Things I Miss About Home

As you all know I hail from Co.Cork in Ireland. I moved to London five years ago to study and it feels like just yesterday that I moved over! I’m quite lucky I’m only an hours flight away, but the homesickness still strikes!  Lorna from LC’s Closet wrote a similar post which inspired me to write my list of things I miss about home.

Tea

Picture credit to @Barrysteagram Instagram account

I have no idea what’s going on over here but the tea is AWFUL! I’ve even brought over a box of Barrys tea and it stills doesn’t taste right. I can’t tell if it’s the water or the milk. It’s ruining my reputation as an epic tea maker! You can’t bate a cup of tea back home, there’s something about it that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Tea solves all problems!

Maxie

It broke my heart having to leave my dog Maxie and apparently after I left she was pining for days! Luckily she’s realised I come back every few weeks and she goes mental! Running around the place, crying with joy and licking my face, its hilarious. When I visit I’ll have a mid morning nap on the couch and of course Maxie has to join me (I’m not complaining she keeps my feet warm haha!).

Food

One of my food hauls 🙂

The first few years over here were okay food wise, but then it all went downhill. I’ve turned so fussy and when I’m at home, I‘ll eat everything! 5 years on and I’m still trying to find bread and butter that I like!

The day before I have to leave home, I’ll go out to Supervalue and stock up on Clonakilty sausages, Denny bacon & McCambridge’s soda bread. When I check a bag into the hold I’ll always make sure to bring back a tub of Dairygold butter. Toast with Dairygold butter on it is the most amazing thing ever, it makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside, just like Irish tea!

The next food related item……..THE HOT DELI COUNTER! They don’t have them in the UK and on the rare chance they do, the food tastes awful. Deli people here can’t make a hot chicken roll like the guys at home, it’s basically an art form back in Ireland.

Accents

Credit to dailyedge.ie for the picture

When I step off the plane in Cork I absolutely LOVE hearing everyone talk. It’s so nice being surrounded by people who sound like me and use the same phrases. In London I have to slow down my speech because people can’t understand me!! Being at home means I can talk away in a fast pace, use some slang phrases and speak in Irish and know I’ll be understood haha!

Mom

I couldn’t do this post and not include Mom! You can’t bate an Irish mammy 🙂 She is one of the most amazing people I know. I remember back in the day when I was going through my rebellious phase we didn’t get along. When I moved to London we grew closer and now we’re the best of friends. She makes the best tea & food and knows me better than anyone else. It sucks being away from her, but the daily (some times twice daily) calls make things a bit easier.

I’m going home in 3 weeks for my birthday and I can’t wait!

What home comforts do you guys miss?

Art Therapy: An Anti Stress Colouring Book

Over the last few months I have been super busy juggling 2 jobs and eventually the stress of it all bit me in the backside. I usually keep my stress at bay through exercise but I wanted to try a different method. I actually came across the idea of an Adult Colouring Book when I was scrolling through Bloglovin on my commute.

Adult colouring books are like the in thing right now! They are top of Amazons best seller list and millions of copies have been sold worldwide. The selection of colouring books on Amazon is great and there’s something to suit everyone. Some specialise in patterns, animals, flowers; and you can even get fashion colouring books!

I went with Art Therapy: An Anti Stress Colouring Book (£3.99).  This book has a bit of everything in it so if I get bored of colouring animals I can moved on to flowers! I love how this book had a doodle section at the back where you finish the design whatever way you want. I’m not the best at drawing but I plan to give it a go! The art in the book is absolutely fabulous and the detailing is superb. The task of colouring in the lines just got harder! A lot of the designs have a wee bit of colour added which I think is great to help pick colour schemes. The pages in this book are quite thick so if you prefer using markers you don’t have to worry about the colour seeping through.

I remember as a child how much I loved colouring and how much concentration went into it. When I picked up my markers and pencils years later that quiet child concentrating on her pretty drawing came back! Colouring is so therapeutic as an adult. As a child its just a carefree activity and as an adult there are so many benefits! Colouring is a great way to distract yourself from all the stresses and strains of life. If you spend a lot of time looking at a computer screen, it is a great way to give the eyes a rest and get creative the old fashioned way!

If you fancy a new and creative way to tackle stress and unwind, adult colouring books are definitely the way to go.

Is anyone else getting in touch with their creative side?

#FOTD: Keeping it simple

I wasn’t getting up to much today so I thought I would cut back on the make up. Normally I just throw on a bit of bb cream and end up looking awful so I decided I would put a bit more effort into creating a simple make up look that suits me.

I apologise in advance for the terrible photos. Its been so dark and gloomy most days here in Ireland

Just before Christmas I was having a rummage through a basket of beauty products in Aldi when I spotted a Lacura BB cream and this woman next to me was like “this bb cream is absolutely amazing you have to buy it!!” so at €4.99 I had to try it! I used my Real Techniques pointed foundation brush to apply it to my face and it glides across the skin so easily. It doesn’t dry in and cake too quickly which I like, it drives me mad when foundations/bb creams dry super quick! I was really impressed with the coverage and the colour, it gave me a really nice glow and it managed to cover the mahooosive spot on my face.

Next I added some Max Factor Creme Puff powder (Truly Fair) using my Real Techniques buffing brush to the areas that were shiny. I didn’t overload my face with powder like I normally do and my face felt super light 🙂

I thought I would try out the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette* that I got from the lovely people at House of Fraser. There is an endless list of looks that can be created with this palette. I think the colours are fab and the ones that I tried out really suited the simple #fotd I was going for.

I started by applying YDK on the entire lid, then in the inner corner of my eye I added Verve and brought it right out around my crease and blended it in with the colour on my lid. I dabbed a some Pistol on the outer corners and blended it inwards. The finishing touch was adding a small bit of Verve under my lower lashes.  Finally I added a coat of Yves Rocher Beauty Mascara to open up my eyes a bit.

I was really happy with this look! It would be handy for days when I’m in a rush or if a day isn’t worth of a full face!

How do you keep your #FOTD simple?

P.s stay tuned over the next week for some more looks with the *Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette (and much better pictures because I’ll be back in London!!!)

Even Blogs Have Resolutions….

Happy New Year Everyone!!

Wow it doesn’t feel like a whole year has gone past! I can remember last New Years (2013) as if it was yesterday, it’s crazy how time flies past your eyes. This year I decided to focus my resolutions on my blog!

Schedule

I was very good at making a schedule during my first year of blogging but sticking to it was a different story. I think my problem was that everything was all over the place. I had my own personal diary and various different notebooks which was awfully confusing. This year I’ve bought myself a Busy B Busy Life diary that allows you to manage 2 schedules side by side. It was also super cute and came with stickers so I couldn’t say no to it! I have no excuse for not being organised in 2015 that’s for sure!

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More Meet ups & Events

I have already been to a couple of events and meet ups and I would love to go to some more! Its a great way to meet fellow bloggers and interact with brands.

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Get Rid of .wordpress.com

I want Eyelash in Wonderland to become a self hosted blog at some point next year. I feel slightly restricted with the free version of WordPress and with so many creative ideas I’m being held back! Any advice about how to do this would be awesome by the way 😉

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Explore More!

I want my blog to take me places. I’d be happy even if it takes me on a 10 minute bus ride down the road. Whether its to visit a boutique, salon or a cafe I want to put my Oyster card to use!

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Social Media

My blog finally has its own Twitter page after spending the last year using my personal page. I want to interact with people and get involved in weekly chats (the list is loooong!!). Social media is an important aspect in promoting a blog and I’m doing okay so far but there is more to be done.

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Write Write Write!

I’m terrible when it comes to writing my posts. I’ll write then publish straight away and I never think about writing more and having posts in stock. When I’m super busy having posts ready would keep my blog active! Writing and photo sprees are a must!

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Youtube

This is the big one for me! I wanted to set up a channel in 2014 but time wasn’t really on my side. Now that I am going to be good and schedule I would like to set up a channel! I did my degree in Television Journalism and I miss getting in front of the camera!

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Those are my resolutions for Eyelash in Wonderland. Fingers crossed this time next year I’ll be writing a post with bigger and better resolutions and not a repeat of the ones I didn’t stick to! I also have a few personal resolutions that I will share when I get back to London 🙂

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What are your New Years Resolutions?

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Happy Birthday to Me!

On this day last year I was incredibly sick and drinking hot whiskeys when a wonderful idea popped into my head. I graduated from university a couple of months before hand and I couldn’t get full time work. I was either doing freelance work or working at my dads bar and I felt like I wasn’t expressing my creativity as much as I’d like to.

I have been blogging for years so it wasn’t new to me and it was only the fact that I was considering doing a film and TV beauty course that I set up my beauty blog. One year later and I am so amazed at the outcome!! People actually read my writing, I’ve met so many wonderful bloggers, made friends for life and learned a few things along the way

Thanks to all you lovely people who read my posts and followed me on social media! If it wasn’t for you guys I might not have stuck with this blog.

Heres to another fab year of blogging!

P.s…..Keep your eyes peeled for a Birthday Giveaway in January!!

 

Barry M Showgirl Mascara | Review

 

I got this mascara as a freebie in Superdrug after I spent a good few pennies on Barry M nail varnishes. I love a mascara that can add emphasis to my big blue eyes so I was excited to try this. My excitement soon turned to impatience when I tried it though 😦

No one really has all the time in the world to do their make up and the problem I had with this mascara was the fact that it took longer than other mascaras to get the “Showgirl” look. Don’t get me wrong there are results with this mascara as you can see in the pictures bellow, but it just takes way too long to achieve a desired result! I was impressed with my lashes in the end, they were super long and with the right technique I even got the false lash look 🙂

Another problem I had was the brush, it’s quite thin and the bristles kinda hurt when you are applying it 😦 So if you’re eyes are prone to watering like mine, you’ll end up looking like a panda during the application stage.

I don’t think I’ll be buying another one when it runs outs. I think it would be okay if I wanted to keep my make up minimal but there are cheaper mascaras out there for that. Remember these are my views on this mascara, everyone is different and although I might not like it, this mascara could be your new love!

 

 

Yves Rocher | Volume Vertige Review

 

Mascara has to be one of my staple items. Like if I was sent off to a desert island I wouldn’t be going without a supply of mascara! I got this in a goody bag from a beauty bloggers meet up. I completely forgot I had it until last week when I was picking out some products to take home to my mom. I decided to take a chance and only bring this mascara with me to limit the amount of liquids I’d have to bag up for airport security.

Now I’m not sure if I mentioned this before but when I use mascara, I use 3 different ones to get the result I want. I like my lashes to appear long and be full of volume. Mascaras that I have used in the past (unaided by other mascaras) looked lovely when first applied but within an hour my lovely lashes would just flop! No mascaras I tried lived up to the hype surrounding them.

Yves Rocher state on their website that this mascara has a Resevoir Brush that will release the “perfect amount of mascara to maximise” and that the formula, that is enriched with botanical extract, will leave my lashes looking “sensational”.  Lets see if Yves Rocher will live up to that bold statement.

After one stroke on my lashes I instantly knew this mascara was “the one”. It showed results instantly, I could see my lashes getting longer as it was being applied. The brush is curved and has a dip in the centre of it, this helps with adding definition to the right areas of your lashes. There is no need to wipe off any excess mascara because the right amount of mascara is released onto the brush so there isn’t excess product getting on your lashes to cause clumps.

 

This mascara definitely lives up to its sensational reputation . Just have a look at the pictures above, the results are amazing! You don’t even need to apply too much  product to get the defined and voluminous look. I am just so impressed that one mascara has had such a brilliant end result. I will definitely be buying this mascara, it is worth every penny!

You can find this product over on the Yves Rocher website 🙂

What mascara has exceeded your expectations?

Eilish

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Garnier Miceller Cleansing Water

I’m on the look out for a quick and easy cleanser that won’t have a bad effect on my face, so I’m putting Garnier’s Micellar Cleansing Water to the test. I have been dying to try this for so long and today my mother spotted it on offer in Boots and bought it! I currently use Simple make up wipes and as much as I love that brand, I just hate the thought of using wipes. Garnier state on the bottle that the cleanser will give you “perfectly cleansed and refreshed skin without rubbing or rinsing”, so lets see if it true!

Today I had a full face of make up on, including some stubborn glitter eye liner and a good bit of mascara, so I knew I had a good face on for testing this cleanser. I started with my foundation and it came off with such ease. It only took one cotton pad to get all of the foundation off and I used a second one in case I missed a bit and that was pretty much clear! I moved on to my eye make up and I held a cotton pad up to my eye to soften the product on my lashes & lids. I was so amazed when most of my eye make up came off!! The cleanser basically transferred the make up from my eyes onto the cotton pad. I was left with very little work on my eye, just a bit of mascara to wipe off.

My skin feels so soft and there isn’t a single bit of irritation. This product has no perfume and is hypo-allergenic so it can be used by pretty much everyone! In comparison to another Garnier make up remover this is a million times better. The previous remover was greasy and wasn’t very nice on the eyes. The Micellar Cleansing Water is so refreshing and it leaves your skin feeling so soft and clean. Its handy that you don’t need to rinse it off, so if you’ve had a late night it won’t keep you from your beauty sleep for too long! If you take a look at the picture above you will see that every spec of my make up was removed 🙂 I’m super impressed with this product!!! It is definitely worth the pennies especially as it lasts 200 uses so you won’t need to buy a cleaners as often 😀

I would definitely recommend you head out and buy this product!! Throw away your wipes and your time consuming cleansers and get Garnier’s Micellar Cleansing Water in your life!!!

It is currently available in all major retailers and is priced at £4.99

Have you guys tried this product?

Eilish

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The British Tag

So today I’m going to do The British Tag. Thanks to Georgie from Beans Beauty Blog for like nominating everyone on Twitter haha! I’m going to give it a go and see how British I am……….

1. How many cups of tea do you have a day? And how many sugars?

When I’m at home in Ireland I’ll have about 9 or 10 cups a day but when I’m back in London I could probably go weeks without one because the tea over there just doesn’t taste nice for some reason. I have no idea if its the milk or the water? The only time I have tea in London is when I’m out for breakfast. I usually have 1.5 to 2 sugars in my tea 🙂

2. Favourite part of your roast dinner?

Roast dinners aren’t really my cup of tea but when I do have one I’m all about the meat!!

3. Favourite dunking biscuit?

Chocolate digestive!

4. Favourite quintessentially British pastime?

Afternoon tea 🙂

5. Favourite word?

Tarah! Its another way of saying goodbye!

6. Cockney rhyme slang?

Rosie Lee: Tea!

 

7. Favourite sweet/chocolate?

Galaxy with the cookie bits in it!

 

8. What would your pub be called?

My family actually already have a bar and the name is pretty British……The St Georges Tavern!

 

9. No.1 British person?

Mary Berry!

10. Favourite shop / restaurant

Shop: Topshop ❤

Restaurant: Well its more of a cafe and I’m loving it at the moment, The Wall @ The House of Vans in Lambeth 🙂

11. What British song pops into your head?

Pulp: Common People…….Jarvis Cocker is like one of my fave people ever!

12. Marmite

Never tried it and I think I will live a happy life without it in my life.

 

So whats my British score then? Do ye think I passed!? haha.

I’d love to read some other British Tag posts so send them through to me!

Eilish

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Skin Care by Wise Women

We learn most of our beauty hacks from the older women in our lives, whether it be your older sister, mother, aunt or grandmother. We watch these women putting on their make up (in my case nicking lippy and putting it all over my gob!) and caring for their skin. Have you ever thought to ask an older woman how you have such amazing skin for your age? Well this is what I’m going to do a series on 🙂 Seeing as I’m going back to London tomorrow I thought I’d start with my Mom 🙂 Take it away Mom…….

Hello! I’m Bridget 🙂 I started taking care of my skin from the age of 13/14. I use to see my mother applying moisturiser to her face, I think it was Nivea. I saw it something you did like brushing your teeth, twice a day every day! I started off using Ponds Moisturising Cream, it was the only cream out back then. As time went on more beauty products became available and I moved on to Astral. It is still a staple in my routine today! It works wonders for dry skin, acts as a base for make up and it smells beautiful!

One of my all time products was Oil of Olay, Eilish managed to get a picture of it for me! It was lovely it wasn’t heavy on the skin and it kept my face hydrated. If I was to only pick one beauty item to take on a desert island with me, it would be moisturiser! In all my years I don’t think I’ve missed a day of moisturising!! I never used toners when I was young, not because I didn’t want to, because they weren’t really available back then! I have tried them now but toner is not for me! Some of my other little hacks include putting my face over a  bowl of hot water to steam open my pores, I would then get a bit of cotton wool and wipe away all the dirt (is that the correct term for it?) that was clogging my pores. You’d be amazed how clear your skin looks after its amazing, I’d definitely recommend doing once a week!

    

I’m also a fan of using tea bags on my eyes. There are a number of uses for tea bags, you can use them when they’re hot to relieve sore eyes and when they’re cold to reduce puffiness and refresh them. I always ensured I took off my make up every night, everyone has slept in their make up a few time but its one of the worst things you can do. I think we should all give our faces a break from make up and let the skin breath 🙂

I’m so lucky to have the skin I have for my age (a lady never reveals her age! 😛 ). I know a lot of women who have sun damaged skin and its just added at least 10 years to their look! I fell asleep in the sun once by accident, it was horrific! I have fair skin and we all know what happens I got burnt and I could barely open my eyes. I never sunbathed again after that! So ladies be careful when you’re out in the sun and use relevant protection!

 

Well I better wrap this up! I hope you enjoyed my little story!

Thanks for reading!!

Bridget

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