smudge or budge no matter how much you get them wet. It is aimed at natural lashes but can also be used with semi permanent lashes if applied during the procedure.  Glamlash Ireland have the distribution rights for MYscara and can be contacted on 01-5035351

YUMI™ Lashes

YUMI™ Lashes is an advanced technique designed to boost and lift the lash without having to resort to false lashes. In other words, it is a powerful alternative to false lashes that enhances your own natural beauty and colouring. Yumi Lashes uses an acrylic to lift and curl your own lashes in a 5 step procedure.  Your lashes are then tinted for maximum effect.  Instead of doing a traditional perm that simply curves your lashes, YUMI™ LASHES turns the eyelashes upwards, gives them Length, Height and Volume, and an appearance of having longer and thicker lashes.  French Cosmetics in Trim, Co Meath have the sole distribution rights for YUMI™ Lashes.  Contact them on 046-9481091. 

Just to note that I haven't tried either of these products yet.  I plan to take at least one of them on once I trial them.  Check back soon for my opinion chics!

Suicide

In March 2010, my 37 year old cousin died by suicide.  He was one of the good guys.  You know the type of guy that adores his mam and his sisters, has a great group of friends that's he's had forever, actually likes hanging around with his Dad and Uncles.  The type of guy that stepped up to parent a child that biologically wasn't his.  Just a really good guy.  I was the same age as him.  My mam and his mam were pregnant at the same time.  His mam married my mams youngest and favourite brother.  My favourite uncle. 

I dunno if all families are the same but when I was growing up, every weekend all four of us kids would be bundled into the Hillman Hunter and we'd go to one of our aunties houses.  I grew up in Glasnevin.  My mams sisters and brothers scattered to the four corners of the northside so we had our pick of where to visit most weekends.  A lot of those weekends were spent in Dublin 5 with my uncle and aunt and their 7 kids.  My memories of my cousin are vivid.  We literally used to beat the crap out of each other falling up and down the stairs.  He had a shy demeanor but was well up for a laugh. As we got older I remember seeing him out and about (usually Blooms or Tomangos and my friends would also say "jaysus he's a fine thing" and I'd be like "ye I know, pity he's me cousin"!:-)  He was so handsome, the real looker of all the family. 

Nobody knew he was struggling.  He had gotten married only 9 months prior to his passing.  This scares the shit out of me.  How can we help people if we don't know they aren't coping?  Hearing the news that he was gone shook me to my core.  I actually don't know where the feelings came from. I didn't know him so much as an adult as well as I did as a child so it's not like we were besties or anything but when my dad broke the news to me, I sobbed like a child.  When I went down to his home that evening to try to comfort his family, I was appalled at the sobs that escaped my body.  I frightened my other half.  I frightened myself!

Suffice to say the next few days were shite! Just desperate sadness at every corner.  I could barely look his mam and dad in the face.  Since that day, many reasons have been thrown about as to why he did what he did.  The truth is, only he knows.  Nobody believes he suffered from depression beforehand.  Most believe he just snapped over something and couldn't see a way out.  I dunno, is it possible that one minute you can be thinking and acting normally and the next you snap and you end your life? I don't know what to believe.  How do we help people when they feel like this if they don't share their feelings? 

I've tweeted about this before but I believe we are in the middle of suicide epidemic.  More young people in Ireland die by suicide than die in road traffic accidents yet we have a huge Road Safety campaign on the TV and on the Radio and nothing on the same scale for Suicide Prevention.  It's time we tackle the subject of suicide in the same way.  Set up a Suicide Prevention Campaign.  A national campaign that swamps the media in this country.  We need to make it that you can't turn on a TV, or radio or read a paper without the type of in your face coverage required to take the stigma away from suicide.  We need to have quarterly updates as to how our rate of suicide is falling, the same way we hear how the amount of deaths on our roads is falling.  We need to show people in distress how to live through their distress.  That there are many others who feel as isolated and helpless as they feel and if they just hold on, maybe they will see a way out of their situation. The ads that tell us to look after our mental health are a start and getting high profile people to talk about their own issues also helps but I'm talking about getting a long running campaign going like the campaign that the Road Safety Authority runs all the time.  Pieta House is an amazing organisation but again, this is not a big enough organisation to tackle the mounting issue of suicide in this country. 

I just feel so strongly about this subject, even before the death of my own cousin.  I just wish I knew how I could play my part in getting this campaign up and running.  Any ideas?

Catrice Budget In Price Not Quality

I've been keepimg me beadys open looking for a full range of the up and coming budget make up range Catrice for the past while and thanks to the lovelies at twitter @deefur to be precice (thanks doll) I found a stockist close enough to me.  I lashed the kids into the car at 5 on Friday last afraid that it would all be sold out before I got there (yes, it is that popular).  God, well she must have been looking out for me cos when we got there the sales assistant had just fiinished stocking the whole range completely.  Sweet Jesus I near keeled over with the excitement.  There was nobody else in the shop but us so I dispatched the kids to the NYC testers and away I went. 

First on my wantsies list was a load of their nail polishes.  They are good!!  They are actually very good.  At 2.49 it's amazing how good they are.  Massive amount of pigment means one coat is enough.  It's thick enough too without being gloopy.  I got shade 30 Meet me at Coral Island which is, surprise, surprise, coral.  A deep coral virging on shocking pink which looks amazeballs on your tootsies with a nice bitta tan.



Meet me at Coral Island


My favourite item from Catrice is without a doubt the eyebrow set.  It comes in a compact little box with two shades, a brown and a grey.  At first glass the brown looks too light as does the grey but when you apply them they are definitely dark enough.  I was happy enough with just the colours but upon giving the box a little shake I heard a rattle and discovered a hidden compartment. The excitement of me when I discovered a mini tweezers and a comb and angled brush for application.  Unfuppinreal!!  This set me back a ridic 4.49.  I mean serio, you wouldn't get a sambo for that these days.  Delireh!

I then got a Lashes to Kill mascara.  It promises an eye opening effect.  Charming!  The jury's out on this one.  I'm loathe to change if I find a mascara I like and I've been loving NYC's Showtime Volumizing Mascara (another bargain at a fiver btw).  The brush is a little on the fat side (so not been sizest) and I don't believe you get the same wiggle from a fat brush as you do from it's slimmer sister.  I also don't think it's as black a formula as you can get. Charcoaly would be my description.  Still, I'll perservere and see if 3 coats is enough!


The lipsticks are all kinds of awesome! Again, a massive amount of pigment is involved and it's such a creamy consistency.  One scoop on the brush and I was covered.   I have been on a quest for the perfect nude since birth and I think I may just have found it.  Coupled with the lipliner from their Lip Designer range 050 Caramel Brown (which has a lipbrush at the end of the pencil, genius), the Ultimate Colour lipstick in shade 010 Be Natural gives a perfect nude lip.  A tad on the beige side but only just.  A hint of a barely there pink gloss fixes that.  I used Sexy Motherpucker from the Soap and Glory range. 

I took a chance on the foundation.  I did so only because I splashed on the Armani Luminous Silk foundation a while back and suffice to say have not been blow away at all at all.   I thought it would be a carbon copy of the Armani Hydra Glow which I hearted madly.  But it's not.  It's more sheer, not as much covereage and a bit too dewy for my taste.  So I was in the market for a total coverage foundation for the days when I don't want to build up the colour with the Armani.  Enter Catrice Photo Finish 18 hours, oil free and with light reflecting pigments for only 6.99.....why yes please!  I was so impressed with it that I wore it on my big night out last night.  I would NEVER normally do this. I save the best of my best for nights like last night but it gave me the coverage and the lasting finish I wanted and needed especially in the sweatbox that is Harry's On The" Bleeding" Green.  Honest to God girls it's super! 

This is just a sample of the stuff I bought and I haven't bought half of what I wanted to.  Their range is unreal.
Check it out on their website http://www.catrice.eu/products.html.  I believe that Catrice is better quality than NYC, Gosh and at the same level as, if not better than Rimmel.  I love it!